Course of Study
English III
Grade 11
Warren County Career Center
3525 North State Route 48
Lebanon, Ohio 45036
Adopted
June 28, 2012
This document is for the use of the staff at Warren County Career Center.
Credit is given the designer of the template, Upper Valley JVS, Piqua, Ohio.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 3
School Board Approval ................................................................................................... 4
Statement of Recommendation ....................................................................................... 5
Warren County Career Center Vision and Mission Statements
and Values......................................................................................................................... 6
Course Design ................................................................................................................... 7
Course Philosophy ................................................................................................. 7
Course Goals .......................................................................................................... 8
Course Description................................................................................................. 9
Academic and Technical Integration ................................................................... 10
Technology .......................................................................................................... 10
Students Served .................................................................................................... 11
Scope and Sequence ....................................................................................................... 12
ACT College Readiness Standards……………………………………………………37
Technology Standards ................................................................................................... 43
Performance Measures/Student Assessments/Instructional Strategies .................... 46
2
Acknowledgements
English
Warren County Career Center
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the following people for their
guidance and support in the preparation of this course of study:
Warren County Career Center Administrative Team
Carrie Frandoni
Ellisa Johnson
Linda Little
Heather Snider
Brandon Welch
Kelsey Cooper
3
Warren County Career Center
Resolution Of School Board Approval
WHEREAS, representatives of English Department of the Warren County Career Center have
reviewed the English Language Arts Course of Study; and
WHEREAS, this Course of Study is based upon Ohio’s Common Core Standards adopted by the
State of Ohio for the English Language Arts program; and
WHEREAS, the English Department has reviewed and added standards as needed to address
local labor market needs and trends in the industry;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in accordance with the Superintendent’s
recommendation, that the Warren County Career Center adopt the English Language Arts Course
of Study.
District Superintendent
Date
President, Board of Education
Date
4
Statement of Recommendation
The English Department at Warren County Career Center has reviewed this course of study and
recommends it for use as the foundation for instruction in the English Language Arts class.
The developers of this course of study have considered local labor market needs and the school’s
ability to offer specialized programs. The standards have been reviewed and accepted as being
congruent with our school’s vision, mission, and strategic goals. When appropriate, additional
standards related to the program area have been incorporated into this course of study.
Achievement of standards, utilizing proper attitudes, and demonstrating appropriate values are
critical for successful employment and for furthering educational opportunities within a student's
chosen field. We believe that this course of study adequately and correctly focuses upon student
development.
This course of study is recommended on: 06/28/2012
5
Warren County Career Center Vision Statement
WCCC is the valued partner of choice within the educational and economic systems of our
communities, by providing quality academic and career technical education.
We pave the way for a future of opportunities unique to each of our learners.
Warren County Career Center Mission Statement
To prepare youths and adults to make informed career choices and to successfully enter,
compete, and advance in a changing work world.
Warren County Career Values











Treating each other with respect, dignity, trust and mutual value
Communicating openly and honestly
Taking ownership of personal actions and being held accountable for results
Upholding and demonstrating high ethical, educational and fiscal standards
Exhibiting high levels of professionalism
Providing high quality instruction and highly qualified staff to ensure success for all
learners
Making quality customer service a high priority
Promoting partnerships and a team environment
Celebrating team and individual achievements
Using data to drive planning, decision making and actions
Embracing educational opportunities for change and diversity
6
Course Design
Courses are designed to reflect career-focused education, which combines high-level academics
with real-life technical skills. The intent is to maximize a student’s present and future academic
and career success.
Career-focused education enhances the integration of academic and technical skills, designs
programs that prepare students with transferable skills and promotes each student’s career
opportunities.
Course Philosophy
We believe that all individuals, regardless of career choice, must be able to think for themselves;
initiate action on their own; and direct, modify, and assess their own work.
Employers seek lifelong learners who can locate and use information.
Effective communication is essential to workplaces, communities, and families. Employees with
positive communication skills contribute to organizational productivity, enhance interpersonal
relationships with coworkers and clients, and create opportunities for promotion and
advancement.
Technology influences every work environment. To be effective in today’s workplace,
individuals must be able to use the tools of technology to improve productivity and efficiency.
Employers seek individuals who have developed technological skills and who stay abreast of the
continuously changing technological environment.
Since work is a significant part of life, individuals need to be actively engaged in seeking a
career that matches their interests, abilities, aptitudes, and skills. Career planning enhances the
possibility that one’s career path will lead to success and satisfaction in work. Employers seek
individuals who know what they want from work and can effectively present their qualifications
and skills through the job search process, including job applications and interviews. Throughout
one’s career, it is also important to seek continuous professional development opportunities.
In high-performance workplaces, all individuals must effectively manage a variety of resources-personal, financial, and environmental. Individuals’ ability to maintain good health, contribute to
a safe work environment, and manage time not only enhances personal well-being, but fosters
the success of the organization or business as well.
The study of literature provides students with a background of allusion, a fascinating cultural
experience, and a valuable source of style models to the twenty-first century student. English
also prepares the student for college-level expository writing, with a series of assignments asking
students to think critically in analyzing works of literature.
7
Course Goals
The course goals for English are to:
 Prepare students to be literate members of a diverse society with the ability to
communicate effectively in daily life;
 Prepare students to adapt to the ever-changing literacy demands of a highly technological
society; and
 Equip students with the skills needed to participate in the public sphere as students,
workers, citizens, and life-long learners.
 Increase the communication, problem-solving, and technical achievement and the
application of learning for career-bound students to the national average of all students.
 Blend the essential content of traditional college preparatory studies – language arts –
with quality vocational and technical studies by creating conditions that support school
leaders, teachers, and counselors in carrying out the key practices.
 Set high expectations and strong support for English language arts achievement by ALL
students.
 Represent literacy skills needed to make a successful transition to post-secondary
education, the workplace and daily life. Reflect sound application of research on how
students learn English language arts.
 Focus on important English language arts topics that are articulated through benchmarks
and grade-level indicators.
 Represent a rigorous progression across grades and an in-depth study within each grade.
 Incorporate the use of technology for ALL students learning English language arts.
 Assume an integrated approach to language learning that is interactive and engaging.
8
Course Description
English at the Warren County Career Center involves two semesters of study. Each semester
earns full English credit. English Three is taken in the junior year.
English III - 2111
This course is designed for the student who is planning to enter the work force immediately
following high school. Basic grammar, vocabulary, and technical writing skills are the focus of
this
curriculum with a strong emphasis on mechanics, usage, and composition. American authors
and
literature are examined along with contemporary American issues and themes as reflected in
films, newspapers, and various periodicals. All 11th grade students initiate and develop a career
passport and a senior project that is then finalized in the senior year.
Advanced English III - 2116
This course is designed for the college-bound student. American literature is studied during the
year with emphasis placed on history and understanding the elements of style such as: theme,
symbolism, figure of speech, analogy, etc. Each student will be expected to write several
papers which call for analysis and/or critical thinking skills. Research techniques and format is
introduced. Also, the career passport and senior project will be initiated in this course
9
Academic and Technical Integration
Expectations of curriculum must be aligned with what is written, taught, assessed, and reported.
Student expectations focus on active, project-centered learning—an approach to learning that
emphasizes a connection between ideas in a discipline and the outside world. Educational
programming and course content will clearly connect career and post-secondary opportunities.
At the Warren County Career Center, the main goal is to design courses and projects that use
strategies for authentic instruction. These characteristics of instruction focus on deep
understanding, established opportunities for concept connections, provide anticipatory and
abstract thinking, and emphasize genuine application.
The academic courses at the WCCC follow the state model curricula. They are designed to meet
both associate school and state requirements. These standards respond to the need to improve
student achievement, quality of curriculum and instruction, and strengthen school and
community relationships.
Technology
The Warren County Career Center board and staff believe that technology skills are essential for
all students to achieve in the 21st century. It is the goal of this district to infuse technology into
all facets of education:






Instruction
Assessment
Administration
Career planning
Course design
Professional development
Strategies to incorporate technology into all facets of education are a priority of the district and
there is commitment to a continual process to provide updated hardware, software, and
professional development for staff members for the purpose of providing a high quality
education, with the integration of technology, for all students.
10
Students Served
The population served by this program is juniors.
