Standard1: Vocabulary - The student will expand vocabulary through word study, literature,

                                              and class discussion.

Use a knowledge of word parts and word relationships, as well as context clues (the meaning of the

text around a word), to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.

     1.      Words in Context - Verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not  

              directly stated, through the use of definitions, restatement, example, comparison, or contrast.

     2.      Word Origins - Recognize and analyze the influence of historical events on English word meaning

              and vocabulary expansion.

                   Example: Identify how the early influences of Spanish explorers in North America impacted

                                American English vocabulary by adding words such as lasso, tortilla, and patio and

                                investigate why these particular words were adopted from the Spanish.

     3.      Idioms and Comparisons - Analyze idioms and comparisons, such as analogies, metaphors, and  

              similes, to infer the literal and figurative meanings of phrases.

                    a. Idioms: expressions that cannot be understood just by knowing the meanings of the

                        words in the expression, such as Rush hour traffic moves at a snail's pace or as plain as        

                        day.

                    b. Analogies: comparisons of the similar aspects of two different things.

                    c. Metaphors: implies comparisons, such as, The cup of hot tea was the best medicine for    

                        my cold.

                    d. Similes: comparisons that use like or as, such as, The ice was smooth as glass before

                        the skaters entered the rink.