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Elementary English Language Arts Content Focus

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Grade 3: 

Third-grade students are enthusiastic and willing to try just about anything. Therefore, South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards use these characteristics to advance the reading, writing and inquiry skills of children. Learning to read fluently has a ripple effect. It stimulates future learning and offers important exposure to new words. Fluency allows the reader to focus on comprehending the text rather than figuring out the individual words. Achieving fluency is particularly essential at this age since the focus after the third grade is reading to learn not learning to read. Please note: It is so important that a child read fluently and with understanding before entering the fourth grade that Act 284 of 2014 requires retention in the third grade unless certain reading requirements are met.

 Grade 4:  

Fourth-grade children like to know how things work. The South Carolina College- and Career Ready Standards build on this inquisitive nature to build more complex reading and more effective writing skills. Fourth graders are better able to handle abstract ideas in their work. They can analyze different points of view and the implications of the text. At this age, students are able to take more responsibility for organizing and prioritizing their work.

Grade 5:

Fifth-grade students have a firm grasp of the basic academics. The South Carolina College and Career-Ready Standards guide students into reading and writing skills that are more complex. From this grade on, writing becomes more important and more frequent. In fifth grade, students practice and refine the skills learned in the lower grades. They are encouraged to think and analyze more deeply. At this age, students are able to take more responsibility for organizing and prioritizing their work.

*This information was taken from the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee. http://www.scfriendlystandards.org/elementary.htm