11
Scope and Sequence
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Key Ideas and Details
Standard Statements
1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the
course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account;
provide an objective summary of the text.
3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or
drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and
developed).
In the previous band, students were expected to analyze and draw inferences from texts,
examine the progression of theme and explore the development of complex characters.
Content Elaborations
When analyzing Key Ideas and Details, critical reading is the central focus. Full comprehension of a
text requires the ability to understand and analyze explicit and inferential ideas. Critical reading includes
understanding the ways authors influence readers with what the text states explicitly and implicitly.
Effective authors use evidence and details purposely chosen to impart meaning. Literary analysis
enables the reader to examine the way authors carefully position details which support the theme or
main idea. They use the interactions, thoughts and feelings of characters to explore ideas and themes.
Readers should further examine the purpose for the author’s piece and question the motivations as well
as the motivations of the characters, which also shape the plot and ultimately, the theme.
Enduring Understanding
Imaginative texts can provide rich and timeless insights into universal themes, dilemmas and social
realities of the world. Literary text represents complex stories in which the reflective and apparent
thoughts and actions of human beings are revealed. Life therefore shapes literature and literature
shapes life.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Key Ideas and Details
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Socratic Seminar
The Socratic Seminar provides autonomy for the students in a communal format in which students must
cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says. Areas to explore
12
include how authors use literary techniques such as theme, characterization, plot, specific details, etc.,
within a work. Information about the Socratic Seminar can be found at
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/bestpractice/socratic/index.html.
Plot Analysis/Conventions
Use picture books (Cinderella stories, fairy tales) to analyze plot and to introduce common conventions.
After reading a picture book, students apply concepts to another work of literature. For example, the
novel Ethan Frome contains the same fairy tale elements as Snow White. For a variation of this, try
introducing a work of literature using one of the “I Wish” songs from any Disney princess movie.
3x3 Literary Analysis of Plot for Central Idea
Create a chart for students to complete which has three spaces for students to summarize the plot in
three words (noun, action verb, object) for each of the beginning, middle and end of the story. Then,
chart three spaces below for students to write in three words (noun, action verb, object) to analyze the
development of the plot over the course of the text. Students then use those sentences to determine
the central idea. Ruetzel, D. Ray and Robert B. Cooter.
Strategies for reading assessment and instruction: Helping every child succeed. Upper Saddle
River:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. Ruetzel and Cooter’s text provides 16 chapters that highlight numerous
strategies and resources that have proven to be beneficial in assisting students with reading instruction.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Craft and Structure
Standard Statements
4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including
words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include
Shakespeare as well as other authors.
5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice
of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its
overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Content Elaborations
Analyzing the Craft and Structure of literature requires the reader to examine the author’s motivations
closely. Effective authors make specific language choices (emotive, evocative, formal, impersonal) and
use specific organizational strategies to position readers to accept representations of people, events,
ideas and information in particular ways. Competent readers reflect on the nuanced meanings of words
and phrases in texts as a tool by which they discover the meaning, tone and theme of a text. An author’s
perspective and global cultural experiences impact choices made about the text, such as what to include
13
or not include as well as considering the point of view from which the narrative is told. Understanding of
text occurs through meaningful and intentional opportunities to read, study and discuss literature with a
focus on the total effect of an author’s craft.
Enduring Understanding
Literary text, like all creative products, demonstrates style and craftsmanship. Readers can respond
analytically and objectively to text when they understand the purpose or reason behind the author’s
intentional choice of tools such as word choice, point of view and structure.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Craft and Structure
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Change the Structure
Students change the resolution of a story and discuss the impact on rewritten tone/meaning/etc. This
strategy helps students understand structure and how an author’s choices contribute to overall
structure/meaning/aesthetic impact. For example, Hester exposes Dimmesdale. How does this change
impact other characters, minor plot lines, etc?
Choose a Word/Phrase
Students choose a word or phrase from literature that is interesting, confusing, descriptive or relates to
a literary element (figurative language) and write it on a sticky note. The sticky notes are posted around
the classroom. Students then take blank sticky notes and silently read and comment on others’
observations. Students then share their quotations and their favorite comments with the class.
Reconstruct the Plot
Expose students to works of literature that are not in chronological order and/or are told from various
point of views. For example, in the novel Ellen Foster, the time shifts and students must pay careful
attention to what is happening. One way to handle this is to have students create a chart to track the
time period. They could then reconstruct the plot in chronological order.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard Statements
6. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play
or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least
one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
7. (Not applicable to literature)
14
8. Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and earlytwentieth-century foundational works
of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or
topics.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to analyze the representation of a subject
or key scene in two different mediums and examine how an author uses source material in
specific texts.
Content Elaborations
The Integration of Knowledge and Ideas is important when examining key scenes or specific works.
Exploring varying perspectives of the work such as historical accounts or any background knowledge can
assist in determining the author’s overall purpose. Understanding the interplay between text and
context also can influence how an audience analyzes a text from multiple perspectives. Analysis of a
topic or theme from varying perspectives and in a variety of mediums involves using comprehension
strategies including, but not limited to, comparison and contrast, inference and summary.
Enduring Understanding
Competent readers can synthesize information from a variety of sources including print, audio and
visual. Comparing and contrasting text in a variety of forms or genres provides a full understanding of
the author’s message/theme as well as the ideas being explored.
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Ballad Writing
After familiarizing themselves with ballad themes and forms, students write their own original ballads,
which they will perform in small groups. Students engage in self-reflection on their group performances
and on the literary characteristics of their ballads. Students read, analyze and discuss medieval English
ballads and then list characteristics of the genre. Students will emphasize the narrative characteristics of
ballads by choosing a ballad to act out. Using the Venn diagram tool, students next compare medieval
ballads with modern ones.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Compare/Contrast
Students compare and contrast (in essay form, in chart form, in visual form) two writers from the same
time period. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman work well for this type of activity because they seem to
have nothing in common, but they both are rebellious and they both revolutionized American poetry.
Compare an Issue
Students compare text from a time period on an issue with historical events resulting from those beliefs.
End with a seminar letting students draw and support their own conclusions. Students need to
synthesize materials and evaluate the information.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
15
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
Standard Statements
9. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the
grades 11-CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the
range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at
the high end of the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently. By the end of
grade 9, students were expected to read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas
and poems in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at
the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, students were expected to read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas and poems at the high end of the grades 9-10
text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Content Elaborations
The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subjects states that there is a “general, steady decline – over time, across
grades, and substantiated by several sources – in the difficulty and likely also the sophistication of
content of the texts students have been asked to read in school since 1962.” To help teachers match
complex, grade appropriate texts to their students, the Common Core Standards document contains a
model with three dimensions for measuring text complexity. To effectively establish the text complexity
level, all three dimensions must be used together:
(1) Qualitative dimensions of text complexity (levels of meaning or purpose, structure, language
conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands)
(2) Quantitative dimensions of text complexity (word length or frequency, sentence length, text
cohesion –typically measured by computer software)
(3) Reader and task considerations (motivation, knowledge and experiences, purpose and complexity of
task assigned)
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
The three-part model is explained in detail in Appendix A of the Common Core Standards for English
Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects. Along
with this explanation of the model, a list of grade-appropriate text exemplars that meet the text
complexity for each grade level is provided in Appendix B.
The Common Core recognizes that not all students arrive at school with the tools and resources to
ensure that they are exposed to challenging text away from school; it also recognizes that “a turning
away from complex texts is likely to lead to a general impoverishment of knowledge…” This trend can be
“turned around” when teachers match students with challenging, engaging text in the classroom,
creating an atmosphere that helps to nurture curious, capable and critical readers. Through extensive
reading of a variety of genres from diverse cultures and a range of time periods, students will gain
16
literary knowledge and build important reading skills and strategies, as well as become familiar with
various text structures and elements.
Enduring Understanding
In order to meet the rigorous demands of college and/or the workforce, students must be able to read
and comprehend increasingly complex literary text. They must read widely and deeply from among a
broad range of high-quality, challenging text and develop the skill, concentration, and stamina to read
these texts independently and proficiently.
Strand Reading: Literature
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Audio Text
Students listen to a compact disc (online audio) of the text being read. Low-level readers/learners may
be able to enjoy and comprehend the more complex concepts of higher order thinking skills while
listening. More advanced readers can follow along in the book to understand proper pronunciation of
new vocabulary introduced in the text.
