Language Arts

Language Arts

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.

Express ideas and develop understanding
•    connect prior knowledge and personal experiences with new ideas and information in oral, print and other media texts
•    explain understanding of new concepts in own words
•    explore ideas and feelings by asking questions, talking to others and referring to oral, print and other media texts
Experiment with language and forms
•    choose appropriate forms of oral, print and other media texts for communicating and sharing ideas with others
Express preferences
•    choose and share a variety of oral, print and other media texts in areas of particular interest
Set goals
•    discuss areas of personal accomplishment as readers, writers and illustrators
Consider the ideas of others
•    ask for the ideas and observations of others to explore and clarify personal understanding
Combine ideas
•    experiment with arranging and recording ideas and information in a variety of ways
Extend understanding
•    ask questions to clarify information and ensure understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.

Use prior knowledge
•    share ideas developed through interests, experiences and discussion that are related to new ideas and information
•    identify the different ways in which oral, print and other media texts, such as stories, textbooks, letters, pictionaries and junior dictionaries, are organized, and use them to construct and confirm meaning
Use comprehension strategies
•    use grammatical knowledge to predict words and sentence structures when reading narrative and expository materials
•    apply a variety of strategies, such as setting a purpose, confirming predictions, making inferences and drawing conclusions
•    identify the main idea or topic and supporting details in simple narrative and expository passages
•    extend sight vocabulary to include predictable phrases and words related to language use
•    read silently with increasing confidence and accuracy
•    monitor and confirm meaning by rereading when necessary, and by applying knowledge of pragmatic, semantic, syntactic and graphophonic cueing systems
Use textual cues
•    use headings, paragraphs, punctuation and quotation marks to assist with constructing and confirming meaning
•    attend to and use knowledge of capitalization, commas in a series, question marks, exclamation marks and quotation marks to read accurately, fluently and with comprehension during oral and silent reading
Use phonics and structural analysis
•    apply phonic rules and generalizations competently and confidently to read unfamiliar words in context
•    apply word analysis strategies to segment words into parts or syllables, when reading unfamiliar words in context
•    associate sounds with an increasing number of vowel combinations, consonant blends and digraphs, and letter clusters to read unfamiliar words in context
Use references
•    put words in alphabetical order by first and second letter
•    use pictionaries, junior dictionaries and spell-check functions to confirm the spellings or locate the meanings of unfamiliar words in oral, print and other media texts
Experience various texts
•    choose a variety of oral, print and other media texts for shared and independent listening, reading and viewing experiences, using texts from a variety of cultural traditions and genres, such as nonfiction, chapter books, illustrated storybooks, drum dances, fables, CDROM programs and plays
•    tell or write about favourite parts of oral, print and other media texts
•    identify types of literature, such as humour, poetry, adventure and fairy tales, and describe favourites
•    connect own experiences with the experiences of individuals portrayed in oral, print and other media texts, using textual references
Construct meaning from texts
•    connect portrayals of characters or situations in oral, print and other media texts to personal and classroom experiences
•    summarize the main idea of individual oral, print and other media texts
•    discuss, represent or write about ideas in oral, print and other media texts, and relate them to own ideas and experiences and to other texts
•    make inferences about a character's actions or feelings
•    express preferences for one character over another
Appreciate the artistry of texts
•    express feelings related to words, visuals and sound in oral, print and other media texts
•    identify how authors use comparisons, and explain how they create mental images
Understand forms and genres
•    identify distinguishing features of a variety of oral, print and other media texts
•    discuss ways that visual images convey meaning in print and other media texts
Understand techniques and elements
•    include events, setting and characters when summarizing or retelling oral, print or other media texts
•    describe the main characters in terms of who they are, their actions in the story and their relations with other characters
•    identify ways that messages are enhanced in oral, print and other media texts by the use of specific techniques
Experiment with language
•    recognize examples of repeated humour, sound and poetic effects that contribute to audience enjoyment
Generate ideas
•    experiment with ways of generating and organizing ideas prior to creating oral, print and other media texts
Elaborate on the expression of ideas
•    use sentence variety to link ideas and create impressions on familiar audiences
Structure texts
•    experiment with a variety of story beginnings to choose ones that best introduce particular stories
•    add sufficient detail to oral, print and other media texts to tell about setting and character, and to sustain plot

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to manage ideas and information.

