The Language Standards ISBE ELA Content Specialists Agenda
The Language Standards ISBE ELA Content Specialists
Agenda 1. Identify Language Anchor Standards 2. Understand Standards Organization 3. Look at Grade Level Language Standards 4. Discover What Research Says
The inclusion of the Language Standards in their own strand should not be taken as an indication that skills related to conventions, knowledge of language, and vocabulary are unimportant to reading, writing, speaking, and listening; indeed, they are inseparable from such contexts. Appendix A, page 28
Grammar Rules: Not so Simple “How we put our ideas into words and comprehensible forms is a dynamic process rather than one with clear boundaries between what we say and how we say it. ” Laura Micciche
Language Anchor Standards Conventions of Standard English 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English: capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Knowledge of Language 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate. 5. Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings. 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
Language Standards Organization Standards Standard #1: Grammar and Usage Standard #2: Conventions Standard #3: Use knowledge of language (Begins in Grade 2) Cluster/Grouping Conventions of Standard English Knowledge of Language How students should apply their knowledge of language in writing and speaking Standard #4: Determine Vocabulary Acquisition meanings Standard #5: Demonstrate and Use understanding & nuances of words
Notes About the Language Standards • While all of the Standards are cumulative, certain Language skills and understandings are more likely than others to need to be retaught and relearned as students advance through the grades. • Beginning in grade 3, the Standards note such “progressive” skills and understandings with an asterisk (*) • These skills and understandings should be mastered at a basic level no later than the end of the grade in which they are introduced in the Standards. • In subsequent grades, as their writing and speaking become more sophisticated, students will need to learn to apply these skills and understandings in (Appendix A, p. 34) more advanced ways.
Language Progression Chart Certain Language skills will need continual focus as writing and speaking increases in rigor. Appendix A, page 31
“The language standards are written to suggest that language work should not be taught in isolation. Language work should be interwoven across the day so that conventions, vocabulary, and craft moves become a seamless part of reading, writing, speaking, and listening already under way in the classroom. ” Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, (Pathways to the Common Core), p.
A Look at Your Language Standards 1. Highlight or underline the words that begin your standards. 2. Turn and Talk with a partner: “What did you notice? ”
For Example: Standard L. 4. 5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
A Note About Grammar Instruction: What Research Says
• “Grammar instruction in the studies reviewed involved the explicit and systematic teaching of the parts of speech and structure of sentences. The meta-analysis found an effect for this type of instruction for students across the full range of ability, but surprisingly, this effect was negative. This negative effect was small, but it was statistically significant, indicating that traditional grammar instruction is unlikely to help improve the quality of students’ writing. Studies specifically examining the impact of grammar instruction with low-achieving writers also yielded negative results (Anderson, 1997; Saddler and Graham 2005). Such finding raise serious questions about some educators’ enthusiasm for traditional grammar instruction as a
Resource to Assist with All Language Standards • ISBE Language Standards Glossary
Conventions of Standard English Standards #1 & #2
Additional Resource to Assist with Standard #2 • Why Teach Spelling
Knowledge of Language Standard #3 (Begins in Grade 2) Writers must draw from all other language standards when crafting, writing and speaking.
Resource to Assist with Standard #3
Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage Standards #4 - #6
Standard #4 Choosing from a range of skills - not memorizing definitions. For example, L. 3. 4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiplemeaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from range of strategies. a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. b. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e. g. , agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat) c. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e. g. , company, companion) d. Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
Standard #5 Interpreting meaning • What does standard #5 mean to you? • What questions do you have?
Standard #6 Acquiring and Using Word Knowledge • What does standard #6 mean to you? • What questions do you have?
Idea Share with content teachers the language expectations (grammar, punctuation, etc. . . ), so when students write and speak in all classrooms, expectations are consistent.
Language Connections to Other ELA Strands Strand Anchor Standard Reading R. CCR. 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Writing W. CCR. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Speaking and Listening SL. CC. 6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Why are the Language Standards So Important? Twenty-first century, students must be able to communicate effectively in a wide range of print and digital texts, each of which may require different grammatical and usage choices to be effective.
s u n o B Grammar knowledge aids reading comprehension and interpretation
Thank you! All resources from today’s presentation as well as other language resources can be found at http: //www. illinoisliteracyinaction. org/language. html
References Achugar, M. , Schleppegrell, M. , & Oteíza, T. (2007). Engaging teachers in language analysis: A functional linguistics approach to reflective literacy. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 6(2), 8– 24. Beck, I. L. , Mc. Keown, M. G. , & Kucan, L. (2008). Creating Robust Vocabulary. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Calkins, L. , Ehrenworth, M. , & Lehman, C. (2012). Pathways to the common core: Accelerating achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Fogel, H. , & Ehri, L. (2000). Teaching elementary students who speak Black English Vernacular to write in Standard English: Effects of dialect transformation practice. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(2), 212 -235. García, G. G. , & Beltrán, D. (2003). Revisioning the blueprint: Building for the academic success of English learners. In G. G. García (Ed. ), English Learners (pp. 197– 226). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Graham, S. , & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education Miller, G. A. (1999) On knowing a word. Annual Review of Psychology 50, 1 -19. Full text online via Ovid Technologies Nagy, W. , & Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 304 -330. RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R & D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. Wheeler, R. , & Swords, R. (2004) Code-switching: Tools of language and culture transform the dialectally diverse classroom. Language Arts, 81, 470 -480. Williams, G. (2005). Grammatics in schools. In R. Hasan, C. M. I. M. Matthiessen, & J. Webster (Eds. ), Continuing discourse on language (pp. 281– 310). London, England: Equinox.
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