Armbruster et al. (2003) noted that by the end of kindergarten a child should/can be able to do the following things:
Books and Print (p. 24)
· Know the parts of a book and how it is read and held.
· Identify a book’s title and tell what authors and illustrators do.
· Track print from left to right and from top to bottom as someone reads a story aloud.
· Know the relationship between print and pictures.
· Understand that the message of most books is in print, not pictures.
The Alphabet (p. 24)
· Identify shapes and names of upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
· Write many upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently.
Sounds in Spoken Language (p. 25)
· Know that spoken words are made up of separate sounds.
· Recognize and make rhymes.
· Identify words that have the same beginning sound.
· Blend spoken sounds into words.
Phonics and Word Recognition (p. 25)
· Know many letter-sound relationships.
· Understand that the order of sounds in spoken words is the same as the order of sounds in written words.
· Read some common words, such as a, the, I, said, you, is, are.
Reading (p. 25)
· Listen as books are read aloud.
· Ask questions about stories and answer questions.
· Use background knowledge to help understand a story.
· Predict what will happen in a story based on the text and pictures.
· Act out stories or retell them.
· Describe the difference between fiction and nonfiction books and between stories and poems.
Spelling and Writing (p. 26)
· Use phonemic awareness and letter knowledge to spell and write words.
· Begin to spell words correctly.
· Write own name (first and last) and the names of some friends or family members.
· Write some letters or words as they are stated by others.
Vocabulary and Knowledge of the World (p. 26)
· Play with words (shows curiosity toward words/language).
· Use new words in spoken language.
· Use words such as colors, shapes, and numbers (school words).
· Use words such as street names, addresses, or community workers (daily life words).
Armbruster et al. (2003) noted that by the end of 1st grade a child should/can be able to do the following things:
Books and Print (p. 37)
· Tell the difference between words and letters.
· Know that there are spaces between words in print.
· Understand that print represents spoken language and has meaning.
· Know beginning and ending of sentences, where paragraphs begin and end, and various punctuation marks.
· Know why people read.
The Alphabet (p. 37)
· Recognize and name all of the letters in the alphabet.
Sounds in Spoken Language (p. 38)
· Count syllables in words.
· Put together and break apart the sounds of most one-syllable words.
Phonics and Word Recognition (p. 38)
· Show how spoken words are represented by written letters arranged in specified orders.
· Read one-syllable words using skills learned from phonics instruction.
· Use phonics to sound out words not known.
· Recognize irregularly spelled words such as have, said, you, and are.
Reading (p. 38)
· Read first grade books aloud and understand what they mean.
· Say when she is having problems understanding what is read.
· Read and understand simple written instructions.
· Predict what will happen next in stories.
· Discuss what he already knows about topics being read.
· Ask questions (how, why, what if?) about books read.
· Describe (in own words) what she has learned from a book being read.
· Give a reason for reading a book.
Spelling and Writing (p. 39)
· Use invented spelling to try to spell words on own.
· Know there is a correct way to spell words.
· Use simple punctuation marks and capital letters.
· Write for different purposes.
· Write things for others to read.
Vocabulary and Knowledge of the World (p. 39)
· Speak in complete sentences.
· Know that language used in school is more formal than that used at home.
· Talk about the meaning of words and use new words when speaking or writing.
· Begin to see that words mean the same thing or have opposite meanings.
· Recognize that words, such as nouns and verbs, play different roles.
Armbruster et al. (2003) noted that by the end of 2nd grade a child should/can be able to do the following things:
Phonics and Word Recognition (p. 53)
· Read a large number of regularly spelled one- and two-syllable words.
· Figure out how to read a large number of two-syllable words.
· Use phonics skills to sound out unfamiliar words.
· Read many words correctly by sight.
Reading (p. 53)
· Read and understand a variety of second grade level books, both fiction and nonfiction.
· Read for specific purposes and to seek answers to specific questions.
· Answer how, why, what-if questions.
· Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs.
· Recall important information such as main ideas and details of the stories after reading.
· Compare and connect information read in different books and articles.
· Take part in creative responses to stories (drama, oral presentation).
Spelling and Writing (pp. 53-54)
· Pay attention to the spelling of words.
· Correctly spell words that are studied.
· Spell words the way they sound if they are unknown.
· Write for various purposes.
· Write stories, reports, or letters.
· Make good judgments about what to include in writing.
· Participate in writing conferences (and use revising and editing techniques).
· Pay attention to mechanics of writing in final version of papers.
Vocabulary (p. 54)
· Want to learn new words and share them with others.
· Use clues from context to figure out word meaning.
· Use word parts such as prefixes, root words, and suffixes to figure out meaning.
· Increase vocabulary use through antonyms and synonyms.
· Use different parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives) correctly.
· Learn new words through independent reading.
· Investigate topics of interest independently.
Armbruster et al. (2003) noted that by the end of 3rd grade a child should/can do the following things:
Phonics and Word Recognition (p. 55)
· Use phonics skills and word parts (prefixes, suffixes, root words) to figure out how to pronounce unknown words.
Reading (p. 55)
· Read with fluency.
· Read a variety of third-grade level materials.
· Read longer stories/chapter books independently.
· Summarize main points of fiction and nonfiction books.
· Pinpoint and discuss words or phrases that interfere with comprehension.
· Discuss themes of stories.
· Ask how, why, and what-if questions.
· Distinguish between cause and effect, fact from opinion, and main ideas that have supporting details.
· Use information to evaluate explanations and what is read.
· Read and comprehend information from graphs and charts.
· Use context clues to gather meaning from what is read.
Spelling and Writing (pp. 55-56)
· Correctly spell words that are studied.
· Review own work for errors in mechanics.
· Use literary words and sentences in writing (e.g., figurative language).
· Combine information in compositions from many sources such as articles, books, computer information.
· Edit and revise compositions (with some assistance).
· Discuss own writing with other children and respond helpfully to other children’s writing.
Vocabulary (p. 56)
· Desire to learn and share new words at school and at home.
· Use context clues to figure out word meanings.
· Use knowledge of word parts to figure out word meanings.
· Increase vocabulary by using synonyms and antonyms.
· Use different parts of speech correctly.
· Develop vocabulary and knowledge through independent reading.
· Explore topics of interest on own.
· Use variety of sources to find information.