Strand (L) Language

Narrative for the Language Strand:

As they move through formal schooling, students must gain control over the many conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics. They must also learn various ways to convey meaning effectively. Language standards include the rules of standard written and spoken English as well as the use of language as craft and informed choice among alternatives. The vocabulary standards focus on understanding words and phrases (their relationships and nuances) and acquiring new academic and domain-specific vocabulary. 

English grammar conventions, knowledge of language, and vocabulary extend across reading, writing, speaking, and listening and, in fact, are inseparable from these contexts. As students grow in their understanding of patterns of English grammar, they can use this knowledge to make more purposeful and effective choices in their writing and speaking and more accurate and rich interpretations in their speaking and listening. 

Kindergarten students learn to recognizeand write upper and lower case letters and when to use capital letters in writing. Students also learn about basic punctuation marks, how to verbally use singular and plural nouns, and verbs in the past, present and future tense.

How to help your child with the standards in the Language Strand:

• Help your child understand the relationship between letters (upper and lowercase) and sounds by helping them print the alphabet letters.
• Help your child recognize words that start with a capital, and notice the how the begining word of a sentence begins with a capital when reading favorite books.
• Use words like in, out, under, around, on top of, for, by, with........
• Help your child understand that adding -s or -es makes a word plural, and that adding beginnings and endings like -ed and -ing changes the word.
• Encourage your child to sort words into categories like foods, birds, colors
• Show your child opposites like hot/cold, big/small, smile/frown
• Help your child find and use words that have similar meanings like cold/frosty/icy/frigid
• Encourage your child to use new words that he/she hears, adding to his/her vocabulary

Resources

• Scholastic
• Strategies for Teaching Writing
• Handwriting Without Tears 

Calculation Method for Strands

Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each strand's related standards.

 

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (L) Strand: Language Cluster: Conventions of Standard English.   ELA-00.L.02 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.  a. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I. b.  Recognize and name end punctuation. c.  Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes) d. Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

• I can name the common sounds that letters make

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can write the letter or letters for consonant and vowel sounds
• I can spell words by matching sounds to letters
• I can write common (high-frequency) words in my writing

 

Rubric/Proficiency Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	Student is able to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patters and use high- frequency words in their writing.		Student spells the word bunny correctly.
	3.5	In addition to Score 3.0 performance, the student demonstrates in-depth inferences and applications regarding the more complex content with partial success.
3.0	“The Standard.” Student is able to spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships, including some vowel sounds.		Student attempts to write bunny as bune.
	2.5	No major errors or emissions regarding 2.0 content and partial knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0	Student has some sounds of words in their writing.		Student writes buny as b or bn.
	1.5	In addition to 1.0 content,student has partial knowledge of the 2.0 and/or 3.0 content.
1.0	Student is able to use marks, lines or scribbles that imitate writing by moving left to right.		Student is still emerging in their sound/spelling patterns and uses lines or scribbles.
	0.5	Limited or no understanding of the skill is demonstrated.

Resources

Strand (RF) Reading Foundations

Narrative for Reading Foundations Strand:

The Foundational Skill standards are directed toward fostering students' understanding and working knowledge of:

Concepts of Print:  Recognizing the features print (ex. how to hold a book, knowing where to start reading....)

Phonological Awareness:  Understanding how spoken words work (rhyming, hearing the individual sounds in words such as the first sound in the word cat is /c/).

Phonics and Word Study:  The relationship between letters and sounds in language.  Students will learn to recognize high-frequency words (ex. I, and, go, is, the) automatically. 

Fluency:  The ability to read smoothly and expressively, and in kindergarten students will participate in shared reading experiences and hear teachers reading aloud.  This helps kindergarteners understand that we read with purpose and understanding. 

