Department of English
Virginia State Standards of Learning
GRADE NINE
Oral Language
1. The student will present and critique dramatic readings of literary selections.
Choose literary form for presentation, such as poems, monologues, scenes from plays, or stories.
Adapt presentation techniques to fit literary form.
Use verbal and nonverbal techniques for presentation.
Evaluate impact of presentation.
2. The student will make planned oral presentations.
Include definitions to increase clarity.
Use relevant details to support main ideas.
Illustrate main ideas through anecdotes and examples.
Cite information sources.
Make impromptu responses to questions about presentation.
Reading/Literature
3. The student will read and analyze a variety of literature.
Identify the characteristics that distinguish literary forms.
Use literary terms in describing and analyzing selections.
Explain the relationships between and among elements of literature: characters, plot, setting, tone, point of view, and theme.
Explain the relationship between author's style and literary effect.
Describe the use of images and sounds to elicit the reader's emotions.
Explain the influence of historical context on the form, style, and point of view of a written work.
4. The student will read and analyze a variety of print materials.
Identify a hypothesis to be confirmed, disproved, or modified.
Evaluate clarity and accuracy of information.
Synthesize information from sources and apply it in written and oral presentations
Identify questions not answered by a selected text.
Extend general and specialized vocabulary through reading and writing.
Read and follow instructions to use computer software, assemble or construct models or equipment, or complete a project.
5. The student will read dramatic selections.
Identify the two basic parts of drama.
Compare and contrast the elements of character, setting, and plot in one-act plays and full-length plays.
Describe how stage directions help the reader understand a play's setting, mood, characters, plot, and theme.
Writing
6. The student will develop narrative, literary, expository, and technical writings to inform, explain, analyze, or entertain.
Plan and organize writing.
Communicate clearly the purpose of the writing.
Write clear, varied sentences.
Use specific vocabulary and information.
Arrange paragraphs into a logical progression.
Revise writing for clarity.
Edit final copies for correct use of language, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Research
7. The student will credit the sources of both quoted and paraphrased ideas.
Define the meaning and consequences of plagiarism.
Distinguish one's own ideas from information created or discovered by others.
Use a style sheet method for citing secondary sources, such as MLA or APA.
8. The student will use electronic databases to access information.
Identify key terms.
Narrow the focus of a search.
Scan and select resources.
GRADE TEN
Oral Language
1. The student will participate in and report small-group learning activities.
Assume responsibility for specific tasks.
Participate in the preparation of an outline or summary of the group activity.
Include all group members in oral presentation.
2. The student will critique oral reports of small-group learning activities.
Evaluate one's own role in preparation and delivery of oral reports.
Evaluate effectiveness of group process in preparation and delivery of oral reports.
Reading/Literature
3. The student will read and critique literary works from a variety of eras in a variety of cultures.
Explain similarities and differences of structures and images as represented in the literature of different cultures.
Identify universal themes prevalent in the literature of all cultures.
Describe cultural archetypes in short stories, novels, poems, and plays across several cultures.
Examine a literary selection from several critical perspectives.
4. The student will read and interpret printed consumer materials.
Identify essential information needed to operate specific tools, appliances, technology hardware, or other equipment.
Analyze the information contained in warranties, contracts, job descriptions, and technical descriptions.
Skim manuals or consumer texts to locate information.
Compare and contrast product information contained in advertisements with instruction manuals and warranties
Apply the information contained in labels, warnings, manuals, directions, applications, and forms to complete simulated or real-world tasks.
5. The student will read and critique a variety of poetry.
Compare and contrast the use of rhyme, rhythm, and sound to convey a message.
Compare and contrast the ways in which poets inspire the reader to share emotions expressed in poems.
Paraphrase the meaning of selected poems.
6. The student will read and critique dramatic selections.
Explain the use of asides.
Explain the role of a director.
Compare and contrast character development in a play as compared to other literary forms.
Writing
7. The student will develop a variety of writings with an emphasis on exposition.
Plan and organize ideas for writing.
Elaborate ideas clearly through word choice and vivid description.
Write clear, varied sentences.
Organize ideas into a logical sequence.
Revise writing for clarity and content of presentation.
Edit final copies for correct use of language, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Use available technology.
8. The student will critique professional and peer writing.
Analyze the writing of others.
Describe how writing accomplishes its intended purpose.
Suggest how writing might be improved.
Apply knowledge of critical analysis to writing.
9. The student will use writing to interpret, analyze, and evaluate ideas.
Explain concepts contained in literature and other disciplines.
Translate concepts into simpler or more easily understood terms.
Research
10. The student will collect, evaluate, and organize information.
Organize information from a variety of sources.
Verify the accuracy and usefulness of information.
Use available technology.
