Standards
1.0 Writing Strategies
Students write coherent and focused texts that convey a well-defined perspective and tightly reasoned argument. The writing demonstrates students' awareness of the audience and purpose and progression through the stages of the writing process.
Organization and Focus
1.3 Structure ideas and arguments in a sustained, persuasive, and sophisticated way and support them with precise and relevant examples.
Research and Technology
1.6 Develop presentations by using clear research questions and creative and critical research strategies (e.g., field studies, oral histories, interviews, experiments, electronic sources).
2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students combine the rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and description to produce texts of at least 1,500 words each. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the research, organizational, and drafting strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.
2.2 Write responses to literature:
a. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas in works or passages.
b. Analyze the use of imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text.
c. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text and to other works.
d. Demonstrate an understanding of the author's use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created.
e. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text.
2.3 Write reflective compositions:
a. Explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, or concerns by using rhetorical strategies (e.g., narration, description, exposition, persuasion).
b. Draw comparisons between specific incidents and broader themes that illustrate the writer's important beliefs or generalizations about life.
c. Maintain a balance in describing individual incidents and relate those incidents to more general and abstract ideas.
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
The standards for written and oral English language conventions have been placed between those for writing and for listening and speaking because these conventions are essential to both sets of skills.
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Students write and speak with a command of standard English conventions.
1.1 Demonstrate control of grammar, diction, and paragraph and sentence structure and an understanding of English usage.
1.2 Produce legible work that shows accurate spelling and correct punctuation and capitalization.
1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
Students formulate adroit judgments about oral communication. They deliver focused and coherent presentations that convey clear and distinct perspectives and demonstrate solid reasoning. They use gestures, tone, and vocabulary tailored to the audience and purpose.
Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
1.4 Use rhetorical questions, parallel structure, concrete images, figurative language, characterization, irony, and dialogue to achieve clarity, force, and aesthetic effect.
1.6 Use logical, ethical, and emotional appeals that enhance a specific tone and purpose.
1.7 Use appropriate rehearsal strategies to pay attention to performance details, achieve command of the text, and create skillful artistic staging.
1.8 Use effective and interesting language, including:
a. Informal expressions for effect
b. Standard American English for clarity
c. Technical language for specificity
1.10 Evaluate when to use different kinds of effects (e.g., visual, music, sound, graphics) to create effective productions.
2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students deliver polished formal and extemporaneous presentations that combine traditional rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and description. Student speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and the organizational and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.
Using the speaking strategies of grades eleven and twelve outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Deliver reflective presentations:
a. Explore the significance of personal experiences, events, conditions, or concerns, using appropriate rhetorical strategies (e.g., narration, description, exposition, persuasion).
b. Draw comparisons between the specific incident and broader themes that illustrate the speaker's beliefs or generalizations about life.
c. Maintain a balance between describing the incident and relating it to more general, abstract ideas.
2.2 Deliver oral reports on historical investigations:
a. Use exposition, narration, description, persuasion, or some combination of those to support the thesis.
b. Analyze several historical records of a single event, examining critical relationships between elements of the research topic.
c. Explain the perceived reason or reasons for the similarities and differences by using information derived from primary and secondary sources to support or enhance the presentation.
d. Include information on all relevant perspectives and consider the validity and reliability of sources.
2.3 Deliver oral responses to literature:
a. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the significant ideas of literary works (e.g., make assertions about the text that are reasonable and supportable).
b. Analyze the imagery, language, universal themes, and unique aspects of the text through the use of rhetorical strategies (e.g., narration, description, persuasion, exposition, a combination of those strategies).
c. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works.
d. Demonstrate an awareness of the author's use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created.
e. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text.
2.4 Deliver multimedia presentations:
a. Combine text, images, and sound by incorporating information from a wide range of media, including films, newspapers, magazines, CD-ROMs, online information, television, videos, and electronic media-generated images.
b. Select an appropriate medium for each element of the presentation.
c. Use the selected media skillfully, editing appropriately and monitoring for quality.
d. Test the audience's response and revise the presentation accordingly.