Music and Literature
Scaffold student learning of classic texts by introducing key plot elements through video and song. For
example, when introducing the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” show students the scenes
from the teen movie Telling You where the ancient mariner appears (he tells part of his story at a pizza
parlor). Then play Iron Maiden’s version of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” noting that the music
dramatically slows down when the mariner is stuck on the water. Show pictures of an albatross while
the song plays. Students can then read the text with greater understanding.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Key Ideas and Details
Standard Statements
1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain..
2. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or
events interact and develop over the course of the text.
17
In the previous grade band, students were expected to cite and draw inferences from the text,
examine the development of the central ideas, and analyze how the author’s analysis of the text
shapes the development of its events and ideas.
Content Elaborations
When reading informational text, examining Key Ideas and Details is essential. Full comprehension of
a text requires the ability to understand and analyze explicit and inferential ideas. Authors of
informational and argumentative texts focus on fluidity, often omitting details, to inform or persuade
the reader at this level. Analysis of these texts requires understanding how the central ideas or
arguments interact.
Enduring Understanding
Knowledge-based information is an ever-changing expanding genre that encompasses daily
communication. The ability to comprehend and analyze informational texts develops critical thinking,
promotes logical reasoning and expands one’s sense of the world.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Key Ideas and Details
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Cornell Note-Taking System
Students use an adapted version of the Cornell System for Note-Taking while they read. Using the basic
page format of “Cue (Recall)” column, “Summary” section and “Note Taking” area, students take their
notes as they read rather than as they listen to a lecture. A full explanation of the Cornell System for
Note-Taking is available at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/enreadtp/Cornell.html.
Jigsaw
Use the jigsaw approach to reading by dividing the text into segments so that each student is
responsible for only one segment or one idea. Students then share knowledge learned with the class.
Students are less intimidated when they have a smaller amount of text to process, but they still are
practicing deep reading skills.
Double-Entry Journal
Students keep double-entry journals as they read. In the left-hand column, the student copies or
summarizes text which is intriguing, puzzling or moving or which connects to a previous entry or
situation. In the right-hand column, the student reacts to the quotation or summary. The entry may
include a comment, a question, a connection made or an analysis.
Socratic Seminar
A Socratic Seminar provides autonomy for the students in a communal format in which students must
cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says. Areas to explore
include how the author uses the development of the central idea or argument and how the
ideas/arguments interact with each other. More information about the Socratic Seminar can be found at
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/bestpractice/socratic/index.html.
Ruetzel, D. Ray and Robert B. Cooter.
18
Strategies for Reading Assessment and Instruction: Helping Every Child Succeed. Upper Saddle
River:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. Ruetzel’s and Cooter’s text provides 16 chapters that highlight numerous
strategies and resources that have proven to be beneficial in assisting students with reading instruction.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Craft and Structure
Standard Statements
3. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or
argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
4. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective,
analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to determine the meaning of words and
terms and how they impact the tone of the text, examine how the author’s ideas are developed
and refined, and analyze how the author uses rhetoric to shape the point of view or purpose of
the document.
Content Elaborations
Examining the author’s technique is the essential focus when analyzing the Craft and Structure of
informational text. Authors select specific language (emotive, evocative, formal and impersonal) and use
specific organizational strategies and rhetorical content to convey meaning. Understanding the meaning
of words and phrases found within the text is a tool by which readers can discover the meaning,
effectiveness, tone and purpose of a text.
Enduring Understanding
Informational text, like all creative products, demonstrates style and craftsmanship. Readers can
respond analytically and objectively to text when they understand the purpose or reason behind the
author’s intentional choice of tools such as word choice, point of view and structure.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Craft and Structure
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Poster Analysis
Students analyze World War II posters, chosen from online collections, to explore how argument,
persuasion and propaganda differ. The lesson begins with a full-class exploration of the famous, “I Want
You for the U.S. Army” poster, wherein students explore the similarities and differences between
argument, persuasion and propaganda, and apply one of the genres to the poster.
19
Editorial Style
• Students select an editorialist whose writing they find compelling and read five of that writer’s
editorials. Students analyze word choice,
rhetorical strategies and effectiveness.
• Students choose a current topic and write editorials imitating the style of the author.
• Students compose an additional writer’s memo detailing specific parallels between their editorials and
the author’s editorial.
Use online editorial publications like The New York Times and selections of essays from One Man’s
America by George Will.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard Statements
5. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional
principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the
premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential
addresses.
6. Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical
and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical
features.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to examine various text presented in
different mediums, delineate and evaluate arguments, and analyze the themes and concepts of
seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance.
Content Elaboration
The Integration of Knowledge and Ideas from informational text requires analysis and evaluation of
critical themes and concepts from various perspectives. Critical reading of a wide variety of seminal
texts, including those told from historical, literary and scientific perspectives, mirrors and challenges
thinking and enhances the understanding of content.
Enduring Understanding
Integrating knowledge and ideas from informational text expands the knowledge base and the
perspectives found in text, which empowers the reader to make informed choices in life.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Instructional Strategies and Resources
20
Compare/Contrast
• Students read “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and then evaluate a picture, a cartoon and a video
relating to civil rights.
• Students compare and contrast the message in the original text to the messages in the picture, cartoon
and video.
(Frames of Mind: A Rhetorical Reader with Occasions for Writing by Robert Dianni and Patsy Hoy)
Create Your Own Historical Document
Before reading historical documents, students create one of their own (e.g., farewell address to their
classmates, a state of the union about their accomplishments and goals over the past year). Then, after
discussing themes and content of their own, students read the original document. This strategy scaffolds
them into understanding the genre.
Suitable for Texting
Students analyze 17-, 18 and 19-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary
significance for their themes, purposes and rhetorical features.
• Basic: Rewrite the Mayflower Compact into a message suitable for texting. Define the audience,
research the meaning of the unfamiliar words, determine to whom the text would be sent, etc.
• Extended: Write a four-sentence précis for the Mayflower Compact.
Summarizing a historical document into four sentences or into a modern texting format hones analytical
skills to find the important details.
Have students consider the audience of both the original and a new audience. Students could create a
new compact using the basic argument of the Mayflower Compact.
• http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/rhetorical-precis/sample/peirce_sample_precis_
• http://http://www.uhv.edu/ac/research/prewrite/pdf/sources.pdf
• http://www.jstor.org/pss/40031761
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Time Period Comparison
Students compare texts from a time period on an issue with historical events resulting from those
beliefs. End with a seminar letting students draw and support their own conclusions. Students need to
synthesize materials and evaluate the information.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
21
Standard Statements
7. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11-CCR text complexity
band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read
and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 11-CCR text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
By the end of grade 9, students were expected to read and comprehend literature, including
stories, dramas and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding
as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, students were expected to read
and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas and poems, at the high end of the grades
9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Content Elaborations
The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subjects states that there is a “general, steady decline – over time, across
grades, and substantiated by several sources – in the difficulty and likely also the sophistication of
content of the texts students have been asked to read in school since 1962.” To help teachers match
complex, grade appropriate texts to their students, the Common Core Standards document contains a
model with three dimensions for measuring text complexity. To effectively establish the text complexity
level, all three dimensions must be used together:
(1) Qualitative dimensions of text complexity (levels of meaning or purpose, structure, language
conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands)
(2) Quantitative dimensions of text complexity (word length or frequency, sentence length, text
cohesion –typically measured by computer software)
(3) Reader and task considerations (motivation, knowledge and experiences, purpose and complexity of
task assigned)
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
The three-part model is explained in detail in Appendix A of the Common Core Standards for English
Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects. Along
with this explanation of the model, a list of grade-appropriate text exemplars that meet the text
complexity for each grade level is provided in Appendix B.
The Common Core recognizes that not all students arrive at school with the tools and resources to
ensure that they are exposed to challenging text away from school; it also recognizes that “a turning
away from complex texts is likely to lead to a general impoverishment of knowledge…” This trend can be
“turned around” when teachers match students with challenging, engaging text in the classroom,
creating an atmosphere that helps to nurture curious, capable and critical readers. Through extensive
reading of a variety of genres from diverse cultures and a range of time periods, students will gain
literary knowledge and build important reading skills and strategies, as well as become familiar with
various text structures and elements.