How to help your child at home with the foundational skill strand:

• Re-read favorite books to build awareness of how print works 
• Have your child play matching games with alphabet letters (matching upper to lowercase)
• Point out and read billboards, signs, package labels and any other print encountered, pointing out letters
• Play rhyming games together in the car (What rhymes with tree?)
• Play word games, taking turns saying syllables and the partner guesses the word (el-e-phant=elephant)
• Discuss which letters and letter combinations go with which sounds in what you and your child are reading
• Help your child to decode (take apart) common words so that he/she becomes familiar with how to sound words out
• Have your child find high-frequency words in magazines or newspapers (kindergarteners work on recognizing 75 words automatically by the end of the year)
• Read higher levels of text to your child so that he/she can hear you read with accuracy, appropriate speed, and expression

Resources

• Starfall
• ABCYa
• Interactive Sites for Education
• Time to Rhyme
• Phonological Awareness Activities
• Zoo Phonics Animals and Body Signals
• Fry Instant word list

Calculation Method for Strands

Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each strand's related standards.

 

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (RF) Strand: Reading Foundations Cluster: Print Concepts. Sub-standard in bold is prioritized in this standard. ELA-00.RF.01 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.  d.  Recognize and name all upper-lowercase letters of the alphabet

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

• I can recognize that letters make up words

Reasoning Targets

• I can recognize the difference between upper- and lowercase letters

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet

 

 

Rubric/Proficiency Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	Naming alphabet letters is a foundational skill where no advanced criteria is available.  Once proficiency for this standard is met, students will be applying that knowledge in other standards in the Reading and Writing strands.
	3.5	No Advanced Criteria (see explanation for Level 4)
3.0	The student is able to name 52 upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
	2.5	Student is able to name 46-51 upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet
2.0	The student is able to name at least 40 upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
	1.5	Student is able to name 36-39 upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet
1.0	The student is able to name at least 25 upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
	0.5	Student names 26 or less letter names

Resources

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (RF) Strand: Reading Foundations Cluster: Phonological Awareness. Sub-standard in bold is prioritized within this standard ELA-00.RF.02 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).  d.  Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel and final sounds (phonemes) in three phoneme (CVC) words

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

• I can recognize words that begin with the same sound (dog/dish)
• I can recognize words that end with the same sound (man/tin)
• I can recognize words that have the same middle sound (pen/bet)

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can take apart a word and tell you the beginning sound, middle sound and ending sound

Rubric/Proficiency Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	Isolating beginning/middle and ending sounds in words is a foundational skill where no advanced criteria is available.  Once proficiency for this standard is met, you will see your student applying it to other standards such as letter/sound correspondence ,decoding and writing.
	3.5	No advanced criteria (see Level 4 for explanation)
3.0	The student is able to produce initial, middle and final sounds in words, such as the /c/ in cat, the /a/ in cat and the /t/ in cat.
	2.5	No major errors or emissions regarding 2.0 content and partial knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0	The student is able to isolate and pronounce the middle or ending sounds in words.
	1.5	In addition to 1.0 content,student has partial knowledge of the 2.0 content.
1.0	The student is able to isolate the initial sounds in words.
	0.5	Limited or no understanding of the skill is demonstrated.

Resources

 

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (RF) Strand: Reading Foundations Cluster: Phonics and Word Recognition. Sub-standards in bold are prioritized for this standard. ELA-00.RF.03 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. a.  Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant

Student Learning Targets:

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can say the most common sound of each consonant

Proficiency (Rubric) Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	Identifying sounds for letters is a foundational skill where no advanced criteria is available.  When a student meets proficiency for these standards, you will see application of these skills in other standards such as:  reading text and writing.
	3.5	No advanced criteria is available (see Level 4 for explanation)
3.0	The student is able to produce the common sounds for 26 consonants and short vowel sounds.
	2.5	No major errors or emissions regarding 2.0 content and partial knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0	The student is able to produce the common sounds for at least 20 consonants and short vowel sounds.
	1.5	In addition to 1.0 content,student has partial knowledge of the 2.0 content.
1.0	The student is able to produce the common sounds for at least 10 consonants and short vowel sounds.
	0.5	Limited or no understanding of the skill is demonstrated.

