Written Language Foundations, K-3

Transcription

1 Written Language Foundations, K-3 Writing is the most demanding of all language skills. Writing is a mental juggling act, requiring attention to generation of ideas, planning and organization, translation of ideas into language, transcription of language into print, and the cognitive flexibility that allows editing and revision. Translation of ideas into written language requires facility with word choice, word form, phrase structure, sentence structure, and discourse organization. Transcription of oral to written language requires mastery of symbol systems: handwriting and/or typing, spelling conventions, and punctuation and capitalization. Attention, persistence, working memory, long term memory, and selfmonitoring abilities are heavily taxed during writing. Finally, writing requires social pragmatic skills, such as awareness of the reader s need for clarity, cohesion, and complete expression of ideas. Because of these complexities, learning to write can seem a formidable challenge to young students. However, instruction that couples skill development with meaningful composition can enable all students to progress. In writing, as in reading, accuracy and fluency with component skills enables young writers to focus on higher level aspects of composition, such as topic maintenance, word choice, and keeping the reader in mind. As children gain fluency with spelling and sentence transcription, their compositions tend to be longer and better constructed. When skills are automatic, more cognitive resources are available for consideration of audience, purpose, and the form in which ideas are expressed. Early writing foundations include sound-letter basics, spelling, elements of grammar, sentence composition, and the development of writing skills and habits. Instruction in grammar and sentence composition enables the communication of meaning and allows the writer to consciously choose how ideas will be expressed. The grammatical characteristics of spoken language are different in significant ways from those of written language and are often learned through years of instruction and practice. Competencies described by grade level, below, assume acquisition of those enumerated for earlier grade levels. Sound-Letter Basics 1. Match upper and lower case manuscript letters. 2. Write upper and lower case manuscript letters, with reference to a model. 3. Write left to right and space between words. 4. Repeat multi-syllable words and pronounce the separate syllables. 5. Segment all the phonemes in two- and three-phoneme syllables and represent those phonemes with letters. 6. Identify the letters used to represent vowel phonemes and those used to represent consonants, knowing that every syllable has a vowel. 1

2 Grade 1 1. Write the upper and lower case manuscript alphabets from memory. 2. Write a common grapheme (letter or letter group) for each phoneme. 3. Orally segment the phonemes in any single-syllable, spoken word 4. Know that each syllable is organized around a vowel sound. Grade 2 1. Write legibly in manuscript. 2. Write with sufficient fluency to support composition. 3. Write the most common graphemes (letters or letter groups) for each phoneme, for example: a. Consonants: /s/ = s, ss, ce, ci, cy; /f/ = f, ff, ph; /k/ = c, k, -ck b. Vowels: /ō/ = o, o_e, oa, ow; /ā/ = a, a_e, ai, ay, eigh Grade 3 1. Write the cursive letters, upper and lower case, with a model. 2. Transcribe ideas legibly in cursive, with appropriate spacing and indentation. Spelling 1. Represent phonemes, first to last, in simple words, using letters with a transparent relationship to sound (e.g., the o in rope may be spelled with a single letter, o). 2. Write or select an initial or final consonant when a medial vowel is provided. 3. Spell VC [at, in] and CVC [pet, mud] words with short vowel sounds. 4. Write the 20 most frequently used words accurately. 5. Attempt phonetic spellings of unknown words. Grade 1 1. Spell common, regular, single-syllable words with: a. Short vowels and single consonants b. Consonant graphemes including qu, x, and ck; digraphs (thin, shop, when, much, sing); and doubled letters (off, will, mess). c. Initial and final consonant blends (must, slab, plump). d. Long vowels spelled predictably, including VCe (came, like), a few common vowel teams (boat, play, wait, see, team, right), and final y (cry) e. Vowel-r combinations including er, ar, or (her, for, car) 2. Spell words with inflections: a. Verbs with ing, -ed, and s and no change to the base word (snowed, playing, jumps) b. Nouns with s, -es, and no change to the base word (rugs, kisses) c. Adjectives with er, -est and no change to the base word (slower) 2

3 3. Spell two-syllable words that: a. End in y or ly (smelly, badly) b. Are compounds (hotdog) c. Have two closed syllables (rabbit, wagon) 4. Spell the 100 most often used words in English a. Irregular words (said, what, are, they, was) b. Pattern-based words (he, him, for, in, by, like) Grade 2 1. Spell regular, single-syllable words that include: a. Position-based patterns (ch, -tch; k, -ck; -ge, -dge) b. Complex consonant blends (scr, str, squ) c. Less common vowel teams for long vowels (ow, oo, au, ou, ue) d. Vowel-r combinations (turn, star, third, four/for) e. Contractions (we ll; I m; they ve; don t) f. Homophones (bear, bare; past, passed) g. Plurals and possessives (its, it s) 2. Spell regular two- and three-syllable words that: a. Combine closed, open, vowel team, vowel r and CVe syllables (compete; robot; violet; understand) b. Are compounds comprising familiar parts (houseboat; yellowtail) c. Include the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes (un, re, en; - ful, -ment, -less) 3. Spell words with suffixes that require: a. consonant doubling (penning, slimmed) b. dropping silent-e (smiled, paving) c. Changing y to i (cried) 4. Spell the 200 most often used words in English a. Irregular words (against, many, enough, does) b. Pattern-based words (which, kind, have) Grade 3 1. Spell single syllable words with less common and complex graphemes (ough, augh; -old, -ind, -ost, -ild families) 2. Use a dictionary or thesaurus to check spellings of unknown words. 3. Identify language of word origin, as noted in dictionaries. 4. Spell singular and plural possessives (teacher s; teachers ) 5. Spell regular two- and three-syllable words that: 3

