Belize National Standards and Curriculum Web for LANGUAGE ARTS Middle Division A publication of the Ministry of Education of Belize Copyright 2008 Copyright (2008) Ministry of Education Belize All Rights Reserved Published by QADS, Ministry of Education, Belize The reproduction of this document for sale is prohibited. Reproduction of all or part of this document for educational use within the territory of Belize is permitted. For more information contact QADS, P.O. Box 369, West Landivar, Belize City, Phone: 501-223-6970, 501-223-1389 Fax: 501-223-4532 Acknowledgements The following people contributed to the creation of this document: Mr John Newport, Ms Lavern Gillett, Ms Darlene Lozano, Mr Nelson Longsworth, Ms Ines Paquiul, Ms Shannon Solis and the staff of QADS. At various stages of its drafting, this document was reviewed by teachers, principals, managers, members of the University of Belize Faculty of Education and Arts and others. The Ministry of Education of Belize would like to thank all of these people for their contributions. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Language Policy ...................................................................................................................... 3 Content Standards and Middle Division Learning Outcomes ................................................... 5 Content Standard Descriptions .......................................................................................... 8 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 2 ............................................................. 11 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 3 ............................................................. 16 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 4 ............................................................. 21 The Curriculum Web .............................................................................................................. 27 Listening ...................................................................................................................... 29 Viewing ....................................................................................................................... 43 Speaking ..................................................................................................................... 49 Reading ....................................................................................................................... 75 Writing ....................................................................................................................... 111 The Planning Guide ............................................................................................................... 143 Advisory Sections on Planning ........................................................................................ 145 Thematic Unit Planning ................................................................................................. 146 Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 2 ....................................................................... 147 Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 3 ....................................................................... 151 Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 4 ....................................................................... 156 Sample Annual Plan for Standard 2 ................................................................................. 160 Guide to Completing a Weekly Scheme Planning Chart ...................................................... 161 Sample Weekly Scheme for Standard 2. .......................................................................... 163 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers .......................................................... 167 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 188 1 Introduction This document has two major purposes. The first is to define clear, specific and unambiguous standards for student achievement in language arts. The second is to serve as a teachers’ manual that is self explanatory and comprehensible to all of Belize’s primary school teachers, including those who have not had any formal teacher training. Three principles underpin the design of this document. These are: (1) Clear, specific and unambiguous standards for student achievement should be defined. (2) As much of the old curriculum as possible, especially the curriculum content should be preserved. (3) The document should serve as a teaching manual that a teacher can use to plan effective lessons without having to receive training on its interpretation. This book contains the following major parts: • Content Standards and Learning Outcomes for Middle Division • A Curriculum Web • A Planning Guide • An Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers The first part of the book sets the required standards for the teaching of language arts in Belize by outlining forty-five content standards that describe what students need to know and be able to do in order to achieve the overall goal of language arts teaching in Belize, which is as follows: • GOAL 11 of the National Goals of Education in Belize • By the end of primary school, all students should have the ability to communicate proficiently in English.1 The forty-five content standards define what is meant by “proficiency in English”. They outline, clearly and unambiguously, what need to be taught and assessed in all schools and provide a framework for organizing curriculum content into instructional units and lessons. For each content standard, there are specific learning outcomes which are unique to each grade level. These learning outcomes specify the level that students are expected to achieve in each year as they progress towards attaining the overall goal of proficiency. Most lesson objectives will be based on the learning outcomes. However, content standards are designed for use not only by teachers but also by administrators, curriculum planners and principals. They can also be shared with students, for motivational purposes, with parents, so they can monitor the progress of their children and with educational stakeholders and the general public so they can evaluate the success of the school system. Planning, instruction and assessment should be determined by the content standards and learning outcomes. In other words, it is mandatory for schools to design instruction with the aim of enabling students to achieve the relevant standards. However, this document does not dictate how teaching and assessing is to occur. Schools have the responsibility for designing instructional programmes and for • 1 Handbook of Policies and Procedures for School Services (2000), Ministry of Education, Belize, p.179 Introduction 2 selecting instructional approaches, methods and strategies that are appropriate for their particular students. *** In addition to setting standards, this document provides advice on teaching strategies, learning activities, assessment strategies and resources. This advice is presented in a series of web-diagrams, one for each content standard, which are collectively called the Curriculum Web. Following the Curriculum Web, a planning guide gives scope and sequence charts for Standard 2, Standard 3 and Standard 4, as well as a sample annual plan and unit plan for Standard 2. Although these sections are advisory and schools may vary from the formats provided, all teachers are expected to have annual, unit and either weekly or daily lesson plans. All schools should revise the scope and sequence charts so they meet the needs of their particular students. This book’s final major part is an encyclopaedia of information for language arts teachers. This contains definitions and analysis of terms used in the curriculum. It also highlights recommended approaches, methods and strategies for instruction and assessment. Finally, it is important to note that this curriculum is designed for the teaching of Language Arts as an integrated subject. It is not appropriate for school timetables to contain separate subjects such as grammar, phonics, literature, spelling and creative writing. Similarly, when reporting to parents, schools should supply a grade for Language Arts, although this could be subdivided into other components, for example by giving a grade for oral skills based on listening and speaking and a grade for literacy skills based on viewing, reading and writing. Introduction 3 Language Policy General Statement on Language and Literacy Instruction for Students whose Home Language is not English. In accordance with the language policy of the Government of Belize (see below), when deciding whether to use languages other than English, teachers should be guided by the following three principles: 1. Proficiency in standard English by the end of primary school is the goal for all students in Belize. 2. Lower Division students may use any language to attain a language arts learning outcome unless “standard English” is explicitly stated in the curriculum. 3. By the end of lower division, students should be using standard English most of the time. Further Guidance In accordance with international best practice as outlined in the International Reading Association’s policy statement on second language literacy instruction, it is recommended that teachers of all students: 1. recognize that all students come to school with strengths in their home language; 2. plan language and literacy instruction that builds on students’ home language experiences, knowledge and skills, even when the language is not the language of schooling; 3. where appropriate, provide initial language and literacy instruction in the child’s home language; 4. where appropriate, evaluate students’ attainment of learning outcomes in the students preferred language; 5. in all situations, treat second-language learners respectfully and offer equal educational opportunities that honour basic general educational principles; 6. consider that bilingualism or multilingualism is desirable. 7. understand that the accumulated wisdom of research in the field of bilingualism suggests that while initial literacy learning in a second language can be successful, it is riskier than starting with the child’s home language— especially for those children affected by poverty, low levels of parental education, or poor schooling Introduction 4 The Government of Belize Language Policy Handbook of Policies and Procedures for School Services (2000) Chapter 1, Section 6.5 (p183-4) Language is essential to the intellectual development and socialisation of children and basic to all learning. It contributes to personal growth and cultural enrichment and is a major means of interpreting reality and expressing the unique experiences of individuals and of different cultural groups. Language is the major medium of communicating knowledge and ensuring contact between generations. Languages share many universal features that make all humans similar to each other and distinct from other living things. Skilled and proficient use of language also contributes to economic and social success. Languages, as communication tools, enable individuals who live in a multicultural society such as ours to communicate more effectively in a variety of situations related to work and leisure; they foster respect for diversity and an understanding of the role of culture. The application of language skills extends the range of an individual’s human relationships, resulting in a strong sense of personal achievement and satisfaction. As Belize moves into the twenty-first century emphasis will be placed on experiencing language in context. In the early elementary grades, students use background knowledge, skills and attitudes as a means of developing and facilitating communicative abilities. First languages are important vehicles for their transition from home to school. As they develop communication skills, they also increase their linguistic accuracy and develop language learning strategies. The Government of Belize, in keeping with the above: (a) acknowledges English as the official language of Belize and the “international language of communication and modern technology”, and will provide resources necessary to schools to enable all students to acquire, by the end of primary school, proficiency in the English language for personal, social, economic and academic interactions; (b) recognizes Belize’s geo-political situation and the status of Spanish as a major language of business and trade, and will support school and community efforts to enable students to acquire functional skills in the Spanish language by the end of primary school; and (c) respects the multicultural and multi-lingual nature of the country and the acknowledged wishes of members of the community who belong to a variety of cultural groups and will (i) encourage the use of native/home languages, where necessary, to facilitate learning, and (ii) support school and community efforts in fostering cultural preservation through the provision of time and space to teach native/home languages other than English and Spanish. Content Standards and Middle Division Learning Outcomes Content Standards and Learning Outcomes 7 Content Standards and Middle Division Learning Outcomes A content standard is a statement of what students need to know and be able to do at the end of their primary schooling. In this curriculum, each content standard refers to one of forty-five skill elements relating to language arts. The content standards have been categorized according to the most appropriate skill area as follows: • Listening Content Standards 1 – 5 • Viewing Content Standards 6 – 7 • Speaking Content Standards 8 – 19 • Reading Content Standards 20 – 33 • Writing Content Standards 34 - 45 Each content standard has four components: (1) a number (2) a short title (3) a description of the skills covered (4) a series of numbered learning outcomes that specify exactly which components of the skill need to be achieved at each particular grade level. In this document, each content standard has a number from CS1 to CS45. Each learning outcome also has a unique number, with the numbers for Infant 2 following on from those of Infant 1. Put together, these two numbers give each learning outcome a unique code. For example, for the second content standard: The number is CS2 The short title is Listen for Information The skills description is Extract relevant information, including directions, main ideas and other details from spoken text. CS2 has a total of 28 learning outcomes: 8 for lower division, 12 for middle division and 8 for upper division. Some examples are: CS2.1 Follow simple, one and two step, oral directions. (Infant 1) CS2.9 Identify and sequence, main ideas and supporting details of a story presented orally. (Standard 2) CS2.28 Identify evidence used by a speaker to support his or her points. (Standard 6) The forty-five content standards define what is meant by “proficiency in English”. They outline, clearly and unambiguously, what needs to be taught and assessed, in all schools and provide a framework for organizing curriculum content into instructional units and lessons. The learning outcomes, which are unique to each grade level, specify what the students are expected to achieve in each year. Most of the time lesson objectives will be based on these learning outcomes. Thus, the content standards and learning outcomes guide planning, instruction and assessment and it is mandatory for schools to design instruction with the aim of enabling students to achieve them. However, the content standards do not dictate how teaching and assessing is to occur. Schools have the responsibility for designing instructional programmes and for selecting instructional approaches, methods and strategies that are appropriate for their particular students. Content Standards and Learning Outcomes 8 Content Standard Descriptions Content Standard Number and Title Content Standard Description CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds Hear, recognise and differentiate between speech sounds at a variety of levels ranging from phonemes to complete texts. CS2 Listen for Information Extract relevant information, including directions, main ideas and other details from a spoken text. CS3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Discuss, interpret, evaluate and analyse oral Presentations presentations. CS4 Listen and Communicate Effectively and appropriately engage in conversations for a variety of purposes. CS5 Respond to Spoken Texts Connect spoken texts, including songs, speeches, poetry, drama and stories, to personal choices, experiences, emotions, ideas and moral values. CS6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Discuss the purpose, usefulness and reliability of Images visual images and extract their apparent and/or covert meaning. CS7 Respond to Visual Images Connect visual images to personal choices, experiences, emotions, ideas and moral values. CS8 Ask and Answer Questions Ask and answer questions for a variety of purposes, for example, to elicit and clarify information and to negotiate. CS9 Express Opinions and Communicate Effectively and clearly state, develop, explain and Ideas justify opinions and ideas. CS10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events Effectively and clearly describe events and stories they have witnessed, heard, or invented. CS11 Deliver Reports and Speeches Prepare and confidently and effectively deliver formal reports and speeches for a variety of purposes on a variety of topics. CS12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking Confidently engage in spoken discourse and show willingness to share and discuss ideas and opinions with familiar and unfamiliar people. CS13 Perform Drama Develop and role-play improvised skits and dramatically perform items from a prepared script. CS14 Recite Poetry Recite poetry with confidence and with appropriate pace, volume, intonation and stress CS15 Participate in Group Discussions Participate confidently, tolerantly and politely in class and small group discussions by sharing ideas, taking turns, listening and responding to the contributions of others. CS16 Pronounce Words Appropriately Pronounce words clearly and appropriately Content Standards and Learning Outcomes 9 Content Standard Number and Title Content Standard Description CS17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in Use sentence structure, word order, agreement Speech patterns and other grammatical features correctly. CS18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Choose and switch between appropriate styles of Speech speech, formal and informal registers, standard English, Kriol and other languages. CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture While speaking, communicate meaning by using gesture and by varying voice tone, pace, volume, intonation and stress patterns CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge Use knowledge of the relationship between letters and sounds to decode words in print CS21 Recognize Words by Sight Read words automatically and instantaneously, without having to decode or guess CS22 Use Context Clues Interpret and apply knowledge of visual images, vocabulary, grammar, the text's topic and textual features to deduce the meaning of an unknown word or phrase. CS23 Display Word Power Use a range of vocabulary items to convey precise meaning, differentiate between words of similar meaning, homophones and homonyms, and analyse the structure of words. CS24 Use a Dictionary Use a dictionary to find information pertaining to the spelling, meaning, derivation, syllabication, parts of speech, inflection and pronunciation of words and to discover new words. CS25 Read Aloud Confidently, fluently and accurately read texts aloud, with appropriate rhythm, pacing, volume, intonation and stress. CS26 Select Appropriate Reading Material Independently select reading material that is appropriate to purpose and reading level by using textual information and background knowledge. CS27 Comprehend Fiction Texts Find, sequence and retell story information. CS28 Interpret Stories Discuss story plot, setting, characterization, structure and likely outcomes; and compare, contrast and evaluate different stories. CS29 Relate Personally to Stories Connect stories to personal choices, experiences, emotions, ideas and moral values. CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry Comprehend and interpret poetry, and make connections to personal choices, experiences, emotions, ideas and moral values. CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts Extract, sequence, synthesize and use information contained in non-fiction texts. Content Standards and Learning Outcomes 10 Content Standard Number and Title Content Standard Description CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts Locate information in non-fiction texts using knowledge of the features of a book or text, by using the internet, and by interpreting diagrams, tables and visual images. CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Evaluate and discuss the language, utility, purpose, Structure of Texts reliability and structure of written texts. CS34 Write Stories Compose stories using a variety of genres, techniques, structures and settings. CS35 Write Poetry Compose poetry, demonstrating an understanding of rhyme, metre, alliteration, and other devices. CS36 Write Letters Compose, with appropriate structure and language, letters for a range of social and professional purposes. CS37 Write Non-Fiction Write essays, journals, reports and other texts to instruct, inform, record, summarize, evaluate, discuss and persuade. CS38 Plan and Edit Writing Plan writing by selecting topics, considering purpose and audience, organizing thoughts, displaying and outlining information; and edit writing at word, sentence and text levels. CS39 Present Written Work Appropriately Neatly present written work according to established norms and conventions. CS40 Write Clearly and Legibly Form letters, words, and longer texts recognizably, neatly, and accurately in both cursive and print. CS41 Spell Words Appropriately Spell words in accordance with accepted conventions. CS42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately Appropriately use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and direct speech, for abbreviations and for the names of people, places, dates, books, titles, institutions, historical periods and events. CS43 Use Punctuation Appropriately Appropriately use full stops, question, exclamation and quotation marks, commas, semi-colons and colons CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Combine words into correctly structured sentences Writing using appropriate word endings, word order and other rules of language. CS45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Deploy and vary words, phrases and sentence types Writing for effect, including similes, metaphors and proverbs. Standard 2 Learning Outcomes 11 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 2 CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds 1.11 Recognise that different people speak language with different accents. 1.12 Divide multisyllabic words into syllables and clap the syllables in a sentence containing multisyllabic words. CS2 Listen for Information 2.9 Identify and sequence, main ideas and supporting details of a story presented orally. 2.10 Follow multiple step oral directions. 2.11 Identify the main idea after listening to a short text. 2.12 Listen attentively and courteously in order to remember oral directions and follow them. 2.13 Note a small number of important points while listening to a text. CS3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations 3.6 Understand and appreciate the use of voice inflection, changes in tone or volume which suggest a speaker's changes in meaning. CS4 Listen and Communicate 4.4 Recognize and respect listening as an avenue for learning individually or in small or large groups. 4.5 Listen to contribute positively to small groups and whole group discussion. CS5 Respond to Spoken Texts 5.6 Distinguish between poetry and prose being presented orally. CS6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Images 6.8 Retell a story told through the means of puppets or mimes. CS7 Respond to Visual Images 7.4 Create an original visual image in response to another picture. CS8 Ask and Answer Questions 8.8 Use questions to initiate and sustain conversations. CS9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas 9.5 Use "because" and similar conjunctions when explaining ideas. 9.6 Give clear instructions to peers on how to perform a simple task. CS10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. Standard 2 Learning Outcomes 12 CS11 Deliver Reports and Speeches 11.4 Deliver a short prepared report, for example on a book read, trip or item of special interest, to the rest of the class. 11.5 When giving reports, pause at the end of each sentence. CS12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking 12.6 Volunteer information willingly without excessive timidity. CS13 Perform Drama 13.4 Dramatize short plays or skits from a prepared script. CS14 Recite Poetry There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS15 Participate in Group Discussions 15.4 Work alongside other students in a group, helping each other complete a given task. 15.5 Compile and share information in a group through verbal and non verbal messages. CS16 Pronounce Words Appropriately 16.3 Pronounce most words appropriately and clearly. CS17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in Speech 17.6 Demonstrate correct subject-verb agreement when speaking standard English when using the verbs be, do, have and go. 17.7 Correctly apply a range of different grammatical forms for asking questions, giving commands and instructions and giving information in simple sentences. 17.8 Demonstrate a sense of what is and is not a sentence and pause at the end of sentences. CS18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech 18.3 Display awareness of the difference between standard English, Kriol and other languages. CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture 19.3 Control gestures used to reinforce meaning when speaking. CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 20.21 Recognise that some words may have the same sound but different spelling, e.g. red/read, hare/hair. 20.22 Read words with a variety of long and short vowel sounds, including multisyllabic words. 20.23 Apply alphabet code knowledge to read the majority of words correctly. 20.24 Develop a sense of when a word "looks right" based on spelling patterns and length. 20.25 Automatically use phonics knowledge to decode unknown words in print. CS21 Recognize Words by Sight 21.6 Read on sight approximately two hundred high frequency words including addresses and place names in Belize, including multi-syllabic and irregularly spelt ones, for example, Xunantunich. Standard 2 Learning Outcomes 13 CS22 Use Context Clues 22.13 Use context clues from the text to guess at unfamiliar words. 22.14 Identify, and explain the purpose of, an adverb in a written text. 22.15 Identify, and explain the purpose of, exclamation marks in a written text. 22.16 Use background knowledge of the topic to identify the meaning of a sentence. CS23 Display Word Power 23.5 Recognize that some words are used in the standard English spoken in Belize that are not used in other English speaking countries, for example words borrowed from Maya, Spanish or Garifuna. 23.6 Make collections of significant words, words of personal interest and words from particular topics. 23.7 Discuss shades of meaning of synonyms, e.g. happy, glad, contented, satisfied, etc. 23.8 Read and understand words with common prefixes and suffixes. CS24 Use a Dictionary 24.5 Without help, use a "students'" dictionary that has a controlled vocabulary for definitions. CS25 Read Aloud 25.16 When reading aloud, self-correct and/or re-read a word/sentence when it does not make sense in the context. 25.17 While reading aloud, vary tone of voice to emphasise key parts of the text. CS26 Select Appropriate Reading Material 26.5 With guidance, select from a classroom or school library a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts, including pictorial books about science, short newspaper reports and short accounts of historical events. 26.6 Show a preference for a favourite author or for books about favourite subjects. 26.7 Read books of their own choice with unbroken concentration and attention for at least fifteen minutes. CS27 Comprehend Fiction Texts 27.7 When sequencing a story, independently select the most important events. 27.8 Show awareness of character when re-telling or re-enacting stories. CS28 Interpret Stories 28.9 Note similarities and differences between various parts of a story with a repetitive, predictable pattern. 28.10 State, with reasons, which are the most significant events in a story. 28.11 Express views about a story with clear reference to events and characters, and words, phrases in it. 28.12 Explain story predictions by giving examples from the text. CS29 Relate Personally to Stories 29.4 Identify themselves and empathize with story characters. 29.5 Discuss the relevance of the morals of simple stories to their own lives. Standard 2 Learning Outcomes 14 CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry 30.4 Develop an appreciation for the beauty of poetry. 30.5 Clap out the rhythm of lines of regular poetry. CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts 31.4 Read and follow a simple recipe or plan for constructing something. 31.5 List information from a non-fiction text. CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 32.3 Use reference books that present information in alphabetical order, for example a Children's Encyclopaedia. CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts 33.3 Distinguish between accounts written in the present, past and future. 33.4 Use the terms fact, fiction, and non-fiction appropriately when talking about texts. CS34 Write Stories 34.6 Compose a short story based on a picture sequence. 34.7 Rewrite a familiar story by changing the ending. 34.8 Compose a story based on story starters or ending phrases. CS35 Write Poetry There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS36 Write Letters 36.4 Differentiate letter writing from other forms of writing. 36.5 Include the return address, salutation, close, and signature in a letter to a friend. 36.6 Write a brief letter to communicate personal news to a friend. CS37 Write Non-Fiction 37.11 Log a series of events or features on a chart, for example a weather chart, as a result of scientific observation. 37.12 Write a paragraph that describes a place, person, object or event. 37.13 Write a non-fiction paragraph with one main idea. 37.14 Create a simple, chronological report of an event. 37.15 Write simple informative texts such as menus and instructions. 37.16 Keep a daily record (journal) of opinions and feelings CS38 Plan and Edit Writing 38.3 Generate ideas for writing by making lists. 38.4 Use a dictionary to edit work for spelling. CS39 Present Written Work Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. Standard 2 Learning Outcomes 15 CS40 Write Clearly and Legibly 40.16 Write cursively, with correct letter size and spacing, without using guidelines. CS41 Spell Words Appropriately 41.7 Spell most of phonetically spelt words correctly CS42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately 42.9 Use capital letters for the first word in direct speech. 42.10 Use capital letters in the first line of poetry. CS43 Use Punctuation Appropriately 43.5 Appropriately use exclamation marks. 43.6 Appropriately use commas when writing lists or series of items. 43.7 Appropriately use an apostrophe in a possessive. CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing 44.7 Join two phrases with an appropriate coordinating conjunction, for example, and, or, but to form a compound sentence in original writing. 44.8 Apply the correct plural form of nouns that have irregular plural forms. 44.9 Appropriately use regular present and past simple (verb+ed) verb forms in original writing. CS45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing 45.3 Modify a verb with an adverb in an original sentence. Standard 3 Learning Outcomes 16 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 3 CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS2 Listen for Information 2.14 Relate prior knowledge and experiences to central message / plot of stories and dramatizations. 2.15 After listening to a text, select particular information for a given purpose. 2.16 Identify and report on the main ideas of non-fiction texts, including news reports, presented orally. 2.17 Identify the main idea and several details after listening to a short text. 2.18 Accurately write a paragraph that is dictated. CS3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations 3.7 Discriminate between fact and opinion in an oral presentation. 3.8 Discuss the main theme of an oral presentation. 3.9 Formulate relevant questions in response to an oral presentation. CS4 Listen and Communicate 4.6 Listen attentively while jointly planning, discussing and conversing in a small group. 4.7 Appreciate fully the role of listening in aspects of communications and value its relationship with reading as well as writing. CS5 Respond to Spoken Texts 5.7 Respond to the rhythm and mood of stories, songs and poetry presented orally and express their own mood. 5.8 Recognize and appreciate the language of poetry. 5.9 Formulate questions for further clarification of stories presented orally. CS6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Images 6.9 Interpret and appreciate the use of facial expressions, gestures, and body language used by a speaker. 6.10 Select appropriate visual images to convey a message. CS7 Respond to Visual Images 7.5 Compare several visual images and explain which they prefer. CS8 Ask and Answer Questions 8.9 Plan interviews and conduct them courteously and effectively with peers and familiar adults. 8.10 Ask and answer questions in a process of negotiation with a peer or familiar adult. 8.11 Give precise, focused answers to questions on a variety of topics. CS9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas 9.7 State an opinion on current or important issues. 9.8 Recall and use words encountered while reading and from other subject areas when expressing ideas. 9.9 Maintain focus on the topic when expressing ideas. Standard 3 Learning Outcomes 17 CS10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events 10.6 Tell stories or personal experiences in audience-type situations with enthusiasm, and sufficient skill and interpretation to enable the audience to share the aesthetic quality of the story/experience. 10.7 When relating an incident or telling a story, add details that set the scene and give information about characters. 10.8 When relating an incident or telling a story, use some adjectives, adverbs and other devices to add colour and interest. CS11 Deliver Reports and Speeches 11.6 Prepare and deliver a short speech on an item of personal or national interest. CS12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking 12.7 Demonstrate a willingness to express and explore concepts such as truth, right, wrong and fairness. 12.8 Confidently express agreement or disagreement with statements made by their peers. 12.9 Discuss abstract concepts such as truth, right, wrong and fairness and explore the possibility that different people may have different opinions about them. CS13 Perform Drama 13.5 Participate in dramatic activity giving attention to effective delivery: enunciation, pitch and volume. 13.6 Describe the different parts of a stage and understand simple stage directions. 13.7 Based on a play script, play the part of a character in a play for public performance. CS14 Recite Poetry 14.7 Recite poems from memory capturing the emotional and aesthetic experiences presented by the poet 14.8 Pay attention to patterns of rhythm and rhyme while reciting short poems. CS15 Participate in Group Discussions 15.6 In a group, discuss a topic of mutual interest and share the group's information with the class. 15.7 Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in self-motivated, self-organized groups. CS16 Pronounce Words Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in Speech 17.9 State ideas using sentences that join two or more clauses using coordinating conjunctions when speaking standard English CS18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech 18.4 Discuss the social norms for the use of Kriol and standard English in Belize and demonstrate the ability to choose the appropriate code in any given situation. 18.5 Choose the appropriate form of words for a variety of formal situations, for example, greeting visitors, making introductions, showing people around, giving thanks, expressing joy or sadness, apologizing, expressing welcome and giving. Standard 3 Learning Outcomes 18 CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture 19.4 Use pauses and variation in intonation to communicate shades of meaning. 19.5 Vary the tone of voice to express mood, emotion and humour. CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 20.26 Independently use a variety of strategies to read unfamiliar words including using phonics knowledge, recognizing similar patterns from other words and applying knowledge of suffixes, prefixes and the structure of words. 20.27 Discriminate between words with similar spelling patterns but different pronunciation (head/bead, good/moon, dough/rough/thought, cow/low) CS21 Recognize Words by Sight 21.7 Read on sight place names from the Caribbean region and Central America CS22 Use Context Clues 22.17 Use quotation marks to differentiate between speech and non-speech in a written text. 22.18 Re-read a text to try to decipher and arrive at the meaning of unfamiliar words. CS23 Display Word Power 23.9 Explain how some suffixes and prefixes are used to change the part of speech of a word, e.g. culture (n) cultural (adj), or book (n) bookish (adj) 23.10 Discuss and collect words of similar and opposite meanings CS24 Use a Dictionary 24.6 When reading, note an unknown word that they will look up later but continue reading. CS25 Read Aloud 25.18 When reading aloud, vary volume and tone of voice to hold the audience's attention. 25.19 When reading aloud, bring out the natural phrasing and rhythm of a passage. 25.20 When reading aloud, from time to time look up from the text to achieve eye-contact with the audience. CS26 Select Appropriate Reading Material 26.8 Select and read for pleasure stories from other cultures. 26.9 Discuss, with reasons, their book preferences. 26.10 Read a newspaper or magazine and select the articles that are of most interest to them. 26.11 Use information from a book's front and back cover when making a reading selection. CS27 Comprehend Fiction Texts 27.9 Explain the difference between dialogue and non-dialogue in a story. 27.10 Using original words, describe story settings, events and the physical appearance of characters. 27.11 Use descriptive language, including adjectives and adverbs when recounting characters and scenes from a story. Standard 3 Learning Outcomes 19 CS28 Interpret Stories 28.13 Discuss how the characters in a story might behave in a given situation. 28.14 Make predictions about what will happen next in a story based on inferences about a character's personality. 28.15 Discuss the relationships between characters in a story. CS29 Relate Personally to Stories 29.6 Develop a sense of what pleases them, aesthetically, in literature 29.7 Discuss whether they like or dislike the ending of stories and explore alternative possible endings that they find more satisfactory. 29.8 Express, with reasons, whether they agree with the actions and views of characters in stories. CS30 Read and relate to Poetry There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts 31.6 Determine the most important ideas or themes in a non-fiction text. 31.7 Use a variety of instructional non-fiction texts including the telephone directory, recipes, route maps, timetables and rules for games. 31.8 Sequence events from a chronological historical or other non-fiction narrative. CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 32.4 Find the appropriate part of a book using a contents page. CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts 33.5 Identify the main features of a newspaper, e.g. headlines, lay-out, range of information, different types of articles, different sections (news, sports, comment, letters, etc). 33.6 Recognize that story plots often portray the resolution of problems and/or conflicts. CS34 Write Stories 34.9 Compose a short story based on the experiences of another person. 34.10 Create a multi-paragraph story with a simple setting, simple plot and a small number of characters 34.11 Include short items of dialogue in story-writing. 34.12 Create a story in comic form. CS35 Write Poetry There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS36 Write Letters 36.7 Write a multi-paragraph letter to communicate personal news to a friend. Standard 3 Learning Outcomes 20 CS37 Write Non-Fiction 37.17 Write a text containing at least two informative paragraphs. 37.18 Write for a variety of purposes, for example, to send messages, to inform and to entertain. 37.19 Compose simple directions on how to perform a task. 37.20 Write a short non-fiction essay that is logically divided into paragraphs. 37.21 Write a brief book report outlining main characters and events and giving a simple evaluation. CS38 Plan and Edit Writing 38.5 Edit a piece of writing so that unnecessary repetition is eliminated. 38.6 Edit a piece of writing by deleting irrelevant or unimportant elements. 38.7 Generate ideas for writing through discussion with peers. 38.8 Graphically represent the outline of a plot for a story to be written. 38.9 Compose a draft based on planning and check it for spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. 38.10 Create a map (story board) of a story to be written that contains sections for the setting, the problem or conflict, the characters, and the solution. 38.11 Edit a piece of writing by revising its vocabulary. CS39 Present Written Work Appropriately 39.8 Without prompting, use appropriate headings, margins, paragraph indents and other presentation devices. 39.9 Produce a piece of written work for classroom display that is appropriately laid out and attractively presented CS40 Write Clearly and Legibly 40.17 Use appropriate lettering for diagrams, maps, charts and so on. CS41 Spell Words Appropriately 41.8 Spell most common irregularly spelt words, correctly. CS42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS43 Use Punctuation Appropriately 43.8 Use commas in dates, greetings and closings of letters and social notes and to set off geographical names in addresses. 43.9 Use quotation marks to indicate the beginning and end of direct speech. 43.10 Use hyphens to join some compound words. 43.11 Consistently and correctly use apostrophes for contractions. CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing 44.10 Appropriately use subject and object pronouns in original writing. 44.11 Construct sentences with clauses beginning with who, which & that in original writing. CS45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing 45.4 Appropriately use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives in original writing. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 21 Middle Division Learning Outcomes for Standard 4 CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS2 Listen for Information 2.19 Sequence key events after listening to a short text. 2.20 Discuss a news item, interview or oral report of a current event or incident. CS3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations 3.10 Formulate relevant questions designed to elicit information from a speaker. 3.11 Discuss the purpose, attitude and perspective of a speaker. CS4 Listen and Communicate There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS5 Respond to Spoken Texts 5.10 Respond intellectually and emotionally to mood and setting in stories and poetry presented orally. CS6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Images 6.11 Determine the central ideas of visual ‘messages’ conveyed through various media. 6.12 Discuss how newspapers use pictures to enhance their messages. CS7 Respond to Visual Images There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS8 Ask and Answer Questions 8.12 During a discussion, ask questions to elicit information, for example, "Why do you think that?" "What do you think about this?" and "What is your opinion?" 8.13 Ask questions in a progressive, logical sequence, to clarify thinking on an issue. CS9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas 9.10 Explain and justify an opinion on current or important issues. 9.11 Use a range of adjectives and adverbs when expressing ideas. 9.12 Develop an idea using a series of logically sequenced sentences. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 22 CS10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events 10.9 When telling a story, project the voice so that the whole class can hear clearly and vary the voice for effect. 10.10 When relating an incident or telling a story, sequence ideas in a logical manner so that the main idea is effectively communicated. CS11 Deliver Reports and Speeches 11.7 Vary the voice for effect when delivering a report or recitation 11.8 When delivering a report or recitation, from time to time look up from the text to achieve eye- contact with the audience. 11.9 Following group-work, confidently present information to the class in a meaningful way. 11.10 When delivering a speech or report, project voice so that the whole class can hear clearly. CS12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS13 Perform Drama 13.8 Understand the conventions of play scripts, including stage directions, scene changes, the use of props and how writers make action seem realistic. 13.9 Play the part of a character in a drama with confidence, voice variation and "stagecraft". 13.10 Discuss the importance of gesture and movement in performing drama. CS14 Recite Poetry 14.9 Memorize and recite a poem containing several stanzas. CS15 Participate in Group Discussions 15.8 During group discussions be tolerant of and sensitive to the needs of all participants, including those who have special needs such as speech, hearing and visual impairments. 15.9 Demonstrate tolerance for the ideas of others in a group situation. CS16 Pronounce Words Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in Speech There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 23 CS18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech 18.6 As appropriate to the situation switch between standard English, Kriol and other language codes with sufficient control that one code does not overlap with or interfere with another. 18.7 Recognize that the type of language a person uses to express an idea depends on the situation and who they are talking to. 18.8 Demonstrate the ability to choose the appropriate language register for the situation, for example, formal, informal, academic, etc. CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture 19.6 Consistently stress the correct syllable in multi-syllabic words. 19.7 Pace the delivery of speech appropriately for the listener and the situation. CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS21 Recognize Words by Sight 21.8 Accurately and fluently, read on sight a majority of words encountered in print. CS22 Use Context Clues 22.19 Identify, and explain the purpose of, passive forms in written text. 22.20 Identify, and explain the purpose of, subordinating conjunctions, for example, because, when, unless, in written texts. 22.21 Understand that the context in which a word is used may alter its meaning. 22.22 Use grammatical awareness to predict the meaning of words. CS23 Display Word Power 23.11 Build words from common roots, e.g. medical/medicine/medicinal. 23.12 Interpret most homophones and homonyms correctly CS24 Use a Dictionary 24.8 Use information from a dictionary about parts of speech, plurals, verb tenses and syllabication. CS25 Read Aloud 25.21 When reading aloud, pronounce most commonly occurring, regularly and irregularly spelt words, accurately and fluently. 25.22 Read with fluency and confidence from a variety of prose, poetry and non-fiction texts, including texts seen for the first time. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 24 CS26 Select Appropriate Reading Material 26.12 With guidance, select an appropriate book from a public library. 26.13 Discuss, with reasons, their favourite authors and favourite types of books. 26.14 Seek to widen their reading experiences by trying books types they do not normally read. 26.15 Independently, select and read a variety of non-fiction texts, including pictorial books about science, short newspaper reports, articles from age-appropriate magazines, and multiple paragraph accounts of historical events. CS27 Comprehend Fiction Texts 27.12 Sequence events in a chronological story in which the action occurs over a long period of time. 27.13 Explore chronology in a story, e.g. by mapping how much time passes between events or between the first and last events. 27.14 Distinguish between third and first person accounts. CS28 Interpret Stories 28.16 Compare and contrast the main themes of different stories. 28.17 Discuss choices faced by characters in a story with an understanding that characters are not necessarily all good or all bad. 28.18 Recognize that different readers may interpret the same story in different ways. 28.19 Compare and contrast the events and characters of different stories of the same type. 28.20 Without prompting, independently use a range of comprehension strategies, including anticipation and prediction, and imagining events as they are described. CS29 Relate Personally to Stories 29.9 Connect stories to life choices and moral decisions. CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry 30.6 Note that some poems have alliteration that occurs within lines and across several lines. 30.7 Discuss the impact of the lay-out of a poem. 30.8 Discuss the difference between rhyming and non-rhyming poetry, and the difference between poetry and prose. 30.9 Discuss poetry using appropriate terms, including rhyme, verse, poet, and poem. CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts 31.9 Find and present information from more than one non-fiction text on the same theme. 31.10 Summarize information from a non-fiction text. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 25 CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 32.5 Summarize a paragraph using original words 32.6 Use an index with alphabetized entries to locate information in a book 32.7 Scan a text for headings and sub-headings to find specific information. 32.8 Plan for research by assessing what is known, what information is needed and what sources of information are available. CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts 33.7 Discuss the use of Kriol in radio, television and print advertisements and in newspaper articles. 33.8 Evaluate the claims made in advertisements and discuss their use of language. CS34 Write Stories 34.13 Appropriately choose the first or third person when writing stories. 34.14 Compose a short story based on a given title 34.15 Use time order words, transitional words and phrases in original stories 34.16 Rewrite known stories by changing the characters or setting but retaining the original main idea. 34.17 When writing stories, include short descriptions of settings and characters CS35 Write Poetry 35.4 Write short poems with a clear, regular, metre. 35.5 Write poems with a specific form, for example shape poems, limericks or haiku. CS36 Write Letters 36.8 Write a letter to make a simple request to a business 36.9 Write a business letter in full block form and include the return address, inside address, salutation, close and signature and use block paragraphs for the body. CS37 Write Non-Fiction 37.22 Compose a report based on scientific observation. 37.23 Compose two or three paragraphs that present and argue a specified point of view. 37.24 Write a several paragraph non-fiction text in which each paragraph has a main idea and supporting details. 37.25 Write a multi-paragraph, truthful and accurate, report describing a recent experience. Standard 4 Learning Outcomes 26 CS38 Plan and Edit Writing 38.12 Consider audience when planning writing 38.13 Plan a story or non-fiction text in outline form, using a few words that will later be expanded into longer sections 38.14 Individually, generate ideas on a topic by brainstorming. 38.15 Generate ideas for writing by reading related material. 38.16 Edit a piece of writing to ensure that sentences are correctly structured and are in the appropriate tense. 38.17 Use a checklist provided by the teacher to revise and edit writing. CS39 Present Written Work Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS40 Write Clearly and Legibly There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS41 Spell Words Appropriately 41.9 Spell an increasing range of irregularly spelt words correctly CS42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately 42.11 Appropriately capitalize organizations and their members, historical periods and events. 42.12 Appropriately capitalize titles of books, etc. CS43 Use Punctuation Appropriately There are no learning outcomes for this content standard. Refer to other grade levels for guidance. CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing 44.12 Appropriately use a range of future verb forms in original writing. 44.13 Appropriately use possessive pronouns in original writing. 44.14 Differentiate between sentences, fragments and phrases. 44.15 Join two phrases with an appropriate subordinating conjunction, for example because, when, unless. CS45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing 45.5 Use multiple adjectives to modify words in original writing. 45.6 Appropriately use comparative and superlative forms of adverbs in original writing. 27 The Curriculum Web 28 29 Listening CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds CS2 Listen for Information CS3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations CS4 Listen and Communicate CS5 Respond to Spoken Texts 30 1 Identify & Distinguish between Sounds General Comments This content standard is closely linked to CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge. CS1 focuses on the sounds of Content Standard 1 spoken language and CS20 on how those sounds are written. Good phonics knowledge depends on a good Identify and distinguish understanding of the different ways sounds are put between sounds together to make up spoken language (phonological awareness), and especially on how individual English words are made up of around 42 building-block sounds (phonemes). Hear, recognize and differentiate between For students to develop an understanding of phonemes (phonemic awareness), they need to be speech sounds at a able to divide spoken language into different levels, variety of levels ranging for example, into sentences, words, syllables, onsets and rimes. Thus, learning about rhyme and syllables from phonemes to is an important part of the process of learning to complete texts. read. It must be remembered that phonological awareness activities, and even phonics, are not sufficient to produce good readers. Teachers must maintain a balanced approach that recognizes the importance of comprehension and enjoyment as much as explicit language skills. Assessment If some students struggle to read, it is important to diagnose if they can segment spoken words into individual sounds. Internet Resources Learning outcomes 1.11 and 1.12 can be For clear articles on phonological assessed using informal observation. awareness instruction, see However, if students appear unable to do - http://www.ldonline.org/article/6254; 1.12, their ability to identify the syllables in www.reading.org/resources/issues/ individual words should be tested using positions_phonemic.html; picture cards. - http://teams.lacoe.edu 31 L Sample Lesson Objectives 1.12 Provided with several multisyllabic words, students will be able to clap the syllables in each word. Le arning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Expose students to speakers with different accents 1.1 1 Recognise that different people -Discuss with the children what will happen before, speak language with different during and after speaker’s presentation. Before Listening accents. -Conduct discussion and build necessary background 1.1 2 Divide multisyllabic words into based on specific listening activity that will occur. syllables and clap the syllables Explain reasons for listening and strategies to help in a sentence containing them understand what they will hear. You may use a multisyllabic words. graphic organizer for children to fill in information heard. During Listening St andards 3 & 4 -Discuss both verbal and visual cues that speakers may Th ere are no learning outcomes for use when giving important information so students can Sta ndards 3 and 4 for this Content focus on these. Encourage students to relate, confirm, Sta ndard judge and predict and take notes based on discussion. -Establish questions children can use during this process. After Listening -Clarify understanding of questions. A note on syllables A syllable is a unit of sound. All syllables contain one, and only one vowel sound. Most, but not all, syllables also contain consonant sounds. Learning outcome 1.12, therefore, relates to the ability to distinguish syllable sounds when listening to speech. It does not refer to dividing up written words. Sample Student Activities Syllable Clap -Listen to words being called and clap out each syllable. Example: Bel-mo-pan = three claps Linkages rab-bit = two claps. CS16(S) Pronounce Words Appropriately CS20(R) Apply Phonics Knowledge Blending Practice -Provide children with syllables to blend to form words. Example: pea – nut = peanut Listen to guest speakers for ‘Career Day’ -Conduct guided listening activity on speakers for career day talk. Invite speakers such as doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, etc. to give inspirational talk to the class. 32 2 Listen for Information General Comments This content standard refers to the students’ ability to understand the meaning of spoken texts. To achieve this, students need many opportunities to listen to and interact with a wide variety of types of speech. Developing listening skills is important partly Content Standard 2 because most information in schools is presented Listen for orally and partly because there is often a strong link between a student’s oral language skills and his/her Information literacy skills. The use of lots of oral presentation helps students Extract relevant connect what they are reading and observing to themselves and their school work. This is especially information, including true when there is a clear purpose for listening. For directions, main ideas listening tasks, teachers should select quality spoken texts from across the curriculum. These spoken texts and other details from should range from the simple to the relatively spoken text. complex. They should be interesting, clear and easy to follow. They should contain age appropriate vocabulary, and be of a suitable length given the students’ likely attention span. Over the course of a year, students should listen to many different types of spoken text to give them many opportunities to develop and practice listening skills. Definition Spoken Text: A coherent stretch of speech on any topic. For example, announcements, apologies, awards, conversations, dialogues, directions, discussions, drama, explanations, instructions, interviews, invitations, jokes, riddles, rules, slogans, songs, speeches, storytelling, talking circles, voice mail messages, weather forecasts, and so on. Assessment Internet Resources Listening Comprehension Tests The following procedure can be used: An excellent booklet on teaching listening can be downloaded from the UK Standards Site: 1. Introduce the text and read it slowly and http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/pu clearly. blications/literacy/818497/pns_speaklisten062 2. Hand-out a worksheet with ten short answer 403hbk.pdf questions. Read the questions aloud. 3. Re-read the text. Give the students a few Also try: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk minutes to answer the questions. 4. Read the text a third time, and again give the http://www.sanchezclass.com/listeningrules.htm students time to answer the questions. 33 Standard Two L Sample Lesson Objectives 2.9 After listening to the story ‘Pita of the Deep Learning Outcomes Sea’, students will be able to identify the main idea and events and place events in Standard 2 sequential order on story board. 2.9 Identify and sequence, main ideas and supporting details of a story presented orally. 2.10 Follow multiple step oral directions. Sample Teaching Strategies 2.11 Identify the main idea after Listening Rules: Establish simple rules for listening, for listening to a short text. example: 2.12 Listen attentively and 1. Eyes on the Speaker courteously in order to 2. Lips closed remember oral directions and 3. Ears listening follow them. 4. Back straight 2.13 Note a small number of 5. Hands and feet quiet important points while listening 6. Brain active to a text. 2.14 Relate prior knowledge and Effective lessons based around listening to a spoken text experiences to central message usually follow a sequence of pre-listening activities, during / plot of stories and listening activities and post-listening activities. dramatizations. Directed Listening – Thinking Activities: After the teacher reads a text aloud, the students do a structured activity, such as identifying main idea or sequencing the events. This can also be done with texts students read or have previously tape recorded. Sample Student Activities Sequencing Pictures: After listening to a story, students place pictures of events in an appropriate sequence. Story Board (1): Students follow a series of pictures that narrate a story as they listen to it being read. Story Board (2): After listening to a story, students draw a Linkages series of pictures that retell it. CS3(L) Interpret and Evaluate Oral Flow Charts: Students follow the boxes of a flow chart in Presentations response to spoken instructions. Follow Recipes: Students make something (food, a fruit CS5(L) Respond to Spoken Texts drink, a paper model, etc) by following instructions from CS27(R) Comprehend Fiction Texts the teacher. Graphic Organizers: A variety of graphic organizers, such CS31(R) Comprehend Non-Fiction as web-diagrams, can be used to portray the events or Texts ideas of a spoken passage. Listen and Do Game: Students mime instructions given by another person. 34 2 Listen for Information General Comments This content standard refers to the students’ ability to understand the meaning of spoken texts. To achieve this, students need many opportunities to listen to and interact with a wide variety of types of speech. Developing listening skills is important partly Content Standard 2 because most information in schools is presented orally and partly because there is often strong link Listen for between a student’s oral language skills and his/her Information literacy skills. The use of lots of oral presentation helps students Extract relevant connect what they are reading and observing to themselves and their school work. This is especially information, including true when there is a clear purpose for listening. For directions, main ideas listening tasks, teachers should select quality spoken texts from across the curriculum. These spoken texts and other details from should range from the simple to the relatively spoken text. complex. They should be interesting, clear and easy to follow, they should contain age appropriate vocabulary, and be of a suitable length given the students’ likely attention span. Over the course of a year, students should listen to many different types of spoken text to give them many opportunities to develop and practice listening skills. Definition Spoken Text: A coherent stretch of speech on any topic. For example, announcements, apologies, awards, conversations, dialogues, directions, discussions, drama, explanations, instructions, interviews, invitations, jokes, riddles, rules, slogans, songs, speeches, storytelling, talking circles, voice mail messages, weather forecasts, and so on. Assessment Listening Comprehension Tests The following procedure can be used: Internet Resources 1. Introduce the text and read it slowly and http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Quick- clearly. Rules-for-Better-Listening&id=511300 2. Hand-out a worksheet with ten short answer questions. Read the questions aloud. http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla 3. Re-read the text. Give the students a few /speak020.html minutes to answer the questions. 4. Read the text a third time, and again give the students time to answer the questions. 35 Standards Three and Four L Sample Lesson Objectives 2.20 After listening to a segment of international news, students will be able to orally report on the main idea. L earning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies S tandard 3 2.15 After listening to a text, select Read Alouds: Teachers should read aloud to students particular information for a almost every day. These read alouds can be used to given purpose. stimulate discussion 2 .16 Identify and report on the main Directed Listening –Thinking Activities: (DLTA) See ideas of non-fiction texts, previous section including news reports, presented orally. Explicit Strategy Instruction: Listening strategies for 2 .17 Identify the main idea and Standards 3 and 4 can be more nuanced than those several details after listening to used with younger students (see previous section). For a short text. example: 1. Avoid distractions 2 .18 Accurately write a paragraph 2. Concentrate on what’s being said. that is dictated. 3. Think about the “main idea” and what it means to you. S tandard 4 4. Make written or mental notes of important points 2.19 Sequence key events after 5. Judge the message only after you completely understand it. listening to a short text. 2 .20 Discuss a news item, interview or oral report of a current event or incident. Sample Student Activities Sequencing Pictures: After listening to a story, students place pictures of events in an appropriate sequence. Story Board (1): Students follow a series of pictures that narrate a story as they listen to it being read. Story Board (2): After listening to a story, students draw a series of pictures that retell it. Graphic Organizers: A variety of graphic organizers, such as web-diagrams, can be used to portray the events or Linkages ideas of a spoken passage. CS3(L) Multiple Choice: While listening to a text, students select Interpret and Evaluate Oral the main idea of each paragraph from a series of Presentations choices. CS5(L) Respond to Spoken Texts Dictation: Dictations should be short and should contain only words that are familiar to the students. The passage CS27(R) Comprehend Fiction Texts should be repeated several times. Dictations can have an CS31(R) Comprehend Non-Fiction additional focus, for example punctuation, capitalization, etc. Texts Retelling: After listening to a news report, students re- tell, or dramatize, one of the featured stories. News Quiz: Classes can have a regular quiz on radio or television news. 36 3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations General Comments This content standard refers mostly to the students’ ability to extract information from a Content Standard 3 formal presentation, usually one by someone who is not the class teacher. Interpret and Evaluate Oral Presentations While listening to a presentation, young students learn by connecting what they are hearing to what they already know. Consequently, young students are unlikely to benefit from a presentation unless they have some knowledge of Discuss, interpret, and a strong interest in the topic. This evaluate and analyse oral knowledge and interest can be built up by having lessons about the same topic on the days before presentations. the presentation occurs. Voice inflection and changes in tone and volume are important for children to understand so that they can fully appreciate the meaning of a presentation. Note that, as with all the content standards, other lessons, for example, social studies, may be used to teach the learning outcomes. Assessment Assessment should focus on the students’ responses to presentations, that is through discussions and written work. Internet Resources Sites dedicated to teaching English as a second or foreign language often contain good advice on constructing listening activities. Sample Lesson Objectives 37 3.10 After listening to a presentation from the Tourist Board, students will formulate and ask the speaker relevant questions so as to gather information. L Le arning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Topic Related Talk: The teacher or another adult, 3.6 Understand and appreciate the including guest speakers, can give a presentation on use of voice inflection, changes an area of interest or a topic related to another in tone or volume which subject, such as science or social studies. suggest a speaker's changes in meaning. Before the presentation: Discuss the topic and elicit the students’ previous knowledge. Explain why the presentation is S tandard 3 important. Discuss listening strategies. Present 3.7 Discriminate between fact and essential background information, including likely opinion in an oral presentation. technical vocabulary. Discuss both verbal and visual 3.8 Discuss the main theme of an cues that speakers may use when giving important information so students can focus on these. oral presentation. During Listening 3. 9 Formulate relevant questions in Set guiding questions if the students need to listen response to an oral for particular pieces of information. Encourage presentation. students to relate, confirm, judge and predict and take notes based on discussion. Standard 4 After Listening Encourage the students to ask questions. Clarify any 3. 10 Formulate relevant questions points as necessary. designed to elicit information from a speaker. 3. 11 Discuss the purpose, attitude Sample Student Activities and perspective of a speaker. Formulating Questions: Before a presentation, students write questions they might want to ask the speaker. Fast Write: Immediately following a presentation, students are given five minutes to write, in note form or as single words, everything they can recall. Discussion Groups: After a presentation, students discuss the topic in groups. Listen and React: At regular intervals, the presenter stops talking and the students discuss what they have heard with one or two students sitting close by. Opinion Rephrase: The teacher writes, word for Linkages word, statements made by the presenter. The CS2(L) Listen for Information students work in groups to rephrase the statement without changing its essential meaning. CS5(L) Respond to Spoken Texts Fact into Opinion: Students compose an opinion CS11(S) Deliver Reports and statement after reading a factual one. This can also Speeches be done from opinion to fact. CS31(R) Comprehend Non-Fiction Fact or Opinion Game: Students stand along a line Texts drawn on the floor. The teacher reads a statement. If it is factual, they jump to the left, if it is an CS37(W) Write Non-Fiction opinion, they jump to the right. 38 4 Listen and Communicate General Comments This content standard focuses on the students’ abilities to work constructively with a partner or in small and large groups. It is closely linked to CS15: Participate in Group Discussions. Content Standard 4 Student-centred teaching creates more opportunities for Listen and students to work cooperatively alongside and Communicate collaboratively with their peers than teacher-centred methods, which rarely create opportunities for students to develop social listening skills. Effectively and Pair work and group work allow students to develop a appropriately engage in positive self concept as they explore the content of the conversations for a lesson and learn to work with others. Pair and group tasks should be carefully explained and structured. They are variety of purposes. likely to be successful if they have a clearly stated purpose and if they are based around a content theme of interest to the students. Classroom learning centres can also provide opportunities for students to develop good listening and communication skills. Ideally, students should use the centres during lessons, not just during breaks. • Assessment The key skill to assess is listening behaviour. Assessment Strategies/Activities • Observe the students’ behaviour in small group and whole class situations, noting Internet Resources especially their compliance with established The British Council/BBC web-site has a useful rules for listening. page at: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/listen Note that it is not necessary for group tasks to /listen_yl.shtml have a written outcome for assessment to occur. Also see: http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela/listenin g01.html http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/speaking/ story_bag.shtml 39 L Sample Lesson Objectives 4.6 In small groups, plan how to create a model of an ecosystem to display for the school’s open day. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Rules for Listening 4.4 Recognize and respect listening Establish class rules for morning circle discussion as an avenue for learning activities. Discuss these rules with the students and individually or in small or large come to a shared understanding of why they are groups. necessary. Possible rules include: (1) listen to the speaker, (2) Think about the speakers’ ideas (3) 4.5 Listen to contribute positively to Think of questions to ask, (4) Wait for your turn. small groups and whole group Discuss Listening discussion. Explicitly discuss effective listening strategies and good ‘listening’ questions including, ‘What do you Standard 3 think?’ ‘What is your opinion?’ ‘Do you have any ideas?’ The teacher should model these strategies 4.6 Listen attentively while jointly and questions and encourage students to use these. planning, discussing and Create a ‘Listening friendly’ environment conversing in a small group. Assess the classroom environment and minimize 4.7 Appreciate fully the role of barriers to provide best listening environment. listening in aspects of Furniture arranged in groups facilitates student- communications and value its student interaction more than furniture in rows. relationship with reading as well as writing. Sample Student Activities Participate in conversation: with peers on a topic of interest Conduct interviews: with peers, members of the family, students in other classes and adults connected to the school. Interviewing the general public is not appropriate for primary age students. Plan an event: in a group, for example, a party, class devotion, displays for open day, promote an event, or perform a role play. Buzz group: The teacher stops talking and gives Linkages students three minutes to discuss the lesson’s topic with students sitting close-by. CS2(L) Listen for information Story in a bag: Three to four children build a story CS3(L) Interpret and evaluate oral based on six unrelated objects in a bag. They need presentations to listen to each other as they create a story orally. CS5(L) Respond to spoken texts Each child uses an object and formulates oral CS8(S) Ask and answer questions sentences to form sections of the story. Information Gap: One student has information, for CS9(S) Express opinions and express ideas example a tourism brochure, the second student CS12(S) Display self-esteem while speaking must ask questions. CS15(S) Participate in group discussions CS19(S) Use speech prosody and gesture 40 5 Respond to Spoken Texts General Comments There is a strong link between CS5 and CS2, Listen for Information. In Middle Division it is also linked Content Standard 5 to the content standards for poetry, that is:CS14 Respond to Spoken and CS30 Texts For CS5, the teacher should focus on helping students understand, discuss and develop the ideas they have and the emotions they feel when they Connect spoken texts, listen to a wide range of conversations, stories, broadcasts, drama and other items of speech. including songs, speeches, poetry, drama It is very important to remember that one student’s personal response to a text may be totally different and stories, to personal than another child or that which the teacher choices, experiences, expected. All students should be given the opportunity to explore their own ideas in an emotions, ideas and atmosphere where all contributions are seen as moral values. equally valid and valued. The teacher should expose children to a wide variety of fictional and non fictional text such as: magazines, newspapers and material from other subject areas. Encourage the children to summarize, sequence, dramatize and answer questions to help ‘cement’ their understanding. Note: “Spoken Text” is defined under CS2. Assessment Students’ responses to spoken texts can be observed during discussions and further assessed Internet Resources through drawing or other written work. In http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mls/sp particular, teachers should note the type and eak027.html frequency of questions that students ask about the spoken texts. Language Tree Bk3 Unit 5 Bk4 Units 6,11,19 Bk5 Unit 7 41 Sample Lesson Objectives L 5.7 After taking turns reciting the poem:Dr Blair to a partner, students will discuss its language and rhythm. (See Language Tree Bk4 Unit 6) Lear ning Outcomes Stan dard 2 5.6 Distinguish between poetry and prose being presented orally. Sample Teaching Strategies Stan dard 3 Teachers should demonstrate a love for poetry by regularly 5.7 Respond to the rhythm and reading a poem for the class. This will foster appreciation and build an awareness of poetic language, rhythm and imagery. mood of stories, songs and There should be a variety of poems read, including humourous poetry presented orally and poems, limericks, raps, rhyming verse and free verse. Also, express their own mood. the children should be supported in writing their original 5.8 Recognize and appreciate the poems. language of poetry. 5.9 Formulate questions for the Guest Writers: Students usually respond enthusiastically when further clarification of stories they meet local poets and story tellers. These do not have to presented orally. have had their work published. Poetry Corner: Books of poetry and writing implements can be put in a poetry corner. Stan dard 4 Listening Triads: A triad is a group of three. In a listening 5.10 Respond intellectually and triad there is always one speaker, one questioner and one emotionally to mood and recorder. The speaker can only make statements about the setting in stories and poetry topic and the questioner can only ask questions. The recorder presented orally. does not speak. Roles are then rotated. Sample Student Activities Anthology of poems: Students make a class collection of poems that they find in books or on the internet Compare and contrast prose and poetry: Give students pieces Linkages of prose and poetry to study. Ask them to work in groups to CS2(L) Listen for information come up with a definition for poetry and a definition for prose. Compare with dictionary definitions. CS3(L) Interpret and evaluate oral Poetry Response: Students can-respond to texts through presentations drawing, role play and other media. CS6(V) Comprehend and interpret Ask the author: Each student thinks of a question they would visual images. like to ask the writer of a poem or story. CS7(V) Respond to visual images Discussion envelopes: After presenting a story, the teacher provides groups with an envelope containing an issue that CS14(S) Recite poetry arose from the story. Each group has to write statements CS28(R) Interpret stories (three statements) about the issue. Different groups have CS29(R) Respond personally to stories different issues. Discussion occurs after all groups have CS30(R) Read and relate to poetry presented. 42 43 Viewing CS6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Images CS7 Respond to Visual Images 44 6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual Images General Comments Young children tend to “think in pictures” whereas adults tend to think linguistically. This means that the presentation of information to children visually is likely to be more effective than presenting it in words only. Content Standard 6 Visual images used for lower division students Comprehend and should: Interpret Visual - be clear and accurate - be easy to read Images - be logically coherent - be colourful - have a consistent scale and Extract the apparent and - be correctly proportioned. covert meaning from In primary school, students need to develop visual visual images and literacy skills that improve their understanding of discuss their purpose, accompanying written texts. They need to be able to use pictures and other visual images to usefulness and reliability. understand stories and non-fiction texts in various subject areas. As students progress, they need to learn how to interpret pictorial representations, environmental signs, logos, mottos, art, photography and gestures in increasingly sophisticated ways. They also need to be able to choose how and when to use pictures and which pictures to use to meet their needs. Assessment Internet Resources Assessment should focus on students’ ability to extract information from images. A good site on teaching visual literacy is http://k-8visual.info Setting Expectations: Teachers should always explain to students how they will be See also evaluated, especially emphasizing what they http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela/representin need to do to get a good grade. g01.html 45 Sample Lesson Objectives 6.10 Students will create a picture book, without words, to depict the effects of pollution on the environment. V 6 . 1 1 After studying newspaper advertisements and selecting one to analyse, students will work in group to visually convey the message of the original. Sample Teaching Strategies Learning Outcomes Linkages: Material selected for viewing should relate to a topic being studied or to the unit theme. Standard 2 6.8 Retell a story told through the Viewing Activities means of puppets or mimes. • Topic Discussion • Establish the purpose for viewing Standard 3 • Discussion of how visual images convey 6.9 Interpret and appreciate the use messages of facial expressions, gestures, • Discussion to retell, using words or other and body language used by a images, the message of the original speaker. • Recall – Record – Represent: Students talk 6.10 Select appropriate visual images about a story, then they write about it, then to convey a message. they create a single illustration to represent the main idea. Standard 4 Types of Images 6.11 Determine the central ideas of Students should be exposed to a range of tables, visual ‘messages’ conveyed graphs, flow charts, picture wheels, wordless pictures, through various media. pictures that accompany text in books, cartoons, photographs and so on. It is important to understand 6.12 Discuss how newspapers use that students may not “see” the same thing in the pictures to enhance their image as the teacher or each other. These alternative messages. interpretations should be considered, Sample Student Activities Puppet Shows: Discuss reasons for use of puppetry in class and set guidelines for puppet activities. Ensure that all students participates. Students should work in groups to discuss the story or message they want to turn into a puppet show before enacting it. Linkages Picture Recall: Students study a picture silently for five minutes, and then list everything they can CS2(L) Listen for information remember. CS3(L) Interpret speech and evaluate Picture Discussion: Students discuss the main speakers message of a picture. Picture Sequences: Students use pictures to CS7(V) Comprehend and interpret visual sequence the events of a story. images Newspaper Analysis: Students look at a newspaper CS10(S) Narrate real and fictional events and discuss what information or messages are CS28(R) Interpret stories contained in pictures; they compare these with the information contained in the text. CS29(R) Relate personally to stories CS31(R) Comprehend non-fiction texts CS34(W) Write stories 46 7 Respond to Visual Images General Comments Students are constantly interpreting and responding to visual images including television pictures, book Content Standard 7 pictures, advertisements, display boards, company logos, computer icons and drawings. The aim of this Respond to Visual content standard is to help students recognize, think Images about and discuss their emotional reactions and intellectual responses to these images. Connect visual images to This Content Standard can be integrated with Expressive Arts. The students need to understand the personal choices, effects of lines, colours, space and shape on an image. The arrangement of these elements expresses emotion, experiences, emotions, ideas and values. For instance, cool colors may indicate ideas and moral values. calmness, diagonal lines may indicate movement. Assessment Teachers should monitor both students oral and written responses to visual images. Internet Resources For information on visual literacy see: www.teachers.ash.org.au/bookzone/vislit.htm l 47 V Sample Lesson Objective 7.4 Students will work in groups to create a pictorial flow chart to depict their interpretation of a story told in cartoon format. Learning Outcomes Standard 2 Sample Teaching Strategies 7.4 Create an original visual image in response to another picture. Range of Images: Students can respond to many different types of visual image, for example Standard 3 printed pictures, diagrams, graphs, flow-charts, photographs, drawings, paintings, signs, 7.5 Compare several visual images television pictures, computer icons, internet sites, and explain which they prefer. sculptures, models, decorated textiles and so on Vocabulary Instruction: Link studying a picture to Standard 4 vocabulary instruction by (a) eliciting from students words that describe it and (b) supplying There are no learning outcomes for new words. this content standard. Purpose: A purpose for viewing can be created by linking an image to a topic or theme that the students are studying. Discussion: Many different ideas about a picture can be shared and discussed. Sample Student Activities Discussion: Since this content standard relates to personal reactions, small group and whole class discussions will help students explore their own ideas and those of their peers. Linkages Picture Conversation: In pairs, students communicate by only drawing pictures. CS3(L) Interpret speech and evaluate Picture Guess: One student draws a picture, speakers others have to interpret its message. CS6(V) Comprehend and interpret visual images CS27(R) Comprehend fiction texts CS28(R) Interpret stories CS29(R) Relate personally to stories 49 Speaking CS8 Ask and Answer Questions CS9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas CS10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events CS11 Deliver Reports and Speeches CS12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking CS13 Perform Drama CS14 Recite Poetry CS15 Participate in Group Discussions CS16 Pronounce Words Appropriately CS17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in Speech CS18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture 50 8 Ask and Answer Questions G eneral Comments C S4, CS8, CS9, CS12 and CS15 all relate to the d evelopment of interpersonal communication skills. Similar t asks and similar assessment strategies can be used to help s tudents meet the learning outcomes for them all. Teachers’ p lans should reflect these links. However, despite the similarities, each content Content Standard 8 s tandard has a particular focus; CS8 focuses on using a nd responding to questions to make interpersonal Ask and Answer c ommunication effective. A major purpose of this is to Questions h elp students find and clarify new information through c onversations. As they do this, they should develop s ocial skills and learn how to share ideas and solve Ask and answer problems together. This is unlikely to happen unless t eachers can create a classroom environment in which questions for a variety of s tudents feel safe, confident and motivated to share purposes, for example, i deas and opinions. Note that there is a link between oral language to elicit and clarify d evelopment and literacy development: improved information and to s peaking skills usually lead to improvements in reading negotiate. and writing. Increasingly, Middle Division students should feel confident using standard English during language arts lessons. They should be encouraged to use standard English rather than being penalized for using another language. Middle Division teachers should constantly model standard English. Assessment Assessment should focus on listening and speaking behaviour. Teachers should monitor the ways in which students interact with each other. A simple checklist for small group or pair work can be used, as follows. (a) Does the student ask questions? (b) Does the student listen to the statements of others without getting distracted or interrupting? Resources (c) Does the student appropriately respond to the questions of others? Think-pair-share and similar strategies are (d) Does the student respond positively to the ideas of explained at instructional strategies others? online. (e) Does the student ask questions to clarify and develop http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/ the ideas of others? (See also Teaching Strategies) Language Tree: Bk3 p7, 32, 98 Bk4 p13, 14, 17, 21, 47 Bk5 p8, 68, 110 51 Sample Lesson Objectives 8.9 After preparing a list of six questions, students will (a) interview another student and record their responses and (b) work in a group to display the results on a bar chart. (Note link to math) S Sample Teaching Strategies Discussing, monitoring and prompting listening and speaking behaviour: Share the assessment checklist (see assessment box) with the student. Discuss why these Learning Outcomes behaviours are important. As the students discuss, remind them of the desirable behaviours. Remind Standard 2 students who interrupt others or who fail to listen to and respond to the ideas of others that these behaviours are 8.8 Use questions to initiate and not desirable. Do this is a positive way. For example sustain conversations. say, “I know you are excited to tell me your ideas, but first we have to listen to what Martha has to say.” or Standard 3 “That is an interesting point, can you link it to Martha’s ideas?” and so on. 8.9 Plan interviews and conduct Teacher modeling: The teacher should often use the them courteously and effectively questions such as those from learning outcome 8.12 with peers and familiar adults. When students use these questions, they can be praised. 8.10 Ask and answer questions in a Before Discussion: Set the purpose for the discussion; process of negotiation with a Most discussion should build on what the students already peer or familiar adult. know, so activate background knowledge; relate the 8.11 Give precise, focused answers to discussion to the students own experiences and interests; questions on a variety of topics. discuss possible questions; pre-teach important concepts and vocabulary. During Discussion: Monitor students’ listening and Standard 4 speaking behaviour and intervene when this will help 8.12 During a discussion ask redirect or improve the discussion. questions to elicit information, After Discussion: Follow discussions with tasks that relate for example, "Why do you think to its original purpose. Encourage students to reflect on that?", "What do you think about their participation. Provide a checklist for this, for this?", "What is your opinion?" example: (a) I listened without interrupting (b) I gave my ideas (c) I thought about the ideas of others (d) I asked 8.13 Ask questions in a progressive, questions. logical sequence, to clarify thinking on an issue. Sample Student Activities Think-Pair-Share: Students work in pairs to discuss a question posed by the teacher. Selected pairs then share with the whole class. Cross-Curricular Links: Teachers can set up problem- solving groups in math, research groups in social studies. In science students can work together to perform simple Linkages experiments. In expressive arts they can collaborate to CS4(L) Listen and communicate make crafts and create visual images. In physical CS5(L) Respond to spoken texts education they can practice a skill together, and so on. In-class Surveys: Students can frequently interview each CS9(S) Express opinions and other to find information. Important Note: Interviews communicate ideas. should always be prepared in advance. Primary school CS12(S) Display self-esteem while students may interview other students, members of their speaking family, adults they know well and adults that work for the CS15(S) Participate in group discussions school. It is never appropriate to ask middle CS23(R) Display word power division students to interview members of the CS38(W) Plan and edit writing general public. Peer Editing: (See CS38) 52 9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas General Comments The focus of this content standard is exchanging and justifying ideas. The opinion of each student should be Content Standard 9 valued, clarified and explored. Thus, asking students not just what they think, but why they think it is Express Opinions and important. Communicate ideas There is no limit to the topics that can be discussed in a language arts classroom and teachers should not feel restricted by curriculum themes. Thus, books, T.V. Effectively and clearly characters, recent events, videos, and trips are all state, develop, explain legitimate topics for discussion. However, whatever the topic, teachers should seek to develop students’ oral and justify opinions and language by encouraging them to use a range of ideas vocabulary and grammatical structures. It is very important that all students get an equal chance to contribute to discussions. Teachers must ensure that the most assertive and self-confident students do not dominate. At the Middle Division level students should be becoming confident in using standard English. If students need to use a different language to formulate and explain ideas, this should be allowed. However, the teacher can then help them restate the ideas in standard English. Middle Division teachers should consistently use standard English. Assessment Internet Resources Observation checklists, similar to the one described for CS8 can be used. http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/speak020 html From time to time, teachers can interview the http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/index.htm students on a one-to one basis to evaluate their interpersonal skills. Language Tree: Bk3 p66, 72-3, Bk4 p17, 57, 62 Bk5 p14, 26, 48, 80, 116 53 Sa mple Lesson Objectives 9.7 During morning circle discussion, each student will make one statement on an issue in the news. S 9.1 2 After preparing their ideas, students will talk about a topic of their choice using at least five logically connected sentences. L earning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Talking Rules: Establish and practice procedures for asking and 9 .5 Use "because" and similar answering questions and model these procedures. conjunctions when explaining Morning Circle: Provide opportunities for students to talk about ideas. interests such as hobbies, television programs, weather and 9 .6 Give clear instructions to peers personal news. It is a good idea to begin each day with this on how to perform a simple activity. task. Question of the Day: Students are rewarded for asking the question of the day. For example: What is your opinion? What do you think? Why do you think that? Can you tell me more? Do S tandard 3 you agree? 9 .7 State an opinion on current or Making Connections: Teachers should consciously try to connect important issues. the topic to the students’ previous knowledge and experience. 9 .8 Recall and use words They should also make connections between the topic and curriculum content. encountered while reading and Topic of the Day: At the beginning of the day, post discussion from other subject areas when topic on a notice board for the students to think about. At the expressing ideas. end of the day, selected students have to give a supported 9 .9 Maintain focus on the topic opinion on it. when expressing ideas. Graphic Organizers: Students complete a chart linking statement to supporting ideas. “Talking Words” Word Wall: Display in the classroom words and Standard 4 phrases that students can use when expressing ideas. For 9 .10 Explain and justify an opinion example, “because” and “I think” on current or important issues. 