Standard 1: Listening and Speaking

Students will listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.

Listening
Students will develop and apply effective

communication skills through active listening.

Speaking
Students will develop and apply effective

communication skills to share ideas through speaking.

12.1.L.1

Students will actively listen using agreed-upon discussion rules with control of verbal and nonverbal cues.

12.1.S.1

Students will work effectively and respectfully in diverse groups by showing willingness to make necessary compromises to accomplish a goal, sharing responsibility for collaborative work, and recognizing individual contributions

12.1.L.2

Students will actively listen in order to analyze and evaluate speakers’ verbal and nonverbal messages by asking questions to clarify purpose and perspective.

12.1.S.2

Students will follow agreed-upon rules as they engage in collaborative discussions about what they are reading and writing, expressing their own ideas clearly, building on the ideas of others, and respectfully disagreeing when necessary in pairs, diverse groups, and whole-class settings.

12.1.S.3

Students will conduct formal and informal presentations in a variety of contexts supporting their message with evidence and using verbal and nonverbal cues.

Standard 2: Reading and Writing Process

Students will use a variety of recursive reading and writing processes.

12.2.R.1

Students will summarize the main ideas and paraphrase significant parts of increasingly complex texts.

12.2.W.1

Students will routinely and recursively prewrite (e.g., develop and organize ideas).

12.2.R.2

Students will identify characteristics of genres and analyze how they enhance comprehension of fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction.

12.2.W.2

Students will routinely and recursively develop drafts, applying organizational structure(s) (e.g., description, compare/contrast, sequential, problem/solution, cause/effect, etc.).

12.2.W.3

Students will routinely and recursively revise drafts for organization, transitions, sentence variety, and consistent tone and point of view in order to improve coherence and meaning.

12.2.W.4

Students will routinely and recursively use resources to edit for grammar, usage, mechanics, and format in order to finalize drafts for publication.

12.2.W.5

Students will routinely and recursively publish final drafts for an authentic audience (e.g., publishing digitally, community and professional audiences, newspapers and magazines, entering contests).

Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing

Students will apply critical thinking skills to reading and writing.

12.3.R.1

Students will analyze the extent to which historical, cultural, and/or global perspectives affect authors’ stylistic choices in grade-level literary and informational texts. 

12.3.W.1

Students will compose narratives reflecting real or imagined experiences that:

● include engaging plots involving well-developed, complex characters resolving conflicts

● establish narrator(s) that enhance(s) the narrative

● are intentionally sequenced in a way to achieve a specific effect (e.g., create suspense, establish mood, reflect theme)

● provide clear descriptions, using precise language, sensory details, and dialogue

● include varied syntax to enhance readability

● emulate literary elements and/or literary devices from mentor texts

12.3.R.2

Students will evaluate authors’ perspectives and explain how those perspectives contribute to the meanings of texts.

12.3.R.3

Students will evaluate how literary elements impact theme, mood, and/or tone, using textual evidence:

● setting

● plot structure (e.g., foreshadowing, flashback, in media res)

● conflict (i.e., internal, external)

● characters (e.g., protagonist, antagonist)

● characterization (i.e., direct, indirect)

● point of view (e.g., narrator reliability)

● archetypes

12.3.W.2

Students will compose informative essays, reports, or technical writing that:

● objectively introduce and develop topics

● include a defensible thesis

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, details, charts and graphs, data)

● maintain an organized structure

● use sentence variety and word choice to create clarity and concision

● establish and maintain a formal style

● emulate literary devices from mentor texts

12.3.R.4

Students will evaluate how literary devices impact theme, mood, and/or tone, using textual evidence:

● figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, imagery, symbolism)

● sound devices (i.e., onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance)

● irony (i.e., verbal, situational, dramatic)

12.3.W.3

Students will compose argumentative essays, reviews, or op-eds that:

● introduce precise, informed claims

● include a defensible thesis

● acknowledge counterclaims or alternate perspectives

● organize claims, counterclaims, and evidence in a logical sequence

● provide the most relevant evidence to develop balanced arguments, using credible sources

● use sentence variety and word choice to create clarity and concision

● use style and tone that suits the audience and purpose

12.3.R.5

Students will evaluate how authors writing on the same issue reached different conclusions because of differences in assumptions, evidence, reasoning, and viewpoints, including examining rhetorical appeals, bias, and use of logical fallacies.

