Brandi, how do I plan for Language Arts, it’s so big and confusing?

Yep! This is a common feeling from language arts teachers.

How do you make a plan?

All other subjects have units that are nice and tidy.

Not language arts, it’s the beauty and the curse!

Many teachers want to pull a Grande, “Thank you, next!”

But, wait!

I fell in love with planning. So can you!

First, you need to find your standards or program of studies.

What is that? It’s EVERYTHING!!!!

In Alberta you find them here.

It all begins there.

This is a key visual from the Alberta Assessment Consortium. Notice the start (Orange) – WHAT WILL THE STUDENTS LEARN?

Next year I will be a Learning Coach and a Grade 4 teacher.  So I will be using grade 4 to illustrate the planning process.

The first thing I did was read the grade 4 illustrative outcome document and make it into a Google Slide Presentation.

Why? Cause it looks so much prettier AND you can have a place to brainstorm or collaborate with grade partners.

Then I thought I would go through and code the outcomes and examples using different colors.  (Note I didn’t completely finish, but I wanted to share the slides for you to use.)

In this way, I could truly see what was embedded in grade 4 language arts.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if I could create a checklist of content/skills. (see below)

So much became obvious when I did that.

There is much more to language arts than reading books and writing stories.

According to the program of studies, there are a variety of formats to read and gather information

We need to understand that students who struggle with reading novels and writing stories, can excel at creating a rap, making a newscast or performing a recipe.

Celebrate all the ARTS in Language Arts –  reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing.

Of course, the program of studies is older than dirt, so please add those natural tech connections.

And say “Thank you, Next” to CD ROMs!

As I continue to create my plans, I will post my progress. This is just the beginning. It’s getting messy, so stay tuned!

Until Next Time,

Coach Clark

Grade 4 – CHECKLIST

TEXT TYPES (have a variety or oral, written, media texts and experiences)

 

• Posters

• Cartoons

• Comic Strips

• Mysteries

• Folktales

• Poetry

• Informational texts

• Adventure stories

• Novels (books)

• Videos

• Newspaper articles

• Textbook

• Maps, atlases, charts, junior dictionary, school libraries, elders in the community, field trips, museums, websites

• Advertisements, signs, logos and jingles

• Plays

• School performances

• Storybooks

• Historical Novel

 

READING

 

• Strategies for unfamiliar words

Student 1: I reread when I don’t understand.

Student 2: I look at the pictures.

Student 3: I break a word into parts.

Student 4: I sound words out.

Student 5: I skip the word, finish the sentence, then go back and try to figure it out.

Student 6: I think about where I’ve heard a word before and think of how it fits with the sentence

• Monitor for understanding (inferences and predictions)

• Reread

• Make and revise predictions

• Preview sections of print text – skim

• Develop own opinion based on ideas

• Respond personally

• Reflect personal responses

• Sentence starters  (reader response)

• I liked/disliked the character when …

• I liked how the author/speaker/filmmaker …

• In my opinion …

• I think the author/speaker/illustrator should have

• Express preferences (using evidence from personal experience and text)

• Identify other perspectives

• Note similarities and differences (also between self and other cultures)

• Make general evaluative statements

• Connect own ideas, opinions and experiences (to oral and visual representations)

• Identity the general impression and main idea

• Comprehend new ideas

• Recall important points

• Communicate ideas and information

• Describe experiences

• Find details

• Use ideas and concepts

• Locate and understand

• Identify and discuss

• Describe and compare

• Use a pre-established criteria to give feedback (2 I like – 1 I wonder)  I think the main character…It would be nice to know more about…I was wondering why you…I thought the ending..
• Select preferred forms
• Write a letter (Pen Pal)
• Retell

• Express personal opinions

• Talk about books
• Paint a scene

WORD STUDY

• Prefixes and suffixes EXAMPLE re- (again), pre- (before), un- (not), bi- (two), and suffixes, such as -less (without),
  • root words,
  • compound words,
  • syllabication,
  • contractions and

• complex word families

• Extend sight word vocabulary (use webs/maps/themes/topics)

• Wordplay, repetition and rhyme (arrangement/repetition of words)

• onomatopoeia and alliteration

• Identify simple and compound structures in your writing

• Identify correct pronoun and noun agreement, use in writing

• Identify past, present and future action

• Identify and reduce fragments and run-on sentences

• use alphabetical order
• Collect words related to interest and topics of study

SPELLING

• Identify and apply common spelling generalizations

• Change y to i to add es

• Change y to i to add er and est

• Change y to i to add ing and ed

• locate words

• Spell check (confirm spellings)

 

TEXT ARTISTRY

• colour, font size and style (cartoons)

• Repetition is used to reinforce a message – rules, warnings, persuasion, promoting products (advertisements,logos, signs, jingles)

 

TEXT FEATURES

• use text features, such as headings, subheadings and margin organizers, picture captions, questions, chapter introduction and summary, maps, legends, questions in text

• Use indices, legends, charts, glossaries, typographical features, guide words

• Use headings (to organize writing)

• Use display labels (to access information)

• photographs, captions, maps and artifacts

 

REVISION and EDITING (Conventions)