4 a. Combine all basic syllable types: closed, VCe, open, vowel team, vowel r, Consonant-le b. Include common, transparent, prefixes and suffixes (e.g., re-, pre-, sub-, un-, dis-, mis-; -able, -ness, -ful) and suffix -tion 6. Spell the 500 most common words in English, including regular and irregular forms. Sentence Composition (Grammar, Syntax, and Punctuation) 1. With modeling or verbal prompts, orally produce complete sentences. 2. Match question marks to questions and periods to statements. 3. Move word cards and rebuses to construct complete sentences. 1 st Grade 1. Supply the who, is doing, what, in a subject-verb-object sentence frame. 2. Match periods, question marks, and exclamation points to statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. 3. Distinguish between a complete sentence and a sentence fragment, and supply the missing phrase or clause. 4. Write statements in response to questions, and questions transformed from statements, using conventional word order. 5. Elaborate a simple subject or simple predicate, in response to questions who, what, where, when, how, or why. 6. Use the conjunctions and, but, so, and because. 7. Use capitals for the first word in a sentence, proper names, and the word I. 2 nd Grade 1. With modeling or prompting, separate run-on sentences and identify fragments, supplying a subject or predicate as necessary. 2. Supply adjectives in noun phrases to make them more precise or engaging. 3. Identify the verbs in clauses; form and use regular and irregular verbs for consistent use of past, present, and future tenses. 4. Combine simple sentences into compound sentences, using conjunctions and, but, or, yet, and so. 5. Punctuate dates, abbreviations, greetings and closings, initials, important words in a title, and items in a list. 6. With assistance, link sentences into a simple, cohesive paragraph with a main idea. 3 rd Grade 4

5 1. Improve communication of meaning by replacing weak verbs with stronger ones, and common nouns with precise nouns. 2. With assistance, construct adverbial clauses to add detail to a main or independent clause (when we went on our trip; while we were asleep; after a long night). 3. Choose and maintain consistency of tense, writing nouns and verbs that agree in tense. 4. Use common regular and irregular plural forms, writing nouns and verbs that agree in number. 5. Use appropriate pronouns with clear referents. 6. Use periods, question marks, exclamation points, commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks appropriately. 7. Paraphrase a main idea or event in order to vary sentence structure and word use. 8. Organize ideas into paragraphs with main ideas and supporting details. Developing Skills and Habits in Written Expression 1. Participate in teacher-led writing of lists, notes, captions, and simple narratives. 2. With a verbal or visual prompt, attempt writing to communicate ideas. 3. Use phonetic spelling of unknown words as well as accurate spellings of learned words in writing. 1 st Grade 1. Apply accurate spellings of highest frequency words and knowledge of regular spelling patterns in written work. 2. Plan and draft a narrative sequence or description of several complete sentences. 3. With prompts, find and correct errors of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation after skills have been taught. 4. Present written work to familiar adults and peers. 2 nd Grade 1. Use discussion, books, or media resources to gather ideas and plan writing about a topic. 2. Identify audience and purpose before writing. 3. With prompts and support, write a personal or fictional narrative with basic story elements. 4. Construct a paragraph with a main idea sentence and several details. 5. With feedback and tools such as a primary dictionary, find and correct errors and improve word choice to add color and precision. 6. Participate in evaluation of written work. 3 rd Grade 5

6 1. Use discussion, books, or media resources to gather ideas, outline them, and identify the intended form of the writing (poetry, description, narration, comparison, persuasion, reporting, etc.) 2. Identify audience, purpose, and intended length of composition before writing. 3. Write simple reports of several cohesive paragraphs, each with a main idea and detail structure. 4. Draft with the intention of revision and editing. 5. With adult and peer feedback, and tools such as a dictionary, thesaurus, and/or spell checker, evaluate whether the writing achieved its goal and make changes in content or form as necessary. 6. Polish and present writing to an audience of peers or familiar adults. Skills unique to grades 4-5 [Pimentel et al.] Conventions of writing: Basic paragraphing; using paragraph indentations; using paragraphs in dialogue Terms: Paragraph, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection Grammar and usage: Placing adjectives and adverbs; using independent clauses and coordinating conjunctions; forming irregular verbs; forming and using progressive tenses; forming comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs Punctuation and capitalization: Capitalizing first word in quotations as appropriate, capitalizing other important words (e.g., section headings); using underlining, quotation marks, or italics for titles; using quotation marks for direct speech Spelling: Analyzing and spelling multi-syllable words with the most common Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes; writing affixed words that involve a sound or spelling change in the base word; writing accurately the most common 1,000 words in English. Skills introduced in earlier grades to be mastered in grades 4-5 Grammar and usage: Forming and using possessive nouns and pronouns Mechanics: Using apostrophes for possession Skills introduced in earlier grades to be further developed in grades 4-5 Grammar and usage: Using items in a series Style: Choosing words for effect; punctuating for meaning and effect Skills introduced in grades 4-5 and to be further developed in later grades Grammar and usage: Avoiding poor fragments, run-ons and rambling sentences, and comma splices; maintaining consistency in verb tense; placing phrases and clauses; choosing between adjectives and adverbs; ensuring agreement between subject and verb and between pronoun and antecedent; distinguishing between frequently confused words; using idiomatic language 6

7 Mechanics: Spelling commonly misspelled words correctly Punctuation: Using a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause; using commas in a series of phrases or clauses Precision and concision: Using specialized, topic-specific language Style: Using figurative language; expanding, combining, and reducing sentences for meaning, reader interest, and style 7