GVCS Growth Areas, ESLRs, and Standards

revised 12/5/07

Growth Area #1 English-Language Arts

ESLR:  Students read, write, listen and speak effectively.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Reads actively and derives meaning from written media.

·         Reads for a variety of purposes.

·         Uses knowledge of word origins and relationships to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials.

·         Engages in literary response and/or analysis.

·         Comprehends, analyzes, and uses information effectively.

·         Writes with a command of standard English conventions.

·         Uses correct spelling conventions.

·         Supports statements using facts, theory, and/or opinion.

·         Adjusts content, tone, and/or style of writing and/or speaking for purpose and audience.

·         Speaks with a command of standard English conventions.

·         Demonstrates appropriate listening and/or speaking strategies.

·         Organizes ideas in a variety of ways.

Growth Area #2 Life Skills

ESLR:  Students understand and function in their community and/or the world around them.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Uses technology effectively.

·         Participates in activities that develop strength, endurance, and personal fitness.

·         Realizes the effects of healthful choices, habits and lifestyle.

·         Demonstrates skills to develop, prepare for, and achieve life goals.

·         Demonstrates involvement in his/her community, effectively using and/or replenishing community resources.

Growth Area #3 History-Social Science

ESLR:  Students are literate in history and social sciences and comprehend democratic processes and civic values.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Demonstrates knowledge and cultural understanding in history by:

o        Identifying relationships between past and present events or situations.

o        Identifying cause and effect – people, events or situations influencing an action or result.

o        Making comparisons.

o        Classifying events and situations as political, economic, social and/or intellectual.

o        Using information from the past and the present to draw conclusions about the future.

o        Understanding the extent of time.

·         Demonstrates knowledge and cultural understanding in geography.

·         Demonstrates knowledge and cultural understanding in economics.

·         Demonstrates development of democratic understanding and civic values, including our nation’s identity, Constitutional heritage and civic values, rights, and responsibilities.

·         Identifies and understands the structures, operations, and relationships of government in the United States.

·         Understands world political processes as they apply to the history and relationships of world governments.

Growth Area #4 Mathematics

ESLR:  Students apply mathematical principles and operations to solve problems.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Demonstrates knowledge of basic skills, conceptual understanding, and problem solving:

o        In number sense.

o        In operations.

o        In algebra and functions.

o        In measurement and geometry.

o        In statistics, data analysis, and probability.

o        In mathematical reasoning.

·         Solves problems that make demands in one or more of these aspects of the solution process: problem formulation; problem implementation; and problem conclusion.

·         Communicates his/her knowledge of basic skills, understanding of concepts and his/her ability to solve problems.

Growth Area #5 Science

ESLR:  Students apply scientific concepts and skills to ask and answer questions about natural processes and/or phenomena.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Has knowledge of scientific facts, concepts, principles, and theories related to the life sciences.

·         Has knowledge of scientific facts, concepts, principles, and theories related to the physical sciences.

·         Observes, compares, orders, and categorizes characteristics and behaviors.

·         Makes predictions and/or inferences about unknown or unseen process based on observable factors.

·         Applies knowledge and thought processes to explain his/her world and solve problems.

·         Communicates ideas.

·         Develops his/her abilities in investigation and experimentation while learning the methods and skills of scientific inquiry.

Growth Area #6 Special Interests

ESLR:  Students explore and pursue their own special interests, talents, and abilities.

Growth Area Standards:

·         Identifies and explores his/her own interests, talents and abilities.

AND one of the following two (2) standards must be achieved:

·         Attains proficiency in listening to, speaking in, reading in, and writing in a language other than English.

OR

·         Participates in the visual/performing arts, emphasizing the following strands: artistic perception; creative expression; historical and cultural context; aesthetic valuing; and connections, relations, and applications.