By the end of the school year, all students should be able to:
■ Write a clear, well-organized report using at least two sources of information.
■ Identify main ideas and supporting details in fiction and nonfiction informational texts.
■ Compare and contrast information on one topic from two different sources.
■ Take notes to record data, facts, and ideas.
■ Develop original stories that contain characters, plot, setting, and dialogue.
■ Use note-taking and graphic organizers to record and organize information and ideas recalled from books read aloud.
■ Decode grade-level words using phonics and word structures (such as root words, verb endings, plurals, and contractions).
■ Learn new vocabulary and concepts by reading books and using a dictionary and a thesaurus.
■ Edit written work independently for spelling and conventional capitalization and punctuation.
■ Read and understand written directions.
Learning at Home
The following strategies can be done in the families’ native languages as well as in English.
Invite your child to write a review of a book, movie, musical work, or Web site at the New York Public Library’s “On-Lion” for Kids, kids.nypl.org/reviews.
Start a family reference library with a dictionary and other books that relate to things your child is studying. Encourage your child to get in the habit of using reference materials to find correct spellings and definitions. Include online references, such as a dictionary site like www.m-w.com.
Ask your child to write an original story or poem to read to younger siblings or neighbors or let your older child write and direct a play featuring the younger children.
Set aside time for personal reading every day. Turn off the television, computer, games, phones, and other distractions and let everyone read quietly—by themselves or to each other.