MONTESSORI UPPER ELEMENTARY
LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT
Based on the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum
Montessori Language Arts
Grades 4 to 6
June 2006
Prince George’s County Public Schools
PGIN
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
1
BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND
Beatrice P. Tignor, Ed.D., Chair
Howard W Stone, Jr., Vice Chair
John R. Bailer, Member
Abby L. W. Crowley, Ed.D., Member
Charlene M. Dukes, Ed.D., Member
Robert O. Duncan, Member
Jose R. Morales, Member
Judy G. Mickens- Murray, Member
Dean Sirjue, Member
Leslie Hall, Student Board Member
John E. Deasy, Ph. D., Chief Executive Officer
Shelley Jallow, Chief Academic Officer
Patricia Miller, Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Gladys Whitehead, Ph.D., Coordinating Supervisor, Academic Programs
Pamela Shetley, Ph.D., Director of the FOCUS Office
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the following educators who contributed to the 2006-07 to the Montessori Language Arts Curriculum;
John Feeley
Laure Fleming
Janet Goodspeed
Gwendolyn Harris
Susan Holmes
Marion Lebensbaum
Cindy Peil
Kimberly Strayhorn.
We would like to acknowledge the following educators who contributed to the 2005-06 Montessori Curriculum Supplement and whose work has also
been included in this document: Juliana Collier, John Feeley, Corinne Massey, Linda Massey, Sally Chadbourn, Kathleen Schwab, and Marty Galvin
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Montessori Language Arts Materials List ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7
Voluntary State Curriculum Chart (VSC) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8
Quarterly Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18
Montessori Alignment with VSC ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….19
Montessori Great Lessons ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…83
Montessori Sample Lessons ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...91
Appendix …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….102
Literary Genre Card Set
Graphic Organizers
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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Introduction
The Montessori Method of teaching reading incorporates both comprehensive instruction in phonics skills and a thematic, integrated “whole
language” approach to reading. Through language, the transmission of culture from one generation to the next takes place. Reading and writing are
offered as “keys” to explore culture and knowledge. Books are offered as tools to “unlock” the living world around us.
The Montessori Language Arts curriculum is reflective of the three reading purposes outlined in the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum:
reading for a literary experience, reading to be informed, and reading to perform a task. Authentic literature and real-world reading material form the
foundation of a thematically organized curriculum. Numerous opportunities are available for students to expand, enrich, and explore their
understanding. Students are provided opportunities to work with flexible instructional arrangements, such as guided independent study, research
projects, technology programs, mentoring, and seminars.
Activities and experiences designed to address individual strengths, learning preferences, and interests are offered to strengthen student’s
talents and abilities while they explore advanced content within respective themes.
The reading language arts program allows for the following:
• On-going flexible grouping based on student interests
• Enrichment opportunities within and outside the curriculum
• Research projects to investigate topics of students’ interests related to the various themes
• Use of internet technology to expand subject areas
• Alignment with science, geography and social studies units – emphasizing interdisciplinary instruction
• On-going assessment to determine instructional focus
• Emphasis on stimulating high levels of thinking skills and knowledge
The Montessori Upper Elementary Reading Curriculum contains alignment with the VSC for forth, fifth, and sixth grades. It is intended to
serve as a guide to new teachers in helping students develop comprehension skills through read-aloud lessons, poetry lessons and literacy circles.
Additionally, lesson plans are provided to supplement the Montessori Great Lesson, “The Story of Language.”
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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Read Aloud lessons have been developed using the Montessori lesson plan format to introduce the following reading comprehensions
strategies:
 making connections to texts
 questioning
 visualizing
 predicting
 clarifying
 determining importance
 generalizing
 inferring
 evaluating
The Read Aloud lessons also introduce vocabulary and the making of text-life connections through mini-dramas. Later Read Aloud lessons have
been designed to incorporate tools for teaching setting, plot, character, theme and point of view. The lessons range from beginning to advanced
readers.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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Description of Montessori Language Materials List
Moveable Alphabet Box: a wooden compartmental box that houses a plastic alphabet. Moveable alphabet boxes usually have 20 sets of letters
with vowels in red and constants in blue.
Phonogram Booklets: 50 booklets teacher made or purchased, that highlight vowel patterns, diphthongs, and phonograms
Grammar Boxes: eight wooden colored coded boxes that correspond to a part of speech. Each box has sentence cards that highlight the function of
words in each part of speech: noun, adjective, article, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
Grammar Symbols: paper or wooden symbols are color coded geometric shapes used to represent a part of speech. The grammar symbols
reinforce functions of words in a sentence. Large black triangle = noun, medium blue triangle= adjective, small light blue triangle= article, large red
circle=verb, medium orange circle = adverb, green crescent= preposition, pink dash= conjunction, golden keyhole=interjection.
Grammar Charts: generally teacher made materials that highlight specific grammar concepts such as: types of nouns, transitive verbs, intransitive
verbs, etc.
Logical Analysis: wooden symbols are colored coded geometric shapes used to diagram sentences.
Verb Material: teacher made cards that show different verb forms. Students match a pronoun to the proper conjugation (i.e. he eats, they eat).
Teacher made material that shows past, present and future tenses of verbs.
Nomenclature Cards: teacher made or purchased, matching vocabulary and picture cards which are related to various themes in content areas
such as geometry, science, and history.
Command Cards: teacher made or purchased activity cards that provide for additional exploration of specific content themes. They are completed
individually on in small groups and are generally student selected following a lesson.
Word Family Cards: teacher made charts, booklets or cards that combine affixes with root words to create new words.
Word Study Cards: teacher made charts, booklets or cards that students match or combine in order to practice compound words, homonyms,
antonyms, synonyms, rhyming words, alphabetical order, etc.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC and Montessori Upper Elementary
Language Arts Curriculum Alignment
Table of Contents
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
1.0
1.B.1.a
General Reading
Process
Page 19
VSC
1.0
General Reading
Process
VSC
1.0
General Reading
Process
1.C.1.a
1.C.2.a
1.C.2.b
1.C.2.c
Page 19
Page 20
Page 20
Page 20
1.C.1.a
1.C.2.a
1.C.2.b
1.C.2.c
Page 19
Page 20
Page 20
Page 20
1.C.1.a
1.C.2.a
1.C.2.b
1.C.2.c
Page 19
Page 20
Page 20
Page 20
1.D.1.a
1.D.1.b
1.D.1.c
Page 21
Page 21
Page 21
1.D.1.a
1.D.1.b
Page 21
Page 21
Page 21
1.D.1.a
1.D.1.b
Page 21
Page 21
Page 21
1.D.2.a
1.D.2.b
1.D.2.c
Page 21
Page 22
Page 22
1.D.2.a
1.D.2.b
Page 21
Page 22
Page 22
1.D.2.a
1.D.2.b
Page 21
Page 22
Page 22
1.D.3.a
1.D.3.b
1.D.3.c
1.D.3.d
Page 22
Page 23
Page 23
Page 23
1.D.3.a
1.D.3.b
1.D.3.c
1.D.3.d
Page 22
Page 23
Page 23
Page 23
1.D.3.a
1.D.3.b
1.D.3.c
1.D.3.d
Page 22
Page 23
Page 23
Page 23
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes
1.E.1.a
Page 24
1.E.1.a
1.E.1.b
Page 24
1.E.1.b
1.E.1.c
Page 24
1.E.1.c
Page 24
Page 24
Page 24
1.E.1.a
1.E.1.b
1.E.1.c
Page 24
Page 24
Page 24
1.E.2.a
1.E.2.b
1.E.2.c
1.E.2.d
Page 24
Page 25
Page 25
Page 25
1.E.2.a
1.E.2.b
1.E.2.c
1.E.2.d
Page 24
Page 25
Page 25
Page 25
1.E.2.a
1.E.2.b
1.E.2.c
1.E.2.d
Page 24
Page 25
Page 25
Page 25
1.E.3.a
1.E.3.b
1.E.3.c
1.E.3.d
1.E.3.e
1.E.3.f
1.F.3.g
1.E.3.h
1.E.3.i
1.E.3.j
Page 25
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 28
1.E.3.a
1.E.3.b
1.E.3.c
1.E.3.d
1.E.3.e
1.E.3.f
1.F.3.g
1.E.3.h
1.E.3.i
1.E.3.j
Page 25
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 28
1.E.3.a
1.E.3.b
1.E.3.c
1.E.3.d
1.E.3.e
1.E.3.f
1.F.3.g
1.E.3.h
1.E.3.i
1.E.3.j
Page 25
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 26
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 27
Page 28
1.E.4.a
1.E.4.b
1.E.4.c
1.E.4.d
1.E.4.e
1.E.4.f
1.E.4.g
1.E.4.h
Page 28
Page 29
Page 29
Page 29
Page 30
Page 30
Page 30
Page 31
1.E.4.a
1.E.4.b
1.E.4.c
1.E.4.d
1.E.4.e
1.E.4.f
1.E.4.g
1.E.4.h
Page 28
Page 29
Page 29
Page 29
Page 30
Page 30
Page 30
Page 31
1.E.4.a
1.E.4.b
1.E.4.c
1.E.4.d
1.E.4.e
1.E.4.f
1.E.4.g
1.E.4.h
Page 28
Page 29
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Page 30
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Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
2.0
2.A.1.a
2.A.1.b
2.A.1.c
Comprehension of
Informational Text
Page 32
Page 33
Page 33
VSC
2.0
2.A.1.a
2.A.1.b
2.A.1.c
Comprehension of
Informational Text
Page 32
Page 33
Page 33
VSC
2.0
2.A.1.a
2.A.1.b
2.A.1.c
Comprehension of
Informational Text
Page 32
Page 33
Page 33
2.A.2.a
2.A.2.b
2.A.2.c
2.A.2.d
2.A.2.e
2.A.2.f
Page 34
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 36
Page 37
2.A.2.a
2.A.2.b
2.A.2.c
2.A.2.d
2.A.2.e
2.A.2.f
Page 34
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 36
Page 37
2.A.2.a
2.A.2.b
2.A.2.c
2.A.2.d
2.A.2.e
2.A.2.f
Page 34
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 36
Page 37
2.A.3.a
2.A.3.b
Page 37
Page 38
2.A.3.a
2.A.3.b
Page 37
Page 38
2.A.3.a
Page 37
Page 38
2.A.4.a
2.A.4.b
2.A.4.c
2.A.4.d
2.A.4.e
2.A.4.f
Page 39
Page 39
Page 39
Page 40
Page 40
Page 40
2.A.4.a
2.A.4.b
2.A.4.c
2.A.4.d
2.A.4.e
2.A.4.f
Page 39
Page 39
Page 39
Page 40
Page 40
Page 40
2.A.4.a
2.A.4.b
2.A.4.c
2.A.4.d
2.A.4.e
2.A.4.f
Page 39
Page 39
Page 39
Page 40
Page 40
Page 40
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
2.A.4.g
Page 41
2.A.4.g
Page 41
2.A.4.g
Page 41
2.A.4.h
Page 41
2.A.4.h
Page 41
2.A.4.h
Page 41
2.A.4.i
Page 41
2.A.4.i
Page 41
2.A.4.i
Page 41
2.A.4.j
Page 42
2.A.4.j
Page 42
2.A.4.j
Page 42
2.A.5.a
2.A.5.b
2.A.5.c
Page 42
Page 43
Page 43
2.A.5.a
2.A.5.b
2.A.5.c
Page 42
Page 43
Page 43
2.A.5.a
2.A.5.b
2.A.5.c
Page 42
Page 43
Page 43
2.A.6.a
2.A.6.b
2.A.6.c
2.A.6.d
2.A.6.e
2.A.6.f
Page 43
Page 44
Page 44
Page 45
Page 45
Page 46
2.A.6.a
2.A.6.b
2.A.6.c
2.A.6.d
2.A.6.e
2.A.6.f
Page 43
Page 44
Page 44
Page 45
Page 45
Page 46
2.A.6.a
2.A.6.b
2.A.6.c
2.A.6.d
2.A.6.e
2.A.6.f
Page 43
Page 44
Page 44
Page 45
Page 45
Page 46
VSC - Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
3.0
3.A.1.a
3.A.1.b
Comprehension of Literary
Text
Page 47
Page 47
VSC
3.0
3.A.1.a
3.A.1.b
Comprehension of Literary
Text
Page 47
Page 47
VSC
3.0
3.A.1.a
3.A.1.b
Comprehension of Literary
Text
Page 47
Page 47
3.A.2.a
3.A.2.b
3.A.2.c
Page 47
Page 48
Page 48
3.A.2.a
3.A.2.b
3.A.2.c
Page 47
Page 48
Page 48
3.A.2.a
3.A.2.b
3.A.2.c
Page 47
Page 48
Page 48
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
3.A.3.a
Page 48
3.A.3.a
Page 48
3.A.3.a
Page 48
3.A.3.b
Page 49
3.A.3.b
Page 49
3.A.3.b
Page 49
3.A.3.c
Page 49
3.A.3.c
Page 49
3.A.3.c
Page 49
3.A.3.d
Page 50
3.A.3.d
Page 50
3.A.3.d
Page 50
3.A.3.e
Page 50
3.A.3.e
Page 50
3.A.3.e
Page 50
3.A.3.f
Page 51
3.A.3.f
Page 51
3.A.3.f
Page 51
3.A.3.g
Page 51
3.A.3.g
Page 51
3.A.3.g
Page 51
3.A.3.h
Page 51
3.A.3.i
Page 52
3.A.4.a
3.A.4.b
3.A.4.c
3.A.4.d
Page 52
Page 52
Page 53
Page 53
3.A.4.a
3.A.4.b
3.A.4.c
3.A.4.d
Page 52
Page 52
Page 53
Page 53
3.A.4.a
3.A.4.b
3.A.4.c
3.A.4.d
Page 52
Page 52
Page 53
Page 53
3.A.5.a
3.A.5.b
3.A.5.c
3.A.5.d
Page 54
Page 54
Page 55
Page 55
3.A.5.a
3.A.5.b
3.A.5.c
3.A.5.d
Page 54
Page 54
Page 55
Page 55
3.A.5.a
3.A.5.b
3.A.5.c
3.A.5.d
Page 54
Page 54
Page 55
Page 55
3.A.6.a
3.A.6.b
3.A.6.c
3.A.6.d
3.A.6.e
Page 56
Page 56
Page 56
Page 57
Page 57
3.A.6.a
3.A.6.b
3.A.6.c
3.A.6.d
3.A.6.e
3.A.6.f
Page 56
Page 56
Page 56
Page 57
Page 57
Page 57
3.A.6.a
3.A.6.b
3.A.6.c
3.A.6.d
3.A.6.e
3.A.6.f
Page 56
Page 56
Page 56
Page 57
Page 57
Page 57
3.A.7.a
3.A.7.b
Page 58
Page 58
3.A.7.a
3.A.7.b
Page 58
Page 58
3.A.7.a
3.A.7.b
Page 58
Page 58
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
3.A.7.c
Page 59
3.A.7.c
Page 59
3.A.7.c
Page 59
3.A.7.d
Page 59
3.A.7.d
Page 59
3.A.7.d
Page 59
3.A.7.e
Page 60
3.A.7.e
Page 60
3.A.7.e
Page 60
3.A.7.f
Page 60
3.A.7.f
Page 60
3.A.8.a
3.A.8.b
3.A.8.c
Page 60
Page 61
Page 61
3.A.8.a
3.A.8.b
3.A.8.c
3.A.8.d
Page 60
Page 61
Page 61
Page 61
3.A.8.a
3.A.8.b
3.A.8.c
3.A.8.d
Page 60
Page 61
Page 61
Page 61
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
4.0
4.A.1.a
4.A.1.b
Writing
Page 62
Page 62
VSC
4.0
4.A.1.a
4.A.1.b
4.A.2.a
4.A.2.b
4.A.2.c
4.A.2.d
4.A.2.e
4.A.2.f
Page 63
Page 63
Page 63
Page 64
Page 64
Page 64
4.A.3.a
4.A.3.b
4.A.3.c
Page 65
Page 66
Page 66
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Writing
Page 62
Page 62
VSC
4.0
4.A.1.a
4.A.1.b
Writing
Page 62
Page 62
4.A.2.a
4.A.2.b
4.A.2.c
4.A.2.d
4.A.2.e
4.A.2.f
Page 63
Page 63
Page 63
Page 64
Page 64
Page 64
4.A.2.a
4.A.2.b
4.A.2.c
4.A.2.d
4.A.2.e
4.A.2.f
Page 63
Page 63
Page 63
Page 64
Page 64
Page 64
4.A.3.a
4.A.3.b
4.A.3.c
Page 65
Page 66
Page 66
4.A.3.a
4.A.3.b
4.A.3.c
Page 65
Page 66
Page 66
13
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
4.A.4.a
Page 66
4.A.4.a
Page 66
4.A.4.a
Page 66
4.A.4.b
Page 67
4.A.4.b
Page 67
4.A.4.b
Page 67
4.A.4.c
Page 67
4.A.4.c
Page 67
4.A.4.c
Page 67
4.A.5.a
4.A.5.b
4.A.5.c
Page 67
Page 67
Page 68
4.A.5.a
4.A.5.b
4.A.5.c
Page 67
Page 67
Page 68
4.A.5.a
4.A.5.b
4.A.5.c
Page 67
Page 67
Page 68
4.A.6.a
4.A.6.b
Page 68
Page 68
4.A.6.a
4.A.6.b
Page 68
Page 68
4.A.6.a
4.A.6.b
Page 68
Page 68
4.A.7.a
4.A.7.b
4.A.7.c
4.A.7.d
4.A.7.e
Page 68
Page 69
Page 69
Page 70
Page 70
4.A.7.a
4.A.7.b
4.A.7.c
4.A.7.d
4.A.7.e
Page 68
Page 69
Page 69
Page 70
Page 70
4.A.7.a
4.A.7.b
4.A.7.c
4.A.7.d
4.A.7.e
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Page 69
Page 69
Page 70
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Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
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VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
5.0
5.A.1
Controlling Language
VSC
5.0
5.A.1
Controlling Language
Controlling Language
Page 71
VSC
5.0
5.A.1
5.A.2.a
5.A.2.b
5.A.2.c
5.A.2.d
5.A.2.e
Page 71
Page 71
Page 71
Page 72
Page 72
5.A.2.a
5.A.2.b
5.A.2.c
5.A.2.d
Page 71
Page 71
Page 71
Page 72
5.A.2.a
5.A.2.b
5.A.2.c
5.A.2.d
Page 71
Page 71
Page 71
Page 72
5.B.1
Page 72
5.B.1
Page 72
5.B.1
Page 72
5.B.2.a
5.B.2.b
5.B.2.c
5.B.2.d
5.B.2.e
Page 72
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
5.B.2.a
5.B.2.b
5.B.2.c
5.B.2.d
5.B.2.e
Page 72
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
5.B.2.a
5.B.2.b
5.B.2.c
5.B.2.d
5.B.2.e
Page 72
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
Page 73
5.C.1
Page 74
5.C.1
Page 74
5.C.1
Page 74
5.C.2.a
5.C.2.b
5.C.2.c
5.C.2.d
5.C.2.e
5.C.2.f
5.C.2.g
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 75
Page 75
Page 75
5.C.2.a
5.C.2.b
5.C.2.c
5.C.2.d
5.C.2.e
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 75
5.C.2.a
5.C.2.b
5.C.2.c
5.C.2.d
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 74
Page 71
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Page 71
15
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
5.C.3
Page 75
5.C.3
Page 75
5.C.3
Page 75
5.D.1
Page 75
5.D.1
Page 75
5.D.1
Page 75
5.D.2.a
5.D.2.b
5.D.2.c
5.D.2.d.
5.D.2.e
Page 75
Page 76
Page 76
Page 76
Page 76
5.D.2.a
5.D.2.b
5.D.2.c
5.D.2.d
Page 75
Page 76
Page 76
Page 76
5.D.2.a
5.D.2.b
5.D.2.c
Page 75
Page 76
Page 76
5.D.3
Page 76
5.D.3
Page 76
5.D.3
Page 76
5.E.1.a
5.E.1.b
Page 77
Page 77
5.E.1.a
5.E.1.b
Page 77
Page 77
5.E.1.a
5.E.1.b
Page 77
Page 77
VSC - Reading Standard 6.0 Listening: Students will demonstrate effective listening to learn, process, and analyze information.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
Listening
VSC
Listening
VSC
Listening
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.A.1.a
Page 78
6.A.1.a
Page 78
6.A.1.a
Page 78
6.A.1.b
Page 78
6.A.1.b
Page 78
6.A.1.b
Page 78
6.A.1.c
Page 78
6.A.1.c
Page 78
6.A.1.c
Page 78
6.A.1.d
Page 78
6.A.1.d
Page 78
6.A.1.d
Page 78
6.A.1.e
Page 78
6.A.1.f
Page 79
6.A.1.g
Page 79
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
16
VSC - Reading Standard 6.0 Listening: Students will demonstrate effective listening to learn, process, and analyze information.
6.A.2.a
Page 79
6.A.2.a
Page 79
6.A.2.a
Page 79
6.A.2.b
Page 79
6.A.2.b
Page 79
6.A.2.b
Page 79
6.A.2.c
Page 79
6.A.2.c
Page 79
6.A.2.c
Page 79
6.A.2.d
Page 79
6.A.2.d
Page 79
6.A.2.d
Page 79
6.A.2.e
Page 80
6.A.2.e
Page 80
6.A.2.e
Page 80
6.A.2.f
Page 80
VSC - Reading Standard 7.0 Speaking: Student will communicate effectively in a variety of situations with different audiences, purposes, and formats.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
VSC
Speaking
VSC
Speaking
VSC
Speaking
7.0
7.0
7.0
7.A.1.a
Page 81
7.A.1.a
Page 81
7.A.1.a
Page 81
7.A.1.b
Page 81
7.A.1.b
Page 81
7.A.1.b
Page 81
7.A.1.c
Page 81
7.A.1.c
Page 81
7.A.1.c
Page 81
7.A.1.d
Page 81
7.A.1.e
Page 81
7.A.1.f
Page 82
7.A.2.a
7.A.2.b
7.A.2.c
7.A.2.d
7.A.2.e
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
7.A.2.a
7.A.2.b
7.A.2.c
7.A.2.d
7.A.2.e
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
Page 82
17
Montessori Upper Elementary Language Arts
Quarterly Overview for 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Students
First Quarter
Literary Text
Creation Stories
Folklore
Folktales
Fantasy
Fairytales
Informational Text
Maps and Atlases
Key, Scale, Legend
Headings, Captions, Illustrations
Photographs, Graphic Aids
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Set of Directions
Textbook
Sidebars
Second Quarter
Literary Text
Poetry
Plays
Short Stories
Third Quarter
Literary Text
Biography
Historical Fiction
Diary
Journal
Informational Text
Informational Text
Maps and Atlases
Maps and Atlases
Key, Scale, Legend
Key, Scale, Legend
Headings, Captions, Illustrations
Headings, Captions, Illustrations
Photographs, Graphic Aids
Photographs, Graphic Aids
Magazine and Newspaper Articles Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Set of Directions
Set of Directions
Textbook
Textbook
Sidebars
Sidebars
Ongoing Reading/Language Arts Indicators
Phonics
Listening and Speaking
Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Spelling, Handwriting
Writing
Vocabulary
General Comprehension
Fluency
Fourth Quarter
Literary Text
Realistic Fiction
Science Fiction
Informational Text
Maps and Atlases
Key, Scale, Legend
Headings, Captions, Illustrations
Photographs, Graphic Aids
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Set of Directions
Textbook
Sidebars
Montessori Language Arts and the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum
This sequence has been kept as closely aligned to the Montessori language curriculum as possible, but adjustments have been made based on the indicators tested quarterly in
Prince George’s County Public Schools. If teachers systematically incorporate these indicators into their presentations and discussions, students will be comfortable with quarterly
benchmark tests and the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). The Montessori Language Lessons are designed to be presented individually or in small groups. Each
presentation isolates one learning objective. Where student begins in the sequence, and how quickly they progress, depends on the developmental needs of each individual
student. The teacher observes and responds to each individual child’s learning needs. Grade level expectations are intended to be used only as an aid to planning. Teachers will
use their Montessori curriculum albums as their primary guides, and each student will progress at his or her own unique and appropriate pace.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
18
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 1.B. Phonics
1.B.1. Use a variety of phonetic skills to read unfamiliar words
a. Apply phonics skills
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Phonogram Booklets and
Cards (include blends,
diagraphs, diphthongs,
 Initial and final
silent elements, ending
consonant blends (3
elements); Dictionary
letters)
lessons( syllabication,
 Vowel patterns
pronunciation key)
 Long and short vowels
Topic 1.B. Phonics
Topic 1.B. Phonics




