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Curriculum STANDARD 4: LANGUAGE
AND COMMUNICATION Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. Language is used as expression in differing social arenas. Students need to study how language conventions vary from one context to another. Students acknowledge the audience as they compose different types of literary texts. • Use various speaking and writing styles to fit different purposes and audiences • Use standard English for speaking and writing • Experience dialects and other forms of English • Develop confidence and versatility in the
use of language by exploring connections between voice and audience, purpose and form Suggestions for Assessment of Standard 4:
Cross-age Interaction Interview
Writing Domains Drama/poetry
reading
Journal/Written Response Discussion
Teacher Observation
Group Projects
Oral Reports “How to” Demonstrations Written Evaluation KINDERGARTEN 1. Listen in a variety of situations 2. Take turns
when speaking and listening 3. Follow three-step directions 4. Repeat a pattern using some of the following elements:
sounds, words, numbers, and rhyming words 5. Produce rhyming words 6. Sing/recite simple rhymes, poems, and songs 7. Express
personal needs 8. Participate in class discussion 9. Tell a story and/or relate an experience 10. Dictate
stories 11. Contribute
to group stories 12. Relate an experience or creative story in a
logical sequence 13. Participate
in drama and role playing 14.
Build descriptive vocabulary when talking about
people, places, things, location, size, color, shape, and action 15. Share
information, opinions and questions; speak audibly in complete sentences 16. Pay
attention in large group activities for at least 20 minutes FIRST GRADE 1. Take turns
speaking and listening to others without interrupting 2. Recall events from stories, films, and speakers 3. Share written work orally and describe original
projects (e.g., art, construction, etc.) 4. Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory
detail 5. Relate an event in sequential order 6. Speak in
coherent sentences SECOND GRADE 1. Listen to
oral presentations and ask appropriate questions 2. Organize
presentations and present with a clear voice using standard language 3. Participate
in class discussions and stay on topic 4. Determine the
purposes for listening and paraphrase information 5. Hear stories
written in a variety of dialects 6. Tell a story that has a beginning, middle, and an
end 7. Participate
in choral reading, readers’ theater, drama, and singing 8. Read with
fluency and expression 9. Listen
actively to a story 10. Give and
follow 3 and 4-step oral directions THIRD GRADE 1. Give oral
presentations, book talks, and reports to the class 2. Organize
ideas clearly 3. Use clear and
specific vocabulary to communicate ideas and establish tone 4. Read prose
and poetry aloud with fluency, rhythm, pace, and appropriate intonation and vocal patterns
to emphasize key ideas 5. Connect or
relate prior experiences and ideas to those of a speaker or author 6. Plan, produce, and present interpretations of
experiences, stories, poetry, drama, or song 7. Distinguish
between speaker’s opinion and verifiable fact 8. Respond to
questions to clarify meaning and to develop thinking skills 9. Recite from
memory FOURTH GRADE 1. Give oral
presentations using research materials and multimedia aids (e.g., video, tapes, CD, etc.) 2. Know and use
the functions of language (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain) 3. Demonstrate
fluency when reading orally 4. Organize and
express ideas clearly and effectively when speaking 5. Experiment
with new vocabulary 6.
Participate in group discussions by being a
cooperative listener and active contributor 7. Give precise
directions and instructions FIFTH GRADE 1.