22
Enduring Understanding
In order to meet the rigorous demands of college and/or the workforce, students must be able to read
and comprehend increasingly complex informational text. They must read widely and deeply from
among a broad range of high-quality, challenging text and develop the skill, concentration and
stamina to read these texts independently and proficiently.
Strand Reading: Informational Text
Topic Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Text Complexity
Students use a readability program to find text complexity that aligns to their grade level. Before
students can accept the challenge of accelerating text complexity, they should understand just what it is,
how writers achieve it, how it affects understanding or enjoyment of reading. We read for different
purposes (e.g., college vs. high school text, consumer camera manual vs. heavy equipment manual).
Students need a cadre of reading techniques to manage between college, the workplace and the
marketplace.
Basic: Students select a complicated instructional manual for a consumer product (e.g., Video Camera
Manual), and judge the education level of the consumer. Students then determine what adjustments
could be made in the directions to simplify the manual.
Extended: Compare high school chemistry text readability with a College Level I Chemistry text. What
additional skills does the college student need in order to be successful with the college text? Compare
text complexity in a chemistry or social studies text, college text, etc. For more information, visit
http://www.achieve.org/node/946.
Directed Reading Teaching Activities
Use Directed Reading Teaching Activities (DRTA) with students to activate their prior knowledge, prompt
them to make predictions and test their hypotheses through the reading.
• Students read selection title (and perhaps a bit of the selection) and make predictions about content.
• Students read to first predetermined stop. They confirm, refine or reject their initial hypotheses and
justify their ideas with reference to the text. Students then make new hypotheses.
• Students read the next section and follow procedures in step two. This cycle continues until text is
read.
More information about this strategy is located at http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/dr_ta.pdf.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
23
Strand Writing
Topic Text Types and Purposes
Standard Statements
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for
each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence,
and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to produce informative and narrative
writings that examine and convey complex ideas, and have well-developed arguments with valid
reasoning, relevant evidence and well-chosen details.
Content Elaborations
Understanding Text Types and Purposes is essential for writing. Effective and coherent text creation
requires conscious choices about: purpose for text creation (e.g., to inform, explain, persuade, entertain,
or inspire), motives for selecting strategies to engage an audience (e.g., to communicate information,
promote action or build relationships), and potential consequences of choices regarding text creation
(e.g., follow-up action, position defended, appropriate tone and style). It also includes appropriate
structures for particular types of texts, language, voice, style, ideology, form and genre.
Strand Writing
Topic Text Types and Purposes
2. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wellchosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance,
establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a
smooth progression of experiences or events.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to
develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
24
c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent
whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or
resolution).
d. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the
experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved
over the course of the narrative.
Enduring Understanding
Writers share information, opinions and ideas by using multiple techniques and text types. This
knowledge allows them to communicate in appropriate and meaningful ways to achieve their intended
purpose.
Strand Writing
Topic Text Types and Purposes
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Persuasive Strategies
After frontloading strategies using the SOAPST one strategy, students find and read opinion/editorial
examples from different newspapers about a single topic. The students analyze these to determine the
strategies writers use to create a persuasive argument.
• S = subject
• O = occasion
• A = audience
• P = purpose
• S = speaker
• T = tone
More information about this strategy can be found at
http://faculty.stuartschool.org/~leckstrom/SOAPSToneAnalysisStrategy.htm.
Evaluating Models of Performance
• Explain the criteria for a particular writing assignment.
• Show students models of essays representing a range of scores.
• Have students assess them based on the criteria discussed.
• Students can use this knowledge to write their own essay with the same criteria.
(See Appendix C – Samples of Student Writing in the Common Core Standards.)
Strand Writing
Topic Text Types and Purposes
Podcast
Students podcast personal Web page/Facebook page narratives. Podcasting skills include collaboration,
writing, speaking, presentation, communication, technology, auditory, storytelling and information. In
25
addition, students enhance their media literacy and oral fluency. Examples include This I Believe (NPR),
Laws of Life and Digital Writing Workshop (Troy Hicks). More information about this strategy can be
found at:
• http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/
• http://thisibelieve.org/educators/
• http://www.lawsoflife.org/teachers/
• http://hickstro.org/
Burkhardt, Ross M. Writing for Real: Strategies for Engaging Adolescent Writers. Portland:
Stenhouse, 2003. This text offers various strategies used by veteran middle school teacher Ross
Burkhardt. The text can be used as a guide to create an entire academic year of curriculum for writing.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Writing
Topic Production and Distribution of Writing
Standard Statements
3. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined
in standards 1-3.)
4. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to use technology to produce wellorganized writing that has been developed in multiple stages with a clear purpose and
audience.
Content Elaborations
The Production and Distribution of Writing is a multistage, reflective process that requires planning
and revising and may occur collaboratively, individually and technologically. Effective writers make
conscious, independent and/or collaborative decisions about the type of writing produced and
distributed. They also use technology to share information and to create individual and collaborative
texts.
Enduring Understanding
Effective writing is the result of a multi-stage, reflective process in which the writer must develop, plan,
revise, edit and rewrite work to evoke change or clarify ideas. The stages of these processes are
enhanced with collaboration and technology.
Strand Writing
Topic Production and Distribution of Writing
Instructional Strategies and Resources
26
Photo Gallery
Students take photographs that illustrate a piece of their writing and create a hallway or gallery display
of their pictures and writing. Invite faculty and other classes for an author’s talk in the gallery, with each
writer reading and discussing his or her work.
Plan Strategy with STOP
Students follow these steps to develop and organize their ideas for a piece of persuasive writing:
• Suspend your judgment and generate as many ideas on each side of the argument as possible.
• Take a side.
• Organize your notes and ideas and decide which ideas you are going to use to support your side and
which ideas are going to be used to refute on the opposing side.
• Plan as you write.
This strategy can be teacher led or student directed. With the last step, writers continue to add, change
or delete from the initial plan. For more information, visit www.thewritingteacher.org/writing-bloghome/2008/10/1/research-based-best-practices-for-teaching-writing-adiscussion.html.
Brooks, Terry. Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life. New York: Ballentine
Books, 2004. Brooks’ text examines the thought process writers often go through to produce their
works. It gives valuable tips that can be used to help shape the various stages of a piece.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Writing
Topic Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Standard Statements
5. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize
multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
6. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced
searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose,
and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding
plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
7. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
a. Apply grades 11-12 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-,
nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two
or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics”).
b. Apply grades 11-12 Reading standards to literary nonfiction(e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the
reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal
27
reasoning [e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court Case majority opinions and dissents] and the premises, purposes,
and arguments in works of public advocacy [e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses]”).
In the previous grade band, students were expected to investigate and evaluate relevant and
credible information from multiple authoritative sources in order to conduct research projects
that can be both short term and sustained.
Content Elaborations
Conducting Research to Build and Present Knowledge is essential for developing cogent writers who
employ critical thinking. Efficient writers activate prior knowledge and then engage in the process of
independent and shared inquiry and research to create new understandings and new knowledge for
specific purposes. They understand that research is a recursive process and persist through challenges
to gain a broader perspective about information during the inquiry process. Writers use appropriate
style manuals to follow a standard format for citation.
Strand Writing
Topic Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Enduring Understanding
Writing is a tool for thinking and problem solving. In order to create new understandings, activating
prior knowledge and engaging in the process of independent and shared inquiry are essential.
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Multigenre/Multimodal Project
This strategy incorporates poems, texts, newspaper articles, art, music, videos, etc., which encourage
students to avoid plagiarism through synthesizing multiple sources on a subject. Students create a selfsustaining generated question/problem to solve based on student investigation. (This idea may be
considered as a possible senior or capstone project.)
Evaluating Samples of Teacher-Provided Logical Fallacies
Evaluate the following for appropriate appeals in order to achieve purpose: logic, authority, emotion.
Use sample research papers, ads, political commercials and position papers. Students evaluate and use
multiple sources to assess the strengths and limitations of sources in terms of the task, purpose and
audience.
Multiple Print and Digital Sources
Students brainstorm a list of items that combine different ways of expressing ideas, such as poster, DVD
or a range of print, visual or sound texts. After the lists are shared, items are identified as texts (audio
texts, video texts, etc.). Students then create an inventory of significant texts that they have engaged
with over a specified period of time and discuss why it is important to interact with a variety of different
types of texts.
