STANDARD 3.2: Language Arts Literacy

Language Arts Literacy Areas of Focus: Grade 5

Mission: Learning to read, write, speak, listen, and view critically, strategically and creatively enables students to discover personal and shared meaning throughout their lives.

Standard 3.2 Writing

All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

Big Idea: Writing is the process of communicating in print for a variety of audiences and purposes.
3.2.5 A. Writing as a Process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, postwriting)
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do good writers express themselves? How does process shape the writer’s product?	- Good writers develop and refine their ideas for thinking, learning, communicating, and aesthetic expression.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
1. Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot, describe the setting, and include an ending.	Instructional focus: • Explicit instruction • Study of writers (what they write about; how they express their points of view and/or feelings; how the setting is conveyed and how it influences the story ) • Writing instruction that includes all steps of the writing process • Writing assignments that reflect literature read in the classroom and incorporate students’ personal experiences Example: Students write developed stories with multiple paragraphs.
2. Write informational compositions with multiple paragraphs that present important ideas, provide details, and offer a concluding paragraph.	Instructional focus: • Explicit instruction about how background for an informational story is gathered; how the sequence of the piece affects the readers’ understanding; how to write an ending that synthesizes the information • Study of informational writers (what they write about; how they convey information in a way that makes it accessible to readers; use of paraphrasing; use of informational elements (captions; illustrations; charts; graphs, etc.) • Writing instruction that includes all steps of the writing process • Writing assignments that reflect nonfiction read in the classroom and incorporate students’ understanding of the subject matter Example: Students write about the formation of volcanoes after studying the effects of nature on landforms.
3. Generate possible ideas for writing through listening, talking, recalling experiences, hearing stories, reading, discussing models of writing, asking questions, and brainstorming.
4. Develop an awareness of form, structure, and author’s voice in various genres.
5. Use strategies such as graphic organizers and outlines to elaborate and organize ideas for writing.
6. Draft writing in a selected genre with supporting structure according to the intended message, audience, and purpose for writing	Instructional focus: - Understanding genre, author’s voice and intent, audience and purpose for writing - Drafting - Structures of writing in various genre Example: Students write a persuasive essay about the importance of voting.
7. Make decisions about the use of precise language, including adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and specific details, and justify the choices made.	Instructional focus: • Explicit instruction during both teacher read alouds and small group instruction • Interactive word walls • Teacher paraphrasing during reading and speaking • Anchoring of the new words to students’ backgrounds and experiences • Writing assignments that require the use of mature words • Attention to words that authors choose and how the words illuminate the story or the information being shared
8. Revise drafts by rereading for meaning, narrowing focus, elaborating and deleting, as well as reworking organization, openings, closings, word choice, and consistency of voice.
9. Review own writing with others to understand the reader’s perspective and to consider and incorporate ideas for revision.
10. Review and edit work for spelling, usage, clarity, organization, and fluency.
11. Use a variety of reference materials to revise work.
12. Use computer writing applications during the writing process.
13. Understand and apply the elements of a scoring rubric to improve and evaluate writing.
14. Reflect on own writing, noting strengths and setting goals for improvement.
3.2.5 B. Writing as a Product (resulting in a formal product or publication)
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do writers develop a well written product?	- Good writers use a repertoire of strategies that enables them to vary form and style, in order to write for different purposes, audiences, and contexts.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
1. Expand knowledge of characteristics and structures of selected genres.
2. Write a range of grade appropriate essays across curricula (e.g., persuasive, personal, descriptive, issue- based)	Instructional Focus: • Use literature and expository text to study an author’s use of words, phrases and information • Provide multiple writing assignments that allow students to write across curricula • Expand persuasive writing beyond only letter writing to include editorials, essays, advertisements, endorsements, etc. • Develop targeted word walls to provide vocabulary used specifically for persuasive, descriptive writing, etc. • Investigate issue-based current events and work to incorporate writing into the development of an understanding of social studies/science based issues Examples: • Students write an editorial about school rules. • Students write a descriptive piece about their favorite relative and that person’s impact on the family.
3. Write grade appropriate, multi-paragraph, expository pieces across curricula (e.g., problem/solution, cause/effect, hypothesis/results, feature articles, critique, research reports).	Examples: • Students write about a science project, from hypothesis to results. • Students write a feature article about a school administrator for posting on the school/district website. • Students write a movie review.
4. Write various types of prose, such as short stories, biography, autobiography, or memoir, that contain narrative elements.	Examples: • Students write short stories. • Students write their autobiography.
5. Support main idea, topic, or theme with facts, examples, or explanations, including information from multiple sources.	Examples: • Students provide facts, examples, or explanations when developing their writing.
6. Sharpen focus and improve coherence by considering the relevancy of included details and adding, deleting, and rearranging appropriately
