elementary school language arts sample test

There is an increasedemphasis on building astrong vocabulary so thatyour child can read andunderstand challengingmaterial.

Teachers will provide morechallenging reading andask more questions thatwill require your child torefer back to a passage heor she has read.

In addition to stories andliterature, there will bemore reading that providesfacts and backgroundknowledge in science andsocial studies.

ELA ShiftsELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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Sample exerciseNew standards are triggeringthree major changes ininstruction:

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Previous ELA question:

In the story “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Please describe a time when you failed at something.

Hawaii Common Core ELA question:

In the story “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous?

SUPPORT YOUR CHILD AT HOMERead to your child for at least 15 minutes each day.

Look for opportunities in everydayplaces to build your child’svocabulary.

Get a library card, and let yourchild select books.

Use technology to help buildyour child’s interest in reading.

PREPARING YOUR CHILDFOR TOMORROW’S WORLDTo better prepare children for thehigher demands of college andcareers, public schools areimproving education with theHawaii Common Core – learninggoals to help all children stay ontrack to graduate with the skillsthey need to be successful. Pleaseask your child’s teacher for moreinformation, or visitbit.ly/CommonCoreHI.

With Hawaii Common Core, students are being asked deeper, text-based questions.

The Common Core-aligned question challenges students to:

• Comprehend and analyze a text they haveread, instead of immediately writing andtalking about their personal experience.

• ELA Standard 3.1 (grade 3) states: “Askand answer questions to demonstrateunderstanding of a text, referring explicitlyto the text as a basis for the answers.”

• It is important that students read andunderstand the text so that the text isable to enrich their discussion and writingabout their own experience.

• This is also an equity issue as it allowsall students – not just those who mayhave prior knowledge – to take part inthe discussion and writing.

READ IT

“Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayerwww.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/casey-bat

A sample of what your child will be learning in elementary school:

KINDERGARTEN• Naming upper- and lower-case letters,matching them with their sounds, printing them.

• Comparing the adventures and experiences ofcharacters in familiar stories, such as fairytales and folktales.

1ST GRADE• Using phonics (matching letters and sounds)and word analysis skills to figure outunfamiliar words when reading and writing.

• Identifying the correct meaning for a word withmultiple meanings, based on context (e.g.,deciding whether the word bat means a flyingmammal or a club used in baseball).

2ND GRADE• Determining the lesson or moral of stories,fables, and folktales.

• Writing an opinion about a book he or she hasread, using important details from thematerials to support that opinion.

3RD GRADE• Comparing the most important points/key detailspresented in two books on the same topic.

• Distinguishing the literal and nonliteralmeanings of words, such as something’s fishyand cold shoulder.

4TH GRADE• Describing the basic elements of stories — suchas characters, events, and settings — bydrawing on specific details in the text.

• Writing complete sentences with correctcapitalization and spelling.

5TH GRADE• Summarizing the key details of stories, dramas,poems, and nonfiction materials, including theirthemes or main ideas.

• Producing writing on the computer.

6TH GRADE• Evaluating the argument and specific claims inwritten materials or a speech, anddistinguishing claims that are supported byreasons and evidence from claims that are not.

• Conducting short research projects to answer aquestion, drawing on several sources andsharpening the focus based on the researchfindings.

‘English Language Arts’