Grade Ten English

Essential Learner Outcomes

9.4.2.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

9.4.3.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

9.5.2.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

9.5.9.9 Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and other documents such as those written by Sojourner Truth, Chief Seattle, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), including how they address related themes and concepts.

9.7.1.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

  1. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or
    opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear
    relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

  2. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each
    while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that
    anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

  3. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text,
    create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

  4. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

  5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.


9.7.7.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

9.11.4.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

  1. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a
    word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or
    Phrase.

  2. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different
    meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).

  3. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology .

Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).