Navigating the Missouri Learning Standards for English Language Arts

The Missouri Learning Standards (MLS) define the knowledge and skills students need in each grade level and course for success in college, other post-secondary training, and careers. These expectations are aligned to the Show-Me Standards, which define what all Missouri high school graduates should know and be able to do. The Missouri Learning Standards give school administrators, teachers, parents, and students a road map for learning expectations in each grade and course. The Missouri Learning Standards do not dictate curriculum. Local districts and schools make their own decisions about curriculum, instructional strategies, materials, and textbooks.

The Evolution of Missouri Learning Standards

In January 1996, Missouri adopted the Show-Me Standards, a demanding set of content and process standards that have proved to be an excellent frame of reference for student performance in Missouri. Grade-level expectations (GLEs) were then developed to provide grade by grade targets for instruction for teachers. Those expectations were revised regularly based on teacher feedback and new research. As End-of-Course (EOC) assessments were developed at the high school level, Course-level expectations (CLEs) were created to provide teachers with course-specific objectives.

The latest iteration of expectations aligned with the Show-Me Standards are called the Missouri Learning Standards. The Missouri Learning Standards help ensure students learn basic and higher-order skills, including problem-solving and critical thinking. The standards are relevant to the real world and reflect the knowledge and skills students need to achieve their goals. Learning outcomes improve when students, parents, and teachers work together toward shared goals.

Key Components of the English Language Arts Standards

The Missouri Learning Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) are designed to equip students with the skills necessary for effective communication, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. The standards cover a wide range of topics, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and are aligned to grade-level expectations.

Reading Standards

The reading standards focus on developing students' ability to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate various types of texts, including fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. These standards emphasize the importance of using textual evidence to support claims and draw conclusions.

R.1. Develop and apply skills to the reading process. This overarching standard emphasizes the development and application of reading skills. It includes several sub-standards:

R.1.A. Comprehension: Focuses on developing and demonstrating reading skills in response to text. For example, in 2nd grade, this includes using text features to make and confirm predictions (2.R.1.A.a), seeking clarification and using information to support answers with evidence from text (2.R.1.A.c), and retelling a story’s beginning, middle, and end while determining its central message (2.R.1.A.d). In 3rd grade, students explain how illustrations contribute to the text (3.R.1.A.a), draw conclusions supported by textual evidence (3.R.1.A.b), and summarize stories (3.R.1.A.c).
R.1.B. Vocabulary: Focuses on developing an understanding of vocabulary. This includes using prefixes, root words, and suffixes to determine word meaning (2.R.1.B.a), using knowledge of individual words to determine the meaning of compound words (2.R.1.B.b), and using context to determine the meaning of new or multiple-meaning words (2.R.1.B.c). Third-grade students decode prefixes and suffixes (3.R.1.B.a), use context to determine word meaning (3.R.1.B.b), and distinguish between literal and non-literal meanings (3.R.1.B.d).
R.1.C. Making Connections: Focuses on making relevant connections between text to text and text to world.
R.1.D. Independent Text: Focuses on reading independently for multiple purposes over sustained periods of time, ensuring the text is developmentally appropriate.

R.2. Develop and apply skills and strategies to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate fiction, poetry, and drama. This standard focuses on understanding literary texts:

R.2.A. Fiction: In 2nd grade, students describe the setting, problems, solutions, sequence of events (plot), and big idea or moral lesson (2.R.2.A.a), and describe the main characters, including their traits, motivations, and feelings (2.R.2.A.b). They also describe cause-and-effect relationships (2.R.2.A.d).
R.2.B. Poetry: Students describe how rhythm, rhyme, and repetition create imagery in poetry (2.R.2.B.a).
R.2.C. Drama: Students identify characters, setting, acts, and scenes in plays (2.R.2.C.a) and identify the elements of dialogue (2.R.2.C.b).

R.3. Develop and apply skills and strategies to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate nonfiction. This standard covers nonfiction texts:

R.3.A. Text Features: Students identify the main idea of sections of text (2.R.3.A.a), locate facts to answer questions (2.R.3.A.b), explain common graphic features (2.R.3.A.d), and follow written multi-step directions (2.R.3.A.e). In 3rd grade, they explain the author’s purpose (3.R.3.A.a), identify details that support the main idea (3.R.3.A.b), use text and graphic features to locate information (3.R.3.A.c), and follow multi-step directions (3.R.3.A.d).
R.3.C. Text Structures: Students explain main ideas and supporting details (2.R.3.C.a), describe connections between events (2.R.3.C.b), and identify the author’s purpose (2.R.3.C.d). Third-grade students describe relationships among events, ideas, and cause and effect (3.R.3.C.a).