More information about this strategy can be found at
http://www.learner.org/workshops/middlewriting/p5_tr_transcript.html.
Diverse Learners
28
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Writing
Topic Range of Writing
Standard Statements
8. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter
time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. In the
previous grade band, students were expected to write routinely over extended time frames (time
for research, reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or day or two) for a
range of tasks, purposes and audiences.
Content Elaborations
Effective writers build skills by producing a Range of Writing. They learn to appreciate that a key
purpose of writing is to communicate clearly to an external, sometimes unfamiliar audience, and they
begin to adapt the form and content of their writing to accomplish a particular task and purpose. They
develop the capacity to build knowledge of a subject through research projects and to respond
analytically to literary and informational sources. To meet these goals, students must devote significant
time and effort to writing and producing numerous pieces over short and extended time frames
throughout the year.
Enduring Understanding
To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students need to learn to use writing as a way of
offering and supporting opinions, demonstrating understanding of the subjects they are studying, and
conveying real and imagined experiences and events.
Strand Writing
Topic Range of Writing
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Revision Conferences
Encourage revision for selected pieces of writing. Before revising, have students use a rubric to selfscore their own papers. Then, confer with students individually about their strengths, weaknesses and
plans for improvement. Have students highlight or underline their improvements when they submit the
revised version.
Quick Writes/Timed Writing
Students respond to focused prompts that center on key ideas for current task, purpose and audience.
Students can reflect as individuals or as a class on assignment. Use this strategy as a refocus opportunity
when entering the classroom. The National Writing Project & Carl Nagin. Because Writing Matters:
Improving Student Writing in Our Schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
This text offers several strategies, additional resources and research centered on teaching students how
to become more effective writers.
29
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Speaking and Listening
Topic Comprehension and Collaboration
Standard Statements
1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas
and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on
that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to
stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
b. Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and
deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.
c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence;
ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and
conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all
sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or
research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to initiate and participate effectively in a
range of collaborative discussions, integrate multiple sources of information presented in
diverse media and evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning and use of evidence and
rhetoric.
Content Elaborations
The speaking and listening strand requires an intense focus on Comprehension and Collaboration.
Effective speakers and critical listeners collaborate to establish procedures for collegial discussion and
decision making for the purpose of critically examining issues, evaluating opinions, arguing points,
making judgments, building understandings and persuading others by evidence and reasoning with a
particular focus on the synthesis of ideas.
Strand Speaking and Listening
Topic Comprehension and Collaboration
2. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance,
premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
30
Enduring Understanding
Strong listening and speaking skills are critical for learning, communicating and allowing better
understanding of the world. Applying these skills to collaboration amplifies each individual’s
contributions and leads to new and unique understandings and solutions.
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Research and Present
Using a major current event (e.g., BP Oil Spill), students evaluate multiple sources, speeches, reports and
documentaries covering the event to determine similarities and differences of the various
representations of biases from most to least objective. Extended: Using the continuum of bias, students
analyze two sources on the extreme end of the spectrum. Then, students create a biased piece from the
most unbiased piece and vice-versa. In an oral and written presentation, students present the products
and justifications.
Critical Thinking/Inquiry
How does a person remain objective in the face of overwhelming catastrophe? What must one consider
during this type of event? Who is at risk? Who is safe? How do we weigh cost vs. human/animal life?
Students can explore these questions and the importance of primary source information by reviewing
historical information about medicine at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC194789/.
Socratic Seminar
Students learn and participate in a Socratic Seminar based on texts they are reading. Students can be
assigned different sections of the writing and then alternate as discussion leaders. Information about a
Socratic Seminar can be found at
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/bestpractice/socratic/index.html.
For various activities that can be adapted and implemented into the English/Language Arts curriculum,
visit http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/listen.html.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Speaking and Listening
Topic Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard Statements
In the previous grade band, students were expected to present information, findings and
supporting evidence that convey a clear and distinct perspective, make strategic use of digital
media in presentations and adapt speech to a variety of context and tasks, demonstrating a
command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Content Elaborations
The Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas is a key component to the speaking and listening strand.
Strategic use of the elements of effective oral, visual and multimedia presentations and their effects
increases the potential to inform, entertain or persuade an audience. Effective
31
presentation considers alternative and opposing perspectives.
Enduring Understanding
Proficient speakers make deliberate choices regarding language, content and media to capture and
maintain the audience in order to convey their message.
Strand Speaking and Listening
Topic Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Dramatize
Students dramatize information from a scene in a non-fiction work or informational text conveying
appropriate tone/mood and videotape for presentation. Students present information to aid
understanding of material and creatively present to audience.
Digital Project
Students create a digital project to enhance understanding of their written findings/textual evidence.
Keep the requirements broad enough to encourage creativity and choice. For example, require students
to use one visual element, one audio element and one text element. Students can create a video with a
song playing in the background that includes excerpts from the text. Students can write a song using
excerpts from the text and sing it to the class.
For strategies to improve listening and speaking in the classroom, visit
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/esl/listening.cfm.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Language
Topic Conventions of Standard English
Standard Statements
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
a. Observe hyphenation conventions.
b. Spell correctly.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to demonstrate a command of the
conventions of standard English usage and grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling
when speaking and/or writing.
Content Elaborations
32
There are specific rules and Conventions of Standard English that language must follow. Writers and
speakers use their understanding of language to craft writing, communicate effectively and make
purposeful choices for function and rhetorical effects. The conventions are learned and applied within
the contexts of reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Enduring Understanding
Language is an essential tool for understanding our world. Effective written and oral communications
rely upon understanding and applying the rules of standard English. Success in the post-secondary
setting, as well as the workplace, requires effective communication.
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Adding Modifiers
Take a core sentence without any modifiers and increasingly make the sentence more specific. Have
students look at a range of five sentences and discuss which one provides the most specific information.
Student-Evaluation, Peer-Evaluation
Students examine individual writings/paragraphs to the bones. They analyze sentence structure, length,
punctuation and verb strength. This strategy allows students to pay attention to syntax and diction in
order to improve to mature writers. It also helps them make effective choices for meaning and style.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
Strand Language
Topic Knowledge of Language
Standard Statements
2. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or
listening.
a. Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g., Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed;
apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to apply knowledge of language to
understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning
or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Content Elaborations
Knowledge of Language allows for informed choices in the context of communication. Writers and
speakers use their knowledge of language to make meaning, develop style and appropriately edit for
clarity, interest and precision. Knowledge of language also is used to comprehend the nuances of
communication. Experienced writers and speakers use appropriate references to assist them in
producing effective communication.
Enduring Understanding
33
Language exists within the contexts of audience and purpose. Knowledge of language and skillful
application of conventions and craft enhance
expression and aid comprehension. Success in the post-secondary setting, as well as the workplace,
requires effective communication.
Strand Language
Topic Knowledge of Language
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Compelling Sentences
• Students select two to three consecutive and compelling sentences from a written work they are
studying in class.
• Students analyze the usage (diction, punctuation, grammar, etc.)
• Students craft similar sentences or change original sentences and discuss the effects of the changes
Dean, Nancy.
Discovering Voice: Lessons for Middle and High School. Gainesville: Maupin House Press, 2006.
The author of this text offers lessons on teaching and improving style and voice within student writing in
the secondary setting.
Dean, Nancy.
Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone.
Gainesville: Maupin House Press, 2000.
Voice Lessons is a text designed to offer strategies and reproducible activities for teaching voice and
improving style in student writing.
For strategies and techniques that can assist in teaching style and rhetoric, visit
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource_topic/style_and_rhetoric.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be
found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for Learning principles are available at
www.cast.org.
Strand Language
Topic Knowledge of Language
Standard Statements
3. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on
grades 11-12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function
in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of
speech (e.g., conceive, conception, conceivable).
34
c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both
print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part
of speech, its etymology, or its standard usage.
d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the
inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
4. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word
meanings.
a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text.
b. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
In the previous grade band, students were expected to determine or clarify the meaning of
unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grades 9-10 reading and content,
demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word
meanings, and acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate words or phrases.
