English Language Arts Curriculum

Northern Illinois District

Preschool

 

I.  Reading Skills

 

State Goal:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to read with understanding and fluency.

 

Learning Standard A:  Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to comprehend selections.

 

Phonemic awareness

 

Objective 1:      Students will experience various activities using environmental print.

Objective 2:      Students will grow in understanding that print and pictures carry meaning.

Objective 3:      Students will be able to recognize the difference between words and letters.

Objective 4:      Students will experience word play through rhyming, alliteration, finger plays, and language games. 

Objective 5:      Students will demonstrate the ability to recognize some capital and lower case letters of the alphabet, especially those in their name.

 

Phonics

 

Objective 6:      Students will grow in knowledge of beginning sounds of words using familiar words, names, etc.

Objective 7:      Students will orally manipulate phonemes in word play involving letter substitution to form new words.

Objective 8:      Students will identify words that have the same beginning sound.

 

Decoding

 

Objective 9:      Students will begin to develop the ability to hear and identify isolated consonants in words.

Objective 10:    Students will engage in activities involving blending sounds orally to form words.

 

 

Learning Standard B:  Apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency.

 

Reading skills

 

Objective 1:      Students will make predictions based on the cover, title, and pictures in a book.

Objective 2:      Students will develop the ability to connect text to prior knowledge and personal experiences.

Objective 3:      Using pictures, text, and prior knowledge, students will be able to make predictions about what will happen next in a reading selection or Bible story.

Objective 4:      Students will participate in shared/independent reading of familiar, predictable text and Bible stories.

Objective 5:      Students will recognize separable and repeating sounds in spoken language.

 

Text features

 

Objective 6:      Students will be able to demonstrate left to right and top to bottom progression.

Objective 7:      Students will understand that a group of letters is a word.

Objective 8:    Students will be able to identify the parts of a book (ie: cover, beginning, ending, etc.).

 

 

Learning Standard C:  Comprehend a broad range of reading materials.

 

Comprehension strategies

 

Objective 1:      Students will be able to retell information from a reading selection or Bible story using drama, retelling, or dictation.

Objective 2:      Students will be able to respond to simple questions about reading selections.

Objective 3:      Students will demonstrate understanding of literal meaning of stories by making comments.

 

Genre

 

Objective 4:      Students will begin to compare and contrast a variety of literary works including the Bible.

 

 

II.  Literature

 

State Goal:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras, and ideas.

 

Learning Standard A:  Understand how literary elements and techniques are used to convey meaning.

 

Objective 1:      Students will begin to identify the use of different text forms such as magazines, notes, lists, letters, the Bible, and storybooks.

Objective 2:      Using play experiences, students will be able to portray characters, settings, and events in stories. 

 

 

Learning Standard B:  Read and interpret a variety of literary works.

 

Objective 1:      Students will show independent interest in reading-related activities.

Objective 2:      Using play experiences and classroom activities, students will be able to interpret and expand on a variety of literary works.

 

III.  Written Communication

 

State Goal:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to write to communicate

                    for a variety of purposes.

 

Learning Standard A:  Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and structure.

 

Concepts of print

 

Objective 1:      Students will be able to write their first name using upper and lower case letters appropriately.

Objective 2:      Students will be able to write some upper and lower case letters appropriately.

Objective 3:      Students will use a variety of writing materials to represent written language.

 

 

Learning Standard B:  Compose well-organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences. 

 

Process writing

Objective 1:      Students will represent stories through pictures, dictation, approximation of letters and play experiences.

Objective 2:      Students will represent parts of the Bible through pictures, dramatization, dictation and play experiences.

 

 

Learning Standard C:  Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes.

 

Modes of writing

 

Objective 1:      Students will use a variety of materials and play experiences to convey meaning and information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IV.  Oral Communication

 

State Goal:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.

 

Learning Standard A:  Listen effectively in formal and informal situations.

 

Objective 1:      Students will listen with understanding and respond to directions, conversations, and play experiences.

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Learning Standard B:  Speak effectively using language appropriate to the situation and audience.

 

Objective 1:      Students will communicate needs, ideas, and thoughts using a complete sentence through questioning, responding and play experiences.

Objective 2:      Students will explore communicating past experiences with more accurate detail.

Objective 3:      Students will use mature vocabulary to communicate needs, ideas, and thoughts.

Objective 4:      Students will use their communication skills to positively interact with others and resolve conflict.

 

 

 

 

V.  Application of the Language Arts

 

State Goal:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to use the language arts to acquire, assess, and communicate information.

 

Learning Standard A:  Locate, organize, and use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems, and communicate ideas.

 

Objective 1:      Students will seek answers to questions using play and active exploration.

Objective 2:      Students will seek understanding of God’s word using play and active exploration.

 

 

Learning Standard B:  Analyze and evaluate information acquired from various sources.

 

Objective 1:      Students will use prior knowledge to relate to new information.

Objective 2:      Students will relate what is heard in books or classroom discussions (including Bible lessons) to personal experiences.

 

 

Learning Standard C:  Apply acquired information, concepts, and ideas to communicate in a variety of formats.

 

Objective 1:      Students will communicate information and their faith to others using a variety of materials, settings, classroom activities, and play experiences.

Objective 2:      Students will grow in their ability to focus when communicating ideas.