Resources

 

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (RF) Strand: Reading Foundations Cluster: Phonics and Word Recognition. Sub-standards in bold are prioritized for this standard. ELA-00.RF.03 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.  d..  Read common high-frequency words by sight (the, of, to, you, she, is, are.....)

Student Learning Targets:

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can read common words without having to sound them out

Proficiency (Rubric) Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	Reading high-frequency words is a foundational skill where no advanced criteria is available.  When a student meets proficiency for these standards, you will see application of these skills in other standards such as:  reading text and writing.
	3.5	No advanced criteria is available (see Level 4 for explanation)
3.0	The student reads at least 35 words commonly found in texts at the end of the emergent reading stage.
	2.5	No major errors or emissions regarding 2.0 content and partial knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0	The student reads at least 20 words commonly found in texts at the emergent reading stage.
	1.5	In addition to 1.0 content,student has partial knowledge of the 2.0 content.
1.0	The student reads at least 5 words commonly found in texts at the emergent reading stage.
	0.5	Limited or no understanding of the skill is demonstrated.

 

 

Resources

Websites

• Starfall
• Fry Instant word list

Vocabulary

• High-Frequency Word
• Read

 

Strand (RI) Reading Information

Narrative for Informational Reading Strand:

The primary purpose of informational text (non-fiction) is to inform the reader about the natural or social world. Different from literaure (fiction), informational text does not utilize characters.  In this strand students are expected to determine the topic (who or what the text is about).  Students will also ask and answer questions about the topic of the text and retell what they read. 

Informational text offers a variety of structures to assist the readers in finding information quickly and efficiently. These might include a table of contents, bold or italicized text, gloassaries, embedded definitions for specialized vocabulary, realistic illustrations of photos, captions and other labels, and graphs and charts. 

Continued work on reading comprehension standards will heighten student abilities to read more age appriopriate informational (non-fiction) text.  Teachers use assessment and observation to determine if students are ready to progress to more challenging reading selections.  Each child is unique, so be flexible, and trust your judgment as you assist your child.  Together teachers and parents can help students make better choices when selecting books to read.  Our youngest readers benefit from rereading text and text with high repetition.  Although levels of reading determined through observation and assessment are valuable, caution is important in not confining children to a text level.  Young readers can progress through levels of text quickly, but not all children progress at the same pace, which is expected.  Increasing the frequency of reading is the highest predictor of success at any grade level. Building a child’s confidence, through successful experiences with reading, will encourage that desire to read more. Developing successful, life-long readers is our ultimate goal.

 

How to Help Your Child At Home with the Informational Text Strand:

• Ask questions about the topic being read (What does this book tell us about bears?)
  
• Go beyond just naming the topic, ask your child to tell you details about the topic 
• Have your child retell the information on the topic they read about
• Re-read favorite books to build fluency, comprehension and confidence
• Discuss the informational topics you read about
  
• Read aloud frequently.  Children love to listen to non-fiction stories that are more complicated than they can read on their own
• Bring attention to bold words, captions and  glossaries that will help locate key facts or information in a text
• Read magazines and newspapers for information and entertainment - the pictures and current event topics offer a high-interest way for readers to attemp more difficult reading than they may in a book
• Read directions on packages, forms, games and recipes - this helps children see that we read many things to gain information
• Make regular visits to a public library to select informational (non-fiction) reading material

 

Resources

• How to Read Non-Fiction 
• Non-Fiction Comprehension Questions
• National Geographic

Calculation Method for Strands

Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each strand's related standards.

