Elementary ELA

The Connecticut Core Standards provide the foundation for the work within Reading/English language arts.  Reading high-quality literature and informational text, building reading foundational skills, writing, speaking and listening, and developing language skills are all areas addressed through these standards.  The curriculum is written to directly address these standards, and units of study are each centered around an anchor standard.  While each unit highlights the work related to a particular standard, the integration of all reading skills/standards is understood to be essential to student success.  Students’ ability to read and comprehend increasingly complex literature and informational text is key to the work within the curriculum. There is a firm belief that the best way to grow as a reader is to read.  Therefore, students reading “just right books” (books at their independent reading level) daily for a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes is a given in the curriculum.  For the youngest learners, being ever mindful of the foundational reading skills each student has acquired helps teachers provide appropriate, personalized instruction that allows each reader to grow at an appropriate rate.

In writing, similar to reading, there is a firm belief that the best way for writers to grow is to write.  Through the curriculum, students are exposed to a variety of writing genres appropriate to their grade level and given unit.  The curriculum provides key areas of instruction relative to the given genre/unit, and then students follow the writing process and produce their own writing pieces.  This recursive process throughout the year gives students plenty of opportunities to write and grow as writers.

Language standards are embedded in both the reading and writing curriculum and are addressed in a natural way given what text students are reading and their own writing.  Again, this allows for a personalized approach for each student to grow and show mastery of these standards.

The scope and sequence of the curriculum, therefore, is built to have students work through the concrete, representational, and abstract stages for each interconnected concept and skill area.  Building a strong conceptual understanding through hands-on manipulatives and a variety of mental math and visual math strategies prior to introducing standard algorithms helps solidify student understanding of concepts.  The mental math and visual strategies introduced in the early grades are used throughout the grade levels with increasing complexity and sophistication.  The curriculum emphasizes students applying strategies that work for them, communicating and defending their thinking to others, understanding the thinking of others, and increasing computational fluency and efficiency.


Grade Level Reading Overviews for the Year

(select the grade level to view module information)

Marking Period
Trimester 1
CCSS Content

Unit 1

  • Orientation to the reading program and the classroom library.
  • Orientation to the independent reading component, logs, and graphs.
  • Instruction regarding the selection of “just right” text.
  • Orientation to the procedures for collaborative practice work.
  • Orientation to the procedures for responding in writing to a text dependent question or prompt.
  • Orientation to the procedures for read alouds and text discussions.
  • Instruction and guided practice with literature and informative text standards 1 and 10.
  • Administer district interim and diagnostic assessments.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3a and language standard 2.3f.

Unit 2

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 2.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3b and 4a.

Unit 3

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 3.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3b and 2.4b.
Marking Period
Trimester 2
CCSS Content

Unit 4

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 5.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3c and language standard 2.4.a.

Unit 5

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 6
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.4c and language standard 2.4.b.

Unit 6

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 7.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3d and language standard 2.4.c.
Marking Period
Trimester 3
CCSS Content

Unit 7

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative (only) text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 2.3e and language standard 2.4d.

Unit 8

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 2.4e and 2.5a.

Unit 9

  • Performance Task and separate instruction and practice with language standards 2.5b.

CCSS Reading Genre and Ratio for Grade 2

Students in K-5 apply the Reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods. Students are expected to read literature and nonfiction text in a 50:50 ratio.

Literature

Stories

  • Includes children’s adventure stories, folktales, legends, fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth

Dramas

  • Includes staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes

Poetry

  • Includes nursery rhymes and the subgenres of the narrative poem, limerick, and free verse poem
Informational Text

Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

  • Includes biographies and autobiographies; books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps; and digital sources on a range of topics

Sample Grade 2-3  Titles of Appropriate Text Complexity

Literature
  • “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Christina G. Rossetti (1893)
  • Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1952)*
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1985)
  • Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (1995)
  • Poppleton in Winter by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mark Teague (2001)
Informative
  • A Medieval Feast by Aliki (1983)
  • From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons (1991)
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles (1995)*
  • A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick (1997)
  • Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (2009)