7. Write sentences of varying length and complexity, using specific nouns, verbs, and descriptive words.	Instructional focus: Writing • Explicit instruction about the complexity of sentences, including powerful beginnings and segues or transitional words, phrases and sentences; types of sentences (compound, complex) Vocabulary • Explicit instruction during teacher read alouds and small group instruction • Interactive word walls • Teacher paraphrasing during reading and speaking as well as during writers’ conferences with individual students • Anchoring of the new words to students’ backgrounds and experiences • Writing assignments that require the use of descriptive vocabulary • Attention to words that authors choose and how words illuminate the story or the information • Knowledge about multiple meaning words and selection of precise words
8. Prepare a works consulted page for reports or research papers.
9. Provide logical sequence throughout multi-paragraph works by refining organizational structure and developing transitions between ideas.	Instructional focus: • Transition words, phrases and sentences • Knowledge of logical sequence as evidenced by progression of ideas
10. Engage the reader from beginning to end with an interesting opening, logical sequence, and satisfying conclusion.
3.2.5 C. Mechanics, Spelling, and Handwriting
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- How do rules of language affect communication?	- Rules, conventions of language, help readers understand what is being communicated.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
1. Use Standard English conventions in all writing, such as sentence structure, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and handwriting.	Instructional strategies: • Students review exemplar essays. • Students edit sample essays.
2. Use increasingly complex sentence structure and syntax to express ideas.
3. Use knowledge of English grammar and usage to express ideas effectively.
4. Use correct capitalization and punctuation, including commas and colons, throughout writing
5. Use quotation marks and related punctuation correctly in passages of dialogue.
6. Use knowledge of roots, prefixes, suffixes, and English spelling patterns to spell words correctly in writing.
7. Study examples of narrative and expository writing to develop understanding of the reasons for and use of paragraphs and indentation.
8. Edit writing for correct grammar usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
9. Use a variety of reference materials, such as a dictionary, grammar reference, and/or internet/software resources to edit written work.
10. Write legibly in manuscript or cursive to meet district standards.
3.2.5 D. Writing Forms, Audiences, and Purposes (exploring a variety of forms)
Essential Questions	Enduring Understandings
- Why does a writer choose a particular form of writing?	- A writer selects a form based on audience and purpose.
Areas of Focus/Cumulative Progress Indicators	Comments and Examples
1. Write for different purposes (e.g., to express ideas, inform, entertain, respond to literature, persuade, question, reflect, clarify, share) and a variety of audiences (e.g., self, peers, community).	Instructional strategies: • Using authentic text (newspapers, Internet sources, magazines and journals, advertisements, speeches, directions, songs and poetry, letters, brochures and pamphlets, comic strips, political cartoons, etc.) to study audience and purpose for writing • Facilitated discussion among students as a way of brainstorming for purpose and ideas • Target writing to reflect a particular audience and purpose
2. Gather, select, and organize information appropriate to a topic, task, and audience.
3. Develop and use knowledge of a variety of genres, including expository, narrative, persuasive, poetry, critiques, and everyday/ workplace writing.
4. Organize a response that develops insight into literature by exploring personal reactions, connecting to personal experiences, and referring to the text through sustained use of examples.
5. Use transitions between and within paragraphs.	Instructional focus: • Author and genre studies that explicitly focus on transitions • Word walls include addition of frequently and effectively used transitions
6. Organize paragraphs using topic sentences.
7. Write narratives, establishing a plot or conflict, setting, characters, point of view, and resolution.	Instructional strategies: • Using selected literature to highlight/teach elements of narrative writing • Providing opportunities for students to write
8. Use narrative techniques (e.g., dialogue, specific actions of characters, sensory description, and expression of thoughts and feelings of characters).	Instructional strategies: • Using selected literature to highlight/teach narrative techniques • Providing opportunities for students to write Example: Students write a story that develops a character.
9. Write reports based on research with a scope narrow enough to be thoroughly covered, supporting the main ideas or topic with facts, examples, and explanations, and including a works consulted page.
10. Write persuasive essays with clearly stated positions or opinions supported by organized and relevant evidence to validate arguments and conclusions, and sources cited when needed.	Instructional focus: • Clearly stating positions • Supporting opinions • Substantiating relevant evidence • Writing a summative statement that supports the position taken Example: Students write a persuasive essay to convince an elected official to save a neighborhood park.
11. Demonstrate the ability to write friendly/business letters in correct format and coherent style.
12. Use a variety of strategies to organize writing, including sequence, chronology, cause/effect, problem/solution, and order of importance.	Instructional focus: • Study of precise, sequential writing (for style and selection of vocabulary) • Study of transition words that show chronological sequence (and addition of these words to the classroom’s interactive word wall or targeted word) Example: Students create and complete a graphic organizer that demonstrates knowledge of problem/solution.
13. Demonstrate higher-order thinking skills and writing clarity when answering open-ended and essay questions in content areas or as responses to literature.
14. Use relevant graphics in writing (e.g., maps, charts, illustrations, graphs, photographs).
15. Demonstrate the development of a personal style and voice in writing.
16. Review scoring criteria of relevant rubrics.
17. Develop a collection of writings (e.g., a literacy folder, a literacy portfolio).

Link to Standard 3.2 Grade 4

Link to Standard 3.2 Grade 6

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