Irregular/silent
consonant sounds
R-controlled vowels
Digraphs
Diphthongs
Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 1.C. Fluency
Topic 1.C. Fluency
Topic 1.C. Fluency *
1.C.1. Read orally at an appropriate rate
1.C.1. Read orally at an appropriate rate
1.C.1. Read orally at an appropriate rate
a. Read familiar text at a
Montessori Lessons:
a. Read familiar text at a
Montessori Lessons:
a. Read familiar text at a
Montessori Lessons:
rate that is conversational
Teacher read-aloud /
rate that is conversational
Teacher read-aloud /
rate that is conversational
Teacher read-aloud /
and consistent
modeling; Literacy Circles
and consistent
modeling; Literacy Circles and consistent
modeling; Literacy Circles
(Student re-reads a favorite
(Student re-reads a
(Student re-reads a
portion of the text.); Partner
favorite portion of the
favorite portion of the
Reading; Student reading
text.); Partner Reading;
text.); Partner Reading;
individually with teacher
Student reading
Student reading
individually with teacher
individually with teacher
*
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
*
19
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
1.C.2. Read grade-level text with both high accuracy and
appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression
a. Apply knowledge of
Montessori Lessons:
word structures and
Word Family Cards with
patterns to read with
Affixes; Dictionary Lessons
automaticity
(etymology)
1.C.2. Read grade-level text with both high accuracy and
appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression
a. Apply knowledge of
Montessori Lessons:
word structures and
Word Family Cards with
patterns to read with
Affixes; Dictionary
automaticity
Lessons (etymology)
1.C.2. Read grade-level text with both high accuracy and
appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression
a. Apply knowledge of
Montessori Lessons:
word structures and
Word Family Cards with
patterns to read with
Affixes; Dictionary
automaticity
Lessons (etymology)
b. Demonstrate
appropriate use of
phrasing:
b. Demonstrate
appropriate use of
phrasing:
b. Demonstrate
appropriate use of
phrasing:
Attend to sentence
patterns and structures
that signal meaning in text
Use punctuation cues to
guide meaning and
expression
Montessori Lessons:
Modeling through Teacher
Read-Aloud; Logical
Analysis; Grammar
Symbols;
Literacy Circles (Student
re-reads a favorite portion
of the text.); Partner
Reading; Individual
Students read with teacher
Attend to sentence
patterns and structures
that signal meaning in text
Use punctuation cues to
guide meaning and
expression
Montessori Lessons:
Modeling through Teacher
Read-Aloud; Logical
Analysis; Grammar
Symbols;
Literacy Circles (Student
re-reads a favorite portion
of the text.); Partner
Reading; Individual
Students read with teacher
Attend to sentence
patterns and structures
that signal meaning in text
Use punctuation cues to
guide meaning and
expression
Use pacing and intonation
(emphasis on certain
words) to convey meaning
and expression
Use pacing and intonation
(emphasis on certain
words) to convey meaning
and expression
Use pacing and intonation
(emphasis on certain
words) to convey meaning
and expression
Adjust intonation and pitch
(rise and fall of spoken
voice) appropriately
c. Increase sight words
read fluently
Adjust intonation and pitch
(rise and fall of spoken
voice) appropriately
c. Increase sight words
read fluently
Adjust intonation and pitch
(rise and fall of spoken
voice) appropriately
c. Increase sight words
read fluently
Montessori Lessons:
Cross-Curricular
vocabulary; Reading for
meaning in context;
Dictionary Lessons
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Cross-Curricular
vocabulary; Reading for
meaning in context;
Dictionary Lessons
Montessori Lessons:
Modeling through Teacher
Read-Aloud; Logical
Analysis; Grammar
Symbols;
Literacy Circles (Student
re-reads a favorite portion
of the text.); Partner
Reading; Individual
Students read with teacher
Montessori Lessons:
Cross-Curricular
vocabulary; Reading for
meaning in context;
Dictionary Lessons
20
Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
Topic 1.D. Vocabulary
1.D.1. Develop and apply vocabulary through exposure
to a variety of texts
a. Acquire new vocabulary
Montessori Lessons:
through listening to,
Cross-Curricular
independently reading, and
vocabulary enrichment;
discussing a variety of literary Reading for meaning in
and informational texts
context; Reading
Journals; Nomenclature
Cards
b. Discuss words and word
Montessori Lessons:
meanings daily as they are
Teacher Read Aloud;
encountered in text,
Cross-Curricular
instruction, and conversation
vocabulary enrichment;
Reading for meaning in
context; Reading
Journals
c. Collect 12-20 new words
Montessori Lessons:
for deeper study each week
Reading Journals;
Literacy Circle
Meetings;
Nomenclature Cards
1.D.2. Develop a conceptual understanding of new
words
a. Classify and categorize
Montessori Lessons:
increasingly complex words
Nomenclature Cards
into sets and groups
across the curriculum
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 1.D. Vocabulary
1.D.1. Develop and apply vocabulary through exposure
to a variety of texts
a. Acquire new vocabulary
Montessori Lessons:
through listening to,
Cross-Curricular
independently reading, and
vocabulary enrichment;
discussing a variety of literary Reading for meaning in
and informational texts
context; Reading
Journals; Nomenclature
Cards
b. Discuss words and word
Montessori Lessons:
meanings daily as they are
Teacher Read Aloud;
encountered in text,
Cross-Curricular
instruction, and conversation
vocabulary enrichment;
Reading for meaning in
context; Reading
Journals
Topic 1.D. Vocabulary
1.D.1. Develop and apply vocabulary through exposure
to a variety of texts
a. Acquire new vocabulary
Montessori Lessons:
through listening to,
Cross-Curricular
independently reading, and
vocabulary enrichment;
discussing a variety of literary Reading for meaning in
and informational texts
context; Reading
Journals; Nomenclature
Cards
b. Discuss words and word
Montessori Lessons:
meanings daily as they are
Teacher Read Aloud;
encountered in text,
Cross-Curricular
instruction, and conversation
vocabulary enrichment;
Reading for meaning in
context; Reading
Journals
1.D.2. Develop and apply a conceptual understanding of
new words
a. Classify and categorize
Montessori Lessons:
increasingly complex words
Nomenclature Cards
into sets and groups
across the curriculum
1.D.2. Apply a conceptual understanding of new words
a. Classify and categorize
increasingly complex words
into sets and groups
Montessori Lessons:
Nomenclature Cards
across the curriculum
21
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
b. Identify and explain word
relationships, to determine
the meanings of words
Assessment limit:
Antonyms, synonyms,
homophones, and
homographs
c. Identify and use correctly
new words acquired through
study of their relationships to
other words
Montessori Lessons:
Word Study Cabinet;
Multiple Meaning
Words
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Grade 5
b. Identify and explain
relationships between and
among words
Assessment limits:
Antonyms and synonyms;
Concept hierarchies; Multiple
meaning words; Specialized
use of vocabulary in specific
content areas
Montessori Lessons:
Word Study Cabinet;
Multiple Meaning
Words
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Grade 6
b. Explain relationships
between and among words
Assessment limits:
Antonyms and synonyms;
Concept hierarchies; Multiple
meaning words; Specialized
use of vocabulary in specific
content areas
Montessori Lessons:
Word Study Cabinet;
Multiple Meaning
Words
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology); Word
Family Cards
1.D.3. Understand, acquire, and use new vocabulary
a. Use context to determine
Montessori Lessons:
the meanings of words
Reading across the
Curriculum; Literacy
Circle Discussions;
Assessment limits: Above
Parts of Speech
grade-level words used in
(Grammar Symbols);
context; Words with multiple
Illustrations of figurative
meanings; Connotations
language
versus denotations; Gradeappropriate idioms and
MSA Finish Line:
figurative expressions
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Unit 1, Lesson 3
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
1.D.3. Understand, acquire, and use new vocabulary
a. Use context to determine
Montessori Lessons:
the meanings of words
Reading across the
Curriculum; Literacy
Circle Discussions;
Assessment limits: Above
Parts of Speech
grade-level words used in
(Grammar Symbols);
context; Words with multiple
Illustrations of figurative
meanings; Connotations
language
versus denotations; Gradeappropriate idioms and
MSA Finish Line:
figurative expressions
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Unit 1, Lesson 3
1.D.3. Understand, acquire, and use new vocabulary
a. Use context to determine
Montessori Lessons:
the meanings of words
Reading across the
Curriculum; Literacy
Circle Discussions;
Assessment limits: Above
Parts of Speech
grade-level words used in
(Grammar Symbols);
context; Words with multiple
Illustrations of figurative
meanings; Connotations
language
versus denotations; Gradeappropriate idioms,
colloquialisms, and figurative MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
expressions
Unit 1, Lesson 3
22
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
b. Use word structure to
determine the meaning of
words
Assessment limits: Prefixes
and suffixes; Gradeappropriate roots and base
words; Grade-appropriate
compound words; Gradeappropriate inflectional
endings
c. Use resources to
determine the meanings of
words
Assessment limits:
Dictionaries; Glossaries;
Thesauruses; Other gradeappropriate resources
d. Use new vocabulary in
speaking and writing to gain
and extend content
knowledge and clarify
expression
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication); Word
Family Cards (affixes,
compound words, etc.)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Unit 1, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication);
Thesaurus Lessons;
Student Created
Booklets
Montessori Lessons:
Social Studies and
Science nomenclature
followed by
independent research
projects, reports, and
presentations
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Use word structure to
determine the meaning of
words
Assessment limits: Prefixes
and suffixes; Gradeappropriate roots and base
words; Grade-appropriate
compound words; Gradeappropriate inflectional
endings
c. Use resources to confirm
definitions and gather further
information about words
Assessment limits:
Electronic and/or print
dictionaries; Thesauruses;
Other grade-appropriate
resources
d. Use new vocabulary in
speaking and writing to gain
and extend content
knowledge and clarify
expression
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication); Word
Family Cards (affixes,
compound words, etc.)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Unit 1, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication);
Thesaurus Lessons;
Student Created
Booklets
Montessori Lessons:
Social Studies and
Science nomenclature
followed by
independent research
projects, reports, and
presentations
Grade 5
b. Use word structure to
determine the meaning of
words
Assessment limits: Prefixes
and suffixes; Gradeappropriate roots and base
words; Grade-appropriate
compound words; Gradeappropriate inflectional
endings
c. Use resources to confirm
definitions and gather further
information about words
Assessment limits:
Electronic and/or print
dictionaries; Thesauruses;
Other grade-appropriate
resources
d. Use new vocabulary in
speaking and writing to gain
and extend content
knowledge and clarify
expression
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication); Word
Family Cards (affixes,
compound words, etc.)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 1, Lesson 1
Unit 1, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Dictionary Lessons
(etymology,
syllabication);
Thesaurus Lessons;
Student Created
Booklets
Montessori Lessons:
Social Studies and
Science nomenclature
followed by
independent research
projects, reports, and
presentations
23
Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
Topic 1.E. General Reading Comprehension
1.E.1. Develop comprehension skills through exposure
to a variety of texts
a. Listen to critically, read,
and discuss texts
representing diversity in
content, culture, authorship,
and perspective, including
areas, such as race, gender,
disability, religion, and socioeconomic background
b. Read a minimum of 25
self-selected and/or assigned
books or book equivalents
representing various genres
Montessori Lessons:
Reading across the
curriculum
Montessori Lessons:
Library Lessons, Book
reports; Reading across
the curriculum
c. Discuss reactions to and
Montessori Lessons:
ideas/information gained from Literacy Circles; Book
reading experiences with
Clubs; Oral
adults and peers in both
Presentations
formal and informal situations
1.E.2. Use strategies to prepare for reading (before
reading)
a. Survey and preview the
Montessori Lessons:
text by examining features,
Reading Strategies:
such as the title, illustrations, Preview and Predict;
photographs, charts, and
Teacher Modeling;
graphs
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 1.E. General Reading Comprehension
1.E.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills through
exposure to a variety of texts, including traditional print
and electronic texts
a. Listen to critically, read,
Montessori Lessons:
and discuss texts
Reading across the
representing diversity in
curriculum
content, culture, authorship,
and perspective, including
areas, such as race, gender,
disability, religion, and socioeconomic background
b. Read a minimum of 25
Montessori Lessons:
self-selected and/or assigned Library Lessons, Book
books or book equivalents
reports; Reading across
representing various genres
the curriculum
Topic 1.E. General Reading Comprehension
1.E.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills through
exposure to a variety of texts, including traditional print
and electronic texts
a. Listen to critically, read,
Montessori Lessons:
and discuss texts
Reading across the
representing diversity in
curriculum
content, culture, authorship,
and perspective, including
areas, such as race, gender,
disability, religion, and socioeconomic background
b. Read a minimum of 25
Montessori Lessons:
self-selected and/or assigned Library Lessons, Book
books or book equivalents
reports; Reading across
representing various genres
the curriculum
c. Discuss reactions to and
Montessori Lessons:
ideas/information gained from Literacy Circles; Book
reading experiences with
Clubs; Oral
adults and peers in both
Presentations
formal and informal situations
1.E.2. Use strategies to prepare for reading (before
reading)
a. Survey and preview the
Montessori Lessons:
text by examining features,
Reading Strategies:
such as the title, illustrations, Preview and Predict;
photographs, charts, and
Teacher Modeling;
graphs
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
c. Discuss reactions to and
Montessori Lessons:
ideas/information gained from Literacy Circles; Book
reading experiences with
Clubs; Oral
adults and peers in both
Presentations
formal and informal situations
1.E.2. Use strategies to prepare for reading (before
reading)
a. Survey and preview the
Montessori Lessons:
text
Reading Strategies:
Preview and Predict;
Teacher Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
24
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
b. Set a purpose for reading
the text
c. Make predictions and ask
questions about the text
d. Make connections to the
text from prior knowledge and
experiences
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book
Walk”
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Preview and Predict;
Teacher Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
1.E.3. Use strategies to make meaning from text (during
reading)
a. Reread the difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
slowly and carefully
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Set a purpose for reading
the text
c. Make predictions and ask
questions about the text
d. Make connections to the
text from prior knowledge and
experiences
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book
Walk”
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Preview and Predict;
Teacher Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
1.E.3. Use strategies to make meaning from text (during
reading)
a. Reread the difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
slowly and carefully
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Grade 6
b. Set a purpose for reading
the text
c. Make predictions and ask
questions about the text
d. Make connections to the
text from prior knowledge and
experiences
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book
Walk”
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Preview and Predict;
Teacher Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
1.E.3. Use strategies to make meaning from text (during
reading)
a. Reread the difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
slowly and carefully
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
25
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
b. Use own words to restate
the difficult part
c. Read on and revisit the
difficult part
d. Skim the text to search for
connections between and
among ideas
e. Make, confirm, or adjust
predictions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Use own words to restate
the difficult part
c. Read on and revisit the
difficult part
d. Skim the text to search for
connections between and
among ideas
e. Make, confirm, or adjust
predictions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
Grade 6
b. Use own words to restate
the difficult part
c. Read on and revisit the
difficult part
d. Skim the text to search for
connections between and
among ideas
e. Make, confirm, or adjust
predictions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Clarifying to
Understand and
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs
26
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
f. Periodically summarize
while reading
g. Periodically paraphrase
important ideas or information
h. Visualize what was read
for deeper understanding
i. Use a graphic organizer or
another note-taking technique
to record important ideas or
information
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Visualizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts, Concept Webs,
Word Lists, Venn
Diagrams, Index Cards
with research
questions, outlines
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
f. Periodically summarize
while reading
g. Periodically paraphrase
important ideas or information
h. Visualize what was read
for deeper understanding
i. Use a graphic organizer or
another note-taking technique
to record important ideas or
information
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Visualizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts, Concept Webs,
Word Lists, Venn
Diagrams, Index Cards
with research
questions, outlines
Grade 6
f. Periodically summarize
while reading
g. Periodically paraphrase
important ideas or information
h. Visualize what was read
for deeper understanding
i. Use a graphic organizer or
another note-taking technique
to record important ideas or
information
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Visualizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts, Concept Webs,
Word Lists, Venn
Diagrams, Index Cards
with research
questions, outlines
27
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
j. Explain personal
connections to the ideas or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions, Literacy
Circles
1.E.4. Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of
the text (after reading)
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
main idea
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Assessment limit: In the text Determining
Importance; Teacher
or a portion of the text
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
j. Explain personal
connections to the ideas or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions, Literacy
Circles
1.E.4. Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of
the text (after reading)
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
main idea
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Assessment limit: In the text Determining
or a portion of the text
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Grade 6
j. Explain personal
connections to the ideas or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self, Text to
World, and Text to Text
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions, Literacy
Circles
1.E.4 Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of
the text (after reading)
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
main idea
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Assessment limit: In the text Determining
Importance; Teacher
or a portion of the text
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
28
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
b. Identify and explain what is
directly stated in the text
Assessment limit: Main
ideas, supporting details and
other information stated in the
text or a portion of the text
c. Identify and explain what is
not directly stated in the text
by drawing inferences
Assessment limit: Implied
information from the text or a
portion of the text
d. Draw conclusions or make
generalizations about the text
Assessment limit: Stated or
implied information from the
text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Inferring; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies;
Teacher Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Identify and explain what is
directly stated in the text
Assessment limit: Main
ideas, supporting details and
other information stated in the
text or a portion of the text
c. Identify and explain what is
not directly stated in the text
by drawing inferences
Assessment limit: Implied
information from the text or a
portion of the text
d. Draw conclusions or make
generalizations about the text
Assessment limit: Stated or
implied information from the
text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Inferring; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Inferring; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
Grade 6
b. Identify and explain what is
directly stated in the text
Assessment limit: Main
ideas, supporting details and
other information stated in the
text or a portion of the text
c. Identify and explain what is
not directly stated in the text
by drawing inferences
Assessment limit: Implied
information from the text or a
portion of the text
d. Draw conclusions or make
generalizations about the text
Assessment limit: Stated or
implied information from the
text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing and
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Inferring; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Inferring; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs; Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 3
29
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
e. Confirm, refute, or make
predictions and form new
ideas
Assessment limit: Stated
and/or implied information
from the text
f. Paraphrase the main idea
Assessment limit: Complete
text or a portion of the text
g. Summarize
Assessment limit: The text
or a portion of the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1,2,5,7
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
e. Confirm, refute, or make
predictions and form new
ideas
Assessment limit: Stated
and/or implied information
from the text
f. Paraphrase the main idea
of the text
Assessment limit: Complete
text or a portion of the text
g. Summarize
Assessment limit: The text
or a portion of the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1,2,5,7
Grade 6
e. Confirm, refute, or make
predictions and form new
ideas
Assessment limit: Stated
and/or implied information
from the text
f. Paraphrase the main idea
Assessment limit: Complete
text or a portion of the text
g. Summarize
Assessment limit: The text
or a portion of the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Making Predictions and
Clarifying; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Determining
Importance; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Summarizing; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1,2,5,7
30
VSC - Reading Standard 1.0 General Reading Processes:
Grade 4
h. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or personal
experience
Assessment limit: Prior
knowledge or experience that
clarifies, extends, or
challenges the ideas and/or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
h. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or personal
experience
Assessment limit: Prior
knowledge or experience that
clarifies, extends, or
challenges the ideas and/or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Grade 6
h. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or personal
experience
Assessment limit: Prior
knowledge or experience that
clarifies, extends, or
challenges the ideas and/or
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategies:
Text to Self
Connections; Teacher
Modeling;
Brainstorming / Anchor
Charts and Concepts
Webs, Comprehension
Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
31
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate
informational text.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 2.A. Comprehension of Informational Text
Topic 2.A. Comprehension of Informational Text
Topic 2.A. Comprehension of Informational Text
2.A.1. Develop comprehension skills by reading a variety 2.A.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills by
2.A.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills by
of self-selected and assigned print and electronic
reading a variety of self-selected and assigned print and reading a variety of self-selected and assigned print and
informational texts
electronic informational texts
electronic informational texts
a. Read, use, and identify
Montessori Lessons:
a. Read, use, and identify
Montessori Lessons:
a. Read, use, and identify
Montessori Lessons:
the characteristics of
Cross-Curricular Lessons
the characteristics of
Cross-Curricular Lessons
the characteristics of
Cross-Curricular Lessons
nonfiction materials to gain in Math, Science, Social
nonfiction materials to gain in Math, Science, Social
nonfiction materials to gain in Math, Science, Social
information and content
Studies, Art, etc. using a
information and content
Studies, Art, etc. using a
information and content
Studies, Art, etc. using a
knowledge
variety of informational
knowledge
variety of informational
knowledge
variety of informational
texts such as: Montessori
texts such as: Montessori
texts such as: Montessori
Assessment limits:
Timelines with Cards;
Assessment limits:
Timelines with Cards;
Assessment limits:
Timelines with Cards;
Nomenclature Card Sets,
Nomenclature Card Sets,
Nomenclature Card Sets,
Trade
Books,
Trade
Books,
Trade Books,

Textbooks

Textbooks

Textbooks
Encyclopedias,
Historical
Encyclopedias,
Historical
Encyclopedias, Historical

Appropriate

Appropriate

Appropriate
Diaries
and
Journals,
Diaries
and
Journals,
Diaries and Journals,
reference materials
reference materials
reference materials
Classroom
Periodicals,
Classroom
Periodicals,
Classroom Periodicals,

Personal

Research and

Research and
Science
and
Social
Science
and
Social
Science and Social
narratives
historical documents
historical documents
Studies Text Books,
Studies Text Books,
Studies Text Books,

Diaries and

Personal

Personal
Biographies, Atlases,
Biographies, Atlases,
Biographies, Atlases,
journals
narratives
narratives
Web-sites, etc.
Web-sites, etc.
Web-sites, etc.