9 .11 Use a range of adjectives and adverbs when expressing ideas. 9 .12 Develop an idea using a series Sample Student Activities of logically sequenced Speaking Game: Give each group a picture depicting a current sentences. issue. After a group discussion, one student can talk about it. Character Acting: Ask students to choose a possible future job career and give reasons for their choice. This can be substituted with games, sports, animals or any other topic. Response to Reading: Students share opinions on a story they have read, (see CS29). Linkages Role Play: Students role play an issue of current concern, for CS4(L) Listen and communicate example the environment, bullying, alcohol, flooding, etc. Following the skit, the class discusses what has been CS7(V) Interpret visual images presented. CS12(S) Display self esteem while Spontaneous Interviews: In pairs students discuss a topic, speaking after which one acts as the interviewer and the other as the CS15(S) Participate in group interviewee. Selected pairs demonstrate this to the class. discussions Video Response: Students watch a short video, or listen to a short tape recording, from the news or a documentary. CS28(R) Interpret stories Students then work in small groups to write three opinion CS37(W) Write non-fiction statements. They can be given a structure, for example, “We think . . . because . . .” 54 10 Narrate Real and Fictional Events General Comments Content Standard 10 Telling “stories” about recent events has traditionally Narrate Real and been a major part of Belizean culture. Such narratives help people share knowledge, values, Fictional Events habits and aspects of cultural identity. Through story- telling, students can learn about other ethnic and Effectively and clearly cultural groups from Belize and around the world. describe events and Research shows that most children speak less with stories they have adults at school than they do at home. In school, teachers tend to dominate interactions and students witnessed, heard, or tend to restrict themselves to short, grammatically invented simple utterances. Creating opportunities for students to tell extended stories, uninterrupted by the teacher or by classmates, can help overcome these inhibitions. Narrating a story or event involves performance and encouraging story telling can help build students’ confidence and self-esteem. A ssessment M ost narration will not be formally assessed. However, if a grade is to be given, a checklist or rubric should be u sed. For example: • Structure of the narrative (does it make sense) • Creativity Internet Resources • Use of descriptive vocabulary http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla • Enthusiasm /speak025.html • Control of voice, gesture etc. http:www.teachingenglish.org .uk/think/speak/role_play.shtml 55 S Le arning Outcomes Sample Lesson Objectives 10.6 After composing and rehearsing a story in Standard 2 a small group, selected students will There are no learning outcomes for Standard 2 enthusiastically narrate a story to the for this content standard. whole class. Standard 3 10 .6 Tell stories or personal experiences in audience-type situations with enthusiasm, Sample Teaching Strategies and sufficient skill and interpretation to enable the audience to share the aesthetic Morning Circle: Students should have the quality of the story/experience. opportunity to share news and relate incidents 10 .7 When relating an incident or telling a regularly in a structured setting such as a story, add details that set the scene and morning circle. give information about characters. Recorded Stories: Play pre-recorded stories. 10 .8 When relating an incident or telling a Discuss how the speaker uses their voice and story, use some adjectives, adverbs and other features to keep the audiences attention. other devices to add colour and interest. Story Tellers: Invite members of the community, for example grandparents, to narrate stories. St andard 4 Modelling: When narrating an incident to the 10.9 When telling a story, project the voice so class, model good voice variation and the use that the whole class can hear clearly and of accurate standard English. vary the voice for effect. Discussion: Discuss story-telling technique, for example how to make a story “come alive”, 10 .10 When relating an incident or telling a how to use props and gestures, how to build story, sequence ideas in a logical manner suspense and how to insert interesting details so that the main idea is effectively that will capture the audience’s attention. communicated. Story-Telling Competition: Hold a class story telling competition. Some stories could later be told to a wider audience. Linkages CS2(L) Listen for information Sample Student Activities CS6(V) Comprehend and interpret visual images Story Props Game: Students pick an object CS7(V) Respond to visual images from a surprise bag. They tell a story that CS16(S) Pronounce words appropriately includes the object in some way. Story Circle: One student begins a story, the CS17(S) Use correct grammatical structure in next continues it and so on. speech Young Writers Club: Students form a club to CS18(S) Use appropriate styles and registers in discuss, interview, plan and create original speech stories. CS19(S) Use speech prosody and gesture Interactive Story Telling: Students work in groups to invent a story that they then CS25(R) Read aloud narrate to the whole class. CS31(R) Relate personally to stories CS34(W) Write stories 56 11 Deliver Reports and Speeches General Comments There are strong connections between this content standard, CS13 Perform Drama, CS14 Recite Poetry, CS19 Use Speech Prosody and Content Standard 11 Gesture and CS25 Read Aloud. Deliver Reports and Students of the Middle Division should be Speeches encouraged to overcome any fear of speaking before an audience. Start with Prepare and confidently simple informal situations in the class requiring approximately thirty seconds and and effectively deliver then progress to situations that require formal reports and more preparation and will take more time. speeches for a variety of Middle Division students should be able to deliver reports and speeches lasting two- purposes on a variety of three minutes. However, this can usually be topics. achieved if the reports are thoroughly prepared and rehearsed before they are delivered. Often this will involve writing them out first. Voice projection, eye contact and body language are crucial in effective delivery of reports and speeches. Teachers must model as well as exposing students to other effective adult speakers. Assessment All students should be able to say something in front of the whole class. Observation: Monitor students’ ability to maintain good eye contact, and use appropriate volume and posture. Prepared reports and speeches Resources should also demonstrate accurate use of Language Tree standard English and the ability to present Bk3 p72, ideas clearly. Bk4 p26 57 Sample Lesson Objectives S 11.4 After preparing it in written form, and practicing with a partner, students will deliver a short report on a book they have recently read. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 The Speech-Making Environment: It is crucial that 11.4 Deliver a short prepared report, for students do not feel fearful or intimidated. Both the example on a book read, trip or teachers and the students should refrain from item of special interest, to the rest making negative comments. Rules for listening to of the class. speeches should be established with the class. Before the Speech: If a report or speech is to be 11.5 When giving reports, pause at the delivered effectively, much preparation is required. end of each sentence. Before a report is delivered, teachers should help students go through the following steps: Standard 3 (1) Identifying and discussing interesting topics 11.6 Prepare and deliver a short speech (2) Finding relevant and interesting on an item of personal or national information interest. (3) Organizing ideas (4) Creating the “first draft” Standard 4 (5) Rehearsing and revising. 11.7 Vary the voice for effect when Helpful Hints: Guide students preparation by delivering a report or recitation providing them with a checklist of helpful hints. For 11.8 When delivering a report or example: Have an interesting opening and a strong recitation, from time to time look ending; give reasons for your ideas using sentences up from the text to achieve eye- with . . . because . . . ; use a strong clear voice; look contact with the audience. at your audience; stand straight with your feet flat 11.9 Following group-work, confidently on the floor. Students can use this checklist as they present information to the class in practice their speech with a partner. After the Speech: Make positive comments about the a meaningful way. speech, ask questions to elicit further explanation of 11.10 When delivering a speech or what was said, give one or two ideas about how the report, project voice so that the speech could have been improved. whole class can hear clearly. Sample Student Activities Announcements: As a build up to the delivery of a Linkages formal speech, students should have many opportunities to make short announcements to the CS3(L) Interpret and evaluate oral class or to an assembly. presentations Mini-Reports: Mini-reports are short statements, CS9(S) Express opinions and communicate lasting perhaps thirty seconds, that the students ideas make to the class. This can be in relating news and CS13(S) Perform drama events in morning circle time, as well as reporting on CS14(S) Recite poetry research they have conducted, books they have read CS17(S) Use correct grammatical structures in or projects they have completed. As students speech progress, the length and complexity of these mini- CS19(S) Use speech prosody and gesture reports should grow. CS25(R) Read aloud CS34(W) Research from non fiction texts 58 12 Display Self-Esteem while Speaking Gene ral Comments Stude nts need to develop the ability to initiate and maintain conve rsations, conduct small group discussions and comm unicate and support ideas and opinions while listening to an d evaluating those of others. These are strong links Content Standard 12 betwe en this content standard and other ones that relate to spoke n interactions, for example, CS4, CS8 and CS9. Display Self–Esteem Self esteem refers to how a person views himself or while Speaking herse lf including and how they think they are viewed by other s. Students like to feel accepted, and if they do not, the resul ting low self esteem may hinder their progress at school by re ducing their participation in learning activities. Above Confidently engage in all, s tudents need to feel that the classroom is a safe spoken discourse and envir onment in which they are treated well and fairly by the teach er. show willingness to share Some middle division students may appear too timid and discuss ideas and to en gage in conversations or to offer their opinions in class. To he lp these students, make the classroom environment feel opinions with familiar and as sa fe as possible and create lots of structure for speaking unfamiliar people. exerc ises. Prevent students from commenting negatively on what their peers say. Show that you value every positive comm ent by thanking the student or praising what they have said. In Middle Division several activities can be valuable in assist ing the development of self esteem while speaking. Pupp etry is one such activity that can be useful for shy childr en. Teachers of the Middle division should not feel that this i s an activity limited to Infant children only. It can be used as a medium through which other strategies can be done for example oral reporting and story telling. It facilitates buildi ng of the imagination, lots of speaking, expression, co- opera tion and it is enjoyable. The use of corporal punishment, which should never be inflicted by a class teacher, is likely to damage a student’s self esteem. Internet Resources Assessment For an article on self-esteem in children Teachers should monitor the way students ask and answer see: questions in class as well as interactions between students for http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.a signs of low self esteem. spx?r=385 59 Sample Lesson Objectives 12.8 While discussing the statement “Children should not be allowed to S watch television until they have finished their homework,” students will willingly express agreement or disagreement. See Language Tree Bk 4 p.57 Sample Teaching Strategies Modeling: Explicit conversation techniques can be taught, Lea rning Outcomes with the teacher acting as a model. Practice: Students can practice techniques, such as facing Sta ndard 2 the person they are speaking to, maintaining eye contact, 12. 6 Volunteer information willingly and asking questions and waiting for the answer without without excessive timidity. interrupting. Messages: Students can be asked to take messages to other teachers to give them the experience of talking to Sta ndard 3 other adults. 12. 7 Demonstrate a willingness to Class Routines: Students can be trained how to greet and express and explore concepts talk to visitors to the classroom such as truth, right, wrong and Group Play: Group games should be a regular feature of fairness. lower division teaching as students learn how to win, lose and compete gracefully. Game playing can occur both as a 12.8 Confidently express agreement part of regular lessons and during break and lunch times. or disagreement with All classrooms should have games in their learning centres. statements made by their Group activities: Role Play, small group discussion, problem peers. solving groups, science discovery groups, jig-saw groups 12. 9 Discuss abstract concepts such and so on can all provide students with opportunities to as truth, right, wrong and express their opinions in a structured, safe environment. fairness and explore the Formal Debates: Middle division students can engage in possibility that different people formal debates with simple procedural rules and short may have different opinions speeches they have prepared in advance. Informal debates about them. can also help students to develop their speaking abilities confidently. Teachers should impose rules for speaking and should ensure that a small number of students do not dominate. Debates, like other activities require carefully planned before, during and after activities. Sample Student Activities Linkages Using Puppets: In groups, students discuss and select a CS4(L) Listen and communicate story to be performed in a puppet show. Each group then CS8(S) Ask and answer questions writes and practices its own script. Interviews: Middle division students can build self esteem CS9(S) Express opinions and by interviewing other students and familiar adults. They communicate ideas. should not be required to seek out and interview strangers. CS11(S) Deliver reports and speeches Questions should always be prepared before hand. CS13(S) Perform drama Favourite Rhymes: Students can be given opportunities to tell nursery rhymes, jokes and riddles or present songs and CS14(S) Recite poetry jingles in class. CS15(S) Participate in group discussions Situational Role-Play: Students can role-play conversations CS25(R) Read aloud for given situations, for example, meeting people for the first time. The teacher can provide model phrases for them CS32(R) Research from non-fiction texts to use. CS37(W) Write non-fiction 60 1 3 Perform Drama G eneral Comments Content Standard 13 D ramatization is a fun and creative activity that can Perform Drama i nvolve all students in various roles, including those of a ctor, director, costume designer and set designer. Develop and role play S tudents in Middle Division should be introduced to p repared scripts. Students themselves can create the improvised skits and s cript from familiar stories or current events or social dramatically perform i ssues. Modeling and practice sessions are very i mportant and must be done before any public items from a prepared p erformance. Having students audition for parts in a script s cript is recommended so as to allow for selecting the b est student for the part. I n addition to being fun and motivating, role play can g ive all students the chance to express themselves in a p ositive way. Role play and drama can bring the outside w orld into the classroom and can offer students the o pportunity to use language in new and creative ways. For classroom drama, including short skits and r ole plays, to succeed, careful planning and rehearsal is e ssential. Teachers should communicate high e xpectations to the students and they should provide c lear guidelines and structure. As students progress through Middle D ivision they need to become familiar with stage parts, d irection, props and gestures. Assessment Even if dramatic activities are not given a grade, students need to be informed about the quality Internet Resources of their performance. Such feedback should http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mls/spea usually focus on the positive but include some k027.html advice as to how to improve. In addition to using the right words, teachers can observe http://www.redbirdstudio.com/AWOL/stage. students’ use of gesture, use of voice and ability html to follow stage directions. Language Tree Bk3 Units 1, 15, 21 Bk4 Unit 12, p8, Bk5 Units 2, 14, & p8, 68, 61 Sam ple Lesson Objectives S 13.5 After rehearsing from a prepared script, students will perform a short skit for their classmates demonstrating good use of the voice. Lear ning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 13.4 Dramatize short plays or skits from a Preparation: Discuss the topic to be dramatized - prepared script. Model good speaking and acting techniques - Provide useful vocabulary or short phrases. Rehearsal: Give rehearsal time and give students Stan dard 3 advice as you watch them rehearse – Participate, if 13.5 Participate in dramatic activity giving necessary – Make suggestions to prompt the attention to effective delivery: students’ imagination and creativity. enunciation, pitch and volume. During the Performance: Create a safe area for the performance. Set rules for the performers and for the 13.6 Describe the different parts of a stage audience. Encourage students to face the audience and understand simple stage and speak loudly and clearly. directions. After the Performance: – Give feedback, 13.7 Based on a play script, play the part of encouragement and rewards. a character in a play for public Modeling: Teachers will usually have to model performance. stance, gesture and use of voice. Scripts: Scripts should be interesting for the students and at their reading level. Stan dard 4 Purpose: The purpose of the drama should be 13.8 Understand the conventions of play established through discussion and other techniques. scripts, including stage directions, Stage Positions: Before a performance, a lesson on scene changes, the use of props and the positions of the stage is usually necessary. how writers make action seem CUDLR – C for Center Stage, U for Up stage, D for realistic. Down Stage, L for Left Stage and R for Right Stage. 13.9 Play the part of a character in a drama Students should also be made aware of how to use with confidence, voice variation and the stage positions for optimal performance. "stagecraft". 13.1 0 Discuss the importance of gesture and movement in performing drama. Sample Student Activities Dramatizing Short Plays and Scripts: Students Linkages dramatize plays and scripts for performance within the classroom or to a wider audience such as other CS5(L) Respond to spoken texts students, the local community and at the Festival of CS10(S) Narrate real and fictional events Arts. CS11(S) Deliver reports and speeches Mime: The use of mime, in which actors do not speak, helps students appreciate the importance of gestures. CS12(S) Display self-esteem while speaking Short miming activities can be integrated into most CS14(S) Recite poetry subject areas. CS19(S) Use speech prosody and gesture Character Impersonation: Students select a favorite television or movie character or well known local CS25(R) Read aloud personality and pretend to be that character. CS31(R) Comprehend fiction texts Role play: can be integrated into most subject areas. CS34(W) Write stories 62 14 Recite Poetry General Comments Content Standard 14 When planning poetry lessons, teachers should combine learning outcomes from CS14, Recite Recite Poetry Poetry, CS30, Read and Relate to Poetry, and CS35, Write Poetry. Recite poetry with In the Middle Division certain types of poetry are helpful and are a fun way to teach children confidence and with syllable and sentence stress. Haiku and appropriate pace, limerick poems are two such types respectively. Children should be encouraged to volume, intonation and create their original poems and recite these for stress. their class and school community. The classroom needs to have a collection of poems of different kinds and on different themes. These must be age appropriate. Assessment When assessing, monitor: • the linking of gestures to words, • the pronunciation of words, • the accurate memorization and recall of the original, • the stressing of syllables appropriately, • the relationship with the audience and • Self-confidence. Internet Resources If recitals are graded, discuss the criteria with the http://www.soundsofenglish.org/tips.htm students and model how the criteria can be achieved. htt://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/85 Language Tree Bk3 Units 5, 14, & p 121 Bk4 Units 6, 11, 19 & p121 Bk5 Units 7, 13, 21 63 Sample Lesson Objectives 14.9 After practising with a classmate, students will recite a short poem from S memory. Sample Teaching Strategies Poetry Circle: (or My Favourite Poem): Teachers can schedule the same Lear ning Outcomes time each week for poetry activities. Every week a student can share a poem, song or nursery rhyme with the class. Standard 2 Modeling: The teacher should read poems aloud to the class regularly, Although there are no learning modeling good delivery techniques such as posture, breath control, and outcomes for Standard 2, use of intonation and stress. The poems read should be ones the students can stilll be involved in students will like and understand. Rhymes with actions and repetitive poetry recital patterns are usually appropriate for lower division students. Repeated Readings: A student cannot be expect to recite a poem perfectly the first time. Rehearsal and repeated readings are essential. Stan dard 3 The importance of practicing a skill can also be demonstrated for the 14.7 Recite poems from memory students. capturing the emotional and Pictures: Use pictures to help students understand and remember aesthetic experiences rhymes. presented by the poet Poetry Readings: Organize a poetry reading for students to recite 14.8 Pay attention to patterns of poems to their parents. Invite parents to read poems for the students. rhythm and rhyme while Use other opportunities for the students to recite poems to a wider reciting short poems. audience, for example, a school assembly, at an open day or at the Festival of Arts Poetry Recording: Recording students recital of poems allows them to Stan dard 4 rehearse and repeat the recitals until they “perfect” them. The 14.9 Memorize and recite a recording can then be played for other audiences. poem containing several Haikus and Limericks: Haiku poems can be used to increase students‘ stanzas. awareness of syllables. Reciting limerick poems increases students’ awareness of rhythm, intonation and stress. Poetry Wall: Display poems on a poetry wall, including those composed by students created. From time to time, a poem is selected for recital. Sample Student Activities Poetry Contest: Students can participate in a poetry reading contest. Alternatively, teachers can compete and students can be the judges. Contests should have clear judging criteria that have been discussed Linkages with the contestants, for example, use of voice, use of gesture, confidence, and clarity of pronunciation. CS5(L) Respond to Spoken Texts Anthology of Favourite Poems: Both teachers and students can make CS11(S) Deliver reports and anthologies of their favourite poems and, from time to time, read one speeches to the class. CS13(S) Perform drama Recite Own Poems: Students can be encouraged to perform poems CS19(S) Use Speech prosody and they have written. A class booklet of poems could be published and gestures shared with parents. Line by Line: Different students read different lines of a poem in CS25(R) Read aloud succession. CS30(R) Read and Relate to Poetry Recite Thematic Poems: Linking poems to a season, event or theme, CS35(W) Write Poetry such as Christmas and Easter gives a poetry recital more purpose. Identify rhyming patterns in poems 64 15 Participate in Group Discussions Ge neral Comments In Middle Division students should be able to work coo peratively in small groups. This is more likely to occ ur successfully if the clear rules are discussed and en forced. It is also important that the tasks set for gro upwork require active cooperation and allow for all Content Standard 15 stu dents to participate. Tasks that do not require Participate in Group dis cussion or that do not have sufficient activities for all stu dents to be involved should not be used for group- Discussions wo rk. Similarly, teachers should ensure that students un derstand the nature of the task, its purpose and the ex pected outcome. Participate confidently, tolerantly and politely in Gr oup activity must be closely monitored to ensure that students are working together collaboratively. It is not class and small group un usual for middle division students to compete with discussions by sharing ea ch other when they are supposed to be working tog ether. Teachers to ensure full participation and ideas, taking turns, con tribution by all students and not allow one student to listening and responding do minate a group. to the contribution of Th e essence of group work is that students talk to each others oth er, not to the teacher. Given clear guidance, middle div ision students should be able to control their own dis cussion. An other important aspect of group work is ensuring tha t the opinions of all students are valued and dis cussed. Incidents of prejudice and intolerance req uire immediate teacher intervention. As sessment Observation check list. (a) Does the student make contributions to discussions? Internet Resources (b) Does the student focus on the discussion http://www.utc.edu/Administration/WalkerTeachi and is not easily distracted? ng ResourceCenter/FacultyDevelpoment/Cooperative (c) Does the student listen to the contributions Learning of others without interrupting? (d) Does the student respond positively to the http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativele ideas of others? arning.htm (e) Does the student ask questions to clarify and develop the ideas of others? 65 Sample Lesson Objectives 15.6 In groups, students will read and discuss “The Nariva Wetlands”* and S collaborate to design a poster about the environment. * (Language Tree Bk5 Unit 18) Sample Teaching Strategies Collaborative Group Tasks: Group tasks should require students Lea rning Outcomes to work together: for example brainstorming, making lists, finding information, solving problems, and planning and performing role- Standard 2 plays. If students do not have to collaborate to complete a task, 15.4 Work alongside other students then it should be done individually. Groups of between 2 and 5 in a group, helping each other students can be effective. Larger groups are unlikely to lead to complete a given task. good collaboration. The teacher should carefully consider who is in each group, and groupings should be different for different 15. 5 Compile and share information tasks. in a group through verbal and Group Rules: Present and establish rules for discussions and non verbal messages. group work, including rules for borrowing, sharing and using equipment. Standard 3 Set Roles: Ensure that every member of a group has a role and understands what they have to do. 15. 6 In a group, discuss a topic of Group Variety: Use several types of groups for example, mutual interest and share the friendship groups, ability and mixed ability groups, gendered group's information with the groups, jig-saw groups, interactive writing groups, research class. groups, problem solving groups and so on. 15. 7 Demonstrate an ability to work Use Background Knowledge: Use familiar topics and themes and effectively in self-motivated, encourage students to contribute ideas self-organized groups. Offer Guidance: Before discussion, establish a purpose and present a list of possible questions to be asked Moderate Discussions: Ensure that all students have an Sta ndard 4 opportunity to speak. Remind students to wait until someone has 15. 8 During group discussions be finished talking and to not interrupt. Allow discussions to flow and tolerant of and sensitive to the ensure that most contributions come from the students, not the needs of all participants, teacher. including those who have Speaker Markers: Some teachers like to use an object, like a special needs such as speech, stuffed animal toy. Only the person holding the toy is allowed to hearing and visual impairments. speak. This can apply to both whole class and small group discussions. 15. 9 Demonstrate tolerance for the Instructions: Ensure that the instructions for a task are explicit ideas of others in a group and well explained. With many students it is usually necessary to situation. explain the task several times. Sample Student Activities Linkages Projects: Students should often work in groups to complete Groupwork can occur in the teaching of any projects such as models, charts, experiments. content standard. Topic/Story Discussion: Group discussions should usually link to current classroom topics, stories, issues and so on. CS4(L) Listen and communicate Think, Pair, Share: The teacher asks a question. Everyone then gets a few minutes to think of an answer silently. CS8(S) Ask and answer questions Finally, various students share what they have been CS9(S) Express opinions and communicate thinking. A more complex version of this has students ideas. working in pairs and small groups. CS12(S) Display self-esteem while speaking. Role-Play: Students plan, rehearse and perform a role-play in small groups 66 16 Pronounce Words Appropriately General Comments Pronunciation includes word stress, sentence stress, intonation, transitions between words and the making of appropriate sounds. Content Standard 16 Pronouncing words appropriately is necessary for Pronounce Words effective communication. Incorrect pronunciation strains communication and may even change a phrase’s Appropriately meaning. Practicing pronouncing words without a communicative context, that is, in isolation, is unlikely Pronounce words clearly to be effective. It is better to use rhymes, songs, poems and other texts. and appropriately As far as possible the teaching of this content standard should be integrated into the teaching of CS8- CS15. It is very important that teachers distinguish between the wrong pronunciation of words, and pronunciation variations caused by dialect and accent. There is no such thing as standard pronunciation. Artificially trying to force students to use a foreign (including British or American) pronunciation could be very harmful to their oral language development. Note on /th/ The use of a hard /t/ sound when pronouncing words requiring the soft /th/ (saying tree instead of three)is very common in most countries where English is not the first language. It is important that students are made aware of the soft /th/ pronunciation but in reality this is a very difficult speech pattern to correct and it is unlikely to be beneficial to spend much time trying to do so. A more serious, but rarer problem is the reverse: using a soft /th/ for words that require a hard /t/ - for example saying school therm when term is intended. Such usage can be corrected. Internet Resources http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/pro Assessment ntry/tongue_twister.shtml Teachers should monitor students’ pronunciation as they perform a variety of speaking tasks, intervening where appropriate. Pronunciation and elocution tests are not recommended. 67 Sample Lesson Objectives 16.3 Through playing the game ‘Feed Me’, S students will be able to pronounce words ending with ‘-ion’. L earning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Modeling: Good modeling of appropriate S tandard 2 pronunciation, particularly of those sounds that 1 6.3 Pronounce most words cause students frequent difficulties is essential. appropriately and clearly. Reading Aloud: Teachers should read aloud to students frequently. As they do so, they should model appropriate pronunciation. T eachers of students in Standard 3 Songs and Rhymes: Use songs and rhymes that a nd Standard 4 should continue to contain words that are often mispronounced, m onitor pronunciation. particularly multi-syllabic ones. Monitor Phoneme Switches: Many students switch the sounds of certain words, for example saying aks instead of ask. This should be corrected. Sample Student Activities Games: Games provide teachers with opportunities to monitor pronunciation. Feed the Monkey: – A monkey (or other animal’s) face is made on card with a slot for the mouth. Students draw a word card from a bag. If they pronounce it correctly, they feed the card to the monkey. Tongue Twister Games: Students recite tongue twisters, usually a sentence that is difficult to say fluently because of the sounds in it. Tongue twisters can be composed by the students or can be well known ones such as “Sally sells sea-shells by the sea shore.” How to write a tongue twister: Most words must begin with the same sound or a sound similar to it- For example: Linkages 1. What is your first name? Sandy All Content Standards from CS8 to CS15 2. Write something you did. sold sweets 3. Where? On South Street CS1(L) Identify and distinguish between 4. When? on Saturday sounds 5. Why? Because because she CS25(R) Read aloud needed sheets 68 1 7 Use Correct Grammatical Structures in S peech G eneral Comments T he achievement of this content standard should be in tegrated into the teaching of CS8-CS15, CS32 and Content Standard 17 C S44-45. Use Correct T his content standard refers specifically to the use of Grammatical g rammar in speech, not writing. Structures in Speech I n the Middle Division, students need to expand their oral la nguage skills. Through the use of activities such as in terviews, debates and oral reports, the students can be g iven opportunities to express themselves orally. The Use sentence structure, m ore opportunities the students have at practicing these g rammatical structures the better they will become. word order, agreement patterns and other A ccurately using correct grammatical forms should be c onsistently reinforced across the curriculum. This can grammatical features b e done by drawing students’ attention to their mistakes correctly a nd helping them understand what the correct forms s hould be. This does not mean, however, that an in sistence of perfect grammar should be an obstacle to t he free-flow of ideas and discussions about concepts and s o on. Teachers need to use their judgment and be fl exible. T eachers should endeavor to model correct grammar. A ssessment A teacher can observe whether a student uses appropriate structures (a) rarely (b) sometimes (c) often (d) most of the time. The teacher may also observe whether the student uses complete sentences spontaneously, or only when prompted. Internet Resources http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try Teachers should try to notice error patterns. For /speaktry/story_bag.shtml example, a student might always use the wrong verb form when asking a question with an auxiliary 69 Sample Lesson Objectives S 17.6 After preparing and rehearsing, students will deliver a short oral report on a topic of their own using correct subject-verb agreement. Sample Teaching Strategies Learning Outcomes Setting Expectations: Teachers should communicate to students that the accurate use of language is important. Standard 2 Modeling: Teachers should strive to consistently model the 17.6 Demonstrate correct subject- correct use of standard English grammatical forms. verb agreement when speaking Talk Opportunities: Students need lots of opportunities to standard English when using talk in class. These can be created by the use of morning the verbs be, do, have and go. circles, sharing news, small group and pair activities. 17.7 Correctly apply a range of Teachers can monitor their use of language, intervening different grammatical forms for where appropriate. Explicit Teaching: Some explicit teaching of correct asking questions, giving grammatical forms may be beneficial. This should, however, commands and instructions and be limited to a few minutes at a time. giving information in simple Opportunistic Teaching: It can be effective to teach target sentences. grammar as students make errors as they carry out other 17.8 Demonstrate a sense of what is learning tasks. and is not a sentence and Error Correction: It is not sufficient just to correct a pause at the end of sentences. student’s mistakes. They need to be helped to understand why the mistake was made. Exposure: Students need to hear speakers, including those Standard 3 on television and radio, who use correct grammatical 17.9 State ideas using sentences structures. that join two or more clauses Minimizing Risk: Teachers should ensure that students are using coordinating not afraid that they will be disciplined, laughed at or conjunctions. disrespected if they make mistakes. Note: For Middle Division students, it Sample Student Activities is assumed that learning outcomes Interest Talk: Students prepare a short presentation about for CS17 are achievable in standard an area of interest such as hobbies, trips etc. Assessment can English. reward the use of target grammatical structures. Story in a Bag: In groups students compose a story. They have to use words, for example conjunctions, that are in their bag. Morning/Talking Circle: Students talk about area of interest, Linkages share ideas, comment on news and so on. All Content Standards from CS8 to Interview: Students conduct interviews with their peers or CS15 familiar adults. Before conducting the interviews, they practice the questions. CS19(S) Use speech prosody and Information Gap gesture Information gap games involve two or more students asking CS44(W) Apply correct grammatical each other questions to find out the information the other students have. For example, student A has information to forms in writing complete student B’s card. For the completion of the CS45(W) Incorporate stylistic information there must be communication between both. devices in original writing They therefore will need to share to complete the activity. 70 18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech General Comments A register is a particular type of language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, most people use language differently at home, Content Standard 18 at work, or with friends. Informal spoken language usually uses shorter sentences or fragments, is less Use Appropriate Styles organized and uses more ‘vague’ or non-specific and Registers in language. Speech In Belize, English is not the first language for most students. We are exposed to several different languages on a daily basis. Most students are only exposed to Choose and switch English in schools or through the media. Education should encourage students to value all languages but between appropriate proficiency in standard English remains a major goal for styles of speech, formal all. and informal registers, Kriol is one of the languages of Belize. Students need to Standard English, Kriol know (a) the differences between Kriol and English and and other Languages. (b) when it is and when it is not appropriate to use Kriol. Teachers need to allow students to practice and appreciate the use of different languages and registers. An understanding of how and when to use different forms will make students more effective communicators. Students should be given the opportunity to experiment with the different registers so as to build their self esteem and confidence. Assessment Observe whether students use appropriate forms for requests, introductions, greetings telephone, etc. (a) spontaneously, (b) after prompting or (c) not at all. Resources www.kriol.org.bz is the official web-site Student Assessment Checklist: In groups of three, while of the National Kriol Council of Belize. two students hold a conversation, the third can monitor their use of appropriate language using a checklist. 71 S Learn ing Outcomes Sample Lesson Objectives 18.5 Provided with a situation card, students will be given Stand ard 2 time to think and respond to the situation using the 18.3 Display awareness of the difference appropriate register. between standard English, Kriol and other languages. Sample Teaching Strategies Stand ard 3 Explicit Teaching: Present students with specific phrases in 18.4 Discuss the social norms for the use of Kriol and English to illustrate the differences between these Kriol and standard English in Belize and codes. demonstrate the ability to choose the Modeling: Demonstrate appropriate usage of the formal appropriate code in any given situation. phrases for introductions, etc. Puppets could be used. Literature: Use stories, poems and songs that contain the 18.5 Choose the appropriate form of words language structures you are targeting. These may include for a variety of formal situations, for stories that use Kriol and other languages. example, greeting visitors, making Brainstorm: Elicit from students what they know about introductions, showing people around, speaking “politely” in various situations. giving thanks, expressing joy or Rewards: Give rewards to students who use appropriate sadness, apologizing, expressing language forms, for example, when asking for permission welcome and giving praise. to go to the bathroom. Sharing: Provide opportunities for students to share their knowledge of different languages with their peers. Stand ard 4 Environment: Set expectations for the use of language 18.6 As appropriate to the situation switch within the class. This should allow for the use of languages between standard English, Kriol and other than English in specified situations, especially when other language codes with sufficient students are working with each other. control that one code does not overlap Language Colour Signals: On the blackboard place cards of with or interfere with another. different colours to indicate which languages students can 18.7 use. For example, green could mean standard English Recognize that the type of language a person uses to express an idea depends only, yellow could mean Kriol or Spanish is allowed. on the situation and who they are Modeling: Teachers should always model appropriate use talking to. of language. Most of the time this will mean using the formal registers of standard English. 18.8 Demonstrate the ability to choose the Discussion: Students discuss when and how different appropriate language register for the registers should be used. This can lead to the creation of situation, for example, formal, informal, class rules. academic, etc. Sample Student Activities Role Play: use scenarios to practice using request forms, Linkages for example, shopping, asking for items, borrowing items, CS2(L) Listen for information greeting people, and so on. CS4(L) Listen and communicate Pair work: Students rehearse using appropriate forms in CS8(S) Ask and answer questions pairs. CS17(S) Use correct grammatical structure in Telephone role play: Students sit in pairs, back to back, to speech. hold a telephone conversation. Each student can have a CS44(W) Apply correct grammatical forms in card explaining who they are pretending to be and why writing they are telephoning. CS45(W) Incorporate stylistic devices in Poetry Recital: Students recite poems in different original writing. languages and registers. Drama: Characters in plays often use informal language. 72 19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture General Comments Prosody refers to speech elements such as intonation, pitch, speed of delivery, loudness, rhythm tone and timbre. These elements, aid in communicating ideas Content Standard 19 clearly. Use Speech Prosody It is usually not necessary to have activities specifically and Gesture designed to teach prosody and gesture. Instead, the teaching of this area should be integrated into the activities used for CS8 to CS18. While speaking, At this level, teachers should not use theory or give communicate meaning students technical definitions when talking about prosody and gesture. Instead, teachers should by using gesture and by frequently model and student should have many varying voice tone, pace, opportunities to practice prosody and gesture. Increasingly, students should show awareness of these volume, intonation and elements. stress patterns. Frequently remind students that we need to adjust our voice tone, pace, volume and intonation to vary emotion in messages. For example, if the emotion to be expressed is angry, passionate or excited; then the voice is usually loud. A soft voice can be used to increase tension when telling a story. Changes in intonation and stress within a sentence can be used to add emphasis or to turn a statement into a question. It is also important to remind students that they should avoid mumbling, keeping the hands away from their mouth. They should always speak in such a way that their listeners can hear them. Assessment Internet Resources Observe students as they recite and speak with appropriate gestures, pause, variation, intonation http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/speak023 and stress. Use simple grading rubrics and share .html these with the students. www.bteducation.org/resources has free printable and downloadable resources for primary school teachers. 73 Sample Lesson Objectives 19.3 After practising in groups, students will be able to recite the poem “Steel S Band Jump Up” with controlled gestures. (Language Tree Bk p76) Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 19.3 Control gestures used to Morning Circle: A routine time each day during which reinforce meaning when students share news and ideas can help them speak speaking. more confidently and fluently in class. Read Alouds: Frequent reading aloud of stories and poems by the teacher creates opportunities for Standard 3 modeling appropriate gestures, intonation and stress 19.4 Use pauses and variation in patterns and voice control. intonation to communicate Guest Speakers: The use of guest speakers allows the shades of meaning. students to observe adults apart from the teacher using good prosody. 