Appendix B: Language Conventions Continuum for Reading and Writing, Grades 1–9, Overall Expectation B3
Appendix B provides an at-a-glance chart of the mandatory learning that appears under Overall Expectation B3 in Grades 1 to 9.
The chart that follows shows the language conventions associated with syntax and sentence structure, grammar, and capitalization and punctuation that students are expected to learn and apply through oral communication, reading, and writing. The chart indicates a continuum of learning – that is, initial development, consolidation, and refinement – stretching from Grade 1 to Grade 9. This continuum of learning refers to the approximate windows of time when students are initially developing, consolidating, and refining the use of these conventions in their own writing. While the chart indicates the windows when students are using the given structures in their writing, they will likely be adeptly using and understanding these conventions in oral language much earlier.
These language conventions need to be introduced and developed within the contexts of writing, reading, and oral communication, rather than in isolation, so that students can learn to use them to communicate and comprehend in meaningful ways. Emphasis should be placed on the function and role of a structure within a sentence, instead of simply its name. Although learning is embedded in context, instruction should still follow a thoughtful, purposeful sequence, systematically teaching conventions from simple to complex. Instruction should focus on supporting students in understanding the function of these conventions in well-crafted sentences, and in using them to build correct, sophisticated sentences that effectively communicate meaning.
Legend
| Initial Development (I) |
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| Consolidation (C) |
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| Refinement (R) |
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Language conventions by grade
| B3.1 Syntax and Sentence Structure | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| simple sentences: declarative (e.g., The dog barks loudly all day.) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| simple sentences: imperative (e.g., Please turn on the water.) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| simple sentences: interrogative (e.g., Where is the library book on structures?) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| simple sentences: exclamatory (e.g., I am excited and happy to see my friend!) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| compound sentences (e.g., Sherice sings in a band and sometimes she plays drums.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | R |
| complex sentences (e.g., It is freezing outside because it is winter.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| complex sentences with adverbial clauses (e.g., While Aamer is a big fan of soccer, he prefers cricket.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| independent clauses (e.g., Swati reads articles, and Hong enjoys novels.) | I | C | C | C | C | R | |||
| dependent clauses (e.g., After Nagamo wrote her first novel last year, she decided to write a second novel.) | I | C | C | C | C | R | |||
| compound-complex sentences (e.g., Since Mykola is allergic to wheat, he could not have the rolls he made, but he could have the soup.) | I | C | C | C | C | ||||
| sentence fragments and run-on sentences | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| complex sentences with adjective or relative clauses (e.g., The crowd, who looked happy, danced across the street.) | I | C | C | C | |||||
| complex sentences with prepositional clauses (e.g., While we were playing football, the ball thrown by my friend went into the lake.) | I | C | R | ||||||
| B3.2 Grammar | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| common nouns (e.g., firefighter, drum, park) | I | C | R | ||||||
| singular nouns (e.g., teacher, eraser, notebook) | I | C | R | ||||||
| plural nouns (e.g., students, desks, berries) | I | C | R | ||||||
| using the pronoun “I” | I | C | R | ||||||
| verb tense: past (e.g., Hiro walked home from school.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | R | ||
| verb tense: present (e.g., Maham draws hearts on all her homework.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | R | ||
| verb tense: future (e.g., Chi will write the email after lunch.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | R | ||
| common adjectives (e.g., bumpy, brown, delicious, brilliant) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| common conjunctions (e.g., when, so what, whether, unless) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | C | R |
| abstract nouns (e.g., peace, joy, imagination, reconciliation) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| collective nouns (e.g., fleet, bunch, cluster, batch) | I | C | C | R | |||||
| personal pronouns: subject (e.g., you, he, she, it, they, we) | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| personal pronouns: object (e.g., you, her, him, it, them, us) | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| personal pronouns: possessive (e.g., my, mine; your, yours; their, theirs; our, ours) | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| forms of the verb “to be” (e.g., am, are, be, was, being) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | |
| comparative adjectives (e.g., She is younger than her brother.) | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| superlative adjectives (e.g., They use the smallest bag to carry their groceries.) | I | C | C | C | R | ||||
| coordinating conjunctions (e.g., Karim can be a plumber, or he can be a welder.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | |
| subordinating conjunctions (e.g., You need to walk slowly because you may fall on the ice.) | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | |
| recognition of the words that adverbs modify (e.g., The principal spoke calmly du |