Focus attention
•    use self-questioning to identify information needed to supplement personal knowledge on a topic
•    identify facts and opinions, main ideas and details in oral, print and other media texts
Determine information needs
•    ask topic-appropriate questions to identify information needs
Plan to gather information
•    contribute ideas for developing a class plan to access and gather ideas and information
Use a variety of sources
•    find information to answer research questions, using a variety of sources, such as children's magazines, CDROMs, plays, folk tales, songs, stories and the environment
Access information
•    use text features, such as titles, pictures, headings, labels, diagrams and dictionary guide words, to access information
•    locate answers to questions and extract appropriate and significant information from oral, print and other media texts
•    use card or electronic catalogues to locate information
Evaluate sources
•    review information to determine its usefulness in answering research questions
Organize information
•    organize ideas and information, using a variety of strategies, such as clustering, categorizing and sequencing
•    draft ideas and information into short paragraphs, with topic and supporting sentences
Record information
•    record facts and ideas using a variety of strategies; list titles and authors of sources
•    list significant ideas and information from oral, print and other media texts
Evaluate information
•    determine if gathered information is sufficient to answer research questions
Share ideas and information
•    organize and share ideas and information on topics to engage familiar audiences
•    use titles, headings and visuals to add interest and highlight important points of presentation
Review research process
•    assess the research process, using pre-established criteria

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.

Appraise own and others' work
•    share own oral, print and other media texts with others to identify strengths and ideas for improvement
Revise and edit
•    combine and rearrange existing information to accommodate new ideas and information
•    edit for complete and incomplete sentences
Enhance legibility
•    print legibly, and begin to learn proper alignment, shape and slant of cursive writing
•    space words and sentences consistently on a line and page
•    use keyboarding skills to compose, revise and print text
•    understand and use vocabulary associated with keyboarding and word processing
Expand knowledge of language
•    explain relationships among words and concepts associated with topics of study
•    experiment with words and word meanings to produce a variety of effects
Enhance artistry
•    choose words, language patterns, illustrations or sounds to add detail and create desired effects in oral, print and other media texts
Attend to grammar and usage
•    identify a variety of sentence types, and use in own writing
•    identify correct subject-verb agreement, and use in own writing
•    use adjectives and adverbs to add interest and detail to own writing
•    distinguish between complete and incomplete sentences
Attend to spelling
•    use phonic knowledge and skills and visual memory, systematically, to spell phonically regular, three-syllable words in own writing
•    identify generalizations that assist with the spelling of unfamiliar words, including irregular plurals in own writing
•    identify frequently misspelled words, and develop strategies for learning to spell them correctly in own writing
Attend to capitalization and punctuation
•    use capital letters appropriately in titles of books and stories
•    use exclamation marks, appropriately, as end punctuation in own writing
•    use apostrophes to form common contractions and to show possession in own writing
•    identify commas, end punctuation, apostrophes and quotation marks when reading, and use them to assist comprehension
Present information
•    present ideas and information on a topic, using a pre-established plan
Enhance presentation
•    use print and nonprint aids to illustrate ideas and information in oral, print and other media texts
Use effective oral and visual communication
•    speak or present oral readings with fluency, rhythm, pace, and with appropriate intonation to emphasize key ideas
Demonstrate attentive listening and viewing
•    rephrase, restate and explain the meaning of oral and visual presentations
•    identify and set purposes for listening and viewing

Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect, support and collaborate with others.

Appreciate diversity
•    describe similarities between experiences and traditions encountered in daily life and those portrayed in oral, print and other media texts
•    retell, paraphrase or explain ideas in oral, print and other media texts
Relate texts to culture
•    identify and discuss similar ideas or topics within stories from oral, print and other media texts from various communities
Celebrate accomplishments and events
•    use appropriate language to acknowledge and celebrate individual and class accomplishments
Use language to show respect
•    demonstrate respect for the ideas, abilities and language use of others
Cooperate with others
•    work cooperatively with others in small groups on structured tasks
•    identify others who can provide assistance, and seek their help in specific situations
Work in groups
•    contribute ideas and information on topics to develop a common knowledge base in the group
•    ask others for their ideas, and express interest in their contributions
Evaluate group process
•    assess the effectiveness of group process, using pre-established criteria