19.5 Vary the tone of voice to Call and Response: The teacher models saying express mood, emotion and phrase, the students then repeat it. humour. Chain Drills: The teacher begins a chain by modeling a sentence. Each student in turn then repeats it. Standard 4 Group Practice: Divide a story or poem into parts. Each group has to practice and then perform their 19.6 Consistently stress the correct designated section. syllable in multi-syllabic words. Story Dialogue: As a story is read, the teacher reads 19.7 Pace the delivery of speech descriptive parts and selected students play the part. appropriately for the listener of a character and read relevant direct speech. and the situation. Sample Student Activities Action Poems: Students recite poems with actions Pronunciation Game: Flashcards of multisyllabic words can be used to create a simple game. Role play: Students role play scenarios that require dramatic use of language, for example, telling someone the ‘house is on fire’ Oral presentations, Reports and Mini-Talks: Students need time to rehearse. Drama: Short dramas, including those in Language Linkages Tree can be read many times until the students can All content standards from CS8- play the parts to good effect. CS15 Story Telling: Retelling familiar stories and reciting well known nursery rhymes, poems and songs allows CS1 (L) Identify and distinguish students to concentrate on speech prosody and between sounds gesture. This is more difficult if the students are CS4 (L) Listen and communicate telling an unfamiliar story. CS25 (R) Read aloud 74 75 Reading CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge CS21 Recognize Words by Sight CS22 Use Context Clues CS23 Display Word Power CS24 Use a Dictionary CS25 Read Aloud CS26 Select Appropriate Reading Material CS27 Comprehend Fiction Texts CS28 Interpret Stories CS29 Relate Personally to Stories CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts 76 CS 20 Apply Phonics Knowledge Gene ral Comments Reading and writing in English is based on an alphabet code in which 26 letters represent approximately 42 sounds (or phonemes). Teach ing the use of the alphabet code to read and write words is known as “phonics”. The basic alphabet code is learnt in lower division (see note 3 below). Any students that do not have a good Content grasp of the basic code must be given instruction in it urgently. Standard 20 Phonics skills never cease to be important. Even sophis ticated adult readers occasionally sound out words they have Apply Phonics never seen before. However, from Standard 1 onwards, students Knowledge should increasingly use other strategies to read and write words, including knowledge of familiar and predictable letter patterns. In middle division, much instruction should focus on strate gies for paying attention to parts of words (chunks). The ability to rapidly recognize chunks enables readers to pronounce Use knowledge of words accurately and quickly, even when the words are difficult and unfamiliar. Chunks include common prefixes and suffixes as well as the relationship freque ntly occurring consonant and vowel clusters, such as spr, str, between letters ing, n ch, igh, & are. (See the lower division learning outcomes for more details.) and sounds to decode words in Notes print. (1) The rote memorization of lists of spelling words is rarely an effecti ve strategy if the objective is to improve reading fluency and accuracy in reading and writing. (2) Any phonics programme must be accompanied by a wide range of activities that develop other language skills. Focusing exclusively on decoding skills, without simultaneously building vocabulary and comprehension strategies is harmful. (3) By the end of lower division students should be able to identify all of the phonemes of the English language and connect them to the letter or letters that usually represent them in print. They should know that many phonemes can be represented in more than one way and they should be developing an understanding of which spelling patterns are most common. Lower division students are also expected to use their knowledge of letter-sound relationships to read words by blending sounds together and to deduce word spelling by segmenting (dividing) words into sounds to write them. Middle division students who cannot do this need to be taught these skills explicitly and systematically. Assessment Internet Resources A readable article for teachers of middle All teachers should test their students’ phonics knowledge division students can be accessed at: at the beginning of the school year to determine whether www.sadlier- remedial intervention is necessary. oxford.com/docs/read_papers/9634- 9_WordStudy%20WP.pdf Students should be asked to read aloud texts that contain specific spelling patterns, (e.g. ea, igh, ough). Teachers Language Tree Book 3 p.104 (CS20.21) should note which patterns cause difficulties. 77 Sa mple Lesson Objective 20 .26 By the end of the lesson students will be able to explain how they can use knowledge of words with similar spelling patterns to read an unknown word. R Le arning Outcomes Sta ndard 2 Sample Teaching Strategies 20.21 Recognise that some words Although some word recognition strategies do need to be may have the same sound but explicitly taught and modeled, this should occur in short different spelling, e.g. teaching segments and alongside reading comprehension red/read, hare/hair. and writing. 20 .22 Read words with a variety of long and short vowel sounds, Middle division students who lack knowledge of the basic in cluding multisyllabic words. alphabet code should be given explicit, small group 20 .23 Apply alphabet code remedial instruction. knowledge to read the majority Spelling Pattern Frequency: In lower division, students are of words correctly. routinely exposed to the most common ways of spelling 20 .24 Develop a sense of when a each of the sounds of English. In middle division, a limited word "looks right" based on amount of explicit teaching on the less common patterns spelling patterns and length. may be beneficial. For example, ee, ea, and ey are more 20 .25 Automatically use phonics common ways of spelling the long /e/ sound than ie (fiend) knowledge to decode unknown or ei (receive). words in print. Homophones: It is more important for students to be able to identify and differentiate between homophones and homonyms than it is for them to be able to use or define Sta ndard 3 this technical term. 20 .26 Independently use a variety of Chunk Word Wall: Words that contain chunks of letters that strategies to read unfamiliar commonly occur in words, such as –igh and –ing can be a words including using phonics focus of the classroom’s word wall. knowledge, recognizing similar Word Analogy Strategies: Students can be taught that when patterns from other words and they come across an unknown word they can try to think if applying knowledge of suffixes, words that have similar chunks; for example, getting the prefixes and the structure of word “tight” from “light”. words. 20.27 Discriminate between words with similar spelling patterns Sample Student Activities but different pronunciation Hunt the Letter: Students have to find the letter in printed (head/bead, good/moon, materials in the classroom. dough/rough/thought, Beginning, Middle and End: Many students learn quickly to cow/low) pay attention to the letters and sounds at the beginning of words; however, some students fail to pay attention to sounds and letters that occur in the middle or at the end of words. Encourage all students to pay attention to all the parts of any unknown word. This especially applies to Lin kages students who appear to read the opening chunk of a word CS1 (L) Identify and distinguish between and then guess the rest of it. Rhyming and other word sounds games are useful activities to train students in this area. CS2 1(R) Recognise words by sight CS25(R) Read aloud CS27(R) Comprehend fiction texts CS34 (W) Write stories CS40 (W) Write clearly and legibly CS41 (W) Spell words appropriately 78 C S21 Recognise Words by Sight General Comments A sight word is any word that a student can read automatically and instantly without having to decode it letter by letter. Fluent adult readers read the vast majority of words by sight. They only use decoding Content Standard 21 strategies when they encounter a new or unusual word. Recognise Words by Sight Beginner readers read most words by decoding them. However, over time, more and more words become sight words and reading fluency increases. Read words automatically and Some frequently occurring words are phonetically irregular and cannot be decoded by sounding out. instantaneously, without Unless these “tricky words” become sight words the having to decode or reader will have difficulty, even with simple texts. guess. Sight words can be efficiently learnt by regularly reading texts. Most people can read a word by sight if they encounter it about five times in their reading in a short period of time. Important Note: Teachers should not train children to memorize words by their shape as whole units. This may work for a small number of words but it is impossible for students to memorize all the words they will eventually have to read. Nor should students always guess words from their initial few letters. Instead, it is vital that students attend to all the letters in unknown words. Ass essment Ass essment should focus on both the fluency (speed) and accuracy of reading. Over a period of time, teachers should listen to every student reading a text aloud. They should then note specific behaviour. For Resources example: - Does the student track text with their finger? The most commonly used lists of high - Does the student re-read words when they do frequency words are the Dolch Word Lists not make sense? and the Fry Hundred’s Word Lists. Many - Does the student guess the word from its internet sites have links to these, for beginning, especially if it is a multisyllabic example: word? literacyconnections.com/Dolch.php - Does the student pause after every word or does the reading flow? - What proportion of words (approximately) does the student misread? 79 R Sample Lesson Objective Learning Outcomes 21.6 Working in groups, students will match photographs of Maya sites with their written names. Standard 2 21.7 Students will read a news report containing a range of regional place names, pronouncing each one correctly. 21.6 Read on sight approximately tw o hundred high frequency w ords including addresses and p lace names in Belize, including m ulti-syllabic and irregularly Sample Teaching Strategies sp elt ones, for example, X unantunich. Lots of Reading: The main way that sight words are learnt is by frequently reading them in appropriate texts. Teachers Standar d 3 should find or write stories that contain the target words. 21.7 R ead on sight place names Word Walls: Target words that are the high frequency sight fr om the Caribbean region and words that students encounter in their reading. Words can be C entral America placed on a word wall. Note: Students will not be able to read a text fluently enough Standar d 4 to learn new sight words if they cannot already read at least 21.8 A ccurately and fluently, read 90% of the words in it. o n sight a majority of words e ncountered in print. Sample Student Activities Types of Reading Activity: • Shared Reading: The reading of a story to the whole class from a big book or chart. The teacher often points to each word as it is read. • Guided Reading: An individual or small group of students read a book along with the teacher. The teacher offers support and can ask questions to aid comprehension. • Echo Reading: The teacher, or another proficient reader, reads a story while the learner tracks the text. The learner then reads the same section. Linkages Word of the Day: A high frequency word is made word of the CS20(R) Apply phonics knowledge day. The teacher displays it prominently in the classroom and students get “word of the day” points for using it correctly in a CS23(R) Display word power spoken or written sentence. CS25(R) Read aloud CS27R) Comprehend fiction texts Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading: Also known as DEAR CS31(R) Comprehend non-fiction texts (Drop Everything and Read). At the same time every day, students spend a specified amount of time, typically fifteen or CS34(W) Write stories twenty minutes, reading a book or other text of their choice for CS41(W) Spell words appropriately pleasure. This occurs during class time and is usually an individual activity. 80 CS22 Use Context Clues General Comments When people read, they use many different clues, which are called context clues, to help them fully comprehend the meaning of the text. For example, when a reader comes across an unknown word they can use pictures, the position of the word in the sentence, the meaning Content Standard 23 of the surrounding words, their knowledge of the topic , and other clues to help them sensibly guess at the Display Word Power word’s meaning. Sometimes students who have developed satisfactorily Interpret and apply in lower division find it difficult to cope with middle division texts. This is sometimes because some knowledge of visual strategies that are effective in beginner’s texts, such as images, vocabulary, memorizing frequently recurring words and guessing meaning from pictures are no-longer effective. These grammar, the text’s topic students need to be taught new “word attack” and textual features to strategies to cope with their new difficulties. deduce the meaning of The grammatical aspects of this content standard an unknown word or should be taught in conjunction with CS43, 44 & 45. phrase. Assessment Texts used to evaluate reading comprehension should be on topics that are familiar to the students. Retelling: Students read a passage and retell it, orally or in writing. Teachers should note (a) if the main ideas, key points, and supporting details are accurately depicted and (b) if the student repeat the vocabulary of the original or demonstrate an understanding of it by using alternative terms. Reading Comprehension Exercises: Questions should Resources be included that focus on target vocabulary items. Interviews: Teachers should ask students to explain For a quick lesson idea, see: what they do if they encounter an unknown word. This http://www.lessonplanspage.com/OBegi assesses if they are using useful strategies. nSchoolEffectOfEffortOnGrades35.htm Language Tree Bk 5 p. 63, 75 81 Sample Lesson Objective 22.14 After reading “Tiger Was Once King of the Forest,” students will identify four adverbs used to describe Tiger and explain R what they tell them about the character. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Explicit Strategy Teaching: There are four 22.13 Use context clues from the text to components of explicit strategy instruction: infer the meaning of an unfamiliar explanation, modeling, practice and application. word. Strategies for inferring the meaning of unfamiliar 22.14 Identify, and explain the purpose of, words include: (1) rereading the text; (2) looking an adverb in a written text. at the words that come immediately before and 22.15 Identify, and explain the purpose of, after the unknown word; (3) identifying if the exclamation marks in a written text. word is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb (etc) 22.16 Use background knowledge of the (4) identifying prefixes, suffixes and parts of the topic to identify the meaning of a word (5) thinking about similar words (6) looking at pictures (7) checking if a guess makes sense sentence. from what comes afterwards. Standard 3 Grammar Teaching: The explicit teaching of 22.17 Use quotation marks to differentiate grammar should occur only in short lesson between speech and non-speech in a segments. It is not necessary for students to written text. memorize the definitions of parts of speech. Topic Discussion: Discussing the topic of a text 22.18 Re-read a text to try to decipher and with students before it is read is likely to help arrive at the meaning of unfamiliar them understand its meaning better. This is words. because they will be able to use their background knowledge to help them comprehend unknown Standard 4 words. Content Themes: The use of a thematic 22.19 Identify, and explain the purpose of, approach, in which several texts on the same passive forms in written text. topic are studied, can deepen comprehension. 22.20 Identify, and explain the purpose of, subordinating conjunctions, for example, because, when, unless, in written texts. 22.21 Understand that the context in which a word is used may alter its meaning. 22.22 Use grammatical awareness to predict Sample Student Activities the meaning of words. Word Inferring Chart: A word inferring chart has three columns (1) The word I don’t know (2) What I think it means (3) Why I think it means that. Linkages Punctuation Game: Given a series of words, CS6 (V) Comprehend and interpret visual images students try to come up with sentences of CS23 (R) Display word power different meaning by altering only the CS27 (R) Comprehend fiction texts punctuation. Word Prediction: Given a sentence containing a CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts blank space, students predict which class of the CS34 (W) Write stories word, for example, adjective, noun or adverb, is CS43 (W) Use punctuation appropriately missing. CS44 (W) Apply correct grammatical forms in writing. 82 CS23 Display Word Power General C omments One of the major differences between middle division and lower division re ading texts is the range of vocabulary used because lower divis ion texts tend to have a tightly controlled vocabulary of phoneti cally spelt words and common irregularly spelt ones. A lack of word power can cause some students who perform well in low er division to struggle in middle division. If students Content Standard 23 cannot und erstand the meaning of the words in their texts, they cannot rea d them well. Display Word Power Str ong vocabulary development, therefore, helps students im prove their literacy skills. The best way of helping vocabulary growth is to develop habits of independent reading. Use a range of Stu dents need to maximize their ability to extract meaning from the morphemic structure of words, particularly vocabulary items to from prefix es and suffixes. They also need to develop the habit convey precise of using a dictionary, although they may need help understand ing the meaning of dictionary definitions. meaning, differentiate Stu dents will benefit from explicit vocabulary instruction. between words of Teachers can use stories and other texts to introduce approxima tely ten words each week. Students should not be similar meaning, asked to memorize word meanings, since this is rarely homophones and beneficial. It is more effective to explain new vocabulary through synonyms, analogies and example. Students need to homonyms, and analyse be encour aged to use new words in meaningful, original the structure of words. sentences. The use of new and unusual words should also be rewarded. Tec hnical vocabulary relating to the topics of language arts readin g texts and those of other subject areas should be highlighted . Assessme nt The extent of a student’s word power is very difficult to measure a ccurately. Any test will, inevitably, only sample a small num ber of the words the student knows. In middle Resources division, h owever, students can be asked to form new words by An easy to read chapter on “word adding prefixes and suffixes to root words. The frequency with study strategies at the middle which they make real words (e.g. misfortune) as opposed to grades” is available at plausible but non-existent words (e.g. unfortune) indicates their www.sadlier- general word power. oxford.com/docs/read_papers /9634- In the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the teacher 9_WordStudy%20WP.pdf presents the students with four numbered pictures. The teacher says a vocabulary word and the student says or writes the Language Tree number of the picture it goes with. What is in the pictures is Bk 3 p25, 35, 44, 60, 109 less important than the difficulty level of the target word. Bk4 p.20, 45, 65 Other useful strategies for assessing vocabulary range Bk5 p11, 41, 59, 71, 148, include word games, response to literature and choosing the correct word from a list in a fill-in-the-blanks procedure. 83 Sample Lesson Objective 23.7 After reading “Alien TV” students will discuss the slight R differences in meaning of the words listed in Exercise 1, p60, of Language Tree Bk4. Sample Teaching Strategies Learni ng Outcomes Reading: Vocabulary development occurs when students encounter words while reading texts of interest to them, Stand ard 2 including stories, poems and non-fiction writing. 23.5 Recognize that some words are used Using words: Once students have identified new words, in the standard English spoken in they need to be given opportunities to use them for Belize that are not used in other purposeful written and spoken communication. English speaking countries, for Modeling: Teachers can deliberately use unusual words in e xample words borrowed from Maya, their conversations with students. This should be done S panish or Garifuna. when the context makes the meaning of the word clear. 23.6 M ake collections of significant words, Teachers can also express enjoyment of and interest in w ords of personal interest and words unusual words. f rom particular topics. Five Minute Activities: Play vocabulary building games (see below) for five minutes at the beginning or end of 23.7 Discuss shades of meaning of the lesson or as a break between activities. synonyms, e.g. happy, glad, Making Connections: Teachers can help students connect contented, satisfied, etc. new words with ones they already know. 23.8 R ead and understand words with Analogy: Telling a short story to illustrate the meaning of c ommon prefixes and suffixes. a word is usually more effective than giving definitions. SLAP: Say the word Standard 3 Look for clues 23.9 Explain how some suffixes and Ask yourself what the word might mean prefixes are used to change the part Put the word in a passage in the place of a of speech of a word, e.g. culture (n) familiar word to see if it makes sense. cultural (adj), or book (n) bookish (adj) 23.10 D iscuss and collect words of similar Sample Student Activities a nd opposite meanings Story Vocabulary: Students underline unknown or target words in a short story. Word discussion: After reading a passage, students Standard 4 discuss how prefixes and suffixes change the meaning of 23.11 Build words from common roots, e.g. words. medical/medicine/medicinal. Opposites Game: Each student is given a card with a word 23.12 Interpret most homophones and on it. They have to find their partner who has a word with homonyms correctly the opposite meaning. This can also work for synonyms. Suffixes Word Game: Same as opposites game (above) except that one student has a root word and the other has Linkages a prefix or suffix. CS9 (S) Express opinions and communicate ideas Personal Dictionary: Each student has a booklet in which CS21 (R) Recognize words by sight they write their favourite words. Morning Circle: Regular classroom discussion about CS22 (R) Use context clues events, books and experiences can enhance students’ CS24 (R) Use a dictionary word power. CS27 (R) Comprehend fiction texts Beat the Teacher: Challenge students to find a word that CS34 (W) Write stories the teacher does not know. CS45 (W) Incorporate stylistic devices in original Word of the Day: Each student chooses a word that they writing will use at least three times that day. 84 C S24 Use a Dictionary General Comments One of the teacher’s tasks is to create a “dictionary culture” within the class in which students appreciate that dictionaries are useful sources of information about words. Students are more likely to acquire the Content Standard 24 habit of using dictionaries frequently if they have Use a Dictionary access to ones which are appropriate to their level of development. A good “student dictionary” Use a dictionary to find should have an easy to read format, clear examples, and an attractive, well-organised lay- information pertaining to out. Good student dictionaries also use a limited the spelling, meaning, range of words for their definitions. A “children’s dictionary” is usually more appropriate for lower derivation, syllabication, division students. Although they are usually parts of speech, attractive and have lots of pictures, middle division students are likely to be frustrated by the inflection, and limited number of words that they contain. pronunciation of words and to discover new words. Assessment Observe how often, for what purposes, and under what circumstances students use their dictionaries. Internet Resources An online activity for students can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/blogs/ shell.swf Language Tree Bk3 p50,70, Bk4 p15,70,109 Bk5 p16 85 Sample Lesson Objective 24.5 While editing their stories, students will use a R dictionary to check words. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies A small number of explicit lessons on dictionary skills will Stan dard 2 benefit students. However, once they have grasped the basic 24.5 Without help, use a "students’" concepts, it is much more effective to integrate the use of dictionary that has a controlled dictionaries into other activities. vocabulary for definitions. Elements that require explicit teaching include: - the purpose of a dictionary Stan dard 3 - concepts of alphabetical order beyond the first letter 24.6 When reading, note an of a word. unknown word that they will - the meaning of symbols used in dictionaries look up later but continue reading. Editing Writing: Editing drafts of writing should be a regular feature of language arts lessons. This editing should involve the students in using dictionaries. Stan dard 4 Five Minute Activities: Short, fun, activities can be used at the 24.8 Use information from a end of a lesson. For example, the group that finds a word first dictionary about parts of could be the first to leave the classroom after the bell. speech, plurals, verb tenses and syllabication. Sample Student Activities Dictionary Race: Students try to be the quickest to find given words. Alternatively, students try to be the quickest to put six words beginning with the same letter in alphabetical order. Misspelt Word: Students try to find the correct spelling of misspelt words, for example balon, fatha, tigar, rabit. Class Dictionary: Over time, a class dictionary can be constructed. Students can nominate a new word for the dictionary. A group of students can work on an entry that includes information about the word’s meaning, part of speech and syllabication. Bilingual Dictionary: Students make a dictionary showing English words and ones from their first language. Definitions can be included. Linkages Subject Dictionaries: Students can make their own subject specific dictionaries, for example, a science dictionary, a math CS20 (R) Apply phonics knowledge dictionary and a social studies dictionary, in which they enter CS22 (R) Read words by sight technical vocabulary. CS23 (R) Display word power Alphabet Poem: Students compose poems in which the first CS34 (W) Write stories letter of the lines are in alphabetical order. CS38 (W) Plan and edit writing CS41 (W) Spell words appropriately 86 CS25 Read Aloud General Comments The ability to read texts aloud fluently, that is at an appropriate rate and with meaningful expression and phrasing, is central to successful reading development. Consequently, students should get Content Standard 25 frequent opportunities to practice this skill by reading aloud stories, poetry, drama and a range of non- Read Aloud fiction texts. Such reading aloud should include their own work. Reading aloud by students is usually most Confidently, fluently and effective when the students are already familiar with the text, (see Teaching Strategies box). accurately read texts aloud, with appropriate It is extremely important for the teacher to model rhythm, pacing, volume, good reading by reading aloud to the students every intonation and stress. day. Some benefits of this are: (1) it allows the teacher to model good voice control; (2) it allows students to appreciate the fun, emotion and excitement of good writing; (3) it ensures that all students are exposed to extended, novel length, narratives; (4) it enhances students’ listening skills (5) it provides a shared experience for whole class discussion and other activities. Assessment Ov er a period of time, all students should read alo ud to the teacher and the class. The teacher ca n develop a rubric based on the learning ou tcomes to assess each student’s fluency and ac curacy. For example: (a ) Reads quickly without making errors (b) Reads quickly and self-corrects errors (c) Reads quickly and does not self-correct errors (d) Reads hesitantly without making errors (e) Reads hesitantly and self-corrects errors Internet Resources (f) Reads hesitantly and does not self-correct A good article is “Guiding Fluency errors Instruction: Moving Students to (g) Successfully reads only one or two words per Independence.” sentence (h) Reads very few words successfully. http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/flue ncyformula/pdfs/Guided_Fluency_Instructio n.pdf 87 Sample Lesson Objective R 25.18 After studying “What Friends are For” silently, selected students will read it aloud to the class while demonstrating appropriate voice control. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Texts for reading aloud by students should be 25.16 When reading aloud, self- comfortably within their reading level, that is, they should be able to immediately read 95% of the words. correct and/or re-read a For more difficult texts, other activities should be done word/sentence when it does before students read aloud in front of their peers. not make sense in the context. 25.17 While reading aloud, vary tone Three-Stage Fluency Instruction: of voice to emphasise key parts 1. Modeling by the teacher – the teacher reads the of the text. text in an expressive and meaningful manner. 2. Assisted Practice – the teacher and the student Standard 3 share the reading task through Echo Reading and 25.18 When reading aloud, vary Paired Choral Reading. In Echo Reading, the teacher volume and tone of voice to reads a section of the text, followed by the student. hold the audience's attention. In Paired Choral Reading, the teacher and student 25.19 When reading aloud, bring out read together, and the teacher raises or lowers the the natural phrasing and volume of his or her voice depending on the rhythm of a passage. confidence of the student. 3. Independent Practice – the student practices 25.20 When reading aloud, from time reading the same text until he or she reads it to time look up from the text to fluently with meaningful expression. achieve eye-contact with the 4. The student reads the text aloud in front of their audience. peers. Standard 4 It is rarely productive to ask struggling readers to read 25.21 When reading aloud, new material aloud in front of their peers. Instead, pronounce most commonly struggling readers should always be given the occurring, regularly and opportunity to read texts that they fully understand, irregularly spelt words, have already listened to and spoken about, and have accurately and fluently. had the opportunity to practice reading silently. 25.22 Read with fluency and confidence from a variety of prose, poetry and non-fiction texts, including texts seen for the first time. Sample Student Activities Practiced Reading: Students practice reading a story, poem or report before they deliver it to the class. Repeated Reading: The same or different students read Linkages the same text aloud several times – until it is read with CS13 (S) Perform Drama good expression. CS14 (S) Recite Poetry Read and Record: Students read aloud or recite a familiar passage and record themselves. They can then play CS20 (R) Apply Phonics Knowledge back the recording to evaluate their own performance. CS21 (R) Recognise words by sight CS27 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts 88 C S26 Select Appropriate Reading Material Ge neral Comments Mo tivation is extremely important for developing reading Content Standard 26 sk ills, and a love of reading is fostered when children ha ve choices in what they read: they are more interested Select Appropriate an d engaged in reading when they can choose their Reading Material re ading materials. For students, reading should be a way to explore new interests and to answer real questions. Students need guidance in making good choices. Independently select Re ading material should not be too difficult for the child's reading material that is re ading level. Generally speaking, a reader needs to read wo rds with 90% accuracy. Students also need guidance appropriate to purpose in choosing books, magazines, or newspapers that are and reading level by int eresting and well written. Encouraging students to use a school library can using textual information he lp introduce them to a variety of types of writing or and background ge nres. In other words, over a period of time, a student sh ould choose a range of fiction and non-fiction books on knowledge a v ariety of topics. Students must also develop library skills like be coming critical of what they read, learning how to se lect texts for themselves, and learning to read dif ferently for different purposes (for example, reading fic tion from cover to cover but skimming nonfiction texts to find the desired information). At the beginning of the year, it is a good idea to as k each student’s parents to contribute one reading bo ok to the classroom library. There is a strong link be tween the number of books a child has access to and th e development of their reading ability. A ssessment Throughout the course of a term, the teacher Internet Resources should observe which books students are reading An article on teaching library skills can be found at and whether they choose to read a variety of http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/5aug3006l5.htm books. Students can be asked to keep a record of what they read and the teacher should ask Language Tree them questions about their choices and about Bk3 p66, p85 their opinions of the books they are reading. 89 Standards Two and Three R Sample Lesson Objective 26. During class discussion time, students will share Learning Outcomes which are their favourite books and why. Sta ndard 2 26 .5 With guidance, select from a Sample Teaching Strategies classroom or school library a Routines and Records: Visiting the library should be a variety of fiction and non-fiction routine experience. Records should be kept, by both the texts, including pictorial books teacher and the students, of the books that are borrowed. about science, short newspaper Themes: Visits to the library should occur when a new unit reports and short accounts of theme is introduced. Before the visit, the teacher can historical events. gather the relevant books together. 26.6 Show a preference for a favourite Classroom Library: Each classroom should have its own author or for books about library and reading centre. favourite subjects. Explicit Strategy Instruction Teach students to ask the 26 .7 Read books of their own choice following questions when selecting a book: (1) Is the size of with unbroken concentration and print too big, small are just right; (2) Are there too many attention for at least fifteen words and lines on the page? Too few? Just Right? (3) Are there pictures that will help me read the words? (4) When I minutes. read a few sentences of the book, can I understand most of the words? Sta ndard 3 Library Displays: Books need to be categorized and 26.8 Select and read for pleasure displayed attractively. Books that teachers want to stories from other cultures. highlight can be placed with the cover, rather than the spine, facing outwards. Books for students should not be 26.9 Discuss, with reasons, their book kept in locked cabinets. preferences. 26.10 Read a newspaper or magazine and select the articles that are of Sample Student Activities most interest to them. Alphabetization Games: Students need to put word cards in 26.11 Use information from a book's alphabetical order to the second, third or fourth letter. front and back cover when Book Hunt: Students need to learn how to locate a book in making a reading selection. a library. During a book hunt, the teacher provides clues that should enable the students to find a particular book. Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading: Time should be Standard Four made available for uninterrupted sustained silent reading See next section (USSR) or Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) every day. During these periods, each student should have their own book, one that is different than the books other students Linkages are reading. The teacher should set clear rules for CS6 (V) Comprehend and interpret visual USSR/DEAR time, for example: (1) everyone should read a images book of their choice, (2) no talking or moving, (3) no CS9 (S) Express opinions and interrupting. etc. communicate ideas Sharing Reading: Students should be encouraged to share what they are reading with the teacher, their peers and CS28 (R) Interpret stories their parents. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories Reading Records: Each student can have a personal record CS30 (R) Read and relate to poetry sheet where they list the title, author and other details CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts about each book that they read. CS34 (W) Write stories 90 C S26 Select Appropriate Reading Material Gen eral Comments Mot ivation is extremely important for developing reading skill s, and a love of reading is fostered when children hav e choices in what they read: they are more interested and engaged in reading when they can choose their read ing materials. For students, reading should be a way to e xplore new interests and to answer real questions. Content Standard 26 The emphasis in Standard Four is on enabling Select Appropriate students to make informed, independent choices in both a cl assroom library and a school library. Students also Reading Material nee d guiding towards an ever increasing range of reading mat erials. In Standard Four this should include an ever wide ning range of non-fiction texts that are read for Independently select plea sure as well as for information.. reading material that is Visits to the library in Standard Four can be use fully linked to content themes and research projects. appropriate to purpose Tea chers can also arrange special displays of books they and reading level by wou ld like the students to read. Students must also develop library skills like using textual information beco ming critical of what they read, learning how to and background sele ct texts for themselves, and learning to read diffe rently for different purposes (for example, reading knowledge ficti on from cover to cover but skimming nonfiction texts to fi nd the desired information). Note : Teachers should ensure that books in classroom and school libraries are placed on the shelves in a logical way , for example by alphabetical order of the author’s nam e. It is important to regularly maintain the books in this order. As sessment Stu dents can keep their own record sheets of the boo ks they have borrowed. Stu dents can be informally interviewed about the ir book choices. Internet Resources http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson261.shtml has library skills lesson plans 91 S tandard Four R Sample Lesson Objective Students will choose a book from the classroom library and discuss the reasons for their choice with their peers and their Lea rning Outcomes teacher. Sta ndards Two and Three See previous section Sample Teaching Strategies Sta ndard 4 Displays: Books should be attractively displayed in the 26.12 With guidance, select an classroom. appropriate book from a public Explicit Teaching: Different book categories, including fiction, library. non-fiction, biography, autobiography and reference, can be 26. 13 Discuss, with reasons, their explained. favourite authors and favourite Modeling: When the class visits a library, the teacher should types of books. also choose a book. 26. 14 Seek to widen their reading Discussing Choices: The teacher should converse with experiences by trying books students about the books they choose; pointing out features, types they do not normally giving advice and modeling ways of making good choices. read. See also the previous section. 26. 15 Independently, select and read a variety of non-fiction texts, Sample Student Activities including pictorial books about science, short newspaper Library Role Play: Ask students to pretend they are organizing reports, articles from age- a library. How would they arrange the books? (E.g. by title, appropriate magazines, and by author, by content, date published, etc.) What furniture multiple paragraph accounts of would they include? What rules would they have? and so on. historical events. Book Categories: Give students several books. Ask them to decide which category they belong in. Alternatively, give students the title of books and ask them to guess what they are about. Library Map: Students visit a library and draw a map showing its layout, including where different types of books can be found. Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading: Time should be made available for uninterrupted sustained silent reading (USSR) or Linkages Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) every day. During these CS6 (V) Comprehend and interpret periods, each student should have their own book, one that is visual images different than the books other students are reading. The CS9 (S) Express opinions and teacher should set clear rules for USSR/DEAR time, for communicate ideas example: (1) everyone should read a book of their choice, (2) CS28 (R) Interpret stories no talking or moving, (3) no interrupting. etc. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories Sharing Reading: Students should be encouraged to share CS30 (R) Read and relate to poetry what they are reading with the teacher, their peers and their CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction parents. texts Reading Records: Each student, especially in Standard 1, can CS34 (W) Write stories have a personal record sheet where they list the titles and authors of the books they choose to read. The record sheet can have a separate section for each type of book, e.g. story book, poetry and non-fiction book. 92 C S27 Comprehend Fiction Texts General Comments CS27 relates to literal comprehension. Interpretation and critical comprehension are covered by CS28 and 29. The main purpose of reading is comprehension and reading should be viewed as a pleasurable, entertaining activity. Middle division students should be exposed to a Content Standard 27 variety of interesting stories that they can relate to. Being able to read means more than being able to Comprehend Fiction decode symbols on a page; it means having a full Texts understanding of the message being communicated in print. Sometimes students display impressive decoding skills, making it appear that they are good readers, while they do not understand the meaning of what they are reading. Students who can decode but not comprehend usually struggle in middle division. Find, sequence and retell This content standard refers both to stories students story information. read for themselves and ones read to them by the teacher. Teachers should read stories to students every day or almost every day. Simple texts with repetitive and/or rhyming structures should be used in Infant One. By Standard One, a wide range of stories on a variety of topics should be used. Linking reading to units on themes of interest to the students aids comprehension because students can activate background knowledge. Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies benefits all students, but is especially important for low achieving ones. When planning reading comprehension lessons, teachers need to consider: (i) the ability and motivation of the students (ii) the difficulty level of the texts (iii) the difficulty level of the activity and (iv) the ways in which the environment might influence students’ performance. A ssessment Q uestions can ask students to recall details about the c haracter, setting, and sequence of events. They can also Resources te st students understanding of key vocabulary items and m orphology. Language Tree Bk3 p6, 31, 36, 86 R etelling: Ask “Pretend I have never heard the story, tell Bk4 p6, p41, 56, 76-78, 91, 116 m e everything that happened?” Assess: (1) Depiction of Bk5 p90 m ain idea; (2) Inclusion of Are the key points; (3) Recall of supporting detail; (4) Sequencing of events; (5) Depiction of plot, including appropriate beginning, middle and end; (6) Confidence level. 93 Sample Lesson Objective 2 7.11 After discussing the story “Alien TV” with the whole class and in small groups, students will rewrite the story in their own words, accurately including the main events. R Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 When planning reading comprehension lessons, teachers 27.7 When sequencing a story, need to consider: independently select the most (i) the ability and motivation of the students important events. (ii) the difficulty level of the texts 2 7.8 Show awareness of character (iii) the difficulty level of the activity and when re-telling or re-enacting (iv) the ways in which the environment might influence stories. students’ performance. Read Alouds: Teachers should continue to read aloud to the S tandard 3 whole class, preferably every day, throughout middle 2 7.9 Explain the difference between division. dialogue and non-dialogue in a Pre-reading Activities: Set the scene, relate the story to the story. students’ own experiences, elicit predictions and highlight 2 7.10 Using original words, describe target grammar and vocabulary items; during reading story settings, events and the activities (see below) and post-reading activities that feature students talking and writing about the text. physical appearance of During Reading Activities: characters. Students may require training to think and read at the same 2 7.11 Use descriptive language, time. This can be achieved during read alouds by: including adjectives and adverbs Modeling Thinking: Pause at appropriate points and when recounting characters and “think aloud” about the text. scenes from a story. Connecting Ideas to Text: When a student makes a comment about a story, ask, “What words in the story made you think that?” Or, read a short excerpt and Standard 4 ask, “What do you think about when you hear these 27.12 Sequence events in a words?” chronological story in which the Post Reading Activities: Students talk and write about the action occurs over a long period story. This can include sequencing activities. of time. 27.13 Explore chronology in a story, e.g. by mapping how much time Sample Student Activities passes between events or between the first and last events. Connecting Pictures to Text: Ask students to evaluate whether an illustration faithfully represents the 27.14 Distinguish between third and associated text. first person accounts. Sequencing Race: Give each student in a team a card relating to an event in a story. The winning team is the one which first has the students standing in a line with the events in the correct sequence. Linkages Story Timelines: On a chart, create a line with the dates and times of key events in a story. Students are given CS2 (L) Listen for information cards that describe one event. They place the cards at CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events the correct point of the timeline. CS13 (S) Perform drama Adding Detail: Read a simple story that has a basic plot CS23 (R) Display word power but lacks any descriptions of settings or characters. In CS26 (R) Select appropriate reading material groups, the students create their own descriptions using CS28 (R) Interpret stories adjectives and adverbs. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories. CS34 (W) Write stories 94 CS28 Interpret Stories Ge neral Comments In terpretation involves explaining any meaning in a text th at is not literally stated. This is often done by making co nnections between the story being read and: - previous knowledge, experience and ideas - what has been previously read. He lping students make these connections requires much Content Standard 28 cla ss time to be spent talking about stories that the Interpret Stories st udents are reading and listening to. Usually a story sh ould be read several times and be analyzed in several di fferent ways. The same story should be used for a series of lessons, perhaps spanning a whole week. Discuss story plot, Essentially, once students understand the literal setting, m eaning of the words in a text, the most important thing th at teachers can help them do is connect what they are characterization, re ading to their own knowledge and experiences. structure and To help students do this, they need to be taught so me simple reading comprehension strategies, such as likely outcomes; and as king questions about the text and making predictions. compare, contrast and Th ey can begin to learn these strategies from the earliest st ages of learning to read. Activities done before the story evaluate different is read, either for the first time or on later occasions, are stories. als o crucial to the development of interpretative skills. Stories can also be a good vehicle for tackling pr ejudice and intolerance, and for dealing with difficult to pics, such as moving to a new school, bullying, or death. When a unit theme has been identified, stories sh ould relate to this theme. These stories should also be lin ked to non-fiction texts on the same topic. Stories can als o relate to another subject area such as social studies or sc ience. Internet Resources A ssessment The use of reading comprehension T raditional assessment tools, although they are useful for schema is explained at: testing CS27, are usually inefficient at measuring in terpretation. http://www.cornerstoneliteracy.org/ NEWSLETTER/volume_8_1/spotlight Retelling: Refer to CS27. Additionally assess: (1) Use of .html vocabulary (uses the same words as the original or elaborates on them) (2) Accurate summarization of events; (3) Insertion of additional material that elaborates on or Language Tree detracts from the original (etc) Bk3 Unit 3 & 71 S ee also following page. 95 S tandard Two R Sample Lesson Objective 28.11 After reading “Tiger was King of the Jungle” students will tell their partner which is their favourite character and explain why by referring to the text. Learning Outcomes Standard 2 Sample Teaching Strategies 28.9 Note similarities and differences between various Teach students the following routine: parts of a story with a repetitive, predictable - Read the story again pattern. - Pay close attention to the words - Look closely at the pictures 28.10 State, with reasons, which - Take time are the most significant - Think really hard. events in a story. 