Topic: Reading Standards: Foundational Skills, K-3.

10-second review: Basic features of print. Phonological awareness. Understanding spoken words, syllables and phonemes. Phonics and word recognition. Know and apply grade-level phonics.  Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 12, 13. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Basic features of print. Recognize and name all upper-and lower-case letters of the alphabet. Rhyming words. Blend and segment consonants and syllables. Phonemic awareness. High-frequency words. Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 1: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables and phonemes. Spelling-sound correspondence. One-syllable words. Final –e. Syllables and vowels. Two-syllable words. Inflectional endings. Irregularly spelled words. Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 2: Long and short vowels. Spelling-sound correspondence. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words. Common prefixes and suffixes. Inconsistent but common spelling sound (heat, head). Irregularly spelled words (through). Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 3: Common prefixes and suffixes. Common Latin suffixes. Multi-syllable words. Irregularly spelled words (stomach). Accuracy, fluency ad comprehension.

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Reading Standards for Informational Text, K-5 (2).

10-second review: Selected highlight standards for information reading in grades 3, 4, 5. Main idea and supporting details. Use bold print, etc., to locate information. Prior knowledge. Compare and contrast. Summarize. Sequence of events. Eyewitness vs. second-hand accounts. Charts, diagrams, etc. Evidence to support claims. Two or more texts on same subject. Quote. Organization of information. Similarities and differences. Integrate information from several texts.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 11. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Grade 3: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by the key details. Determine the relationship between historical or scientific events or ideas in a text. Use bold print, key words, topic sentences, hyperlinks to locate information. Compare what is presented in a text with relevant prior knowledge. Compare and contrast information from two texts on the same subject.

Grade 4: Use details and examples from a text to support statements about the text. Summarize the text. Describe sequence of events. Compare eyewitness and second-hand accounts of the same event. Interpret information in charts, diagrams, etc. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Describe how two or more texts on the same subject build on one another.

Grade 5: Quote from a text to support statements about the text. Explain the relationships between two or more historical events or scientific concepts using one or more texts. Describe how events, ideas are organized (chronology, comparison, cause and effect). Analyze two accounts of the same event, showing similarities and differences. Use information from multiple print or digital sources to answer a question quickly. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Integrate information from several texts on the same subject.

Comment: Teachers will first need to interpret each standard. What does it actually mean in detail? What does it imply? Second, teachers will need to define how to use the standards in their classrooms. What materials will be needed? Third, they will need to determine how to apply the standards consistently throughout the year. One and done won’t do it.  RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Informational Texts, K-5 (1)

10-second review: Selected highlight standards for informational reading, grades, K, 1, 2. Main topic and main idea. Connection between two events or ideas. Ask about unknown words. Relate pictures to text. Similarities and differences between two texts. How texts group information into separate categories. Information in pictures and information in text. Cause and effect. Who, what, where, when, why and how. Focus of multi-paragraph text. Captions, headings, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes. Purpose of text. Questions the author answers. Images and text. Two texts on same topic.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 10. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Ask and answer questions about information in the text. Main topic and main idea of a text. Describe connection between two events or ideas in a text. Ask questions about unknown words in the text. Locate basic information in a text. Relate pictures to the text. Recognize basic similarities and differences between two texts.

Grade 1: Identify main topic, main ideas and key details of a text. Describe connection between two key events or ideas in a text. Describe how a text groups information into general categories. Distinguish between information in pictures and words in a text. Identify cause and effect in a text. Identify similarities and differences between two texts.

Grade 3: Answer questions like who, what, where, when, why and how. Identify the main focus of a mult-paragraph text. Describe the connection between two or more historical events or scientific concepts in a text. Know and use captions, headings, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes to locate key facts. Identify the main purpose of a text. What questions does the author aim to answer. Explain how images contribute to and clarify a text. Describe how specific causes link key events or ideas. Describe similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic.