Biographies

Diaries and

Diaries and
journals
journals

Newspapers
MSA Finish Line:
MSA Finish Line:
MSA Finish Line:

Biographies

Biographies

Letters
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Unit 3, Lesson 1

Newspapers

Newspapers

Articles
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 2

Letters

Letters

Web sites and
Unit 3, Lesson 3
Unit 3, Lesson 3
Unit 3, Lesson 3
other online materials Unit 3, Lesson 4

Articles

Articles
Unit 3, Lesson 4
Unit 3, Lesson 4

Other appropriate

Web sites other

Web sites other
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 5
content-specific texts Unit 3, Lesson 6
online materials
online materials
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Unit 3, Lesson 6

Other appropriate

Other appropriate
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Unit 3, Lesson 7
content-specific texts
content-specific texts
materials
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
32
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
b. Read, use, and identify
the characteristics of
functional documents
Assessment limits:














Sets of directions
Science
investigations
Atlases
Posters
Flyers
Forms
Instructional
manuals
Menus
Pamphlets
Rules
Invitations
Recipes
Advertisements
Other functional
documents
c. Select and read to gain
information from personal
interest materials, such as
brochures, books,
magazines, cookbooks,
catalogs, and web sites
Grade 5
Montessori Materials:
Science Experiment
Procedures; Practical Life,
Art Lessons using
directions; Geography
Scavenger Hunts; Student
created functional

documents to be shared in
small groups

MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 3
Unit 3, Lesson 4
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Unit 3, Lesson 7











Montessori Lessons:
Reading Journals
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
b. Read, use, and identify
the characteristics of
functional documents
Assessment limits:
Sets of directions
Science
investigations
Atlases
Posters
Flyers
Forms
Instructional
manuals
Menus
Pamphlets
Rules
Invitations
Recipes
Advertisements
Other functional
documents
c. Select and read to gain
information from personal
interest materials, such as
brochures, books,
magazines, cookbooks,
catalogs, and web sites
Grade 6
Montessori Materials:
Science Experiment
Procedures; Practical Life,
Art Lessons using
directions; Geography
Scavenger Hunts; Student
created functional

documents to be shared in
small groups

MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 3
Unit 3, Lesson 4
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Journals











b. Read, use, and identify
the characteristics of
functional documents
Assessment limits:
Sets of directions
Science
investigations
Atlases
Posters
Flyers
Forms
Instructional
manuals
Menus
Pamphlets
Rules
Invitations
Recipes
Advertisements
Other functional
documents
c. Select and read to gain
information from personal
interest materials, such as
brochures, books,
magazines, cookbooks,
catalogs, and web sites
Montessori Materials:
Science Experiment
Procedures; Practical Life,
Art Lessons using
directions; Geography
Scavenger Hunts; Student
created functional
documents to be shared in
small groups
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 3
Unit 3, Lesson 4
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Journals
33
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
2.A.2. Identify and use text features to facilitate
understanding of informational texts
a. Use print features
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling; Literacy
Large bold print
Circles; Comprehension
Font size/type
Questions
Italics
Colored print
MSA Finish Line:
Quotation marks Unit 3, Lesson 1
Underlining
Other print
features
encountered in
informational texts
b. Use graphic aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Illustrations
Questions; Cross Photographs
Curricular lessons in
 Drawings
Geography, Science,
 Sketches
Statistics
 Cartoons
 Maps (key, scale,
MSA Finish Line:
legend)
Unit 3, Lesson 1
 Graphs
 Charts/tables
 Diagrams
 Other graphic aids
encountered in
informational texts
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
2.A.2. Identify and use text features to facilitate
understanding of informational texts
a. Use print features
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling; Literacy
Large bold print
Circles; Comprehension
Font size/type
Questions
Italics
Colored print
MSA Finish Line:
Quotation marks Unit 3, Lesson 1
Underlining
Other print
features
encountered in
informational texts
b. Use graphic aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Illustrations
Questions; Cross Photographs
Curricular lessons in
 Drawings
Geography, Science,
 Sketches
Statistics
 Cartoons
 Maps (key, scale,
MSA Finish Line:
legend)
Unit 3, Lesson 1
 Graphs
 Charts/tables
 Diagrams
 Other graphic aids
encountered in
informational texts
Grade 6
2.A.2. Identify and use text features to facilitate
understanding of informational texts
a. Use print features
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling; Literacy
Large bold print
Circles; Comprehension
Font size/type
Questions
Italics
Colored print
MSA Finish Line:
Quotation marks Unit 3, Lesson 1
Underlining
Other print
features
encountered in
informational texts
b. Use graphic aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Illustrations
Questions; Cross Photographs
Curricular lessons in
 Drawings
Geography, Science,
 Sketches
Statistics
 Cartoons
 Maps (key, scale,
MSA Finish Line:
legend)
Unit 3, Lesson 1
 Graphs
 Charts/tables
 Diagrams
 Other graphic aids
encountered in
informational text
34
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
c. Use informational aids
Assessment limits:












Introductions and
overviews
Materials lists
Timelines
Captions
Glossed words
Labels
Numbered steps
Bulleted lists
Footnoted words
Pronunciation key
Transition words
Boxed text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Science,
Statistics, History, Current
Events; Practical Life and
Art Activities
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
c. Use informational aids
Assessment limits:












Introductions and
overviews
Materials lists
Timelines
Captions
Glossed words
Labels
Numbered steps
Bulleted lists
Footnoted words
Pronunciation key
Transition words
Other
informational aids
encountered in
informational texts
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Science,
Statistics, History, Current
Events; Practical Life and
Art Activities
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Grade 6
c. Use informational aids
Assessment limits:














Introductions and
overviews
Materials lists
Timelines
Captions
Glossed words
Labels
Numbered steps
Bulleted lists
Footnoted words
Pronunciation key
Transition words
End notes
Works cited
Other
informational aids
encountered in
informational texts
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Science,
Statistics, History, Current
Events; Practical Life and
Art Activities
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Unit 3, Lesson 1
35
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
d. Use organizational aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Titles, chapter
titles, and subtitles Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
 Headings,
Geography, Science,
subheadings
Statistics, History, Current
 Tables of content
Events
 Numbered steps
 Glossaries
MSA Finish Line
 Indices
Unit 2, Lesson 7
 Transition words
Unit 3, Lesson 1
Grade 5
d. Use organizational aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Titles, chapter
titles, and subtitles Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
 Headings,
Geography, Science,
subheadings
Statistics, History, Current
 Tables of content
Events
 Numbered steps
 Glossaries
MSA Finish Line
 Indices
Unit 2, Lesson 7
 Transition words
Unit 3, Lesson 1
 Other
organizational aids
encountered in
informational texts
Grade 6
d. Use organizational aids
Montessori Lessons:
Assessment limits:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
 Titles, chapter
titles, and subtitles Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
 Headings,
Geography, Science,
subheadings
Statistics, History, Current
 Tables of content
Events
 Numbered steps
 Glossaries
MSA Finish Line
 Indices
Unit 2, Lesson 7
 Transition words
Unit 3, Lesson 1
 Other
organizational aids
encountered in
informational texts
e. Use online features
Assessment limits:
e. Use online features
Assessment limits:
e. Use online features
Assessment limits:






URLs
Hypertext links
Sidebars
Drop down menus
Home pages
Site maps
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Math,
Science, Statistics,
History, Current Events
using classroom
computers and/or the
school computer lab
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools







URLs
Hypertext links
Sidebars
Drop down menus
Home pages
Site maps
Other features
characteristic of
online text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Math,
Science, Statistics,
History, Current Events
using classroom
computers and/or the
school computer lab







URLs
Hypertext links
Sidebars
Drop down menus
Home pages
Site maps
Other features
characteristic of
online text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; CrossCurricular lessons in
Geography, Math,
Science, Statistics,
History, Current Events
using classroom
computers and/or the
school computer lab
36
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
f. Identify and explain the
contributions of text
features to meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Assessment limit:
Connections between text Lessons using classroom
features and the main idea periodicals such as
newspapers, Scholastic
and/or the reader's
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
understanding
Reading content specific
textbooks for information
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
2.A.3. Develop knowledge of organizational structure of
informational text to understand what is read
a. Identify and analyze the
Montessori Lessons:
organizational patterns of
Teacher Modeling;
texts
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limits:
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
 Sequential and
periodicals such as
chronological
newspapers, Scholastic
order
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
 Cause/effect
Reading content specific
 Problem/solution
textbooks for information;
 Similarities/differen
Informational text
ces
organizational patterns
 Description
cards sets and/or chart
 Main idea and
(see appendix)
supporting details
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2, 5
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 3
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
f. Identify and explain the
contributions of text
features to meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Assessment limit:
Connections between text Lessons using classroom
periodicals such as
features and meaning
newspapers, Scholastic
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
Reading content specific
textbooks for information
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
2.A.3. Develop and apply knowledge of organizational
structure of informational text to understand what is read
a. Identify and analyze the
Montessori Lessons:
organizational patterns of
Teacher Modeling;
texts
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limits:
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
 Sequential and
periodicals such as
chronological
newspapers, Scholastic
order
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
 Cause/effect
Reading content specific
 Problem/solution
textbooks for information;
 Similarities/differen
Informational text
ces
organizational patterns
 Description
cards sets and/or chart
 Main idea and
(see appendix)
supporting details
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2, 5
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 3
Grade 6
f. Identify and explain the
contributions of text
features to supporting the
main idea of the text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
Assessment limit:
Connections between text periodicals such as
newspapers, Scholastic
features and meaning
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
Reading content specific
textbooks for information
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 1
2.A.3. Develop and apply knowledge of organizational
structure of informational text to facilitate understanding
a. Identify and analyze the
Montessori Lessons:
organizational patterns of
Teacher Modeling;
texts
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limits:
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
Sequential and
periodicals such as
chronological order
newspapers, Scholastic
Cause/effect
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
Problem/solution
Reading content specific
Similarities/differences
textbooks for information;
Description Main idea
Informational text
and supporting details
organizational patterns
Transition or signal
cards sets and/or chart
words and phrases
(see appendix)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2, 5
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 3, 4
37
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
b. Identify and use words
and phrases associated
with common
organizational patterns
Assessment limits:




Words that show
chronology (first,
second, third)
Words that show
description (above,
beneath, next to,
beside)
Words that show
cause and effect
(because, as a
result)
Words that show
sequence (next,
then, finally)
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
periodicals such as
newspapers, Scholastic
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
Reading content specific
textbooks for information;
Informational text
organizational patterns
cards sets and/or chart
(see appendix); Writers’
Workshop: Writing
paragraphs using a
specific organizational
pattern
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Identify and use words
and phrases associated
with common
organizational patterns
Assessment limits:




Words that show
chronology (first,
second, third)
Words that show
description (above,
beneath, next to,
beside)
Words that show
cause and effect
(because, as a
result)
Words that show
sequence (next,
then, finally)
Grade 6
Montessori Lessons:
b. Explain the contribution of
Teacher Modeling;
the organizational pattern
Literacy Circles;
Assessment
Comprehension
limits:
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
 Connections
periodicals such as
between the
newspapers, Scholastic
organizational
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
pattern and
Reading content specific
meaning
textbooks for information;
 Connections
Informational text
between the
organizational patterns
organizational
cards sets and/or chart
pattern and the
(see appendix); Writers’
author's/text's
Workshop: Writing
purpose
paragraphs using a
specific organizational
pattern
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Weekly
Lessons using classroom
periodicals such as
newspapers, Scholastic
News. Time for Kids, etc.;
Reading content specific
textbooks for information;
Informational text
organizational patterns
cards sets and/or chart
(see appendix); Writers’
Workshop: Writing
paragraphs using a
specific organizational
pattern
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 2
MSA Finish Line
Unit 3, Lesson 2
Unit 3, Lesson 5
38
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
2.A.4. Determine important ideas and messages in
informational texts
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's/text's purpose and Teacher Modeling;
intended audience
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits:
Strategies: Making
Purpose of the author or
Connections (Text to
the text or a portion of the
text; Connections between World)
MSA Finish Line:
the text and the intended
Unit 3, Lesson 5
audience
b. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's opinion
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Texts
Questions; Graphic
or portions of texts in
which the author's opinion Organizer: T-Chart;
Anchor charts for opinion
is evident
words; Writers’ Workshop:
Letter to the author
agreeing or disagreeing.
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5, 6
c. State and support main
Montessori Lessons:
ideas and messages
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: The
Questions; Graphic
whole text or a portion of
Organizer: Main Idea and
the text
Details Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
2.A.4. Determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's/text's purpose and Teacher Modeling;
intended audience
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits:
Strategies: Making
Purpose of the author or
Connections (Text to
the text or a portion of the
text; Connections between World)
MSA Finish Line:
the text and the intended
Unit 3, Lesson 5
audience
b. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's opinion
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Texts
Questions; Graphic
or portions of texts in
which the author's opinion Organizer: T-Chart;
Anchor charts for opinion
is evident
words; Writers’ Workshop:
Write a letter to the author
agreeing or disagreeing.
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5, 6
c. State and support main
Montessori Lessons:
ideas and messages
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: The
Questions; Graphic
whole text or a portion of
Organizer: Main Idea and
the text
Details Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
2.A.4. Determine and analyze important ideas and
messages in informational texts
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's/text's purpose and Teacher Modeling;
intended audience
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits:
Strategies: Making
Purpose of the author or
Connections (Text to
the text or a portion of the
text; Connections between World)
MSA Finish Line:
the text and the intended
Unit 3, Lesson 5
audience
b. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
author's opinion
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Texts
Questions; Graphic
or portions of texts in
which the author's opinion Organizer: T-Chart;
Anchor charts for opinion
is evident
words; Writers’ Workshop:
Write a letter to the author
agreeing or disagreeing.
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5, 6
c. State and support main
Montessori Lessons:
ideas and messages
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: The
Questions; Graphic
whole text or a portion of
Organizer: Main Idea and
the text
Details Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
39
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
d. Summarize or
paraphrase
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
e. Identify and explain
information not related to
the main idea
Assessment limit:
Information in the text that
is peripheral to the main
idea
f. Identify and explain
relationships between and
among ideas
Assessment limits:
Comparison/contrast
Cause/effect
Sequence/chronology
Relationships between
and among ideas in one or
more texts
Relationships between
and among ideas and prior
knowledge in one or more
texts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Text
and Text to World);
Graphic Organizers: Tcharts, Venn Diagrams,
Flow Charts, Timeline of
Events
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5, 6
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 4
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
d. Summarize or
paraphrase
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
e. Identify and explain
information not related to
the main idea
Assessment limit:
Information in the text that
is peripheral to the main
idea
f. Identify and explain
relationships between and
among ideas
Assessment limits:
Comparison/contrast
Cause/effect
Sequence/chronology
Relationships between
and among ideas in one or
more texts
Relationships between
and among ideas and prior
knowledge in one or more
texts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Text
and Text to World);
Graphic Organizers: Tcharts, Venn Diagrams,
Flow Charts, Timeline of
Events
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5, 6
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 4
Grade 6
d. Summarize or
paraphrase
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
e. Identify and explain
information not related to
the main idea
Assessment limit:
Information in the text that
is peripheral to the main
idea
f. Explain relationships
between and among ideas
Assessment limits:
Comparison/contrast
Cause/effect
Sequence/chronology
Relationships between
and among ideas in one or
more texts
Relationships between
and among ideas and prior
knowledge in one or more
texts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1, 2
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Text
and Text to World);
Graphic Organizers: Tcharts, Venn Diagrams,
Flow Charts, Timeline of
Events
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5, 6
Unit 3, Lesson 2, 4
40
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
g. Draw conclusions and
inferences and make
generalizations and
predictions from text
Assessment limits: From
one text or across multiple
texts; Connections
between and among ideas
that lead a new
understanding
h. Distinguish between a
fact and an opinion
Assessment limit: In one
or more texts
i. Identify and explain how
someone might use the
text
Assessment limit:
Application of the text for
personal use or contentspecific use
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Making Inferences, Making
Generalizations; Graphic
Organizers: Text + Prior
Knowledge = Inference
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-Chart for fact
and opinion; Anchor charts
for opinion words
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reference
Book Treasure Hunts;
Research plan for
independent or group
projects
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
g. Draw conclusions and
inferences and make
generalizations and
predictions from text
Assessment limits: From
one text or across multiple
texts; Connections
between and among ideas
that lead a new
understanding
h. Distinguish between a
fact and an opinion
Assessment limit: In one
or more texts
i. Identify and explain how
someone might use the
text
Assessment limit:
Application of the text for
personal use or contentspecific use
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Making Inferences, Making
Generalizations; Graphic
Organizers: Text + Prior
Knowledge = Inference
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-Chart for fact
and opinion; Anchor charts
for opinion words
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reference
Book Treasure Hunts;
Research plan for
independent or group
projects
Grade 6
g. Synthesize ideas from
text
Assessment limit: From
one text or across multiple
texts
h. Distinguish between a
fact and an opinion
Assessment limit: In one
or more texts
i. Identify and explain how
someone might use the
text
Assessment limit:
Application of the text for
personal use or contentspecific use
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Making Inferences, Making
Generalizations, Making
Connections; Graphic
Organizers: Text + Prior
Knowledge = Inference
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-Chart for fact
and opinion; Anchor charts
for opinion words
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reference
Book Treasure Hunts;
Research plan for
independent or group
projects
41
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
j. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or experience
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Prior
Questions; Reading
knowledge that clarifies,
extends, or challenges the Strategies: Making
ideas or information in the Connections (Text to Self);
text or a portion of the text Graphic Organizers: Tcharts; K-W-L charts
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
2.A.5. Identify and explain the author's use of language
a. Identify and explain
Montessori Lessons:
specific words or phrases
Teacher Modeling;
that contribute to the
Literacy Circles;
meaning of a text
Comprehension
Assessment limits:
Questions; Drawing
similes, metaphors,
personification; Dictionary
 Significant words
and phrases with a Work; Reading using
context clues; Content
specific effect on
area nomenclature cards
meaning
 Similes,
MSA Finish Line:
metaphors,
Unit 3, Lesson 7
personification
 Connotations of
grade-appropriate
words
 Content vocab.
 Denotations of
above-grade-level
words in context
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
j. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or experience
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Prior
Questions; Reading
knowledge that clarifies,
extends, or challenges the Strategies: Making
ideas or information in the Connections (Text to Self);
text or a portion of the text Graphic Organizers: Tcharts; K-W-L charts
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
2.A.5. Identify and explain the author's use of language
a. Identify and explain
Montessori Lessons:
specific words or phrases
Teacher Modeling;
that contribute to the
Literacy Circles;
meaning of a text
Comprehension
Assessment limits:
Questions; Drawing
similes, metaphors,
personification, idioms;
 Significant words
and phrases with a Dictionary Work; Reading
using context clues;
specific effect on
Content area
meaning
nomenclature cards
 Figurative lang.
 Idioms
MSA Finish Line:
 Connotations of
Unit 3, Lesson 7
grade-appropriate
words
 Technical or
content vocabulary
 Denotations of
above-grade-level
words in context
Grade 6
j. Connect the text to prior
knowledge or experience
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limit: Prior
Questions; Reading
knowledge that clarifies,
extends, or challenges the Strategies: Making
ideas or information in the Connections (Text to Self);
text or a portion of the text Graphic Organizers: Tcharts; K-W-L charts
MSA Finish Line
Unit 2, Lesson 6
2.A.5. Analyze purposeful use of language
a. Analyze specific words
Montessori Lessons:
or phrases that contribute
Teacher Modeling;
to the meaning of a text
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limits:
Comprehension
Questions; Drawing
similes, metaphors,
 Significant words
and phrases with a personification, idioms;
Dictionary Work; Reading
specific effect on
using context clues;
meaning
Content area
 Figurative lang.
nomenclature cards
 Idioms
 Connotations of
MSA Finish Line:
grade-appropriate
Unit 3, Lesson 7
words
 Technical or
content vocabulary
 Denotations of
above-grade-level
words in context
42
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
b. Identify and explain
specific words and
punctuation that create
tone
Assessment limits:
Grade-appropriate words
that create tone; Tone in
the text or a portion of the
text; Specific punctuation
that contributes to the tone
of a text or a portion of the
text
c. Identify and explain the
effect of repetition of
words and phrases
Assessment limit:
Repetition for emphasis of
ideas or information
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles; Comp.
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a portion of the text;
Grammar Symbols:
Functions of Exclamatory
Words; Types of
Sentences
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Determining Importance;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
2.A.6. Read critically to evaluate informational text
a. Explain whether the text Montessori Lessons:
fulfills the reading purpose Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Determining Importance,
Assessment limit:
Making Connections (Text
Connections between the
content of the text and the to Self); Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
purpose for reading
Questions; References
Treasure Hunt
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Identify and explain
specific words and
punctuation that create
tone
Assessment limits:
Specific words or phrases
that create tone; Tone in
the text or a portion of the
text
c. Identify and explain the
effect of repetition of
words and phrases
Assessment limit:
Repetition used to
emphasize important ideas
or information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles; Comp.
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a portion of the text;
Grammar Symbols:
Functions of Exclamatory
Words; Types of
Sentences
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Determining Importance;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
2.A.6. Read critically to evaluate informational text
a. Explain whether the text Montessori Lessons:
fulfills the reading purpose Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Determining Importance,
Assessment limit:
Making Connections (Text
Connections between the
content of the text and the to Self); Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
purpose for reading
Questions; References
Treasure Hunt
Grade 6
b. Analyze specific
language choices that
create tone
Assessment limits:
Specific words or phrases
that create tone; Tone in
the text or a portion of the
text
c. Analyze the effect of
repetition of words and
phrases on meaning.
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles; Comp.
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a portion of the text;
Grammar Symbols:
Functions of Exclamatory
Words; Types of
Sentences
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Determining Importance;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
Assessment limits:
Repetition used to
emphasize important ideas
or information in the text;
Connections between
repetition and meaning
2.A.6. Read critically to evaluate informational text
a. Explain whether the text Montessori Lessons:
fulfills the reading purpose Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Determining Importance,
Assessment limit:
Making Connections (Text
Connections between the
content of the text and the to Self); Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
purpose for reading
Questions; References
Treasure Hunt
43
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
b. Identify and explain
additions or changes to
format or features that
would make the text easier
to understand
Assessment limit:
Connections between
effectiveness of format
and text features in
clarifying the main idea of
the text
c. Identify and explain
what makes the text a
reliable source of
information
Assessment limit: Fiction
versus nonfiction text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Making Connections (Text
to World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy: Making
Connections (Text to
World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Characteristics
of Fiction and Non-Fiction
Grade 5
b. Identify and explain
additions or changes to
format or features that
would make the text easier
to understand
Assessment limit:
Connections between
effectiveness of format
and text features in
clarifying the main idea of
the text
c. Identify and explain
what makes the text a
reliable source of
information
Assessment limits:
Connections between the
credentials of the author
and the information in the
text
Factual basis of the
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Making Connections (Text
to World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy: Making
Connections (Text to
World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Characteristics
of Fiction and Non-Fiction
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Grade 6
b. Analyze changes or
additions to the structure
and features of the text
that would make the text
easier to understand
Assessment limits:
Connections between
effectiveness of format
and text features in
clarifying the main idea of
the text; Connections
between effectiveness of
organizational pattern and
clarity of the main idea
c. Analyze the text and its
information for reliability
Assessment limits:
Connections between the
credentials of the author
and the information in the
text
Factual basis of the
information in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Clarifying Meaning,
Making Connections (Text
to World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Organizational
Pattern card set and/or
chart
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy: Making
Connections (Text to
World), and Evaluating;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Characteristics
of Fiction and Non-Fiction
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Currency of the
information in the text
Currency of the
information in the text
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
44
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
d. Explain whether or not
the author’s opinion is
presented fairly
Assessment limit:
Evidence that the author
has presented all sides of
the issue or topic
e. Identify and explain
information not included in
the text
Assessment limits:


