English Language Arts Vertical Articulation Matrix: Grade 1
Grade
Level
Topic/Skills/Knowledge
Introduced
Developed Mastered
Entrance Expectations
Recognize all upper and lower case letter names and sounds
Initial word identification, sight words
Beginning/emergent readers
Write a simple sentence with beginning, middle, end
Strong concepts of print (15 skills including tracking, book
orientation)
Foundational phonemic awareness skills
1
Phonological Awareness
 blend separately spoken phonemes to make a
meaningful word
 use onsets and rimes to create new words that
include blends and digraphs
 segment words into syllables – syllable
blending, syllable segmenting, syllable deletion
(aurally)
 segment phonemes by deleting initial and final
sounds
 manipulate phonemes by deleting initial and
final sounds, and substituting sounds
Phonics
 recognize at least 75 high-frequency words as
they encounter words in reading
 know the regular letter sound correspondences
and use them to recognize or figure out
regularly spelled one & two syllable words
 know initial and final consonants
 recognize vowel patterns (short, long, other)
Accuracy and Fluency
 read (at least) level 16 NF books that have not
been seen before with 95% accuracy or better
 read aloud narrative and informational text
with appropriate pacing, intonation and
expression
 apply word solving skills, self-correct and
attend to punctuation while reading
 independently apply guided reading skills and
strategies
Comprehension
 retell the story
 tell what the book is about (summarize it)
 describe in their own words what new
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information they gained from the text
make predictions about what might happen
next and say why
distinguish between fact and opinion
differentiate between fiction and
nonfiction text
compare one text to another they have
read, seen or heard
discuss the interrelationships of story
elements (e.g. characters, plot, setting,
events)
understand and analyze characters
apply these comprehension strategies:
visualizing, questioning, predicting, making
connections
say how a story relates to something in real
life (T-S)
with support identify the main topic and
key details of informational text
compare one text to another they have
read, seen or heard (T-T, T-W)
cite important details and evidence from
text to support thinking
Independent and Assisted Reading, Being Read To
 read four or more books every day
independently or with assistance
 read some favorite books many times, gaining
deeper comprehension
 read their own writing and sometimes the
writing of their classmates
 read functional messages they encounter in the
classroom (for example, labels, signs,
instructions)
 hear two to four books or other texts (for
example, poems letters, instructions,
newspaper or magazine articles, dramatic
scripts, songs, brochures) read aloud every day
 listen to and discuss every day at least one
book or chapter that is longer and more
difficult than what they can read independently
or with assistance
 read and hear text from a variety of genres
 have worthwhile literature read to them to
model the language and craft of good writing
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voluntarily read to each other, signaling their
sense of themselves as readers
select “Just Right” books with teacher guidance
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Discussing Books & Responding to Literature
 compare two books by the same author
 refer explicitly to parts of the text when
presenting or defending a claim
 attempt to explain why their interpretation of a
book is valid
 note and talk about author’s craft: beginnings,
endings, and plot
 give reactions to the book, with backup reasons
 listen carefully to each other and ask for
clarification when necessary
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Vocabulary
 Make sense of new words from how the words
are used, refining their sense of the words as
they encounter them again
 Talk about the meaning of some new words
encountered in independent and assisted
reading
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 Know how to talk about what words mean in
terms of functions
 Learn new words every day from talk and books
read aloud
 Use words and phrases acquired through
conversations, reading and being read to, and
responding to text
Writing: Habits & Processes
 Write daily
 Generate content and topics for writing
 Reread their own work often with the
expectation that others will be able to read it
 Revise, edit and proofread as appropriate
 Apply a sense of what constitutes good writing
(that is, apply some commonly agreed-upon
criteria to their own work)
 Over the course of the year polish as least 10
pieces of writing
 Consciously appropriate specific elements of a
favorite author to refine the quality of their
own work (Mentor Texts)
 Confer to improve writing
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 Share writing with a wider audience
Writing: Narrative Writing
 Write with clear organizational structure (B, M,
E)
 Stretch story beginning, expand middle, add
satisfying ending
 Emulate authors’ craft techniques (i.e. leads,
sound words, dialogue)
 Add details to picture and story
 Experiment with language
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Writing: Functional Writing
 Give instructions
 Describe, in appropriate sequence and with a
few details, the steps must take to make or do
a particular thing
 Claim, mark, or identify objects and places
Writing: Responding to Literature
 Re-enact and retell stories, songs, poems and
other literary works they encounter
 Produce simple evaluative expressions about
the text (“I like the story because…,” etc)
 Make simple comparisons of the story to
events or people in their own lives
 Make explicit reference to parts of the text
when presenting or defending a claim
Writing: Informational
 Gather information pertinent to a topic, sort it
into major categories (possibly using headers or
chapters) and report it to others
 Demonstrating a growing desire and ability to
communicate with readers by using details to
develop their points, sometimes including
pictures, diagrams, maps and other graphics
that enhance the reader’s understanding of the
text
Writing: Language Use & Conventions
Style and Syntax:
 Vary sentence openings
 Use a wide range of syntactic patterns typical
of oral language
 Sometimes mimic sentence structures from
various genres they are reading
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Spelling:
 Produce writing that contains a large
proportion of correctly spelled, high frequency
words
 Draw on a range of resources for deciding how
to spell unfamiliar words, including strategies
like segmenting, sounding out and matching
familiar words and familiar parts
 Automatically spell some familiar words, high
frequency words, and word endings correctly
 Spell one-syllable words (CVC, CVCe patterns)
 Apply knowledge of phonics and word structure
patterns to daily written work
Vocabulary and Word Choice:
 Produce writing that uses the full range of
words in their speaking vocabulary
 Select a more precise word when prompted
 Use newly learned words they like from their
reading, the books they hear read, words on
the classroom walls, and talk
Punctuation, Capitalization, and Other Conventions:
 Apply grade level rules of punctuation as stated
in grammar scope and sequence found in LA
Resource Binder
 Apply grade level rules of capitalization as
stated in grammar scope and sequence found
in LA Resource Binder
 Use a variety of sentence types as stated in
grammar scope and sequence found in LA
Resource Binder
 Apply various parts of speech appropriately as
stated in grammar scope and sequence found
in LA Resource Binder
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