Content Elaborations
Learning, as a language-based activity, is fundamentally and profoundly dependent on Vocabulary
Acquisition and Use. Knowing vocabulary goes beyond knowing a definition. Students acquire and use
vocabulary through exposure to language-rich situations and events. They demonstrate independence in
using an array of strategies including syntax, textual clues, word relationships and differences between
literal and figurative language to build vocabulary and enhance comprehension and communication.
Understanding the nuances of words and phrases allows students to use vocabulary purposefully and
precisely.
Strand Language
Topic Knowledge of Language
5. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for
reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate
independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.
Enduring Understanding
Words are powerful. Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental for learning, effective communication and
celebrating language. Success in the postsecondary setting, as well as the workplace, requires effective
communication.
Instructional Strategies and Resources
Figurative Language and Cartoons
Collect cartoons and comic strips that illustrate figurative language. Distribute these to students and
have them work in pairs or small groups to determine and interpret the reason for use of the figurative
language example illustrated in each cartoon. Then have them draw their own examples.
Skits and New Vocabulary
Students work with a partner or in groups to create skits that illustrate new vocabulary words or figures
of speech. Putting the words in action makes them concrete; students are more likely to remember both
the words and their meaning.
35
Strand Language
Topic Knowledge of Language
Four Corners
Using a multiple-meaning word (homonym, homograph, homophone) or an unknown word (such as
predilection in the sentence “This predilection for minding other people’s business was time-honored
among the people of Salem, and it undoubtedly created many of the suspicions which were to feed the
coming madness.” Arthur Miller’s The Crucible), students complete the following activity. Each student
or group receives a different word. Before coming across the unfamiliar word in their reading, students
should write the vocabulary word in the center of a note card.
• In the upper left-hand corner, they take a guess at its definition.
• In the upper-right hand corner, they write a definition of the word after reading it in context.
• In the bottom left-hand corner, they write the correct definition of the word after looking it up.
• Finally, in the bottom right-hand corner, they write other forms of the word using its root or suffix or
prefix.
Critical Thinking and Inquiry: Using the note cards discussed above, conduct a review by choosing one
card out of those collected and reading the word. Have students attempt to define the word. This
graphic organizer and the continued practice/review would lead to mastery of the group of words.
Assign differentiated ability groups for filling out the note cards, grouping high and low students
together. Harmon, Janice M., Karen D. Wood, and Wanda B. Hedrick.
Instructional Strategies for Teaching Content Vocabulary. Westerville: National Middle School
Association, 2006. This text offers seven chapters that document 42 instructional strategies that can be
implemented in grades 4- 12 to help students comprehend the intended meanings of words. For various
instructional tools and tips to assist in building vocabulary, visit
http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/GO/vocab_dev.htm.
Diverse Learners
Strategies for meeting the needs of all learners including gifted students, English Language Learners
(ELL) and students with disabilities can be found at this site. Resources based on the Universal Design for
Learning principles are available at www.cast.org.
36
ACT College Readiness Standards
College Readiness Standards
English
Topic Development in Terms of
Purpose and Focus
Organization, Unity, and Coherence
13–15
Word Choice in Terms of Style, Tone,
Clarity, and Economy
Use conjunctive adverbs or phrases to
show time relationships in simple
narrative essays (e.g., then, this time)
Revise sentences to correct awkward
and confusing arrangements of
sentence elements Revise vague nouns
and pronouns that create obvious logic
problems
16–19
Identify the basic purpose or role of a
specified phrase or sentence Delete a
clause or sentence because it is obviously
irrelevant to the essay
Select the most logical place to add a
sentence in a paragraph
Delete obviously synonymous and
wordy material in a sentence Revise
expressions that deviate from the style
of an essay
20–23
Identify the central idea or main topic of a
straightforward piece of writing Determine
relevancy when presented with a variety of
sentence-level details
Use conjunctive adverbs or phrases to
express straightforward logical
relationships (e.g., first, afterward, in
response) Decide the most logical place
to add a sentence in an essay Add a
sentence that introduces a simple
paragraph
Delete redundant material when
information is repeated in different parts
of speech (e.g., “alarmingly startled”)
Use the word or phrase most consistent
with the style and tone of a fairly
straightforward essay Determine the
clearest and most logical conjunction to
link clauses
24–27
Identify the focus of a simple essay,
applying that knowledge to add a sentence
that sharpens that focus or to determine if
an essay has met a specified goal Delete
material primarily because it disturbs the
flow and development of the paragraph
Add a sentence to accomplish a fairly
straightforward purpose such as illustrating
a given statement
Determine the need for conjunctive
adverbs or phrases to create subtle
logical connections between sentences
(e.g., therefore, however, in addition)
Rearrange the sentences in a fairly
uncomplicated paragraph for the sake of
logic Add a sentence to introduce or
conclude the essay or to provide a
transition between paragraphs when the
essay is fairly straightforward
Revise a phrase that is redundant in
terms of the meaning and logic of the
entire sentence Identify and correct
ambiguous pronoun references Use the
word or phrase most appropriate in
terms of the content of the sentence
and tone of the essay
28–32*
Apply an awareness of the focus and
purpose of a fairly involved essay to
determine the rhetorical effect and
suitability of an existing phrase or
sentence, or to determine the need to
delete plausible but irrelevant material Add
a sentence to accomplish a subtle
rhetorical purpose such as to emphasize,
to add supporting detail, or to express
meaning through connotation
Make sophisticated distinctions
concerning the logical use of conjunctive
adverbs or phrases, particularly when
signaling a shift between paragraphs
Rearrange sentences to improve the
logic and coherence of a complex
paragraph Add a sentence to introduce
or conclude a fairly complex paragraph
Correct redundant material that involves
sophisticated vocabulary and sounds
acceptable as conversational English
(e.g., “an aesthetic viewpoint” versus
“the outlook of an aesthetic viewpoint”)
Correct vague and wordy or clumsy and
confusing writing containing
sophisticated language
33–36†
Determine whether a complex essay has
accomplished a specific purpose Add a
phrase or sentence to accomplish a
complex purpose, often expressed in
terms of the main focus of the essay
Consider the need for introductory
sentences or transitions, basing
decisions on a thorough understanding
of both the logic and rhetorical effect of
the paragraph and essay
Delete redundant material that involves
subtle concepts or that is redundant in
terms of the paragraph as a whole
*Statements apply to PLAN & ACT only
† Statements apply to the ACT only
37
College Readiness
Standards
13–15
Sentence Structure and
Formation
Use conjunctions or punctuation to
join simple clauses Revise shifts in
verb tense between simple clauses
in a sentence or between simple
adjoining sentences
English (continued)
Conventions of Usage
Conventions of Punctuation
Solve such basic grammatical problems as
how to form the past and past participle of
irregular but commonly used verbs and how
to form comparative and superlative
adjectives
Delete commas that create basic sense
problems (e.g., between verb and direct
object)
16–19
Determine the need for
punctuation and conjunctions to
avoid awkward-sounding sentence
fragments and fused sentences
Decide the appropriate verb tense
and voice by considering the
meaning of the entire sentence
Solve such grammatical problems as
whether to use an adverb or adjective form,
how to ensure straightforward subject-verb
and pronoun-antecedent agreement, and
which preposition to use in simple contexts
Recognize and use the appropriate word in
frequently confused pairs such as there and
their, past and passed, and led and lead
Provide appropriate punctuation in
straightforward situations (e.g., items in a
series) Delete commas that disturb the
sentence flow (e.g., between modifier and
modified element)
20–23
Recognize and correct marked
disturbances of sentence flow and
structure (e.g., participial phrase
fragments, missing or incorrect
relative pronouns, dangling or
misplaced modifiers)
Use idiomatically appropriate prepositions,
especially in combination with verbs (e.g.,
long for, appeal to) Ensure that a verb
agrees with its subject when there is some
text between the two
Use commas to set off simple parenthetical
phrases Delete unnecessary commas when
an incorrect reading of the sentence
suggests a pause that should be punctuated
(e.g., between verb and direct object
clause)
24–27
Revise to avoid faulty placement of
phrases and faulty coordination
and subordination of clauses in
sentences with subtle structural
problems Maintain consistent verb
tense and pronoun person on the
basis of the preceding clause or
sentence
Ensure that a pronoun agrees with its
antecedent when the two occur in separate
