The West
Irondequoit English Language Arts Guiding Principles set the expectation
that each strand of our integrated English Language Arts Curriculum
asks students to be metacognitive and independent learners, as well as
to self-assess, analyze and be responsible for language beyond the
context of school. The Guiding Principles also set the expectation that
our program employs on-going formal and informal assessments,
differentiated instructional strategies and demonstrates awareness of
the developmental nature of learning.
Comprehension is an active process of constructing meaning-of
analyzing, evaluating and interpreting. Current research shows that a
systematic exploration of the spelling of words is necessary for
students to develop word knowledge. Rather than the memorization of
lists of words, inherent in this exploration is an active interaction
with words and their features-Letter Name, Within Word, Syllable
Juncture and Derivational Constancy. Students gain knowledge of word
patterns and features and apply this knowledge to both their reading and
writing. This process supports students as they learn and generalize
their knowledge to unlock, read and spell new words with similar
patterns. This orthographic knowledge, or knowledge of the spelling
system, is vital to both writing and reading. Effective readers and
writers employ word identification and comprehension strategies
concurrently. When students are writing, they match letters to sounds
and when they are reading, they match sounds to letters.
The central focus of the Reading/Spelling Outcomes is word study-a
clear and thorough understanding of the features and the patterns of
words that reflects the interplay of sound, pattern and meaning
relationships. Word study interacts with comprehension strategies to
aid in constructing meaning. It facilitates independence in
constructing meaning and involves awareness on the part of the
reader/writer regarding the flexible application of strategies in
various text structures. It is through this understanding, gained
developmentally, that students truly learn to read and spell.
Organized by Phonic Analysis, Structural Analysis, and Contextual
Analysis, the Reading/Spelling Outcomes ensure that the students of West
Irondequoit Central School District learn to read and spell in a way
that not only meets their needs developmentally, but engages them
meaningfully and intellectually.
| Grade Level |
Phonic Analysis |
Structural Analysis |
Contextual Analysis |
| 3 |
Outcome
Apply knowledge of long vowel patterns in reading and spelling
Example
Consonant-vowel-consonant-e (take)
Consonant-vowel-vowel-consonant (seed)
Consonant-vowel-vowel (sea)
|
Outcome
Apply knowledge of syllabication to read and spell multi-syllabic words
Example
Divide words between double consonants and apply feature knowledge
Village - vil (CVC-short vowel pattern) lage (CVCe-long vowel pattern)
|
Outcome
Apply sentence meaning to read and
spell the correct homograph (words with the same spelling; different
pronunciation) in context
Example
The desert is dry
The captain will desert the crew.
|
| 6 |
Outcome
Read and spell regular and irregular plurals appropriate for grade level
Example
City - cities
Monkey - monkeys
Mouse - mice
|
Outcome
Read and spell prefixes when added to a base word: pre-, en-, uni-, bi-, tri-, inter-, con-, com-, trans-, pro-,ob-
Example
pre (before) - precook, prejudge
en (put into, make) - enact, enjoy
bi (two) - bicycle, bimonthly
|
Outcome
Use word meaning to read and spell the correct homophone (word with the same pronunciation, different spelling) in context
Example
The plane flew low.
The bison roamed the plain.
Their house is over there.
|
| 8 |
Outcome
Apply consonant and vowel alternation patterns to read, pronounce and spell words appropriate to grade level
Example
Sign - signal
Compete - competition
Nature - natural
|
Outcome
Incorporate the use of Greek and Latin roots as an aid to the reading and spelling of English words
Example
path (from Greek pathein - to suffer) - apathetic, empathize, sympathy
fug (from Latin fugere - to flee) -
fugitive, refugee
|
Outcome
Apply sentence/word meaning to read
and spell the correct homograph/ homophone/ homonym(words with same
spelling, same pronunciation, different meaning) in context
Example
The hustler played pool all night.
The bright blue pool seemed like a mirage to the weary travelers.
|