 

ELA-00 Targeted Standards (RI) Strand: Reading Information Cluster: Key Ideas and Details. ELA-00.RI.01 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

• I can explain that a key detail is an important part of an informational book

Reasoning Targets

• I can determine what the important details are when I listen to a story

Skills (Performance) Targets

• I can ask and answer questions about the key details in an informational book (who, what, when, where, how)
• I can ask and answer questions before, during and after reading an informational book

Rubric/Proficiency Scale

Score		Description	Sample Activity
4.0	The student demonstrates complete understanding of the text and is able to answer questions about the important information and state a main idea of a text at the end of the early reading stage.
	3.5	In addition to Score 3.0 performance, the student demonstrates in-depth inferences and applications regarding the more complex content with partial success.
3.0	The student makes inferences about a fact/detail (as shown in pictures) to help understand the text at the end of the emergent reading stage.
	2.5	No major errors or emissions regarding 2.0 content and partial knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0	The student can answer simple detail questions such as "What is one thing the author told you?" or lists details from the text.
	1.5	In addition to 1.0 content,student has partial knowledge of the 2.0 content.
1.0	The student follows and understands an informational text in a shared reading book or a read aloud by participating and asking/answering questions about the text in a whole group setting.
	0.5	Limited or no understanding of the skill is demonstrated.

Resources

Websites

• How to Read Non-Fiction 
• Non-Fiction Comprehension Questions
  

 Vocabulary

• Key Detail
• Topic
• Question
• Facts

 

Strand (RL) Reading Literature

Narrative for Literature Strand:

Reading literature (fiction) allows students to learn about other lives and times that relate to their own personal experiences. In this strand, students will ask and answer questions about key details (characters, setting, plot), along with retelling what they have read.  Literature (fiction) helps readers learn important life lessons through the lives of the characters, comparing their own experiences with the experiences of the characters they read about. Reading literature (fiction) allows us to learn to appreciate the beauty of the language, and to be articulate speakers and writers.  

Continued work on reading comprehension standards will heighten student abilities to read more complex literature (fiction) text.  Teachers use assessment and observation to determine if students are ready to progress to more challenging reading selections.  Each child is unique, so be flexible, and trust your judgment as you assist your child.  Together teachers and parents can help students make better choices when selecting books to read.  Our youngest readers benefit from rereading text and text with high repetition.  Although levels of reading determined through observation and assessment are valuable, caution is important in not confining children to a text level.  Young readers can progress through levels of text quickly, but not all children progress at the same pace, which is expected.  Increasing the frequency of reading is the highest predictor of success at any grade level. Building a child’s confidence, through successful experiences with reading, will encourage that desire to read more. Developing successful, life-long readers is our ultimate goal.

Continued work on reading comprehension standards will heighten student abilities to read age appropriate literature (fiction) text.  Teachers use assessment and observation to determine if students are ready to progress to more challenging reading selections.  Each child is unique, so be flexible, and trust your judgment as you assist your child.  Together teachers and parents can help students make better choices when selecting books to read.  Our youngest readers benefit from rereading text and text with high repetition.  Although levels of reading determined through observation and assessment are valuable, caution is important in not confining children to a text level.  Young readers can progress through levels of text quickly, but not all children progress at the same pace, which is expected.  Increasing the frequency of reading is the highest predictor of success at any grade level. Building a child’s confidence, through successful experiences with reading, will encourage that desire to read more. Developing successful, life-long readers is our ultimate goal.

 

 

How to Help Your Child At Home with the Literature Strand:

• Read to your child often, and let him/her read books to you as they emerge as a reader
• Ask questions about what is being read  
• Go beyond just naming the character and setting, have your child describe the characters and settings with details (ex. "What character traits did the characters have?" (kind, mean, creative, patient, messy)? How do you know?)
• Have your child retell a story they have read with the beginning, middle and end
• Discuss favorite stories together and talk about the characters and details about the characters
  
• Read aloud frequently.  Children love to listen to stories that are more complicated than they can read on their own.  
• Don't forget - poetry can be a great read aloud
• Make regular visits to a public library to select literature (fiction) reading material

 

Resources:

• Reading Tips for Parents of Kindergarteners
• Poetry Resources
• Storyline Online
• Seussville
• Comprehension Questions 

Calculation Method for Strands

Strands are larger groups of related standards. The Strand Grade is a calculation of all the related standards. Click on the standard name below each strand to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each strand's related standards.