Language Arts
 
  Reading:  
  Phonemic Awareness:
  - Changes the sounds of words by changing letters that can make new words.  Ex: "h"at  becomes  "m"at or "b"at.
  - Recognizes that words are made of sounds blended together and that words have meaning.
  Phonics:
  - Understands that sounds in words are represented by letters of the alphabet.
  - Uses letter-sound clues to recognize a few one-syllable words. (c-a-t)
  - Begins to match letters and sounds, including first and last consonants of words.
  Word Recognition:
  - Easily recognizes about 18 familiar words they see in and around the home,      such as names, brand names, logos. (Ex. Nike, Jello, etc.)
  - Recognizes with ease, a few basic sight vocabulary words such as "go", "the", and "is".  (Please request a list of these words to practice with your child at home)
  - Follows the written text of familiar stories by pointing to known words.
  - Is able to predict unknown words coming next. (Ex. "The baby cried for his ______.)  Possible answers: bottle, blanket, mom, dad, toy
  Vocabulary:
  - Knows the meaning of words they hear and see often. 
  - Tries to figure out the meaning of new words or phrases
  Fluency:
  - Automatically names letters, matches letters and their sounds.
  - Recognizes a few words.
  - Understands that words and sentences are arranged from left to right, top to bottom, and front to the end of books.
  Narrative Text: (fiction)
  - Responds to high-quality literature.
  - Begins to know the difference between different types of texts. (Ex. stories, nursery rhymes, poetry, songs)
  - Discusses simple story elements in narrative texts:
          - Setting: Where the story takes place
          - Characters:  Who is in the story
          - Events:  What happens in the story
  - Tells how authors use pictures to give readers clues about the setting and characters
  - Show how two or more stories can be connected.
  Informational Text (non-fiction based on facts):
  - Knows the differences between different types of informational text, including text they see in their world (brand names, street signs) picture books and books that teach lessons.
  - With the help of the teacher, the student will discuss the way information is organized in texts.
  - Explains how authors and illustrators use pictures to give clues to understand ideas presented in text.
  - Shows through drawing, writing, or conversation, how two or more informational texts are connected.
  Comprehension:
  - Uses their own experiences to help understand new ideas and connects to ideas in text.
  - Retells up to three events from a familiar story in their own words.
  - Begins to connect and compare a story to their lives.
  - Predicts what will happen next in a story based on pictures or portions of the story.
  - Remembers and uses what has been read to them from other subject areas.
  Metacognition: (Being able to know if they understand or not)
  - Knows when to ask questions
  - Knows when they do or do not understand the text.
  - Uses simple strategies to increase understanding of texts matched to their reading level.
  - Begins to identify the author's purpose
  - Begins to sort and put information in order with the help of the teacher.
  Critical Standards:
  - With help from the teacher, the student begins to know how to measure the quality of their own work and the work of others.
  Reading Attitude:
  - The student becomes excited about reading and learning to read.
  - The student chooses books, book activities, work, play, and writing on their own during free time in school and at home.
  Writing:  
  Writing Genre:  categories used to describe kinds of writing such as poetry, stories, letters, etc.
  -The student will be able to write a brief personal story using pictures, words, and / or sentences.
  - The student will read and try to copy different styles of poetry matched to their grade level.
  - Writes a short informational piece using drawings, words, and / or sentences
  - Helps with a class research project by adding key information gathered from materials supplied by the teacher.
  Writing Process:
  - With help from the teacher, think about how those who will read the paper will react as they plan to write.
  - Brainstorm ideas for narrative (stories) and informational texts.
  - Spells words based on how they sound when writing and adds pictures and drawings that fit the story.
  - Makes changes to their own writing by reading it to a friend, and asks for ideas to improve it to make the meaning more clear.
  Personal Style:
  - Expresses feelings uses their natural language and creates new ideas to show originality in the speech and writing.
  Speaking:  
  Conventions: (The rules of how words and language work)
  - Uses language to communicate with all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons.
  - Is able to speak or read out loud in complete sentences that make sense.
  - Makes presentations to the class in Standard English.
  - Is able to use the kind of language that is suitable for different cultural settings like the home, playground or school.
  Spoken Discourse: (Participating in conversation or discussions)
  - Speaks loud and clear in complete sentences.
  - Stays on the subject as they discuss books or other topics.
  - Briefly retells about experiences they've had or things they care about.
  - Is able to talk about the meanings of and the connections between two or more stories.
  - Can plan and deliver simple presentations or reports that are organized and include several facts and details, such as "Show and Tell".
Listening & Viewing:  
  Conventions: (The rules about how words and language work)
  - Understands and follows one and two-step directions
  - Asks good questions during a report or presentation
  - Pays attention as they listen to one another
  - Is able to tell who is giving a message and who is receiving the message.
  Response:
  - Listens to or views and responds thoughtfully to good books, both classic and recently written.
  - Makes connections between two or more stories as they think about them.  They can do this by discussing the stories, drawing pictures and/or writing.