English 10 Course Competencies


1.                  Students will be able to read grade-level literary texts with fluency and understanding.
o   I can independently identify plot structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouement) in grade-level literary texts.
o   I can identify, describe, and make logical predictions about character, setting, problem/solution, and plots/subplots as appropriate to the text.
o   I can identify significant changes in character and relationships over time in a literary work.
o   I can summarize the plot of literary works, including short stories, novels, dramas, and epistles.
o   I can paraphrase key ideas with major events sequenced.
o   I can explain and support logical predictions and logical outcomes.
o   I can draw conclusions based on interactions between characters and the evolving plot.
o   I can examine characterization in terms of motivations, interactions, and relationships.
o   I can cite the thoughts, words, and actions that reveal character traits, motivations, or changes over time.
o   I can make inferences about the relationship among elements within a text, such as the interactions of plots/subplots.
o   I can explain how an author’s style is evident and affects the reader’s interpretation.
o   I can identify the author’s purpose (such as to entertain, to inform, to persuade).
o   I can identify and explain the significance of universal themes.
o   I can demonstrate knowledge of the use of the following literary elements in a given text: symbolism, analogy, allusion, diction, syntax, and use of punctuation.

2.                  Students will be able to read grade-level informational texts with fluency and understanding.
o   I can obtain information from the following text features: transition words/phrases, transitional devices, the use of white space, headings, subheadings, charts, and graphs.
o   I can use information from informational texts to answer questions.
o   I can explain visual components supporting an informational text.
o   I can interpret tables and diagrams.
o   I can use an appropriate graphic organizer (main/central ideas and supporting details, compare/contrast, outline, mapping) to organize information to show understanding or relationships among facts, ideas, and events.
o   I can explain connections within a text, across texts, and to related ideas.
o   I can synthesize information within and across texts through constructing appropriate titles and formulating assertions or controlling ideas.
o   I can use supporting evidence to form and evaluate opinions/judgments and assertions about relevant central ideas.
o   I can evaluate possible bias/propaganda.
o   I can make inferences about causes and/or effects.
o   I can evaluate the clarity and accuracy of information in terms of the logic of arguments.

3.                  Students will be able to identify new vocabulary and incorporate it into their speaking and writing.
o   I can use prior knowledge of word structure (prefixes, common roots, word origins) as strategies to unlock meaning.
o   I can use context clues to unlock meaning.
o   I can use resources including dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses to determine definition, pronunciation, etymology, and word usage.
o   I can identify shades of meaning, idioms, word origins, and word origins (including dialects and words from other languages that have been incorporated into standard English).
o   I can select appropriate words.
o   I can explain the use of words in context including: connotation, denotation, shades of meaning, nuances, and idioms.
o   I can use content-specific vocabulary, technical vocabulary, and words with multiple meanings correctly in a given context.

4.                  Students will be able to use an appropriate writing process.
o   I can generate ideas using a brainstorm list or graphic organizer.
o   I can plan a structure and order to my final piece before writing.
o   I can focus a writing piece on a specific topic.
o   I can effectively use the writing process with all of the following: persuasive essays, personal narratives, analytical responses to texts, poems, fictional stories, and letters.
o   I can revise and rewrite a piece.
o   I can edit my writing to meet the rules of standard English usage (capitalization, consistency of verb tense, irregular forms of verbs/nouns, pronoun referent, subject verb agreement, colons and semi-colons).
o   I can use phrases and clauses to vary sentence length and structure and enhance meaning.

5.                  Students will be able to write in response to Literary and Informational Texts.
o   I can select and summarize key ideas to set a context appropriate to my audience.
o   I can use relevant ideas or themes to connect a text to prior knowledge, other texts, and the broader world of ideas.
o   I can use my own interpretive thoughts to create a thesis when responding to a given prompt.
o   I can make inferences about the relationships among content, events, characters, setting, theme, and author’s craft.
o   I can make links to author’s word choice, style, bias, literary techniques, and point of view.
o   I can identify characteristics of literary forms and genres.
o   I can use specific details from a text or relevant citations to support thesis, interpretations, and conclusions.
o   I can organize ideas, use transitional words/phrases, and draw a conclusion by synthesizing information.

6.                  Students will be able to independently write a Reflective Essay.
o   I can engage the reader by establishing a context and purpose.
o   I can reflect on my personal learning and growth in a variety of areas.
o   I can develop a commonplace, concrete occasion as the basis for a reflection.
o   I can use an appropriate organizational structure that allows for a progression of ideas to develop.
o   I can use the following elaboration techniques: questioning, connecting, analyzing, interpreting, and describing.
o   I can write a conclusion that leaves the reader with something to think about.

7.                  Students will be able to write Informational Writing pieces, including Reports, Procedures, and Persuasive Writing.
o   I can use the following text structures appropriate to focus/controlling idea or thesis: proposition/support, problem/solution, investigation, and deductive/inductive reasoning.
o   I can select appropriate and relevant information to set context.
o   I can identify and exclude extraneous details.
o   I can establish a topic and state/maintain a focus/controlling idea/thesis.
o   I can write with a sense of audience, when appropriate, and establish and authoritative voice.
o   I can use precise language that clarifies and supports my intent.
o   I can include facts and details relevant to my focus/controlling idea/thesis, intentionally excluding extraneous information.
o   I can include sufficient details or facts for appropriate depth of information: name, describe, explain, compre/contrast, use visual images to support intended purpose.
o   I can anticipate and address potential problems, mistakes, or misunderstandings that might arise for readers.
o   I can comment on the significance of the information in a report throughout the piece.
o   I can comment on the significance of the information in procedures or persuasive writing as appropriate.

8.                  Students will be able to participate in class discussions by speaking purposefully and articulately and by listening actively.
o   I can comfortably voice my ideas and opinions in class discussions.
o   I can convey my intended message through speaking.
o   I can actively listen to my classmates’ ideas and opinions and provide thoughtful feedback.
o   I can rephrase something said by my teacher or classmates during a discussion.
o   I can work collaboratively in small groups.

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