Download Language Conventions

English Language Arts Curriculum
Language: Conventions
Grades K-8
Based on the Common Core State Standards
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See also Language: Vocabulary Acquisition & Use and
Reading Foundational Skills scopes for additional goals
related to understanding and applying words.
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Introduction & Contents
Conventions of Standard English are a prominent component of the
Common Core State Standards in Language. This document takes those
standards at each grade level and provides several useful tools.
1. The “Big Idea” of Standard English. This concept map shows how
Conventions are related to Standard English, what Conventions
includes, what shapes Conventions, and the impact of Conventions on
writing. The map depicts “where” key concepts critical to the study and
application of conventions “stand” relative to one another. Although the
map is intended for teacher background knowledge and study, all or
parts of it can be shared or used with students in adapted format, with
the goal of students being able to fully unpack and explain it themselves
by the end of 12th grade (or sooner, but in less sophisticated ways).
2. Standard English: What Is It? Who Needs It? A Progression of
Essential Questions. Selected CCSS Language standards ask students to
understand and apply their knowledge of standard English in
increasingly sophisticated ways. To fully understand and exercise the
power of the English language in its wide range of forms, from more
formal to more informal, students must grasp why there is a “standard”
form at all. Teachers can address the need for and purposes of standard
English by framing the study of “standard” conventions (e.g., grammar,
punctuation) around these essential questions/inquiries that students
might actually wonder.
3. Progression of Conventions-Related Knowledge & Skills. This chart
organizes the key knowledge and skills at each grade level in the
standards themselves into categories that help teachers see where and
which specific aspects of conventions are targeted. The skills marked
with a asterisk (*) are those that the CCSS notes are “particularly likely to
require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly
sophisticated writing and speaking.” The CCSS also reminds teachers that
students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s gradespecific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings
mastered in the preceding grades.
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Standard English
is guided by
Conventions
of/in
Grammar
(the rules that govern how words,
clauses and phrases are put
together)
Punctuation
Capitalization
(which or what kinds of words
begin with a capital letter)
(the symbols within, between, before,
and after words that structure and
organize language so that it can be
written/spoken as intended)
Spelling
(writing words using the
correct or widely-accepted
sequence of letters)
as determined or altered by the writer’s or speaker’s
Purpose/Choice
Context
Tone
Style
for
Jessica'Hockett'(2013)
!
Effect
Consistency
Clarity
Precision
Conciseness
Efficiency
Standard English: What Is It? Who Needs It? – A Progression of Essential Questions Jessica A. Hockett (2013)
Kindergarten
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Grade 1
What does what I say and hear “look like”?
(How do I write the words I hear and say? What
goes on the page)?
Recognize that spoken English can be written
down in a way that everyone can read and
understand. [Implied but not explicitly stated in
CCSS-ELA]
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Grade 3
What’s the difference between the English that
people hear/say and the English that people
write?
Recognize and observe differences between the
conventions of spoken and written standard
English. (L.3.3.b)!
How do I write what I say and hear? How can I make sure
others can read (and understand) what I write?
Begin to use conventions of standard written English. [Implied
but not explicitly stated in CCSS-ELA]
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Grade 2
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What’s the “right” way to write/speak English?
(Is there a “right” way? Says who?)
Compare formal and informal uses of English.
(L.2.3)
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Grade 4
Grade 5
How “formal” does my English need to be?
When and why does “formal” English matter?
Where/why do we read/hear different “flavors”
of formal and informal English?
Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English
(e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal
discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion).
(L.4.3.c)
Compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g.,
dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems.
(L.5.3.b)
Grades 6-12
Grades 9-10
Grades 11-12
What does standard English look like and sound
like? What are the benefits and limitations of a
“standard” English? How “standard” does a
writer’s/speaker’s English need to be?
What choices do writers/speakers have when it comes to
using to standard English? Who or what decides?
Who or what decides what standard English is,
and when and how to use it? To “change” it?
Recognize variations from standard English in their
own and others' writing and speaking, and identify
and use strategies to improve expression in
conventional language.* (L.6.1.e) *To be addressed 612
Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial,
participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent,
dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings
and add variety and interest to writing or presentations. (L.910.1.b)
Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a
style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for Writers)
appropriate for the discipline and writing type. (L.9-10.3.a)
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Apply the understanding that [English-language
standard] usage is a matter of convention, can change
over time, and is sometimes contested. (L.11-12.1.a)
Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g.,
Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed; apply
an understanding of syntax to the study of complex
texts when reading. (L.11-12.1.b)
Write and edit work so that it conforms to the
guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook,
Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the
discipline and writing type. (L.11-12.3.a)
ELA$Common$Core$State$Standards$Conventions)of)Standard)English)Progression$$
Organized*by*Dr.*Jessica*Hockett*
Kindergarten
Nouns
•
•
Use frequently occurring nouns
Form regular plural nouns orally by adding
/s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
Grade 1
•
•
Use collective nouns (e.g., group).
Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural
nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).
•
Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns (e.g., I, me, my;
they, them, their; anyone, everything).
•
Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
•
Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences
(e.g., He hops; We hop).
Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future (e.g., Yesterday
I walked home; Today I walk home; Tomorrow I will walk home).
•
Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring
irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
•
Use frequently-occurring adjectives.
•
Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between
them depending on what is to be modified.
•
Use frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., during, beyond, toward).
•
Use frequently occurring conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or, so, because).