Grade 2 CCSS Reading Curriculum:  Instructional Framework

80 minutes/day

Components
  • Foundations and Vocabulary/Language
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes 1-2x per week, with individual instruction and coaching in conferences.
Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Conferences
  • Tier I
  • Temporary Small Skills Groups
  • TDQs Oral or Written Response
  • Logs/Graphs
Timeframe
  • 30-40 minutes
Components
  • Literature and Informative Standards
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes
Marking Period
Trimester 1
CCSS Content

Unit 1

  • Orientation to the reading program and the classroom library
  • Orientation to the independent reading component, logs, and graphs
  • Instruction regarding the selection of “just right” text
  • Orientation to the procedures for collaborative practice work
  • Orientation to the procedures for responding in writing to a text dependent question or prompt
  • Orientation to the procedures for read alouds and text discussions
  • Instruction and guided practice with literature and informative text standards 1 and 10
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundations standards 4a and 4b.
  • Administer district interim and diagnostic assessments.

Unit 2

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 2.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundations standard 4c and language standard 3.4a.

Unit 3

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 3.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standards 3c and 3d.
Marking Period
Trimester 2
CCSS Content

Unit 4

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative  and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 5.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 3a and language standard 3.4b.

Unit 5

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 6.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation standard 3b and language standard 3.4c.

Unit 6

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 7.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 3.4d and 3.5a.
Marking Period
Trimester 3
CCSS Content

Unit 7

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative (only) text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 3.5a and 3.5b.

Unit 8

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative and literature text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 3.5c  and 3.6.

Unit 9

  • Performance task and separate instruction and practice with all foundations and language standards.

CCSS Reading Genre and Ratio for Grade 3

Students in K-5 apply the reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods. Students are expected to read literature and nonfiction text in a 50:50 ratio.

Literature

Stories

  • Includes children’s adventure stories, folktales, legends, fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth

Dramas

  • Includes staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes

Poetry

  • Includes nursery rhymes and the sub-genres of the narrative poem, limerick, and free verse poem
Informational Text

Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

  • Includes biographies and autobiographies; books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps; and digital sources on a range of topics

Sample Grade 2-3  Titles of Appropriate Text Complexity

Literature
  • “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Christina G. Rossetti (1893)
  • Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1952)*
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1985)
  • Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (1995)
Informative
  • A Medieval Feast by Aliki (1983)
  • From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons (1991)
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles (1995)*
  • A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick (1997)

Grade 3 Weekly CCSS Reading Instructional Framework

70 minutes/day

Components
  • Foundations and Vocabulary/Language
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes 1-2x per week, with individual instruction and coaching in conferences.
Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Conferences
  • Tier I
  • Temporary Small Skills Groups
  • TDQs Oral or Written Response
  • Logs/Graphs
Timeframe
  • 30-40 minutes
Components
  • Literature and Informative Standards
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes
Marking Period
Trimester 1
CCSS Content

Unit 1

  • Welcome students.
  • Discuss each students reading history, habits, and interests.
  • Orient students to the reading program and the classroom library.
  • Orient students to the independent reading component, logs, and graphs.
  • Provide instruction regarding the selection of “just right” text (challenge level for readability, genre variety, and text quality)  for independent reading.
  • Orient students to the procedures for collaborative practice work.
  • Orient students to the procedures for responding in writing to a text dependent question or prompt.
  • Orient students to the procedures for read alouds, shared reading, partner reading, and echo reading and text discussions.
  • Provide instruction and guided practice with literature and informative text standards 1 and 10.
  • Administer district interim and diagnostic assessments.

Unit 2

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 2.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundations standard 4.3a.

Unit 3

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 3.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundations standard 4.4b
Marking Period
Trimester 2
CCSS Content

Unit 4

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 5.
  • Separate instruction and practice with foundation 4.4c language standard 4.4a.

Unit 5

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 6.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standard 4.4b.

Unit 6

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 7.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 4.4.b.
Marking Period
Trimester 3
CCSS Content

Unit 7

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative (only) text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standard 4.4c.

Unit 8

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with literature and informative text standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.
  • Separate instruction and practice with language standards 4.5a, b, and 6.

Unit 9

  • Performance task using all Grade 4 CCSS reading standards.