clauses or sentences Identify the correct
past and past participle forms of irregular
and infrequently used verbs and form
present-perfect verbs by using have rather
than of
Use punctuation to set off complex
parenthetical phrases Recognize and delete
unnecessary commas based on a careful
reading of a complicated sentence (e.g.,
between the elements of a compound
subject or compound verb joined by and)
Use apostrophes to indicate simple
possessive nouns Recognize inappropriate
uses of colons and semicolons
28–32*
Use sentence-combining
techniques, effectively avoiding
problematic comma splices, run-on
sentences, and sentence
fragments, especially in sentences
containing compound subjects or
verbs Maintain a consistent and
logical use of verb tense and
pronoun person on the basis of
information in the paragraph or
essay as a whole
Correctly use reflexive pronouns, the
possessive pronouns its and your, and the
relative pronouns who and whom Ensure
that a verb agrees with its subject in
unusual situations (e.g., when the subjectverb order is inverted or when the subject is
an indefinite pronoun)
Use commas to set off a
nonessential/nonrestrictive appositive or
clause Deal with multiple punctuation
problems (e.g., compound sentences
containing unnecessary commas and
phrases that may or may not be
parenthetical) Use an apostrophe to show
possession, especially with irregular plural
nouns
33–36†
Work comfortably with long
sentences and complex clausal
relationships within sentences,
avoiding weak conjunctions
between independent clauses and
maintaining parallel structure
between clauses
Provide idiomatically and contextually
appropriate prepositions following verbs in
situations involving sophisticated language
or ideas Ensure that a verb agrees with its
subject when a phrase or clause between
the two suggests a different number for the
verb
Use a semicolon to indicate a relationship
between closely related independent
clauses
Use a colon to introduce an example or an
elaboration
*Statements apply to PLAN & ACT only
† Statements apply to the ACT only
38
College Readiness Standards Reading
Main Ideas and Author's Approach
Supporting Details
13–15
Recognize a clear intent of an author or narrator in
uncomplicated literary narratives
Locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates, events) clearly stated in a
passage
16–19
Identify a clear main idea or purpose of
straightforward paragraphs in uncomplicated literary
narratives
Locate simple details at the sentence and paragraph level in
uncomplicated passages Recognize a clear function of a part of an
uncomplicated passage
20–23
Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward
paragraphs in uncomplicated literary narratives
Understand the overall approach taken by an author
or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidence
used) in uncomplicated passages
Locate important details in uncomplicated passages Make simple
inferences about how details are used in passages
24–27
Identify a clear main idea or purpose of any
paragraph or paragraphs in uncomplicated
passages Infer the main idea or purpose of
straightforward paragraphs in more challenging
passages Summarize basic events and ideas in
more challenging passages Understand the overall
approach taken by an author or narrator (e.g., point
of view, kinds of evidence used) in more challenging
passages
Locate important details in more challenging passages Locate and
interpret minor or subtly stated details in uncomplicated passages
Discern which details, though they may appear in different sections
throughout a passage, support important points in more challenging
passages
28–32*
Infer the main idea or purpose of more challenging
passages or their paragraphs Summarize events
and ideas in virtually any passage Understand the
overall approach taken by an author or narrator
(e.g., point of view, kinds of evidence used) in
virtually any passage
Locate and interpret minor or subtly stated details in more
challenging passages Use details from different sections of some
complex informational passages to support a specific point or
argument
33–36†
Identify clear main ideas or purposes of complex
passages or their paragraphs
Locate and interpret details in complex passages Understand the
function of a part of a passage when the function is subtle or
complex
*Statements apply to PLAN & ACT only
† Statements apply to the ACT only
Descriptions of the EPAS (EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT) Reading Passages
Uncomplicated Literary Narratives refers to
excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels
that tend to use simple language and structure,
have a clear purpose and a familiar style,
present
straightforward interactions between characters,
and employ only a limited number of literary
devices such as metaphor, simile, or hyperbole
More Challenging Literary Narratives
refers to excerpts from essays, short stories,
and novels that tend to make moderate use
of figurative language, have a more intricate
structure and messages conveyed with some
subtlety, and may feature somewhat complex
interactions between characters
Complex Literary Narratives refers to excerpts from
essays, short stories, and novels that tend to make generous use of ambiguous language and literary devices,
feature complex and subtle interactions between
characters, often contain challenging context-dependent
vocabulary, and typically contain messages and/or
meanings that are not explicit but are embedded in the
passage.
39
College Readiness Standards Reading (continued)
Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect
Relationships
Meanings of Words
Generalizations and Conclusions
13–15
Determine when (e.g., first, last, before, after) or if
an event occurred in uncomplicated passages
Recognize clear cause-effect relationships
described within a single sentence in a passage
Understand the implication of a familiar
word or phrase and of simple
descriptive language
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about the main characters in
uncomplicated literary narratives
16–19
Identify relationships between main characters in
uncomplicated literary narratives Recognize clear
cause-effect relationships within a single
paragraph in uncomplicated literary narratives
Use context to understand basic
figurative language
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about people, ideas, and so
on in uncomplicated passages
20–23
Order simple sequences of events in
uncomplicated literary narratives Identify clear
relationships between people, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages Identify clear causeeffect relationships in uncomplicated passages
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of some
figurative and nonfigurative words,
phrases, and statements in
uncomplicated passages
24–27
Order sequences of events in uncomplicated
passages Understand relationships between
people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated
passages Identify clear relationships between
characters, ideas, and so on in more challenging
literary narratives Understand implied or subtly
stated cause-effect relationships in uncomplicated
passages Identify clear cause-effect relationships
in more challenging passages
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of virtually any
word, phrase, or statement in
uncomplicated passages Use context
to determine the appropriate meaning
of some figurative and nonfigurative
words, phrases, and statements in
more challenging passages
Draw generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages Draw simple
generalizations and conclusions using
details that support the main points of
more challenging passages
Draw subtle generalizations and
conclusions about characters, ideas, and
so on in uncomplicated literary narratives
Draw generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in more
challenging passages
28–32*
Order sequences of events in more challenging
passages Understand the dynamics between
people, ideas, and so on in more challenging
passages Understand implied or subtly stated
cause-effect relationships in more challenging
passages
Determine the appropriate meaning of
words, phrases, or statements from
figurative or somewhat technical
contexts
Use information from one or more sections
of a more challenging passage to draw
generalizations and conclusions about
people, ideas, and so on
33–36†
Order sequences of events in complex passages
Understand the subtleties in relationships between
people, ideas, and so on in virtually any passage
Understand implied, subtle, or complex causeeffect relationships in virtually any passage
Determine, even when the language is
richly figurative and the vocabulary is
difficult, the appropriate meaning of
context-dependent words, phrases, or
statements in virtually any passage
Draw complex or subtle generalizations
and conclusions about people, ideas, and
so on, often by synthesizing information
from different portions of the passage
Understand and generalize about portions
of a complex literary narrative
*Statements apply to PLAN & ACT only
† Statements apply to the ACT only
Uncomplicated Informational Passages
refers to materials that tend to contain a limited
amount of data, address basic concepts using
familiar language and conventional organizational
patterns, have a clear purpose, and are
written to be accessible.
More Challenging Informational Passages refers
to materials that tend to present concepts that are not
always stated explicitly and that are accompanied or
illustrated by more—and more detailed—supporting
data, include some difficult context-dependent words,
and are written in a somewhat more demanding and
less accessible style.
Complex Informational Passages refers to materials that tend to include a sizable amount of data,
present difficult concepts that are embedded (not
explicit) in the text, use demanding words and
phrases whose meaning must be determined from
context, and are likely to include intricate
explanations
of processes or events.