28.11 Express views about a Predictions Chart: A prediction chart has three story with clear reference to columns: (1) What is my prediction; (2) The thinking events and characters, and behind my prediction; (3) What actually happened. words, phrases in it. Questions about Characters: Character development is not just the characters’ physical features, but also 28.12 Explain story predictions their mental features and their personalities. by giving examples from the Ask: - What does the character do? text. - What does the character say? - What does the character think and feel about the situation? What does the character think and feel about other characters? Students should be encouraged to use the words of the original story when answering these questions. Linkages Sample Student Activities CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts. CS6 (V) Comprehend and interpret visual Comparing Predictions: Each group completes the first images. two columns of the prediction chart (see above). The CS9 (S) Express opinions and groups then share their predictions and discuss which communicate ideas. one to adopt as the class prediction. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events CS13 (S) Perform drama. Cause and Effect: Making successful predictions often CS23 (R) Display word power depends on understanding what causes events and CS26 (R) Select appropriate reading what effects an action is likely to have. Students can material. choose between several possible effects of an action, CS27 (R) Find, sequence and re-tell story explaining which they think is the most likely and why. information. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories. CS34 (W) Write stories 96 CS28 Interpret Stories G eneral Comments In terpretation involves explaining any meaning in a text th at is not literally stated. This is often done by making c onnections between the story being read and: - previous knowledge, experience and ideas - what has been previously read. H elping students make these connections requires m uch class time to be spent talking about stories that th e students are reading and listening to. Usually a s tory should be read several times and be analyzed in s everal different ways. The same story should be used Content Standard 28 fo r a series of lessons, perhaps spanning a whole week. Interpret Stories T o help students begin to interpret texts, they need to be taught some simple reading comprehension s trategies, such as asking questions about the text and Discuss story plot, m aking predictions. They can begin to learn these setting, s trategies from the earliest stages of learning to read. A ctivities done before the story is read, either for the characterization, fi rst time or on later occasions, are also crucial to the structure and d evelopment of interpretative skills. likely outcomes; and S tories can also be a good vehicle for tackling prejudice compare, contrast and a nd intolerance, and for dealing with difficult topics, s uch as moving to a new school, bullying, or death. evaluate different stories. W hen a unit theme has been identified, stories should re late to this theme. These stories should also be li nked to non-fiction texts on the same topic. Stories c an also relate to another subject area such as social s tudies or science. A ssessment Tr aditional assessment tools, although they are useful fo r testing CS27, are usually inefficient at measuring in terpretation. Internet Resources R etelling: Refer to CS27. Additionally assess: (1) Use of A general discussion on reading aimed at vo cabulary (uses the same words as the original or teachers can be found at: el aborates on them) (2) Accurate summarization of ev ents; (3) Insertion of additional material that http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/re el aborates on or detracts from the original (etc) ad.html S ee also following page. Language Tree Bk4 p6, p11, 46, 56 97 S tandard Three R Sample Lesson Objective After reading the story “New Boy” students will discuss the relationship between the main characters. (Language Tree Book 4 p.116) Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 3 Some questions to ask about characters: 28.13 Discuss how the characters in a story might behave in a - What does the character look like? given situation. - How old is the character? 28.14 Make predictions about - How does the character dress? what will happen next in a - What situation is the character in? story based on inferences - Who are the character’s friends? How does he/she about a character's treat those friends? personality. - Which of the character’s family members are in the story? How does the character relate to them? 28.15 Discuss the relationships - What problems does the character face? between characters in a - What are the character’s thoughts and feelings? story. - How does the character speak? - How does the character behave? - What do we know about the character’s past? - Which of these words describes the character: hero, villain, brainy, athletic, tricky, lucky? (Insert appropriate words.) Sample Student Activities Character Identity Card: Students make an identity Linkages or social security card for a character. CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts. Character Maps: Students draw web diagrams of a CS6 (V) Comprehend and interpret visual character. The diagrams can either be on a images. particular characteristic, e.g. appearance, or one CS9 (S) Express opinions and type of characteristic can be used for each arm of the web. Maps can also show the relationship communicate ideas. between the central character and other characters. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Character Map Folder: Students keep maps about CS23 (R) Display word power characters from all the stories they read. They use CS26 (R) Select appropriate reading these to compare characters from different stories. material. CS27 (R) Find, sequence and re-tell story information. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories. CS34 (W) Write stories 98 CS28 Interpret Stories General Comments Interpretation involves explaining any meaning in a text that is not literally stated. This is often done by making connections between the story being read and: - previous knowledge, experience and ideas - what has been previously read. Content Standard 28 Helping students make these connections requires much Interpret Stories class time to be spent talking about stories that the students are reading and listening to. Usually a story should be read several times and be analyzed in several different ways. The same story should be used for a series of Discuss story plot, lessons, perhaps spanning a whole week. setting, To help students begin to interpret texts, they need to be characterization, taught some simple reading comprehension strategies, such structure and as asking questions about the text and making predictions. likely outcomes; and They can begin to learn these strategies from the earliest stages of learning to read. Activities done before the story compare, contrast and is read, either for the first time or on later occasions, are evaluate different also crucial to the development of interpretative skills. stories. Stories can also be a good vehicle for tackling prejudice and intolerance, and for dealing with difficult topics, such as moving to a new school, bullying, or death. When a unit theme has been identified, stories should relate to this theme. These stories should also be linked to non- fiction texts on the same topic. Stories can also relate to another subject area such as social studies or science. Assessment Some powerful assessment tools are: - oral and written predicting, retelling and rewriting; - questionnaires including questions asking students to identify which interpretative statements they most agree Internet Resources with For a useful handout: - think alouds and interviews in which students are rated http://www.readwritethink.org/les according to the nature of observations they make. son_images/lesson59/characterha ndout.pdf For details on retelling see previous page and box relating to CS27. Bk5 Units 2, 4, 8, 15, 19 99 S t andard Four R Sample Lesson Objective Learning Outcomes 28.17 After performing a role play of a story, students will make a chart outlining the positive and negative traits of each Standard 4 character. 2 8.16 Compare and contrast the main themes of different Sample Teaching Strategies stories. 2 8.17 Discuss choices faced by Teachers can help students: characters in a story with an - activate relevant background knowledge before, during understanding that characters and after reading; are not necessarily all good or - create visual images as they read; all bad. - ask questions as they read; 28.18 Recognize that different - consciously decide which are the important ideas and readers may interpret the same themes; and story in different ways. - connect what they read to themselves, their situation and other texts. 2 8.19 Compare and contrast the events and characters of Initially, students may need explicit instruction in the use of the different stories of the same above strategies. They may need to be guided to use them in type. structured reading situations. However, the goal should be for 28.20 Without prompting, the students to use the strategies independently and independently use a range of automatically. comprehension strategies, including anticipation and See also strategies for Standards Two and Three. prediction, and imagining events as they are described. Sample Teaching Strategies Text to self connections: Ask students to think of a connection they have with the text. Then, as a group activity, ask the students to decide which connections help them understand the Linkages story better. CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts. TV News: Students role-play being a television reporter sent to CS9 (S) Express opinions and cover an event in the story. communicate ideas. Imaginary Interview: Students write an imaginary newspaper or C S10 (S) Narrate real and fictional television interview with a character events 5Ws Chart: Who, What, When, Where, Why C S26 (R) Select appropriate reading Decision Map: Describe the decision facing the character. Write material. three possible alternatives. List the advantages and CS27 (R) Find, sequence and re-tell disadvantages of each choice. story information. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories. See Standard 3 boxes for teaching strategies and learning C S34 (W) Write stories activities related to story characters. 100 CS29 Relate Personally to Stories General Comments This content standard, like the ones that precede it, relates to reading comprehension. The strategies used Content Standard 29 for CS28 can also be used for CS29. Relate Personally to Creating an environment that allows students to share Stories their feelings depends on the establishment of trust between the teacher and the students and among the students themselves. Students ideas and opinions need to be carefully considered and discussed. This does not Connect stories to mean that every idea must be accepted as equally valid, personal choices, but it does mean that every idea should be listened to respectfully. experiences, emotions, Creating a trusting environment also means ideas and moral values. training the students to listen to each other patiently and without interrupting. Note: Empathy (CS29.4) is the ability to understand someone else’s state of mind, especially when they face choices or unfavourable situations. It requires combining imagination, information about the character contained in the story and previous personal experience. As students develop they should increasingly demonstrate awareness that different people think, feel and act in different ways, and that one person’s desires and choices might conflict with those of another without this being necessarily wrong. Assessment This content standard cannot effectively be assessed using recall-type questions. Language Tree Instead, students should be asked to respond to the story at some length, either orally or in writing, using their own words, Bk3 p21, 61 Bk4 p11, 16, 76 Bk5 Units 2, 4, 8, 15, 19 1 01 R Sample Lesson Objective 29.7 In groups, students will write and perform an alternative possible ending for the story “New Boy”. (Language Tree Book 4, p116.) L earning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 29.4 Identify themselves and Multiple Readings: Deeper level comprehension of empathize with story a story usually requires it to be listened to or read characters. several times. During the first reading the focus 29.5 Discuss the relevance of the can be on literal comprehension. However, after the basic plot has been understood, the teacher morals of simple stories to their can guide the students into a more wide ranging own lives. discussion through the use of carefully targeted questions (see boxes for CS28). S tandard 3 29.6 Develop a sense of what Text to self connections: Ask students to think of a connection they have with the text. Then, as a pleases them, aesthetically, in group activity, ask the students to decide which literature connections help them to understand the story 2 9.7 Discuss whether they like or better. dislike the ending of stories and explore alternative possible Text to world connections endings that they find more Stories can be used to help middle division satisfactory. students understand complex moral and social 29.8 Express, with reasons, whether issues. Before a story is read, the teacher can ask they agree with the actions and “what do you know about this issue?” views of characters in stories. Standard 4 Sample Student Activities 29.9 Connect stories to life choices and moral decisions. Role-play, which is natural activity for primary aged children, allows students to express their own feelings and emotions and to explore the feelings and emotions of others. Students can adopt specific roles, Linkages such as those of characters in a story, dress CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts. like them, use objects familiar to them and do the things they do or are likely to do. CS9 (S) Express opinions and communicate ideas. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Role-play is most effective when it is CS13 (S) Perform drama. carefully planned and not just improvised. CS26 (R) Select appropriate reading material. Students should have already studied the CS27 (R) Find, sequence and re-tell story characters (see CS28) and there should be information. preparation time before they perform. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories. CS34 (W) Write stories 102 CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry General Comments The regular reading and reciting of poetry is an important part of students’ oral language development, including the phonological awareness skills that are vital for the learning of phonics. Most students enter school with some knowledge of poetry gained from saying rhymes and Content Standard 30 singling songs at home. Teachers should encourage students to share this knowledge and then build on it by Read and Relate to introducing students to a wider range of poems. Poetry Poems used in middle division should be fun and easy to learn and recite. Students like to read and recite familiar poems and rhymes frequently. These repeated recitations help with their understanding of Comprehend and the nature and structure of language. Teachers can interpret poetry, and read aloud poems that the students would be unable to read for themselves. make connections to Students should also have occasional personal choices, opportunities to prepare poetry for a public recital, for example to a school assembly or a group of parents. experiences, emotions, Although the learning outcomes listed focus on ideas and moral values. analyzing poetry, this should be secondary to encouraging students to enjoy poetry. Thus, before analyzing poetic form, students should discuss the feelings and associations that a poem invokes. Furthermore, analysis of poetic form is best done on short poems that are easily understood by the students. Students should not be asked to read poems that they are not familiar with in front of their peers or another audience. See CS25 for more details. When planning poetry lessons, teachers should combine learning outcomes from CS14, Recite Poetry, CS30, Read and Relate to Poetry, and CS35, Write Poetry. Assessment Students can analyse, discuss and write about poetry at the same levels as stories Internet Resources that is literal (CS27), inferential (CS28) and The poems of Ogden Nash, which many children personal (CS29). enjoy, are available online at: http://www.westegg.com/nash Language Tree Bk3 Units 5 & 14 Bk4 Units 6 & 11 Bk5 Units 7, 13, 21 1 03 Sample Lesson Objective 30.4 After a whole class discussion of “Steel Band Jumps Up” each student will state what they like about the poem to the other R members of a small group. Language Tree Bk 3 p.76 Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 To help students understand a poem, follow this 30.4 Develop an appreciation for the procedure: beauty of poetry. (1) Read the poem to the class. (2) Ask students for their first ideas about it. 30.5 Clap out the rhythm of lines of (3) Read it again. Ask the students to read it to regular poetry. themselves and then ask some students to read it aloud. Standard 3 (4) Ask questions and use analogies to help students There are no Standard 3 learning understand vocabulary items. outcomes for this Content Standard. (5) Ask questions to help students notice rhyming Teachers wishing to use poetry can and/or lay-out patterns. refer to learning outcomes for (6) Ask student to work in groups to decide what the Standards 2 and 4. poem means. Mental Imagery: As a poem is being read aloud, Standard 4 students are asked to create mental images. After 30.6 Note that some poems have the reading (or several readings) these are shared alliteration that occurs within and discussed. lines and across several lines. Exploring Meaning: Often poems can be interpreted 30.7 Discuss the impact of the lay- in different ways. Teachers should avoid telling out of a poem. students what a poem means. Instead students should be encouraged to share their own ideas. 30.8 Discuss the difference between rhyming and non-rhyming poetry, and the difference between poetry and prose. Sample Student Activities 30.9 Discuss poetry using Rhyming Games: A student begins by saying a appropriate terms, including word. His or her partner has to say a word that rhyme, verse, poet, and poem. rhymes with it. The first student has to supply another word (e.g. cold, bold, sold). The last student to supply a correct word wins the game. This can also be done by a chain of students. Dramatic Interpretation: Students are given a poem they are already familiar with. In groups they decide how to represent it dramatically. Different groups can be given different poems. Linkages Anthologies: Students can collect poems in CS1 (L) Identify and distinguish between individual or class anthologies. When a new sounds. poem is being studied it can be compared to CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts poems already in the anthology. CS14 (S) Recite poetry Recording: Students can record themselves reciting a poem on tape. CS25 (R) Read aloud CS35 (W) Write poetry 104 CS31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts General Comments Providing reading material on non-fiction topics of interest can motivate students to read. Middle division students are fascinated by the real world and they should be encouraged to look in books for the answers to the questions they have about Content Standard 31 it. Furthermore, non-fiction texts can be used to teach a wide range of language arts skills Comprehend Non- including oral language skills, vocabulary, Fiction Texts phonics, sight word reading, comprehension strategies and writing skills. Students should be introduced to content area Extract, sequence, readers and textbooks, that is, books that present factual information in such subject areas synthesise and use as science, social studies, health, and math. information contained in They should understand that non-fiction texts are written and structured differently than stories. non-fiction texts. Comprehension is likely to be greater if the students’ background knowledge of the topic is activated. One way of achieving this is to use a thematic approach so that the students study several texts on the same topic. These texts can also be related to the theme of lessons in another subject area such as social studies or science. There are strong links between CS31 and CS32 Assessment Different techniques should be used to evaluate Internet Resources different aspects of non-fiction comprehension. For a case study on teaching non- • Traditional questions can be used to fiction texts to lower ability students: evaluate students’ comprehension of the http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/pri information contained in a text. mary/casestudies/inclusion/sen/7020 • Paragraph and multi-paragraph length 03/ written responses can be used to evaluate students’ ability to infer and analyse Language Tree information. Bk 3 Units 2, 8, 9, 16, 19, 20 • Observation and interviews can be used Bk4 Units 4, 7, 8, 15, 20 to evaluate students’ ability to use Bk5 Unites 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18 comprehension strategies, both with teacher-support and independently. 1 05 R Sample Lesson Objective 31.10 Working in groups, students will discuss three short texts on fruits in order to select the most important information and present it to the class. Lear ning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Stan dard 2 Reading Strategies: As with non-fiction, there should be pre- 31.4 Read and follow a simple recipe reading, during reading and post-reading strategies. Refer to CS27 and CS28. or plan for constructing something. Guided Practice: This involves setting a task, usually in 31.5 List information from a non- groups, that requires students to explicitly use one of the fiction text. strategies listed below, in class time, with the help of the teacher. Guided practice should occur only after the teacher has modeled the use of the strategy. Standard 3 31.6 Determine the most important Specific non-fiction strategies that teachers should help ideas or themes in a non-fiction students use include: activating relevant previous text. knowledge; linking new information to previous knowledge; using new information to revise or confirm previous 31.7 Use a variety of instructional knowledge; actively creating visual and other mental non-fiction texts including the images; determining the most important ideas in the text; telephone directory, recipes, and looking at the table of contents and at the diagrams. route maps, timetables and rules for games. Compare and Contrast: Students should read fiction and 31.8 Sequence events from a non-fiction texts on the same theme. They need to chronological historical or other understand that fiction and non-fiction texts are similar but non-fiction narrative. different. Fiction has characters, a setting, problems (conflicts), events and resolutions. Non-fiction contains information and has features like a table of contents, Standard 4 diagrams, photographs, captions and headings, and so on. 31.9 Find and present information Both fiction and non-fiction can be entertaining. Fiction is from more than one non-fiction usually read from the beginning to the end. The sections of text on the same theme. a non-fiction book do not have to be read in order. 31.10 Summarize information from a non-fiction text. Sample Student Activities Prediction: Students should routinely predict what a non- fiction book is about from its cover, title, pictures and other features. Linkages Drawing: Students draw a diagram or picture to illustrate a CS2 (L) Listen for information section of non-fiction text. Writing: Writing non-fiction is an important aspect of Middle CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Division Language Arts. Refer to CS37. CS23 (R) Display word power K-W_L: K-W-L charts should be routinely used with non- CS27 (R) Comprehend fiction texts fiction texts. CS32 (R) Research from non-fiction texts. Time-Lines: Students can draw time-lines of historical and other events described. This activity is likely to need careful CS33 (R) Analyze the nature and structure of structuring by the teacher. texts Group Presentation: Students work together to determine CS37 (W) Write non-fiction what the most important ideas in a text are and then present them to the rest of the class. 106 CS32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts G eneral Comments M iddle division students should become increasingly skilled at locating information within non-fiction, Content Standard 32 pa rticularly reference texts. It is likely that students Research from Non- w ill need considerable support as they learn to use re ference texts. Teachers should, therefore, provide Fiction Texts bo th spoken and written instructions. Locate information in The selection of appropriate materials is crucial in developing the students’ abilities to work with non- non-fiction texts using fic tion texts. If students feel threatened by the knowledge of the co mplexity of a text or by a lack of familiarity with the te xt’s topic or structure, then they are unlikely to feel features of a book or m otivated to read. text, by using the On the other hand, students are likely to be m otivated to read if they are interested in the topic and internet, and by if they can read accurately at least 90% of the words of interpreting diagrams, an y text that they are required to extract information from. tables and visual images. Th e teaching of this content standard can be effectively ac hieved by linking the texts being studied to a theme. No te: The internet is a useful research tool that primary sc hool students can usefully learn to exploit. However, te achers should avoid setting tasks that unfairly di scriminate against students who do not have access to the internet at home. Furthermore, the internet does no t replace books: it is an additional tool. A ssessment • Ask students to explain the difference between fiction and non-fiction and between general non-fiction texts and reference texts. Resources • Set questions that require students to locate www.icteachers.co.uk/resources/literacy specific pieces of information in a text. Ask /library_skills.rtf lists referencing tasks students to explain how they found the for primary age children. information. Language Tree Bk4 p12 1 07 Sample Lesson Objective R 32.3 Given a list of steps to follow, students will be able to locate a specific entry in a children’s encyclopaedia. Sample Teaching Strategies Lea rning Outcomes Explicit teaching on the following can help students understand non-fiction texts: cause and effect; comparing and contrasting; Standard 2 chronological sequencing; and the functions and grammatical 32.3 Use reference books that forms of lists. present information in Explicit Strategy Instruction: Teach students to ask the following alphabetical order, for questions: (1) What do I already know about this topic? (2) What example a Children's questions do I have? (3) What type of book or other source will Encyclopaedia. help me best? (4) Where will I find the information? K-W-L Charts: A KWL chart has three columns. (1) What I know (2) What I want to know (3) What I have learnt. The third column Standard 3 is filled in after the text has been read. 32.4 Find the appropriate part of Modeling: Teachers should model the use of contents, headings, a book using a contents diagrams and other textual features. page. Questioning Technique: Questions on non-fiction text should be open-ended. Questions that prompt students to discover Standard 4 something of interest in the text are more likely to engage the 32.5 Summarize a paragraph reader than questions that require students to find a specific piece using original words of information. 32.6 Use an index with alphabetized entries to Cross-Curricular Activities: Relevant expressive arts, social studies locate information in a book and science activities can accompany the study of a non-fiction text. 32.7 Scan a text for headings and sub-headings to find specific information. 32.8 Plan for research by Sample Student Activities assessing what is known, Making Reference Books: Students make a class telephone what information is needed directory, class dictionary or class encyclopaedia. and what sources of Alphabetical Order Games: (1) Students get into a line in information are available. alphabetical order depending on their names, an object or picture they are holding or another criterion. (2) Each student has to say a sentence, the last word of which must begin with the first (then second, third, fourth etc) letter of the alphabet. Reference Cards: Students write information that is new to them on a reference card. They then get into groups to share these cards and write a paragraph on “what we learnt”. Table of Contents Race: The teacher states a topic. The first Linkages group to find the relevant page in the book wins a point. CS2 (L) Listen for Information Alternatively, students race to find a word in a dictionary. Book Review: Students fill in book review templates containing CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction approximately 10 questions. These can include (1) “Does it have a texts contents page?” (2) “Does it have an index?” (3) (If appropriate) CS37 (W) Write non-fiction “What are some of the headings?” (4) “Which of the pictures and diagrams are most useful?” The other questions should relate to the content. For example, (5) “What does this book tell me about fish?” Finally, (10) “How useful is this book for someone wanting to learn about fish?” 108 CS33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts Gen eral Comments Many students, especially ones who read stories or who have them read to them on a regular basis will develop a sen se of text structure on their own. These students Content Standard 32 will expect stories to follow a certain pattern and are likely to comment when they do not. However, the Analyse the Language, comp rehension skills of all students, especially those Nature and Structure who have not independently developed an unde rstanding of text structure, are likely to be of Texts enha nced by explicit instruction in this area. “Tex t structure refers to the way a text is organized to Evaluate and discuss the guide readers in identifying key information. Texts are language, utility, orga nized in different ways. Narrative text typically follow s a single, general structural pattern [that] purpose, reliability and inclu des characters, settings, problems (conflicts) and structure of written solut ions to the problems . . . When students are famil iar with the way a text is structured, this texts. know ledge can help them form expectations about what they will read, organize incoming information, judge the relat ive importance of what they read, improve comp rehension and enhance recall.” (Klinger, Vaughn and B oardman, p.77). A n ote on cultural variation: Narrative structures vary across cultural groups. For example, in some cultu res, stories tend to have a strictly logical sequence of ev ents whereas in other cultures repetition is a key featu re. Teachers should therefore strive to include storie s that reflect the culture of their students. Stan dard 4 students should begin to think about and discu ss how writers use language to achieve their purp ose. An awareness of media techniques should also be fo stered during middle division. Resources http://www.readwritethink.org/lesso Asse ssment ns/lesson_view.asp?id=874 Retelling: As students retell the story, ask them to identify which is the beginning, middle and ending. Ask http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?ta them which words describe the problem and resolution. bid=160 contains a word document Observation: Monitor whether students use appropriate outlining various text structures. technical vocabulary when discussing stories. Also, use technical vocabulary in questions, for example, “What is Language Tree Bk 4 pages 6-8 the problem?” “What is the resolution?” 1 09 Sample Lesson Objective R 33.6 After reading “Rushing River” students will complete a beginning middle and ending chart in groups. Le arning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 33 .3 Distinguish between accounts Story Maps etc: Using a story that is well known to written in the present, past and the students, model how it can be described future. graphically using story boards, maps, web diagrams 33 .4 Use the terms fact, fiction, and and similar devices. non-fiction appropriately when Compare-Contrast: Students compare the structure talking about texts. and language of different types of text. Retelling: Demonstrate how oral and written retelling of stories should reflect the structure of the original Standard 3 text. 33 .5 Identify the main features of a newspaper, e.g. headlines, lay- out, range of information, different types of articles, different sections (news, Sample Student Activities sports, comment, letters, etc). 33 .6 Recognize that story plots often Beginning, Middle and Ending Chart: In groups, portray the resolution of students add details about a story on a chart divided problems and/or conflicts. into three columns headed beginning, middle and ending. The middle chart will usually include a sequence of events. St andard 4 33 .7 Discuss the use of Kriol in C-SPACE: Students complete a web showing radio, television and print Characters, Setting. Problem (Conflict), Action, advertisements and in Conclusion and Emotions. newspaper articles. Group Tasks (1): Compose two advertisements for the 33.8 Evaluate the claims made in same product, one that uses Kriol and one that does advertisements and discuss not. Discuss the language choices made. their use of language. Group Tasks (2): Produce a newspaper or role-play a television/radio news report. One member of the group should be responsible for one section, e.g. news, commentary, weather, sports, culture. Clue Words: Students look for clues, for example in the use of certain words or phrases, that help them identify Linkages whether a text is factual or fictional. CS2 (L) Listen for information CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events CS31 (R) Comprehend Non-Fiction texts CS32 (R) Research from non-fiction texts CS37 (W) Write non-fiction Writing CS34 Write Stories CS35 Write Poetry CS36 Write Letters CS37 Write Non-Fiction CS38 Plan and Edit Writing CS39 Present Written Work Appropriately CS40 Write Clearly and Legibly CS41 Spell Words Appropriately CS42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately CS43 Use Punctuation Appropriately CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing CS45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing 112 34 Write Stories Gen eral Comments Stor y writing is a central aspect of language arts beca use it strongly links reading, discussing, telling, liste ning and writing. Story writing enhances students’ ima gination and creativity. Thus, because story writing Content Standard 34 help s develop a wide variety of literacy and thinking skill s, students should frequently compose stories and Write Stories put elements of them in writing. This process also invo lves students in making lots of decisions: about stor ies and characters, spelling, grammar, vocabulary Compose stories using a and the logical sequencing of ideas. Reading stories, talking about stories, and orally variety of genres, com posing stories are closely linked to learning to write techniques, structures them . As students read, enjoy and interpret narrative text s they can also be learning to write stories for and settings. them selves. Even before students can write words, they can exp ress story ideas through scribbles and drawings. As they progress through lower division, many students will use invented spelling. Teachers should encourage crea tivity at this stage, and not be overly fussy about corr ect spelling, punctuation, grammar and han dwriting. (See CS41). By the time students reach Stan dard 1 they should spell most words conv entionally. Stud ents will benefit from high levels of teacher support and the careful structuring of writing activities. There is, ther efore, a very strong link between CS34 and CS38 (Pla n and Edit Writing). As sessment Se e also next section It is important to balance assessment of Internet Resources ori ginality and creativity with assessment of Various excellent booklets on writing writing mechanics. Comments and corrections narratives and on writing poetry can be made on written work should help students downloaded from: understand, not demotivate them. http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primar y/publications/literacy/63353/ Language Tree: Bk 3 Units 3, 4, 10, 18, 21 Bk 4 Units 1, 10, 12, 21 113 Standards Two and Three W Sample Lesson Objective 34.9 After completing a story table*, students will write a three paragraph story about another person. L earning Outcomes * There is a sample story table in Language Tree, Bk3 p.60 S tandard 2 34.6 Compose a short story based on a picture sequence. Sample Teaching Strategies 3 4.7 Rewrite a familiar story by See also next section changing the ending. Writing about Texts and Pictures: Integrate writing into a 3 4.8 Compose a story based on story series of activities based on a text used throughout the starters or ending phrases. week. If writing is based on a picture, discuss it before the students write. Encourage students to invent things about the people and objects in the texts and pictures. S tandard 3 Oral Story Composition: Students tell and re-tell their 3 4.9 Compose a short story based on stories orally before they write. They can also dramatize the experiences of another and role-play them. person. Celebrating Writing: Provide an audience for the students’ stories by display and celebrate completed stories the 34.10 Create a multi-paragraph story students have written and creating an opportunity for them with a simple setting, simple to be told to other students and to parents. plot and a small number of Teaching about Story Structure: Discuss the nature of plots characters and other features, such as setting, character and the use 3 4.11 Include short items of dialogue of language typically found in stories. in story-writing. 3 4.12 Create a story in comic form. Sample Student Activities S tandard 4 Retelling: Narrative techniques can be developed by S ee next section students as they retell stories, change the endings of known stories, mix ingredients from one of more stories to make a new one, and so on. Sharing Events: Narrating events and telling anecdotes and jokes are also part of the story writing process. Shared Writing: Students can compose their stories working alongside an adult or another student. The teacher does not just act as a scribe, instead, he/she helps the student explore ideas and decide what to write next. Whole Class Writing: Using shop paper, the teacher acts as Linkages a scribe and as a guide as the students jointly discuss and CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional create a story. events Puppets and Toys: Students tell a story using puppets and CS23 (R) Display word power toys orally, before writing/drawing about it. Story Circle: Start a story with an interesting sentence. Ask CS28 (R) Interpret stories each student in turn to contribute the next sentence. CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories CS38 (W) Plan and edit writing CS45 (W) Incorporate stylistic devices in original writing 114 34 Write Stories Ge neral Comments Stu dents should frequently compose stories and put the m in writing. Story writing helps develop a wide var iety of literacy and thinking skills because it involves stu dents in making lots of decisions about stories and Content Standard 34 cha racters, spelling, grammar, vocabulary and the log ical sequencing of ideas. Write Stories Re ading stories is closely linked to learning to write the m. Students can use stories they have read to Compose stories using a stim ulate their own ideas. Teachers should encourage creativity at this stage, and should not stifle this by variety of genres, pla cing too great an emphasis on correct spelling, techniques, structures pu nctuation, grammar and handwriting. and settings. Th e teacher’s input is often crucial to the story writing pro cess. Composition should be done in class and the tea cher should constantly work with the students to he lp them improve their work. This implies that a sig nificant amount of instructional time needs to be dev oted to story writing activities. As sessment Us e a rubric to evaluate stories that emphasizes sto ry telling technique rather than mechanics. For ex ample, points could be awarded for: • plot • characterization • setting • sequencing of ideas • spelling, punctuation, grammar • Resources A good, short article on interactive writing is: http://www.stanswartz.com/IAW%20excerpt.pdf Book 5 Units 2, 8, 15, 19, +page 149 115 Standard Four W Sample Lesson Objective 34.17 After working with a partner to write notes about a character, students will work L earning Outcomes independently to write a two paragraph character description. Standard 2 & Standard 3 (See Language Tree p.128 & 131) S ee previous section S tandard 4 Sample Teaching Strategies 34.13 Appropriately choose the first See also previous section or third person when writing stories. Creating a “Writing Climate” It is important to establish a positive climate for story 3 4.14 Compose a short story based writing. This might feature: on a given title • lots of opportunities to read a wide range of good 3 4.15 Use time order words, stories; transitional words and phrases • attractive displays that focus the students’ in original stories interest; 3 4.16 Rewrite known stories by • sharing stories with each other; changing the characters or • sharing stories with parents or other classes; setting but retaining the • topic or theme of the month; original main idea. • a “Writers’ Corner” with reading books, 3 4.17 When writing stories, include dictionaries and other materials. short descriptions of settings Interactive Writing: During an interactive writing and characters session, students work in groups to discuss what they are going to write. The teacher should also contribute ideas and suggestions. Story writing should often be done as an in-class activity. It may take several lessons, although these do not have to be consecutive. Sample Student Activities Linkages CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional Character Map: A character map can be a web events with different sections, for example: general appearance, clothes, likes and dislikes, problems, CS23 (R) Display word power events that happen, past history, and so on. CS28 (R) Interpret stories Checklist: Students use a checklist to edit their CS29 (R) Relate personally to stories own or another student’s work. CS38 (W) Plan and edit writing Role-Play: Dramatizing events before writing can stimulate creative ideas. CS45 (W) Incorporate stylistic devices in original Story Chain: One student starts a story; each writing following student adds a sentence. 116 35 Write Poetry Ge neral Comments Lea rning outcomes for this content standard, CS1 Ide ntify and Distinguish between Sounds, CS14 Recite Poe try and CS30 Read and Relate to Poetry, should be tau ght at the same time. Since young students frequently encounter poe try, in the form of rhymes, raps and songs, they are like ly to be interested in trying to create their own Content Standard 35 poe ms. Write Poetry If middle division students are to write poetry, the y must have models to work from. Thus, before ask ing students to write poetry, expose them to rhymes sim ilar to the ones you wish them to create. It is also Compose poetry, rec ommended that teachers try to write poems demonstrating an the mselves, using the same format that will feature in the lessons. This will give them a greater appreciation understanding of rhyme, of the techniques involved. Once they feel sufficiently metre, alliteration, and con fident, they can model the writing process for the stu dents. other devices. Poetry writing skills are unlikely to develop unl ess writing poetry is a frequent activity. “Doing poe try” once every term or once every year is unlikely to benefit students. It is for this reason that there is an em phasis on poetry in Standard 4 – although teachers of other grades should still engage in some poetry wri ting activities as part of the students overall lan guage arts education. As sessment The following ideas for assessing poetry is adapted from htt p://www.poetryclass.net/assess.htm Eva luate • the development of a greater use of structures and techniques, including an awareness of metre; • the process of crafting a poem through planning, drafting and editing, looking critically at their own work, searching for words, making choices and Internet Resources accepting constructive criticism from others; http://www.poetryclass.net • the development of the use of figurative writing and the imaginative use of vocabulary; A very clear resource on haiku that includes printable worksheets is: • the development of an appreciation for when to use http://www.kidzone.ws/poetry/haiku.htm rhyme – and when not to use it; • the choice of resource material and subject matter Language Tree for poetry. Bk3 Units 5 & 14 Bk4 Units 6 & 11 In other words, assessment focuses on the process of Bk5 Units 7, 13, 21 writing poetry more than on the final product. 