CCSS Reading Genre and Ratio for Grade 4

Students in K-5 apply the reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods. Students are expected to read literature and nonfiction text in a 50:50 ratio.

Literature

Stories

  • Includes children’s adventure stories, folktales, legends, fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth

Dramas

  • Includes staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes

Poetry

  • Includes nursery rhymes and the sub-genres of the narrative poem, limerick, and free verse poem
Informational Text

Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

  • Includes biographies and autobiographies; books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps; and digital sources on a range of topics

Sample Grade 4-5  Titles of Appropriate Text Complexity

Literature
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
  • “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1888)
  • The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (1941)
  • “Zlateh the Goat” by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1984)
Informative
  • Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet by Melvin Berger (1992)
  • Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms by Patricia Lauber (1996)
  • A History of US by Joy Hakim (2005)
  • Horses by Seymour Simon (2006)
  • Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New
  • Guinea by Sy Montgomery (2006)

Grade 4 CCSS Reading Curriculum: Instructional Framework

80 minutes/day

Components
  • Foundations and Vocabulary/Language
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes 1-2x per week, with individual instruction and coaching in conferences.
Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Conferences
  • Tier I
  • Temporary Small Skills Groups
  • TDQs Oral or Written Response
  • Logs/Graphs
Timeframe
  • 30-40 minutes
Components
  • Literature and Informative Standards
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes
Marking Period
Trimester 1
CCSS Content

Unit 1

  • Welcome students.
  • Orientation to the reading program and the classroom library
  • Orientation to the independent reading component, logs, contracts, and graphs
  • Instruction regarding the selection of “just right” text
  • Orientation to the procedures for responding in writing to a text dependent question or prompt
  • Orientation to the procedures for read alouds, reading common text, and text discussions
  • Separate instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5 and L.5.6
  • Instruction and guided practice with literature and informative text standards 1 and 10
  • Administer district interim and diagnostic assessments.

Unit 2

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4c.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4a.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 2.

Unit 3

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4c.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4a.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 3.
Marking Period
Trimester 2
CCSS Content

Unit 4

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4c.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4a.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 5.

Unit 5

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4b.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4b.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 6.

Unit 6

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4c.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4b.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 7.
Marking Period
Trimester 3
CCSS Content

Unit 7

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a and F.5.4b.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, and L.5.4b
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 8.

Unit 8

  • Instruction and practice with foundation standards F.5.4a.
  • Instruction and practice with vocabulary standards L.5.5, L.5.6, L.5.4b, and L.5.4c.
  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with informative text and literature standards 1, 10, 4, and 9.

Unit 9

  • Performance task and assessment with all standards.

CCSS Reading Genre and Ratio for Grade 5

Students in K-5 apply the reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods. Students are expected to read literature and nonfiction text in a 50:50 ratio.

Literature

Stories

  • Includes children’s adventure stories, folktales, legends, fables, fantasy, realistic fiction, and myth

Dramas

  • Includes staged dialogue and brief familiar scenes

Poetry

  • Includes nursery rhymes and the sub-genres of the narrative poem, limerick, and free verse poem
Informational Text

Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

  • Includes biographies and autobiographies; books about history, social studies, science, and the arts; technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps; and digital sources on a range of topics

Sample Grade 4-5  Titles of Appropriate Text Complexity

Literature
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
  • “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1888)
  • The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (1941)
  • “Zlateh the Goat” by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1984)
Informative
  • Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet by Melvin Berger (1992)
  • Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms by Patricia Lauber (1996)
  • A History of US by Joy Hakim (2005)
  • Horses by Seymour Simon (2006)
  • Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New
  • Guinea by Sy Montgomery (2006)

Grade 5 CCSS Reading Curriculum: Instructional Framework

60 minutes/day

Components
  • Foundations and Vocabulary/Language
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes 1-2x per week, with individual instruction and coaching in conferences.
Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Conferences
  • Tier I
  • Temporary Small Skills Groups
  • TDQs Oral or Written Response
  • Logs/Graphs
Timeframe
  • 30-40 minutes
Components
  • Literature and Informative Standards
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 15-20 minutes
Marking Period
Trimester 1
CCSS Content

