English Language Arts and Reading (901)

Competency 001—(Oral Language):The teacher understands the importance of oral language, knows the developmental processes of oral language, and provides students with varied opportunities to develop listening and speaking skills.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Knows and teaches basic linguistic concepts and the developmental stages in the acquisition of oral language—including phonology, semantics, syntax (subject-verb agreement and subject-verb inversion), and pragmatics—as appropriate for students in grades 4–6 and recognizes that individual variations occur within and across languages.
• B. Plans and implements systematic oral language instruction based on informal and formal assessment of all students, including English learners; fosters oral language development; and addresses students' individual needs, strengths, and interests in grades 4–6.
• C. Designs a variety of one-on-one and group activities (e.g., having discussions, questioning, sharing information) to build on students' current oral language skills.
• D. Selects and uses instructional materials and strategies for students in grades 4–6 that respond to students' individual needs, strengths, and interests; reflect cultural diversity; and build on students' cultural, linguistic, and home backgrounds to enhance their oral language development.
• E. Provides instruction that interrelates oral and written language to promote students' reading and writing proficiencies.
• F. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, activities, and models to teach students in grades 4– 6 skills for speaking to various audiences for various purposes and for adapting spoken language for various audiences, purposes, and occasions.
• G. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, activities, and models to teach students listening skills for various purposes (e.g., critical listening to evaluate a speaker's message, listening to enjoy and appreciate spoken language) and provides students with opportunities to engage in active, purposeful listening in a variety of contexts.
• H. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, activities, and models to teach students in grades 4– 6 to evaluate the content and effectiveness of their own spoken messages and the messages of others.

Competency 002—(Word Analysis and Identification Skills): The teacher understands the importance of word analysis and identification skills for reading comprehension and provides many opportunities for students to practice and improve these skills.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Uses a variety of instructional approaches and materials to promote students' phonetic, graphophonemic, and morphophonemic knowledge as outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• B. Understands the importance of word recognition skills (e.g., structural analysis, identifying and reading high-frequency words from a research-based list, contextual analysis) for reading comprehension and knows a variety of strategies for helping students in grades 4–6 develop and apply word analysis skills, including identifying, categorizing, and using common synonyms, antonyms, homographs, homophones, and analogies.
• C. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, activities, and models to teach students in grades 4– 6 to read high-frequency words, to promote the students' ability to decode increasingly complex words, and to enhance word identification skills of students who read at varying levels.
• D. Knows and teaches strategies for decoding increasingly complex words, including advanced vowelsound combinations, structural or morphological elements (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, roots, base words), and syllable types and syllable division patterns, and for using syntax and semantics to support word identification and confirm word meaning for students in grades 4–6.
• E. Understands the value of using dictionaries, glossaries, and other sources to determine the meanings, usage, pronunciations, correct spelling, and derivations of unfamiliar words and teaches students in grades 4–6 how to use these sources.
• F. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and with other professionals to promote all students' skills in word analysis and identification.

Competency 003—(Reading Fluency): The teacher understands the importance of fluency for reading comprehension and provides many opportunities for students to improve their reading fluency.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Knows the relationship between reading fluency and comprehension for students in grades 4–6.
• B. Understands that fluency involves rate, accuracy, prosody, and intonation and knows the norms for reading fluency that have been established by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• C. Understands the connection of word identification skills and reading fluency to reading comprehension for students in grades 4–6.
• D. Understands differences in students' development of word identification skills and reading fluency and knows instructional practices for meeting students' individual needs in those areas for students in grades 4–6.
• E. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, and activities to develop and improve fluency for students in grades 4–6.
• F. Knows how to teach students in grades 4–6 strategies for reading books independently, including the use of technology to support grade-level content.
• G. Provides students with opportunities to engage in silent reading and extended reading of a wide range of materials, including informational texts and texts from various literary genres, as outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• H. Uses strategies to encourage reading for pleasure and lifelong learning.
• I. Recognizes the interrelationship between reading fluency and the other components of reading for students in grades 4–6.
• J. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and with other professionals to promote all students' reading fluency in grades 4–6.

