English Language Arts 3

Texts and why they are made

I can say what a text is, tell whether it was made to inform or to entertain, and explain which texts I enjoy and why.

Fiction and non-fiction

I can tell fiction from non-fiction by what the text says, not by how it looks.

Literary forms and how they are built

I can name forms such as plays, short stories and comics, and explain how a text's form helps a reader.

Realistic and historical fiction

I can tell realistic fiction from historical fiction by the time, the place and the characters.

Myths and mysteries

I can tell a myth from a mystery and from other kinds of fiction by its content and characters.

Tables of contents and headings

I can use a table of contents and headings to find what I need, and say what a feature adds.

Maps, graphs and images

I can read the information in images, maps and graphs, and add a feature that helps my own writing.

Story structure: beginning to ending

I can find the beginning, problem, events, solution and ending of a story, and explain how they fit together.

Major characters, setting, plot and narrator

I can find the major characters, the setting and the plot of a story, and say who is telling it.

Chapters, collections and circular plots

I can explain how chapters, collections and circular plots organize a story.

Showing a story in a new way

I can show a story in a new way, a comic, a model or a scene, that shows its characters, setting and plot.

Kinds of non-fiction

I can name kinds of non-fiction and explain how each one shares facts about real things.

How non-fiction is organized

I can tell how a non-fiction text is organized and explain how that helps me understand it.

Words used creatively in poetry

I can find words used creatively in a poem and explain the picture or feeling they create.

Haiku and limericks

I can write a haiku with five, seven and five syllables and a limerick with the rhyme pattern AABBA.

Listening strategies

I can use listening strategies: know why I am listening, ask a good question, check what I missed, and respond in a way that fits.

What listening to texts builds

I can explain what listening to a text gives me: new words, new knowledge, and the wish to find out more.

Dialogue: listening, staying on topic, asking, adding

I can take part in a dialogue by listening, staying on topic, asking questions and adding my own ideas.

How dialogue helps learning and friendship

I can explain how talking with others helps us learn and get along, and use other people's ideas in a discussion.

Voice quality, loudness and clear words

I can make my voice loud enough and my words clear enough for every listener.

Phrasing and pausing when speaking

I can group my words into phrases and use pauses to help listeners understand and to make a point stand out.

Relaxation, breathing, posture and focus

I can get my body and mind ready to speak by relaxing, breathing slowly, standing tall and focusing.

A short speech or oral report

I can plan and give a short speech or oral report with an opening, ideas in a sensible order, and a closing.

Combining words and body language

I can make my words and my body language work together to share ideas and feelings.

Speakers and audiences

I can think about my listeners when I speak, and be a respectful audience member when someone else speaks.

Ways to deliver a presentation

I can choose a way to present, prepared or improvised, alone or in a group, that fits what I want to share.

Performing stories and poems

I can act out characters and events from a story, and say a poem from memory with good phrasing and pauses.

Oral traditions across generations

I can explain how oral traditions pass stories and knowledge between generations, and share something passed down in my own family or community.

Traditional knowledge and respect

I can explain how traditional knowledge is shared in different ways, how it builds community and guides people, and how oral stories show respect.

Context changes and reveals meaning

I can use the sentences around a word to work out what it means, and notice when a word means something different in a new context.

Words that work in many places

I can collect useful new words and use them when I read, talk and write in different subjects.

Subject words

I can learn and use the special words of science, social studies and other subjects.

Synonyms, antonyms, homophones and homographs

I can choose the right synonym, antonym, homophone or meaning for a sentence.

Literal and figurative language, and imagery

I can tell literal from figurative language and use imagery so a reader can picture what I describe.

Similes and hyperbole

I can find and write similes and hyperbole, and explain what each one does.

Bases and affixes

I can split a word into its base and its prefixes and suffixes, and use their meanings to understand the word.

Prefixes: re, un, in, dis, non, mis, mal, sub, super

I can use the meanings of prefixes like re, un, mis and super to understand and build words.

Suffixes that name a person: er, or, ar, ist

I can use the suffixes er, or, ar and ist to name the person who does something.

The suffix ly: how, when and in what order

I can add ly to make adverbs that tell how, how often or in what order.

Compound words and syllables

I can work out the meaning of common compound words and count the syllables in words.

Consonant clusters and less common digraphs

I can read and spell words with clusters like str and mps, and with less common digraphs like ph, gh and ch.

Silent consonants

I can read and spell words with silent consonants, like know, write, sign, hour and listen.

Chunking big words into small parts

I can chunk a big word into syllables or word parts to read it.

Long and short vowels in longer words

I can decide whether each syllable of a long word has a long or a short vowel, and read the word.

Decoding complex words in sentences

I can work out a long new word in a sentence by chunking and blending, and check that it makes sense.

Spelling with sound-letter patterns

I can spell new words by matching each sound to its letters, including clusters and digraphs, and check by reading back.

Pace, stress, phrasing and pausing

I can read harder texts aloud at a good pace, with the right words stressed and the pauses in the right places.

What fluent reading is made of

I can explain the three parts of fluent reading and how they help me understand and help my listeners enjoy it.

Reading common and complex words automatically

I can read common words, familiar long words and common phrases instantly in sentences, so my attention stays on the meaning.

Fluent reading of different text forms

I can read poems, plays, instructions and information texts aloud the way each one needs, and I keep practising to get more fluent.

Finding the most important information

I can find the most important idea in a text, wherever it is, and check that it fits the whole text.

Key ideas and specific details

I can find the details that support a main idea, leave out the ones that do not, and say how they fit together.

Summarizing in a logical order

I can summarize a text by choosing its key ideas, putting them in a logical order, and writing them in my own words.