12.3.R.6

Students will analyze how informational text structures support the author’s purpose.

12.3.R.7

Students will evaluate how two or more texts address similar themes or topics, using textual evidence to support their claims and inferences.

Standard 4: Vocabulary

Students will expand and apply their spoken and reading vocabularies to speak, read, and write effectively.

Reading
Students will expand their grade-level vocabularies

through reading, word study, and class discussion.

12.4.R.1

Students will analyze the relationships among synonyms, antonyms, and analogies.

12.4.W.1

Students will use precise, grade-level vocabulary in writing to clearly communicate complex ideas.

12.4.R.2

Students will use context clues, connotation, and denotation to determine or clarify the meaning of words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words.

12.4.W.2

Students will select language to create a specific effect in writing according to purpose and audience.

12.4.R.3

Students will use word parts (e.g., affixes, Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin roots, stems) to define and determine the meaning of increasingly complex words.

12.4.R.4

Students will use resources (e.g., dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, etc.) to determine or clarify the meanings, syllabication, pronunciation, synonyms, parts of speech, and etymology of words or phrases.

Standard 5: Language

Students will expand and apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, and style to comprehend texts and
communicate effectively.

12.5.R.1

Students will apply their knowledge of syntax (e.g., parallel structure, active and passive voice, and phrases/clauses) to analyze and evaluate a variety of texts, understanding that usage and convention change over time.

12.5.W.1

Students will add clarity, variety, and/or style to their writing and presentations with parts of speech and various types of phrases and clauses, intentionally breaking the rules for effect when appropriate.

12.5.R.2

Students will recognize noun, verb, adjectival, and adverbial phrases and explain their effect in particular sentences.

12.5.W.2

Students will demonstrate command of Standard American English (i.e., grammar, mechanics, and usage) in writing, presentations, and/or multimodal literacies to convey specific meanings and ideas, intentionally departing from standard usage to achieve a specific effect.

12.5.W.3

Students will write using correct capitalization mechanics.

     Grade of Mastery: 4

12.5.W.4

Students will write using correct end mark mechanics.

      Grade of Mastery: 4

12.5.W.5

Students will write using correct apostrophe mechanics.

      Grade of Mastery: 5

12.5.W.6

Students will write using correct comma mechanics.

      Grade of Mastery: 9

12.5.W.7

Students will use a colon or dash to reveal information in a sentence. 

12.5.W.8

Students will use an ellipsis to indicate omission from quoted material and brackets to indicate an addition or clarification to quoted material. 

12.5.W.9

Students will write using correct italics mechanics.

      Grade of Mastery: 8

12.5.W.10

Students will write using correct semicolon mechanics.

      Grade of Mastery: 8

Standard 6: Research

Students will engage in inquiry to acquire, refine, and communicate accurate information.

12.6.R.1

Students will find and comprehend information about a topic, using their own viable research questions.

12.6.W.1

Students will formulate and refine a viable research question.

12.6.R.2

Students will synthesize relevant information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, following ethical and legal citation guidelines.

12.6.W.2

Students will develop a clear, concise, defensible thesis statement.

12.6.R.3

Students will evaluate the relevance, reliability, and validity of the information gathered.

12.6.W.3

Students will integrate quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from research, following a consistent citation style (e.g., MLA, APA) to avoid plagiarism.

12.6.W.4

Students will present research in longer formats (e.g., sustained research projects, process essays) and shorter, informal formats (e.g., single-day research projects, informal discussion) to a variety of audiences.

Standard 7: Multimodal Literacies

Students will comprehend and communicate knowledge through alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, and/or gestural
content.

12.7.R

Students will analyze and evaluate the techniques used in a variety of multimodal content and how they contribute to meaning. 

12.7.W

Students will create engaging multimodal content that intentionally enhances understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence for diverse audiences.

Standard 8: Independent Reading and Writing

Students will read and write independently for a variety of purposes and periods of time.

12.8.R

Students will select texts for specific purposes and read independently for extended periods of time.

12.8.W

Students will write independently using print, cursive, and/or typing for various lengths of time, intentionally selecting and combining modes and genres to suit their audiences and purposes.