Participate
in group discussions by being a cooperative listener and active contributor; ask
perceptive questions 2. Engage in
exploratory discussion about literature 3. Demonstrate
fluency when reading grade level material orally 4. Follow
complex oral directions 5. State point
of view and listen to others 6. Engage
audience with appropriate verbal cues, facial expressions, and gestures 7. Use new
vocabulary in oral presentations and discussions 8. Respond with
relevant and informative answers when asked about topics or events 9. Organize and
express ideas clearly SIXTH GRADE 1. Restate and execute multi-step oral instructions and
directions 2. Identify the
use of nonverbal cues (e.g., body language and facial expression) 3. Support
opinions with evidence, visual, and media displays by using appropriate technology 4. React to a
written text using artistic expression (e.g., art, visual media, drama, music) 5. Use
appropriate language in different settings (formal presentation, informal 6. Identify propaganda techniques used in television and
other media; identify false or misleading
information 7. Respond to
literature demonstrating comprehension, insight, application, and 8. Engage in
collaborative discussion about literature 9. Write
in a variety of forms including friendly letters, reviews, poems, reports and stories 10. Present oral reports that develop a topic with facts,
details, and examples SEVENTH GRADE 1. Ask probing questions to elicit information, including
evidence to support speaker’s claims and
conclusions 2. Arrange details, reasons, descriptions or examples
effectively and persuasively in relation to the audience 3. Determine speaker’s attitude toward the subject 4. Respond to persuasive messages with questions,
challenges, affirmations 5. Provide constructive feedback to speakers concerning
the coherence and logic of a speech’s content and delivery and its overall impact on
the listener 6. Organize information to achieve particular purposes
and to appeal to the interests and background of the audience 7. Arrange supporting details, reasons, descriptions, and
examples effectively and persuasively in relation to the audience 8. Use speaking techniques, including voice modulation,
inflection, tempo, enunciation, and eye contact for effective presentations 9. Deliver narrative presentations: a.
Establish a context, standard plot line (having a beginning, conflict, rising action,
climax, and denouement), and point of view. b.
Describe complex major and minor characters and definite setting. c.
Use a range of appropriate strategies, including dialogue, suspense, and naming of
specific narrative action (e.g., movement, gestures, expressions). 10. Deliver oral summaries of articles and books: a.
Include the main ideas of the event or article and the most significant details. b.
Use the student’s own words, except for material quoted from the sources. c.
Convey a comprehensive understanding of sources, not just superficial 11. Deliver persuasive presentations: a.
State a clear position or perspective in support of an argument or b.
Describe the points in support of the argument and employ well- 12. Make use of appropriate props to present information. EIGHTH GRADE 1. Prepare
a speech outline based upon a chosen pattern of organization, which generally includes an
introduction; transitions, previews, and summaries; logically developed body; and an
effective conclusion 2. Organize
information to achieve particular purposes by matching the message, 3. Use
appropriate grammar, word choice, enunciation, and pace during formal 4. Analyze
oral interpretations of literature, including language choice and delivery, and the effect
of the interpretations on the listener 5. Paraphrase
a speaker’s purpose and point of view and ask relevant questions 6. Use
audience feedback (verbal and non-verbal cues): a.
Reconsider and modify the organizational structure of plan. b.
Rearrange words and sentences to clarify the meaning. 7. Evaluate
the credibility of a speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased 8. Interpret
and evaluate the various ways in which visual image makers (e.g., graphic artists,
illustrators, news photographers) communicate information and affect impressions and
opinions 9. Use
precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate and colorful modifiers, and
the active rather than the passive voice in ways that enliven oral presentations 10. Recite poems
(four to six stanzas), sections of speeches, or dramatic soliloquies using
voice modulation, tone, and gestures expressively to enhance the meaning 11. Deliver narrative presentations (e.g.,
biographical, autobiographical):
a. Relate a
clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-
b. Reveal the
significance of, and the subject’s attitude about , the
c. Employ
narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant dialogue, 12. Deliver oral responses to literature:
a. Interpret a
reading and provide insight.
b. Connect the
students’ own responses to the writer’s techniques and to specific textual
references.
c. Draw
supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience.
d. Support
judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or personal
knowledge. 13. Deliver persuasive presentations:
a. Include a
well-defined thesis (i.e., one that makes a clear and knowledgeable judgment).
b. Differentiate
fact from opinion and support arguments with detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning.
c. Anticipate
and answer listener concerns and counter arguments effectively through the inclusion and
arrangement of details, reasons, examples, and other elements.