40
College Readiness Standards ACT Assessment Writing Test
Expressing Judgments
Focusing on the Topic
Developing a Position
3–4
Show a little understanding of the persuasive
purpose of the task but neglect to take or to
maintain a position on the issue in the prompt
Show limited recognition of the complexity of
the issue in the prompt
Maintain a focus on the general
topic in the prompt through most
of the essay
5–6
Show a basic understanding of the
persuasive purpose of the task by taking a
position on the issue in the prompt but may
not maintain that position Show a little
recognition of the complexity of the issue in
the prompt by acknowledging, but only briefly
describing, a counterargument to the writer’s
position
Maintain a focus on the general
topic in the prompt throughout
the essay
Offer a little development, with one or two
ideas; if examples are given, they are
general and may not be clearly relevant;
resort often to merely repeating ideas Show
little or no movement between general and
specific ideas and examples
Offer limited development of ideas using a
few general examples; resort sometimes to
merely repeating ideas Show little movement
between general and specific ideas and
examples
7–8
Show understanding of the persuasive
purpose of the task by taking a position on
the issue in the prompt Show some
recognition of the complexity of the issue in
the prompt by • acknowledging
counterarguments to the writer’s position •
providing some response to counterarguments to the writer’s position
Maintain a focus on the general
topic in the prompt throughout
the essay and attempt a focus
on the specific issue in the
prompt Present a thesis that
establishes focus on the topic
Develop ideas by using some specific
reasons, details, and examples Show some
movement between general and specific
ideas and examples
9–10
Show clear understanding of the persuasive
purpose of the task by taking a position on
the specific issue in the prompt and offering a
broad context for discussion Show
recognition of the complexity of the issue in
the prompt by • partially evaluating
implications and/or complications of the issue,
and/or • posing and partially responding to
counter-arguments to the writer’s position
Maintain a focus on discussion
of the specific topic and issue in
the prompt throughout the essay
Present a thesis that establishes
a focus on the writer’s position
on the issue
Develop most ideas fully, using some
specific and relevant reasons, details, and
examples Show clear movement between
general and specific ideas and examples
11–12
Show clear understanding of the persuasive
purpose of the task by taking a position on
the specific issue in the prompt and offering a
critical context for discussion Show
understanding of the complexity of the issue
in the prompt by • examining different
perspectives, and/or • evaluating implications
or complications of the issue, and/or • posing
and fully discussing counter-arguments to the
writer’s position
Maintain a clear focus on
discussion of the specific topic
and issue in the prompt
throughout the essay Present a
critical thesis that clearly
establishes the focus on the
writer’s position on the issue
Develop several ideas fully, using specific
and relevant reasons, details, and examples
Show effective movement between general
and specific ideas and examples
41
College Readiness Standards
Organizing Ideas
ACT Writing Test (continued)
Using Language
3–4
Provide a discernible organization with
some logical grouping of ideas in parts of
the essay Use a few simple and obvious
transitions Present a discernible, though
minimally developed, introduction and
conclusion
Show limited control of language by • correctly
employing some of the conventions of standard
English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with
distracting errors that sometimes significantly impede
understanding • using simple vocabulary • using simple
sentence structure
5–6
Provide a simple organization with logical
grouping of ideas in parts of the essay Use
some simple and obvious transitional
words, though they may at times be
inappropriate or misleading Present a
discernible, though underdeveloped,
introduction and conclusion
Show a basic control of language by • correctly
employing some of the conventions of standard
English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but with
distracting errors that sometimes impede
understanding • using simple but appropriate
vocabulary • using a little sentence variety, though
most sentences are simple in structure
7–8
Provide an adequate but simple
organization with logical grouping of ideas
in parts of the essay but with little evidence
of logical progression of ideas Use some
simple and obvious, but appropriate,
transitional words and phrases Present a
discernible introduction and conclusion with
a little development
Show adequate use of language to communicate by •
correctly employing many of the conventions of
standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, but
with some distracting errors that may occasionally
impede understanding • using appropriate vocabulary •
using some varied kinds of sentence structures to vary
pace
9–10
Provide unity and coherence throughout
the essay, sometimes with a logical
progression of ideas Use relevant, though
at times simple and obvious, transitional
words and phrases to convey logical
relationships between ideas Present a
somewhat developed introduction and
conclusion
Show competent use of language to communicate
ideas by • correctly employing most conventions of
standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics,
with a few distracting errors but none that impede
understanding • using some precise and varied
vocabulary • using several kinds of sentence structures
to vary pace and to support meaning
11–12
Provide unity and coherence throughout
the essay, often with a logical progression
of ideas Use relevant transitional words,
phrases, and sentences to convey logical
relationships between ideas Present a welldeveloped introduction and conclusion
Show effective use of language to clearly
communicate ideas by • correctly employing most
conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and
mechanics, with just a few, if any, errors • using
precise and varied vocabulary • using a variety of kinds
of sentence structures to vary pace and to support
meaning
42
Technology Standards
Standard 1: Nature of Technology
Students develop an understanding of technology, its characteristics, scope, core concepts*
and relationships between technologies and other fields.
Benchmark A: Synthesize information, evaluate and make decisions about technologies.
Benchmark B: Apply technological knowledge in decision-making.
Benchmark C: Examine the synergy between and among technologies and other fields of study
when solving technological problems.
Standard 2: Technology and Society Interaction
Students recognize interactions among society, the environment and technology, and
understand technology's relationship with history. Consideration of these concepts forms a
foundation for engaging in responsible and ethical use of technology.
Benchmark A: Interpret and practice responsible citizenship relative to technology.
Benchmark B: Demonstrate the relationship among people, technology and the environment.
Benchmark C: Interpret and evaluate the influence of technology throughout history, and predict
its impact on the future.
Benchmark D: Analyze ethical and legal technology issues and formulate solutions and
strategies that foster responsible technology usage.
Benchmark E: Forecast the impact of technological products and systems.
Standard 3: Technology for Productivity Applications
Students learn the operations of technology through the usage of technology and
productivity tools.
Benchmark A: Integrate conceptual knowledge of technology systems in determining practical
applications for learning and technical problem-solving.
Benchmark B: Identify, select and apply appropriate technology tools and resources to produce
creative works and to construct technology-enhanced models.
43
Standard 4: Technology and Communication Applications
Students use an array of technologies and apply design concepts to communicate with
multiple audiences, acquire and disseminate information and enhance learning.
Benchmark A: Apply appropriate communication design principles in published and presented
projects.
Benchmark B: Create, publish and present information, utilizing formats appropriate to the
content and audience.
Benchmark C: Identify communication needs, select appropriate communication tools and
design collaborative interactive projects and activities to communicate with others, incorporating
emerging technologies.
Standard 5: Technology and Information Literacy
Students engage in information literacy strategies, use the Internet, technology tools and
resources, and apply information-management skills to answer questions and expand
knowledge.
Benchmark A: Determine and apply an evaluative process to all information sources chosen for
a project.
Benchmark B: Apply a research process model to conduct research and meet information needs.
Benchmark C: Formulate advanced search strategies, demonstrating an understanding of the
strengths and limitations of the Internet, and evaluate the quality and appropriate use of Internet
resources.
Benchmark D: Evaluate choices of electronic resources and determine their strengths and
limitations.
Standard 6: Design
Students apply a number of problem-solving strategies demonstrating the nature of design,
the role of engineering and the role of assessment.
Benchmark A: Identify and produce a product or system using a design process, evaluate the
final solution and communicate the findings.
Benchmark B: Recognize the role of teamwork in engineering design and of prototyping in the
design process.
Benchmark C: Understand and apply research, development and experimentation to problemsolving.
44
Standard 7: Designed World
Students understand how the physical, informational and bio-related technological systems
of the designed world are brought about by the design process. Critical to this will be
students' understanding of their role in the designed world: its processes, products,
standards, services, history, future, issues and career connections.
Benchmark A: Classify, demonstrate, examine, and appraise energy and power technologies.
Benchmark B: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise transportation technologies.
Benchmark C: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise manufacturing technologies.
Benchmark D: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise construction technologies.
Benchmark E: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise information and communication
technologies
Benchmark F: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise medical technologies.
Benchmark G: Classify, demonstrate, examine and appraise agricultural and related
biotechnologies.
45
Performance Measures/Student
Assessment/Instructional Strategies
Assessments/Evaluations
 Observations
 Demonstrations
 Portfolios
 Standardized Tests
 Class Assignment
 Quizzes/Tests/Exams
 Web Exam/Certification
Instructional Strategies
 Teacher-Directed & Student-Centered Activities
 Case Study Problem Solving
 Cooperative Learning
 Project-Based Learning
 Career-Based Learning (Internships/Shadowing/Placement)
 Community-Based Learning (CTSOs and Other)
 Exploratory Learning
 Independent Research
 Team Teaching
Content Specific Strategies
46