Language Arts Standard 1: Draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate what he or she reads.

Reading process and comprehension

Benchmark 1.1: Integrate various cues and strategies to comprehend what he or she reads.

Developmental Continuum

• Shows an interest in reading-related activities, such as looking at books during free-choice time, talking about books, and recalling details by looking at pictures
   
• Explores books independently

• Recognizes the association between the spoken and the written word

• Makes connections to prior knowledge, other texts, pictures and the world in response to texts read aloud
   

• Retells stories

• Recalls details in text read aloud

• Demonstrates the ability to respond to texts through a variety of methods such as creative dramatics and drawing

Example Behaviors

Natasha takes a baby and a book to housekeeping and reads to her baby during center time.

During independent reading Fabian sees a moon in one of the books and goes to the science center to see if it looks like the poster there.

After the class cooked muffins and listened to the recipe, Mark asked if he could write it down for his mom.

During a morning read aloud of Brown Eyes, Brown Skin, Jessica says, “Hey they have cubbies just like us”.

After a field trip to the fire station, Amyra tells her mom all about the trip when she comes to pick her up for the day.

After reading Tops and Bottoms,  Jeremiah says, “I like the way the rabbit tricked the bear and told him he could have the tops when the tops were no good”.

After reading Muffaro’s Beautiful Daughters, Madison drew a picture and said it was a picture of a beautiful African Princess.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation

Language Arts Standard 1: Draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate what he or she reads

Analysis of texts
Benchmark 1.2: Use a knowledge of the purposes, structures, and elements of writing to analyze and interpret various types of texts

Developmental Continuum

• Begin identifying characters in stories read aloud

• Begin identifying a problem and possible solution to a story
  
   
• Recognize that we read for a variety of different reasons
   
• Begin the ability to identify that there are many different kinds of books such as fiction, nonfiction and information

Example Behaviors

After reading Three Billy Goats Gruff,  Tres asked if he could be the Troll under the bridge in the class’s reenactment of the story.

After reading Humpty Dumpty, Michaela suggests that Humpty should not sit on a wall because it is dangerous.

Adam uses the books in the science center to learn how tadpoles turn to frogs as our class tadpoles begin to grow back legs.

Sarah brought in a fairy tale book, Cinderella.  She says, “It’s only pretend”.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation

Language Arts Standard 1: Draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate what he or she reads

Phonics and word study
Benchmark 1.3: Use a knowledge of graphophonics ad word analysis to read and determine the meaning of unfamiliar words

Developmental Continuum

• Recognize environmental print such as business logos, cereal boxes and traffic signs
   
• Understand how print is organized and read, using concepts about print
   
• Identifies places where words are found, such as books and newspapers

• Recognizes that words are made up of letters and that letters make sounds
• Begin to recognize letter patterns in words
   
• Recognizes rhyming words
• Begin recognizing and naming uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet
   

• Begin recognizing punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation point) and spacing between words
   

• Begin recognizing onsets and rhymes

Example Behaviors

Carlos brought in a McDonald’s bag and says “This say’s McDonalds. Let’s put it on our alphabet line?”

When the teacher asks where to begin reading, Andrea points to the first word on the page.

While engaged in a written conversation about the zoo with the teacher, Thomas remembers where he saw the word zebra and goes to get the book.

Montarius recognizes that his name starts like Monday and that they sound alike.

During a rhyming shared reading, Evan shouts, “That word looks like the other word”.

Shannon says, “Yes they sound the same too, ‘ring’ and ‘king’”.

When the teacher begins the morning message with a lower case ‘g’ for good. Carson says, “That’s not right. It should be an uppercase ‘G’ ”.

As the teacher is writing the morning message (after many teacher demonstrations), Danny says, “You forgot to leave a space. All the words are jumbled up!”

Luke says, “Look Charlie’s name and Cheerios start the same”.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation 

Language Arts Standard 2: Draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate what he or she writes

Responding to text

Benchmark 2.2: Respond to texts written by others

Developmental Continuum

• Begin responding to texts read aloud by conversing with others and by using pictures
   
• Demonstrate the ability to respond to texts read aloud by conversing with others, drawing pictures, and writing letters or words

Example Behaviors

After a exposing the children to a variety of poetry, India draws a picture and says, “She is dancing to the rhythm of the sun”.

After reading Ten Black Dots, Andre creates a truck with ten construction paper dots and writes “TRK’ under the picture.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation

Language Arts Standard 2: Draw upon a variety of strategies to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate what he or she writes

Legibility

Benchmark 2.3: Create legible texts

Developmental Continuum

• Begin copying or printing letters and words, including his or her name
   
• Demonstrate the ability to copy or print letters and words, including his or her name
   
• Begin writing words

Example Behaviors

When Julio signs-in he writes a J and says, “Look I wrote my name!”

When graphing whether the children like red apples, Sasha writes ‘yes’ under the yes column.

Matthew and Joshua write a ‘no girls’ sign in the block center where they are playing.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation

Language Arts Standard 3: Recognize, demonstrate, and analyze the qualities of effective communication

Communication: Speaking

Benchmark 3.1: Use speaking skills to participate in large and small groups in both formal and informal situations

Developmental Continuum

• Demonstrate the ability to take turns in conversation and stay on topic

• Demonstrate the ability to initiate conversation

• Begin responding in complete sentences
   
• Speak in 6-10 word sentences using adjectives appropriately when describing an object or action
   
• Demonstrate the ability to participate in conversations and discussions by responding appropriately

• Demonstrate the ability to participate in the choral speaking of short poems and rhymes, songs and stories with repeated patterns
   
• Demonstrate the ability to participate in creative dramatics

• Demonstrate the ability to use oral language for a variety of purposes
   
• Demonstrate the ability to tell or retell a stories and events in logical order

Example Behaviors

Rachel and Megan talk about their Barbie dolls. Rachel says she has a Barbie jeep for her doll and Megan tells her that her daddy will get her one for her birthday.

Mauria comes to school and can’t wait to tell everyone about the horse that was in the street on the way to school.

When asked if the children would like to ride bikes or play basketball, Jacob says, “We played basketball yesterday.”

Matt says, “Yeah, and we have brand new shiny bikes to ride!”

During the morning meeting the class discusses the need to work together. Hannah suggests that everyone should help each other clean up during centers and Jack says, “Yeah, that way we clean up faster and get done”.

After several read alouds of Where’s My Cat ? by Eric Carle, the class recites the book together with no help from the teacher.

In the housekeeping center, Cindy and Carlos act out mommy and daddy roles. Cindy tells Carlos, “Honey will you feed the baby please, I’m going to WalMart”.  

Isis asks if she can call her mom on the phone to tell her she is having a great day.

Isaac came to school and told his teacher that his uncle came to visit him last night. He said, “We played at the park until it got dark and then we went to McDonalds. When we got home I had to go to bed”.

Comments, Strategies, Evaluation