Connecting a text to your own life

I can connect what I read to my own feelings, experiences and knowledge, and say how the connection helps me understand.

Connections within and between texts

I can connect one part of a text to another part, and one text to another, and explain what the link shows.

Connecting texts to the world

I can connect a text to things happening in the world, in the past, now or in the future.

Questions that lead to inferences

I can ask and answer questions about a text, and use questions to work out what the text does not say.

Predicting, checking and changing predictions

I can make a prediction from clues and what I know, point to its evidence, change it when the text gives new clues, and say what I learned from it.

Making inferences

I can work out what a text does not say by putting its clues together with what I know.

Characters' actions, feelings and motives

I can explain what a character does, feels and wants, and point to the evidence in the text.

Noticing where meaning breaks and fixing it

I can notice the exact place where a text stops making sense, fix it with the right strategy, and know which fixes work best for me.

Sharing important information in your own words

I can share the important information from a text in order and in my own words, and use that to check I understood.

Reading longer and more complex texts on your own

I can read longer and harder texts on my own, keep track of them over several days, and show what I understood.

Writing a topic sentence

I can write a topic sentence that tells what my paragraph is about and use it to check my other sentences.

Building a paragraph from three to five sentences

I can build a paragraph of three to five sentences that all add to one idea, in order, with no repeats.

Putting sections in a logical order

I can put the paragraphs of my writing in a sensible order and help the reader move from one to the next.

Focused sentences, no run-ons, and writing that sounds right

I can write sentences that each hold a few ideas, fix run-ons, and read my writing aloud to check it sounds right.

Varying sentence beginnings and types

I can start my sentences in different ways and mix sentence types to make my writing interesting.

Planning and drafting

I can plan for my audience, purpose and form, organize my ideas with a graphic organizer or a sketch, and write a draft straight through.

Revising for accuracy, clarity and appeal

I can revise my writing by adding, taking out or changing words and sentences to make it more accurate, clearer or more interesting.

Editing, presenting and sharing

I can edit my writing for spelling, punctuation and grammar, present it in a way that fits, and choose what to share and how.

Audience, purpose and form

I can choose a form that fits my audience and purpose, and pick a form that suits the thoughts and feelings I want to share.

Finding and growing creative ideas

I can find ideas for writing in my life, what I know, my imagination and what I read, and brainstorm to grow them.

Writer's craft, voice and style

I can notice how writers choose words, details and comparisons, and use what I notice in my own writing.

Choosing words that keep readers engaged

I can choose exact words, sensory details, synonyms and opposites that make my writing interesting.

Beginnings that hook and thoughtful endings

I can write a beginning that hooks my reader and an ending that ties things up or leaves them wondering.

Dialogue and punctuation for effect

I can add dialogue to my stories and use punctuation to make readers feel excitement, surprise or suspense.

Persevering through writing challenges

I can keep going when my writing gets hard, by looking things up, trying a new part, or taking a short break.

Questions that focus research

I can turn a topic into a focused question that guides my research.

Finding information and listing sources

I can find information in different kinds of sources, keep it safe, and list where it came from.

Organizing information

I can sort my research facts into groups or put them in order, using a chart, a web or a timeline.

Writing and sharing research findings

I can turn my research into writing for an audience, in my own words, and share it as a report, a presentation or a poster.

Cursive handwriting and writing fluency

I can write some texts in cursive with well-formed letters of the right size, proportion and slant, and choose printing, cursive or typing to write fluently.

Basic keyboarding

I can type using the home row, reaching for keys with the right finger and tapping them lightly.

Subjects and predicates

I can find the subject and the predicate in a sentence and use both to write complete sentences.

Four kinds of sentences

I can tell the four kinds of sentences apart, including commands, and end each one with the right mark.

Capital letters in different contexts

I can use capital letters correctly in sentences, names, quoted speech and headings.

Conjunctions: and, but, or, so, for

I can choose the joining word that shows how two ideas fit together: and, but, or, so or for.

Subject-verb agreement in harder sentences

I can make the subject and the verb agree, even when the subject is joined, has words after it, or comes after the verb.

Commas in lists and between parts of a sentence

I can put commas between the items in a list and where a sentence needs a pause between its parts.

Quotation marks

I can put quotation marks around a speaker's exact words, with the punctuation in the right place, and around a word used in a special way.

Apostrophes in contractions

I can spell contractions with the apostrophe where the letters were left out, including won't.

Proofreading for capitals and punctuation

I can proofread my own writing for capitals, end marks, commas and quotation marks, and fix what I find.

Adjectives and adverbs

I can use adjectives to describe nouns and adverbs to describe verbs, and choose the right one in a sentence.

Prepositions for time and place

I can use prepositions to show exactly when and where things happen.

Possessive nouns: 's and s'

I can show who owns something with 's or s', and spell singular and plural possessives correctly.

Possessive nouns, adjectives and pronouns

I can tell possessive nouns, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns apart and use each one correctly.

Spelling plural nouns

I can spell plurals like ponies, leaves, moose and people correctly.

Inflectional endings and their jobs

I can use endings that show tense, more than one, ownership and comparison correctly in my writing.

Guidelines for adding endings

I can spell words with -ing and -ed by dropping a silent e or doubling the last letter when the guidelines say to.

Spelling prefixes, suffixes and compound words

I can spell prefixes, suffixes and compound words correctly, keeping each part whole.

Spelling patterns and unpredictable words

I can use spelling patterns from words I know to spell new words, and learn the tricky words that break the patterns.

Spelling strategies and tools

I can choose a spelling strategy that fits a word and use a tool to check my spelling.

Abbreviations

I can spell common abbreviations for titles, days, times, measurements and addresses, and know when to use them.