Information that
would enhance or
clarify the reader’s
understanding of
the main idea of
the text or a
portion of the text
Connections
between the main
idea and
information not
included in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers: T-Charts, Fact
vs. Opinion; Writers’
Workshop: Write a letter to
the author to show one’s
agreement or
disagreement
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Re-reading the
difficult parts, Clarifying
Meaning, Making
Connections (Text to
Text), Questioning;
Graphic Organizers: K-WL Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
d. Determine and explain
whether or not the author’s
opinion is presented fairly
Assessment limits:
Clarity of the connections
between the main idea
and the reader’s
understanding; Evidence
of equal treatment of
opposing points of view
e. Identify and explain
information not included in
the text
Assessment limits:


Information that
would enhance or
clarify the reader’s
understanding of
the main idea of
the text or a
portion of the text
Connections
between the main
idea and
information not
included in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers: T-Charts, Fact
vs. Opinion; Writers’
Workshop: Write a letter to
the author to show one’s
agreement or
disagreement
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Re-reading the
difficult parts, Clarifying
Meaning, Making
Connections (Text to
Text), Questioning;
Graphic Organizers: K-WL Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Grade 6
d. Determine and explain
whether or not the author’s
opinion is presented fairly
Assessment limits:
Clarity of the connections
between the main idea
and the reader’s
understanding; Evidence
of equal treatment of
opposing points of view
e. Identify and explain
information not included in
the text
Assessment limits:


Information that
would enhance or
clarify the reader’s
understanding of
the main idea of
the text or a
portion of the text
Connections
between the main
idea and
information not
included in the text
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers: T-Charts, Fact
vs. Opinion; Writers’
Workshop: Write a letter to
the author to show one’s
agreement or
disagreement
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 5
Unit 3, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Re-reading the
difficult parts, Clarifying
Meaning, Making
Connections (Text to
Text), Questioning;
Graphic Organizers: K-WL Chart
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
45
VSC - Reading Standard 2.0 Comprehension of Informational Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate informational text.
Grade 4
f. Identify and explain
words and other
techniques that affect the
reader’s feelings
Assessment limit:
Significant words that have
an emotional appeal
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
f. Identify and explain
words and other
techniques the author
uses to appeal to emotion
Assessment limits:
Significant words and
phrases that have an
emotional appeal;
Effectiveness of words and
phrases used to persuade
the reader
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
Grade 6
f. Identify and explain
language and other
techniques intended to
persuade the reader
Assessment limits:
Significant words and
phrases that have an
emotional appeal;
Effectiveness of words and
phrases used to persuade
the reader
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: T-charts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 3, Lesson 7
46
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 3.A. Comprehension of Literary Text
3.A.1. Develop comprehension skills by reading a variety
of self-selected and assigned literary texts
a. Listen to critically, read,
and discuss a variety of
literary texts representing
diverse cultures,
perspectives, ethnicities,
and time periods
b. Listen to critically, read,
and discuss a variety of
literary forms and genres
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected texts to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
science and social studies
(See Genre Framework
PGIN 7690-2988);
Teacher Read-Aloud,
Literacy Circles
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected texts, Teacher
Read-Aloud, Literacy
Circles
3.A.2. Use text features to facilitate understanding of
literary texts
a. Identify and explain how Montessori Lessons:
organizational aids
Reading Strategies:
contribute to meaning
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions before
Assessment limit: title of and during reading
the book, story, poem, or
play
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Topic 3.A. Comprehension of Literary Text
3.A.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills by
reading a variety of self-selected and assigned literary
texts
a. Listen to critically, read, Montessori Lessons:
and discuss a variety of
Student and Teacher
literary texts representing
selected texts to
diverse cultures,
complement crossperspectives, ethnicities,
curricular lessons in
and time periods
science and social studies
(See Genre Framework
PGIN 7690-2988) Teacher
Read-Aloud, Literacy
Circles
b. Listen to critically, read, Montessori Lessons:
and discuss a variety of
Student and Teacher
literary forms and genres
selected texts, Teacher
Read-Aloud, Literacy
Circles
Topic 3.A. Comprehension of Literary Text
3.A.1. Develop and apply comprehension skills by
reading and analyzing a variety of self-selected and
assigned literary texts
a. Listen to critically, read, Montessori Lessons:
and discuss a variety of
Student and Teacher
literary texts representing
selected texts to
diverse cultures,
complement crossperspectives, ethnicities,
curricular lessons in
and time periods
science and social studies
(See Genre Framework
PGIN 7690-2988) Teacher
Read-Aloud, Literacy
Circles
b. Listen to critically, read, Montessori Lessons:
and discuss a variety of
Student and Teacher
literary forms and genres
selected texts, Teacher
Read-Aloud, Literacy
Circles
3.A.2. Analyze text features to facilitate understanding of
literary texts
a. Identify and explain how Montessori Lessons:
organizational aids
Reading Strategies:
contribute to meaning
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions before
and during reading
Assessment limits: Title
of the book, story, poem,
or play; Titles of chapters;
Subtitles, subheadings
3.A.2. Analyze text features to facilitate understanding of
literary texts
a. Identify and explain how Montessori Lessons:
organizational aids
Reading Strategies:
contribute to meaning
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions before
and during reading
Assessment limits: Title
of the book, story, poem,
or play; Titles of chapters;
Subtitles, subheadings
47
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
b. Identify and explain how
graphic aids contribute to
meaning
Assessment limits:
Illustrations; Punctuation;
Print features
c. Identify and explain how
informational aids
contribute to meaning
Assessment limits:
Footnoted words and
phrases; Captions
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book-Walk;”
Logical Analysis of difficult
portions of the text;
Reading Strategies:
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions,
Clarifying, Re-Reading the
difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-Reading “Book-Walk;”
Teacher Read-Aloud and
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Comprehension Questions
3.A.3. Use elements of narrative texts to facilitate
understanding
a. Identify and distinguish
Montessori Lessons:
among types of narrative
Literary Genre Card Sets
texts
(See Appendix); Student
and Teacher selected
texts, Teacher ReadAssessment limits:
Aloud, Literacy Circles;
Stories; Folk tales;
Venn Diagrams to
Realistic fiction; Historical
fiction; Fables; Fairy tales; Compare and Contrast a
variety of genres and texts
Fantasy; Biographies
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
b. Identify and explain how
graphic aids contribute to
meaning
Assessment limits:
Illustrations; Punctuation;
Print features
c. Identify and explain how
informational aids
contribute to meaning
Assessment limits:
Footnoted words and
phrases; Captions
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book-Walk;”
Logical Analysis of difficult
portions of the text;
Reading Strategies:
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions,
Clarifying, Re-Reading the
difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-Reading “Book-Walk;”
Teacher Read-Aloud and
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Comprehension Questions
3.A.3. Analyze elements of narrative texts to facilitate
understanding and interpretation
a. Identify and distinguish
Montessori Lessons:
among types of narrative
Literary Genre Card Sets
texts
(See Appendix); Student
and Teacher selected
Assessment limits: Short texts, Teacher ReadAloud, Literacy Circles;
stories, folklore, legends,
Venn Diagrams to
myths, realistic fiction,
Compare and Contrast a
science fiction, historical
variety of genres and texts
fiction, biographies,
autobiographies, personal
MSA Finish Line:
narratives; Plays; Poetry
Unit 4, Lesson 1
b. Identify and explain how
graphic aids contribute to
meaning
Assessment limits:
Illustrations; Punctuation;
Print features
c. Identify and explain how
informational aids
contribute to meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-reading “Book-Walk;”
Logical Analysis of difficult
portions of the text;
Reading Strategies:
Previewing the Text,
Making Predictions,
Clarifying, Re-Reading the
difficult parts
Montessori Lessons:
Pre-Reading “Book-Walk;”
Teacher Read-Aloud and
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Comprehension Questions
Assessment limits:
Footnoted words and
phrases; Biographical
information about the
author; Introductions,
photographs, etc.
3.A.3. Analyze elements of narrative texts to facilitate
understanding and interpretation
a. Identify and distinguish
Montessori Lessons:
among types of narrative
Literary Genre Card Sets
texts
(See Appendix); Student
and Teacher selected
Assessment limits: Short texts, Teacher ReadAloud, Literacy Circles;
stories, folklore, realistic
Venn Diagrams to
fiction, science fiction,
Compare and Contrast a
historical fiction, fantasy,
variety of genres and texts
essays, biographies,
autobiographies, personal
MSA Finish Line:
narratives; Plays; Poetry
Unit 4, Lesson 1
48
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
b. Identify and explain the
elements of a story
Assessment limit:
Narrative text with a main
problem, sequence of
chronology of events, and
solution to the problem
c. Identify and describe
the setting and the mood
Assessment limit: Stories
that have settings with a
distinct time and place
Montessori Lessons:
Story Maps and Graphic
Organizers to illustrate the
elements of a story
including conflict, rising
action, climax, and
resolution
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected texts to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Student
Created Dioramas;
Writers’ Workshop: Rewriting the story in a
different setting
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
b. Identify and explain the
conflict and the events of
the plot
Assessment limits:
Narrative text with
exposition, rising action,
climax, and resolution;
Internal and/or external
conflicts
c. Identify and describe
the setting and the mood
and explain how the
setting affects the
characters and the mood
Assessment limits:
Immediate time and place
of the action as well as its
larger context;
Connections between the
characters and the setting;
Connections between the
setting and the mood
Montessori Lessons:
Story Maps and Graphic
Organizers to illustrate the
elements of a story
including conflict, rising
action, climax, and
resolution; Analysis of
Types of Conflict (Man vs.
Man, Man vs. Himself,
Man vs. Nature, Man vs.
the Supernatural)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected texts to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Student
Created Dioramas;
Writers’ Workshop: Rewriting the story in a
different setting
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
b. Analyze the conflict and
the events of the plot
Assessment limits:
Narrative text with
exposition, rising action,
climax, and resolution;
Internal and/or external
conflicts or conflicts
between characters and
external forces
c. Analyze details that
provide information about
the setting, the mood
created by the setting, and
ways in which the setting
affects characters
Assessment limits:
Immediate time and place
of the action as well as its
larger context;
Connections among the
characters, the setting,
and the mood
Montessori Lessons:
Story Maps and Graphic
Organizers to illustrate the
elements of a story
including conflict, rising
action, climax, and
resolution; Analysis of
Types of Conflict (Man vs.
Man, Man vs. Himself,
Man vs. Nature, Man vs.
the Supernatural)
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected texts to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Student
Created Dioramas;
Writers’ Workshop: Rewriting the story in a
different setting
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
49
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
d. Identify and analyze the
characters
Assessment limits: What
characters say; What
characters do;
Conclusions about the
characters' traits based on
what the character says
and does; Conclusions
about the characters'
motivations based on the
characters' actions and
interactions with other
characters
e. Identify and explain
relationships between and
among characters, setting,
and events
Assessment limits:
Connections between and
among characters;
Connections between and
among situations;
Cause/effect relationships
between characters'
actions and the results of
those actions;
Cause/effect relationships
between and among
situations and events
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Book Reports;
Graphic Organizers such
as Character Trait Webs
and Charts; Projects such
as Life-size character map,
Character Mobile, Paper
Dolls, Packing the
Character’s Suitcase
d. Analyze
characterization
Assessment limits: What
characters say, do, and
think; Characters'
motivations; What other
characters say about
them; How other
characters react to them
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Book Reports;
Graphic Organizers such
as Character Trait Webs
and Charts; Projects such
as Life-size character
map, Character Mobile,
Paper Dolls, Packing the
Character’s Suitcase
d. Analyze
characterization
Assessment limits: What
characters say, do, and
think; Characters'
motivations; What other
characters say about
them; How other
characters react to them
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
e. Identify and explain
relationships between and
among characters, setting,
and events
Assessment limits:
Connections between and
among characters;
Connections between and
among situations;
Cause/effect relationships
between characters'
actions and the results of
those actions;
Cause/effect relationships
between and among
situations and events
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Book Reports;
Graphic Organizers such
as Character Trait Webs
and Charts; Projects such
as Life-size character
map, Character Mobile,
Paper Dolls, Packing the
Character’s Suitcase
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
e. Analyze relationships
between and among
characters, setting, and
events
Assessment limits:
Connections between and
among characters;
Connections between and
among situations;
Cause/effect relationships
between characters'
actions and the results of
those actions;
Cause/effect relationships
between and among
situations and events
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
50
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
f. Identify and explain how
the actions of the
character(s) affect the plot
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
actions of the characters
and the outcome of the
story
g. Identify and describe
the narrator
Assessment limits:
Narrator of the story;
speaker of the poem; First
versus third person point
of view
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect; Writers’ Workshop:
Re-write the story with a
different ending
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Writers’
Workshop: Re-write the
story from a different
perspective
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
f. Identify and explain how
the actions of the
character(s) affect the plot
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
actions of the characters
and the outcome of the
story
g. Identify and describe
the narrator
Assessment limits:
Narrator of the story;
speaker of the poem; First
versus third person point
of view
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect; Writers’ Workshop:
Re-write the story with a
different ending
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Writers’
Workshop: Re-write the
story from a different
perspective
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
f. Identify and explain how
the actions of the
character(s) affect the plot
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
actions of the characters
and the outcome of the
story
g. Analyze conflicts that
motivate characters and
those that advance the
plot
Assessment limits:
Conflicts that affect
characters' actions;
Conflicts that advance the
action of the plot
h. Identify and explain the
author's approach to
issues of time in a
narrative
Assessment limit:
Flashback
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers for Cause and
Effect; Writers’ Workshop:
Re-write the story with a
different ending
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 3
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers on Cause and
Effect
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Creating Story
Timelines
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
51
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
i. Identify and explain the
point of view
3.A.4. Use elements of poetry to facilitate understanding
a. Use structural features
to identify poetry as a
literary form and
distinguish among types of
poems
Assessment limits:
Structure, including lines
and stanzas; Shape;
Form, including lines and
stanzas; Refrain, chorus;
Types of poems, such as
haiku, diamonte, etc.;
Rhyme scheme
b. Identify and explain the
meaning of words, lines,
and stanzas
Assessment limit:
Specific meaning of words,
lines and/or stanzas
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
Writng Different Forms of
Poetry
3.A.4. Analyze elements of poetry to facilitate
understanding and interpretation
a. Use structural features
Montessori Lessons:
to identify poetry as a
Teacher Read-Aloud;
literary form and
Teacher Think-Aloud;
distinguish among types of Literacy Circles;
poems
Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
Assessment limit: Types Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
Writng Different Forms of
of poems, such as haiku,
Poetry
form/shape poetry, etc.
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limits:
Comprehension
Narrator of the story;
Questions; Writers’
speaker of the poem;
Workshop: Re-write the
Connections between
point of view and meaning story from a different
perspective
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 1
3.A.4. Analyze elements of poetry to facilitate
understanding and interpretation
a. Use structural features
Montessori Lessons:
to distinguish among types Teacher Read-Aloud;
of poems
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Assessment limit: Types Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
of poems, such as haiku,
Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
form/shape poetry,
Writng Different Forms of
cinquain, etc.
Poetry
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
b. Identify and explain the
meaning of words, lines,
and stanzas
Assessment limit:
Specific meaning of words,
lines and/or stanzas
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
b. Identify and explain the
meaning of words, lines,
and stanzas
Assessment limits:
Specific meaning of words,
lines and/or stanzas;
Speaker versus the poet
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension Questions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
52
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
c. Identify and explain
sound elements of poetry
Assessment limits:
Rhyme, rhyme scheme;
Rhythm; Alliteration and
other repetition
d. Identify and explain
other poetic elements,
such as setting, mood,
tone, etc. that contribute to
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
Writing Different Forms of
Poetry, Writing with
Rhyme; Rhyming
Dictionary Work; Students
recite and analyze a
favorite poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected poetry to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
c. Identify and explain
sound elements of poetry
Assessment limits:
Rhyme, rhyme scheme;
Rhythm; Alliteration and
Onomatopoeia
d. Identify and explain
other poetic elements,
such as setting, mood,
tone, etc. that contribute to
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
Writing Different Forms of
Poetry, Writing with
Rhyme; Rhyming
Dictionary Work; Students
recite and analyze a
favorite poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected poetry to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
c. Identify and explain how
sound elements of poetry
contribute to meaning
Assessment limits:
Rhyme, rhyme scheme;
Rhythm; Alliteration,
assonance, consonance;
Onomatopoeia;
Connections between
sound elements and
meaning
d. Identify and explain
other poetic elements,
such as setting, mood,
tone, etc. that contribute to
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Teacher Think-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Poetry Card
Sets; Writers’ Workshop:
Writing Different Forms of
Poetry, Writing with
Rhyme; Rhyming
Dictionary Work; Students
recite and analyze a
favorite poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected poetry to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
history and geography;
Teacher Read-Aloud;
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a poem
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
53
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
3.A.5. Use elements of drama to facilitate understanding
a. Use structural features
to identify a play as a
literary form
Assessment limits: List
of characters (cast),
including narrator;
Introductory information
about the setting; Stage
directions; Dialogue;
Props, scenery, sound
effects, staging, lighting;
Acts and scenes
b. Identify and explain the
action of a scene
Assessment limit:
Specific actions and
events that occur in a
scene
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
selected plays to
complement crosscurricular lessons in
science and social studies;
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing;
Graphic Organizer: Map of
Rising Action
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
3.A.5. Analyze elements of drama to facilitate
understanding
a. Use structural features
Montessori Lessons:
to identify a play as a
Student and Teacher
literary form and
selected plays to
distinguish among types of complement crossplays
curricular lessons in
science and social studies;
Students practice and
Assessment limits: List
perform plays in small and
of characters (cast),
large groups; Writers’
including narrator;
Workshop: Students write
Introductory information
original plays using
about the setting; Stage
structural features
directions; Dialogue,
monologue; Props,
MSA Finish Line:
scenery, sound effects,
Unit 4, Lesson 2
staging, lighting; Acts and
scenes
b. Identify and explain the Montessori Lessons:
action of a scene
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Assessment limit:
Strategies: Summarizing;
Specific actions and
Graphic Organizer: Map of
events that occur in a
Rising Action
scene
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
3.A.5. Analyze elements of drama to facilitate
understanding
a. Use structural features
Montessori Lessons:
to distinguish among types Student and Teacher
of plays
selected plays to
complement crossAssessment limits: Cast, curricular lessons in
science and social studies;
stage directions; Acts,
Students practice and
scenes, prologues;
perform plays in small and
Production notes
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
b. Identify and explain the
action of scenes and acts
Assessment limits:
Specific actions and
events that occur in one or
more scenes;
Interrelationships of
scenes and acts to
advance the action
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing;
Graphic Organizer: Map of
Rising Action
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
54
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
c. Identify and explain
stage directions that help
to create character and
movement
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
stage directions and the
physical movement of the
characters
d. Identify and explain
stage directions and
dialogue that help to
create character
Assessment limit:
Connections among the
stage directions, the
character's lines, and how
the character delivers
those lines
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
c. Identify and explain how
stage directions create
character and movement
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
stage directions and the
physical movement of the
characters
d. Identify and explain
stage directions and
dialogue that help to
create character
Assessment limit:
Connections among the
stage directions, the
character's lines, and how
the character delivers
those lines
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
c. Identify and explain how
stage directions create
character and movement
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
stage directions and the
physical movement of the
characters
d. Identify and explain
stage directions and
dialogue that help to
create character
Assessment limit:
Connections among the
stage directions, the
character's lines, and how
the character delivers
those lines
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Montessori Lessons:
Students practice and
perform plays in small and
large groups; Writers’
Workshop: Students write
original plays using
structural features
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
55
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
3.A.6. Determine important ideas and messages in
literary texts
a. Identify and explain
Montessori Lessons:
main ideas and universal
Literacy Circles;
themes
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits: In the Strategies: Determining
text or a portion of the text; Importance and Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Literal versus interpretive
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
meanings of a text or a
What the Text Says vs.
portion of text; Message,
What the Text Means
moral, or lesson learned
from the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
3.A.6. Determine important ideas and messages in
literary texts
a. Identify and explain
Montessori Lessons:
main ideas and universal
Literacy Circles;
themes
Comprehension
Assessment limits: In the Questions; Reading
text or a portion of the text; Strategies: Determining
Literal versus interpretive
Importance and Clarifying
meanings of a text or a
Meaning; Graphic
portion of text;
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
Experiences, emotions,
What the Text Says vs.
issues, and ideas in a text What the Text Means
that give rise to universal
themes; Message, moral,
MSA Finish Line:
or lesson learned from text Unit 2, Lesson 1
3.A.6. Determine important ideas and messages in
literary texts
a. Analyze main ideas and Montessori Lessons:
universal themes
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Assessment limits: In the Questions; Reading
text or a portion of the text; Strategies: Determining
Importance and Clarifying
Literal versus interpretive
Meaning; Graphic
meanings of a text or a
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
portion of text;
What the Text Says vs.
Experiences, emotions,
issues, and ideas in a text What the Text Means
that give rise to universal
MSA Finish Line:
themes; Message, moral,
or lesson learned from text Unit 2, Lesson 1
b. Identify and explain a
similar theme in more than
one text
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Determining
Importance and Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: Venn Diagram
b. Identify and explain
similar themes across
multiple texts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Determining
Importance and Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: Venn Diagram
b. Analyze similar themes
across multiple texts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
c. Paraphrase the text
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
c. Paraphrase the text
Assessment limits: Main
ideas across texts;
Messages, morals, or
lessons learned across
texts; Different versions of
the same story across
eras or cultures
c. Paraphrase the text
Assessment limit:
Restatement of the text or
a portion of the text in
student's own words
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Assessment limit:
Messages, morals, or
lessons learned across
texts
Assessment limit:
Restatement of the text or
a portion of the text in
student's own words
Assessment limit:
Messages, morals, or
lessons learned across
texts
Assessment limit:
Restatement of the text or
a portion of the text in
student's own words
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Determining
Importance and Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: Venn Diagram
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 7
56
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
d. Summarize
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
d. Summarize
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5
e. Identify and explain
personal connections to
the text
Assessment limit:
Connections between
personal experiences and
the theme or main ideas
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Self);
Graphic Organizers: TCharts
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
Assessment limit: The
text or a portion of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5
e. Identify and explain
personal connections to
the text
Assessment limit:
Connections between
personal experiences and
the theme or main ideas
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
f. Explain the implications
of the text for the reader
and/or society
Assessment limit: Ideas
and issues of a text that
may have implications for
the reader
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Self);
Graphic Organizers: TCharts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Self
and Text to World);
Graphic Organizers: TCharts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
d. Summarize
e. Identify and explain
personal connections to
the text
Assessment limit:
Connections between
personal experiences and
the theme or main ideas
f. Explain the implications
of the text for the reader
and/or society
Assessment limit: Ideas
and issues of a text that
may have implications for
the reader
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Summarizing
and Determining
Importance
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 5
Unit 2, Lesson 7
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Self);
Graphic Organizers: TCharts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Making
Connections (Text to Self
and Text to World);
Graphic Organizers: TCharts
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 6
57
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
3.A.7. Identify and describe the author's use of language
a. Identify and explain how Montessori Lessons:
the use of dialogue
Literacy Circles;
contributes to a story
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers: Character
Assessment limit:
Trait Chart focused on
Character and plot
dialogue; Story Map
development advanced
focused on dialogue
through dialogue
3.A.7. Identify and describe the author's use of language
a. Identify and explain how Montessori Lessons:
the use of dialogue
Literacy Circles;
contributes to a story
Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizers: Character
Assessment limit:
Trait Chart focused on
Character and plot
dialogue; Story Map
development advanced
focused on dialogue
through dialogue
b. Identify and explain
specific words and
phrases that contribute to
meaning
b. Identify and explain
specific words and
phrases that contribute to
meaning
Assessment limits:
Significant words and
phrases with a specific
effect on meaning;
Denotations of abovegrade-level words used in
context; Connotations of
grade-appropriate words
and phrases in context;
Multiple meaning words
Montessori Lessons:
Logical Analysis of certain
portions of the texts,
Grammar symbols to
determine the functions of
specific words in a
sentence; Dictionary
Lessons to determine
connotations vs.
denotations; Art Projects:
Drawing a Picture of
Idioms and Colloquialisms
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Unit 4, Lesson 4
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Assessment limits:
Significant words and
phrases with a specific
effect on meaning;
Denotations of abovegrade-level words used in
context; Connotations of
grade-appropriate words
and phrases in context;
Multiple meaning words
Montessori Lessons:
Logical Analysis of certain
portions of the texts,
Grammar symbols to
determine the functions of
specific words in a
sentence; Dictionary
Lessons to determine
connotations vs.
denotations; Art Projects:
Drawing a Picture of
Idioms and Colloquialisms
3.A.7. Analyze the author's purposeful use of language
a. Analyze specific words
Montessori Lessons:
and phrases that
Logical Analysis of certain
contribute to meaning
portions of the texts,
Grammar symbols to
determine the functions of
Assessment limits:
specific words in a
Significant words and
sentence; Dictionary
phrases with a specific
Lessons to determine
effect on meaning;
connotations vs.
Denotations of above
denotations; Art Projects:
grade-level words used in
Drawing a Picture of
context; Connotations of
Idioms and Colloquialisms
grade-appropriate words
and phrases in context;
MSA Finish Line:
Multiple meaning words;
Unit 4, Lesson 4
Idioms and colloquialisms
b. Analyze words and
Montessori Lessons:
phrases that create tone
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
Assessment limits:
drawings and paintings to
Specific words and
reflect the mood and tone
phrases that create tone;
of a portion of the text
Tone in the text or a
portion of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 2
Unit 4, Lesson 4
58
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
c. Identify and explain
words and punctuation
that create tone
Assessment limits:
Grade-appropriate words
that describe the tone of a
text or a portion of text;
Tone in the text or portion
of the text; Specific
punctuation that
contributes to the tone of a
text or a portion of the text
d. Identify and explain
figurative language
Assessment limits:
Similes; Metaphors;
Personification;
Onomatopoeia
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a portion of the text;
Grammar Symbols:
Functions of Exclamatory
Words; Types of
Sentences (Expository,
Interrogative, Exclamatory)
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says vs.
What the Text Means;
Figurative Language Card
Sets; Art Projects: drawing
metaphors, similes,
onomatopoeia, and
personification; Reading
aloud in pairs
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
c. Identify and explain
words and phrases that
create tone
Assessment limits:
Specific words and
phrases that create tone;
Tone in the text or a
portion of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
d. Identify and explain
figurative language that
contributes to meaning
Assessment limits:
Similes; Metaphors;
Personification;
Onomatopoeia;
Connections between
figurative language and
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Art Projects:
drawings and paintings to
reflect the mood and tone
of a portion of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says vs.
What the Text Means;
Figurative Language Card
Sets; Art Projects: drawing
metaphors, similes,
onomatopoeia, and
personification; Reading
aloud in pairs
c. Identify and explain
figurative language that
contributes to meaning
Assessment limits:
Figurative language in
increasingly complex text;
Connections between
figurative language and
meaning
d. Analyze how sensory
language contributes to
meaning
Assessment limits:
Specific words and
phrases that create
sensory images;
Connections among
sensory language, images,
and meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles;
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Clarifying
Meaning; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says vs.
What the Text Means
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says and
What the Reader
Experiences; Writers’
Workshops: Writing
sensory descriptions
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
59
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
e. Identify and explain
language that appeals to
the senses and feelings
Assessment limit:
Specific words and
phrases that appeal to the
senses
f. Identify and explain
repetition and
exaggeration
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says and
What the Reader
Experiences; Writers’
Workshops: Writing
sensory descriptions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Art Work:
drawing and painting
portions of the text
Assessment limits:
Specific examples of
repetition that affect
meaning; Examples of
exaggeration; Alliteration
3.A.8. Read critically to evaluate literary texts
a. Identify and explain the
Montessori Lessons:
believability of the
Literacy Circles,
characters' actions and the Comprehension
story's events
Questions; Reading
Strategy: Connections
(Text to World);
Assessment limits:
Realism versus fantasy;
Characters and events
that parallel everyday life
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
e. Identify and explain
language that appeals to
the senses and feelings
Assessment limit:
Specific words and
phrases that appeal to the
senses
f. Identify and explain how
repetition and
exaggeration contribute to
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Graphic
Organizer: “T-Chart” on
What the Text Says and
What the Reader
Experiences; Writers’
Workshops: Writing
sensory descriptions
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Art Work:
drawing and painting
portions of the text
Assessment limit:
Connections between
repetition and/or
exaggeration and meaning
3.A.8. Read critically to evaluate literary texts
a. Determine and explain
Montessori Lessons:
the plausibility of the
Literacy Circles,
characters' actions and the Comprehension
plot
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits:
Strategy: Connections
Connections between how (Text to World)
characters are portrayed
and the plausibility of their
actions; Connections
among the plot, the
characters, and the
plausibility of the outcome
e. Analyze how repetition
and exaggeration
contribute to meaning
Assessment limit:
Connections between
repetition and/or
exaggeration and meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Reading Strategy:
Visualizing; Literacy
Circles; Comprehension
Questions; Art Work:
drawing and painting
portions of the text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 4, Lesson 4
3.A.8. Read critically to evaluate literary texts
a. Determine and explain
Montessori Lessons:
the plausibility of the
Literacy Circles,
characters' actions and the Comprehension
plot
Questions; Reading
Assessment limits:
Strategy: Connections
Connections between how (Text to World)
characters are portrayed
and the plausibility of their
actions; Connections
among the plot, the
characters, and the
plausibility of the outcome
60
VSC – Reading Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text: Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary texts.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
b. Identify and explain
questions left unanswered
by the text
Assessment limit:
Questions and predictions
about events, situations,
and conflicts that might
occur if the text were
continued
c. Identify and explain the
relationship between a
literary text and its
historical context
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
text and its historical
setting
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Questioning, Clarifying
Meaning, and Connections
(Text to World); Writers’
Workshop: Writing a
Sequel to the Text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 4
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
Selected texts for CrossCurricular studies in
history; Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Connections
(Text to Text and Text to
World); Writers’ Workshop:
Re-writing the text in a
different historical era
b. Identify and explain
questions left unanswered
by the text
Assessment limit:
Questions and predictions
about events, situations,
and conflicts that might
occur if the text were
continued
c. Identify and explain the
relationship between a
literary text and its
historical context
Assessment limit:
Connections between the
text and its historical
setting
d. Identify and explain the
relationship between the
structure and purpose of
the text
Assessment Limit:
In the text or a portion of
the text
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Questioning, Clarifying
Meaning, and Connections
(Text to World); Writers’
Workshop: Writing a
Sequel to the Text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
Selected texts for CrossCurricular studies in
history; Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Connections
(Text to Text and Text to
World); Writers’ Workshop:
Re-writing the text in a
different historical era
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Connections
(Text to World);
b. Identify and explain
questions left unanswered
by the text
Assessment limit:
Questions and predictions
about events, situations,
and conflicts that might
occur if the text were
continued
c. Identify and explain the
relationship between a
literary text and its
historical and/or social
context
Assessment limits:
Connections between the
text and its historical
setting; Connections
between the text and its
social context
d. Identify and explain the
relationship between the
structure and purpose of
the text
Assessment Limit:
In the text or a portion of
the text
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Predicting,
Questioning, Clarifying
Meaning, and Connections
(Text to World); Writers’
Workshop: Writing a
Sequel to the Text
MSA Finish Line:
Unit 2, Lesson 1
Montessori Lessons:
Student and Teacher
Selected texts for CrossCurricular studies in
history; Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Connections
(Text to Text and Text to
World); Writers’ Workshop:
Re-writing the text in a
different historical era
Montessori Lessons:
Literacy Circles,
Comprehension
Questions; Reading
Strategies: Connections
(Text to World);
61
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Topic 4.A. Writing
4.A.1 Compose texts using the prewriting and drafting
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Generate and select
Montessori Lessons:
topics using techniques,
Writers’ Workshop;
such as graphic
Graphic organizers, journal
organizers, journal writing, writing, free writing, listing,
free writing, listing,
webbing, and discussion of
webbing, and discussion
prior experiences;
of prior experiences
Research Question Lists
Topic 4.A. Writing
4.A.1. Compose texts using the prewriting and drafting
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Generate, select, and
Montessori Lessons:
narrow topics, collectively
Writers’ Workshop;
and independently, using
Graphic organizers,
graphic organizers, prior
journal writing, free writing,
writing, and/or prior
listing, webbing, and
experiences
discussion of prior
experiences; Research
Question Lists
b. Plan and organize ideas
for writing by using an
appropriate organizational
structure, such as
chronological or sequential
order, comparison and
contrast, cause and effect
b. Select and use
appropriate organizational
structures, such as
narrative, chronological or
sequential order,
description, main idea and
detail, problem/solution,
question/answer,
comparison and contrast,
cause and effect
Complete an idea by
providing topic, support
and concluding sentences
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop; Making
outlines or webs for main
idea and supporting
details; creating research
question lists; T-Charts for
Comparison and Contrast,
Cause and Effect; Anchor
charts for words showing
sequential order; Peer
Editing
Complete an idea by
providing topic, support,
and concluding sentences
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop; Making
outlines or webs for main
idea and supporting
details; creating research
question lists; T-Charts for
Comparison and Contrast,
Cause and Effect; Anchor
charts for words showing
sequential order; Peer
Editing
Grade 6
Topic 4.A. Writing
4.A.1. Compose texts using the prewriting and drafting
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Use a variety of selfMontessori Lessons:
selected prewriting
Writers’ Workshop;
strategies to generate,
Graphic organizers,
select, narrow, and
journal writing, free writing,
develop ideas
listing, webbing, and
discussion of prior
experiences; Research
Evaluate topics for
personal relevance, scope, Question Lists
and feasibility; Begin a
coherent plan for
developing ideas; Explore
and evaluate relevant
sources of information
b. Select, organize, and
Montessori Lessons:
develop ideas appropriate Writers’ Workshop; Making
to topic, audience, and
outlines or webs for main
purpose
idea and supporting
details; creating research
question lists; T-Charts for
Organize information
Comparison and Contrast,
logically; Use effective
Cause and Effect; Anchor
organizational structures;
charts for words showing
Select or eliminate
information as appropriate; sequential order; Peer
Verify the effectiveness of Editing
paragraph development by
modifying topic, support,
and concluding sentences
as necessary
62
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
4.A.2. Compose oral, written, and visual presentations
that express personal ideas, inform, and persuade
a. Compose to express
Montessori Lessons:
personal ideas to develop
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
fluency using a variety of
Friendly and Business
forms suited to topic,
Letters, Essays, Journal
audience, and purpose
Entries; Literary
Response; Poetry
4.A.2. Compose oral, written, and visual presentations
that express personal ideas, inform, and persuade
a. Compose to express
Montessori Lessons:
personal ideas by
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
experimenting with a
Friendly and Business
variety of forms and
Letters, Essays, Journal
techniques suited to topic, Entries; Literary
audience, and purpose
Response; Poetry
4.A.2. Compose oral, written, and visual presentations
that express personal ideas, inform, and persuade
a. Compose to express
Montessori Lessons:
personal ideas by
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
experimenting with a
Friendly and Business
variety of forms and
Letters, Essays, Journal
techniques suited to topic, Entries; Literary
audience, and purpose to
Response; Poetry
develop an awareness of
voice and tone
b. Describe in prose and
poetry by using purposeful
imagery and sensory
details with active verbs
and colorful adjectives
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop:
Essays, Journal Entries;
Literary Response; Poetry
b. Describe in prose
and/or poetic forms to
clarify, extend, or
elaborate on ideas by
using vivid language, such
as imagery and figurative
language
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop:
Essays, Journal Entries;
Literary Response; Poetry
b. Describe in prose
and/or poetic forms to
clarify, extend, or
elaborate on ideas by
using vivid language, such
as imagery, figurative
language, and sound
elements
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop:
Essays, Journal Entries;
Literary Response; Poetry
c. Compose to inform
using a structure with a
clear beginning, middle,
and end and a selection of
major points, examples,
and facts to support a
main idea
Montessori Lessons:
Making Outlines and
Webs; Writers’ Workshop:
Friendly and Business
Letters, Essays, Research
Reports
c. Compose to inform
using relevant support and
a variety of appropriate
organizational structures
and signal words within a
paragraph
Montessori Lessons:
Making Outlines and
Webs; Writers’ Workshop:
Friendly and Business
Letters, Essays, Research
Reports
c. Compose to inform
using relevant support and
a variety of appropriate
organizational structures
and signal words within a
paragraph
Montessori Lessons:
Making Outlines and
Webs; Writers’ Workshop:
Friendly and Business
Letters, Essays, Research
Reports
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
63
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
d. Compose to persuade
using significant reasons
and relevant support
Agree or disagree with an
idea and generate
convincing reasons with
relevant support; Consider
effective forms and word
choice
e. Use writing-to-learn
strategies, such as
diagrams, flow charts,
freewriting, learning logs,
and "think-aloud's on
paper" to connect ideas
and thinking about lesson
content
f. Manage time and
process when writing for a
given purpose
Grade 5
Montessori Lessons:
Writer’s Workshop: Essays
to Persuade and Letter to
Persuade; Making outlines
and webs; Peer Editing;
Cross-curricular lessons
on the First Amendment
Right to Petition the
Government ; Classroom
Debates; Mock Trials;
Class Officer Elections
d. Compose to persuade
using significant reasons
and relevant support to
agree or disagree with an
idea
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining
e. Use writing-to-learn
strategies, such as
learning logs, dialogue
journals, and quickwrites
to connect ideas and
thinking about lesson
content
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining
Montessori Lessons:
Given a due date for a
writing assignment,
students manage time
using a work plan
f. Manage time and
process when writing for a
given purpose
Montessori Lessons:
Given a due date for a
writing assignment,
students manage time
using a work plan
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Take a position and
generate convincing
reasons to support it;
Consider the effectiveness
of form, diction, audience
appeal, and organization
Montessori Lessons:
Writer’s Workshop: Essays
to Persuade and Letter to
Persuade; Making outlines
and webs; Peer Editing;
Cross-curricular lessons
on the First Amendment
Right to Petition the
Government ; Classroom
Debates; Mock Trials;
Class Officer Elections
Grade 6
d. Compose to persuade
by supporting, modifying,
or disagreeing with a
position, using effective
rhetorical strategies
Support, modify, or
disagree with a position;
generate convincing
evidence to support it;
Consider the effectiveness
of diction, audience
appeal, and organization;
Use connotation,
repetition, and figurative
language to control
audience emotion and
reaction; Use authoritative
citations
e. Use writing-to-learn
strategies, such as dialect
journals, quickwrites, and
mindmaps to make
connections between
learning and prior
knowledge
f. Manage time and
process when writing for a
given purpose
Montessori Lessons:
Writer’s Workshop: Essays
to Persuade and Letter to
Persuade; Making outlines
and webs; Peer Editing;
Cross-curricular lessons
on the First Amendment
Right to Petition the
Government ; Classroom
Debates; Mock Trials;
Class Officer Elections
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining
Montessori Lessons:
Given a due date for a
writing assignment,
students manage time
using a work plan
64
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
4.A.3. Compose texts using the revising and editing
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Revise texts for clarity,
Montessori Lessons:
completeness, and
Writers’ Workshop with
effectiveness
Peer Editing; Individual
student and teacher
Eliminate words and ideas meetings to analyze
student’s written work;
that do not support the