d. Maintain a
reasonable tone. NINTH/TENTH GRADE 1. Formulate judgments about the ideas under discussion and support those judgments with convincing evidence 2. Compare how media genres (e.g., nightly news, news magazines, documentaries, on-line information) cover the same event 3. Choose logical patterns of organization (e.g., chronological, topical, cause/effect) to inform and to persuade by soliciting agreement or action, or to unite audiences behind a common belief or cause 4. Choose appropriate devices for introduction and conclusion (e.g., literary quotations, anecdotes, references to authoritative sources) 5. Recognize and use elements of classical form (introduction, first and second transitions, body, and conclusion), formulation rational arguments and applying the art of persuasion and debate 6. Present and advance a clear thesis statement and choose appropriate types of proofs (e.g., statistics, testimony, specific instances) that meet standard tests for evidence, including credibility, validity, and relevance 7. Use props, visual aids, graphs, and electronic media to enhance the appeal and accuracy of presentations 8. Produce concise notes for extemporaneous delivery 9. Analyze interests of the audience and implications of the occasion to choose effective verbal and non-verbal strategies for presentations (e.g., voice, gestures, eye contact) 10. Evaluate the clarity, quality, effectiveness, and overall coherence of a speaker’s key points, arguments, evidence, organization of ideas, delivery, diction, and syntax 11. Assess how language and delivery affect the mood and tone of the oral communication and impact the audience 12. Deliver narrative
presentations that; narrate a sequence of events and communicate their significance to the
audience, locate scenes and incidents in specific places, develop the narrative elements
with concrete sensory details and language (e.g., visual details of scenes: descriptions of sounds, smells, specific actions,
movements, and gestures: feelings of characters), pace the presentation of actions to
accommodate time or mood changes 13. Deliver expository presentations that; marshal evidence in support of a thesis and related claims, including information on all relevant perspectives, convey information and ideas from primary and secondary sources accurately and coherently, make distinctions about the relative value and significance of specific data, facts, and ideas, organize and record information on charts, maps, and graphs for use as visuals, employing appropriate technology, anticipate and address the listener’s potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations, use technical terms and notations accurately 14. Deliver oral responses to literature that; advance a judgment that demonstrates a comprehensive grasp of the significant ideas of works or passages (i.e., makes and supports warranted assertions about the text), support key ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works, demonstrate awareness of the author’s use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created, identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within text 15. Deliver descriptive
presentations that; provide a clear spatial perspective on the subject of the
presentation, clearly establish the
speaker’s relationship with that subject (e.g., dispassionate observations, personal
involvement), use factual descriptions of appearance, concrete images, shifting
perspectives and vantage points, and sensory detail effectively ELEVENTH/TWELFTH GRADE 1. Recognize strategies used by media to inform, persuade, entertain, and transmit culture (e.g., advertising, perpetuation of stereotypes, use of visual representations, special effects, language) 2. Analyze the impact of media on the democratic process (e.g., influence on elections, creating images of leaders, shaping attitudes) at the local, state, and national levels 3. Use rhetorical questions, parallelism, concrete images, figurative language, characterization, irony, and dialogue to achieve clarity, force, and aesthetic effect 4. Distinguish among, and use, various forms of classical and contemporary logical argument, including inductive and reasoning and syllogisms and analogies 5. Use logical, ethical, and emotional appeals that enhance a specific tone and purpose 6. Use appropriate rehearsal strategies to achieve command of text, skillful and artistic staging, and attention to performance details 7. Use effective and interesting language, including: informal usage for effect, standard English for clarity, and technical language for specificity 8. Critique the impact that a speaker’s use of diction and syntax has on purpose and audience 9. Analyze the four basic types of persuasive speeches (i.e., propositions of fact, value, problem, or policy), and understand the similarities and differences in their use of patterns of organization, persuasive language, reasoning, and proofs 11. Deliver reflective presentations that; explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, or concerns, using rhetorical strategies (e.g., narration, description, exposition), draw comparisons between the specific incident and broader themes that illustrate the speaker’s beliefs or generalizations about life, maintain a balance between describing the incident and relating it to more general abstract ideas 12. Deliver oral reports on
historical investigations that; use exposition, narration, description, argumentation, or
some combination of the four modes of presentation to support the main proposition,
analyze several historical records of a single event, examining critical relationships
between and among elements of the research topic, explain the perceived reason(s) for the
similarities and differences, using information derived from primary and secondary sources
to support or enhance the presentation, include information on all relevant perspectives,
considering the validity and reliability of sources 13. Deliver oral responses to literature that; demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas of works or passages (i.e., makes assertions about the text that are reasonable and supportable), analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of text through the use of rhetorical strategies (i.e., narration, description, argumentation, exposition, or some combination of the four strategies), support key ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works, demonstrate awareness of the author’s use of stylistic devices and appreciation of the effects created, identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within text |
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