| Language Arts
Arkansas' Learning Standards are defined in the Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks, discipline-based documents which clearly describe what students must know and be able to do in the area of Language Arts at three critical levels: grades 4, 8, and 12. The rigorous academic content standards and the student learning expectations within each document provide the focus for instruction for each local school district, without rigidly prescribing every element of the local curriculum. Student demonstration of the standards and learning expectations within the Arkansas Frameworks is the anchor for the entire education system, with instructional programs, state-level assessments, professional development, school improvement planning, teacher/administrator licensure, and accountability sharing the common goal of improved student learning and performance around these standards.
The Language Arts portion of the ACTAAP is based on standards in the Arkansas Language Arts Curriculum Framework.
The Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (SAT-9) contains six subtests for Language Arts levels Primary 1 through Primary 3. At the higher levels, there are seven subtests.
Reading Operations
STRAND 2: READING
CONTENT STANDARD 1:
Students will comprehend, evaluate and respond to works of literature and other kinds of writing which reflect their own cultures and developing viewpoints as well as those of others.
GRADES K-4 (Student learning expectations:)
R.1.1. Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between written and oral language.
R.1.2. Demonstrate and use concepts of print such as directionality, spacing, punctuation and configuration in developmentally appropriate ways.
R.1.3. Recognize and associate letters and sounds.
R.1.4. Use phonetic skills to decode words.
R.1.5. Use major cueing systems such as phonetic, syntactic and semantic to decode and construct meaning.
R.1.6. Expand vocabulary through reading.
R.1.7. Understand the goal of reading is to construct meaning.
R.1.8. Understand that reading is communication between the author and the reader.
R.1.9. Establish purposes for reading, such as enjoying, learning, modeling, sharing, performing, investigating and solving problems.
R.1.10. Use relationships between words and sentences, sentences and paragraphs, and paragraphs and whole pieces to understand text.
R.1.11. Use prior knowledge to extend reading ability and comprehension.
R.1.12. Use specific strategies such as making comparisons, predicting outcomes, drawing conclusions, identifying the main ideas and understanding cause and effect to comprehend a variety of literary genres from diverse cultures and time periods.
R.1.13. Understand that texts have different purposes (e.g. persuading, informing, entertaining and instructing).
R.1.14. Use print for daily activities (e.g. following directions, using references).
R.1.15. Demonstrate knowledge of expository and narrative texts.
R.1.16. Use strategies for visual organization of information, such as story maps, semantic mapping, charts, etc.
R.1.17. Read independently and with others daily (e.g. sustained silent reading, shared reading, partner reading).
R.1.18. Read, listen and respond to a variety of literary genres from diverse cultures.
R.1.19. Read more than one work by a single author.
R.1.20. Use strategies such as keeping reading logs, conferences with teacher, and discussions with other readers for
monitoring progress in reading.
R.1.21. Experiment with creative and playful language, such as text innovations, choral reading, etc.
R.1.22. Use technological aids (e.g. data base, spreadsheet, desktop publishing) to support growth in reading.
CONTENT STANDARD 2:
Students will demonstrate a willingness to use reading to continue to learn, to communicate and to solve problems independently.
GRADES K-4 (Student learning expectations:)
R.2.1. Use critical thinking and problem solving strategies to integrate content from all subject matter areas.
R.2.2. Read for personal reasons, such as for enjoyment, for information and for inquiry.
R.2.3. Demonstrate fluency and comprehension in both silent and oral reading.
R.2.4. Select appropriate reading material from library media centers and other sources.
R.2.5 Respond to reading in a variety of ways (e.g. writing, re-telling, art, drama).
R.2.6. Use reading to enhance writing.
R.2.7. Select appropriate resource material from a variety of sources (e.g. library media centers, community and home).
R.2.8. Initiate and participate in conversations about reading.
This unit includes constructing meaning from fiction and non-fiction selections at comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and judgment levels of understanding. It includes skills which address identifying, discussing, and comparing both concrete and abstract elements of selections (setting, plot, characterization, genre, historical period, theme, tone, moral message, and psychological and political implications).
Writing
STRAND 1: WRITING
CONTENT STANDARD 1:
Students will employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
GRADES K-4 (Student learning expectations:)
W.1.1. Move from visual and spoken experiences to written language through positive modeling.
W.1.2 Understand the relationship between letters and words, words and sentences, sentences and paragraphs, and paragraphs and whole pieces.
W.1.3. Follow patterns from predictable books, poems and stories.
W.1.4. Use individual and collective strategies for finding and developing ideas about which to write.
W.1.5. Write from experiences and thoughts.
W.1.6. Write in one or more subject areas daily.
W.1.7. Recognize and express cultural diversity in writing.
W.1.8. Respond appropriately to the writing of others.
W.1.9. Use the responses of others to review writing for clarity, style and content.
W.1.10. Acquire information with the use of computers and other available technology to gather, write and revise texts.
W.1.11. Write in a variety of modes, such as journals, stories, poems, letters, interviews and notes.
W.1.12. Write for a variety of audiences, such as peers, parents, teachers and community.
W.1.13. Write for a variety of purposes, such as to persuade, to enjoy, to entertain, to inform, to record, to respond to reading and to solve problems.
W.1.14. Develop a collection of writings.
CONTENT STANDARD:
Students will apply knowledge of language structure and language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation) to print and nonprint texts.
GRADES K-4 (Student learning expectations:)
W.2.1. Write independently on self-selected topics.
W.2.2. Organize information according to criteria for importance and impact rather than according to availability.
W.2.3. Work in cooperative groups to produce a written product.
W.2.4. Monitor progress of self and others.
W.2.5. Accept responsibility for completing writing tasks.
W.2.6. Edit writing for developmentally appropriate spelling, usage, mechanics, grammar, vocabulary, handwriting and content accuracy.
W.2.7. Publish writing in a variety of ways, such as class anthologies, public readings, newsletters, newspapers, bulletin boards, sharing with others and books.
This unit focuses on each stage of the writing process: prewriting, writing, revising, and publishing. It includes skills covering a variety of organizational formats and purposes for writing (communicating ideas, opinions, and feelings, clarifying thoughts, and solving problems). Some example writing formats are: expository, narrative, poetry, and drama.
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