Research projects provide the opportunity for students
to pursue their interests (thus contributing to motivation
and engagement), make authentic use of texts and online
resources, and engage in purposeful communication and
collaboration with others, both virtually and in person.
Research projects present an exceptional opportunity
for interdisciplinary experiences and they foster use and
development of all of the themes of ELA/literacy and ELD
instruction: Meaning Making, Language Development,
Effective Expression, Content Knowledge and the application
of Foundational Skills. They also require many of the 21st
century skills discussed in chapter 10 of this ELA/ELD
Framework, including collaboration, communication, critical
and creative thinking, and use of media and technology.Foundational Skills
Acquisition of the foundational skills is crucial for
independence in reading and writing. During transitional
kindergarten through grade-three years, students developed
concepts about print and phonological awareness. They
learned the phonics and word analysis skills that enabled them
to independently read grade-level texts, and they developed
fluency—especially accuracy and automaticity–sufficient for
attention to be devoted to comprehension. In grades four
and five, students continue to develop the decoding and word
recognition skills and fluency that enable them to enjoy and
learn from grade-level text in all disciplines. These skills are
consolidated as their volume of reading increases. It is crucial
for this and other reasons that students have ample opportunity
to read at school and that they are encouraged and provided the
resources to read at home.
Phonics and Word Recognition
In grades four and five, students use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences,
syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to decode accurately unfamiliar
multisyllabic words in context and out of context (RF.4–5.3). In other words, students employ, as
appropriate, all of the phonics and word recognition skills
they learned in transitional kindergarten through grade three
to identify unknown words.
Because students in grades four and five vary in their
skills, instruction is differentiated based on assessment.
Students who demonstrate achievement of a specific skill
should not be provided unnecessary instruction in what
they already know. Students experiencing difficulty must
be provided focused explicit and systematic instruction
immediately because difficulty with the foundational skills
will impede students’ access to grade-level texts and hinder
their ability to gain pleasure and knowledge from texts.
Furthermore, it can negatively impact motivation and
engagement with text, which then further impedes literacy
Research projects provide
the opportunity for students
to pursue their interests (thus
contributing to motivation
and engagement), make
authentic use of texts and
online resources, and engage
in purposeful communication
and collaboration with others,
both virtually and in person.Students experiencing
difficulty must be provided
focused explicit and
systematic instruction
immediately because difficulty
with the foundational skills
will impede students’ access to
grade-level texts and hinder
their ability to gain pleasure
and knowledge from texts.Grades 4 and 5 Chapter 5 | 417