By the end of the school year, all students should be able to:
■ Use their knowledge of root words, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and plurals to decode grade-level words.
■ Read common word families (“sat,” “cat,” “mat,” etc.).
■ Read grade-level texts with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression.
■ Study antonyms, synonyms, and homonyms, as well as categories of words (such as animals and place names) to
learn new grade-level vocabulary.
■ Write about what they have read in different ways: to describe the characters, setting, or events; to list a sequence of events in a story; to retell a story using words that they know; to identify a problem and solution in a simple story.
■ Use punctuation marks, such as commas, question marks, and periods as clues to help express the meaning of sentences when reading. For example, know that a period means to stop and an exclamation point means to read with extra energy.
■ Write or draw pictures to capture important understandings (share what they have learned about a topic, respond to an experience).
■ Use comprehension strategies (such as predict/confirm, reread, self-correct, ask questions) to clarify the meaning of what they have read.
■ Speak for different purposes, and vary language (formal or informal) according to the purpose of communication (to inform, to entertain, etc.).
■ Identify and produce letter-sound correspondences, including consonants and short and long vowels, such as knowing the difference between the “a” in “mat” and the “a” in “mate.”
■ Discuss stories and themes or topics in small or large group settings.
Learning at Home
The following strategies can be done in the families’ native languages as well as in English.
Be a friendly audience as your child acts out stories from books or television shows. Talk about how different characters feel or what they might do next.
Read aloud with your child. Children also can hear and read books online in English, French, or Spanish at the New York Public Library’s site, “On-Lion” for Kids. Go to kids.nypl.org and click on “TumbleBooks.”
Collect new words from books you read together. When you find a new word, ask your child to write it on a small card or sheet of paper and put it in a place where you both can see it. See how many times you can use the word.
Ask family members to send letters to your child and encourage your child to write back.
Take your child to your local library every week.