Language Arts Curriculum Framework

Intellectual and Dispositional Standards

1. Identify and discuss the knowledge, understanding, and skills that lead to the development of creative, reflective, literate, critical, and moral evaluators of multiple texts to dialogue with other viewpoints, solve problems, and become socially and morally responsible, faith-filled global citizens.

2. Demonstrate the ability to independently engage with, respond to, and comprehend grade level-appropriate texts, including literature, informational texts, and cross-disciplinary academic texts, in order to accurately summarize and determine theme/main idea.

3. Identify and discuss how literature interprets the human condition, human behaviors, and human actions, using Catholic worldviews and other global worldviews that appear to align, dialogue, or disagree.

4. Discuss how literature can contribute to strengthening one's moral character and faith.

5. Discuss multicultural texts using a lens of Catholic Social Teaching to illustrate how diversity of experiences, cultures, and backgrounds builds community and solidarity.

6. Produce grammatically correct, clear, and coherent writing which appropriately communicates ideas (in terms of task, purpose, and audience) in various written genres (opinion, explanatory/informative, narrative, and poetry) and using a variety of writing technologies.

7. Demonstrate command of grade level-appropriate conventions of standard written and spoken English; retain and further develop language skills learned in previous grades; appropriately use conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words/phrases.

8. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, teacher led) with diverse partners about grade level-appropriate topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Content, Knowledge, and Skills Standards

Reading: Foundational Skills

1. Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

2. Read grade level-appropriate text with purpose and understanding.

3. Read grade level-appropriate prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

4. Use context or other strategies to confirm or self-correct word recognition and

understanding, rereading as necessary.

Reading: Craft, Language, and Structure

5. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology.

6. Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

7. Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

8. Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations; compare and contrast similarities and differences when multiple accounts are presented.

9. Discuss the unique characteristics of digital texts and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of digital texts compared to print-based or other texts given particular purposes.

10. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and phrases, choosing from a range of strategies, including awareness of Latin and Greek roots.

Reading: Textual Themes and Evidence

11. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

12. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

13. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

14. Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

15. 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.

Reading: Textual Analysis and Evaluation

16. Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

17. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.

18. Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.

19. Locate and analyze examples of similes and metaphors in stories, poems, folktales, and plays, and explain how these literary devices enrich the text.

20. Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., a hero's journey) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.

Reading: Text Complexity and Range

21. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed.

22. By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Writing: Writing Genres and Purposes

23. Write arguments on a clearly stated topic or text with a claim (or opinion), reasons and supporting details, and a conclusion.

24. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.

25. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using narrative techniques (such as dialogue and description), descriptive details, and event sequences.

26. Write stories, poems, and scripts that use figurative language, such as similes and/or metaphors.

Writing: Writing Process and Production

27. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

28. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

29. With some guidance and support from adults, 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 one page in a single sitting (or other metric, as best meets students' needs).

30. Write for a variety of purposes that involve differing time lengths, modes, forms, and styles, as appropriate for the 4th grade level.

Writing: Research to Construct and Present

31. Conduct short research projects (including a self-generated question rooted in personal interest, community issues, or social justice issues) that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

32. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

33. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Writing: Language Use across Texts

34. Demonstrate command of the conventions of English, namely those related to grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, as is appropriate for particular writing activities, purposes, and audiences.

35. Link words and phrases as appropriate to the structure of the genre to facilitate proper organization and transition.

36. Use domain- or discipline-specific vocabulary and precise language to inform about or explain a topic.

37. Use transitional words and phrases to manage sequence of events and convey experiences and events precisely; use sensory details to enhance visualization.

38. Adapt language in written text and oral speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, making choices about language use, including vocabulary and voice, as appropriate to the task and situation.

Speaking and Listening: Collaboration, Dialogue, and Understanding

39. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material, explicitly draw on that preparation and other information related to the discussion, and follow agreed upon rules for discussions including fulfilling designated conversational roles/responsibilities.

40. Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

41. Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.

Speaking and Listening: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

42. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak in a manner, tone, and voice appropriate for the situation.

43. Add multimodal components, such as audio recordings and visual displays, to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.