Reading Standards for Richard
These are reading skills and discussion skills that should be expected of Richard now and what she can build up to. These are also things you can specifically ask his teachers about - specifically how they are going to make him stronger (in whatever skill you're interested in asking about).
Where Richard Should Be
1. Compare and contrast two or more characters drawing on specific details in the text and notice how the characters interact. This is the start of using evidence from the text to support an opinion.
2. Notice and analyze metaphors and similes when they are used in stories.
3. Understand how the narrator's point of view influences how events are described. This is the beginning of identifying bias while reading. This becomes really important in middle school reading of historical documents.
4. Analyze how multimedia elements contribute to meaning and beauty in a story. This can be how a movie version relates and furthers meaning (or impedes it) or even how a graphic novel executes its drawings to help meaning of the story.
5. Compare and contrast stories in the same genre. Compare books within a genre and how they approach theme similarly or differently.
2. Notice and analyze metaphors and similes when they are used in stories.
3. Understand how the narrator's point of view influences how events are described. This is the beginning of identifying bias while reading. This becomes really important in middle school reading of historical documents.
4. Analyze how multimedia elements contribute to meaning and beauty in a story. This can be how a movie version relates and furthers meaning (or impedes it) or even how a graphic novel executes its drawings to help meaning of the story.
5. Compare and contrast stories in the same genre. Compare books within a genre and how they approach theme similarly or differently.
What Richard Should Be Able to do throughout Next Year
1. Determine a theme in the reading. Not only determine the theme, but support the idea of that theme by using specific details from the text.
2. Describe how characters respond or change as the plot moves toward resolution. Also, Mary should be able to analyze whether the main character (and others) are believable and if the changes they experience make sense.
3. Analyze the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone of the story. Decide whether an author's use of broadstrokes storytelling or detailed storytelling furthered the story or derailed it in instances.
4. Compare and contrast the reading of a story to the viewing of the video, live version or listening to the audio. Is the perception of different characters or plot events different in different modes? Was it better read to you? Seen in a movie/tv?
5. Compare and contrast themes across genres. Compare fiction to poetry to fantasy to historical novels. How are themes treated, displayed and developed in each genre? How must they be different? How can they be similar?
2. Describe how characters respond or change as the plot moves toward resolution. Also, Mary should be able to analyze whether the main character (and others) are believable and if the changes they experience make sense.
3. Analyze the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone of the story. Decide whether an author's use of broadstrokes storytelling or detailed storytelling furthered the story or derailed it in instances.
4. Compare and contrast the reading of a story to the viewing of the video, live version or listening to the audio. Is the perception of different characters or plot events different in different modes? Was it better read to you? Seen in a movie/tv?
5. Compare and contrast themes across genres. Compare fiction to poetry to fantasy to historical novels. How are themes treated, displayed and developed in each genre? How must they be different? How can they be similar?
This list is not exhaustive, but an overview of what she could be working on in literature. These standards come from The Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools, which they've based their standards, in part on the Common Core standards for Reading.
Appropriate tasks for upper elementary school readers
Richard should be proficient in most genres but specifically informational texts, fantasy, realistic fiction, biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, short stories and historical fiction. In those texts he should:
- Read beyond his own experience and enjoy texts that he cannot relate to from personal experience.
- Read many texts presenting adolescent issues such as family issues, growing up, and war.
- Read texts that focus on human problems - war, famine, economic hardship.
- Understand how characters change over the course of the book.
- Read for epic struggles of good and evil in fantasy texts.
- Acquire vocabulary easily - break words down to their roots to help meaning.
- Read texts with little or no pictures and still understand the story.
- Read and interpret symbolism in folktales, legends and myths.
- Use graphics in non-fiction books effectively.
Tuck Everlasting, The Westing Game, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler are right in this competency. The history books he's reading (I survived...) are all under his reading level, BUT, he notes that he doesn't much like reading history - so these are good gateway texts to get him into other historical books. We'll look for books that will push him a little outside of just mystery or suspenseful books (but include those too) and try to sneak an informational book in there as well.