Writing Standards

The writing standards focus on developing students' ability to compose well-developed texts for various audiences and purposes. These standards cover a range of writing genres, including narrative, informative/explanatory, and argumentative.

W.2. Compose well-developed writing texts for audience and purpose. This standard emphasizes effective writing for different purposes:

W.2.B. Informative/Explanatory: Focuses on writing informative texts with facts, definitions, details, and explanations (3.W.2.B.b), using relevant words (3.W.2.B.c), using original language (3.W.2.B.d), employing transition words (3.W.2.B.e), and creating a concluding statement (3.W.2.B.f).
W.2.C. Narrative/Literary: Focuses on writing fiction and non-fiction narratives and poems using narrative techniques like dialogue and descriptions (3.W.2.C.b) and transition words to signal event order (3.W.2.C.d).

Reading Foundations

The Reading Foundations standards address how English is written and read.

RF.2.A. Phonemic Awareness: Develop phonemic awareness in the reading process by producing rhymes in response to spoken words (2.RF.2.A.b).

Resources for Educators

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) provides a wealth of resources to support educators in implementing the Missouri Learning Standards for ELA. These resources include:

MLS Expectations Documents: These documents outline the specific learning expectations for each grade level in ELA.
MLS Expectations with Examples: These documents provide examples and explanations of the learning expectations, making them easier for teachers to understand and implement.
ELA Glossary: This glossary defines key terms used in the ELA curriculum, providing a common understanding of terminology for educators.
ELA/Social Studies Crosswalk: This resource links ELA and social studies standards, promoting critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning.
Vertical Progressions: These charts illustrate the progression of learning expectations across grade levels.
Assessment Resources: These resources include item specifications, grade-level assessment resources, end-of-course resources, performance level descriptors, and writing samples.
Professional Development: DESE offers professional development opportunities for educators to deepen their understanding of the Missouri Learning Standards and effective instructional practices. Events like "Ignite to Write" provide platforms for collaboration and sharing ideas among educators.

Specific Resources and Tools

Daily Spiral Review: Short, daily practice activities that revisit and strengthen key language arts skills. For example, "ELA Daily Spiral Review (2nd Grade)" provides 5-10 minute activities with a mix of topics students have already learned.
iWorksheets and Study Guides: These resources cover various topics such as digraphs, suffixes, past tense, plural nouns, blends, syllables, context clues, and sentence structure.
Lexile Framework: The Lexile Framework for Reading is a tool that can be used to match students with appropriate reading materials based on their reading ability.
Literary Calendar: This calendar highlights important literary events throughout the year, providing opportunities to integrate literature into classroom activities.

Vocabulary Development Resources

Prefixes, Root Words, and Suffixes: Understanding these word parts is crucial for vocabulary development. Resources are available to help students decode and identify the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes and how they change the meaning of root words (3.R.1.B.a).
Context Clues: Using sentence-level context to determine the relevant meaning of unfamiliar words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words (3.R.1.B.b) is a key skill.
Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, and Antonyms: These resources help students understand different types of word relationships and meanings.
Analogies: Discussing analogies (3.R.1.B.g) helps students understand relationships between words and concepts.

Writing Resources

Informative/Explanatory Writing: Resources focus on developing topics with facts, definitions, details, and explanations (3.W.2.B.b), using relevant words (3.W.2.B.c), employing transition words (3.W.2.B.e), and creating concluding statements (3.W.2.B.f).
Narrative Writing: Resources focus on using narrative techniques like dialogue and descriptions (3.W.2.C.b) and transition words to signal event order (3.W.2.C.d).

Promoting Literacy

The Missouri Learning Standards recognize the importance of promoting literacy both in and out of the classroom.

Read a New Book Month: Encourages students to explore new books and authors (also in December).
National Literacy Month: Celebrates the importance of literacy and reading.
Library Card Sign Up Month: Encourages students to get a library card and utilize library resources.
National Family Literacy Month: Promotes family involvement in literacy activities.

Assessment

The Missouri Learning Standards for ELA are assessed through a variety of methods, including classroom-based assessments, grade-level assessments, and end-of-course assessments. The assessments are designed to measure students' progress toward meeting the standards and to provide feedback to teachers and students.

The Revised standards, approved on April 19, 2016, are for implementation starting in the 2016-2017 academic year. They will be assessed beginning in the 2017-2018 school year.

tags: #missouri #learning #standards #english #language #arts