Comment: Finding the materials in multiple copies will be difficult. Easiest solution will be a basal. RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Literature, K-5 (2)

10-second review: Selected highlights of literature standards for grades 3, 4 and 5. Lessons or morals for stories, etc. Main characters. Literal and figurative language. Common features of legends, etc. Compare and contrast. Summarize. Theme. Allusions. Poetry and prose. Structure of poems. Point of view. Quotes. Metaphor’s meaning. Drama and prose. Narrator’s point of view. Images and imagination.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 9. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Grade 3: Ask and answer questions using the text as the basis for the answers. Determine the lessons or morals for stories, fables, folk tales or myths. Describe the main characters in a story (traits, motivations, feelings). Distinguish literal and figurative language. Demonstrate common features of legends, myths, folk tales and fairy tales. Compare and contrast the plots, settings and themes of stories by the same authors.

Grade 4: Use details and examples to support statements about the text. Summarize a text.. Derive a theme of a story, drama or poem. Describe in detail a character, event or setting. Identify allusions to characters in mythology. Explain differences between poetry and prose. Explain structural elements of poems (stanza, rhythm, meter). Identify point of view in stories, first and third person. Compare and contrast thematically similar tales, myths and accounts of events from various cultures.

Grade 5: Quote from a text to support statements. Determine the theme of a text. Compare and contrast two or more characters, events or settings. Identify how metaphor, similes, rhymes and repetitions of sounds (alliteration) supply meaning. Explain differences between drama and prose. Identify how a narrators’ perspective or point of view influences how events are described. Compare treatments of similar ideas and themes. Explain how images, sounds and movements differ from the reader’s imagination when reading.

Comment: Heavy on the use of legends, myths, folk tales and fairy tales. Does not mention the hundreds of fine children’s books available. To be fair to the writers of these standards, they did say that the standards do not cover all that can and should be taught. Still, ignoring children’s literature is a significant omission. RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Literature, K-5 (1)

10-second review; Selected highlights of literature standards for grades K, 1, 2. Retell stories. Identify characters, etc. Types of text. Recognize unknown words. Author, illustrator. Pictures and story. Compare and contrast. Words for feelings and appeal to the senses. Who speaks? Who, what, where, when, why and how? Paraphrase. Core elements of stories. Change voice for characters.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 8. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Retell familiar stories. Identify characters, settings and key events in a story. Ask questions about unknown words in a text. Recognize common types of texts, e.g., storybooks, poems. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each. Relate pictures to the overall story. Compare and contrast adventures of characters in familiar stories.

Grade 1: Retell stories with emphasis on the central message. Describe characters, settings, and key events in a story. Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. Identify who is speaking. Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story.

Grade 2: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how for details. Paraphrase stories, fables, folk tales or myths. Refer to core elements of stories, including characters, settings and plots. Distinguish between characters by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading aloud. Explain how pictures contribute to a story. Compare and contrast characters or events from different stories with similar themes.

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Reading Standards, K-5.

10-second review: Explicit meaning. Inferences. Textual evidence. Main ideas or themes. Supporting details. Interpret  words and phrases. Technical, connotative and figurative meanings. Structure of texts. Point of view. Purpose. Information in diverse ways. Compare modes. Reasoning, rhetoric. Two or texts on same topic. Authors’ different approaches. Fluency. Concentration. Monitor comprehension. Reread.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 7. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

. Determine what the text says explicitly

. Make logical inferences

. Cite specific textural evidence to support conclusions

.Determine central ideas or themes

. Summarize key supporting details and ideas

. Interpret words and phrases

. Determine technical, connotative and figurative meanings

. Determine how specific word choices shape meaning or tone

. Analyze structure of texts

. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of the text

. Present information in diverse ways, e.g., through words, images, graphs and videos

. Compare modes of presentation

. Evaluate the reasoning and rhetoric within the text

. Assess whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the text’s claims

. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics

. Compare the approaches two different authors take

. Read complex texts independently and fluently

. Sustain concentration

. Monitor comprehension

. Determine when it is useful to reread

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Standards Defined

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

10-second review: “The standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do but not how teachers should teach. The standards do not describe all that can or should be taught.”

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p.

Comment: The real problem will be how to measure the achievement of the standards. RayS. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.