Playbook® Applicability to

MASSACHUSETTS

State Standards in Language Arts

Kindergarten through Grade Six

Reading a Playbook® in the classroom meets the following Massachusetts standards in English Language Arts and Reading:

 

Language Strand

Learning Standard 1:

Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups. These rules include active listening, staying on topic or creating an appropriate transition to a new topic, building on the ideas of previous speakers, showing consideration of others' contributions to the discussion, avoiding sarcasm and personal remarks, taking turns, and gaining the floor in appropriate ways.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run small group discussion.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Apply understanding of agreed-upon rules and individual roles in a variety of discussion formats.

 

Learning Standard 2:

Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Contribute knowledge in class discussion to develop the framework for a class project.

Learning Standard 4:

Students will acquire and use correctly an advanced reading vocabulary of English words, identifying meanings through an understanding of word relationships.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify and use correctly in all content areas words related as antonyms, synonyms, members of classifications, compounds, homophones, and homographs; and words related through prefixes and suffixes. Use a dictionary when necessary.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Identify and use correctly in all content areas words related as synonyms or shades of meaning, antonyms, and homographs; and words related through word parts and word origins. Use a dictionary or related reference.

Learning Standard 5:

Students will identify, describe, and apply knowledge of the structure of the English language and standard English conventions for sentence structure, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify parts of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, and adjectives), punctuation (e.g., end marks, commas for series, apostrophes), capitalization (e.g., countries, cities, names of people, months, days), paragraph indentation, usage (e.g., subject and verb agreement), sentence structure (e.g., fragments, run-ons), and standard English spelling.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Identify all parts of speech, types of sentences (e.g., simple, compound, and complex), mechanics (e.g., quotation marks, comma at the end of a dependent clause before a main clause), usage (pronoun reference), sentence structure (parallelism, properly placed modifiers), and standard English spelling (homophones).

Learning Standard 6:

Students will describe and analyze how oral dialects differ from each other in English, how they differ from written standard English, and what role standard American English plays in informal and formal communication.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify variations in the dialogue of literary characters and explain how these variations relate to differences in the characters' occupations or social groups, or the geographic region of the story.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Analyze how dialects associated with informal and formal speaking contexts are reflected in slang, jargon, and language styles of different groups and individuals.

Learning Standard 8:

Students will decode accurately and understand new words encountered in their reading materials, drawing on a variety of strategies as needed, and then use these words accurately in speaking and writing.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Use their knowledge of phonics, syllabication, suffixes; the meanings of prefixes; a dictionary; or context clues to decode and understand new words, and use these words accurately in their own writing.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Use their knowledge of Greek and Latin roots as well as context clues and glossaries to understand the specialized vocabulary in the content areas, and use these words accurately in speaking and writing.

Learning Standard 9:

Students will identify the basic facts and essential ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify the basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed, drawing on such strategies as recalling prior knowledge, previewing illustrations and headings to make predictions, listening to others' ideas, and comparing information from several sources.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Identify basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed, drawing on such strategies as recalling genre characteristics, setting a purpose, generating essential questions, and clarifying ideas by rereading and discussing.

Learning Standard 10:

Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the characteristics of different genres.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Distinguish among common forms of literature such as poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction, and drama and identify such differences as these:
    1. poetry is written in verse and commonly associated with images, concrete descriptive phrases, and the figurative language of similes and metaphors;
    2. prose is associated with straightforward statements, unadorned by imagery and closer to everyday speech than poetry;
    3. fiction is associated with narrative, novel, and short story, as opposed to
    4. non-fiction, which is associated with presentation of facts, concepts, and ideas.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Identify and analyze the characteristics of four major genres - non-fiction, fiction, drama, and poetry - as forms chosen by an author to accomplish a purpose.

Learning Standard 11:

Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify themes in fictional and non-fictional works, and relate them to personal experience or to the experiences of others.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Apply knowledge of the concept that theme refers to the main idea and meaning of a selection, whether it is implied or stated directly, and analyze and evaluate similar themes across a variety of selections, distinguishing theme from topic.

Learning Standard 12:

Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify the elements of plot, character, and setting in a favorite story and use these elements in their own stories.

Grade 5-Grade 6

  • Locate and analyze elements of plot and characterization and then use an understanding of these elements to compose a short essay on how the qualities of the central characters determine resolution of the conflict.

Learning Standard 13:

Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and meaning of non-fiction or informational material and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Pre K-Grade 4

  • Identify and use the following structures to gain meaning from informational materials:
    1. Common expository organizational structures such as comparison and contrast, chronological or logical order, and cause and effect,
    2. Text and graphic features such as topic sentences, headings, key words, diagrams, illustrations, charts, and maps.

      3. Grade 5-Grade 6

      • Identify and use common expository organizational structures and graphic features to comprehend information and compose reports or presentations in all academic disciplines.

      Learning Standard 14:

      Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and theme of poetry and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

      PreK-4

      Identify a regular beat and similarities of sounds in words in responding to rhythm and rhyme in poetry.

      5-8

      Respond to and analyze the effects of sound in poetry (alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, and rhyme scheme).

      Learning Standard 15:

      Students will identify and analyze how an author's choice of words appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone.

      PreK-4

      Identify words appealing to the senses or involving direct or indirect comparisons in literature.

