a. Capitalize dates and names of people.
b. Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.
c. Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
d. Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
e. Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
f. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy →
boil).
g. Capitalize important words in titles.
h. Form and use possessives.
i. Add prefixes and suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
j. Use punctuation to separate items in a series.
Practice:
k. Use end punctuation for sentences.
l. Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently
occurring irregular words.
m. Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling
conventions.
n. Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words.
o. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed and/or using
spelling patterns and generalizations. (e.g., word families, position-based spelling,
syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts)
Proficiency Scale