• Revise first draft by adding detail to explain emotion

• Revise to ensure an understandable progression of ideas

• Revising and editing language (e.g insert, delete, view. format, cut, copy, paste, spell check, format, fonts, ident)

• Editing for clarity

• Deleting for abundance

• Clip pictures from magazines (collage)

• Edit for subject-verb agreement

• Capitalize beginning of quotations and organizations (add previous years)

• Use commas after introductory words and citing addresses

• Use quotation marks for passages of dialogue

• Write legibly

 

SPEAKING and PRESENTING

 

• Speaking – expression, speed, volume, clarity

• Audience influences vocabulary, style and language

• Presentation – informative and entertaining

• Adjust volume, tone of voice, gestures

• Recognize English and language from other cultures

• brainstorm questions to ask a guest speaker

 

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Character, theme, setting, style, illustrations (variety including other cultures)

• Connect the thoughts and actions of characters

• Identify main events, causes and describe how they influence subsequent events

• Identify and explain events among events, setting and main characters

• Demonstrate clear relationships between character and plot

• identify the speaker or narrator

• Place a favorite character in a new setting (write about it)

 

 

AUTHOR STUDY

 

• Favorite author

• Same author, illustrator, storyteller, film maker (author study)

 

ORGANIZATION

• Focus (topics)

• Draft and discuss

• Outline

• Sequential order

• Logical sequence

• Frame (comics and cartoons)

• Focus topics

• use organizational patterns of expository texts

• Explain organizational structure (recipe)

• Organize ideas using appropriate categories, chronological order, cause and effect, posing and answering questions

• Record information in categories on a semantic map/web

• Organize ideas into sections

 

FILM STUDIES

• long shot for the setting, close-up for dialogue, cut/fade for change of setting and voice-over for narration (film studies)

• Combine detail, voice over, music and dialogue – sequence of events

 

RESEARCH SKILLS

• Identify information sources that inform, persuade, entertain

• Develop and follow a class plan for accessing and gathering ideas

• Write key ideas

• Make note of key images, phrases, images by subtopic

• Examine gathered information

• Search for more information

• Communicate ideas and information

• Record the authors and titles of sources (list alphabetically)

• Give constructive feedback, ask relevant questions, and express related opinions

• Collaborate to achieve group goals (Do group research)

• Ask for and provide assistance (in groups to achieve group goals)
• Identify strengths and areas for improvement in research process – What worked well? What could I do next time?

Planning my research-selecting my resources-organizing my data, recording my information, evaluating

• Assess group process, using established criteria, and determine areas for improvement – Yes No Sometimes – Did we complete our assignment? Did we take turns without interrupting? Did we stay on task? Did we encourage everyone to share their ideas? What can we change next time?

ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Greeting guests appropriately

• Identify and use appropriate language in school and other contexts

• Ask relevant questions

• Respond to questions

• Present a poem

• Present to peers (topics of interest)

• Select and use visuals

• Dramatizes  (add props, pictures, backgrounds and artifacts)

• Presenting – cue cards, props and music

• Use a painting to add detail for a backdrop

 

GOAL SETTING

• Identify areas for achievement and areas for enhancement

 

READING and CREATING

• Journal entry

• Diary entry

• Science Log

• Mathematics Log

• Reading log

• Dialog Journal

• Poetry reading (poems)

• Science Experiments

• Comic Strips

• Cartoons

• Magazine pictures

• Advertisements, signs, logos and jingles

• Reader’s theatre (reading, creating, presenting)

• Produce narratives

• Thank you letter

• Picture

• Recipe

• Personal Phone List

• Class Scrapbook

• Email

• Bulletin board display

• Produce Narratives (individual and collaborative)

• Create a wordless picture book (for example buddy gr. 1 class)

• Make a book cover

• Create posters

• Create a collage

• Create a diorama

• Create a trifold

• Autobiographical sketch

• Produce oral, print and other media texts

• Presentation

• Backdrops/Puppet play

• Short Reports

• Talk shows

• Writing instructions

• Rap

• Newscast

• Act out

 

 

TEXT and TECH TOOLS

• Draw (sketch)

• Paint

• Chart (individual and group)

• Create a KWL chart

• Storyboard (pictorial and/or words)

• Story map

• Idea Web

• Cluster diagram

• Venn diagram

• Create a timeline

• Legend with illustrations

• Graph

• Topographical relief map

• Make labels for a collection

• Select visuals, prints or other media

• Follow a class plan (for research)

• Create a class calendar of events

• Computer drawing program – google drawings

• Computer geography program – google earth

• Video program – video (YouTube etc)

 

INSPIRATION FROM…

• Hobbies

• Collections

• Experiences

 

THINKING and DOCUMENTING PROCESSES

• Brainstorm

• Listening

• Webbing

• Discuss

• Compare

• Ask questions

• Critique

• Paraphrase

• Comment

• Share (personal responses) (ideas) (information) (resources)

• Talk

• Describe

• Relates

• Record

• Make a list

• Use Jot notes

• Surveys

• Document (with photographs)

• View (watches)

• Review

• Explains

• Summarize

• Report