      5-8

      Identify sensory imagery and direct or indirect comparisons when responding to literature, and then choose words for these purposes in their own compositions.

      Learning Standard 16:

      Students will compare and contrast similar myths and narratives from different cultures and geographic regions.

      PreK-4

      Compare tales from different cultures by tracing the exploits of one character type or by observing the use of such natural phenomena as the seasons, constellations, land formations, or animal behaviors.

      5-8

      Compare variants of complex folktales and develop theories to account for the presence of similar tales in diverse cultures, even when there is no evidence for direct contact among these cultures.

      Learning Standard 17:

      Students will interpret the meaning of literary works, non-fiction, films, and media by using different critical lenses and analytic techniques.

      PreK-4

      Interpret the meaning of different selections of literary works and non-fiction, noting how different uses of language shape the reader's expectation of how to read and interpret texts.

      5-8

      Analyze how a short story, poem, film, or essay can be shown to reflect the author's personal history, attitudes, and beliefs; or how a film or work of literature can be shown to reflect the period, ideas, customs, and outlooks of a people living in a particular time in history.

      Learning Standard 18:

      Students will plan and present effective dramatic readings, recitations, and performances that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience and purpose.

      PreK-4

      Plan and perform readings of selected texts using clear diction and voice quality (pitch, tempo, and tone) appropriate to the selection.

      5-8

      Develop characters through the use of basic acting skills (such as memorization, sensory recall, concentration, diction, body alignment, and expressive gesture), and describe the artistic choices made in their development.

      Learning Standard 19:

      Students will write compositions with a clear focus, developing the composition with logically related ideas and adequate supporting detail.

      PreK-4

      Write well-organized compositions with a beginning, middle, and end, drawing on a variety of strategies as needed to generate and organize ideas.

      5-8

      Write coherent compositions with a clear focus and supporting ideas, drawing on strategies that are most helpful for developing and organizing their ideas.

      Learning Standard 20:

      Students will select and use appropriate genres, modes of reasoning, and speaking styles when writing for different audiences and rhetorical purposes. (See Figure G)

      PreK-4

      Use a variety of forms or genres when writing for different audiences.

      5-8

      Select and use appropriate genres to achieve different rhetorical purposes.

      Learning Standard 21:

      Students will demonstrate improvement in organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone, and word choice (diction) in their compositions after revising them.

      PreK-4

      Revise their writing to improve level of detail and logical sequence after looking for missing information and determining if their ideas follow each other in a logical order.

      5-8

      Revise their writing to improve organization and diction after checking the logic underlying the order of their ideas and the precision of their vocabulary.

      Learning Standard 22:

      Students will use knowledge of standard English conventions to edit their writing.

      PreK-4

      Use knowledge of punctuation (e.g., end marks,commas for series, apostrophes, capitalization, paragraph breaks), usage (e.g., subject and verb agreement), sentence structure (e.g., fragments, run-ons) to edit their writing.

      5-8

      Use knowledge of types of sentences (e.g., simple, compound, and complex), mechanics (e.g., quotation marks, comma at the end of a dependent clause before a main clause), usage (pronoun reference), sentence structure (parallelism, properly placed modifiers), and standard English spelling (homophones) to edit their writing.

      Learning Standard 23:

      Students will use self-generated questions, note-taking, summarizing, précis writing, and outlining to enhance learning when reading or writing.

      PreK-4

      Generate their own relevant questions in their exploration of a topic.

      5-8

      Generate questions, take notes, and summarize information gleaned from reference works and experts for a research project.

      Learning Standard 24:

      Students will use open-ended research questions, different sources of information, and appropriate research methods to gather information for their research projects.

      PreK-4

      Formulate open-ended research questions to explore a topic of interest.

      5-8

      Formulate open-ended research questions to explore a topic of class interest and devise appropriate ways to document and display the information they gather.

      Learning Standard 25:

      Students will develop and use appropriate rhetorical, logical, and stylistic criteria for assessing final versions of their compositions or research projects before presenting them to varied audiences.

      PreK-4

      Form and explain their own standards or judgments of quality, display them in the classroom, and present them to family members.

      5-8

      Use prescribed criteria from a scoring rubric to evaluate their own and others' compositions, recitations, or performances before presenting them to an audience.

      Learning Standard 26:

      Students will obtain information by using a variety of media and evaluate the quality of material they obtain.

      PreK-4

      Use electronic media for research.

      5-8

      Use a variety of media such as computerized card catalogs, on-line data bases, and electronic almanacs and encyclopedias for research.

      Learning Standard 27:

      Students will explain how the techniques used in electronic media modify traditional forms of discourse for different aesthetic and rhetorical purposes.

      PreK-4

      Identify techniques used in television and use their knowledge to distinguish between facts and misleading information.

      5-8

      Analyze the effect on the reader's or viewer's emotions of text and image in print journalism, and images, text, and sound in electronic journalism, distinguishing the techniques used in each to achieve these effects.

      Learning Standard 28:

      Students will design and create coherent media productions with a clear controlling idea, adequate detail, and appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and medium.

      PreK-4

      Create age-appropriate media productions (radio script, television play, audiotape, etc.) for display or transmission.

      5-8

      Evaluate when to use different kinds of images (images, music, sound effects, graphics) to create an effective production.