Curriculum
Secondary Language Arts

Listening and Speaking

• Determines purpose such as to gain information, to appreciate, to problem solve

• Understands major ideas and supporting evidence in a spoken message

• Analyzes and evaluates a spoken message critically in terms of content, credibility, delivery, persuasive techniques, and both verbal and non-verbal messages

• Compares own perception of a spoken message with the perception of others

• Comprehends proficient models of oral reading, including classic and contemporary works

• Analyzes oral discussions of literature for effects on the listener

• Connects own experiences, information, ideas, and insights with experiences of others

• Listens and speaks to gain knowledge of own culture, the culture of others, and common elements of several cultures

• Chooses vocabulary and grammar to fit a specific audience and occasion

• Presents dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays

• Evaluates own and others� oral presentations

• Uses rate, volume, pitch, and tone effectively for audience and setting

• Clarifies and supports spoken ideas with evidence, elaboration, and examples

Reading

• Uses resources such as dictionaries and glossaries

• Recognizes prefixes and suffixes in order to find root words

• Reads with understanding in independent- and instructional-level materials

• Reads widely in classic and contemporary works

• Reads for a variety of purposes in varied sources (poems/plays/ novels/ textbooks)

• Acquires extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study, which includes, but is not limited to, the following: personal experience and context; multiple reference aids; current events in newspapers and magazines; understanding of denotative and connotative meanings; class activities

• Comprehends selections using a variety of strategies, including, but not limited to, determination of main ideas and supporting details, paraphrasing and summarizing of texts, drawing inferences such as conclusions or generalizations, comparing and contrasting ideas and characters, distinguishing fact from opinion, and using different ways to represent text information, outline, timeline, graphic organizers

• Expresses and supports responses by referring to specific aspects of texts and recognizing issues, ideas, and themes within and across texts

• Recognizes distinguishing features of genres including biographies and historical fiction, poems and plays

• Recognizes and analyzes literary terms such as plot, setting, conflict, point of view, problem resolution, flashback, foreshadowing, symbol, style, tone, and mood

• Analyzes ways authors organize and present ideas,cause/effect, compare/contrast, chronological sequencing

Writing

• Writes for a variety of reasons in different forms: letters, journals, poems, essays, reviews and editorials, reports and narratives
• Composes texts, applying the conventions of standard language usage
• Understands subject-verb and pronoun agreement and prepositional phrases
• Engages in writing processes (pre-writing, drafting, editing, proofreading, and "publishing") for assigned writing
• Uses available technology to support aspects of the writing process
• Evaluates constructively the writing of self and peers
• Analyzes professional models of effective fiction and nonfiction
• Uses writing as a tool for research, including standard documentation (MLA)
• Collaborates with writers both within and outside the classroom

Viewing and Representing

• Understands and interprets visual messages in the form of charts, graphs, video segments, or presentations involving technology
• Uses media to compare ideas and different points of view
• Interprets and evaluates the various ways visual image makers such as illustrators, documentary filmmakers, and political cartoonists represent messages
• Compares and contrasts print, visual, and electronic media, for example, comparing a story with a poem or a play with a film
• Produces communications such as a class newspaper or newsletter, or a report involving technology
• Assesses how language, methods, and presentation contribute to the message

Selected Reading

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS  

Selected poetry/literary terms

TUCK EVERLASTING    

Selected short stories                                                                          Nonfiction: biography                                                                           Selected folk tales/Greek myths 

• Differentiates among the various purposes for listening, gaining information, solving problems, and appreciation
• Analyzes and evaluates a speaker's message with regard to purpose, persuasive techniques, content, credibility, and delivery
• Critiques oral interpretations of literature for effects on the listener
• Understands the power and beauty of language
• Compares and contrasts oral traditions across regions and cultures
• Adapts spoken language (word choice, sentence structure, usage) to the audience, purpose, and occasion
• Demonstrates effective communication skills in interviewing, reporting, discussing, and providing information
• Presents dramatic presentations of experiences or literary works
• Generates constructive self and peer evaluation of oral presentations
• Uses rate, volume, pitch, tone, and body language effectively in spoken messages
• Clarifies spoken ideas with evidence, explanation, and examples