Competency 004—(Reading Comprehension and Applications): The teacher understands the importance of reading for understanding, knows the components and processes of reading comprehension, and teaches students strategies for improving their comprehension, including using a variety of texts and contexts.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Understands factors affecting reading comprehension (e.g., word analysis skills, prior knowledge, language background/experience, previous reading experiences, fluency, vocabulary development, ability to monitor understanding, characteristics of specific texts) for students in grades 4–6.
• B. Understands levels of reading comprehension and knows how to model and teach skills for literal comprehension (e.g., identifying stated main idea, recalling details, identifying point of view), inferential comprehension (e.g., inferring themes, making predictions), and evaluative comprehension (e.g., analyzing character development, detecting faulty reasoning) for students in grades 4–6.
• C. Provides instruction in comprehension skills that support the transition of students in grades 4–6 from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" (e.g., setting a purpose for reading; applying knowledge of text structures; using text features such as pronunciation guides, introductions, and sidebars) to become selfdirected, critical readers.
• D. Uses various instructional strategies to enhance reading comprehension (e.g., linking text content to students' lives and prior knowledge, connecting related ideas across different texts, comparing different versions of the same story, explaining the meaning of common idioms and adages, engaging students in guided and independent reading, guiding students to generate questions and apply knowledge of text topics) for students in grades 4–6.
• E. Knows and teaches strategies that facilitate comprehension of different types of texts (e.g., literary, informational, argumentative) before, during, and after reading (e.g., previewing, making predictions, questioning, self-monitoring, rereading, mapping, using reading journals, discussing texts) for students in grades 4–6.
• F. Knows and teaches strategies that facilitate making connections between and across multiple texts (e.g., summarizing and paraphrasing, locating and distinguishing between facts and opinions, determining whether a text supports or opposes an issue) for students in grades 4–6.
• G. Understands metacognitive skills, including self-evaluation and self-monitoring skills, and teaches students to use those skills to enhance their reading comprehension in grades 4–6.
• H. Knows how to provide students in grades 4–6 with systematic, explicit instruction and reinforcing activities to promote the use of strategies to improve their reading comprehension (e.g., previewing, selfmonitoring, visualizing, summarizing).
• I. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, and activities to guide students' understanding of their own culture and the cultures of others through reading in grades 4–6.
• J. Understands and teaches the features of various literary genres, including folktales, fables, legends, myths, realistic fiction, historical fiction, tall tales, drama, and poetry, and promotes the development of literary response and analysis skills by providing multiple opportunities for students in grades 4–6 to listen to and respond to literature and to interact with others about literature.
• K. Knows the difference between guided and independent practice in reading and provides students in grades 4–6 with frequent opportunities for both.
• L. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and with other professionals to promote all students' reading comprehension in grades 4–6.

Competency 005—(Vocabulary Development): The teacher knows the importance of vocabulary development and applies that knowledge to teach reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Knows how to provide explicit, systematic instruction and reinforcing activities to help students in grades 4–6 increase their vocabulary.
• B. Knows how to use formal and informal methods to effectively teach vocabulary to students in grades 4– 6.
• C. Selects and uses a wide range of instructional materials (e.g., literary, informational, argumentative, multimodal, and digital texts), strategies, and opportunities with rich contextual support for vocabulary development for students in grades 4–6.
• D. Recognizes the importance of selecting, teaching, and modeling a wide range of general and specialized vocabularies for students in grades 4–6.
• E. Understands how to assess and monitor vocabulary knowledge for students in grades 4–6 by providing systematic, age-appropriate instruction and reinforcing activities (e.g., morphemic analysis, etymology, use of graphic organizers, contextual analysis, multiple exposures to a word in various contexts).
• F. Provides multiple opportunities to listen to, read, and respond to various types of literary and informational texts to promote the vocabulary development of students in grades 4–6.

Competency 006—(Reading, Inquiry, and Research): The teacher understands the importance of inquiry and research skills to students' academic success and provides instruction that promotes students' acquisition and effective use of these skills in the content areas.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Teaches students how to develop open-ended research questions and a plan (e.g., timeline) to locate, retrieve, and record information from a range of primary and secondary sources.
• B. Selects and uses instructional strategies to help students comprehend abstract content and ideas in written materials (e.g., examples, graphic organizers).
• C. Selects and uses instructional strategies to teach students to interpret information presented in various formats (e.g., maps, tables, graphs) and how to locate, retrieve, and record information from technologies, print resources, and experts.
• D. Selects and uses instructional strategies to help students use inquiry and research skills across the curriculum (e.g., brainstorming to generate questions and topics; locating, organizing, evaluating, summarizing, paraphrasing, and communicating information; differentiating between primary and secondary sources; selecting and using relevant, credible sources).
• E. Knows grade-level expectations for inquiry and research skills outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) (e.g., in fourth and fifth grades, develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance; in sixth grade, refine the major research question through use of secondary questions).
• F. Provides instruction to develop a topic sentence, summarize findings, and use evidence to support conclusions.
• G. Understands how to foster collaboration with peers, with families, and with other professionals to promote all students' ability to develop effective inquiry and research skills in the content areas.

Competency 007—(Writing Conventions): The teacher understands the conventions of writing in English and provides instruction that helps students develop proficiency in applying writing conventions.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Understands that many students go through predictable stages in acquiring writing conventions (e.g., physical and cognitive processes involved in word writing, sentence construction, spelling, punctuation, grammatical expression) and that individual students vary in their rates of development of those conventions.
• B. Provides spelling instruction and gives students opportunities to use and develop spelling skills in the context of meaningful written expression (e.g., commonly confused terms, simple and complex contractions).
• C. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, and hands-on activities for developing graphomotor skills necessary for writing, according to grade-level expectations in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• D. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, and activities to help students use English writing conventions (e.g., grammar, capitalization, punctuation) in connected discourse.
• E. Recognizes the similarities and differences between spoken and written English (e.g., syntax, vocabulary choice, audience) and uses instructional strategies to help students apply English writing conventions and enhance their own writing.
• F. Knows writing conventions and appropriate grammar and usage and provides students with direct instruction and structured practice in those areas.
• G. Selects and uses instructional strategies, materials, and activities to teach correct pencil grip.