117 W S a mple Lesson Objective 35.4 After brainstorming the theme, “Animals” in a small group, students will, individually, produce the first draft of a five line rhyming poem. Sample Teaching Strategies L earning Outcomes It is important to establish a positive climate for poetry. This might feature: S tandard 2 and 3 • including collections of poetry in the classroom and T here are no learning outcomes for school library so that there is enough for browsing, S tandards 2 and 3 for this content taking home to read and reading in class s tandard. However, teachers who • attractive displays that focus children’s interest, w ish to incorporate writing poetry e.g. poetry posters (including children’s own i nto their instruction can refer to poems) on display 3 5.4 and 35.5. See also the Lower • display of a “poem of month” Division Curriculum Guide. • relating poems to other curriculum areas S tandard 4 • selecting poems to perform for other classes 35.4 Write short poems with a clear, • creating ‘poet trees’ with branches for different regular, metre. types of poem plus leaves with extracts • reading poems recommended by students 3 5.5 Write poems with a specific form, for example shape • inviting local poets to speak to the class poems, limericks or haiku. • Provide sample poems with the structure being studied • Model brainstorming and other techniques • Provide interesting subjects for the students to write about, including pictures, events, people and objects • Encourage word searching, for example, looking for words with similar and opposite meanings, words that begin with the same letter, have the same rhyme or have the same number of syllables. • Study the lyrics and structure of the students’ favourite raps and other songs (Other Strategies) Sample Student Activities Word Games: including rhyming games and alliteration Linkages games. CS1 (L) Identify and distinguish Thoughts Journal: Students keep a journal of their between sounds thoughts and feelings as they prepare to write a poem. CS5 (L) Respond to spoken texts Brainstorming: Suggest, discuss and organize ideas individually, in pairs, in small groups and as part of a CS14 (S) Recite poetry whole class discussion. CS25 (R) Read aloud CS30 (R) Read and relate to poetry 118 36 Write Letters General Comments As with the other content standards related to writing, invented spelling should be accepted and encouraged as part of the students’ literacy Content Standard 36 development. Write Letters The content of letters is more important than the structure. It is a mistake to think that teaching letter writing involves little more than teaching Compose, with students to name and correctly place the parts of a appropriate structure and letter. Although, students should learn the correct form, for example starting a letter with a greeting language, letters for a and ending it with their own name, the range of social and concentration should be on how to communicate a message effectively and stylishly. professional purposes. Learning to write letters is part of students’ general citizenship education. It also has strong links with social studies. Although it is not specifically mentioned on the curriculum, teachers can consider teaching students the difference between letters and emails. Both are important in the modern world, but they have different conventions regarding form and they often have different functions. Assessment Devise a letter writing rubric. For example: Format and layout 5 points Opening Paragraph 5 points Main Body 10 points Concluding paragraph 5 points Spelling, punctuation, grammar 5 points Total 30 points Resources The points for the different paragraph should be awarded for the quality of the content (effectiveness Language Tree Bk 3 page 36, Unit 17 of the message, use of vocabulary, style, etc) and Language Tree Bk 4, Unit 13, page 81 not for the mechanics of writing. 119 W Sample Lesson Objective L earning Outcomes 36.7 After studying “Dear Aunt Julie” students S tandard 2 will write a three paragraph letter to a 3 6.4 Differentiate letter writing from friend. other forms of writing. 3 * Language Tree Book 4 page 81 6.5 Include the return address, salutation, close, and signature in a letter to a friend. 3 6.6 Write a brief letter to communicate personal news to Sample Teaching Strategies a friend. Teachers should create opportunities for students S tandard 3 to send real letters, that is ones that are actually 36.7 Write a multi-paragraph letter sent to a recipient. This can be within the class, to communicate personal news for example, students can send each other to a friend. Christmas greetings or write thank you notes; however, letters can also be sent further beyond S tandard 4 the school. Teachers should consider linking their 3 6. 8 Write a letter to make a simple class with that of another school for the purpose request to a business. of exchanging friendly letters. Model Letter Writing: As a whole class activity, 3 6. 9 Write a business letter in full using shop paper, model how to write a letter. block form and include the Letter to the Class: Write a letter to the class, for return address, inside address, example about a trip, read it to them, and display salutation, close and signature it on the notice board. and use block paragraphs for Memos: Ask students to carry short notes and the body. memos to teachers in other classrooms. Sample Student Activities Business Role Play: Integrate pretending to write letters into role plays and literacy centres to help students understand their purpose. For example, if the literacy centre is a shop, students can write Linkages letters of complaint. CS38 (W) Plan and edit written work Post Cards: Students can pretend to visit another CS39 (W) Present written work appropriately part of the country or the world. They can create a picture postcard of the place and send a brief CS40 (W) Write clearly and legibly message about their trip to a friend “back home”. CS41 (W) Spell words appropriately Mail Box: Before Christmas, set up a class mail- box so students can post cards to their friends. 120 37 Write Non-Fiction General Comments Traditionally, Language Arts at the lower division has focused on reading and writing fictional narratives. Content Standard 37 However, in the other subjects, students need to read and write non-fiction. Non-fiction texts are different Write Non-Fiction from narratives in structure, word choice, lay-out, purpose and style. For this reason, the early introduction of students to the reading and writing of Write essays, journals, non-fiction is crucial if they are to succeed in all their subjects in the higher grades. reports and other texts to instruct, inform, record, Middle Division students should be given the opportunity to create a variety of non-fiction texts summarise, evaluate, including lists, descriptions, brochures, news articles, discuss and persuade. menus, fliers, “web pages” and so on. Asking students to write a journal entry at the same time every day promotes non-fiction writing. Asses sment The foc us of evaluation of non-fiction writing should be content, originality and structure, rather than copying, penmanship, spelling, punctu ation and grammar. Resources Language Tree: Bk 3 p.15, 45, 115 Bk4 p. 24-5, 50, 90, 115 121 Standards Two and Three W Le a r n i ng Outcomes Sample Lesson Objective 37.14 After listening to a news report, a weather St andard 2 report and a scientific report, students will discuss the different ways reports are used. 37.11 Log a series of events or features on a chart, for example a weather chart, as a result of scientific observation. Sample Teaching Strategies 37 .12 Write a paragraph that describes a place, person, object or event. A sequence for teaching writing: - Establish clear aims; what is the purpose of the 37.13 Write a non-fiction paragraph with writing. one main idea. - Provide example(s) of writing in the desired 37.14 Create a simple, chronological report style and explain features of the text. of an event. - Model writing in the desired style. 37 .15 Write simple informative texts such - Compose a sample of writing as a whole class as menus and instructions. activity. - Work alongside students as they write their first draft, offering ideas and pointing out errors. Standard 3 - Ask the students to write their final draft. 37 .16 Keep a daily record (journal) of opinions and feelings Note that a piece of writing may often take several lessons to complete. 37.17 Write a text containing at least two informative paragraphs. Genre: Middle division students should become 37.18 Write for a variety of purposes, for increasingly aware that different types of non- example, to send messages, to fiction texts have different audiences, purposes, inform and to entertain. style and structure. 37 .19 Compose simple directions on how to perform a task. Teacher as Scribe: The teacher can act as the scribe for an individual, group or class writing 37.20 Write a short non-fiction essay that activity. This allows the students to concentrate is logically divided into paragraphs. more on content and vocabulary. 37.21 Write a brief book report outlining main characters and events and giving a simple evaluation. Sample Student Activities Standard 4 Weather Monitor: A different student each day See next section. can be the weather monitor. They can write a brief paragraph describing the weather and deliver it to the class. Linkages Shared Writing: Students compose a text in a CS9 (S) Express opinions and communicate group. It is important that they can all see what is being written and that they can all contribute ideas ideas. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Writing Conference: During the composition CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts process, students discuss their writing with the CS32 (R) Research from non-fiction texts teacher. Role-Play: Students can role play “restaurants” in CS38 (W) Plan and edit written work groups. They can prepare the menu and take CS39 (W) Present written work appropriately orders. CS41 (W) Spell words appropriately 122 37 Write Non-Fiction Ge neral Comments Tra ditionally, Language Arts at the lower division has foc used on reading and writing fictional narratives. Ho wever, in the other subjects, students need to read Content Standard 37 and write non-fiction. Non-fiction texts are different Write Non-Fiction fro m narratives in structure, word choice, lay-out, pur pose and style. For this reason, the early int roduction of students to the reading and writing of non -fiction is crucial if they are to succeed in all their Write essays, journals, sub jects in the higher grades. reports and other texts to The focus of non-fiction writing should be on originality, instruct, inform, record, rat her than copying and penmanship. summarise, evaluate, discuss and persuade. Reports: Standard 4 students should be able to write rep orts that are not necessarily chronological and that hav e an opening paragraph, a main body and a con cluding paragraph. They should be able to report on gen eral themes, for example “animals” instead of “my dog ”. Ge nre: Middle division students should become inc reasingly aware that different types of non-fiction tex ts have different audiences, purposes, style and str ucture. Pay ing Attention to Tenses: Students should be able to cho ose the appropriate tense for a piece of non-fiction tex t and use it consistently. Texts describing events are usually written using past tenses. Most reports use the present continuous. No te: Asking students to write a journal entry at the sam e time every day promotes non-fiction writing. Assessment The focus of evaluation of non-fiction writing Resources should be content, originality and structure, Language Tree rather than copying, penmanship, spelling, Bk5 p.29, 41,65, 101,119 punctuation and grammar. 123 W Standard Four S ample Lesson Objective 3 7.24 Students will work in pairs and use a checklist to discuss and edit each others report on the field trip. Sample Teaching Strategies Le arning Outcomes Themes: To motivate students, ensure that they have Sta ndards 2 and 3 an interest in the topic they are writing about and a Se e previous section. purpose for writing. This can often be achieved by making a writing activity the culmination of a week’s work on a text, or series of texts, on a theme. Standard 4 Asking students to write on an unfamiliar topic 37.22 Compose a report based on scientific without such preparation is unlikely to be effective. observation. Planning and Editing: Writing a non-fiction text may 37. 23 Compose two or three paragraphs that take several lessons. The writing process should be present and argue a specified point of used: for example, plan, draft, revise/edit, check, view. and prepare final copy. 37. 24 Write a several paragraph non-fiction Pre-writing: Use Pre-writing activities such as text in which each paragraph has a main activating background knowledge and discussion of idea and supporting details. the topic, vocabulary teaching, and practical 37. 25 Write a multi-paragraph, truthful and activities. Build on students’ experiences of non- accurate, report describing a recent fiction writing to guide them. The purpose of a piece experience. of writing and who it is intended for should also be discussed before students begin to write. During Writing: Correct students’ errors as they write. Provide a structure for writing, for example, by providing a diagram for students to write words on. Post writing: Display completed written work in the classroom. Linkages Sample Student Activities CS9 (S) Express opinions and communicate ideas. Writing and Role-Play: Students can be motivated to write by linking it to role-play. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Peer Editing: Students read each others work at the CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts drafting stage. Students should be required to: (a) CS32 (R) Research from non-fiction texts say two good things about the writing (b) ask CS38 (W) Plan and edit written work questions about anything that is not clear (c) suggest two ways to make the writing better. CS39 (W) Present written work Science Writing: non-fiction writing can be linked to appropriately activities that occur in a science lesson. For example, CS41 (W) Spell words appropriately describing an experiment or explaining a phenomenon. 124 38 Plan and Edit Writing General Comments As they progress through primary schools, students should learn to use the writing process: that is to plan, draft, edit, revise, present and evaluate their own writing. The Content Standard 38 development of all these skills should begin in Plan and Edit Writing lower division and consolidated in middle division. All students can be encouraged to revisit a piece of written work to improve it Plan writing by selecting and to prepare it for display. This process should involve students in discussing their topics, considering ideas for writing with their teacher and their purpose and audience, peers. organizing thoughts, It is important to remember that revising a displaying and outlining piece of writing is just as much about improving the ideas as correcting the spelling, information; and edit punctuation and grammar. writing at word, sentence and text levels. Assessment Assessment can either focus on the outcome of a writing task, that is the final product, or on the process of creation and composition. For example, points can be awarded when students make a plan, use a dictionary or make a revision. As will all assessment, teachers should explain to students what points are being awarded and how they can be obtained. Teachers should also make informal observations about the planning and editing process as they talk to individual students as they use the writing process. Resources A Writing Process Chart is in Language Tree, Bk 4 p127. 125 Standards Two and Three W Sample Lesson Objective 38.7 After reading and discussing “Alien TV”, students will use a web to link ideas for a Learning Outcomes short essay entitled “life on another planet” S tandard 2 (See Language Tree Bk4 Unit 10) 3 8.3 Generate ideas for writing by making lists. 3 8.4 Use a dictionary to edit work for spelling. Sample Teaching Strategies S tandard 3 Teaching students to plan and edit writing 3 8.5 Edit a piece of writing so that involves regularly guiding them through the unnecessary repetition is writing process as they take several lessons to eliminated. complete a single piece of writing. 38.6 Edit a piece of writing by deleting irrelevant or unimportant elements. Collaboration: Students should regularly work together in pairs and small groups to plan and 3 8.7 Generate ideas for writing edit their writing. through discussion with peers. Brainstorming: All students need to be given 3 8.8 Graphically represent the the opportunity to contribute to class outline of a plot for a story to brainstorms. be written. Peer editing: Standard 1 students should be 38.9 Compose a draft based on able to edit each other’s work in pairs or planning and check it for small groups. Students can be provided with spelling, punctuation and checklists to guide them. However, this type grammar mistakes. of activity requires considerable teacher support. 38.10 Create a map (story board) of a story to be written that Modeling: Students need to participate in contains sections for the activities during which the teacher models how to setting, the problem or conflict, plan and edit. the characters, and the Help at the point of writing: Helping students to solution. correct their work as they write is more effective 38.11 Edit a piece of writing by than correcting it afterwards. revising its vocabulary. Standard 4 See next section. Sample Student Activities Collective composition: With the teacher acting as a scribe, the class create a collective story on a given theme. Time should be given for the students to explore ideas and discuss which, of several alternatives they prefer. Linkages Web Planning: Students can create a web of This content standard links to all of the ideas, in groups or as a whole class. content standards that relate to Story Maps: Students can create story outlines in writing. groups or as a whole class. 126 38 Plan and Edit Writing General Comments As they progress through primary schools, Content Standard 38 students should learn to use the writing process: Plan and Edit Writing that is to plan, draft, edit, revise, present and evaluate their own writing. The development of all these skills should begin in lower division and consolidated in middle division. All students can Plan writing by selecting be encouraged to revisit a piece of written work topics, considering to improve it and to prepare it for display. This purpose and audience, process should involve students in discussing their ideas for writing with their teacher and their organizing thoughts, peers. displaying and outlining It is important to remember that revising a piece information; and edit of writing is just as much about improving the writing at word, sentence ideas as correcting the spelling, punctuation and grammar. and text levels. Assessment Assessment can either focus on the outcome of a writing task, that is the final product, or on the process of creation and composition. For example, points can be awarded when students make a plan, use a dictionary or make a revision. As will all assessment, teachers should explain to students what points are being awarded and how they can be obtained. Resources Teachers should also make informal observations A Writing Process Chart is in Language about the planning and editing process as they Tree, Bk 4 p155. talk to individual students as they use the writing process. A simple planning web is on Bk3, p35. For a discussion on Read Aloud Protocols Standard 4 students can also engage in self and see peer assessment using checklists or guiding http://west.thomson.com/pdf/perspec/brut0899. questions. pdf. 127 Standard Four W Sample Lesson Objective 38.17 Working in pairs, students will use a checklist to revise and edit the first draft of their business Learning Outcomes letters. S tandards 2 and 3 S ee previous section. Standard 4 Sample Teaching Strategies Teaching students to plan and edit writing involves 3 8.12 Consider audience when planning regularly guiding them through the writing process as writing. they take several lessons to complete a single piece of 3 8.13 Plan a story or non-fiction text in writing. outline form, using a few words that will later be expanded into Modeling: Students need to participate in activities longer sections. during which the teacher models how to plan and edit. 38.14 Individually, generate ideas on a Help at the point of writing: Helping students to topic by brainstorming. correct their work as they write it is more effective than correcting it afterwards. 3 8.15 Generate ideas for writing by reading related material. Collaboration: Students should regularly work together 38.16 Edit a piece of writing to ensure in pairs and small groups to plan and edit their writing. that sentences are correctly Brainstorming: All students need to be given the structured and are in the opportunity to contribute to class brainstorms. appropriate tense. Peer editing: Standard 1 students should be able 38.17 Use a checklist provided by the to edit each other’s work in pairs or small groups. teacher to revise and edit writing. Students can be provided with checklists to guide them. However, this type of activity requires considerable teacher support. Sample Student Activities Read Aloud Protocols: After each student has prepared a draft of written work, they work in pairs. Each person reads aloud the work of his or her partner. The reader can make comments as they Linkages read. This content standard links to all of the Web Planning: Students can create a web of ideas, in content standards that relate to groups or as a whole class. writing. Story Maps: Students can create story outlines in groups or as a whole class. 128 3 9 Present Written Work Appropriately Ge neral Comments Th e lay-out and appearance of a written text co nstitute its form. Each genre of writing has its ow n form which is part of the message. For ex ample, warning signs tend to be large, bold Content Standard 39 an d capitalized, children’s books tend to have Present Written Work pi ctures, newspapers have headlines, letters have gr eetings, and so on. Appropriately Ac ademic work, even at the primary level, also ha s its own form. The reader expects titles to be un derlined, margins to be present but not Neatly present written ob trusive, etc. If the correct form is not used, work according to th e reader’s attention is drawn away from the m essage and communication is less effective. established norms and conventions. As students progress through middle division, th ey should become increasingly able to re produce independently the appropriate form for a variety of written texts. As sessment Cr eate a check-list of items of form that you want th e students to apply, for example (a) heading (b ) date (c) underlining heading and date (d) m argins and (e) indented paragraphs. This ch ecklist can be displayed in the class to be re ferred to by the students as they review their ow n work and by the teacher as the work is ev aluated. Resources Writer’s guides, such as Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference (Bedford) are invaluable sources of advice about document form. See: www.dianahacker.com 129 Sample Lesson Objective 39.9 After revising and editing the draft of story, students will re-write it in “best form” for W classroom display. Learning Outcomes S tandard 2 A lthough there are no CS39 learning o utcomes specifically for Standard 2, Sample Teaching Strategies te achers should ensure that students a re progressing towards CS39.8 and Explicitly teach the rules for setting out written work 3 9.9. that you expect students to follow. Support this with display charts and large print model texts. S tandard 3 3 9.8 Without prompting, use As the students write for other purposes, monitor appropriate headings, margins, their presentation and have them correct or rewrite paragraph indents and other work if it does not meet acceptable standards. presentation devices. However, some students find neat presentation very difficult. The desire of these students to write 3 9.9 Produce a piece of written work should not be crushed by a demotivating focus on for classroom display that is form. appropriately laid out and attractively presented Standard 4 Although there are no CS39 learning outcomes specifically for Standard 4, teachers should ensure that students can independently accomplish CS39.8 and 39.9. Sample Student Activities Work on presentation should be integrated with other writing activities. Linkages This content standard links to all content standards from CS34 to CS45. 130 40 Write Clearly and Legibly Gene ral Comments The ability to write clearly and legibly should develop over time as students write stories, letters, poems and non-f iction texts. By the end of lower division students are e xpected to be able to form all the letters of the alpha bet. They should also have begun to write Content Standard 40 cursiv ely. Write Clearly and The f ocus in middle division should be on neatness and Legibly legibi lity, including appropriate sizing and spacing of letter s. Excessive emphasis on perfect letter formation is lik ely to detract from more important literacy Form letters, words, and deve lopment activities. It is also likely to demotivate stude nts and may actually harm the development of longer texts fine-m otor muscle control. recognizably, neatly, and accurately in both Note (1): There is no single “correct” way to write cursive and print. cursiv ely. Students are expected to develop the ability to joi n lower case letters fluently; however, there is no requi rement for students to learn cursive capital letters. As sessment Te achers should monitor students’ gradual de velopment of handwriting skills over time. W hen students have very poor handwriting, te achers should observe their “pencil hold” and posture, (see teaching strategies) Internet Resources http://www.drawyourworld.com/g rip.html 131 Sample Lesson Objective It is possible that no single lesson will focus on writing clearly W and legibly. Instead, it should be reinforced as students complete other writing tasks. Sample Teaching Strategies Le arning Outcomes Pencil Hold: The pencil should be positioned so that there is equal pressure between the thumb, St andard 2 the side of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger. All fingers are bent slightly. If 40.16 Write cursively, with correct letter students are not using a good pencil hold, size and spacing, without using intervention is necessary. guidelines. Students should have already developed a clear St andard 3 preference for either their right or left hand. Do not force natural left-handers to write with their 40.17 Use appropriate lettering for right hand. diagrams, maps, charts and so on. Posture: Correct seating position and posture are important. Students should be able to sit with Standard 4 their feet flat on the floor as they write. St andard 4 teachers should refer to Progressive Development: Usually, as students CS 40.16 and CS40.17. begin school, their attempts at writing letters are over-sized and poorly formed. This is developmentally normal. Writing should become progressively more controlled. Expectations: Expectations for neatness and accuracy for drawing and labeling maps, diagrams, pictures and charts should be clearly communicated to the students and frequently reinforced. Sample Student Activities Craft activities such as painting, drawing, pasting paper, and constructing models help develop the fine motor skills necessary for writing. Penmanship Practice: If it is used at all, practice that involves copying and tracing letters should be Linkages limited to a few minutes at a time. This content standard links to all content standards from CS34 to CS45. 132 41 Spell Words Appropriately Content Standard 41 General Comments Spell Words Learning to spell cannot be done effectively Appropriately through the memorization of words; there are too many words for any person to be able to memorize them all. Instead, learning to spell occurs gradually, over time, as a student makes Spell words in connections between the sound system and the accordance with writing system of the language. As students progress towards full accuracy, they are likely to accepted conventions. try to spell most words phonetically. This is a normal, and indeed important, part of the development of their writing skills. When a student spells a word phonetically, he or she is demonstrating a knowledge of phonemes, the letters of the alphabet, and the alphabetic principle. However, as students move through middle division, they should become aware of an ever greater variety of spelling patterns and they should increasingly be able to spell words conventionally. Assessment Over time, students’ spelling patterns should become more conventional. Assessment should focus on the appropriate level of development. It is not necessary to use traditional tests of memorized spelling to assess this content standard. It is more effective to evaluate a students’ spelling during an independent writing task. Resources http://www.everydayspelling.com http://teacher.scholastic.com/lesson repro/lessonplans/instructor/spell4. html 133 Sample Lesson Objective 41.7 During a shared writing activity, students W will use spelling strategies to help them spell words correctly. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 41.7 Spell most of phonetically spelt Students can acquire various thinking strategies to words correctly. help them spell words correctly. These include: • thinking about the sounds (phonemes) that make up a word; Standard 3 • thinking about a similar sounding word that 41.8 Spell most common irregularly they already know how to spell; spelt words, correctly. • thinking about a word that rhymes with the 41.9 Spell an increasing range of word; irregularly spelt words • dividing a word into smaller parts and correctly. thinking about parts they already know how to spell, for example, -and in strand or –er in under; Standard 4 • looking for a similar word on a word wall or Teachers should continue to monitor chart; students’ spelling and use of spelling • thinking about the different ways that each of strategies (see box right) the sounds can be written, for example ee, ea, ie for the long /e/ sound; • writing the word in different ways and thinking about which one “looks right”. Teachers should prompt students to use these strategies during in-class writing activities. Students need to learn to use these strategies under direct guidance from the teacher, in structured activities and independently. Linkages CS1 (L) Identify and distinguish Sample Student Activities between sounds. Journals: Setting aside time every day for journal CS20 (R) Apply phonics knowledge writing provides opportunities for students to write CS22 (R) Recognize words by sight independently. CS23 (R) Display word power Spelling Games: Use games instead of tests. For CS24 (R) Use a dictionary example, fishing for words, insert the letters, word searches, “lingo”, spelling bingo, spelling bee All content standards from CS34 to CS39 competitions and so on. These should be short, fun, and any other areas that involve writing. activities. 134 42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately Content Standard 42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately Appropriately use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and direct General Comments speech, for abbreviations and for the names of Students entering middle division should already consistently use capital letters at people, places, dates, the beginning of sentences. They should books, titles, institutions, also not be indiscriminately mixing lower case and capital letters, for example by historical periods and putting capitals in the middle of words events. where they do not belong. Assessment Students' use of capital letters is best assessed while they write for other purposes. Internet Resources For a comprehensive article on capital letter usage see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalization Language Tree Bk5 p.38-39 135 Sample Lesson Objective 42.9 After a class review of the rules for punctuating direct speech, in pairs, students will write a short passage that includes dialogue and W punctuate it correctly. Le arning Outcomes S tandard 2 42 .9 Use capital letters for the first word in direct speech. 42 Sample Teaching Strategies .10 Use capital letters in the first line of poetry. Some explicit teaching of capital letter rules is S tandard 3 useful. However, this should not be done in Th ere are no learning outcomes for isolation from the reading and writing of texts. St andard 3. Teachers should ensure As students read stories and write independently, th at students continue to apply the teacher can point out that certain words in dependently common capital letter begin, or should begin, with capital letters and ru les. ask the students if they know why. Rules: Remind students to always use lower case letters unless the rules say otherwise. If Standard 4 necessary, teach the rules one at a time with a 42 .11 Appropriately capitalize short piece of explicit teaching linked to specific organizations and their reading texts. Use display charts and model members, historical periods writing to reinforce the rules. and events. Sentence concept: The concept of a sentence is 42 .12 Appropriately capitalize titles one that many young children find difficult to understand. Teaching them an abstract definition of books, etc. is unlikely to help; instead, point out the features of a sentence during reading sessions. Grammar-at-the-point-of-writing: Teachers can prompt students to correct their own writing as they do it in the classroom. Linkages Sample Student Activities This content standard links to CS34—CS38. Guided Writing: Teachers should monitor students’ use of capital letters during guided writing tasks. Peer Editing: Capital letter usage should be an item on a peer editing checklist. Independent Writing: Students should practice using capital letters correctly as they write their own journals, stories, letters and other texts. 136 43 Use Punctuation Appropriately General Comments Many students are unable to grasp the concepts behind abstract punctuation rules. Teaching should therefore focus on giving examples of how Content Standard 43 punctuation is used. Students should be shown how punctuation adds to or changes the meaning Use Punctuation of a sentence in order to help them grasp that Appropriately punctuation marks are an essential tool for transmitting exact meaning. In other words, teaching that helps students understand punctuation is likely to be more effective than Appropriately use full teaching that concentrates on rules, procedures and memorization. stops, question, exclamation and An effective way of helping students understand punctuation is to monitor their in-class writing and quotation marks, discuss and correct their errors as they occur. commas, semi-colons Features of punctuation should also be pointed out during shared reading. and colons. Assessment Punctuation should be one of the items on any rubric used for evaluating independent writing. It should not, however, be given too much emphasis. Exercises that test knowledge of punctuation in artificial situations are thought to have only a limited impact on students’ use of punctuation during independent writing tasks. Internet Resources For an excellent article on teaching punctuation, see: http://www.noycefdn.org/literacy/documents/Handout- Punctuation09-18-04.pdf Language Tree Bk 3 p75, 94 Bk 4 p16-19, 84-85 137 Sample Lesson Objective 43.9 Working individually, students will underline lightly in pencil all W words that are direct speech in the story “Why the World is Good and Bad”. (Language Tree Bk4 p.16) Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 Read Aloud: Frequently read aloud to students 43.5 Appropriately use exclamation in a way that demonstrates the power and marks. purpose of punctuation. 43.6 Appropriately use commas Exploring Punctuation: Early in the year, have when writing lists or series of one unit that focuses on the purpose of items. punctuation. In this unit, the punctuation in a 43.7 Appropriately use an range written texts should be examined and apostrophe in a possessive. discussed. Students can answer questions such as, “Why is this comma important?” “What would happen if this punctuation mark was not Standard 3 used?” “How does this punctuation mark 43.8 Use commas in dates, change the meaning of the text?” and so on. greetings and closings of Talking about Punctuation: Instead of telling letters and social notes and to students that they have made a mistake, ask set off geographical names in them to explain why they used a particular addresses. piece of punctuation. Guided Writing: Students who find writing 43.9 Use quotation marks to indicate difficult should work in small guided writing the beginning and end of direct groups under the close supervision of the speech. teacher. 43.10 Use hyphens to join some compound words. 43.11 Consistently and correctly use apostrophes for contractions. Sample Student Activities Standard 4 Chart: Students make a punctuation chart There are no learning outcomes for using their own words and examples. Standard 3. Teachers should ensure Change the Meaning: Students are given a that students continue to apply sentence and have to change its meaning by punctuation appropriately. changing the punctuation, not the words. Hunt the Mark: Students look for target punctuation marks in books and explain why they have been used. Peer Editing: Use of punctuation should be an item on the peer editing check-list. Linkages This content standard links to CS34— CS38. . 138 4 4 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing General Comments These learning outcomes can only be achieved if the students independently demonstrate the skill in original writing. All children learn grammar naturally as they learn to Content Standard 44 speak and the development of oral language skills is Apply Correct an important part of developing grammar for writing. However, in Belize, the grammar that many students Grammatical Forms in first learn is that of Kriol. If students are to develop a Writing sense of standard English grammar, they need to hear it consistently spoken by the teacher and they need to encounter it frequently in books. Combine words into correctly structured This content standard interprets “grammar” as the rules governing the way words are connected together sentences using to form sentences. The primary aim of teaching appropriate word grammar is to improve students’ writing. This content standard, therefore, stresses the application of endings, word order and grammar rules, not their memorization, nor the other rules of language. identification and definition of parts of speech. The identification of parts of speech during reading is covered by CS22: Use Context Clues. Assessment The learning outcomes should be assessed in students’ original writing. Resources Language Tree: (See note on next page) Bk 3 p.18, 24, 33, 98, 103 Bk4 p.48 Bk 5 p.69-70, 98-99, 136 139 Sample Lesson Objective 44.11 After reviewing the rules for writing relative clauses and completing the exercise on page 39 of Language Tree, students will write a paragraph about W pollution including at least three sentences with clauses joined by who or which. Learning Outcomes Standard 2 Sample Teaching Strategies 44.7 Join two phrases with an appropriate Note: The comments in the Teaching Strategies coordinating conjunction, for example, box for CS45 also apply to CS44. and, or, & but to form a compound sentence in original writing. Modeling: Teachers should endeavour to model 44.8 Apply the correct plural form of nouns grammatically accurate standard written and that have irregular plural forms. spoken English. 44.9 Appropriately use regular present and Grammar-at-the-Point–of-Writing: The key to past simple (verb+ed) verb forms in good grammar instruction is to teach it as the original writing. students write original work. Although marking and correcting are important, students are more likely to understand and internalize a grammar Standard 3 rule if it is explained to them as they try to write 44.10 Appropriately use subject and object a communicative sentence. pronouns in original writing. Verb Tenses: By Standard 1, students should be using past tense forms when writing original 44.11 Construct sentences with clauses stories. beginning with who, which & that in Explicit Teaching: The explicit teaching of rules original writing. may be essential; however, it is better to for this teaching to occur in short chunks of a few Standard 4 minutes at a time. Comparative Analysis: Teachers can help 44.12 Appropriately use a range of future students understand that Kriol and standard verb forms in original writing. English have different grammars by comparing 44.13 Appropriately use possessive pronouns sentences from the two languages. in original writing. 44.14 Differentiate between sentences, fragments and phrases. 44.15 Join two phrases with an appropriate Sample Student Activities subordinating conjunction, for example English or Kriol Game: The teacher says a because, when, & unless. sentence. The students have to identify if it is in English or Kriol. Reading: The more students read, the more they will encounter grammatically correct Linkages sentences. CS10 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Writing Tasks: Students should frequently CS17 (S) Use correct grammatical structures in speech engage in small group and individual writing CS22 (R) Use Context Clues tasks – including writing journals, letters, CS34 (W) Write stories stories and non-fiction. CS35 (W) Write poetry Jumbled Sentences: Students put word CS36 (W) Write letters cards in a logical order to make a sentence. CS37 (W) Write non-fiction CS38 (W) Plan and Edit Writing CS44 (W) Apply correct grammatical forms in writing 140 45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing General Comments Content Standard 45 These learning outcomes can only be Incorporate Stylistic achieved if the students independently Devices in Original demonstrate the skill in original writing. Writing The overall aim of language arts is to help students communicate effectively and they need to learn to Deploy and vary words, use stylistic devices both to entertain and to convey meaning more exactly and powerfully. phrases and sentence types for effect, including This content standard is strongly linked to those similes, metaphors and that necessitate original writing by the students, proverbs. particularly CS34 to CS38. Assessment The learning outcomes should be assessed in students’ original writing. Resources Rules for Comparative and superlative adjectives are clearly explained at: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Jaiswal-Adjectives.html Language Tree Bk 3 p.20, 44, 84 Bk 4 p.54 Bk 5 p.129, 141-142 141 W Sample Lesson Objective 45.4 After studying “Pilar McShine,” students will write a short article about a person they know using at least three comparative or superlative adjectives. Learning Outcomes Sample Teaching Strategies Standard 2 45.3 Modify a verb with an adverb in Use of Language Tree: Language Tree contains a an original sentence. large number of short exercises on a wider range of language points than those covered by this document. Teachers should use those exercises Standard 3 that they consider useful and relevant for their 45.4 Appropriately use comparative students, even if they do not relate to a specific and superlative forms of learning outcome. adjectives in original writing. Previous Outcomes: Teachers should be aware of the learning outcomes for all the grades leading Standard 4 up to the one they are currently teaching. The 45.5 Use multiple adjectives to skills referred to in these earlier outcomes should modify words in original be reviewed and practiced. writing. 45.6 Appropriately use comparative and superlative forms of adverbs in original writing. Sample Student Activities The following fun activities are designed to take about ten to fifteen minutes. Add the Adjective Game: Students add adjectives (or adverbs) to a basic sentence. Listening Game: Read a paragraph aloud. Students have to count the number of Lin kages comparative or superlative adjectives they hear. CS 1 0 (S) Narrate real and fictional events Adjective Race: Each team is given ten simple CS17 (S) Use correct grammatical structures in sentences containing no adjectives or adverbs. speech The winning team is the first one to rewrite all CS27 (R) Comprehend fiction texts the sentences with at least two adjectives or CS30 (R) Read and relate to poetry adverbs in each one. CS31 (R) Comprehend non-fiction texts Objects Game: Each group is given three CS34 (W) Write stories different (but related) objects. The winning CS35 (W) Write poetry group is the one that writes the most CS36 (W) Write letters imaginative sentence that links the objects using CS37 (W) Write non-fiction comparative or superlative adjectives. CS44 (W) Apply correct grammatical forms in writing. The Planning Guide 143 The Planning Guide 144 The Planning Guide The Planning Guide 145 Advisory Sections on Planning Scope and Sequence Charts The scope and sequence charts indicate how teachers can plan to cover all the learning outcomes in a given year. These charts, or ones of the teacher’s own devising, should be consulted when annual plans and unit plans are being written. It should be noted that few learning outcomes are designed to be taught just once. The vast majority of learning outcomes will require several lessons to be covered adequately and most, once taught, will need to be revisited at a later date. Most learning outcomes, therefore, will appear in more than one month. Some of the learning outcomes are marked as “ongoing development”. These relate to general skills that students develop every time they read, write or participate in oral activities. Some of the learning outcomes relate to skills that require little or no explicit teaching; instead they are expected to develop “naturally” as the student matures and is exposed to a wider range of experiences in school and in the home. These skills need to be monitored by the teacher in case the expected development does not occur and intervention is required. Annual Plans and Weekly Schemes This curriculum does not mandate any particular format for annual plans and weekly schemes. It is left up to the discretion of school managers, principals and teachers to decide which format to use. However, the samples included in this planning guide do represent a coherent and effective way to plan and their use is encouraged. 146 The Planning Guide Thematic Unit Planning Instruction can be organized into content-based themes: one for each unit of work. Reading texts, writing topics and listening, speaking and viewing activities should be linked to the theme. When planning, teachers should look for topics on which they have access to a large number of fiction and non-fiction texts that can be read by the students. They should then plan for the students to use these as stimuli for reading, writing and other activities. General Themes Teachers can choose any topics for their How the themes should be used. Language Arts themes. Some themes can be drawn from the units in Language Tree Language Arts lessons are more meaningful to and other textbooks but teachers may also students if they listen to, read, speak about and write choose topics that are of interest to the about topics that are of interest to them. students and for which sufficient resources are available. When planning their units, teachers should select a theme from this page or create one of their own, and Themes can last for any length of time from then use texts related to it. one week to as many as six weeks. Themes do not, therefore, necessarily equate with months. Themes from other subject areas can also be used as Language Arts themes, as listed below. Social Studies Themes Science Themes The World: (Landforms & Location; The Earth, The Universe Its Movement and Structure; Weather & Living Things Climate; Resources; Tourism.) Materials & substances Government and Citizenship: (Types and Simple machines Structure of Government; Democracy;The Environment Constitution; The Need for Rules.) Sources & Uses of Energy Rights and Responsibilies: (You Have Rights; You Have Responsibilities.) HFLE Themes Early Civilization: (African Culture & Traditions; Sexuality and Sexual Health Maya Civilization in Belize) Self and Interpersonal Relationships Society and Culture: (Ethnic Groups in Belize; Eating and Fitness Cultural Diversity; African Culture & Traditions; Managing the Environment Maya Civilization in Belize). Expressive Arts Spanish Themes Instruments; Singing and Songs; Rhythm; Family Life and Culture; Pets; School Field Drawing & Painting; Clay & Wood, Straw Art, Trips/Games; Celebrations & recreation; Fabrics etc. People; Creation; Environment; Workers; Industries; Birthdays; National Holidays; Musical Instruments, Singing & Dancing; Home Economics; Local News & Issues; Hobbies. The Planning Guide 147 Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 2 Key Major Focus of a Unit Ongoing Development Months >>>> Language Tree Units >>>> 1.11 Recognise that different people speak language with different accents. Divide multisyllabic words into syllables and clap the syllables in a sentence containing 1.12 multisyllabic words. 2.9 Identify and sequence, main ideas and supporting details of a story presented orally. 2.1 Follow multiple step oral directions. 2.11 Identify the main idea after listening to a short text. Listen attentively and courteously in order to remember oral directions and follow 2.12 them. 2.13 Note a small number of important points while listening to a text. Understand and appreciate the use of voice inflection, changes in tone or volume 3.6 which suggest a speaker's changes in meaning. Recognize and respect listening as an avenue for learning individually or in small or 4.4 large groups. 