Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and implicitly through language.

Describe ideas, phenomena (e.g., plant life cycle), and text elements (e.g., main idea, characters, events) based on understanding of a select set of grade-level texts and viewing of multimedia, with substantial support.

Describe ideas, phenomena (e.g., how earthworms eat), and text elements (e.g., setting, events) in greater detail based on understanding of a variety of grade-level texts and viewing of multimedia, with moderate support.

Describe ideas, phenomena (e.g., erosion), and text elements (e.g., central message, character traits) using key details based on understanding of a variety of grade-level texts and viewing of multimedia, with light support.

Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and academic contexts.

Demonstrate active listening to read-alouds and oral presentations by asking and answering basic questions, with oral sentence frames and substantial prompting and support.

Demonstrate active listening to read-alouds and oral presentations by asking and answering detailed questions, with oral sentence frames and occasional prompting and support.

Demonstrate active listening to read-alouds and oral presentations by asking and answering detailed questions, with minimal prompting and light support.

Adapting language choices to various contexts (based on task, purpose, audience, and text type).

Recognize that language choices (e.g., vocabulary) vary according to social setting (e.g., playground versus classroom), with substantial support from peers or adults.

Adjust language choices (e.g., vocabulary, use of dialogue, and so on) according to purpose (e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peers versus adults), with moderate support from peers or adults.

Adjust language choices according to purpose (e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peer-to-peer versus peer-to-teacher), with light support from peers or adults.

Offering and supporting opinions and negotiating with others in communicative exchanges.

Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using learned phrases (e.g., I think X.), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor.

Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using an expanded set of learned phrases (e.g., I agree with X, but X.), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor, provide counterarguments, and the like.

Offer opinions and negotiate with others in conversations using a variety of learned phrases (e.g., That's a good idea, but X), as well as open responses, in order to gain and/or hold the floor, provide counterarguments, elaborate on an idea, and the like.

Interacting with others in written English in various communicative forms (print, communicative technology, and multimedia).

Collaborate with peers on joint writing projects of short informational and literary texts, using technology where appropriate for publishing, graphics, and the like.

Collaborate with peers on joint writing projects of longer informational and literary texts, using technology where appropriate for publishing, graphics, and the like.

Collaborate with peers on joint writing projects of a variety of longer informational and literary texts, using technology where appropriate for publishing, graphics, and the like.

Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative conversations on a range of social and academic topics.

Contribute to conversations and express ideas by asking and answering yes-no and wh- questions and responding using gestures, words, and learned phrases.

Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, including sustained dialogue, by listening attentively, following turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, and adding relevant information.

Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, including sustained dialogue, by listening attentively, following turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, adding pertinent information, building on responses, and providing useful feedback.

Condensing ideas within sentences using a variety of language resources.

Condense clauses in simple ways (e.g., changing: I like blue. I like red. I like purple -> I like blue, red, and purple) to create precise and detailed sentences in shared language activities guided by the teacher and sometimes independently.

Condense clauses in a growing number of ways (e.g., through embedded clauses as in, She's a doctor. She saved the animals. -> She's the doctor who saved the animals) to create precise and detailed sentences in shared language activities guided by the teacher and with increasing independence.

Condense clauses in a variety of ways (e.g., through embedded clauses and other condensing, for example, through embedded clauses as in She's a doctor. She's amazing. She saved the animals. -> She's the amazing doctor who saved the animals) to create precise and detailed sentences in shared language activities guided by the teacher and independently.

Connecting ideas within sentences by combining clauses.

Combine clauses in a few basic ways to make connections between and to join ideas (e.g., creating compound sentences using and, but, so) in shared language activities guided by the teacher and sometimes independently.

Combine clauses in an increasing variety of ways to make connections between and to join ideas, for example, to express cause/effect (e.g., She jumped because the dog barked), in shared language activities guided by the teacher and with increasing independence.

Combine clauses in a wide variety of ways (e.g., rearranging complete, simple-to-form compound sentences) to make connections between and to join ideas (e.g., The boy was hungry. The boy ate a sandwich. ? The boy was hungry so he ate a sandwich) in shared language activities guided by the teacher and independently.

Modifying to add details to provide more information and create precision.

Expand sentences with frequently used prepositional phrases (such as in the house, on the boat) to provide details (e.g., time, manner, place, cause) about a familiar activity or process in shared language activities guided by the teacher and sometimes independently.

Expand sentences with prepositional phrases to provide details (e.g., time, manner, place, cause) about a familiar or new activity or process in shared language activities guided by the teacher and with increasing independence.

Expand simple and compound sentences with prepositional phrases to provide details (e.g., time, manner, place, cause) in shared language activities guided by the teacher and independently.

Using nouns and noun phrases to expand ideas and provide more detail.

Expand noun phrases in simple ways (e.g., adding a familiar adjective to describe a noun) in order to enrich the meaning of sentences and add details about ideas, people, things, and the like, in shared language activities guided by the teacher and sometimes independently.

Expand noun phrases in a growing number of ways (e.g., adding a newly learned adjective to a noun) to enrich the meaning of sentences and add details about ideas, people, things, and the like, in shared language activities guided by the teacher and with increasing independence.

Expand noun phrases in a wide variety of ways (e.g., adding a variety of adjectives to noun phrases) in order to enrich the meaning of phrases/ sentences and add details about ideas, people, things, and the like, in shared language activities guided by the teacher and independently.