Punctuation Private Eye;
main idea
Use of Proofreading
Rubric; Logical Analysis of
Clarify meaning by adding
student’s own writing
modifiers and sensory
samples
words within a sentence
4.A.3. Compose texts using the revising and editing
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Revise texts for clarity,
Montessori Lessons:
completeness, and
Writers’ Workshop with
effectiveness
Peer Editing; Individual
student and teacher
Eliminate words and ideas meetings to analyze
student’s written work;
that do not support the
Punctuation Private Eye;
main idea
Use of Proofreading
Rubric; Logical Analysis of
Clarify meaning by adding
student’s own writing
modifiers and sensory
samples
words within a sentence
4.A.3. Compose texts using the revising and editing
strategies of effective writers and speakers
a. Revise texts for clarity,
Montessori Lessons:
completeness, and
Writers’ Workshop with
effectiveness
Peer Editing; Individual
student and teacher
meetings to analyze
Eliminate redundant and
irrelevant words and ideas student’s written work;
Punctuation Private Eye;
Use of Proofreading
Clarify meaning through
Rubric; Logical Analysis of
the placement of
student’s own writing
antecedents, modifiers,
samples
and transitional devices
Clarify meaning by
rearranging sentences
within a text for a clear
beginning, middle, and
end
Clarify meaning by
rearranging sentences
within a text
Coordinate equal ideas
within a sentence
Provide sentence variety
and length by combining
sentences and correcting
rambling sentences
Provide sentence variety
and length by combining
sentences and correcting
rambling sentences
Subordinate less important
ideas within a sentence
using phrases and clauses
Maintain consistent
person, number and tense
Modify sentences from
passive to active voice
Vary sentence types and
lengths to clarify and
extend meaning and to
develop style
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
65
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
b. Use suitable traditional
and electronic resources
to edit final copies of text
for correctness in
language usage and
conventions, such as
capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop with
Peer Editing; Self edit;
Peer edit; Dictionary;
Thesaurus; Spell checker;
Language handbook
Self edit; Peer edit;
Dictionary; Thesaurus;
Spell checker; Language
handbook
c. Prepare the final
product for presentation to
an audience
Montessori Lessons:
Use the editing to make a
final copy or prepare for
the following
presentations: Oral
Presentations; Display of
Student Work on bulletin
boards; Power Point
presentations
4.A.4. Identify how language choices in writing and
speaking affect thoughts and feelings
a. Select words
Montessori Lessons:
appropriate for audience,
Brainstorming; Thesaurus
situation or purpose
and Dictionary work, using
genre-specific vocabulary;
Role-playing presentations
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
b. Use suitable traditional
and electronic resources
to refine presentations and
edit texts for effective and
appropriate use of
language and conventions,
such as capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, and
pronunciation
Self edit; Peer edit;
Dictionary; Thesaurus;
Spell checker; Language
handbook; Grammar
Checker
c. Prepare the final
product for presentation to
an audience
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop with
Peer Editing; Self edit;
Peer edit; Dictionary;
Thesaurus; Spell checker;
Language handbook
Montessori Lessons:
Use the editing to make a
final copy or prepare for
the following
presentations: Oral
Presentations; Display of
Student Work on bulletin
boards; Power Point
presentations
4.A.4. Identify how language choices in writing and
speaking affect thoughts and feelings
a. Select words
Montessori Lessons:
appropriate for audience,
Brainstorming; Thesaurus
situation or purpose
and Dictionary work, using
genre-specific vocabulary;
Role-playing presentations
Grade 6
b. Use suitable traditional
and electronic resources
to refine presentations and
edit texts for effective and
appropriate use of
language and conventions,
such as capitalization,
punctuation, spelling, and
pronunciation
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop with
Peer Editing; Self edit;
Peer edit; Dictionary;
Thesaurus; Spell checker;
Language handbook
Self edit; Peer edit;
Dictionary; Thesaurus;
Spell checker; Language
handbook; Grammar
Checker
c. Prepare the final
product for presentation to
an audience
Montessori Lessons:
Use the editing to make a
final copy or prepare for
the following
presentations: Oral
Presentations; Display of
Student Work on bulletin
boards; Power Point
presentations
4.A.4. Identify how language choices in writing and
speaking affect thoughts and feelings
a. Use precise word
Montessori Lessons:
choice, formal to informal, Brainstorming; Thesaurus
based on audience,
and Dictionary work, using
situation, or purpose
genre-specific vocabulary;
Role-playing presentations
66
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
Grade 5
b. Describe how listeners
Montessori Lessons:
might respond differently
Synonyms; Writers’
to similar words, such as
Workshop: Lessons on
nightmare/dream,
Word Choice
loud/deafening,
cute/gorgeous
c. Consider the effect of
Montessori Lessons:
word choices on the
Synonyms; Writers’
audience
Workshop: Word Choice
4.A.5. Assess the effectiveness of choice of details,
organizational pattern, word choice, and use of figurative
language in the student's own composing
b. Describe how listeners
Montessori Lessons:
might respond differently
Synonyms; Writers’
to similar words, such as
Workshop: Lessons on
nightmare/dream,
Word Choice
loud/deafening,
cute/gorgeous
c. Consider how word
Montessori Lessons:
choices affect the
Synonyms; Writers’
audience
Workshop: Word Choice
4.A.5. Assess the effectiveness of choice of details,
organizational pattern, word choice, syntax, use of
figurative language, and rhetorical devices in the
student's own composing
a. Assess the
Montessori Lessons:
effectiveness of word
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
choice that reveals a
Editing for best choice of
student's purpose for
words
writing
a. Assess the
effectiveness of word
choice in student's own
composing
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
Language suitable for a
given purpose;
Words/phrases that extend
meaning
b. Explain how specific
words/phrases used by the
writer affects reader
response
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Language appropriate for
a particular audience;
Language suitable for a
given purpose;
Words/phrases/sentences
that extend meaning in a
given context
b. Explain how specific
words/phrases/sentences
affect reader/listener
response
Grade 6
b. Consider the
connotative and/or
denotative meanings of
words when selecting
vocabulary
Montessori Lessons:
Synonyms; Writers’
Workshop: Lessons on
Word Choice
c. Consider how word
Montessori Lessons:
choices affect the
Synonyms; Writers’
audience
Workshop: Word Choice
4.A.5. Assess the effectiveness of choice of details,
organizational pattern, word choice, syntax, use of
figurative language, and rhetorical devices in the
student's own composing.
a. Assess the
Montessori Lessons:
effectiveness of diction
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
that reveals his or her
Editing for best choice of
purpose
words
Language appropriate for
a particular audience;
Language suitable for a
given purpose;
Words/phrases/sentences
that extend meaning in a
given context
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
b. Explain how the specific
language and expression
used by the writer or
speaker affects
reader/listener response
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
67
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
c. Examine and use
spatial transitions, such as
"near," "far," "on the left,"
and "in the distance"
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
Grade 5
c. Examine and use
transitions showing
importance and relation,
such as "because,"
"additionally," "unless,"
"although," and "so"
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
Grade 6
c. Evaluate the use of
transitions in a text
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
4.A.6. Explain how textual changes in a work clarify
meaning, address a particular audience, or fulfill a
purpose
a. Revise own text for
Montessori Lessons:
word choice
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
4.A.6. Explain how textual changes in a work enhance
tone, clarify meaning, address a particular audience, or
fulfill a purpose
a. Identify the tone of one's Montessori Lessons:
own writing, and revise
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
word choice to modify tone Editing for best choice of
in order to address a given words
purpose and/or audience
4.A.6. Explain how textual changes alter tone, clarify
meaning, address a particular audience, or fulfill a
purpose
a. Identify the tone of one's Montessori Lessons:
own writing, and revise
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
word choice to modify tone Editing for best choice of
in order to address a given words
purpose and/or audience
b. Explain how revisions in
word choice affect
meaning
b. Explain how revisions in
word choice and syntax
affect meaning
b. Justify revisions in
syntax and diction from a
previous draft of his or her
same text by explaining
how the change affects
meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
4.A.7. Locate, retrieve, and use information from various
sources to accomplish a purpose
a. Identify and use sources Montessori Lessons:
of information on a topic
Creating a Research Plan;
Writers’ Workshop:
Creating a Bibliography
with a variety of resources
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
4.A.7. Locate, retrieve, and use information from various
sources to accomplish a purpose
a. Identify, evaluate, and
Montessori Lessons:
use sources of information Creating a Research Plan;
on a self-selected and/or
Writers’ Workshop:
given topic
Creating a Bibliography
with a variety of resources
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing for best choice of
words
4.A.7. Locate, retrieve and use information from various
sources to accomplish a purpose
a. Identify, evaluate, and
Montessori Lessons:
use sources of information Creating a Research Plan;
on a self-selected and/or
Writers’ Workshop:
given topic
Creating a Bibliography
with a variety of resources
68
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
b. Use various information
retrieval sources
(traditional and/or
electronic) to obtain
information on a topic
c. Use note taking,
organizational strategies,
and simple documentation
of information to record
and organize information
Montessori Lessons:
Creating a Research Plan;
Writers’ Workshop:
Bibliographies; Dewey
Decimal System;
Navigating websites
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining
Participate in teacherdirected note-taking and
organization of information
Grade 5
b. Use various information
retrieval sources
(traditional and/or
electronic) to obtain
information on a selfselected and/or given topic
c. Select appropriate
information for note taking
and organizing information
Practice appropriate
strategies for organizing
information and/or taking
notes
Montessori Lessons:
Creating a Research Plan;
Writers’ Workshop:
Bibliographies; Dewey
Decimal System;
Navigating websites
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining; Student use
of Graphic Organizers
Grade 6
b. Use various information
retrieval sources
(traditional and/or
electronic) to obtain
information on a selfselected and/or given topic
c. Use appropriate note
taking procedures,
organizational strategies,
and proper documentation
of sources of information
Strategies for taking notes
and organizing source
information or notes
Information to include or
exclude when note taking
Montessori Lessons:
Creating a Research Plan;
Writers’ Workshop:
Bibliographies; Dewey
Decimal System;
Navigating websites
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling of
Graphic Organizers for
brainstorming, note-taking
and outlining; Student use
of Graphic Organizers for
note-taking; Creating
Bibliographies; Reading
Strategies: Determining
Importance; Analyzing an
author’s perspective and
bias
Advantages,
disadvantages, of a given
strategy for recording or
organizing information
Advantages,
disadvantages, of sources
of information, such as
bias, accuracy, availability,
variety, currency
Use a format such as MLA
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
69
VSC - Reading Standard 4.0 Writing: Students will compose in a variety of modes by developing content, employing specific forms, and selecting
language appropriate for a particular audience and purpose.
Grade 4
d. Use information to fulfill
a given purpose
e. Credit sources when
paraphrasing and quoting
to avoid plagiarism
Montessori Lessons:
Summarizing and
paraphrasing information
to answer student’s own
research questions or
teacher assigned
comprehension questions;
Cross-curricular study in
science or social studies
Montessori Lessons:
Using quotation marks or
putting information in your
own words; giving credit to
sources of information
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
d. Use information from
two or more sources to
fulfill a given purpose
e. Credit sources when
paraphrasing,
summarizing, and quoting
to avoid plagiarism
Montessori Lessons:
Summarizing and
paraphrasing information
to answer student’s own
research questions or
teacher assigned
comprehension questions;
Cross-curricular study in
science or social studies
Montessori Lessons:
Using quotation marks or
putting information in your
own words; giving credit to
sources of information
Grade 6
d. Synthesize information
from two or more sources
to fulfill a self-selected or
given purpose
e. Use a recognized
format to credit sources
when paraphrasing,
summarizing, and quoting
to avoid plagiarism
Montessori Lessons:
Summarizing and
paraphrasing information
to answer student’s own
research questions or
teacher assigned
comprehension questions;
Cross-curricular study in
science or social studies
Montessori Lessons:
Using quotation marks or
putting information in your
own words; giving credit to
sources of information
70
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Topic 5.A. Grammar
5.A.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
elements of grammar in
Logical Analysis, Grammar
personal and academic
Symbols and Charts
reading
5.A.2. Recognize, recall, and use basic elements of
grammar to express ideas clearly
Topic 5.A. Grammar
5.A.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
elements of grammar in
Logical Analysis, Grammar
personal and academic
Symbols and Charts
reading
5.A.2. Recognize, recall, and use basic elements of
grammar to express ideas clearly
a. Identify and use parts of
speech, such as
prepositions, conjunctions,
and interjections
Montessori Lessons:
Grammar Symbols and
Charts
Montessori Lessons:
Grammar Symbols and
Charts
b. Combine short, related
sentences using a series,
compound words, and key
words
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Conjunctions; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing
a. Recognize the meaning,
position, form, and
function of words when
identifying grammatical
concepts, such as
concrete, collective, and
abstract nouns;
demonstrative and relative
pronouns; subordinating
conjunctions
b. Combine sentences
using appositives,
participial phrases,
adjectives, adverbs, and
prepositional phrases
c. Compose simple and
compound sentences
using coordinating
conjunctions
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Conjunctions; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing
c. Differentiate between a
phrase and a clause and
between grammatically
complete sentences and
non-sentences, such as
fragments and ramblers
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Logical Analysis
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Conjunctions; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Logical Analysis
Grade 6
Topic 5.A. Grammar
5.A.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
elements of grammar in
Logical Analysis, Grammar
personal and academic
Symbols and Charts
reading
5.A.2. Recognize, recall, and use grammar concepts
and skills to strengthen control of oral and written
language
a. Recognize the meaning, Montessori Lessons:
position, form, and
Grammar Symbols and
function of words when
Charts
identifying grammatical
concepts, such as
indefinite pronouns,
perfect verb tenses,
conjunctive adverbs, and
correlative conjunctions
b. Combine sentences
using knowledge of
subjects and predicates,
logical placement of
modifiers, and logical
coordination,
subordination, and
sequencing of ideas
c. Differentiate
grammatically complete
sentences from nonsentences, including fused
sentences
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Conjunctions; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Logical Analysis
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Logical Analysis
71
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
d. Identify and use verb
forms, such as
singular/plural,
regular/irregular
Montessori Materials:
Verb Materials for
conjugation
e. Identify and use verb
tenses, such as present,
past, and future
Montessori Materials:
Verb Materials for tense
Grade 5
d. Compose simple,
compound, and complex
sentences using
independent and
dependent clauses,
transitions, and
conjunctions to connect
ideas
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Logical Analysis
Grade 6
d. Compose simple,
compound, complex, and
compound-complex
sentences using
independent and
dependent clauses,
transitions, conjunctions,
and appropriate
punctuation to connect
ideas
Montessori Lessons:
Types of Sentences;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Logical Analysis;
Grammar Symbols
Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.**
Grade 4
Topic 5.B. Usage
5.B.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
examples of conventional
Logical Analysis; Grammar
usage in personal and
Symbols
academic reading
5.B.2. Comprehend and apply standard English usage in
oral and written language
a. Use singular subjects
Montessori Materials:
with singular verbs and
Verb Materials for
plural subjects with plural
conjugation; Writers’
verbs
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Individual Student meeting
with teacher
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
Topic 5.B. Usage
5.B.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
examples of conventional
Logical Analysis; Grammar
usage in personal and
Symbols
academic reading
5.B.2. Comprehend and apply standard English usage in
oral and written language
a. Apply appropriate
Montessori Materials:
subject/verb agreement,
Verb Materials for
such as in compound
conjugation; Logical
subjects and with phrases Analysis
that interrupt the subject
and the verb
Grade 6
Topic 5.B. Usage
5.B.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
examples of conventional
Logical Analysis; Grammar
usage in personal and
Symbols
academic reading
5.B.2. Comprehend and apply standard English usage in
oral and written language
a. Apply appropriate
Montessori Materials:
subject/verb agreement,
Verb Materials for
such as with collective
conjugation; Logical
nouns, indefinite
Analysis
pronouns, and inverted
word order
72
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
b. Apply consistent and
appropriate use of verb
tenses, such as past,
present, and future;
pronouns, such as
personal, possessive, and
pronoun/antecedent
agreement; and modifiers
Montessori Materials:
Verb Materials for tense;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Individual Student
meeting with teacher
b. Apply consistent and
appropriate use of the
principal parts of regular
and irregular verbs;
person, number, and case
of pronouns;
pronoun/antecedent
agreement; and degrees
of comparison of modifiers
Montessori Materials:
Logical Analysis; Grammar
Symbols; Verb Materials
for tense; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Individual Student meeting
with teacher
b. Apply consistent and
appropriate use of the
principal parts of regular
and irregular verbs;
person, number, and case
of pronouns;
pronoun/antecedent
agreement; and degrees
of comparison of modifiers
Montessori Materials:
Logical Analysis; Grammar
Symbols; Verb Materials
for tense; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Individual Student meeting
with teacher
c. Recognize and correct
common usage errors,
such as homophones,
contractions, and
commonly confused words
Montessori Materials:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Individual Student
meeting with teacher;
Word Study (homophones,
contractions); Punctuation
Private Eye
c. Recognize and correct
common usage errors,
such as misplaced
modifiers and incorrect
use of verbs, such as lie lay, rise - raise, sit – set
Montessori Materials:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Individual Student
meeting with teacher;
Word Study (homophones,
contractions); Punctuation
Private Eye
c. Recognize and correct
common usage errors,
such as misplaced
modifiers; incorrect use of
verbs; double negatives;
and commonly confused
words, such as accept –
except
Montessori Materials:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Individual Student
meeting with teacher;
Word Study (homophones,
contractions); Punctuation
Private Eye
d. Use available resources
to correct or confirm
editorial choices
Montessori Materials:
Proofreading Rubrics;
Books such as Write
Source and Writer’s
Express; MS Word
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
d. Use available resources
to correct or confirm
editorial choices
Montessori Materials:
Proofreading Rubrics;
Books such as Write
Source and Writer’s
Express; MS Word
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
d. Use available resources
to correct or confirm
editorial choices
Montessori Materials:
Proofreading Rubrics;
Books such as Write
Source and Writer’s
Express; MS Word
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
e. Explain editorial choices
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
e. Explain editorial choices
e. Explain editorial choices
73
VSC Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 5.C. Mechanics
5.C.1. Explain the purpose Montessori Lessons:
of mechanics to make and Writers’ Workshop: Peer
clarify meaning in
Editing
academic and personal
reading and writing
Topic 5.C. Mechanics
5.C.1. Explain and justify
Montessori Lessons:
the purpose of mechanics Writers’ Workshop: Peer
to make and clarify
Editing
meaning in academic and
personal reading and
writing
5.C.2. Apply standard English punctuation and
capitalization in written language
a. Use commas correctly
Montessori Lessons:
in direct address and to
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
separate adjectives and
Editing; Types of
parenthetical expressions, Sentences; Logical
such as on the other hand, Analysis; Commas
for example, by the way
Lessons
Topic 5.C. Mechanics
5.C.1. Explain and justify
Montessori Lessons:
the purpose of mechanics Writers’ Workshop: Peer
to make and clarify
Editing
meaning in academic and
personal reading and
writing
5.C.2. Apply standard English punctuation and
capitalization in written language
a. Use commas and
Montessori Lessons:
semicolons correctly, such Writers’ Workshop: Peer
as in a compound
Editing; Types of
sentence
Sentences; Logical
Analysis; Commas
Lessons; Semicolon
Lessons
b. Use parentheses and
Montessori Lessons:
dashes correctly
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Parentheses,
Dashes
5.C.2. Apply standard English punctuation and
capitalization in written language
a. Use correct and varied
Montessori Lessons:
end punctuation
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Types of
Sentences (Expository;
Interrogative; Exclamatory)
b. Use commas correctly
in appositives, items in a
series, and before a
coordinating conjunction in
a compound sentence
b. Use apostrophes in
plural possessives and
nouns that end in –s
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Possessives
c. Use underlining,
quotation marks, or italics
to identify titles of
documents
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Types of
Sentences; Logical
Analysis; Commas
Lessons
Montessori Lessons:
Creating Bibliographies,
Citing sources when
writing
c. Use quotation marks
and commas in dialogue
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
Dialogue
c. Use appropriate
punctuation for special
formats, such as e-mails,
bulleted lists, letters,
memos, citations, and
outlines
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
letters and outlines;
Creating Bibliographies,
Citing sources when
writing
d. Use apostrophes in
contractions and
possessives
Montessori Lessons:
Word Study (possessives
and contractions)
d. Use a colon to introduce
a list
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Making
Lists, Peer Editing; Colons
d. Use a colon to introduce
a list
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Making
Lists, Peer Editing; Colons
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
74
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
e. Use quotation marks
and commas in simple
dialogue and for direct
quotations
f. Use capital letters
correctly in titles and the
first word in a direct
quotation
g. Indent for paragraphs
5.C.3. Explain editorial
choices involving
mechanics
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
Dialogue; Citing sources
when writing
Montessori Lessons:
Proofreading Rubrics;
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing; Creating
Bibliographies, Citing
sources when writing
Montessori Lessons:
Proofreading Rubrics;
Writers’ Workshop
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
Grade 5
e. Use quotation marks
and commas in simple
dialogue and for direct
quotations
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Writing
Dialogue; Citing sources
when writing
5.C.3. Explain editorial
choices involving
mechanics
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
Grade 6
5.C.3. Explain editorial
choices involving
mechanics
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop: Peer
Editing
Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 5.D. Spelling
5.D.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
conventional spelling in
Spelling Private Eye
and through personal and
academic reading
5.D.2. Apply conventional spelling in written language
a. Spell grade-appropriate Montessori Lessons:
high frequency and
Spelling Private Eye;
content words
Spelling tests;
Nomenclature and reports;
Proofreading Rubrics;
Writers’ Workshop
Topic 5.D. Spelling
5.D.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
conventional spelling in
Spelling Private Eye
and through personal and
academic reading
5.D.2. Apply conventional spelling in written language
a. Spell grade- appropriate Montessori Lessons:
high-frequency and
Spelling Private Eye;
content words
Spelling tests;
Nomenclature and reports;
Proofreading Rubrics;
Writers’ Workshop
Topic 5.D. Spelling
5.D.1. Recognize
Montessori Lessons:
conventional spelling in
Spelling Private Eye
and through personal and
academic reading
5.D.2. Apply conventional spelling in written language
a. Use conventional
Montessori Lessons:
spelling in personal writing Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests;
Nomenclature and reports;
Proofreading Rubrics;
Writers’ Workshop
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
75
VSC - Reading Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
b. Modify spellings when
adding inflectional endings
and suffixes
Montessori Lessons:
Word Family cards and
charts, Word Study
(affixes); Etymology of
words
b. Spell multi-syllabic
words with complex
spelling patterns
c. Spell one-syllable and
multi-syllabic words with
complex spelling patterns,
such as -tion, -ous, ph-,
kn-, etc.
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests; Content
area nomenclature and
reports; Proofreading
Rubrics; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Etymology of words
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals;
dictionary, MS Word;
Handheld electronic
spellers
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals, Content
area nomenclature
booklets
c. Use suitable traditional
and electronic resources
as a spelling aid
d. Access resources as a
spelling aid, such as word
wall, technology, dictionary
e. Use mnemonic devices
to recall frequently
misspelled words
5.D.3. Maintain a personal
list of words to use in
editing original writing
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests; Content
area nomenclature and
reports; Proofreading
Rubrics; Writers’
Workshop: Peer Editing;
Etymology of words
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals;
dictionary, MS Word;
Handheld electronic
spellers
d. Use mnemonic devices
to recall frequently
misspelled words
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests
5.D.3. Maintain a personal
list of words to use in
editing original writing
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals, Content
area nomenclature
booklets
Grade 6
b. Develop self-monitoring
strategies for frequently
misspelled words
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling Private Eye;
Spelling tests; Etymology
of words
c. Use suitable traditional
and electronic resources
as a spelling aid
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals;
dictionary, MS Word;
Handheld electronic
spellers
5.D.3. Maintain a personal
list of words to use in
editing original writing
Montessori Lessons:
Spelling journals, Content
area nomenclature
booklets
76
VSC -Standard 5.0 Controlling Language: Students will control language by applying the conventions of Standard English in speaking and writing.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Topic 5.E. Handwriting
5.E.1. Produce writing that is legible to the audience
a. Maintain accuracy and
Montessori Lessons:
automaticity in manuscript Teacher Modeling;
and cursive writing
Handwriting journals
Topic 5.E. Handwriting
5.E.1. Produce writing that is legible to the audience
a. Write fluidly and legibly
Montessori Lessons:
in manuscript and cursive
Teacher Modeling;
Handwriting journals
Topic 5.E. Handwriting
5.E.1. Produce writing that is legible to the audience
a. Write fluidly and legibly
Montessori Lessons:
in manuscript and cursive
Teacher Modeling;
Handwriting journals
b. Use word processing
technology when
appropriate
b. Use word processing
technology when
appropriate
b. Use word processing
technology when
appropriate
Montessori Lessons:
Reports and essays
published in MS Word;
Power Point presentations
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Reports and essays
published in MS Word;
Power Point presentations
Montessori Lessons:
Reports and essays
published in MS Word;
Power Point presentations
77
VSC - Reading Standard 6.0 Listening: Students will demonstrate effective listening to learn, process, and analyze information.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Topic 6.A. Listening
6.A.1. Demonstrate active listening strategies
Topic 6.A. Listening
6.A.1. Demonstrate active listening strategies
a. Attend to the speaker
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life: Receptive
body language, eye
contact
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Student
Oral Presentations; Field
Trips; Guest Speakers
a. Attend to the speaker
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Student
Oral Presentations; Field
Trips; Guest Speakers;
Literacy Circles; Class
Meetings
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Student
Oral Presentations; Field
Trips; Guest Speakers;
Literacy Circles; Class
Meetings
c. Contribute relevant
comments
b. Ask appropriate
questions
c. Contribute relevant
comments
d. Relate prior knowledge
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
b. Ask appropriate
questions
d. Relate prior knowledge
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life: Receptive
body language, eye
contact
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
Grade 6
Topic 6.A. Listening
6.A.1. Apply and demonstrate listening skills
appropriately in a variety of settings and for a variety of
purposes
a. Attend to the speaker
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life: Receptive
body language, eye
contact
b. Ask appropriate
Montessori Lessons:
questions
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers
c. Contribute relevant
Montessori Lessons:
comments
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
d. Relate prior knowledge
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
e. Use note-taking to
Montessori Lessons:
assist listening when
Teacher Modeling;
appropriate
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
78
VSC - Reading Standard 6.0 Listening: Students will demonstrate effective listening to learn, process, and analyze information.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
f. Maintain visual contact
with the speaker
6.A.2. Comprehend and analyze what is heard
6.A.2. Comprehend and analyze what is heard
a. Determine speaker’s
purpose
a. Determine speaker’s
purpose
b. Identify how the
language of the
presentation contributes to
effect and meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions; Writers’
Workshop: Word Choice
b. Identify how the
language of the
presentation contributes to
effect and meaning
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions; Writers’
Workshop: Word Choice
c. Demonstrate an
understanding of what is
heard by retelling, asking
questions, relating prior
knowledge, and
summarizing
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Student
Oral Presentations; Field
Trips; Guest Speakers;
Literacy Circles; Class
Meetings
c. Elaborate on the
information and ideas
presented
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions
d. Follow a set of multistep directions
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions; Practical Life
Activities, Games
d. Draw conclusions
based on the information
presented
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions; Reading
Strategies: Inferences,
Drawing Conclusions
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life: Receptive
body language, eye
contact
g. Maintain focus by
Montessori Lessons:
identifying and managing
Practical Life: Receptive
barriers to listening
body language, eye
contact
6.A.2. Apply comprehension and literary analysis
strategies and skills for a variety of listening purposes
and settings
a. Elaborate on the
Montessori Lessons:
information and ideas
Teacher Modeling; Class
presented
Discussions
b. Make inferences or
Montessori Lessons:
draw conclusions based
Teacher Modeling; Class
on the presentation
Discussions; Reading
Strategies: Inferences,
Drawing Conclusions
c. Determine a speaker’s
Montessori Lessons:
attitude through verbal and Practical Life Lessons:
non-verbal cues, such as
Body Language and Tone
tone of voice, inflections,
of Voice; Teacher
body language, facial
Modeling; Class
expressions
Discussions; Reading
Strategies: Inferences,
Drawing Conclusions
d. Explain how the effects Montessori Lessons:
of language contribute to
Teacher Modeling; Class
meaning
Discussions; Writers’
Workshop: Word Choice
79
VSC - Reading Standard 6.0 Listening: Students will demonstrate effective listening to learn, process, and analyze information.
Grade 4
e. Listen carefully to
expand and enrich
vocabulary
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life: Receptive
body language, eye
contact; Note-taking
f. Make judgments based
on information from the
speaker
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling; Class
Discussions; Practical Life
Activities, Games; Followup Action Plans or
research topics related to
class speakers and field
trips
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Grade 5
e. Determine speaker's
attitude through verbal and
non-verbal cues, such as
tone of voice, inflections,
and facial expressions
Montessori Lessons:
Practical Life Lessons:
Body Language and Tone
of Voice; Teacher
Modeling; Class
Discussions; Reading
Strategies: Inferences,
Drawing Conclusions
Grade 6
e. Provide constructive
feedback to speakers
concerning the delivery as
well as its overall impact
upon the listeners
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Student Oral
Presentations; Field Trips;
Guest Speakers; Literacy
Circles; Class Meetings
80
VSC - Reading Standard 7.0 Speaking: Student will communicate effectively in a variety of situations with different audiences, purposes, and formats.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Topic 7.A. Speaking
7.A.1. Use organization and delivery strategies at an
appropriate level
Topic 7.A. Speaking
7.A.1. Use organization and delivery strategies at an
appropriate level
a. Demonstrate
appropriate volume,
articulation, enunciation,
intonation, pacing, timing,
and stress
a. Demonstrate
appropriate volume,
articulation, enunciation,
intonation, pacing, timing,
and stress
b. Demonstrate
appropriate timing:
Fluency, Pacing, Rate
c. Use appropriate nonverbal techniques to
enhance communications:
Posture, Eye contact,
Facial expressions,
Gestures
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions; Reciting
Poetry
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions
b. Demonstrate
appropriate timing:
Fluency, Pacing, Rate
c. Use appropriate nonverbal techniques to
enhance communications:
Posture, Eye contact,
Facial expressions,
Gestures
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions; Reciting
Poetry
Montessori Lessons:
Teacher Modeling;
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions
Grade 6
Topic 7.A. Speaking
7.A.1. Demonstrate appropriate organizational strategies
and delivery techniques to plan for a variety of oral
presentation purposes
a. Identify the purpose,
Montessori Lessons:
audience, and setting for a Teacher Modeling;
presentation
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions
b. Identify the needs and
Montessori Lessons:
perspectives of the
Teacher Modeling;
audience
Practical Life; Role
Playing; Oral
Presentations; Drama
Productions; Reciting
Poetry
c. Select and plan for
Montessori Lessons:
appropriate use of visual
Oral Presentations; Power
aids
Point; Making posters,
timelines, dioramas,
mobiles, 3-D models,
costumes, etc.
d. Select the topic of an
oral presentation
e. Gather/construct
adequate support
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Cross-curricular lessons in
literature, science, history,
geography, math,
geometry, art, music, etc.
Montessori Lessons:
Cross-curricular lessons in
literature, science, history,
geography, math, etc.
81
VSC - Reading Standard 7.0 Speaking: Student will communicate effectively in a variety of situations with different audiences, purposes, and formats.
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
f. Identify and use a variety
of organization structures:
narrative, cause and effect,
chronological order,
description, main idea and
detail, problem/solution,
question/answer, compare
and contrast
7.A.2. Make oral presentations
a. Speak in a variety of
Montessori Lessons:
situations to inform and/or Writers’ Workshop:
relate experiences,
Preparing speeches for a
including retelling stories
variety of purposes (To
inform, persuade, express
personal ideas)
b. State a position and
Montessori Lessons:
support it with reasons
Writers’ Workshop:
Preparing speeches for a
variety of purposes; Class
Debates; Mock Trials
c. Participate in dramatic
Montessori Lessons:
presentations
Class Plays
d. Plan and deliver
Montessori Lessons:
effective oral
Writers’ Workshop:
presentations
Preparing speeches for a
variety of purposes
e. Use props when
Montessori Lessons:
appropriate
Oral Presentations; Power
Point; Posters, timelines,
dioramas, mobiles, 3-D
models, costumes, etc.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Montessori Lessons:
Writers’ Workshop:
Preparing speeches for a
variety of purposes (To
inform, To persuade, To
express personal ideas)
7.A.2. Make oral presentations
a. Speak in a variety of
Montessori Lessons:
situations to inform and/or Writers’ Workshop:
relate experiences,
Preparing speeches for a
including retelling stories
variety of purposes (To
inform, persuade, express
personal ideas)
b. State a position and
Montessori Lessons:
support it with reasons
Writers’ Workshop:
Preparing speeches for a
variety of purposes; Class
Debates; Mock Trials
c. Participate in dramatic
Montessori Lessons:
presentations
Class Plays
d. Plan and deliver
Montessori Lessons:
effective oral
Writers’ Workshop:
presentations
Preparing speeches for a
variety of purposes
e. Use props when
Montessori Lessons:
appropriate
Oral Presentations; Power
Point; Posters, timelines,
dioramas, mobiles, 3-D
models, costumes, etc.
82
THE SUN STORY: The Origin of Spoken Language
(For command cards and activities refer to Montessori Reading and Language Arts Curriculum-Grades 1 to 3, PGIN # 7690-2980)
When humans first appeared on the earth, they were small, the size of little children, and they were without great power. The first men and
women had no clothes; they could not cook and they lived outside in the open without houses. The first people had no idea of how to use fire, and
they had only two or three simple tools.
It must have been terrifying for them in the night, in constant fear of wild animals. Yes, they could make sounds--they could grunt, moan,
shriek, cry and wildly wave their hands. But they could not speak words. They had no names, no way to explain how they felt, why they were sad or
what was hurting them. The discoveries and secrets of their lives were bottled up because they had no way of expressing them. Their intellects were
developing, but they had not yet discovered their great gift.
Gradually, after many ages, and before the coming of the glaciers, a new race of women and men appeared. They were taller, stronger,
smarter. Their minds were more powerful. They are the people who spoke the first words. They were the first to use fire. At first, they communicated
only as their ancestors did, but as they got wiser, they came to a greater love of sounds and they began to imitate the sounds of nature. They
learned to speak with their hands and their bodies. They refined the art of gesture.
One day a person of great sensitivity arrived. This child was in love with the music of life--the hoot of the owl, the coo of the dove, the howl of
the wolf. The young girl imitated these sounds and stored them in her memory. Then, one day, a wondrous event happened. The little girl saw the
first gleam of the sun and felt its warmth splash over her. ÒS-u-. S-u-u. S-u-n.Ó
And there it was! The word formed spontaneously on her tongue and then entered her head. ÒSUN!Ó It sounded right. It expressed the
essence of the huge circle of light that she saw. She whispered it; she yelled it; she sang it; she spoke it gently; she waved at it; she pointed at it; she
saluted it; and then, she raced off to share her word with others.
The word excited her family and friends. It released a hidden force. It was dynamic and opened a part of their minds from which more words
came tumbling out. Many more words were invented, words that matched special things and actions, ÒDad, Mom, tree, sky, fireÓ -- just a few words
at first. The people built on them, adding many others to make the first language. The humans who discovered words so long ago have died, but
they have been followed by other humans who learned to speak words.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
83
These were people very much like us. The task that they accomplished was extraordinary—they gave names to almost everything in their
world. They named actions. They were the first to describe things and they invented relation words. But even more, they wove the words into
phrases and sentences. Conversation and discussion were born.
Modern men and women, the storytellers, appeared only 300 centuries ago during the last great glacial period. The art of storytelling
unleashed two hidden powers of the mind: The first is memory and the second is the extraordinary power of imagination. Storytelling advanced to
become poetry and history, religion and science, and politics. Humans could say anything to each other and be understood by their own group.
Perhaps there will come a time when all people will understand one language.
THE BELL-BEAKER and BATTLE-AX FOLK: The Roots of the English Language
(For command cards and activities refer to Montessori Reading and Language Arts Curriculum-Grades 1 to 3, PGIN # 7690-2980)
Our English Language started around 4,000 years ago. Villages were built near rivers, lakes, and seashores because the people could
depend on fish, waterfowl, and sea-mammals for food. Large carp, clubbed with stones or trapped in nets, provided a major part of their diet. Some
people farmed. They used stone axes and adzes to clear their gardens in which they planted wheat, barley, millet and other crops. They kept cattle
and dogs nearby their houses. Some were hunters. These early villagers lived in houses made from wood and sod and they used pottery.
Around this time, 4,000 years ago, when the farming villages were settled and prospering, a particular group of traders from southern Russia
began traveling through the Iberian Peninsula toward Spain and France. These traders are known as the Bell-Beaker Folk, named after their bellshaped drinking cups. They always welcomed those who could afford to buy their bronze daggers and spearheads. For the poor, who had only fox
fur to exchange, the Beaker Traders had other things, for example, mead. Whenever they had to bury one of their men in a strange land, they would
place a beautiful beaker full of mead in the dead man’s hand in the grave. The remains of these gravesites allow us today to follow the trading routes
of the Bell-Beaker Folk.
Picture caravans of precious trade goods being carried by pack mules and ox-pulled carts. When they met with the people from the
permanent settlements, the Bell-Beaker Folk appeared strikingly different. They wore splendid clothing and equipment. They dressed in woven
clothes and their flowing cloaks, dyed in reds and blues, were clasped at the neck by real bronze buttons. These items were fancy in comparison
with the buckskin cloaks of the villagers, fastened by amber buttons. The Bell-Beaker traders spoke a language that few villages could understand,
but their desire to trade helped all people find the way to share words needed to communicate. For example, a young woman seeing the flowing
cloak dyed in red might say to the Bell-Beaker Trader, "What is that?" pointing to the cloak. The Trader might say, "CAPE." The young woman says,
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
84
"I want CAPE." The trader asks, "WANT cape?" The young woman nods and holds up a beautiful carved wooden bowl for trade. So the language is
exchanged as the desired products change hands.
During the time that the Bell-Beaker Folk traded with the settled villages along the Rhine, news came of approaching horsemen from the
East. The horsemen used oxen to pull fairly heavy wagons at a walking pace. Two horses harnessed to a chariot could bear two men, traveling at
speeds never before achieved in the history of man. Driving their herds of cattle and seeking out the best land these intruders poured onto the Rhine,
each tribe carving out an area for itself and settling down. The intruders were groups of nomads known as the BATTLE-AX PEOPLE. Their axes,
which were their characteristic weapon, were made of stone. The stone from which the axes were made had carefully been selected then cut and
polished. Those battle axes had a long slender form resembling a model of a canoe or kayak.
The Battle-Ax Folk buried their people in an oblong pit, dug a foot or so into the ground. A single body would be placed on its side with knees
drawn up and always with its face toward the south. Women lay on their right sides with heads to the east. They bore rich amber jewelry and were
accompanied by one or more earthenware pitchers. Men lay on their right sides with heads to the west. They too had pitchers or beakers with them
in the grave. The men wore no ornaments, except occasionally a pair of large amber buttons. The two large amber buttons lying close to the throat of
the men suggest that they wore a loosely secured cloak around their shoulders. In front of the men’s face, a stone battle-ax was laid, level with their
eyes. Ancient people worshipped the gods of the sky and the horizon. Archaeologists have studied the ancient graves of the Battle-Ax People and
believe that their religion was some form of sun-worship. This belief is reinforced by the presence of golden discs representing the sun. Also, the
horse-drawn chariot which allowed them to travel at high speeds covering great distances had an important role in their religion. The horse is
worshipped as the servant of the gods. Clearly, the sun-god himself, the chief of all gods, who can cross the heavens from horizon to horizon in a
single day, must use the horse-drawn chariot to cover that distance.
The Battle-Ax People were a nomadic Caucasian race, and it is believed that their language was Indo-European. They most probably came
from the great grassy steppe in the region east and northeast of the Caspian Sea. As the Bell-Beaker Folk met those battle-ax wielding horsemen,
mixed communities of the Battle-Ax Folk and the original settlers soon arose and not only overran the farmland of half of Europe; they also spread
up to the north and into the pine forest of the sub-arctic. The Indo-Europeans were the ancestors of the language which we speak today. It seems as
if the peoples speaking this Proto-Indo-European language were the Great, great, great, great, great, great , great, great, great, great Grandfathers
of the English Language. They were living on the planes of Central or Eastern Europe and around 2,500 B.C.
Some moved south to Armenia and N. Mesopotamia.
Some moved to the Iranian Plateau and later to NW India.
Some moved southward to the Balkans and Crete.
Some moved to the Alps, and then spread into Italy, France and Spain.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
85
History of Writing
Pre- Alphabet Signs
Communication in signs was a big step forward for humanity. Throughout most of human history, language was not used in written form;
that development came rather late. (Refer to the Hand Time-Line, where the small red strip indicates all of written history.)
But people must have communicated!