Reading

• Uses a variety of word recognition strategies such as Greek and Latin roots, context, and outside resources such as thesauruses and glossaries
• Reads with fluency and understanding
• Reads a variety of both classic and contemporary works, including poems, stories, novels, textbooks, manuals, media materials, and anthologies
• Acquires an extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study
• Distinguishes denotative and connotative meanings
• Uses varied strategies to comprehend texts of increasing levels of difficulty, such as describing images that texts evoke, paraphrasing and summarizing, and determining text's main idea and supporting details
• Answers literal, interpretive, open-ended, short answer, and true-false questions
• Draws inferences such as conclusions and generalizations
• Distinguishes opinion from fact
• Connects, compares, and contrasts concepts, themes, and issues across texts through verbal, artistic, and written forms of communication
• Recognizes features of genres (biography, poetry, and historical fiction) and identifies literary terms (plot, setting, mood, characterization) used in analysis
• Analyzes characters with regard to traits, motives, conflicts, and development
• Interprets literary devices such as flashback and symbolism and recognizes how style, tone, and mood contribute to the effect of the text
• Conducts research using a variety of sources, both print and non-print
• Draws conclusions from information gathered and forms additional questions for further research
• Articulates and discusses themes that cross and connect cultures

Writing

• Writes to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and problem solve
• Selects and uses voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose
• Produces effective written texts by organizing ideas and using precise wording and transition words such as first, second, then, next, also, nevertheless
• Capitalizes, punctuates, and spells correctly for clarification of meaning
• Understands grammatical structures such as pronoun case (he/him; they/them), correct use of apostrophes, varied types of sentences, and verb tenses
• Uses the writing process to generate ideas, develop and revise drafts, support ideas, and proofread with regard to appropriate usage, sentence structure, and word choice
• Uses available technology to support aspects of writing
• Evaluates how well writing of self or peers achieves its purpose
• Analyzes published writing to use as models for own writing
• Follows Modern Language Association format for documenting research
• Identifies challenges faced by published writers during composing process

Viewing and Representing

• Interprets important events and ideas using maps, charts, video segments, and other graphics
• Compares ideas and points of view in various forms of media
• Interprets and evaluates how media influences and informs
• Compares print, visual, and electronic media, such as film with a poem or play
• Produces visual images and messages (newspaper/newsletter/ads/cartoons) using technology

Selected Reading

• Uses active listening skills to critique a speaker�s message
• Analyzes a speaker's persuasive techniques and credibility in order to defend or criticize a spoken message
• Compares own perception of a spoken message with that of others
• Judges a speaker's qualifications based on pre-established criteria
• Recognizes rhythm, power, and beauty of language
• Distinguishes between formal and informal language
• Compares own culture with that of others, noting common elements
• Adapts spoken language such as word choice and usage to audience, purpose, and occasion
• Demonstrates effective communication skills during interviewing, reporting, providing information, role playing, or answering questions
• Presents dramatic interpretations of experiences, plays, poems, or short stories
• Uses rate, volume, pitch, and tone effectively for audience and setting
• Clarifies spoken ideas with evidence and elaboration

Reading

• Uses a variety of word recognition strategies such as context, roots, prefixes
• Reads widely in classic and contemporary works
• Reads varied sources such as textbooks, poems, newspapers, novels, anthologies
• Acquires extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study
• Comprehends selections using a variety of strategies such as knowledge and experience or distinguishing denotative and connotative meanings of words
• Offers observations, makes connections, reacts, speculates, interprets, and raises questions in response to a variety of texts
• Compares communication in different forms, for example, contrasting a dramatic performance with a print version of the same story
• Understands and applies literary terms such as playwright, theater, stage, dialogue, and dialect
• Conducts research using multiple sources such as electronic texts, experts, and non-print resources to locate information relevant to research
• Produces research projects and reports in effective formats for various audiences

Writing

• Writes legibly by selecting cursive or manuscript as appropriate
• Composes original texts, applying the conventions of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, penmanship, and usage to communicate clearly
• Writes complete sentences accurately, using various types of sentences and both dependent and independent clauses
• Uses various steps in the writing process knowledgeably
• Refines selected pieces to "publish" for classroom display, for school newspapers or newsletters, literary magazines, or writing contests outside the classroom
• Evaluates published works as well as writing of self and peers
• Uses writing as a tool for research, for example, learning logs, posters, timelines, outlines, and summaries
• Evaluates own research for accuracy and completeness and then frames questions for further study
• Follows accepted format (MLA) for writing research, including bibliography and end note preparations
• Collaborates with others to compose, organize, and revise different types of texts

Viewing and Representing

• Understands and interprets visual images (illustrations, documentaries, political cartoons), messages, and meanings
• Evaluates different media forms (magazines, television news, television ads, newspapers, films, novels, music, and art)
• Produces visual messages with regard to language, method, and presentation

Selected Reading