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1st-Grade ELA Assignment

This assignment is strongly aligned to the standards.

Overview

First-grade students listen to an adequately complex text, then write and draw in response to a prompt about a key idea. This assignment exposes students to a worthwhile text about the impact of habitat changes on animals. It poses a question that requires students to focus on important details in the text, and allows them to share what they learned through writing. 

About the Text

Title and Author

"Habitat Destruction and Endangered Species" by CKLA

What is the Lexile Level of this text?

1000L

Based on Lexile, which grades is this text intended for?

4-5

Is the text qualitatively complex enough for the grade?

Yes

Is this text fiction or non-fiction?

Non-Fiction

Is this text authentic or was it written for educational purposes?

Written for educational purposes

Does the text provide sufficient detail to build knowledge of a worthwhile topic and/or is it worth reading closely and re-reading?

Yes

Related Standards

We looked at how well the assignment aligned to the following standards:

RI.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt requires students to demonstrate understanding of the details and facts in the non-fiction read-aloud, including the different ways humans can protect animal species from becoming endangered or extinct.

RI.1.3: Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt requires students to demonstrate understanding and describe the connection between human actions and the impact on animals. 

RI.1.10: With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt requires students to listen carefully and demonstrate a clear understanding of the information and key ideas in the non-fiction text about habitat destruction. The text is appropriately complex for a Grade 1 read-aloud.

L.1.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt asks students to write in complete sentences. The standards in Grade 1 call for complete simple and compound sentences.

L.1.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt provides an opportunity for students to consistently capitalize the first word in a sentence, correctly use end punctuation, use conventional spelling for words with common patterns and frequently occurring irregular words (e.g., the, by, there, is, forest) and spell untaught words phonetically (e.g., mense, mach).  

L.1.5: With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

In their writing, students must demonstrate an understanding of the relationship and nuances of the words “extinct” and “endangered.”

L.1.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because) 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt provides students with an opportunity to use academic and domain-specific vocabulary words (e.g., protect, extinct, endangered) acquired through the read-aloud and group discussion after the read-aloud. 

Why is this assignment strongly aligned?

This assignment is strong because it has a strong text and a strong writing prompt: 

 It allows students to listen to an engaging and worthwhile text, read aloud by a fluent reader. The text builds students’ knowledge about what happens to living things when their habitats change and offers complex vocabulary and vibrant illustrations.  

It requires students to listen carefully to the read-aloud. Students have to focus on important information in the text to answer a question about a key idea. 

It gives students an opportunity to build their knowledge about a topic and share what they learned in writing. Students receive feedback on the content of their writing, their developing skills, and the clarity and depth of their written expression.  

The task allows students to apply their developing language skills to their writing. Practicing the correct use of grammar and spelling is important for improving both reading and writing skills. (In this assignment, however, t his opportunity appears to be incidental rather than intentional, as the directions do not include clear expectations for use of grammatical conventions beyond writing in complete sentences.)  

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license.

From EngageNY.org of the New York State Education Department. Grade 1 English Language Arts Domain 8, Lesson 9: Habitat Destruction and Endangered Species. Internet. Available from: https://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-1-listening-learning-domain-8-anthology-animals-and-habitats/file/23626, and derived from Core Knowledge Language Arts of the Core Knowledge Foundation: www.coreknowledge.org.

Additional ELA Resources

Common Core ELA Standards
Read the standards and find out what they require of students.
Instructional Shifts in Literacy
Understand the key instructional shifts the ELA standards call for.
Student Work Review Tool – ELA
Use this tool to understand if an assignment is worthwhile for students.