There was verbal communication, i.e. agreement on the meaning of sounds.

Much earlier than writing as we know it, signs and symbols were used to pass information to someone not present to talk to.

The Incas used the quipu (meaning “knot” in Quechua), a series of colored strings with knots at particular intervals, encoding information
used primarily for accounting purposes.

Notched sticks were used as memory aids.

North American natives used wampum, beads made from shells and used as currency, for ceremonial exchanges, for treaties or to record
important events.

Very early examples of human communication are the cave or rock paintings, the oldest ones found in the caves of France and Spain and
done by Cro-Magnon Man. The pictures represented animals they hunted and humans with spears or with masks. They are believed to be
religious communication for protections and success in the hunt and deal with the physical and spiritual needs of those people.

In most early cultures pictographs were used for communication, each picture representing a word or idea (see the chart with the Mexican
signs, or the one with the story rendered in pictures)

Children my draw their own pictures.

An early precursor to Sumerian writing, discovered in recent years in Mesopotamia, were tokens used for messages in business trade. For
example, a shipload of grain would be accompanied by small clay tokens which told the recipient what amount he was supposed to receive.
Such tokens, used as early as 8000 B.C., were found in large quantities, each with a symbol carved into the clay, carrying the message the
token was to transmit.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
86
Writing Symbols for Words
The earliest true writing of which we are aware was that used by the Sumerians in South Mesopotamia, the land between the
Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, circa 4000 B.C. They used simplified and heavily stylized pictures to represent words. The material used to
record the symbols was clay tablets, and the symbols were impressed into the clay with a stylus cut from a reed. The resulting pictures were
comprised of wedge-shaped strokes and termed cuniform, , which means “wedge-shaped.” For millennia this was the universal script in the
Near East, used with little variation in Acadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Syrian writing.
The Egyptian writing may have been influenced by the Sumerian idea of using a picture for a word, but developed separately with its
own set of symbols. The original Egyptian script circa 3000 B.C. was picture writing. Later the Greeks saw the symbols carved in stone and
termed them hieroglyphics (from hieros: “sacred, holy” and glyphein: “to carve or hollow out”.
For everyday use a faster form of writing was developed, called hieratic (“priestly writing”) since it was used by the priest, the only
group knowledgeable in using script. About 700 B.C. an even more simplified set of symbols was developed; termed demotic, for “popular
writing”. By then scribes were using brush pens with black ink on papyrus. Papyrus was produced by arranging the fibers of the papyrus
sedge in crosswise layers and drying them. This material is similar to (and gave the name to) our paper.
The Idea of the Alphabet
A breakthrough was made with the idea of taking symbols which previously had the meaning of the entire word, and using them instead
to represent a single sound. If symbols are to represent words, then there must be as many symbols as there are words in a language. (This is
one reason why the art of writing was restricted to the caste of priests, who had time to devote their lives to learning such an enormous written
vocabulary.) But if each symbol is to represent a sound, then only a limited number of symbols are needed: in principle as many as there are
distinct sounds, but in practice many fewer, since similar sounds can be identified from their context.
Around 1500 B.C. early Phoenicians (the Canaanites, a Semitic-speaking people living in present day Syria, Lebanon and Palestine on
the Mediterranean coast) began to use the cuneiform sign to stand for individual speech sounds, writing them from right to left. Phoenicians
were navigators and traders. (One of their products was purple dye, made from a shellfish called porphure in Greek. This dye was so precious
that only royalty could afford it, and to this day the color purple is associated with royalty.) For their record-keeping the Phoenicians needed a
practical way of recording so they created an alphabet of a few simple symbols which could be memorized easily and recorded quickly. (Refer
to diagrams in your Montessori Albums).
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
87
Long after the transformation was made to symbols expressing a single sound, the symbols were still given the name of the word they
had represented, e.g. aleph for “A” and beth “B”. Thus the collection of all letters, beginning with these two, called the alephbeth, the origin of
our word “alphabet”. The early Phoenician alphabet had 22 symbols.
By 1250 B.C. the Phoenicians had established colonies and trading posts all over the Mediterranean, as far as Carthage in northern
Africa. They traveled to the edges of the known world and introduced their alphabet to the Greeks and to other people. By 1000 B.C. the
Aramaic alphabet had developed, from which grew the Hebrew alphabet and the alphabets of the Persian Empire and of the Arabic Koran.
Further Development of Our Alphabet
The Phoenicians had no vowels in their alphabet. The Greeks, as Maria Montessori put it added music to the alphabet when they reassigned
some of the Semitic consonant symbols to vowel sounds circa 1000 B.C. They also split the Semitic symbol for waw into two letters, one developing
into our modern “F” and one into “u” (upsilon or simple U”), the predecessor of our modern “U”, “V”, “W” and “Y”.
About 850 A.D. the Greek monk Cyril went to Moravia to preach the gospel in the Slavonic language, and he revised the Greek alphabet into
what today is called Cyrillic. That in turn evolved into the modern Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian alphabets.
The Greek alphabet eventually was adopted by the Etruscans (800-300 B.C. in what is today Italy) and then by their successors the
Romans. Romans who were successful politicians wanted to inscribe their names and deeds in stone. For that reason the characters were revised
to be clearer and to be composed of only straight lines and circular arcs. The mark of the chisel when a stroke was begun became that part of the
character known as the serif, the tiny perpendicular line at the beginning and end of each stroke. The alphabet developed by the Romans is today
called Roman Monumental, essentially the shapes of modern printed capital letters. The Romans also created the new letter “G” by adding a stroke
to “C”, and later standardized the direction of writing as left to right.
During the centuries after the Roman Empire declined in Western Europe, not much writing was done. Learning was entrusted to the
monks, and writing was done primarily in monasteries. The monks used quill pens on parchment, so the Roman letters recorded between 300 and
7000 A.D. evolved into shapes similar to modern cursive capital letters, called uncials.
The Germanic tribe of the Franks unified much of what today is France and Germany, and their king Charlemagne (French) or Karl der
Grosse (German) in 800 A.D. claimed the imperial crown of the Roman Empire. In order to revive education he hired Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon
monk(later a bishop) , who set up schools and revised the characters further to what then became known as Carolingian Minuscules. Alciun and his
scribes designed letters which consisted primarily of vertical strokes and small arcs, for convenience in writing. These eventually became our lower
case letters, and the old letters were then used only in place of what today are called capital letters.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
88
As Charles’s empire split up, national hands developed, such as Gothic in Germany and Italic cursive in Italy, the progenitor of our modern
cursive.
Punctuation:
The history of punctuation is a side topic to that of writing. Originally, words were all run together. In early religious texts, small pictures of
leaves were used to indicate where the priests should raise or lower their voices. Perhaps these were the precursors to punctuation. Eventually,
when works written by the scribes were not legible, marks of punctuation were added.
Printing:
Just as was the invention of the alphabet, printing was another leap forward for human communication. Before printing was available, books
were handwritten. Only the rich, or monks in the monasteries where large libraries had been collected over the centuries, could use them. Very few
people could write, and only they had the task of recording. (Fortunately, the wonderful adventures of Marco Polo were recorded because in prison
he came in contact with one of the few who could write and who wrote down the stories Marco Polo told him of his travels. The book The Million
Tales was read aloud to people by “readers”, since ordinary folk couldn’t read.)
The earliest known examples of printing are Japanese pictorial prints, printed from carved wooden blocks circa 780 A.D. The earliest books
were printed in China by 868 by carving characters into a wooden block, one block for each page. The block was inked and paper pressed on it.
The use of wooden moveable type was invented in China by 1041, but the great number of characters in Chinese proved an obstacle to the success
of this method there.
Not much information from China arrived in Europe, and block printing was independently reinvented there in the early 15 th century. This
revolution in printing happened in 1450, when Johann Gutenberg invented metal cast moveable type in Mainz, Germany and used a printing press
developed from the wine press. His Mazarin Bible (1455) is believed to be the first book printed with such type.
Major steps in the progress of printing were:

The casting of a metal plate from the type set for one page, thus freeing the individual letters for further use.

The invention by Ottmar Mergenthaler in the USA (1884) of the Linotype machine, which used a keyboard for typesetting and
casting an entire line of type in one unit.

The offset printing process invented in 1905 by Rubel, which adapted the techniques of lithography for rapid printing.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
89

Printing by rotating cylinders on continuous paper, such as used in printing newspaper, to further speed up the process.

Computerized typesetting, which eliminated completely the need for hot metal and casting; the plates could be prepared by
photographic means.