Competency 008—(Written Communication): The teacher understands that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provides instruction that promotes students' competence in written communication.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Teaches purposeful, meaningful writing in connection with listening, reading, and speaking.
• B. Knows how to promote students' development of an extensive reading and writing vocabulary by providing students with many opportunities to read and write.
• C. Monitors students' writing development and provides motivational instruction that addresses individual students' needs, strengths, and interests.
• D. Understands differences between first-draft writing and writing for publication and provides instruction in various stages of writing, including prewriting, drafting, revising (including both self-revision and peer revision), and editing.
• E. Understands the benefits of technology for teaching basic writing skills and writing for publication and provides instruction in the use of technology to facilitate written communication.
• F. Understands writing for a variety of audiences, purposes, and settings and provides students with opportunities to write for various audiences, purposes, and settings and in various voices and styles.
• G. Teaches students to use appropriate conventions to support ideas in writing and to use an appropriate form of documentation to acknowledge sources (e.g., quotations, bibliographical information, differentiation between paraphrasing and plagiarism).
• H. Knows grade-level expectations for written communication as described in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• I. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and with other professionals to promote students' development of writing skills.

Competency 009—(Viewing and Representing): The teacher understands skills for interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, and producing visual images and messages in various types of media, including electronic media, and provides students with opportunities to develop skills in this area.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Knows grade-level expectations for viewing and representing visual images and messages as described in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• B. Understands and teaches the characteristics and functions of different types of media (e.g., film, print) and knows how different types of media influence and inform.
• C. Teaches students to compare and contrast print, visual, and electronic media, including the level of formality of each (e.g., email, Web-based news article, blogs).
• D. Teaches students to evaluate how visual image makers (e.g., illustrators, documentary filmmakers, political cartoonists, news photographers) represent messages and meanings and provides students with opportunities to interpret and evaluate visual images in various media.
• E. Knows how to teach students to analyze visual image makers' choices (e.g., style, elements, media) and evaluate how those choices help represent or extend meaning.
• F. Provides students with opportunities to interpret events and ideas based on information from maps, charts, graphics, video segments, and technology presentations and to use media to compare ideas and points of view.
• G. Knows steps and procedures for teaching students to produce visual images and messages with various meanings to communicate with others.
• H. Teaches students how to select, organize, and produce visuals to complement and extend meanings.
• I. Provides students with opportunities to use technology for producing various types of communications (e.g., class newspapers, multimedia reports, video reports) and helps students analyze how language, medium, and presentation contribute to the message.
• J. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and with other professionals to promote students' development of media literacy.

Competency 010—(Assessment of Developing Literacy): The teacher understands the basic principles of literacy assessment and uses a variety of assessments to guide literacy instruction.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Knows how to select and administer formative and summative assessments to students in grades 4–6 and use results to measure literacy skills (e.g., word analysis and word identification skills, fluency, comprehension, writing conventions, written communications, visual images, inquiry skills) and address individual students' needs identified in informal and formal assessments.
• B. Knows the characteristics of informal and formal reading comprehension assessments (e.g., criterionreferenced state tests, curriculum-based reading assessments, informal reading inventories, normreferenced tests).
• C. Analyzes students' reading and writing performance and uses the information as a basis for instruction in grades 4–6.
• D. Knows the state content and performance standards for reading, writing, listening, and speaking that constitute the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and recognizes when a student needs additional help or intervention to bring the student's performance up to grade level for students in grades 4–6.
• E. Knows how to determine students' independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels and uses the information to select appropriate materials for individual students and to guide students' selection of independent reading materials in grades 4–6.
• F. Uses ongoing assessments to determine when a student may be in need of classroom intervention or specialized reading instruction and to develop appropriate instructional plans for students in grades 4–6.
• G. Understands the use of writing in assessment of students and provides opportunities for students to selfassess and peer-assess writing (e.g., for clarity, interest to audience, comprehensiveness) and their ongoing literacy development.
• H. Knows how to select, administer, and use results from informal and formal assessments of literacy skills for students in grades 4–6.
• I. Analyzes students' errors in reading and responds to individual students' needs by providing focused instruction to promote literacy skills.
• J. Knows informal and formal procedures for assessing students' use of writing conventions and uses multiple, ongoing assessments to monitor and evaluate students' development in that area.
• K. Uses ongoing assessments of writing conventions to determine when students need additional help or intervention to bring students' performance to grade level based on state content and performance standards for writing in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for grades 4–6.
• L. Analyzes students' errors in applying writing conventions and uses the results of the analysis as a basis for future instruction for students in grades 4–6.
• M. Selects and uses a variety of formal and informal procedures for monitoring students' reading comprehension and adjusts instruction to meet the needs of individual students, including English learners, for students in grades 4–6.
• N. Understands how to foster collaboration with families and how to communicate information about students' progress and ongoing literacy development to parents/caregivers and to other professionals through a variety of means, including the use of examples of students' work, for students in grades 4–6.