Written Summaries Level 4 gather information to support ideas for writing in a variety of ways and/or from a variety of sources

s (e.g., from independent reading texts) sort ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by underlining key words and phrases; by using graphic and print organizers) identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop a summary, using a variety of graphic organizers Level 5 gather information to support ideas for writing in a variety of ways and/or from a variety of sources (e.g., from independent reading texts) sort ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by underlining key words and phrases; by using graphic and print organizers) identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop a summary, using a variety of graphic organizers Level 6 gather information to support ideas for writing in a variety of ways and/or from a variety of sources (e.g., from independent reading texts) sort ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by underlining key words and phrases; by using graphic and print organizers)

Oral Summaries
Level 4 demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in a variety of oral texts by summarizing important ideas and citing important details make inferences using stated and implied ideas extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights; to other texts, including print and visual texts; and to the world around them communicate in a clear, coherent manner, presenting ideas, opinions, and information in a readily understandable form use appropriate words and phrases from the full range of their vocabulary, and appropriate elements of style, to communicate their meaning accurately and engage the interest of their audience Level 5 demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in a variety of oral texts by summarizing important ideas and citing important details make inferences using stated and implied ideas in the text as evidence extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights; to other texts, including print and visual texts; and to the world around them communicate in a clear, coherent manner, presenting ideas, opinions, and information in a readily understandable form use appropriate words and phrases from the full range of their vocabulary, and appropriate elements of style, to communicate their meaning accurately and engage the interest of their audience Level 6

identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop a structured, multi-paragraph piece of writing, using a variety of strategies

demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in increasingly complex texts in a variety of ways make inferences using stated and implied ideas in the text as evidence extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights; to other texts, including print and visual texts; and to the world around them communicate orally in a clear, coherent manner, using appropriate organizing strategies and formats to link and sequence ideas and information use appropriate words and phrases from the full range of their vocabulary and appropriate elements of style, to communicate their meaning accurately and engage the interest of their audience

The Junior Grades (Levels 4a-6b) Course Expectations

At the end of level 4, students should be able to:

determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary use specific words and phrases to create an intended impression use sentences of different lengths and structures (e.g., complex sentences incorporating conjunctions such as because, so, if) identify elements of their writing that need improvement, using feedback from the teacher (e.g., logical organization, depth of content) make revisions to improve the content, clarity, and interest of their written work, using several types of strategies (e.g., reordering sentences;

At the end of level 5, students should be able to:

determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary write longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms establish an appropriate voice in their writing, with a focus on modifying language and tone to suit different circumstances or audiences use some vivid and/or figurative language and innovative expressions to add interest vary sentence types and structures, with a focus on using conjunctions to connect ideas, and pronouns to make links within and between sentences identify elements of their writing that need improvement, using feedback from the teacher with a focus on specific features (e.g., effective

At the end of level 6, students should be able to:

determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary write longer and more complex texts using a variety of forms establish a distinctive voice in their writing appropriate to the subject and audience (e.g.,

use punctuation, dialogue, and vivid language to create a particular mood)

removing repetition or unnecessary information; changing the sequence of ideas and information and adding material if appropriate; adding transition words and phrases to link sentences and/or paragraphs and improve the flow of writing; adding or substituting words from other subject areas, word lists, and a variety of sources, such as a dictionary or thesaurus)
spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their independent-reading texts) confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using different types of resources appropriate for the purpose use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of: the apostrophe to indicate possession, and quotation marks to indicate direct speech use parts of speech appropriately to communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: common and proper nouns; verbs in the simple present, past, and future tenses; adjectives and adverbs; subject/verb agreement; prepositions; and conjunctions (e.g., since, though, until) proofread and correct their writing produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style and use of conventions

use of language, logical organization)

make revisions to improve the content, clarity, and interest of their written work, using a variety of strategies spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their independent-reading texts) confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using a variety of resources appropriate for the purpose use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of: a comma before and or but in compound sentences to join principal clauses; quotation marks for direct speech; and the placement of commas, question marks, and exclamation marks inside quotation marks in direct speech use parts of speech correctly to communicate their intended meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: common, proper, and abstract nouns , collective nouns (e.g., flock of birds); adjectives, including comparative adjectives; the helping verb have; adverbs modifying verbs (e.g., when, where, how); comparative adverbs (e.g.,

faster, slower)

proofread and correct their writing produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations

related to content, organization, style and use of conventions

use some vivid and/or figurative language and innovative expressions to enhance interest create complex sentences by combining phrases, clauses, and/or simple sentences (e.g., combine several simple sentences Nora left the house. She was heading for the market. She didnt want to be late.) identify elements of their writing that need improvement, using feedback from the teacher with a focus on supporting details and precise language make revisions to improve the content, clarity, and interest of their written work, using a variety of strategies spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their independent-reading texts) confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using a variety of resources appropriate for the purpose use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, in longer and more complex sentences, with a focus on the use of: commas to separate words in a list or after an introductory word or phrase; quotation marks in dialogue; and some uses of the colon, semicolon, and brackets use parts of speech correctly to communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: personal subject and object pronouns (e.g., I, me) indefinite pronouns (e.g., someone, nobody); conjunctions; subordinate clauses; adverb phrases; and present, past, and future verb tenses proofread and correct their writing produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style and use of conventions