Desktop publishing and the copying machine, which made economical the printing of small numbers of copies.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
90
Montessori Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Word Families- Compound Words – VSC Indicators 4.1.D.3.b, 5.1.D.3.b, and 6.1.D.3.b
Age: 6-12
Montessori Materials: Teacher made compound word cards or chart
Access Prior
Knowledge
(Engagement)
First
Period
(Explanation)
Introductory
and/or
Developme
ntal
Activities
Statement of
Objective: What
Key Vocabulary:
should students know
What critical
and do
vocabulary will be
as a result of the
part of this lesson?
lesson?
Students will use
word cards/ word
charts in order to
Compound words
identify compound
words
Teacher Directed Activities: How will you aid
students in constructing meaning of new
concepts?
How will you introduce/model new skills or
procedures?
Teacher will discuss with the students the
different uses of the brushes and bring to the
child’s awareness that the word in front of
brush tells us the type of brush it is. Teacher
will explain that the two words together are
called compound words. Teacher will state
other examples of compound words i.e.
rainbow, earring, shoelaces stressing that
compound words are two words put together
to make a new word. Eventually, teacher will
note that compound words come in three
varieties- two words together, two separate
words with a space between, or words with
hyphen separating them.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Warm-Up: How will you engage students in learning? How will you connect
the lesson to their prior knowledge?
Teacher will take a collection of brushes to the lesson area (hairbrush,
nailbrush, toothbrush). Teacher will ask the child which part of the word is the
same in all of the items.
Teacher-Monitored Activities: What
will students do together to use new
concepts or skills? How will you assist
students in this process?
Teacher will ask students to state some
compound words they know. Students
will create the words using moveable
alphabet or word cards.
Second Period
(Exploration)
Guided
Practice
91
Extension, Refinement, and Practice Activities: What opportunities will students have to use the new skills and concepts in a
meaningful way? How will students expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and apply it to a real-world situation?
How will students demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning outcomes?
Third
Period
(Elaboration)
Independen
t Activities
and/or
MeaningfulUse Tasks
Students can look up compound words using a dictionary. Students may choose to make a chart of compound words and find
pictures in books/magazines to match.
Ongoing Assessment: How will you monitor student progress throughout the lesson?
Check for Mastery
(Teacher
Evaluation)
Assessment
Follow-Up Work
(Student Evaluation)
Teacher will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge during the second period of the lesson, and
provide additional support for below level students prior to them engaging in the Third Period work.
Culminating Assessment: How will you ensure that all students have mastered the identified learning indicators? How will
you assess their learning?
Teacher will ask the child to demonstrate knowledge of compound words through questioning and practice during reading and
writing activities.
Follow-Up Activities: Through this teacher-guided activity, how will you assist students in reflecting upon what they learned
today and preparing for the next lesson? What other work will be assigned to help students practice, prepare, or elaborate on a
concept or skill taught?
During the un-interrupted work period, individuals and small groups of students will select passages from their reading materials
in order to find compound words
Extension Activities: How will you differentiate follow-up lessons for students who do not master the initial concept? What
follow up lessons will you offer to students once they have mastered the concepts taught?
Extending the Lesson
Teacher will observe and re-teach students who have not mastered the concepts and draw attention to points of interest which
address an individual’s weakness in understanding. Once students have mastered the concept, the teacher may extend the
lesson by having the children construct sentences using compound words.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
92
Montessori Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Common and Proper Nouns – VSC Indicator 3.5.C.2.f
Age: 6-9
Montessori Materials: Grammar symbols, teacher made common and proper noun word cards
Access Prior
Knowledge
(Engagement)
First
Period
(Explanation)
Introductory
and/or
Developme
ntal
Activities
Statement of
Objective: What
Key Vocabulary:
should students know
What critical
and do
vocabulary will be
as a result of the
part of this lesson?
lesson?
Students will use
classification of
nouns word cards in
Common nouns
order to determine
Proper nouns
proper and common
nouns.
Teacher Directed Activities: How will you aid
students in constructing meaning of new
concepts? How will you introduce/model new
skills or procedures?
Teacher will give students gender specific
directions i.e. girls touch your ears, boys touch
your nose. Teacher will direct a specific
student by name to perform a specific action
and discuss why only the one child performed
the task requested. Teacher will solicit ideas
from students in order to bring to the child’s
awareness that some nouns are specific
nouns i.e. naming nouns, and we call them
proper nouns and some nouns are not specific
and we call the common nouns. Teacher will
state a variety of specific nouns and common
nouns and ask the students to determine if the
noun is common or proper.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Warm-Up: How will you engage students in learning? How will you connect
the lesson to their prior knowledge?
Teacher will remind students of their previous work with nouns. Teacher will
ask students a variety of questions to gage their understanding of nouns and
review with students that nouns are people, places, things, and animals.
Second Period
(Exploration)
Guided
Practice
Teacher-Monitored Activities: What
will students do together to use new
concepts or skills? How will you assist
students in this process?
Teacher will present the common and
proper noun word cards to students.
Students will be directed to read each
card and classify the noun into
categories of common nouns or proper
nouns. Students will copy the lists into
their language journal.
93
Extension, Refinement, and Practice Activities: What opportunities will students have to use the new skills and concepts in a
meaningful way? How will students expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and apply it to a real-world situation?
How will students demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning outcomes?
Third
Period
(Elaboration)
Independen
t Activities
and/or
MeaningfulUse Tasks
Students may choose to find pictures of nouns in magazines and create a posters of common and proper nouns.
Ongoing Assessment: How will you monitor student progress throughout the lesson?
Check for Mastery
(Teacher
Evaluation)
Assessment
Follow-Up Work
(Student Evaluation)
Teacher will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge during the second period of the lesson, and
provide additional support for below level students prior to them engaging in the Third Period work
Culminating Assessment: How will you ensure that all students have mastered the identified learning indicators? How will
you assess their learning?
Teacher will ask the child to demonstrate knowledge of common and proper nouns through questioning and practice during
reading and writing activities.
Follow-Up Activities: Through this teacher-guided activity, how will you assist students in reflecting upon what they learned
today and preparing for the next lesson? What other work will be assigned to help students practice, prepare, or elaborate on a
concept or skill taught?
During the un-interrupted work period, individuals and small groups of students will select passages from their reading materials
in order to find nouns and categorize them as common or proper.
Extension Activities: How will you differentiate follow-up lessons for students who do not master the initial concept? What
follow up lessons will you offer to students once they have mastered the concepts taught?
Extending the Lesson
Teacher will observe and re-teach students who have not mastered the concepts and draw attention to points of interest which
address an individual’s weakness in understanding. Once students have mastered the concept, the teacher may extend the
lesson by showing the grammar symbols for common and proper nouns. The children may then symbolize common and proper
nouns in sentences of their own.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
94
Montessori Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Adverbial Modifiers – VSC Indicators 5.5.A.2.d and 6.5.A.2.d
Age: 9-12
Montessori Materials: Logical Analysis Material
Statement of
Objective: What should
students know and do
as a result of the lesson?
Students will use
Montessori logical
analysis material in order
to analyze sentences
Access Prior
Knowledge
(Engagement)
First
Period
(Explanation)
Introductory
and/or
Developme
ntal
Activities
Key Vocabulary:
What critical
vocabulary will be
part of this lesson?
Warm-Up: How will you engage students in learning? How will you
connect the lesson to their prior knowledge?
Adverbial modifiers
Subject
Predicate
Direct object
Indirect object
Teacher will review with students previous lessons using logical analysis
materials. Students will be instructed to collect and set out the logical
analysis wooden materials (black and orange question arrows, circles, and
triangles) onto the work area. Teacher will explain the appropriate set up of
manipulative materials and guide students in reading the questions written
on each arrow. Once students reach the questions using the orange arrow,
teacher will explain that the orange arrows are adverbial modifiers
questions. Teacher may make connections with previous work with the
adverb grammar boxes.
Teacher Directed Activities: How will you aid
students in constructing meaning of new
concepts?
How will you introduce/model new skills or
procedures?
Student will review by using the black and
orange wooden logical analysis questions - arrow
material to analyze a teacher prepared sentence.
Teacher may prompt students by reading the
questions that are written on the arrows aloud and
guide the student in separating the sentence and
placing the separated words in the appropriate
place in the diagram. Once students reach the
adverbial modifier question arrows, teacher will
model. Teacher will explain that the orange
material are adverbial modifiers questions. They
will help us to identify information about the
adverb. Teacher will model how to separate the
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Teacher-Monitored Activities: What
will students do together to use new
concepts or skills? How will you assist
students in this process?
Second Period
(Exploration)
Guided
Practice
Students will be given a variety of
teacher prepared sentences to analyze
and copy into their language journals.
Sentences should be selected from
current reading selections i.e. Literature
text, group book studies, social studies,
science selections. Teacher may also
discuss the authors’ writing styles and
their use of language.
95
sentence strip by cutting/ tearing at the
appropriate place and putting the word onto the
appropriate section (refer to diagrams in your
Montessori album). Students will draw the
sentence diagrams into their language arts
journal.
Extension, Refinement, and Practice Activities: What opportunities will students have to use the new skills and concepts in a
meaningful way? How will students expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and apply it to a real-world situation?
How will students demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning outcomes?
Third
Period
(Elaboration)
Independen
t Activities
and/or
MeaningfulUse Tasks
Students may choose to select passages from their own writing to analyze. Students may select a passage from their selected
reading material.
Ongoing Assessment: How will you monitor student progress throughout the lesson?
Check for Mastery
(Teacher
Evaluation)
Assessment
Teacher will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge during the second period of the lesson, and
provide additional support for below level students prior to them engaging in Third Period Work
Culminating Assessment: How will you ensure that all students have mastered the identified learning indicators? How will you
assess their learning?
Teacher will ask the child to demonstrate analyzing a sentence with adverbial modifiers.
Follow-Up Activities: Through this teacher-guided activity, how will you assist students in reflecting upon what they learned
today and preparing for the next lesson? What other work will be assigned to help students practice, prepare, or elaborate on a
concept or skill taught?
Follow-Up Work
(Student Evaluation)
During the Montessori un-interrupted work period, individuals and small groups of students will select passages from their
reading material to diagram sentences. Students will write in their language journals.
Extension Activities: How will you differentiate follow-up lessons for students who do not master the initial concept? What
follow up lessons will you offer to students once they have mastered the concepts taught?
Extending the Lesson
Teacher will observe and re-teach students who have not mastered the concepts and draw attention to points of interest which
address an individual’s weakness in understanding. Once students have mastered the concept, the teacher may extend the
lesson by showing the relationship between functions of words and the logical analysis material.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
96
Montessori Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Elements of a Story: Rising Action, Climax, and Resolution – VSC Indicators 5.3.A.3.b and 6.3.A.3.b
Age: 9-12
Montessori Materials: Story Structure Chart, Blank labels and markers
Access Prior
Knowledge
(Engagement)
First
Period
(Explanation)
Introductory
and/or
Development
al Activities
Statement of Objective:
What should students know
and do
as a result of the lesson?
Key Vocabulary:
What critical
vocabulary will be
part of this lesson?
Students will analyze a
short story and identify
the main story elements.
Setting
Character
Problem
Plot
Rising Action
Climax
Resolution
Warm-Up: How will you engage students in learning? How will you connect the
lesson to their prior knowledge?
The teacher will gather a group of students and explain that sometimes reading
a story is like taking a journey. Use questioning to review with the students
previous vocabulary such as setting, character, and problem. Explain to the
students that you are going to read them a story. Ask them to pay attention for
details on the setting, characters, and problem. Tell them that after the story
you will also learn abut some additional story elements.
Teacher Directed Activities: How will you aid
students in constructing meaning of new concepts?
How will you introduce/model new skills or
procedures?
Teacher-Monitored Activities: What will
students do together to use new concepts or
skills? How will you assist students in this
process?
Read a picture book with a clear plot
development and climax such as Where the
Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. After
reading, show the story structure chart in the
shape of the mountain. Show where there are
places to label the different story elements.
Ask the students to identify the main
characters and their traits, describe the
setting, and explain the problem. Write out
labels based on the children’s responses and
have them place them on the chart. Draw
attention to the mountainous shape of the
chart and explain that we will use the chart to
show how the action of the plot rises.
Go back through the text with the students
recalling plot events and create a label for
each one. Draw attention to the way the
tension increases and the characters’
emotions develop over the course of the
story. Place the labels for the plot events
up the side of the mountain. Draw attention
to the fact that the action is rising! When
you reach the climax, explain that the
emotions are at their highest point. Place a
label for that event on the precipice of the
mountain. As you continue recording plot
elements down the other side of the
mountain, draw attention to the fact that the
tension of the characters is now
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Second
Period
(Exploration)
Guided
Practice
97
decreasing. At the end of the story, revisit
the problem that was originally named by
the students and ask them to explain how it
was finally solved. Explain that this is called
the resolution. Make a label for the
resolution and place it on the story
elements chart.
Extension, Refinement, and Practice Activities: What opportunities will students have to use the new skills and concepts in a meaningful
way? How will students expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and apply it to a real-world situation? How will students
demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning outcomes?
Third
Period
(Elaboration)
Independent
Activities
and/or
MeaningfulUse Tasks
In pairs, have students choose another picture book to read and analyze. The students will create labels for the story elements
including the rising action, climax, and resolution and place them on the story element chart. Have students write definitions for
the new story elements in their reading journals. Students will draw the story elements chart in their reading journals.
Ongoing Assessment: How will you monitor student progress throughout the lesson?
Check for
Mastery
The teacher will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge during the second period of the lesson, and
will provide additional support for below level students prior to them engaging in the Third Period work.
Assessment
(Teacher Evaluation)
Culminating Assessment: How will you ensure that all students have mastered the identified learning indicators? How will you assess their
learning?
Students will identify story elements in novels and include the information in formal book report assignments. The teacher may
model an appropriate BCR or SR using the vocabulary plot, rising action, climax, and/or resolution. The teacher may then assign
students to complete another BCR in order to demonstrate their mastery.
Follow-Up Activities: Through this teacher-guided activity, how will you assist students in reflecting upon what they learned today and
preparing for the next lesson? What other work will be assigned to help students practice, prepare, or elaborate on a concept or skill taught?
Follow-Up Work
(Student Evaluation)
During the three-hour uninterrupted work period, students in small groups will select short stories to analyze and will identify
story elements. Students will also complete comprehension questions about story elements based on teacher selected and
assigned readings.
Extension Activities: How will you differentiate follow-up lessons for students who do not master the initial concept? What follow up lessons
will you offer to students once they have mastered the concepts taught?
Extending the Lesson
Students may make their own story element chart as a poster and may paste the labels they created for the story onto it.
Students may come up with a new graphic organizer or symbolic representation of rising action (such as a rocket launch, a
wave, or a sliding board) and use it to analyze other stories.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
98
Montessori Sample Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Making Connections – VSC Indicators - 4.1.E.4.h, 5.1.E.4.h, and 6.1.E.4.h
Age: 6-12
Montessori Materials: Picture book, chart paper and markers, paper for students to make bookmarks
Access Prior
Knowledge
(Engagement)
First
Period
(Explanation)
Introductory
and/or
Development
al Activities
Statement of Objective:
What should students know
and do as a result of the
lesson?
Key Vocabulary:
What critical
vocabulary will be
part of this lesson?
Warm-Up: How will you engage students in learning? How will you connect the
lesson to their prior knowledge?
Students will make
connections between a
text and their own
experiences.
Questioning
Predicting
Connections
Text to Self (T-S)
Text to World (TW)
Text to Text (T-T)
Teacher will invite a group of students to come to a reading lesson. Remind the
students that we have been practicing the reading strategies of questioning and
predicting. Elicit from students how to use these two strategies and how they
can help us be stronger readers. Show a picture book that will enable the
teacher to model several connections. Go through the pre-reading book walk
and have students share their predictions.
Teacher Directed Activities: How will you aid
students in constructing meaning of new concepts?
How will you introduce/model new skills or
procedures?
Teacher-Monitored Activities: What will
students do together to use new concepts
or skills? How will you assist students in this
process?
Explain that today when we read, we are
going to be doing something a little different.
We are going to be practicing a new reading
strategy called “Making Connections.” Elicit
from the students what the word connection
means. Explain that while we are reading, we
are going to be stopping from time to time to
recognize when the text reminds us of
something we have seen, heard, or
experienced before. Each time we feel a
connection, we can stop and record it on a
chart. Select a student to be the recorder and
have him or her prepare a T-chart which
reads: “Text” in one column and “Connection”
in the other column.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Second
Period
(Exploration)
Guided
Practice
The teacher will begin reading and will
very quickly interrupt the flow in order
to model making a connection from the
text. Have the student recorder write
down what the text says and how you
feel connected to it. Continue reading,
stopping frequently to make lots of
connections of all three types (T-S, T-T,
and T-W). At this point, we do not
classify the connections by type.
Encourage the students to also raise
their hands to share connections.
Pause many times and have the
recorder include students’ connections
on the large chart.
99
When students are ready, either right
away or on the next day, help them to
understand that we can classify our
connections into three types: Text to
Self, Text to Text, and Text to World.
Teach the notation: T-S, T-T, and T-W.
Go down the large class chart of
connections to the read-aloud story and
discuss and classify each connection
made. Choose a second student
recorder to label the connection chart
using the notation taught.
Extension, Refinement, and Practice Activities: What opportunities will students have to use the new skills and concepts in a meaningful
way? How will students expand and solidify their understanding of the concept and apply it to a real-world situation? How will students
demonstrate their mastery of the essential learning outcomes?
Third
Period
(Elaboration)
Independent
Activities
and/or
MeaningfulUse Tasks
Students will make a T-chart graphic organizer in their reading journals and write down any personal connections they have felt
to the text we have just finished reading. Students will also make a Connections Bookmark to keep inside of their independent
reading selections. They will record their connections on the bookmark during their nightly 20 minute reading homework
assignment by noting the page number of the text and how they felt connected to that part. As students are ready, have them
begin to classify and label their connections with T-S, T-T, and T-W.
Ongoing Assessment: How will you monitor student progress throughout the lesson?
Check for
Mastery
(Teacher Evaluation)
The teacher will provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge during the second period of the lesson, and
will provide additional support for below level students prior to them engaging in the Third Period work.
Assessment
Culminating Assessment: How will you ensure that all students have mastered the identified learning indicators? How will you assess their
learning?
Students will write a personal essay reflecting on a self-selected text to which they feel connected. The teacher may model an
appropriate BCR or SR relating a text to prior knowledge, prior reading, or personal experiences. The teacher may then assign
students to complete another BCR in order to demonstrate their mastery.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
100
Follow-Up Activities: Through this teacher-guided activity, how will you assist students in reflecting upon what they learned today and
preparing for the next lesson? What other work will be assigned to help students practice, prepare, or elaborate on a concept or skill taught?
Follow-Up Work
(Student Evaluation)
During the three-hour uninterrupted work period, students individually and in small groups will select stories to read and analyze
and will discuss, record, and classify connections to the text. Students will also complete comprehension questions about story
elements based on teacher selected and assigned readings.
Extension Activities: How will you differentiate follow-up lessons for students who do not master the initial concept? What follow up lessons
will you offer to students once they have mastered the concepts taught?
Extending the Lesson
Students who have not mastered the initial concept will be grouped together for re-teaching at which time, the teacher will select
an appropriate text and help the students to make personal connections. (For example, students who play extra curricular sports
will be engaged in a text that relates closely to their experiences.)
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
101
Appendix
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
102
Literary Genres Card Set
Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Science Fiction
Historical Fiction
Legend
Fairy Tale
Biography
Memoir
Personal Narrative
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Nonfiction
Tall Tale
Folktales
Folklore
Myth
Fables
Fantasy
Autobiography
Journal
103
Essay
Short Story
Play
_________ is prose writing that tells an imaginary story.
_________ is prose writing that tells about real people, places, and events.
___________ is prose writing set in the modern world.
_________ is prose writing that explores unexpected possibilities of the past or
future by using scientific theories or data and imagination.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
104
_________ is fiction set in the past which may reference actual people or
events.
_________ is a humorously exaggerated story about impossible events in which
the main characters have extraordinary abilities.
_________ is a story passed by word of mouth from generation to generation.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
105
_______ is traditions, customs, and stories passed down within a culture.
___________ is a traditional story, usually by an unknown author, that answers
a basic question about the world.
___________ is a story handed down from the past about a specific person who
usually demonstrates heroic accomplishments.
__________ are brief tales that teach lessons about human nature.
_________ is a story about imaginary beings possessing magical powers.
_________ is literature that contains fantastic or unreal elements.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
106
_________ is the story of a person's life written by someone else.
______ is a type of nonfiction in which a person tells about his or her own life.
______ is a personal story and a shorter form of autobiographical writing.
_________ is a type of autobiography, usually about a significant experience in
the author's life.
_______ is a personal record of experiences or reflections written at the time
the event occurs.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
107
_________ is a brief work of fiction, usually readable in one session.
__________ is a short, cohesive work of nonfiction dealing with a single subject
and presenting the writer's viewpoint.
__________ is literature intended to be performed by actors in front of an
audience which includes a script with dialogue, a cast of characters, and stage
directions.
Fiction is prose writing that tells an imaginary story.
Nonfiction is prose writing that tells about real people, places, and events.
Montessori Curriculum Alignment-Reading/Language Arts- Grades 4, 5, 6
Prince George’s County Public Schools
108
Realistic Fiction is prose writing set in the modern world.
Science Fiction is prose writing that explores unexpected possibilities of the
past or future by using scientific theories or data and imagination.
Historical Fiction is fiction set in the past which may reference actual people
or events.
A Tall Tale is a humorously exaggerated story about impossible events in which
the main characters have extraordinary abilities.
Folktales are stories passed by word of mouth from generation to generation.
Folklore is traditions, customs, and stories passed down within a culture.
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A Myth is a traditional story, usually by an unknown author, that answers a
basic question about the world.
A Legend is a story handed down from the past about a specific person who
usually demonstrates heroic accomplishments.
Fables are brief tales that teach lessons about human nature.
A Fairy Tale is a story about imaginary beings possessing magical powers.
Fantasy is literature that contains fantastic or unreal elements.
A Biography is the story of a person's life written by someone else.
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Autobiography is a type of nonfiction in which a person tells about his or her
own life.
A Personal Narrative is a personal story and a shorter form of
autobiographical writing.
A Memoir is a type of autobiography, usually about a significant experience in
the author's life.
A Journal is a personal record of experiences or reflections written at the time
the event occurs.
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A Short Story is a brief work of fiction, usually readable in one session.
An Essay is a short, cohesive work of nonfiction dealing with a single subject
and presenting the writer's viewpoint.
A Play is literature intended to be performed by actors in front of an
audience which includes a script with dialogue, a cast of characters, and stage
directions.
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K-W-L Chart
Topic: ________________________________
K
W
L
What I already know about the topic:
What I want to know about the topic:
What I learned about the topic by reading:
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Fact and Opinion
Title of the Text: ______________________
Topic of the Text: _______________________
Facts
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Inferences
Title of the Text: ______________________________
What the text says
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+
What I already know
=
+
=
+
=
+
=
+
=
My Inference
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Making Connections
Title of the Text: _______________________________
Page
What the text says:
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What it reminds me of:
Type of
Connection:
(T-S, T-T, or T-W)
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Topic, Main Idea, and Supporting Details
Title of Text: ______________________________________
Topic: ___________________________
Main Idea:
Supporting Detail:
Supporting Detail:
Supporting Detail:
Supporting Detail:
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Character Traits
Title of the Text: __________________________
Name of the Character: ____________________
Character Trait
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Supporting evidence from the text
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