Unit 1

  • Welcome students.
  • Orientation to the reading program
  • Independent reading contracts
  • Instruction and guided practice with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1 and 10
  • District Interim Assessments

Unit 2

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 2, and Language Standard  6.4.a

Unit 3

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 3, and Language Standard  6.4.b
Marking Period
Trimester 2
CCSS Content

Unit 4

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 5, and Language Standard  6.4.c

Unit 5

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 6, and Language Standard  6.4.d

Unit 6

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 7, and Language Standard  6.5.a
Marking Period
Trimester 3
CCSS Content

Unit 7

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 8 (Informative only), and Language Standard  6.5.b

Unit 8

  • Instruction, guided practice, and assessment with Literature and Informative Text Standards 1, 10, 4, 9, and Language Standard  6.5.c

Unit 9

  • Performance task using all Grade 6 CCSS reading standards.

CCSS Reading Genre and Ratio for Grade 6

Students in K-5 apply the reading standards to the following range of text types, with texts selected from a broad range of cultures and periods. Students are expected to read literature and nonfiction text in a 50:50 ratio, with informational text increasing in proportion through content area reading (science, social studies, math)

Literature

Stories

  • Includes the sub-genres of adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, and graphic novels

Dramas

  • Includes one-act and multi-act plays, both in written form and on film

Poetry

  • Includes the sub-genres of narrative poems, lyrical poems, free verse poems, sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics
Informational Text

Literary Nonfiction and Historical, Scientific, and Technical Texts

  • Includes the subgenres of exposition, argument, and functional text in the form of personal essays, speeches, opinion pieces, essays about art or literature, biographies, memoirs, journalism, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience

Sample Grade 6-8  Titles of Appropriate Text Complexity

Literature
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1869)
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
  • “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost (1915)
  • The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (1973)
  • Dragonwings by Laurence Yep (1975)
Informative
  • “Letter on Thomas Jefferson” by John Adams (1776)
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (1845)
  • “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Address to Parliament on May 13th, 1940″ by Winston Churchill (1940)
  • Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry (1955)
  • Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck (1962)

Grade 6 CCSS Reading Curriculum: Instructional Framework

60 minutes/day

Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Logs/Graphs
  • Written Reader Response
  • Intervention Group and/or
  • Conferences
Timeframe
  • 30 minutes
Components
  • Language and Vocabulary
  • Standards
  • Literature and Informative Standards
  • Instruction and Practice
Timeframe
  • 30 minutes
Components
  • Independent Reading
  • Logs/Graphs
  • Written Reader Response
  • Intervention Group and/or Conferences
Timeframe
  • 30 minutes

Grade Level Writing Overviews for the Year

(select the grade level to view module information)

Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Introduction 1
2 Nonfiction Narrative 1
3 Opinion 1 1
4 Informative 1 1
5 Informative 2 1
6 Opinion 2 2
7 Shared Research I 2
8 Fictional Narrative 2
9 Student Choice 2
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Language Experience with Nonfiction Narrative I T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Opinion Piece about a Topic T2
5 Opinion Piece about a Book T2
6 Non-Fiction Narrative II T2
7 Shared Research I T3
8 Shared Research II T3
9 Fictional Narrative T3
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Nonfiction Narrative T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Opinion Piece about a Topic T2
5 Opinion Piece about a Book T2
6 Shared Research I T2
7 Shared Research II T3
8 Fictional Narrative
Student Choice
T3
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Nonfiction Narrative T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Opinion Piece I T2
5 Opinion Piece II T2
6 Note Taking and Research I T3
7 Research II T3
8 Fictional Narrative T3
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Nonfiction Narrative T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Opinion I T2
5 Opinion II T2
6 Research I
Ecosystems
Endangered Species
T3
7 Research II
National Parks
T3
8 Fictional Narrative T3
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Nonfiction Narrative T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Opinion I T2
5 Opinion II T2
6 Research I T3
7 Research II T3
8 Fictional Narrative T3
Unit Number
Unit Genre
Report Card Term
1 Nonfiction Narrative T1
2 Informative I T1
3 Informative II T1
4 Argument I T2
5 Argument II T2
6 Research I T3
7 Research II T3
8 Fictional Narrative T3