1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
1.1 Identify idioms,
analogies, metaphors, and similes in prose and poetry.
1.2 Use knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to
understand content-area vocabulary.
1.3 Clarify word meanings through the use of definition, example, restatement,
or contrast.
2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials)
2.1 Understand and analyze the
differences in structure and purpose between various categories of
informational materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, instructional manuals,
signs).
2.2 Locate information by using a variety of consumer, workplace, and public
documents.
2.3 Analyze text that uses the cause-and-effect organizational pattern.
2.4 Identify and trace the development of an author's argument, point of view,
or perspective in text.
2.5 Understand and explain the use of a simple mechanical device by following
technical directions.
2.6 Assess the adequacy,
accuracy, and appropriateness of the author's evidence to support claims and
assertions, noting instances of bias and stereotyping.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
3.1 Articulate the expressed
purposes and characteristics of different forms of prose (e.g., short story,
novel, novella, essay).
3.2 Identify events that
advance the plot and determine how each event explains past or present
action(s) or foreshadows future action(s).
3.3 Analyze characterization as delineated through a character's thoughts,
words, speech patterns, and actions; the narrator's description; and the
thoughts, words, and actions of other characters.
3.4 Identify and analyze recurring themes across works (e.g., the value of
bravery, loyalty, and friendship; the effects of loneliness).
3.5 Contrast points of view (e.g., first and third person, limited and
omniscient, subjective and objective) in narrative text and explain how they
affect the overall theme of the work.
3.6 Analyze a range of responses
to a literary work and determine the extent to which the literary elements in
the work shaped those responses.
Writing
1.0 Writing Strategies
1.1 Create an organizational
structure that balances all aspects of the composition and uses effective
transitions between sentences to unify important ideas.
1.2 Support all statements and claims with anecdotes, descriptions, facts and
statistics, and specific examples.
1.3 Use strategies of note taking, outlining, and summarizing to impose
structure on composition drafts.
1.4 Identify topics; ask and
evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation, and
research.
1.5 Give credit for both quoted and paraphrased information in a bibliography
by using a consistent and sanctioned format and methodology for citations.
1.6 Create documents by using word-processing skills and publishing programs;
develop simple databases and spreadsheets to manage information and prepare
reports.
1.7 Revise writing to improve
organization and word choice after checking the logic of the ideas and the
precision of the vocabulary.
2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
2.1 Write fictional or
autobiographical narratives:
Develop a standard plot line (having a beginning,
conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement) and point of view.
Develop complex major and minor characters and a
definite setting.
Use a range of appropriate strategies (e.g., dialogue;
suspense; naming of specific narrative action, including movement, gestures,
and expressions).
2.2 Write responses to
literature:
a. Develop interpretations exhibiting careful reading, understanding, and
insight.
b. Organize interpretations around several clear ideas, premises, or images
from the literary work.
c. Justify interpretations through sustained use of examples and textual
evidence.
2.3 Write research reports:
a. Pose relevant and tightly drawn questions about the topic.
b. Convey clear and accurate perspectives on the subject.
c. Include evidence compiled through the formal research process (e.g., use of
a card catalog, Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, a computer
catalog, magazines, newspapers, dictionaries).
d. Document reference sources by means of footnotes and a bibliography.
2.4 Write persuasive compositions:
a. State a clear position or perspective in support of a proposition or
proposal.
b. Describe the points in support of the proposition, employing
well-articulated evidence.
c. Anticipate and address reader concerns and counterarguments.