By the end of the school year, all students should be able to:
■ Use a variety of strategies, such as asking questions, rereading, summarizing, and visualization, to support understanding of text that is read.
■ Determine how the use of literary devices (such as simile and metaphor) conveys the author’s message. Simile is the direct comparison of two different things; metaphor is an indirect comparison or reference to how different things are alike.
■ Recognize how characters in a story change over time.
■ Read and understand at least 25 books, including at least four books about one subject or by the same author or in one genre of literature.
■ Keep a portfolio of original writing with different styles and purposes, such as informational writing (articles and reports); literary writing (stories, poems, and nonfiction); interpretive writing (such as book or movie reviews); and responsive writing (such as letters to the editor).
■ Read silently and aloud from a variety of genres.
■ Present five- to seven-minute reports on topics related to school subjects, using notes, outlines, and visual aids.
■ Use persuasive language, tone, volume, and gestures to convince an audience of a point of view.
■ Take notes while listening, recognizing, and recording the essential details.
■ Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms (words that mean the same thing) and antonyms (words that have opposite meanings).
Learning at Home
The following strategies can be done in the families’ native languages as well as in English.
Encourage your child to ask a librarian or a salesperson in a bookstore to recommend books of interest to him or her.
Show interest in your child’s writing. Ask to read his or her recent work and talk about ideas your child is thinking about developing into poems, essays, or stories.
Challenge your child to find new ways to express ideas in writing. For example, see how many ways your child can describe an emotion, such as “happy” or “excited.” To find synonyms online, go to www.m-w.com and click on “Thesaurus.”
Invite your child to attend an adult gathering, such as a neighborhood meeting or a meal at a restaurant, to develop his or her speaking and listening skills.