Success in the 21st century hinges on the need to respect and understand people of the different cultures that comprise American society and the global community as well. Students need to recognize and value cultural distinctions, but also should see that there is a commonality of goals and values across all cultures. This understanding should enhance civic responsibility and foster an inclusive outlook.
In addition, it is important for students to realize that all languages are valid communi- cation systems that interact with our own. With technological advances facilitating global communication, the ability to interact effectively on an international level will be essential.
Students studying Native American poetry are struck by the recurring emphasis on reverence for the natural world in those texts and gain new awareness of the source of age-old conflicts.
Grades K - 4
Students will:
| access prior knowledge, make predictions and generate questions prior to reading, listening and viewing |
| use appropriate planning strategies to generate and organize ideas prior to creating oral, written and visual text |
| use a variety of strategies to monitor comprehension effectively |
| decode, define, understand and use new words appropriately |
| use study skills to gain and organize information effectively |
| revise text for detail, sequence and logic |
| consider audience and purpose when writing, speaking or presenting |
| publish, present and celebrate own text |
| extract information from informational text and organize to support ideas |
| understand and use practical text and begin to create own text effectively |
| recognize and identify text theme through prior knowledge or experience |
| respond to imagery, rhythm and rhyme in text |
| recognize story differences and similarities across cultures |
| relate particular versions of stories to various cultures |
| relate story characters and themes to personal situations in order to compare and to contrast cultures |
| work cooperatively within learning groups by following assigned roles |
| listen and respond to others' ideas, reason and reach agreement within specified discussion format |
| recognize commonly-used words borrowed from other languages and use appropriately |
| recognize dialects within a language |
| understand that the same idea can be expressed in different languages |
| access information from a variety of media and selectively choose which is most appropriate |
| recognize different media techniques |
| create age-appropriate media products for presentation and display |
Grades 5 - 8
Students will:
| use prior knowledge and interest to select the most appropriate planning strategies in generating ideas for oral, written and visual text |
| monitor comprehension by using varying approaches to reading |
| monitor comprehension by confirming and revising predictions |
| use and apply contextual information such as non-English words and references to various cultures |
| share text evaluation activities with peers |
| revise work to improve communication |
| consider audience and purpose of task when making choice of appropriate genre |
| publish and present appropriate, creative work for a variety of audiences |
| edit work for mechanics, usage and sentence structure |
| understand and use the conventions of simple genre |
| use appropriate organizational structures from text to support ideas |
| understand the relevance of themes from culturally diverse text to personal experience |
| recognize and use sensory language |
| use effective discussion techniques to expand learning |
| increase understanding through sharing of different views of a topic |
| understand and recognize how new words enter languages and how languages influence each other |
| understand differences in culture through the study of languages |
| understand and respect the diversity of dialects in languages |
Grades 9 - 12
Students will:
| access and apply prior knowledge from multiple sources |
| independently apply effective preparation strategies for constructing or |
| conveying meaning |
| use and apply contextual information such as cultural allusions or non-English words to build understanding |
| revise to include further information or to clarify ambiguity |
| select appropriate tone and style for purpose and audience |
| publish or present works which present alternative cultural outlooks |
| identify and understand genre conventions and the unique importance of those conventions in the development of a text grounded in a particular culture |
| recognize and respond to purposefully manipulative conventions of informational text and mass media |
| recognize and interpret the expression of common themes among culturally diverse texts |
| understand the significance of literary devices and their effectiveness in building thematic understanding of culturally varied texts |
| recognize and appraise the particular expression of recurring themes, archetypes and motifs in culturally diverse texts |
| understand that texts of various cultures examine issues and themes within and across cultures |
| evaluate relevance of themes of diverse texts to personal life |
| negotiate effectively with others to reach consensus or meaning through an understanding and respect for the diverse beliefs and customs of others |
| expand understanding through sharing of differing views of a topic |
| use understanding of the interaction among languages or regional language patterns and culture to become more perceptive communicators |