This strand focuses on the elements of effective writing. Good writing instruction incorporates multiple performance objectives into an integrated experience of learning for the student. The order of the concepts and performance objectives is not intended to indicate a progression or hierarchy for writing instruction. Instructional activities may focus on just one concept or many.
Concept 6: Conventions
Conventions addresses the mechanics of writing, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar and usage, and paragraph breaks.
Kindergarten
PO 1. Write the 26 letters of the alphabet in:
a. lower case
b. upper case
PO 2. Distinguish between upper and lower case letters.
PO 3. Use capital letters to begin “important” words, although may be inconsistent or experimental.
PO 4. Use spaces between words.
PO 5. Write left to right and top to bottom.
PO 6. Use punctuation in writing, although may be inconsistent or experimental.
PO 7. Use knowledge of letter sound relationship to spell simple words with some consonants and few vowels (e.g., I lik t d nts. – I like to draw knights.)
PO 8. Use resources (e.g., environmental print, word wall) to spell correctly.
PO 9. Write own name on personal work.
Grade 1
PO 1. Incorporate conventions into own text, including:
a. spacing between words
b. spacing between lines
c. consistent left-right and up-down orientation
d. placement of title
PO 2. Use capital letters correctly for:
a. the pronoun I
b. the beginning of a sentence
c. names
PO 3. Punctuate endings of sentences using:
a. periods
b. question marks
c. exclamation points•
PO 4. Spell high-frequency words correctly.
PO 5. Use common spelling patterns (i.e., onset and rimes, word families, and simple CVC words) to spell words correctly.
PO 6. Use basic phonetic spelling of unfamiliar words to create readable text.
PO 7. Use resources (e.g., environmental print, word wall, dictionaries) to spell correctly.
PO 8. Use subject /verb agreement in simple sentences.
PO 9. Use the following parts of speech correctly in simple sentences:
a. nouns
b. action verbs
PO 10. Write own name on personal work.
Grade 2
PO 1. Use capital letters for:
a. the pronoun I
b. the beginning of a sentence
c. proper nouns (i.e., names, days, months)
PO 2. Punctuate endings of sentences using:
a. periods
b. question marks
c. exclamation points
PO 3. Use commas to punctuate:
a. items in a series
b. greetings and closings of letters
c. dates
PO 4. Use a colon to punctuate time.
PO 5. Use apostrophes to correctly punctuate contractions.
PO 6. Spell high frequency words correctly.
PO 7. Use common spelling patterns/ generalizations, including:
a. word families
b. simple CVC words
c. regular plurals
d. simple prefixes
e. simple suffixes
PO 8. Use phonetic spelling and syllabication to create readable text.
PO 9. Use resources (e.g., environmental print, word walls, dictionaries) to spell correctly.
PO 10. Use the following parts of speech correctly in simple sentences:
a. nouns
b. action verbs
c. personal pronouns
d. adjectives
PO 11. Use subject/verb agreement in simple sentences.
PO 12. Write own name on personal work.
Grade 3
PO 1. Use capital letters for:
a. proper nouns ( i.e., names, days, months)
b. titles
c. names of places
d. abbreviations
e. literary titles (i.e., book, story, poem)
PO 2. Punctuate endings of sentences using:
a. periods
b. question marks
c. exclamation points
PO 3. Use commas to punctuate:
a. items in a series
b. greetings and closings of letters
c. dates
PO 4. Use quotation marks to punctuate dialogue, although may be inconsistent or experimental.
PO 5. Use a colon to punctuate time.
PO 6. Use apostrophes to punctuate:
a. contractions
b. singular possessive
PO 7. Spell high-frequency words correctly.
PO 8. Use common spelling patterns/generalizations to spell words correctly, including:
a. word families
b. regular plurals
c. r-controlled
d. diphthong
e. consonant digraphs
f. CVC words
g. CCVC words
h. CVCC words
i. affixes
PO 9. Spell simple homonyms correctly in context.
PO 10. Use resources (e.g., dictionaries, word walls) to spell correctly.
PO 11. Use the following parts of speech correctly in simple sentences:
a. nouns
b. action verbs
c. personal pronouns
d. adjectives
PO 12. Use subject/verb agreement in simple sentences.
Grade 4
PO 1. Use capital letters for:
a. proper nouns ( i.e., names, days, months)
b. titles
c. names of place
d. abbreviations
e. literary titles (i.e., book, story, poem)
PO 2. Punctuate endings of sentences using:
a. periods
b. question marks
c. exclamation points
PO 3. Use commas to punctuate:
a. items in a series
b. greetings and closings of letters
c. dates
d. introductory words
PO 4. Use quotation marks to punctuate:
a. dialogue (although may be inconsistent or experimental)
b. titles
PO 5. Use a colon to punctuate time.
PO 6. Use apostrophes to punctuate:
a. contractions
b. singular possessive
PO 7. Spell high-frequency words correctly.
PO 8. Use common spelling patterns/generalizations to spell words correctly, including:
a. r-controlled
b. diphthong
c. vowel digraphs
d. CVC words
e. CCVC words
f. CVCC words
g. silent e
h. irregular plurals
i. affixes
PO 9. Spell simple homonyms correctly in context.
PO 10. Use resources (e.g., dictionaries, word walls) to spell correctly.
PO 11. Use paragraph breaks to indicate an organizational structure.
PO 12. Use the following parts of speech correctly in simple sentences:
a. nouns
b. action verbs
c. personal pronouns
d. adjectives
e. conjunctions
PO 13. Use subject/verb agreement in simple and compound sentences.
Grade 5
PO 1. Use capital letters correctly for:
a. proper nouns:
• place names
• holidays
• languages
• historical events
• organizations
b. literary titles (i.e., book, story, poem, play, song)
c. titles
d. abbreviations
e. words used as names (e.g., Mother, Uncle Jim)
PO 2. Punctuate endings of sentences using:
a. periods
b. question marks
c. exclamation points
PO 3. Use commas to punctuate:
a. items in a series
b. greetings and closings of letters
c. dates
d. introductory words
e. dialogue
f. direct address
PO 4. Use quotation marks to punctuate:
a. simple dialogue
b. titles
PO 5. Use colons to punctuate:
a. time
b. business letter salutations
PO 6. Use apostrophes to punctuate:
a. contractions
b. singular possessive
PO 7. Spell high-frequency words correctly.
PO 8. Use common spelling patterns/generalizations to spell words correctly, including:
a. irregular plurals
b. silent e
c. i before e
d. words ending in –y
e. doubling final consonant
PO 9. Spell homonyms correctly in context.
PO 10. Use resources (e.g., dictionaries, word walls) to spell correctly.
PO 11. Use paragraph breaks to indicate an organizational structure.
PO 12. Use the following parts of speech correctly in simple sentences:
a. nouns
b. action verbs
c. personal pronouns
d. conjunctions
e. adverbs
PO 13. Use subject/verb agreement in simple and compound sentences.