What your child will be learning in kindergarten English language arts and literacy

In kindergarten, students will learn the alphabet and the basic features of letters and words. They will break down spoken and written words into syllables and letters and identify the sounds each letter makes. These important skills will enable your child to learn new words and to read and understand simple books and stories. Students will also learn to write and share information in a variety of ways, including drawing, writing letters and words, listening to others, and speaking aloud. Activities in these areas will include:

 

•  Naming and writing upper- and lowercase letters

•  Matching letters to sounds and using other methods to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing

•  Learning and using new words

•  Identifying words that rhyme

•  Reading common words such as the, of, you, are, she, and my

•  Asking and answering questions about a story the teacher reads out loud

•  Identifying characters, settings, and major events in a story

•  Recognizing the person, place, thing, or idea that an illustration shows

•  Participating in discussions by listening and taking turns speaking

•  Using a combination of drawing, speaking, and writing to describe an event, give information about a topic, or share an opinion

•  Taking part in shared reading, writing, and research projects

•  Expressing thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly

 

 

What your child will be learning in grade one English language arts and literacy

In grade one, your child will build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Students will continue to learn the letters and sounds that make up words. They will think, talk, and write about what they read in stories, articles, and other sources of information. In their writing, students will work on putting together clear sentences on a range of topics using a growing vocabulary. Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Reading stories and showing they understand the lesson or moral of the story

• Asking and answering questions about a story, including characters, settings, and major events

• Comparing and contrasting the experiences of different characters

• Identifying the reasons an author gives to support a point

• Explaining differences between texts that tell stories and texts that provide information

• Learning and using new words

• Participating in class discussions by listening, responding to what others are saying, and asking questions

• Describing people, places, things, and events, expressing feelings and ideas clearly

• Learning basic rules of spoken and written English

• Working with others to gather facts and information on a topic Writing to describe an event, provide information on a topic, or share an opinion

 

 

What your child will be learning in grade two English language arts and literacy

In grade two, students will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will think, talk, and write about what they read in variety of texts, such as stories, books, articles, and other sources of information including the Internet. In their writing, students will learn how to develop a topic and strengthen their skills by editing and revising. Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Reading stories, including fables and folktales from different cultures, and identifying the lesson or moral of the story

• Reading texts about history, social studies, or science and identifying the main idea

• Answering who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about stories and books

• Describing the reasons that an author gives to support a point

• Learning and using new words

• Learning the rules of spoken and written English

• Participating in class discussions by listening and building on what others are saying

• Describing in their own words information learned from articles or books read aloud

• Working together to gather facts and information on a topic

• Writing about a short series of events and describing actions, thoughts, and feelings

• Writing about opinions on books using important details and examples to support a position

 

 

What your child will be learning in grade three English language arts and literacy

In grade three, students will build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will think, talk, and write about what they read in a variety of articles, books, and other texts. In their writing, students will pay more attention to organizing information, developing ideas, and supporting these ideas with facts, details, and reasons. Activities in these areas will include:

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• Reading a wide range of stories and describing how a story teaches a lesson

• Describing characters in a story and how their actions contributed to events

• Reading texts about history, social studies, or science and answering questions about what they learned

• Referring to information from illustrations such as maps or pictures as well as the words in a text to support their answers

• Learning the rules of spoken and written English

• Learning and using new words, including words related to specific subjects (such as science words)

• Participating in class discussions by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, and building on the ideas of others

• Giving a class presentation on a topic or telling a story using relevant facts and details and speaking clearly

• Writing stories with dialogue and descriptions of character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings

• Gathering information from books, articles, and online sources to build understanding of a topic

• Writing research or opinion papers over extended periods of time

 

 

What your child will be learning in grade four English language arts and literacy

In grade four, students will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will read more challenging literature, articles, and other sources of information and continue to grow their vocabulary. They will also be expected to clearly explain in detail what they have read by referring to details or information from the text. In writing, students will organize their ideas and develop topics with reasons, facts, details, and other information. Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Identifying the theme or main idea of a story, play, or poem

• Comparing stories from different cultures

• Explaining how an author uses facts, details, and evidence to support their points

• Reading and understanding information presented in charts, graphs, timelines, and other illustrations

• Learning the rules of spoken and written English

• Learning and using new words, including words related to specific subjects (such as science words)

• Participating in class discussions by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, and building on the ideas of others

• Giving a class presentation on a topic or telling a story using relevant, organized facts and details and speaking clearly

• Writing stories with dialogue and descriptions of character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings

• Taking notes and organizing information from books, articles, and online sources to learn more about a topic

• Writing research or opinion papers over extended periods of time

 

 

What your child will be learning in grade five English language arts and literacy

In grade five, students will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will read more challenging literature, articles, and other sources of information and continue to grow their vocabulary. Students will also be expected to understand and clearly summarize what they have learned from readings and classroom discussions, referring to specific evidence and details from the text. Students will write regularly and continue to develop their ability to gather, organize, interpret, and present information. Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Determining the theme of a story, play, or poem, including how characters respond to challenges

• Comparing and contrasting stories that deal with similar themes or topics

• Explaining how authors use reasons and evidence to support their points or ideas

• Drawing on information from multiple books, articles, or online sources to locate an answer or to solve a problem quickly

• Learning the rules of spoken and written English

• Learning and using new words, including words related to specific

• subjects (such as science words)

• Understanding figurative language

• Participating in class discussions by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, and building on the ideas of others

• Giving a class presentation on a topic or telling a story, introducing relevant facts and details in a clear, logical order

• Writing research or opinion papers over extended periods of time

 

What your child will be learning in grade six English language arts and literacy

In grade six, students will read a range of challenging books, articles, and texts, and will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of the material by answering questions and contributing to class discussions. In writing, students will continue to work on their use of language, sentence structure, and organization of ideas. They will also be expected to integrate information from different sources and respond to challenging content through written interpretation and analysis.

Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Providing detailed summaries of texts

• Determining the theme of a text and how it is conveyed

• Describing how a particular story or play unfolds and how characters respond to plot developments

• Using a range of reading strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words as they are used in a text

• Comparing and contrasting various texts, including poems, stories, and historical novels

• Understanding the figurative and connotative (implied) meaning of words and phrases

• Identifying and evaluating specific claims or arguments in a text

• Supporting written claims or arguments with clear reasons and relevant evidence

• Producing clear and coherent writing appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience

• Participating in class discussions about various texts and topics

• Conducting short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several source

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What your child will be learning in grade seven English language arts and literacy

In grade seven, students will continue to develop the ability to cite relevant evidence when interpreting or analyzing a text or supporting their points in speaking and writing. Your child will also build academic vocabulary as he or she reads more complex texts, including stories, plays, historical novels, poems, and informational books and articles. Activities in these areas will include:

 

• Analyzing how the form or structure of a play or poem contributes to its meaning

• Analyzing how particular elements of a story or play interact (like how the setting shapes the characters or plot)

• Determining how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text

• Conducting short research projects, drawing on several sources and identifying related questions for further research and investigation

• Engaging in a range of classroom discussions on topics and texts, expressing ideas clearly and building on the ideas of others

• Identifying a speaker’s argument and specific claims and evaluating the reasoning and evidence behind these claims

• Using clues such as word roots or add-ons to a word (such as the prefix hyper–, which means ‘excessive’ in the words hyperactive and hypersensitive) to determine the meaning of a word

• Interpreting figures of speech or references to literature or mythology in a text

• Writing for a range of purposes and audiences