Standard 1:  Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process

Interval Benchmark 1: Reads for a variety of purposes

a:

Establishes a purpose for reading

b:

Uses a variety of personal criteria to select reading materials

Interval Benchmark 2: Uses a variety of comprehension processes

a:

Makes and supports simple predictions

b:

Locates important information in text

c:

Makes and supports simple inferences or predictions

d:

Draws and supports conclusions

e:

Uses major points from fiction or nonfiction to make a generalization

f:

Uses knowledge of story elements to aid comprehension

g:

Uses text structure to locate information

Interval Benchmark 3: Uses phonetic and structural analysis and syntax to decode words, pronounce words, and determine meaning of text

a:

Masters regular word patterns

b:

Uses knowledge of word structure to decode new words

c:

Uses irregular spelling patterns to decode new words

Interval Benchmark 4: Uses the skills and strategies of a cueing system to demonstrate accuracy and fluency when reading grade appropriate text

a:

Uses context clues to decode unknown words

b:

Recognizes three hundred high frequency sight words

c:

Uses the cues of punctuation to read fluently

d:

Reads aloud unfamiliar grade level text with 90% or better accuracy

Interval Benchmark 5: Uses reference materials to understand the meaning of words and text

a:

Uses dictionary to learn the meaning and other features of unfamiliar words

b:

Understands that alphabetizing is useful for finding words in a dictionary and other work reference materials

Interval Benchmark 6: Understands author's purpose and the elements that help to achieve that purpose

a:

Understands that one of the purposes of writing is to inform

	Standard 2:  Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for comprehending a variety of literary texts

Interval Benchmark 1: Uses a variety of reading strategies to determine meaning in a literary passage or text

a:

Responds to literature through oral, written, visual, and/or kinesthetic means

b:

Recognizes important details from text that have been paraphrased or reworded

c:

Determines word meaning using context of passage

Interval Benchmark 2: Uses critical thinking skills to derive meaning from literary text

a:

Makes inferences about a character's traits, motives, actions, or feelings using both implicit and explicit text information

b:

Draws conclusions about literary text using both implicit and stated information

c:

Makes an interpretation by translating stated information to another context

Interval Benchmark 3: Applies understanding of the characteristics of a variety of literary genre to a passage or text

a:

Recognizes the defining characteristics of a folktale or legend

b:

Recognizes the characteristics of a poem

c:

Understands basic story elements, such as character, setting, plot, and theme

Interval Benchmark 4: Determines the main idea, topic, or theme of a passage or piece of text

a:

Identifies main ideas of paragraphs or passages

b:

Knows that themes can recur across literary works

Interval Benchmark 5: Analyzes the different ways in which words and style are used and their effects on the reader

a:

Understands the similarities of sound in words and rhythmic patterns

b:

Understands the author's use of figurative language to create images

	Standard 3:  Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for comprehending a variety of informational texts

Interval Benchmark 1: Uses a variety of reading strategies to determine meaning of informational text

a:

Recognizes the defining characteristics of a variety of informational text

b:

Uses prior knowledge and experience to understand and respond to new information

c:

Interprets information that has been paraphrased or reworded

d:

Determines word meaning using the context of a passage

e:

Distinguishes relevant information from irrelevant information

Interval Benchmark 2: Identifies a text's style, structure, mood, or tone to determine its purpose or viewpoint

a:

Understands that one of the purposes of writing is to inform

Interval Benchmark 3: Uses critical thinking skills to derive meaning from informational text

a:

Summarizes or paraphrases information in text

b:

Makes inferences based on implicit and explicit text information

c:

Makes an interpretation by translating stated information into another context

d:

Draws conclusions based on stated and implied text information

e:

Identifies main ideas or topics of paragraphs or passages

Interval Benchmark 4: Knows that text features and format are to be used to make meaning of informational texts

a:

Recognizes the text organizers found in informational text, such as glossary, table of contents, etc.

b:

Uses text format to locate information (sentences, paragraphs, etc.)