Literacy
Literacy
EL Education, Fundations
EL Education, Fundations
Embedded Files
Overview K-5
Newton Public Schools Elementary Literacy department provides students with excellent, evidence-based and data-driven literacy instruction in reading, writing, communicating, and critical thinking that strives to be culturally responsive, equitable, and representative of all students. Overview K-5
Becoming literate is a complex process. To this end, teachers provide systematic, explicit, and multisensory literacy instruction encompassing:
- Foundational skills (phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, encoding)
- Comprehension (vocabulary, cultural and content knowledge, specific strategies, volume reading, and discussion)
- Writing skills (composing and transcribing)
- Bridging processes (fluency, vocabulary, morphology, concepts of print)
- Materials that meet students’ needs and that provide access to complex, grade-level texts
EL Education
EL Education
EL Education: Module 1
EL Education: Module 1
Module Focus
Module Focus
- Becoming a Close Reader and Writing to Learn
Module Topic
Module Topic
- Stories of Human Rights
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
- What are human rights, and how can they be threatened?
- How can we use writing to raise awareness of human rights issues?
Writing and Performance Tasks
Writing and Performance Tasks
- Revising an Analytical Essay: Comparing Character Responses to An Event in Esperanza Rising
- Monologue Performance and Program
Central Student Texts
Central Student Texts
- A Life Like Mine: How Children Live Around the World
- Esperanza Rising
- "Universal Declaration of Human Rights Abridged for Youth"
Learning Targets
Learning Targets
Reading
Reading
- Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
- Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text
- Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
- Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem
Writing
Writing
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences
- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach
- Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources
- Apply grade 5 reading standards to writing about literature
Speaking & Listening
Speaking & Listening
- Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion
- Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles
- Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others
Language and Foundational Skills
Language and Foundational Skills
- Consult reference materials to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases
- Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word
- Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area
EL Education: Module 2
EL Education: Module 2
Module Focus
Module Focus
- Researching to Build Knowledge and Teach Others
Module Topic
Module Topic
- Biodiversity in the Rainforest
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
- Why do scientists study the rainforest?
- How do authors engage the reader in narratives?
- How does a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influence how events are described?
- What can we do to help the rainforest?
Writing Tasks
Writing Tasks
- Informative Essay: Literary Analysis of Concrete Language and Sensory Detail in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World
- Rainforest Adventures EBook
Central Student Texts
Central Student Texts
- Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace
- The Great Kapok Tree
- The Most Beautiful Roof in the World "Bite at Night"
Learning Targets
Learning Targets
Reading
Reading
- Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently
- Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts
- Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text
- Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Writing
Writing
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
- Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others
- Demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting
- Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
- Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic
Speaking & Listening
Speaking & Listening
- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing my own clearly
EL Education: Module 3
EL Education: Module 3
Module Focus
Module Focus
- Considering Perspectives and Supporting Opinions
Module Topic
Module Topic
- Athlete Leaders of Social Change
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
- How have athletes broken barriers during the historical era in which they lived?
- What factors can contribute to an individual’s success in a changing society?
Writing and Performance Tasks
Writing and Performance Tasks
- Opinion Essay: Factors of Jackie Robinson’s Success
- Poster: Personal Qualities to be an Effective Leader of Change
Central Student Texts
Central Student Texts
- Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
Learning Targets
Learning Targets
Writing
Writing
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
- Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources
- Apply grade 5 Reading standards to writing about informational texts
- Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
- Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably
- Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic
- Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently
EL Education: Module 4
EL Education: Module 4
Module Focus
Module Focus
- Gathering Evidence and Speaking to Others
Module Topic
Module Topic
- The Impact of Natural Disasters
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
- How do natural disasters affect the people and places that experience them?
- How can we prepare for a natural disaster?
Writing and Performance Tasks
Writing and Performance Tasks
- Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit
- Presentation: Preparing for a Natural Disaster
Central Student Texts
Central Student Texts
- Eight Days: A Story of Haiti
Learning Targets
Learning Targets
Reading
Reading
- Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
- Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text
- Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described
- Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text
Writing
Writing
- Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes
- Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources
- Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic
- Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently
- Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Speaking & Listening
Speaking & Listening
- Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes
- Speak clearly at an understandable pace
- Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation
- Compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems
Language
Language
- Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area
- Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words
- Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes
EL Additional Language and Literacy Block
(ALL Block)
EL Additional Language and Literacy Block
(ALL Block)
Overview
Overview
During daily 20-minute rotations, including a small group with the teacher, students receive comprehensive instruction and practice in reading and speaking with fluency, grammar, usage, and mechanics (GUM), word study and vocabulary. In independent rotations they build stamina and volume of independent reading, engage in additional research reading of complex text, and build volume and practice with writing about texts.
Learning Targets
Learning Targets
Reading
Reading
- Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding and with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
- Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
- Determine the main idea or theme of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text
- Describe the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text
- Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text
- Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text
- Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text
Writing
Writing
- Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly
- Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information
- Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
- Write routinely over extended time frames) and shorter time frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences
- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing
- Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons
Speaking & Listening
Speaking & Listening
- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing my own clearly
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
Language
Language
- Use combined knowledge of letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words
- Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area
- Consult reference materials to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases
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