GRADE ELEVEN
Oral Language
1. The student will make persuasive presentations.
Organize evidence to support a position.
Present evidence clearly and convincingly.
Support and defend ideas and thoughts in public forums.
2. The student will analyze and evaluate persuasive presentations.
Critique the accuracy, relevance, and organization of evidence.
Critique the clarity and effectiveness of delivery.
Reading/Literature
3. The student will read and analyze relationships among American literature, history, and culture.
Describe contributions of different cultures to the development of American literature.
Describe the development of American literature in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Contrast periods in American literature.
Differentiate among archetypal characters in American literature.
Describe the major themes in American literature.
Describe how use of context and language structures conveys an author's point of view in contemporary and historical essays, speeches, and critical reviews.
4. The student will read a variety of print material.
Use information from texts to clarify or refine understanding of academic concepts.
Read and follow directions to complete an application for college admission, a scholarship, or for employment.
Read and follow directions to complete a laboratory experiment
Extend general and specialized vocabularies for reading and writing.
Generalize ideas from selections to make predictions about other texts.
5. The student will read and critique a variety of poetry.
Analyze the poetic elements of classic poems.
Identify the poetic elements and techniques that are most appealing and that make poetry enjoyable.
Compare and contrast the works of contemporary and past American poets.
6. The student will read a variety of dramatic selections.
Describe the relationship between farce and characterization.
Describe the dramatic conventions or devices used by playwrights to present selected plays.
Explain the use of monologue and soliloquy.
Explain the use of verbal and dramatic irony.
Writing
7. The student will write in a variety of forms with an emphasis on persuasion.
Develop a focus for writing.
Evaluate and cite applicable information
Organize ideas in a logical manner.
Elaborate ideas clearly and accurately.
Adapt content, vocabulary, voice, and tone to audience, purpose, and situation.
Revise writing for accuracy and depth of information.
Edit final copies for correct use of language, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
8. The student will write, revise, and edit personal and business correspondence to a standard acceptable in the work place and higher education.
Apply a variety of planning strategies to generate and organize ideas.
Organize information to support the purpose of the writing.
Present information in a logical manner.
Revise writing for clarity.
Edit final copies for correct use of language, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Use available technology.
Research
9. The student will analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and organize information from a variety of sources into a documented paper dealing with a question, problem, or issue.
Narrow a topic.
Develop a plan for research.
Collect information to support a thesis.
Evaluate quality and accuracy of information.
Synthesize information in a logical sequence.
Document sources of information using a style sheet format, such as MLA or APA.
Revise writing for clarity of content.
Edit final copy for correct use of language, format, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Use available technology.
GRADE TWELVE
Oral Language
1 The student will make a 5-10 minute formal oral presentation.
Choose the purpose of the presentation: to defend a position, to entertain an audience, or to explain information.
Use a well-structured narrative or logical argument.
Use details, illustrations, statistics, comparisons, and analogies to support purposes.
Use visual aids or technology to support presentation.
2. The student will evaluate formal presentations.
Critique relationships among purpose, audience, and content of presentations.
Critique effectiveness of presentations.
Reading/Literature
3. The student will analyze the development of British literature and literature of other cultures.
Recognize major literary forms and techniques.
Recognize the characteristics of major chronological eras.
Relate literary works and authors to major themes and issues of their eras.
4. The student will read a variety of print material.
Identify information needed to conduct a laboratory experiment or product evaluation.
Draw conclusions regarding the quality of a product based on analysis of the accompanying warranty and instruction manual
Evaluate the quality of informational texts and technical manuals.
Read and follow instructions to install a software program.
5. The student will read and critique a variety of poetry.
Explain how the choice of words in a poem fits the speaker.
Explain how the sound of a poem (rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, repetition, alliteration, assonance, and parallelism) supports the subject and mood.
Explain how imagery and figures of speech (personification, simile, metaphor) appeal to the reader's senses and experience.
Compare and contrast traditional and contemporary works of poets from many cultures.
6. The student will read and critique dramatic selections from a variety of authors.
Describe the conflict, plot, climax, and setting.
Compare and contrast ways in which dialogue and staging contribute to the theme.
Identify the most effective elements of selected plays.
Compare and contrast dramatic elements of plays from American, British, and other cultures.
Writing
7. The student will develop expository and technical writings.
Consider audience and purpose when planning for writing.
Present ideas in a logical sequence.
Elaborate ideas clearly and accurately.
Revise writing for depth of information and technique of presentation.
Edit final copies for correct use of language, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Research
8. The student will write documented research papers.
Evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of information.
Synthesize information to support the thesis.oPresent information in a logical manner.
Cite sources of information using a standard method of documentation.
Edit for correct use of language, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in final copies.
Use available technology.
