Focus Area
ü Writes texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story
ü Supports statements and claims with anecdotes, descriptions, facts and statistics, and specific examples
ü Edits writing to improve word choice, grammar
ü Analyzes and uses simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences correctly, punctuates properly, and avoids fragments and run-ons.
ü Produces final products that demonstrate accurate spelling and the correct use of capitalization
ü Scientific investigations usually involve collecting evidence, reasoning, devising hypotheses, and formulating explanations to make sense of collected evidence. (This means making connections between new concepts and real-life experiences, not repeating classroom examples.)
ü Vocabulary is evident, correctly used, relevant, and highlighted
ü Uses pictures, drawings, graphs, tables, maps to show relationships between what is taught and learned
