As shown on our Mission Statement Page, the students have both class goals and individual goals that we strive to meet by the end of the year. These goals are based on the goals and expectations as set by the State of Illinois and East Moline District #37.

Please take a look at our Language Arts Expectations below:

• Use phonics to decode simple words in age-appropriate material.

• Demonstrate phonological awareness (e.g., counting syllables, hearing rhyme, alliteration, onset and rime) of sounds in words.

• Demonstrate phonemic awareness by blending or segmenting phonemes in a one-syllable word.

• Recognize high frequency sight words including environmental print (but not including words the child can read using phonics).

• Use appropriate strategies of decoding (e.g., illustrations, phonics, word patterns, context clues) to recognize unknown words when reading material.

• Use knowledge of letter-sound correspondences and high frequency words to orally read age-appropriate material.

• Begin to recognize miscues that interfere with meaning and use self-correcting strategies.

• Use a variety of resources (e.g., age-appropriate dictionaries, pictures, illustrations, photos, ask others, context, previous experience) to determine and clarify meanings of unfamiliar words.

• Make predictions before reading and relate to personal experiences (e.g., illustrations, title).

• Discuss prior knowledge of topics and relate to the text before reading.

• Connect the elements of narratives (e.g., character, setting, plot) to the text.

• Distinguish between poetry and prose.

• Begin to check for understanding (e.g., reread, read ahead, use illustrations and context clues) during reading.

• Ask questions to clarify understanding before, during, and after reading.

• Re-enact or dramatize the contents of stories for retellings.

• Read age-appropriate material orally with accuracy, rhythm, volume, and flow that sounds like everyday speech.

• Recognize questions can be used to gain information.

• Ask questions to seek elaboration of illustrations or portions of text and to monitor comprehension (e.g., ask why a character would do something, ask for clarification of something).

• Begin to recognize the author's purpose across a broad range of materials.

• Identify the motives of characters in various works (e.g., biography, non-fiction, diary).

• Summarize or tell information from a broad range of reading material.

• Predict and then confirm questions characters in stories might ask.

• Create illustrations to answer questions about a story.

• Use information in illustrations or text to make predictions and relate to prior knowledge.

• Use text provided in functional classroom messages (e.g., labels, signs, instructions) to get information.

• Select books appropriate to reading levels or interests.

• Develop familiarity with available technology (e.g., computers, software, copiers).

• Identify and compare characters, settings, and/or events in stories and/or pictures.

• Tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

• Define unfamiliar vocabulary.

• Imitate rhythm/rhyme patterns.

• Distinguish between "real" and "make believe".

• Begin to recognize that prose is written in sentences and organized in paragraphs.

• Investigate self-selected/ teacher-selected literature (e.g., picture books, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, poems, legends) from a variety of cultures.

• Respond appropriately to texts representing life skills (e.g., classroom labels, school signs, symbols).

• Re-enact and retell stories, songs, poems, plays, and other literary works.

• Produce simple evaluative expressions about the text ("I like the story because...").

• Make simple connections from the story to events or people in their own lives.

• Compare two books by the same author.

• Discuss several books on the same topic.

• Identify specific parts of the text to support a point.

• Present a reasonable interpretation of a book.

• Use beginning capitalization.

• Use end marks (e.g., period, question mark).

• Use phonemic clues, phonetic and/or developmental spellings to construct words.

• Use age-appropriate prewriting strategies (e.g., drawing, brainstorming, graphic organizers) to generate and organize ideas with teacher assistance.

• Tell a focused story using various approaches (e.g., pictures, scribbles, letter approximations, connected oral account).

• Use details in the telling that relate only to the story in the picture or letter approximations.

• Respond accurately to questions about the character(s) and event(s) in the picture.

• Attempt to write text that is related to the picture.

• Revise the picture/text for classroom publication or sharing with peers.

• Use basic components of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, publishing) to write for a variety of purposes (e.g., narration, exposition).

• Retell a focused story.

• Create a basic publication using available resources (e.g., pictures, colors, computer, copier).

• Experiment with different forms of writing (e.g., song, poetry, short fiction, recipes, diary, journal)

• Assume requested position and attend to speaker.

• Respond appropriately through movements both individually and in unison (e.g., choral answers, gestures, questions, repeating and retelling).

• Recognize common sounds (e.g., honk, bark, siren, whistle, running water).

• Distinguish letter sounds.

• Differentiate between words that rhyme and those that do not rhyme.

• Distinguish between "real" and "make believe" events.

• Differentiate between a statement and a question.

• Formulate both a response statement and a question at appropriate times.

• Complete a 2-step task based on oral instructions.

• Demonstrate awareness of personal space and spatial relationships (e.g., Where am I? Where are you? How far apart are we?).

• Demonstrate awareness of speaker-audience relationship.

• Demonstrate ability to stand and speak to a group independently.

• Begin to use appropriate presentation techniques (rate, volume, some eye contact with audience).

• Focus and present appropriate information on a single topic.

• Present ideas in an appropriate order.

• Use appropriate rules governing spoken English.

• Demonstrate awareness of others' desires and rights to talk.

• Demonstrate appropriate behaviors (e.g., avoid interruptons, causing distractions, calling attention to self).

• Recognize the differences between questions and statements and appropriately contribute either or both.

• Begin to brainstorm to generate questions to gather information.

• Discuss prior knowledge of topic.

• Generate questions gained from experiences (e.g., field trip, visitors, stories, discussions) to gather information.

• Use aids (e.g., KWL, webs, graphic organizers, available technology) to locate generated information.

• Provide answers to questions.

• State and sort necessary information for a discussion.

• Formulate questions to define ideas through oral discussion of determined topic.

• Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information.

• Maintain focus - stay on topic.

• Create a message by drawing, telling, using graphic aids, and/or developmental writing based on acquired information.

• Gather, organize, and share information about a topic.

• Retell information.

• Explain information from a drawing, graphic aid, or developmental writing.