4.5 Listen to contribute positively to small groups and whole group discussion. 5.6 Distinguish between poetry and prose being presented orally. 6.8 Retell a story told through the means of puppets or mimes. 7.4 Create an original visual image in response to another picture. 8.8 Use questions to initiate and sustain conversations. 9.5 Use "because" and similar conjunctions when explaining ideas. 9.6 Give clear instructions to peers on how to perform a simple task. Deliver a short prepared report, for example on a book read, trip or item of special 11.4 interest, to the rest of the class. 11.5 When giving reports, pause at the end of each sentence. 1 - 2 S e p t 3 - 5 O c t 6 - 7 L B 1 N o v 8 - 9 D e c 1 0 - 1 2 J a n 1 3 - L b 2 F e b 1 5 - 1 7 M a r 1 8 - 1 9 A p r 2 0 - 2 1 M a y L B 3 J u n e 148 The Planning Guide Months >>>> Language Tree Units >>>> 12.6 Volunteer information willingly without excessive timidity. 13.4 Dramatize short plays or skits from a prepared script. 15.4 Work alongside other students in a group, helping each other complete a given task. 15.5 Compile and share information in a group through verbal and non verbal messages. 16.3 Pronounce most words appropriately and clearly. Demonstrate correct subject-verb agreement when speaking standard English when 17.6 using the verbs be, do, have and go. Correctly apply a range of different grammatical forms for asking questions, giving 17.7 commands and instructions and giving information in simple sentences. Demonstrate a sense of what is and is not a sentence and pause at the end of 17.8 sentences. Display awareness of the difference between standard English, Kriol and other 18.3 languages. 19.3 Control gestures used to reinforce meaning when speaking. Recognise that some words may have the same sound but different spelling, e.g. 20.21 red/read, hare/hair. Read words with a variety of long and short vowel sounds, including multisyllabic 20.22 words. 20.23 Apply alphabet code knowledge to read the majority of words correctly. 20.24 Develop a sense of when a word "looks right" based on spelling patterns and length. 20.25 Automatically use phonics knowledge to decode unknown words in print. Read on sight approximately two hundred high frequency words including addresses and place names in Belize, including multi-syllabic and irregularly spelt ones, for 21.6 example, Xunantunich. 22.13 Use context clues from the text to guess at unfamiliar words. 22.14 Identify, and explain the purpose of, an adverb in a written text. 22.15 Identify, and explain the purpose of, exclamation marks in a written text. 22.16 Use background knowledge of the topic to identify the meaning of a sentence. Recognize that some words are used in the standard English spoken in Belize that are not used in other English speaking countries, for example words borrowed from Maya, 23.5 Spanish or Garifuna. 23.6 Make collections of significant words, words of personal interest and words from 1 - 2 S e p t 3 - 5 O c t 6 - 7 L B 1 N o v 8 - 9 D e c 1 0 - 1 2 J a n 1 3 - L b 2 F e b 1 5 - 1 7 M a r 1 8 - 1 9 A p r 2 0 - 2 1 M a y L B 3 J u n e The Planning Guide 149 Months >>>> Language Tree Units >>>> particular topics. 23.7 Discuss shades of meaning of synonyms, e.g. happy, glad, contented, satisfied, etc. 23.8 Read and understand words with common prefixes and suffixes. Without help, use a "students'" dictionary that has a controlled vocabulary for 24.5 definitions. When reading aloud, self-correct and/or re-read a word/sentence when it does not 25.16 make sense in the context. 25.17 While reading aloud, vary tone of voice to emphasise key parts of the text. With guidance, select from a classroom or school library a variety of fiction and non- fiction texts, including pictorial books about science, short newspaper reports and short 26.5 accounts of historical events. 26.6 Show a preference for a favourite author or for books about favourite subjects. Read books of their own choice with unbroken concentration and attention for at least 26.7 fifteen minutes. 27.7 When sequencing a story, independently select the most important events. 27.8 Show awareness of character when re-telling or re-enacting stories. Note similarities and differences between various parts of a story with a repetitive, 28.9 predictable pattern. 28.1 State, with reasons, which are the most significant events in a story. Express views about a story with clear reference to events and characters, and words, 28.11 phrases in it. 28.12 Explain story predictions by giving examples from the text. 29.4 Identify themselves and empathize with story characters. 29.5 Discuss the relevance of the morals of simple stories to their own lives. 30.4 Develop an appreciation for the beauty of poetry. 30.5 Clap out the rhythm of lines of regular poetry. 31.4 Read and follow a simple recipe or plan for constructing something. 31.5 List information from a non-fiction text. Use reference books that present information in alphabetical order, for example a 32.3 Children's Encyclopaedia. 33.3 Distinguish between accounts written in the present, past and future. 33.4 Use the terms fact, fiction, and non-fiction appropriately when talking about texts. 1 - 2 S e p t 3 - 5 O c t 6 - 7 L B 1 N o v 8 - 9 D e c 1 0 - 1 2 J a n 1 3 - L b 2 F e b 1 5 - 1 7 M a r 1 8 - 1 9 A p r 2 0 - 2 1 M a y L B 3 J u n e 150 The Planning Guide Months >>>> Language Tree Units >>>> 34.6 Compose a short story based on a picture sequence. 34.7 Rewrite a familiar story by changing the ending. 34.8 Compose a story based on story starters or ending phrases. 36.4 Differentiate letter writing from other forms of writing. 36.5 Include the return address, salutation, close, and signature in a letter to a friend. 36.6 Write a brief letter to communicate personal news to a friend Log a series of events or features on a chart, for example a weather chart, as a result 37.11 of scientific observation. 37.12 Write a paragraph that describes a place, person, object or event. 37.13 Write a non-fiction paragraph with one main idea. 37.14 Create a simple, chronological report of an event. 37.15 Write simple informative texts such as menus and instructions. 37.16 Keep a daily record (journal) of opinions and feelings 38.3 Generate ideas for writing by making lists. 38.4 Use a dictionary to edit work for spelling. 40.16 Write cursively, with correct letter size and spacing, without using guidelines. 41.7 Spell most of phonetically spelt words correctly 42.9 Use capital letters for the first word in direct speech. 42.10 Use capital letters in the first line of poetry. 43.5 Appropriately use exclamation marks. 43.6 Appropriately use commas when writing lists or series of items. 43.7 Appropriately use an apostrophe in a possessive. Join two phrases with an appropriate coordinating conjunction, for example, and, or, 44.7 but to form a compound sentence in original writing. 44.8 Apply the correct plural form of nouns that have irregular plural forms. Appropriately use regular present and past simple (verb+ed) verb forms in original 44.9 writing. 45.3 Modify a verb with an adverb in an original sentence. 1 - 2 S e p t 3 - 5 O c t 6 - 7 L B 1 N o v 8 - 9 D e c 1 0 - 1 2 J a n 1 3 - L b 2 F e b 1 5 - 1 7 M a r 1 8 - 1 9 A p r 2 0 - 2 1 M a y L B 3 J u n e The Planning Guide 151 Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 3 Key Major Focus of a Unit Ongoing Development Months > > > > > Language Tree Units > > > > > 2.14 Relate prior knowledge and experiences to central message / plot of stories and dramatizations. 2.15 After listening to a text, select particular information for a given purpose. 2.16 Identify and report on the main ideas of non-fiction texts, including news reports, presented orally. 2.17 Identify the main idea and several details after listening to a short text. 2.18 Accurately write a paragraph that is dictated. 3.7 Discriminate between fact and opinion in an oral presentation. 3.8 Discuss the main theme of an oral presentation. 3.9 Formulate relevant questions in response to an oral presentation. 4.6 Listen attentively while jointly planning, discussing and conversing in a small group. 4.7 Appreciate fully the role of the listening in aspects of communications and value its relationship with reading as well as writing. 5.7 Respond to the rhythm and mood of stories, songs and poetry presented orally and express their own mood. 5.8 Recognize and appreciate the language of poetry. 5.9 Formulate questions for the further clarification of stories presented orally. 6.9 Interpret and appreciate the use of facial expressions, gestures, and body language used by a speaker. 6.1 Select appropriate visual images to convey a message. 7.5 Compare several visual images and explain which they prefer. 1 , 2 S e p t 3 , 4 , 5 O c t 6 , 7 , L B 1 N o v 8 , D e c 9 , 1 0 , 1 1 J a n 1 2 , 1 3 , F e b 1 4 , L B 2 , 1 5 M a r 1 6 , 1 7 A p r 1 8 , 1 9 , 2 0 M a y 2 1 , L B 3 J u n e 152 The Planning Guide Months > > > > > 8.9 Plan interviews and conduct them courteously and effectively with peers and familiar adults. 8.1 Ask and answer questions in a process of negotiation with a peer or familiar adult. 8.11 Give precise, focused answers to questions on a variety of topics. 9.7 State an opinion on current or important issues. 9.8 Recall and use words encountered while reading and from other subject areas when expressing ideas. 9.9 Maintain focus on the topic when expressing ideas. 10.6 Tell stories or personal experiences in audience-type situations with enthusiasm, and sufficient skill and interpretation to enable the audience to share the aesthetic quality of the story/experience. 10.7 When relating an incident or telling a story, add details that set the scene and give information about characters. 10.8 When relating an incident or telling a story, use some adjectives, adverbs and other devices to add colour and interest. 11.6 Prepare and deliver a short speech on an item of personal or national interest. 12.7 Demonstrate a willingness to express and explore concepts such as truth, right, wrong and fairness. 12.8 Confidently express agreement or disagreement with statements made by their peers. 12.9 Discuss abstract concepts such as truth, right, wrong and fairness and explore the possibility that different people may have different opinions about them. 13.5 Participate in dramatic activity giving attention to effective delivery: enunciation, pitch and volume. 13.6 Describe the different parts of a stage and understand simple stage directions. 13.7 Based on a play script, play the part of a character in a play for public performance. 14.7 Recite poems from memory capturing the emotional and aesthetic experiences presented by the poet. 15.6 In a group, discuss a topic of mutual interest and share the group's information with the class. 15.7 Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in self-motivated, self-organized groups. 17.9 State ideas using sentences that join two or more clauses using coordinating conjunctions when speaking standard English. 18.4 Discuss the social norms for the use of Kriol and standard English in Belize and demonstrate the ability to choose the appropriate code in any given situation. 18.5 Choose the appropriate form of words for a variety of formal situations, for example, S e p t O c t N o v D e c J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n e The Planning Guide 153 Months > > > > > greeting visitors, making introductions, showing people around, giving thanks, expressing joy or sadness, apologizing, expressing welcome and giving. 19.4 Use pauses and variation in intonation to communicate shades of meaning. 19.5 Vary the tone of voice to express mood, emotion and humour. 20.26 Independently use a variety of strategies to read unfamiliar words including using phonics knowledge, recognizing similar patterns from other words and applying knowledge of suffixes, prefixes and the structure of words. 20.27 Discriminate between words with similar spelling patterns but different pronunciation (head/bead, good/moon, dough/rough/thought, cow/low). 21.7 Read on sight place names from the Caribbean region and Central America 22.17 Use quotation marks to differentiate between speech and non-speech in a written text. 22.18 Re-read a text to try to decipher and arrive at the meaning of unfamiliar words. 23.9 Explain how some suffixes and prefixes are used to change the part of speech of a word, e.g. culture (n) cultural (adj), or book (n) bookish (adj) 23.1 Discuss and collect words of similar and opposite meanings. 24.6 When reading, note an unknown word that they will look up later but continue reading. 25.18 When reading aloud, vary volume and tone of voice to hold the audience's attention. 25.19 When reading aloud, bring out the natural phrasing and rhythm of a passage. 25.2 When reading aloud, from time to time look up from the text to achieve eye-contact with the audience. 26.8 Select and read for pleasure stories from other cultures. 26.9 Discuss, with reasons, their book preferences. 26.1 Read a newspaper or magazine and select the articles that are of most interest to them. 26.11 Use information from a book's front and back cover when making a reading selection. 27.9 Explain the difference between dialogue and non-dialogue in a story. 27.1 Using original words, describe story settings, events and the physical appearance of characters. 27.11 Use descriptive language, including adjectives and adverbs when recounting characters and scenes from a story. 28.13 Discuss how the characters in a story might behave in a given situation. 28.14 Make predictions about what will happen next in a story based on inferences about a character's personality. S e p t O c t N o v D e c J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n e 154 The Planning Guide Months > > > > > 28.15 Discuss the relationships between characters in a story. 29.6 Develop a sense of what pleases them, aesthetically, in literature 29.7 Discuss whether they like or dislike the ending of stories and explore alternative possible endings that they find more satisfactory. 29.8 Express, with reasons, whether they agree with the actions and views of characters in stories. 31.6 Determine the most important ideas or themes in a non-fiction text. 31.7 Use a variety of instructional non-fiction texts including the telephone directory, recipes, route maps, timetables and rules for games. 31.8 Sequence events from a chronological historical or other non-fiction narrative. 32.4 Find the appropriate part of a book using a contents page. 33.5 Identify the main features of a newspaper, e.g. headlines, lay-out, range of information, different types of articles, different sections (news, sports, comment, letters, etc). 33.6 Recognize that story plots often portray the resolution of problems and/or conflicts. 34.9 Compose a short story based on the experiences of another person. 34.1 Create a multi-paragraph story with a simple setting, simple plot and a small number of characters. 34.11 Include short items of dialogue in story-writing. 34.12 Create a story in comic form. 36.7 Write a multi-paragraph letter to communicate personal news to a friend. 37.17 Write a text containing at least two informative paragraphs. 37.18 Write for a variety of purposes, for example, to send messages, to inform and to entertain. 37.19 Compose simple directions on how to perform a task. 37.2 Write a short non-fiction essay that is logically divided into paragraphs. 37.21 Write a brief book report outlining main characters and events and giving a simple evaluation. 38.5 Edit a piece of writing so that unnecessary repetition is eliminated. 38.6 Edit a piece of writing by deleting irrelevant or unimportant elements. 38.7 Generate ideas for writing through discussion with peers. 38.8 Graphically represent the outline of a plot for a story to be written. 38.9 Compose a draft based on planning and check it for spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. 38.1 Create a map (story board) of a story to be written that contains sections for the S e p t O c t N o v D e c J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n e The Planning Guide 155 Months > > > > > setting, the problem or conflict, the characters, and the solution. 38.11 Edit a piece of writing by revising its vocabulary. 39.8 Without prompting, use appropriate headings, margins, paragraph indents and other presentation devices. 39.9 Produce a piece of written work for classroom display that is appropriately laid out and attractively presented 40.17 Use appropriate lettering for diagrams, maps, charts and so on. 41.8 Spell most common irregularly spelt words, correctly. 43.8 Use commas in dates, greetings and closings of letters and social notes and to set off geographical names in addresses. 43.9 Use quotation marks to indicate the beginning and end of direct speech. 43.1 Use hyphens to join some compound words. 43.11 Consistently and correctly use apostrophes for contractions. 44.1 Appropriately use subject and object pronouns in original writing. 44.11 Construct sentences with clauses beginning with who, which & that in original writing. 45.4 Appropriately use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives in original writing. S e p t O c t N o v D e c J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n e 156 The Planning Guide Scope and Sequence Chart for Standard 4 Key Major Focus of a Unit Ongoing Development Months Language Tree Units 1.19 Sequence key events after listening to a short text. 2.20 Discuss a news item, interview or oral report of a current event or incident. 3.10 Formulate relevant questions designed to elicit information from a speaker. 3.11 Discuss the purpose, attitude and perspective of a speaker. Respond intellectually and emotionally to mood and setting in stories and poetry 5.10 presented orally. 6.11 Determine the central ideas of visual ‘messages’ conveyed through various media. 6.12 Discuss how newspapers use pictures to enhance their messages. During a discussion, ask questions to elicit information, for example, "Why do you 8.12 think that?" "What do you think about this?" and "What is your opinion?" 8.13 Ask questions in a progressive, logical sequence, to clarify thinking on an issue. 9.10 Explain and justify an opinion on current or important issues. 9.11 Use a range of adjectives and adverbs when expressing ideas. 9.12 Develop an idea using a series of logically sequenced sentences. When telling a story, project the voice so that the whole class can hear clearly and 10.9 vary the voice for effect. When relating an incident or telling a story, sequence ideas in a logical manner so that 10.10 the main idea is effectively communicated. 11.7 Vary the voice for effect when delivering a report or recitation When delivering a report or recitation, from time to time look up from the text to 11.8 achieve eye-contact with the audience. Following group-work, confidently present information to the class in a meaningful 11.9 way. 11.10 When delivering a speech or report, project voice so that the whole class can hear 1 - 2 S 3 - 5 O 6 L B 1 N 8 D 9 1 1 J 1 2 1 4 F L B 2 1 5 M 1 6 1 8 A 1 9 2 1 M L B 3 J The Planning Guide 157 Months clearly. Understand the conventions of play scripts, including stage directions, scene changes, 13.8 the use of props and how writers make action seem realistic. Play the part of a character in a drama with confidence, voice variation and 13.9 "stagecraft". 13.10 Discuss the importance of gesture and movement in performing drama. 14.9 Memorize and recite a poem containing several stanzas. During group discussions be tolerant of and sensitive to the needs of all participants, including those who have special needs such as speech, hearing and visual 15.8 impairments. 15.9 Demonstrate tolerance for the ideas of others in a group situation. As appropriate to the situation switch between standard English, Kriol and other language codes with sufficient control that one code does not overlap with or interfere 18.6 with another. Recognize that the type of language a person uses to express an idea depends on the 18.7 situation and who they are talking to. Demonstrate the ability to choose the appropriate language register for the situation, 18.8 for example, formal, informal, academic, etc. 19.6 Consistently stress the correct syllable in multi-syllabic words. 19.7 Pace the delivery of speech appropriately for the listener and the situation. 21.8 Accurately and fluently, read on sight a majority of words encountered in print. 22.19 Identify, and explain the purpose of, passive forms in written text. Identify, and explain the purpose of ,subordinating conjunctions, for example, 22.20 because, when, unless, in written texts. 22.21 Understand that the context in which a word is used may alter its meaning. 22.22 Use grammatical awareness to predict the meaning of words. 23.11 Build words from common roots, e.g. medical/medicine/medicinal. 23.12 Interpret most homophones and homonyms correctly Use information from a dictionary about parts of speech, plurals, verb tenses and 24.8 syllabication. When reading aloud pronounce most commonly occurring, regularly and irregularly 25.21 spelt words, accurately and fluently. Read with fluency and confidence from a variety of prose, poetry and non-fiction texts, 25.22 including texts seen for the first time. 26.12 With guidance, select an appropriate book from a public library. S O N D J F M A M J 158 The Planning Guide Months 26.13 Discuss, with reasons, their favourite authors and favourite types of books. Seek to widen their reading experiences by trying books types they do not normally 26.14 read. Independently, select and read a variety of non-fiction texts, including pictorial books about science, short newspaper reports, articles from age-appropriate magazines, and 26.15 multiple paragraph accounts of historical events. Sequence events in a chronological story in which the action occurs over a long period 27.12 of time. Explore chronology in a story, e.g. by mapping how much time passes between events 27.13 or between the first and last events. 27.14 Distinguish between third and first person accounts. 28.16 Compare and contrast the main themes of different stories. Discuss choices faced by characters in a story with an understanding that characters 28.17 are not necessarily all good or all bad. 28.18 Recognize that different readers may interpret the same story in different ways. 28.19 Compare and contrast the events and characters of different stories of the same type. Without prompting, independently use a range of comprehension strategies, including 28.20 anticipation and prediction, and imagining events as they are described. 29.9 Connect stories to life choices and moral decisions. Note that some poems have alliteration that occurs within lines and across several 30.6 lines. 30.7 Discuss the impact of the lay-out of a poem. Discuss the difference between rhyming and non-rhyming poetry, and the difference 30.8 between poetry and prose. 30.9 Discuss poetry using appropriate terms, including rhyme, verse, poet, and poem. 31.9 Find and present information from more than one non-fiction text on the same theme. 31.10 Summarize information from a non-fiction text. 32.5 Summarize a paragraph using original words. 32.6 Use an index with alphabetized entries to locate information in a book. 32.7 Scan a text for headings and sub-headings to find specific information. Plan for research by assessing what is known, what information is needed and what 32.8 sources of information are available. Discuss the use of Kriol in radio, television and print advertisements and in newspaper 33.7 articles. 33.8 Evaluate the claims made in advertisements and discuss their use of language. S O N D J F M A M J The Planning Guide 159 Months 34.13 Appropriately choose the first or third person when writing stories. 34.14 Compose a short story based on a given title 34.15 Use time order words, transitional words and phrases in original stories Rewrite known stories by changing the characters or setting but retaining the original 34.16 main idea. 34.17 When writing stories, include short descriptions of settings and characters 35.4 Write short poems with a clear, regular, metre. 35.5 Write poems with a specific form, for example shape poems, limericks or haiku. 36.8 Write a letter to make a simple request to a business Write a business letter in full block form and include the return address, inside 36.9 address, salutation, close and signature and use block paragraphs for the body. 37.22 Compose a report based on scientific observation. 37.23 Compose two or three paragraphs that present and argue a specified point of view. Write a several paragraph non-fiction text in which each paragraph has a main idea 37.24 and supporting details. 37.25 Write a multi-paragraph, truthful and accurate, report describing a recent experience. 38.12 Consider audience when planning writing. Plan a story or non-fiction text in outline form, using a few words that will later be 38.13 expanded into longer sections 38.14 Individually, generate ideas on a topic by brainstorming. 38.15 Generate ideas for writing by reading related material. Edit a piece of writing to ensure that sentences are correctly structured and are in the 38.16 appropriate tense. 38.17 Use a checklist provided by the teacher to revise and edit writing. 41.9 Spell an increasing range of irregularly spelt words correctly Appropriately capitalize organizations and their members, historical periods and 42.11 events. 42.12 Appropriately capitalize titles of books, etc. 44.12 Appropriately use a range of future verb forms in original writing. 44.13 Appropriately use possessive pronouns in original writing. 44.14 Differentiate between sentences, fragments and phrases. Join two phrases with an appropriate subordinating conjunction, for example because, 44.15 when, unless. 45.5 Use multiple adjectives to modify words in original writing. 45.6 Appropriately use comparative and superlative forms of adverbs in original writing. S O N D J F M A M J 160 The Planning Guide Sample Annual Plan for Standard 2 First Term September October November December Listening 2 Listen for Information 3 Interpret and Evaluate Oral 1 Identify and Distinguish between 1 Identify and Distinguish between 4 Listen and Communicate Presentations Sounds Sounds 4 Listen and Communicate 2 Listen for Information 2 Listen for Information 5 Respond to Spoken Texts 9 Express Opinions and Communicate Ideas Viewing 6 Comprehend and Interpret Visual 7 Respond to Visual Images Images Speaking 8 Ask and Answer Questions 15 Participate in Group Discussions 7 Respond to Visual Images 9 Express Opinions and 9 Express Opinions and 16 Pronounce Words Appropriately 8 Ask and Answer Questions Communicate Ideas Communicate Ideas 17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures 9 Express Opinions and 11 Deliver Reports and Speeches 15 Participate in Group Discussions in Speech Communicate Ideas 15 Participate in Group Discussions 17 Use Correct Grammatical Structures 19 Use Speech Prosody and Gesture 15 Participate in Group Discussions in Speech 16 Pronounce Words Appropriately 18 Use Appropriate Styles and Registers in Speech Reading 20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 20 Apply Phonics Knowledge 21 Recognize Words by Sight 22 Use Context Clues 22 Use Context Clues 22 Use Context Clues 22 Use Context Clues 23 Display Word Power 23 Display Word Power 23 Display Word Power 25 Read Aloud 25 Read Aloud 25 Read Aloud 24 Use a Dictionary 28 Interpret Stories 27 Comprehend Fiction Texts 27 Comprehend Fiction Texts 25 Read Aloud 32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 28 Interpret Stories 32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 26 Select Appropriate Reading Material 29 Relate Personally to Stories 31 Comprehend Non-Fiction Texts 30 Read and Relate to Poetry 32 Research from Non-Fiction Texts 33 Analyse the Language, Nature and Structure of Texts Writing 37 Write Non-Fiction 34 Write Stories 36 Write Letters 37 Write Non-Fiction 41 Spell Words Appropriately 38 Plan and Edit Writing 37 Write Non-Fiction 38 Plan and Edit Writing 42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately 39 Present Written Work Appropriately 40 Write Clearly and Legibly 41 Spell Words Appropriately 40 Write Clearly and Legibly 41 Spell Words Appropriately 44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in 41 Spell Words Appropriately 44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in Writing 42 Use Capital Letters Appropriately Writing 45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Original Writing 44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms in 45 Incorporate Stylistic Devices in Writing Original Writing The Planning Guide 161 Guide to Completing a Weekly Scheme Planning Chart Area of Study Objectives (ie Teaching Content (Example Assessment Linkages Resource, Evaluation (Subject) Concepts, Skills, Strategies / and Key Points) Strategies Reference Topic/Subtopic/ Attitudes) Learning Learning Activities Material / Time Outcomes/Learning Instructional Aids Objectives Area of Study = Objectives/Learning Insert teaching Expand on the Insert assessment Insert linkages to Resource Material Evaluation of the Language Arts2 Outcomes = strategies and learning strategies from the other subject refers to texts that lesson by the Learning Outcome learning activities outcomes, curriculum web areas, for will be listened to teacher. This can Topic = Content Numbers5 from the explaining their and/or ones example science, or read by the include strengths, Area Theme3 curriculum web meaning more devised by the social studies or students. weaknesses and Learning Objectives and/or ones fully and providing teacher. PE. areas for Subtopic = = Specific Lesson Instructional aids devised by the examples. improvement. Content Standard Objectives, written refers to all other teacher. out in full. materials that will Numbers4 be used in the Time = Time implementation of available for the the lesson. lessons and/or Reference number of Material refers to lessons. sources of information used by the teacher in planning the lesson. 2 It would not be appropriate to divide this column further into “sub-subjects” such as phonics, grammar, creative writing and penmanship. 3 This is the subject matter; that is what the students will be reading about, for example “Environment”. 4 For example CS2, CS4; some principals and teachers may prefer to additionally write the content standard titles. This section may be usefully divided into Listening, Viewing, Speaking, Reading and Writing. 5 For example 21.3 or 32.5 162 The Planning Guide The Planning Guide 163 Sample Weekly Scheme for Standard 2 First Week in November Based on Unit 6 of Language Tree Area of Study (Subject) Topic/Subtopic/ Objectives (ie Concepts, Skills, Attitudes) Learning Outcomes/Learning Time Objectives Theme: Environment Learning Outcomes Sub-topics 1.12, 2.9. 8.8, 9.5, 9.6, 15.4, 20.22, 20.23, 20.24, 23.8, 25.16, 27.7, 38.3, 38.4, 41.7, 44.7 Listening Learning Objectives CS1 Identify and Distinguish between Sounds By the end of the week, students will have:6 CS2 Listen for Information a) listened to the story “Clean-up Day” being read three times and have retold it placing the main events in the correct sequence. Speaking b) accurately and fluently read “Clean-up Day” and related texts CS8 Ask and Answer Questions aloud, self-correcting if making a mistake. CS9 Express Opinions and c) listed the key events of “Clean-up Day” in writing Communicate Ideas d) actively worked in a small group to plan a school clean-up day. CS10 Participate in Group Discussions e) used "because" and similar conjunctions when explaining ideas Reading while working in a group, f) devised a set of instructions on how to keep the school tidy. CS20 Apply Phonics Knowledge g) drafted, edited in groups and presented to the class, a written CS22 Display Word Power plan for a school clean-up day that contains at least five sentences. CS24 Use a Dictionary h) used a dictionary to check the spelling of a written plan for a CS25 Read Aloud school clean-up day. Writing g) presented a written plan for a school clean-up day that contains at least two compound sentences with clauses joined by CS37 Write Non-Fiction “because”, “and”, or “but”. CS38 Plan and Edit Writing h) added the prefix “dis” to appropriate root words, divided the CS41 Spell Words Appropriately resulting word into syllables and demonstrated an understanding of its meaning by using it in an original sentence. CS44 Apply Correct Grammatical Forms i) determined whether the prefix “dis” can or cannot be added to a in Writing given word. Time = 75 minutes per day. j) appreciated the importance of maintaining a clean environment. 6 There are several different appropriate styles for writing objectives. For example, the following wording could also be used: “By the end of the week, students will be able to listen to a story being read three times and retell it placing the main events in the correct sequence.” 164 The Planning Guide Teaching Strategies / Learning Activities Note: Each lesson will begin with 10 minutes uninterrupted sustained silent reading (or D.E.A.R.). That is students silently read a book they have selected Monday Listening comprehension: The teacher will read the story “Clean-up Day” aloud to the whole class three times. After the first reading students will be instructed they will have to state the main events in the correct order. After the third reading they will work in groups to write a list of events. Students will be asked to explain why some events occurred in sentences that use the word “because”. Tuesday Selected students read “Clean-up Day” silently. Students review their list of events and write each one as a complete sentence. Working in groups, students try to link their sentences together using “and”, “but” or “because”. Upon finishing, students complete Exercise 1 on p33 of Language Tree (Conjunctions). Because game: In pairs, the first student makes a statement about something they did, the second student has to add a conjunction and complete the sentence, for example: “I ran to school” . . . “because I woke up late.” Wednesday Selected students read “Clean-up Day” aloud to the whole class. Students list words in the story that begin with dis, explain their meaning and identify the root word (disappointed, disagree, discover). Students work in groups to list at least five more words that begin with “dis”. They write a sentence for each word and explain its meaning. Students write a rule to explain the function of the pronoun “dis”. Students use a dictionary to find more words beginning with “dis”. Syllabication game: The teacher will provide a word beginning with dis. The selected student claps the number of syllables in the word and states its meaning. Students continue the game in small groups. Thursday Students work in groups to plan a school clean-up day using the chart on p.35 of Language Tree. Each group presents its plan to the other students in the class. Then the whole class discusses the various ideas until a joint plan has been created. This will lead to a social studies project in the following week. Friday In groups, students plan and create a poster instructing students how to keep the school tidy. It should contain at least five sentences. Sentences can include the conjunction because. Students should carefully edit their work, especially checking spelling in a dictionary. Completed posters are displayed around the classroom. The Planning Guide 165 Content (Example and Key Points) Assessment Strategies Evaluation A conjunction is a part of speech Completion by students of Lesson Strengths: that joins two or more clauses sentences containing conjunctions together. In sentences joined by and words beginning with “dis”. “because”, the second clause Monitoring the students’ use of Lesson Weaknesses: explains why the first clause these structures during group work happened. and class discussions. Students’ Performance: “dis” is a prefix that indicates the Observation and monitoring of absence of a noun or the opposite students’ behaviour as they of a noun. Examples include complete group tasks.7 Possible Improvements: disagree, disappear, discover, disinterest. disloyal. Sometimes Evaluation of completed posters the original meaning of the word using a rubric based on design and has changed over time, for lay-out, accuracy of language and example disappoint. the effectiveness of the message A clean-up campaign helps students appreciate the importance of responsibly looking after their immediate and wider environment. Linkages Resource, Reference Material / Instructional Aids Social Studies Theme: Natural Resources Resources, sub-topic Pollution Language Tree Unit 6 Science Theme: Environment, sub- References topic Protection, Care and Responsible Use of the Environment Hacker D A Writers Reference Expressive Arts Theme: Drawing and www.cleanup.com.au Painting “World Celebrates Earth Day” HFLE Theme: Managing the http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/717912.stm Environment 7 The checklist from the Assessment Strategies box of the Curriculum Web for CS8 could be used. Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 169 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers Alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighbouring words or syllables:- initial rhyme Alphabet Code The way in which sounds (phonemes) are mapped by letters (graphemes). See also grapheme, In English, the 26 letters of the alphabet map approximately 42 sounds in a phoneme, phonics. variety of ways. - Some sounds, for example /b/ are almost always represented by the same letter. - Some sounds, for example the long vowel sounds, are written in a variety of ways. - Some sounds, for example /ch/ and /sh/ are represented by two letters. The study of the relationship between sounds and letters is called phonics. Annual Plan A plan covering the whole school year. The purpose of the annual plan is to ensure that all the content standards contained in the curriculum are adequately taught during the year. The annual plan should be based on a scope and sequence chart that outlines when, and to what extent, each content standard will be taught. Usually the year is divided into a number of units, each of which is based on a content theme. These themes may be taken from the textbook or they may link to other subject areas. There is no specified length of time for units. During annual planning, it is important to consider the number of actual teaching days available, taking into account examinations, holidays, planned trips and other special events. Assessment A judgment on the knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired by students. The purpose of assessment is to discover the students’ level of achievement in each of the content standards. During the year, all content standards should be assessed. Teachers need to use a variety of assessment tools including, but not limited to: - written and spoken responses to reading passages, visual and other stimuli - extended pieces of creative and informative writing - evaluation of prepared speeches, recitations and read alouds - observation - journals - research projects conducted individually and in groups - miscue analyses based on the teacher listening to the student reading a text - student self evaluation or evaluation by their peers - tests and quizzes - examinations. It is very important that assessment is in line with lesson and unit objectives. The term informal assessment is used to describe activities that occur within routine class teaching, that is, without causing a break in instruction, which are used to evaluate students’ progress. Much informal assessment, for 170 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers example of group-work, students’ reading and role plays relies upon observation. This can be unstructured and unscored, or it can be based on a check-list that leads to a grade. Traditional assessment techniques include tests, exams, essay type assignments and text-book exercises. These are often standardized, so that all students are given the same questions and direct comparisons between students are possible. Alternative assessment refers to non-traditional techniques, including drama, journals and projects which are designed to evaluate each student in a particular way, making direct comparison between students very difficult. Alternative assessment might reward effort, motivation, teamwork, leadership and other similar attributes. Assessment Rubric A tool used to assess students’ work based on clearly defined criteria. The best way of grading work meaningfully and fairly is to use assessment rubrics that outline the criteria that will be used to judge a piece of work or an oral performance. Many rubrics for written work have criteria for judging (a) content, including its relevance and the level of detail provided (b) structure, including paragraphing and the logical sequencing of ideas (c) style, including word choice and sentence structure, and (d) spelling, punctuation and grammar. Rubrics for oral presentations might also include criteria for (a) use of voice, including clarity, intonation and stress, volume, and variation, (b) confidence and (c) relationship with audience. Checklists, with tick-boxes for various outcomes, are a useful tool for assessments based on observation. Big book A large book with large pictures and lettering that can be used by teachers when reading to a large group of students. Bilingual Education A person who has some use of more than one language, even if one is dominant, can be regarded as bilingual. It is often beneficial to use more See also: First Language, than one language to teach a bilingual student, especially in the early years Target Language, Kriol of school. A common form of bilingual education is transitional bilingual education which occurs when the second (target) language is introduced in a planned, gradual way. For example, if a student enters school knowing little or no English, the teacher may decide to teach mostly in another language (for example Spanish) during the first few weeks and months of Infant 1 while progressively developing the students’ ability in English. Over time, the use of Spanish would decrease and the use of English would increase until, probably by the end of lower division, most instruction would be in English. Blending Forming a word by combining parts of words, for example, putting together the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ to form the word cat. Often blending refers to forming a word by combining the sounds represented by letters: - sounding out. Students should be encouraged to blend early in the process of learning phonics. Brainstorming A group activity used to quickly generate a large number of ideas. Group members usually call out ideas as they occur to them. The ideas are often Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 171 then organized into web diagrams. Chunking Grouping small units, for example consonant clusters, to form words while reading. Classroom Library A space in the classroom where books are displayed and available to students. In a good classroom library, there is suitable reading material of different types and difficulty different levels: some fiction and some non-fiction. Books which are out-dated or clearly unsuitable for the class should not be in the classroom library. Every student should have easy and frequent access to the library. A middle division classroom library can include stories, biographies, information books, picture books, newspapers, magazines, brochures, textbooks, student-authored books, poetry, and reference books, including encyclopaedias and dictionaries Through the classroom library, students can learn to keep records, to care for books and to classify them. They can also learn how to choose a suitable book by evaluating its title, author, front and back cover and physical appearance. Teachers can appoint a librarian, on a rotating basis, who is responsible for caring for the library. Cloze Procedure A “fill in the blanks” activity. Coherence The degree to which ideas are presented in a logical order. Cohesion The degree to which different words, sentences and paragraphs are linked and follow on from each other. Comprehension The construction of meaning from a spoken or written text. Comprehension depends upon the ability to decode words using phonics knowledge, the ability to recognize words by sight, knowledge of vocabulary, reading fluency, knowledge of the topic, grammatical knowledge, knowledge of the context, and other factors. Comprehension Comprehension strategies are tools used by readers to help them understand Strategies a text. Their use involves the activation of knowledge of the text’s topic, See also text vocabulary, grammar, syntax, purpose, medium, structure and so on. comprehension instruction Comprehension strategies include predicting, sequencing, summarizing, skimming, scanning, re-reading and asking questions and using textual clues and other information to enhance understanding of what is being read. Concept map A web diagram in which cells (circles) containing questions or ideas are linked by arrows, which are usually labeled. The purpose of the diagram is to represent the relationship between concepts. Consonant 1. Any speech sound characterized by constriction or closure at one or more points in the breath channel. 2. A letter or symbol that represents a consonant. Consonant Cluster A group or sequence of consonants that appear together in a word without a vowel between them. For example str and tch in stretch. Consonant-Vowel- A three letter word in which the letters follow the sequence consonant, then Consonant (CVC) word vowel, then consonant. For example cat, dog, sat, man, etc. Content Standard A statement of what students need to know and be able to do at the end of 172 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers their primary schooling. In this curriculum, each content standard refers to one of forty-five skill elements relating to language arts. Each content standard has four components: (1) a number, (2) a short title, (3) a description of the skills covered and (4) learning outcomes that specify exactly which components of the skill need to be achieved at each particular grade level. When writing their annual plans, teachers should ensure that all content standards are adequately covered at some point during the year. Most Content Standards will appear on the annual plan for several different months and some, marked as “ongoing development” on the scope and sequence chart will appear every month. When writing lesson plans or weekly schemes, teachers need to focus on the learning outcomes. Context The situation surrounding the text, including the type of text, the means of communication, the purpose of the text, and the relationship between people interacting with it. Context Clue Information from the context (see above) that a reader can use to enhance see also comprehension comprehension. strategies Creole see Kriol, below Critical Comprehension Understanding the information in a passage and relating it to one’s own experiences and values. Critical Thinking (1) The ability to solve real world problems (2) The ability to evaluate one’s own thinking Critical Literacy 1. The ability to use language for thinking and problem solving 2. The ability to connect a text to one’s own reality Cursive Any system of writing in which the letters of a word are joined together. Decoding Skills The abilities needed to read and form words from written alphabet symbols, see also word attack mainly phonics and sight word recognition. skills, phonics Students may be able to decode words, that is read them aloud correctly, without comprehending their meaning or the meaning of the text. For this reason, decoding skills must be taught alongside other comprehension strategies. Defining Vocabulary A limited range of words used for the word definitions in learner’s dictionaries Developmental An approach to teaching reading and writing based on the identification of Approach to Literacy four distinct phases of development. Phase 1: Children read by looking for clues such as the colour or shape of the word. They may recognize common symbols, such as a STOP road sign. In this phase, children will scribble and may write some letter-like shapes. Phase 2: Children read by focusing on individual letters, usually the first and last letters, especially if they are consonants, of a word. They begin writing words in a similar way, that is by writing one or two letters. Phase 3: As phonics knowledge increases, children increasingly read and write words according to letter sounds, that is phonetically. In phases 2 and 3 inventive spelling is normal. Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 173 Phase 4: As children’s knowledge of the alphabet code and of sight words becomes more sophisticated and extensive, their reading and writing approaches conventional norms. In this phase, most words are read automatically and most words are spelt correctly. A developmental approach is consistent with this curriculum. Depending on their previous experiences, most students will enter school at phase 1 or phase 2. During Infant 1, most students will reach phase 3 and will continue at this stage through Infant 2. Some students will reach phase 4 in Standard 1, and development of this phase continues thereafter. For students to move through the phases, they need lots of opportunities to read appropriate texts and lots of opportunities to engage in free, creative, writing. This implies that inventive spelling will feature strongly in Infant 1 and Infant 2 classes. Handwriting also develops over time. Having students practice tracing letters for long periods of time is inconsistent with this approach. Instead, the letters of a student at phase 1 and the beginning of phase 2 may be barely recognizable. However, as the student progresses through phases 2 and 3, letter formation should become increasingly controlled and accurate. Dialect A variety of a language spoken by a particular cultural group or in a particular region. The vocabulary and grammar of a dialect, especially when written, is usually similar to the standard form of the language. However, speech patterns, especially pronunciation and prosody may be very different. Creoles, such as Belize Kriol, are usually sufficiently distinct from standard forms to be considered separate languages. Differentiation Planning different instruction and/or setting different work for different See also enrichment, students or groups of students according to their ability or other remediation characteristics. Digraph Two letters that, written together, represent one sound. For example ch (in chop), th (in thumb), sh (in sheep), ee (in feed), ay in bay, and ai (in bait). Drop Everything and See sustained silent reading. Read Echo reading An activity where a skilled reader reads a text, one sentence at a time, as the learner tracks. The learner then echoes or imitates the skilled reader. Enrichment Strategies Activities and other techniques designed to improve the students’ understanding beyond the base level of the lesson. Etymology The study of the origins of words Evaluation See assessment Examinations End of unit or end of term tests designed to evaluate whether the learning see also assessment outcomes covered have been achieved. Examinations are usually standardized so that all students are tested in the same way. This enables direct comparison between students. Great care must be taken when designing exams to ensure that they are a fair way of testing the work covered for the term. As far as possible, exams should also reflect the teaching strategies and learning activities used. Examinations must also test the achievement of curriculum learning 174 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers outcomes. Expository Writing Text that explains an event, concept, or idea using facts and examples. Eye-voice span The average number of words that the eye is ahead of the voice in reading. Readers with poor eye-voice span are unlikely to read fluently or with appropriate intonation and stress. Fast Phonics A systematic, synthetic phonics programme developed by the Ministry of Education in Belize. In Fast Phonics, each phonemic sound is associated with a letter, an action, a story, a picture and a key word. Phonemes are divided into groups and taught in a specified order. First Language The language a person learns first, at home, from their parents and See also Kriol caregivers. In Belize, it is rare for this first language to be standard English. The terms first language, home language and native language are usually used interchangeably: that is they are taken to mean just about the same thing. Using a student’s first language for instruction may be appropriate for middle division classes, especially when the student struggles to grasp information and concepts in English. The National Language Policy also recognizes the important cultural and social role that languages other than English play in Belizean life. Schools can, and should, provide students with opportunities to use these other languages. Fluency The ability to read text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding. Developing fluency is important because a student reading fluently is more likely to remember what is read and more likely to make connections with other knowledge and experience. Fluency is different from accuracy. A student who reads words slowly with few mistakes is likely to be relying on phonics skills rather than recognizing words by sight. Reading fluency usually improves as sight word knowledge increases. Form (Language Form) The symbols of language and the way they are combined. see also function Studying word order, spelling, punctuation and traditional grammar involves the study of form. The accurate use of language form is seen as important because errors in word order, spelling, punctuation and so on can lead to, often unintended, changes in meaning. Free Writing Writing in which the students are authors: that is, the students write using see also Developmental their own original words. Approaches to Literacy All students, from Infant 1 up, need lots of opportunities to engage in free writing. As literacy skills develop, the length and complexity of a student’s writing should increase. Function (Language The purpose of a word in a sentence or of a complete text. A functional Function) approach to language arts stresses the importance of how language is used to achieve a communicative purpose. The effectiveness of a piece of language use for getting something done is seen as more important than its accuracy in terms of spelling, grammar, and so on. Functional Task A learning activity based around the purposeful use of language. In middle division teaching, games can be used to create functional tasks within the classroom because students can learn language as they play the game. Situational role-plays, for example, the classroom shop, can also Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 175 be used to create functional tasks. Genre A kind or type of text. The term was traditionally applied to literature but is now applied to all spoken and written types of text. Within literature, there are three broad genres: poetry, prose and drama. However, these broad types can be subdivided into many classes of text, all of which can be called a genre, for example, comedy, tragedy, romance, science and history. Grammar The rules of a language, particularly those governing the way words relate to each other in sentences to make meaning. Grammar-at-the-point- A powerful instructional technique in which teachers intervene to discuss and of-writing correct grammar as the students write. This technique is opportunistic, in that teachers respond to whichever errors students make, and not just those that are the main focus of the lesson. Grapheme The written representation of a phoneme (sound). In English, graphemes See also alphabet code, are often single letters, for example the letter ‘d’ represents the sound /d/ as digraph, phoneme. in duck. However, some sounds are represented by more than one letter, for example when ‘oa’ represents the long /o/ sound, as in boat, or when ‘sh’ represents the first sound in shop. Guided Reading When students read aloud with feedback from another person (teacher, parent, sibling, peer, etc), including shared reading in groups. Guided Questioning Guided questioning is a group or individual activity where learners are asked questions about a text both before and after they read it. They must find the answers in the text by reading it independently and silently. The technique is also used with listening passages. Guided Writing A technique in which students’ original writing occurs in a structured lesson. Often the teacher presents a mini-lesson outlining the writing task before the students write their own material. As some students write independently, the teacher holds a writing conference with a small group of others. Home Language See First Language Homograph One of two or more words that have the same spelling but which differ in meaning and possibly pronunciation. For example lead (to conduct) and lead (metal) Homonym One of two or more words that have the same sound and the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as bank (embankment), bank (place where money is kept) and bank (lean to one side) Homophone One of two or more words, such as night and knight, that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and spelling. Inference A conclusion based on reasoning Inferential Sometimes called interpretative comprehension. The ability to understand comprehension what is implied by a text rather than what is directly stated. Informal Assessment See Assessment Integrated Language Teaching in which listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing skills are Arts Teaching developed at the same time as the students study content-based written and 176 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers See also integration spoken texts, usually on a clearly identified theme. In an integrated (curriculum), writing approach, there is no artificial separation of spelling from writing, literature process or grammar. For example, spelling is one aspect of writing that needs to be learnt alongside all the others. This approach differs from one in which various skills are taught separately and explicitly. Independent original writing and the use of the writing process is an important part of integrated language arts teaching. Students write about a topic after they have talked and read about it. They then discuss their writing with the teacher and their peers and revise it. In an integrated approach to language arts, all forms of creative expression, including drawing, computing, dance and drama, are important. Central to planning integrated lessons are (1) the theme of the lesson (2) the relationship of that theme to the students’ wider experiences and interests (3) the skills to be covered and (4) the links between the theme, the skills and the purpose of reading and writing activities. This curriculum is designed for an integrated approach to language arts. Integration A philosophy of teaching in which content is drawn from several subject (Curriculum) areas to focus on a particular topic or theme. Rather than studying math or See also integrated social studies in isolation, for example, a class might study a unit called The language arts teaching Sea, using math to calculate the depth and volume of the water, science knowledge to distinguish living and non-living things, social studies knowledge to understand why tourism is common in coastal communities and language arts skills to read and write about the topic. Intonation The pattern of pitch (highness and lowness of sound) in a spoken sentence. Inventive Spelling The non-conventional spelling of a word by a student in the early phases of see also developmental literacy development. Phases in the use of inventive spelling are: (1) the approach to literacy use of scribbles and random letters to represent words; (2) the use of prominent letters, for example initial and final consonants, to represent words (HS=house); (3) strictly phonetic spelling of words (conshuss = conscious); and (4) the increasing use of conventional spelling, even for irregularly spelt words. Allowing students to use inventive spelling is believed to encourage their creativity and deepen their understanding of the alphabet code. It also allows students to begin writing original sentences earlier than if conventional spelling is emphasized. For example, in the first term of Infant 1, students can be asked to add a caption to a picture using inventive spelling (as above). By the end of Infant 1, many students should be able to write a short sentence of using phonetic spelling. Although inventive spelling should be allowed, this must be alongside a strong phonics programme and the teaching of common irregularly spelt “tricky words”. As students progress from Infant 1 to Infant 2 and Standard 1, conventional spelling should be increasingly encouraged. This curriculum allows inventive spelling. Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 177 Kriol Kriol is the term used for the Creole language of Belize. Kriol and English are two distinct languages. Although Kriol shares many vocabulary items with English, the grammatical structures of the two languages are very different. It is, therefore, not correct to refer to Kriol as broken English. In Belize, many people use Kriol for the majority of their spoken interactions but prefer to use English when writing. This division between the spoken code and the written code is not unique to Belize but is a global phenomenon. It is very important that students understand the difference between English and Kriol. They should be explicitly taught these differences through a process of contrasting items in the two languages. In middle division, the same principles that apply to other first languages can also be applied to Kriol. However, in classrooms where Kriol is the dominant language, teachers should model English to the maximum extent, using Kriol only for special purposes. Teachers may decide to allow their students to use Kriol, especially in class discussions where expression and sharing opinions are important. K-W-L Chart A chart with three columns: K (what I already know), W (what I want to learn, and L (what I have learned). The first column is usually completed in response to questioning led by the teacher. The second column is often completed after students discuss the topic as a class or in small groups. This column sets goals for the lesson. After completing the reading or activity, students discuss what they have learned to fill in the final column. K-W-L encourages students to apply higher-order thinking strategies as they construct meaning from what they read and monitor their progress toward their goals. Language Arts A school subject that focuses on listening, reading, writing, speaking, and viewing skills. In Language Arts, all skills, and sub-skills such as phonics, grammar, spelling and vocabulary, are taught together. Separate lessons for these sub-skills are inappropriate. Language Arts teaching is usually based around content themes. Language Experience A method of teaching literacy in which the students’ own words, usually Approach dictated to the teacher, are used for the classes reading texts. Often four steps are used: discussion, oral dictation, reading, and re-reading. This is an excellent approach following a shared experience such as a field trip. Learning Outcome A statement describing a specific skill that the students are expected to attain in a given period. This curriculum is based on the attainment of specified learning outcomes at each grade level. Planning, especially lesson planning should be based on learning outcomes. The learning outcomes for one grade level are linked, sequentially and hierarchically, to the learning outcomes of other grade levels. Thus the learning outcomes for Infant 2 follow on, but are different from those for Infant 1. Similarly, the Standard 1 learning outcomes are a progression from those of Infant 2. Lesson Objective A lesson objective is a statement of the intended outcome of the lesson, that is, a description of what students will have achieved by the end of it. Writing a good lesson objective involves asking six questions: (1) What are the overall goals of the current unit? (2) What knowledge and experience will 178 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers the students bring to the lesson? (3) What will the students do during the lesson? (4) How, for example under what conditions, will they perform the activities? (5) To what degree/extent will the activity be accomplished? (6) How will the learning/activity be evaluated? Lesson objectives need to be specific and measurable. For example: “By the end of the lesson students will have written five sentences using a series of adjectives to describe a noun,” is a better statement than, “By the end of the lesson students will have written five sentences.” The first statement fully describes the intended activity whereas the second does not. There are various, equally valid ways of writing lesson objectives. However, the following styles are commonly used: A: After performing activity “X” students will do “Y” to extent “Z” B: By the end of the lesson, students will have achieved “X”, “Y” and” Z”. C: By the end of the lesson students will be able to . . . . Lesson plans should contain one or more lesson objectives. These objectives should logically link to the students’ previous knowledge and experiences, lesson procedures and assessment strategies. In an integrated approach to language arts it is not necessary to write separate objectives for listening, viewing, reading, writing and speaking. Often, objectives are clearer when these aspects are combined. For example, “After reading and discussing the Three Little Pigs, students will place five events in the correct order.” Lesson Plan Lesson plans are guidelines for a lesson, written by the teacher, to structure See also, annual plan, learning for themselves and the students. unit plan, lesson There is no standardized format for lesson plans. However, most objective, learning lesson plans share common elements, including: class, for example Infant outcome, differentiation, IIK; time and date; number of students; length of the lesson; unit theme; enrichment, mediation. lesson topic and sub-topic(s); students’ previous knowledge and experience; lesson objectives; materials to be used; texts to be used; references to materials consulted; lesson content; lesson procedures, outlining the planned activities in sequence, usually with timing, and possibly including a hook and culminating activities; assessment strategies; enrichment and remediation activities; and evaluation of the lesson. In language arts, the theme of the lesson focuses on content, whereas most of the other sections usually focus on skills. Lesson topics can be based broadly on the content standards of this curriculum and objectives can be based broadly on the learning outcomes. A good lesson plan aligns: that is, there are clear, logical links, between the various sections. For example, there should be a clear link between the objectives and the students’ previous knowledge and experience; the procedures should be a logical way of achieving the content; and the assessment strategies should allow the teacher to evaluate if the objectives have been achieved. Literature-Based See text-based approach. Approach Literacy Traditionally defined as the ability to read and write. However, the ability to comprehend texts at a literal level is insufficient for effective functioning and communication and more recently multiple literacies have been identified. These include functional literacy, Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 179 computer literacy, visual literacy, media literacy, critical literacy, inferential literacy and creative literacy. In order to prepare the student for modern life and in order to meet the requirements of this curriculum, all the above literacies need to be addressed. Literacy Centre A section of the classroom that has been set apart from the main classroom where students go individually or in small groups to carry out literacy activities. Literacy centres encourage independent learning and, when their use is integrated into regular lessons, they allow the teacher to work intensively with some students while others are engaged in centre activities. A good literacy centre encourages the meaningful and functional use of language. Ideas for a middle division literacy centre include: reading books, games, personal journals, word searches, matching exercises, word and letter cards, unscramble the letters games, puppets, audio cassettes/cds of story books, puppets and toys, etc. Many teachers build their literacy centres around a curriculum theme or a pretend location, for example, a shop, post office, police station, gas station, school, zoo, tourist site, or radio station. Literacy Centre Folders Each student can have a literacy centre folder in which they keep activities completed during their visit to the centre. A folder can also include forms on which the students can record and comment on these activities. Literacy Rich A classroom that gives students the maximum opportunities to engage in Environment both teacher directed and independent literacy activities through the provision of learning centres, reading books and by using effective classroom display. In a literacy rich classroom, for example, there will be many wall charts with ability-appropriate writing and pictures, including some words that the students may not yet be able to read. Literal comprehensiong Understanding the facts and surface details of what is written or said. Questions beginning who, what, when, and where usually test literal comprehension. Main Idea The chief topic of a text. Miscue Analysis An assessment technique in which the teacher listens to a student read aloud in order to record and analyse errors. For example, a teacher might observe that the student tends to guess words from the first letter or tends to misapply phonics rules. Once the errors have been diagnosed, corrective action could be undertaken. Morning Circle The daily gathering of the class as a group to discuss topics and share ideas, news and other items. Many teachers hold a morning circle at the same time every day. Morpheme The smallest, unit bearing unit of language. Root words, suffixes and prefixes are all morphemes. Morphology The system of the smallest units of meaning in a language, words and parts of words. For example, the word “uninterested” has three morphemes: un, changing the meaning from positive to negative, the root word, interest and –ed indicating the word is an adjective. Motivation A student’s desire to engage in the lesson/learning process. 180 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers Some students are motivated by a desire to learn (intrinsic motivation), others respond to the prospect of rewards (extrinsic motivation). Motivation is an important factor in learning to read and one of the most important roles of the language arts teacher is to make reading enjoyable for students. Some ways of increasing motivation are: provide reading material that is interesting to the students; have a regular programme of uninterrupted sustained silent reading; set up an attractive classroom library and/or reading corner; and enthusiastically model reading. Native Language See First Language Objective See Lesson Objective Onset The initial consonant sound or sounds of a syllable. Opportune Moments Much effective teaching can occur when a teacher responds to an event, statement, or error which provides an opportunity for teaching something not on the original lesson plan. Usually, these opportune moments lead to brief deviations in instruction before the teacher returns to the original plan. Orthography The writing system, including phonics and spelling, of a language. The See also alphabet code orthography of English has been established over many generations by traditional usage. The orthography of some other languages, for example, Kriol has been developed more recently. Phoneme The smallest unit of sound in language. There are approximately 44 phonemes in standard English: 25 vowel sounds and 19 consonant sounds. Phonemic Awareness The ability to distinguish between separate phonemes in speech. For See also phonological example the ability to hear the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ as separate sounds in the awareness word cat. Good phonemic awareness aids the learning of phonics and other word decoding skills. Phonetic Relating to the relationship between sounds and symbols in language Phonetic Where words are written according to the usual sound-letter Spelling/Writing correspondences of the language. Phonics A method of teaching reading and writing based on linking the phonemes See also alphabet code, (sounds) of a language to written symbols (usually letters). Students are fast phonics, phoneme, taught to blend letters/sounds together to read words and to segment grapheme spoken words into individual sounds in order to write them. Good phonics knowledge is essential if students are to learn to read and the use of a strong phonics programme is highly recommended. This curriculum assumes that phonics knowledge will be taught explicitly. The recommendation is that phonics teaching should occur for part of every language arts lesson throughout Infant 1 and regularly thereafter. Systematic, synthetic phonics programmes have recently been recommended by a number of major studies in a variety of countries. These programmes involve the explicit teaching of letter-sound relationships, one at a time, in a specified, planned order. Fast Phonics, Jolly Phonics, and All Star Phonics are examples of systematic synthetic phonics programmes. Note: In English, phonics is made difficult because: (1) there are approximately 44 phonemes but only 26 letters; (2) there are approximately 19 vowel phonemes but only 5 vowel letters; (3) letters are used in a variety of ways (see alphabet code) (4) many words are not spelt according to the Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 181 rules of phonics (see tricky words). Because of these “difficulties” it is essential that students are taught the whole of the alphabet code; thus phonics teaching should continue until all the common variations in spelling patterns, for example, different ways of writing the long vowel sounds, have been learnt. In this curriculum, the teaching of these variations begins in Infant II. Phonology The sound system of a language, ranging from the “basic sound” or phoneme level, to syllables and whole words. Pitch, stress and intonation patterns are also part of a language’s phonology. Phonological The ability to distinguish sounds in speech, including distinguishing between Awareness words, syllables, rhymes, onsets and rimes and phonemes. Pragmatics The use of language in different situations to achieve a speaker or writer’s purpose. For example, the use of polite forms in formal situations. Print Rich Environment See Literacy Rich Environment Prosody The patterns of stress and intonation in spoken language See also phonology Readability How easy or difficult a text is to read. Generally, a text is at the reading level of a student if he/she can read at least ninety percent of the words in it. However, the readability, or reading level of a text is also influenced by its total length, the average length of sentences, the structure of the sentences, the number of syllables in the words, the number of vocabulary words that are known/not known by the reader, the number of irregular spelling patterns, the familiarity of the reader with the topic, the lay-out of the text, including font, the use of pictures, the use of headings, the number of words per page and the structure of the text, including the logical sequencing of ideas and paragraphing. In addition, the environment in which a text is read and the motivation of the reader affect its readability. As students progress, the number of words per page, the range of vocabulary used and the complexity of the sentence structures should all increase. Pictures will tend to illustrate meaning in a general sense, rather than in the literal sense often found in books for beginner readers. While many words will be phonetically spelt, there will also be an increasing number of irregularly spelt ones. “Read Aloud” A teaching technique in which a text is read aloud to a group or whole class of students by the teacher. Register A variety of language typically used in a specific type of communicative setting. For example, the same person uses language in different ways depending on whether they are at home talking to their children, at school, at work, in church and so on. Additionally, many people in Belize switch between standard English, Kriol and/or another language according to the situation and according to whom they are speaking with. It is important that students understand the differences between various registers and the appropriate circumstances for their use. It is recommended that, except when using other languages for clear educational purposes, teachers should speak in standard English in the classroom (see Language Policy Statement, above). Remediation Intervention to resolve a learning difficulty on the part of one or more 182 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers see also differentiation students. Teachers should plan regular remediation activities for their weaker students. Reporting Schools need to report back to parents and guardians on their child’s progress in the skill areas outlined by the curriculum. It would be impractical and inappropriate to give a separate grade for each of the content standards so a way of summarizing this information needs to be found. However, report cards should reflect the progress the student has made in meeting the content standards, so an exclusive focus on spelling, punctuation and grammar would not be appropriate. Rime The part of a syllable following the initial consonant cluster or the whole of a see also onset syllable that begins with a vowel sound. For example, in shop the onset is sh and the rime is op. In egg, the rime is egg. Rhyme A word that has the same ending sound as another. For example, cold and bold, heat and sweet. Scope and Sequence In this curriculum, a table listing the content standards, when (sequence) Chart and to what extent (scope) they should be taught. Creating a scope and sequence chart is an essential step in annual planning. Segmenting Dividing a word into parts, for example into syllables or phonemes. The development of an ability segment words into syllables, onsets and rimes and phonemes is an important step in the process of learning to read and write. Students who can identify the different sounds that make up a word are more likely to understand and successfully apply phonics knowledge. Semantics The meaning, and the study of the meaning, of language. Sight Word Any word which is read automatically, that is, without sounding out or See also tricky word guessing. This includes both phonetically and unconventionally spelt words. A word becomes a sight word when it has been read often enough for it to become fixed in a reader’s memory. Skill Ability to do something In this curriculum, the content standards and learning outcomes describe language skills and the overall goal is that students become proficient in their use. Skill Area In this curriculum there are five skill areas: listening, viewing, speaking, reading and writing. Skill Element In this curriculum, elements of the skills of listening, viewing, speaking, reading and writing are further subdivided into various elements, expressed as content standards and learning outcomes. Spoken Text A coherent stretch of speech on any topic. For example, announcements, radio advertisements, conversations, directions, discussions, instructions, jokes, slogans, speeches and stories. Standard English English that is written and spoken according to conventional rules and norms. In written English, these conventional rules and norms are widely agreed Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 183 upon. They have become established and, with minor variations, are used by all writers of English everywhere. They are found in dictionaries, grammar books and style guides. Thus, when it comes to writing, it is appropriate to refer to correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. However, all over the world, when speaking English, people pronounce words and use spoken grammatical structures in different ways. This means that there may be many different appropriate ways of pronouncing a word or conveying a message. None of these spoken language variations is inherently superior to any other and no one way of pronouncing a word can be deemed as being correct. In contrast, there can be incorrect ways of pronouncing a word, for example, when a child pronounces the word think as fink. Similarly, although there are local and regional conventions for speaking English, this does not mean that “anything goes”. Teachers need to help students distinguish between formal and informal structures, between appropriate and inappropriate structures and between standard English structures and those of Kriol. The target language of this curriculum is standard English. This implies that teachers should model standard English in their speech and writing as far as possible: that is except when its use would hinder learning. In classrooms where most of the students are Kriol speakers, it is important that teachers do not erratically switch between standard English and Kriol. Although, as is stated throughout this curriculum document, the use by the students of languages other than standard English may be both appropriate and beneficial, teachers should help students make the transition to using standard English. See Language Policy page 3 Student-Centred Activity-based teaching that is focused on the needs, interests, previous Teaching/Learning experiences and abilities of the students. In student centred teaching, with guidance from the teacher, students perform activities that enable them to construct new knowledge or develop new skills and attitudes. Students are often given choices and have to contribute their own ideas to the learning process. Student-centred teaching is often based around content themes that are relevant to the students’ lives. Sustained silent Reading in an uninterrupted manner for a significant period of time. reading In sustained silent reading programmes, also called Drop Everything and Read, students are given time to read a book silently for ten to fifteen minutes every day. Successful sustained silent reading programmes have the following characteristics: (1) Students read for a short period, at the same time, every day. (2) Students select their own books according to interest and ability. (3) Students have access to a range of book genres, both fiction and non-fiction, on a variety of topics written at different levels of difficulty. (4) The programme continues for the whole school year. (5) Students are not forced to write book reports and answer questions on everything they read. (6) In response to encouragement from the teacher, students motivate themselves rather than respond to compulsion, the threat of consequences, the promise of material rewards or other 184 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers extrinsic motivators. (7) The teacher models silent reading for the students, in other words, as the students read, the teacher also reads. Syntax The rules governing the organization of phrases, clauses and sentences. Systematic Synthetic see phonics Phonics Syllable A word or part of a word that contains a single, uninterrupted, vowel sound and associated consonants. The word fingers has two syllables (fing+ers); church is made up of a single syllable; uninteresting has five syllables (un+in+ter+est+ing) and video has three (vid+e+o) Syllabication/ The division of spoken or written words into syllables. syllabification The ability to identify the syllables of spoken words is one of the phonological awareness skills that help a student learn to read. Target Language The language that instruction is designed to develop. In Belize, for most See also Bilingual purposes, the target language is standard English. Education. Text A text is a unified piece of written or spoken words used to express meaning. A text can be of any length and any genre. Thus, books, letters, emails, poems, newspaper articles, invoices, advertisements, spoken and telephone conversations, and so on, are all texts. The study of texts involves study of the meaning that is being communicated, the medium of communication, and its context, especially the relationship between the people involved. Text-Based Approach A method of teaching language and literacy skills in which spoken and written texts are used as the main vehicle for teaching a wide range of language and literacy skills. Usually, activities relating to a text are divided into three categories: pre-reading activities, during reading activities, and post reading activities. Pre-reading activities activiate students prior knowledge of the topic and provide them with information and strategies to understand the text more effectively. During reading activities enhance comprehension and focus the students’ atention on key parts of the text. Post-reading activities direct students to think, talk and write about texts to demonstrate various levels of comprehension, creativity and critical thinking skills. They usually lead to extended, original written work, a presentation or a dramatic performance. Relevant content, especially when based on a teaching theme, can make texts more interesting and meaningful to students because they can relate their work to their own experiences. Students may also more easily understand how the skills of listening, viewing, reading, speaking and writing will help them in their own lives. A text can be used as a vehicle for teaching many language skills including reading and listening comprehension at a variety of levels, alphabet code knowledge, extended and creative writing, vocabulary and grammar rules. For example, texts can be effectively used to teach grammar, spelling and punctuation; when students identify a grammatical feature in a meaningful text they are much more likely to appreciate how and why it is used than if they encounter it in an isolated sentence. Furthermore, because well-constructed texts can provide students with a model of grammar-in-use Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 185 they are more likely to use the same grammatical features in their own writing. The same text can be used for several consecutive lessons. Repeated reading of a text is likely to deepen students’ comprehension and enhance their appreciation of its language use. Teaching through texts makes planning thematic, integrated language arts lessons relatively easy because the same text, which may be based on a curriculum theme, can be used as a vehicle for teaching a wide range of language skills. Teachers can use a text from another subject area, such as social studies or science, during a language arts lesson. For example, a text about fruits can be used to illustrate how writers can use adjectives to make a passage more interesting. Both the BJAT and PSE tests require students to demonstrate their comprehension of and ability to respond to texts. These responses can be evaluated for critical, inferential, and creative comprehension as well as for the ability to use language accurately. Text Comprehension Explicitly teaching students strategies to improve their understanding of Instruction texts. Strategies include predicting, asking questions, using context clues, see comprehension sounding out words and word attack skills. strategies, context clues Students can be taught to monitor their comprehension by asking: (1) What do I understand? (2) What do I not understand? and, (3) What can I do to understand this better? Students can be taught to use web-diagrams to analyse their comprehension of a text. Text comprehension instruction should occur consistently throughout the year. Themes/Thematic A content topic linking a unit or series of lessons. Approach see also student-centred This curriculum does not specify themes. Instead, teachers are encouraged teaching, annual plan, to develop their own themes based on topics that will be of interest to their unit plan, text-based students. Language Arts themes can also be drawn from other subject areas approach, whole-language and the textbooks. A teacher can choose as a theme any topic they like. approach Teachers may also ask students to suggest themes. In the thematic approach, content themes are used to link the development of language skills to topics of interest to the students. Activities designed to help students achieve various reading, writing, listening, viewing and speaking learning outcomes are connected to the theme and the same theme is then used for a unit or for a series of lessons. The use of a thematic approach is strongly recommended. Timetable Allocation The amount of time devoted to a subject in a particular week. This curriculum does not mandate a minimum or maximum time for any subject. However, it is mandatory that timetables refer to Language Arts as an integrated subject. In other words, it is not appropriate for schools to timetable phonics, grammar, spelling, comprehension, creative writing and so on as separate subject areas. Transitional Bilingual See Bilingual Education Education “Tricky” Word A word that is not phonetically spelt, that is, which does not follow the usual see also sight word, word rules of the relationship between sounds and letters. For example, eight, wall. doubt, and yacht. 186 Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers Many of the most commonly used words in English are “tricky” words. For fluent reading, these words have to be learnt as sight words. Uninterrupted See Sustained Silent Reading Sustained Silent Reading Unit Plan The academic year should be divided into a number of units, each lasting a See also annual plan, specified amount of time, for example, a calendar month or a number of content standard, learning weeks. It is usual for each unit to have a content theme, such as transport, outcome, lesson plan, family life, or insects. These themes can, but do not have to be, drawn from objectives, and theme. other subject areas. The purpose of the unit plan is to structure several weeks of teaching in a coherent and logical way. A good unit plan: incorporates all the skill areas of listening, viewing, speaking, reading and writing; gives students a range of learning experiences in whole class, small group, and individual situations; and contains a range of assessment strategies. A unit plan can contain the following elements: Class (e.g. Standard 1P); number of students; duration of unit (weeks); number of expected lessons, taking into account holidays, trips and other events; the content theme; the curriculum content standards to be covered, (divided into listening, viewing, speaking, reading and writing); broad goals or objectives, based on curriculum learning outcomes; teaching strategies; student learning activities; teaching materials, texts, including stories and other books that the students will be exposed to; assessment strategies; and references listing the materials consulted during the creation of the unit. While there is no correct length or level of detail for a unit plan, it is not necessary to replicate the level of detail normally found in a lesson plan. A good unit plan can be written in three or four typed pages. Usage The way language is commonly used in practice. Especially in speech, common usage may often vary from the technically correct forms found in grammar books. Visual Literacy The ability to understand and interpret pictures, maps, diagrams, charts, photographs, logos, icons, works of art and other images. Web-diagram A chart with an idea in the centre, usually contained in a circle, from which see also concept map arrows radiate to related ideas. Also called spider diagram. Weekly Scheme A plan outlining teaching for a week. Weekly schemes should have various components, for example, topic, sub-topic, previous knowledge and experience of the students, content (with examples), teaching stratagies, learning activities, assessment and evaluation. A weekly scheme should clearly show which activities are planned for which day. This is most easily done by having the days of the week as subheadings in each of the sections. Whole Language A method of teaching students to read by emphasizing the meaning of Approach writing rather than its form or mechanics. Students frequently read and respond to stories and other “real-life” texts. The explicit teaching of phonics and grammar in isolation from texts is relatively rare in this approach. Although teachers may use the whole language approach, the underlying philosophy of this curriculum is that explicit skills-based instruction plays an important role in language and literacy development. Word Attack Skills Word attack skills are a range of abilities that allow a reader to interpret the See also context clues, meaning of a written word. Word attack skills include phonics; interpretation decoding skills of capital letters, punctuation and the use of paragraphs; the use of Encyclopaedia of Information for Language Arts Teachers 187 grammatical, morphological and etymological clues; comparison with similar, known words; and the use of other textual clues. Word wall A collection of target words, written is big writing, organized on a classroom wall, used to teach “tricky” words and vocabulary. To be effective, a word wall must be featured regularly in teaching. It can be used to teach phonics and other spelling principles and can provide students with a reference for their own reading and writing. Words should be added gradually and practiced regularly. Word wall activities can include discussion and games. Writing Process A series of steps designed to improve the creation of original writing. The steps can include: (1) identifying the topic, audience and purpose of the writing; (2) gathering information; (3) categorizing, organizing and reviewing information and ideas; (4) creating an outline or plan (5) writing a first draft (6) editing, revising, writing a final draft and presenting. Although students are not expected to use all the steps of the writing process for every piece of work, they should become progressively skilled at applying the various steps and the process as a whole. 188 Bibliography Text-books for Students Fast Phonics (2007) Ministry of Education, Belize Language Tree: Primary Language Arts for the Caribbean Macmillan Pubs Text-books for Language Teachers Browne A (2002), Developing Language and Literacy 3-8, Paul Chapman Publ Chall J & Popp H (1996), Teaching & Assessing Phonics: Why, What, When, How Cooper D and Kiger N (2006), Literacy, Helping Students Construct Meaning, Houghton Mifflin McGee L & Mandel Morrow L (2005), Teaching Literacy in Kindergarten , The Guilford Press Moats L (2000), Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Brookes Publishing Company st Tompkins G (2006), Literacy for the 21 Century: Teaching Reading and Writing in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 4, Prentice Hall st Tompkins G (2006), Literacy for the 21 Century: A Balanced Approach, Prentice Hall Tyler R (1969), Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Chicago Press. Books and Reports on Language Teaching Adger C, Snow C and Christian D, (2002), What Teachers Need to Know About Language ERIC Clearinghouse August D & Hakuta K (1998) Educating Language Minority Children National Research Council (http://books.nap.edu/catalog/6025.html) Armbruster et al Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read * Burns M, Griffin P and Snow C (1999): Starting Out Right, A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success National Research Council (US) Klingner J, Vaughn S, & Boardman A (2007) Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Learning Difficulties The Guilford Press Moats L (1999), Teaching Reading is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able To Do. American Federation of Teachers * (www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Reading/pubdocs/TeachingReadingIsRocketScience.pdf) Miller D, (2002) Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades Stenhouse Pubs. National Reading Panel (2000) Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction * (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.cfm) Snow C, Griffin P and Burns M (2005) Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading; Jossey-Bass Publications Reference Books Hacker D A Writer’s Reference Bedford St Martin’s Pubs Research on Language Teaching in Belize Bradley R & Robateau D, (2004) Using Literature to Teach Reading: A Model that Works Journal of Belizean Studies, vol 26 Internet Sites See relevant sections of the curriculum web.