Understand and use question words
(interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when,
why, how).
Produce and expand complete sentences in
shared language activities.
•
Produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative,
interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response to
prompts.
•
Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple
and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the
movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie
was watched by the little boy).
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Pronouns
Verbs
•
Use frequently occurring verbs.
•
Adj & Adv.
Prepositions
•
Use the most frequently occurring prepositions
(e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by,
with).
Conjunctions
Sentence
Construction
•
•
Grade 2
Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
Use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences
(e.g., He hops; We hop).
Use determiners (e.g., articles, demonstratives).
•
•
Capitalization
•
Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the
pronoun I.
•
Capitalize dates and names of people.
•
Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic
names
Punctuation
•
Recognize and name end punctuation.
•
•
Use end punctuation for sentences.
Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.
•
•
Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
Use an apostrophe to form contractions and
frequently occurring possessives.
Spelling
•
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and
short-vowel sounds (phonemes).
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on
knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
•
Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns
and for frequently occurring irregular words.
Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness
and spelling conventions.
•
Generalize learned spelling patterns when
writing words (e.g., cage !badge; boy!boil).
Consult reference materials, including beginning
dictionaries, as needed to check and correct
spellings.
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•
•
•
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Grade 3
Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives,
and adverbs in general and their functions in particular
sentences.
Grade 4
PoS
Relationships
•
Nouns
•
•
•
Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.
Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
•
•
•
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will
walk) verb tenses.
•
•
Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and
adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is
to be modified.
•
Pronouns
Verbs
Adjectives &
Adverbs
•
Prepositions
Conjunctions
•
Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Sentence/Idea
Construction
•
•
Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Choose words and phrases for effect.*
•
•
•
Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two;
there, their).*
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that)
and relative adverbs (where, when, why).
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am
walking; I will be walking) verb tenses.
Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey
various conditions.
Grade 5
•
Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in
general and their function in particular sentences.
Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).
•
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
•
•
•
•
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Form and use the perfect (e.g., I had walked; I have walked; I will have
walked) verb tenses.
Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.*
•
Use correlative conjunctions (e.g., either/or, neither/nor).
•
•
•
Choose words and phrases for effect.*
Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.*
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate
fragments and run-ons.*
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate
fragments and run-ons..*
Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener
interest, and style.
Use correct capitalization.
•
Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional
patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).
Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that)
and relative adverbs (where, when, why).
Form and use prepositional phrases.
Choose words and phrases for effect.*
Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.*
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting
inappropriate fragments and run-ons.*
•
•
Capitalization
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Punctuation
•
•
•
Capitalize appropriate words in titles. (See grades K-2 for
previous targets)
Use commas in addresses.
Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
Form and use possessives.
•
Use correct capitalization.
•
•
•
Choose punctuation for effect.*
Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech
and quotations from a text.
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a
compound sentence.
•
•
•
•
•
Spelling
•
•
•
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Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other
studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g.,
sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families,
position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules,
meaningful word parts) in writing words.
Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries,
as needed to check and correct spellings.
•
Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting
references as needed.
•
•
Choose punctuation for effect.*
Use punctuation to separate items in a series.*
Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.
Use a comma to set off the words yes and no (e.g., Yes, thank you), to set off a tag
question from the rest of the sentence (e.g., It’s true, isn’t it?), and to indicate direct
address (e.g., Is that you, Steve?).
Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.
Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
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Grade 6
Using
Pronouns
•
•
•
•
•
Using Verbs
•
•
Grade 7
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun
number and person.*
Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with
unclear or ambiguous antecedents).*
Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective,
objective, possessive).
Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
•
•
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb
tense.*
•
•
•
Grade 8
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and
person.*
Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or
ambiguous antecedents).*
•
•
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.*
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Constructing
Ideas with
Words,
Phrases,
Clauses, &
Sentences
•
•
•
•
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting
inappropriate fragments and run-ons..*
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener
interest, and style.*
Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and
concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and
redundancy.*
•
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
•
•
•
•
•
•
Capitalization
& Punctuation
•
Use correct capitalization.
•
•
•
Choose punctuation for effect.*
Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off
nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.*
Use punctuation to separate items in a series.*
•
•
•
•
•
•
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate
fragments and run-ons..*
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.*
Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing
and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.*
Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their
function in specific sentences.
Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex
sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting
misplaced and dangling modifiers.*
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
Use correct capitalization.
Choose punctuation for effect.*
Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/
parenthetical elements.*
Use punctuation to separate items in a series.*
Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating,
enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt).
•
•
•
•
!
•
•
Spell correctly.
Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to,
too, two; there, their).*
•
•
Spell correctly.
Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there,
their).*
Ensure subject-verb agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.*
Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives)
in general and their function in particular sentences.
Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative,
conditional, and subjunctive mood.
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and
mood.* (Starts in grade 8th, continues through grade 12)
Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional
and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects (e.g.,
emphasizing the actor or the action; expressing uncertainty or
describing a state contrary to fact).
Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting
inappropriate fragments and run-ons..*
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and
style.*
Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely,
recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.*
Place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and
correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.*
•
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
•
Use correct capitalization.
•
•
•
Choose punctuation for effect.*
Use punctuation to separate items in a series.*
Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off
nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.*
Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or
break.
Use an ellipsis to indicate an omission.
•
•
Spelling
Ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement.*
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and
person.*
Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or
ambiguous antecedents).*
•
•
Spell correctly.
Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two;
there, their).*
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