Evidence Outcomes:

a. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. (CCSS: SL.9-10.1)

i. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas. (CCSS: SL.9-10.1a)

ii. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (for example: informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed. (CCSS: SL.9-10.1b)

iii. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. (CCSS: SL.9-10.1c)

iv. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented. (CCSS: SL.9-10.1d)

b. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (for example: visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. (CCSS: SL.9-10.2)

c. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. (CCSS: SL.9-10.3)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Actively engage with and evaluate age-appropriate positions on a topic or issue, and build on those ideas to communicate your own thoughts in a variety of collaborative situations.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

Engage in thoughtful and collaborative discussion that balances individual and collective responsibility

• Consider different sides of a topic or issue

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the arguments on each side of the argument

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• To prepare for discussion

  • Support opinions and ideas with multiple relevant sources

• To collaborate in a discussion

• Critical and respectful collaborative discourse norms

• Strategies to Invite/include/create space for all individuals and perspectives in the discussion

• To evaluate contributors’:

• Ideas (clarity, quality, and connection)

• Credibility of sources

• Argument (based on use of evidence and persuasiveness)

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Participate actively

  • Be prepared to contribute

  • Listen with an open mind

• Participate thoughtfully

  • Create and follow collaborative discussion guidelines

  • Build on/critique ideas

  • Ask questions

  • Reference diverse and reliable sources

  • Invite/include all voices in the discussion

• Evaluate the strength of arguments made in the discussion

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. (CCSS: SL.9-10.4)

b. Make strategic use of digital media (for example: textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. (CCSS: SL.9-10.5)

c. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (CCSS: SL.9-10.6)

d. Use feedback to evaluate and revise the presentation.

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Deliver an effective public presentation in a format appropriate to the task and audience.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Synthesize and organize information effectively

  • Use digital media strategically to engage an audience

• Use appropriate vocabulary, speaking style, and non-verbal cues to meet the needs of the audience

• Use feedback to evaluate and revise presentations

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Ways to synthesize evidence from a variety of credible sources

• Characteristics of an audience relevant to the task

  • Demographics

  • Background knowledge of topic

• Rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos) to increase persuasiveness of the presentation

• Ways to organize the information in a compelling manner

• Digital media resources to enhance a presentation

  • How to use effectively

  • How to select from a variety of available tools

• Methods for providing effective feedback, and how to integrate feedback to revise and improve a presentation

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Prepare and deliver an organized presentation

  • Use organizational tools to prepare (outline, etc.)

  • Integrate relevant evidence

  • Use appropriate digital media

  • Use appropriate rhetorical strategies

  • Utilize feedback to revise and improve before final delivery

• Maintain high audience engagement during presentation

  • Plan and practice presentation

  • Utilize non-verbal strategies

  • Utilize appropriate style and diction for the audience and task

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Use Key Ideas and Details to

i. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS: RL.9-10.1)

ii. 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. (CCSS: RL.9-10.2)

iii. Analyze how complex characters (for example: 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. (CCSS: RL.9-10.3)

b. Use Craft and Structure to:

i. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (for example: how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). (CCSS: RL.9-10.4)

ii. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (for example: parallel plots), and manipulate time (for example: pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. (CCSS: RL.9-10.5)

iii. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. (CCSS: RL.9-10.6)

c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

i. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (for example: Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus). CCSS: RL.9-10.7)

ii. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (for example: how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare). (CCSS: RL.9-10.9).

iii. Analyze the influence of literary and/or historical context on a text and evaluate the contribution to society made by works of literature that deal with similar topics and themes.

d. Use Range of Reading and Complexity of Text to:

i. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

ii. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. (CCSS: RL.9-10.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Read and interpret a variety of literary texts to better understand the world we live in and the human experience.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Independently read and comprehend grade-level literature

• Analyze:

  • Themes

  • Character development

  • How a text’s form affect meaning

  • How texts provide social and historical commentary

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key Ideas

• Text interaction strategies

• Literary techniques, and figurative language

• Qualities of strong evidence to support the reader’s stance

• Craft and Structure

  • Characteristics of genres and styles of literature

  • Diverse story structures

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • How themes develop throughout a text

  • Author and background information for each text

  • Social/historical context for the text

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Annotate and take notes on the text

• Consider stylistic choices and how they develop the author’s intent

• Integrate a text’s socio-cultural background with the content of the text itself to build understanding

• Trace the development of complex themes throughout a book

  • Cite strong evidence to support

  • Explain how themes overlap and inform one another

• Analyze the use of literary allusion

• Compare/contrast the way two different artistic mediums present the same subject

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Use Key Ideas and Details to:

i. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS: RI.9-10.1)

ii. 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. (CCSS. RI.9-10.2)

iii. Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. (CCSS: RI.9-10.3)

b. Use Craft and Structure to:

i. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (for example: how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). (CCSS: RI.9-10.4)

ii. Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (for example: a section or chapter). (CCSS: RI.9-10.5)

iii. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. (CCSS: RI.9-10.6)

c. Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

i. Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (for example: a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. (CCSS: RI.9-10.7)

ii. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. (CCSS: RI.9-10-8)

iii. By the end of grade 10, analyze seminal U.S. and world documents of historical and literary significance (for example: the Magna Carta, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they influence and address related themes and concepts over the course of time. (adapted from CCSS: RI.9-10.9)

d. Use Range of Reading and Complexity of Text to:

i. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

ii. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. (CCSS: RI.9-10.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Read and interpret a variety of non-fiction texts to better understand the subject at hand, the world we live in, and the human experience.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Read and understand grade-level non-fiction texts independently by utilizing reading strategies

• Evaluate the author’s ideas or claims within a text

• Analyze the enduring impact of historical and literary texts from around the world

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key Ideas and Details

  • Strategies to support thinking with evidence

  • Ways to determine a central idea

• Craft and Structure

  • Reading and annotation strategies for nonfiction texts

    • background knowledge

    • central ideas and critical details

    • predictions and inferences

    • sequence events

    • infer meanings of words or phrases using context

  • Rhetorical strategies

    • Ethos

    • Pathos

    • Logos

    • Kairos

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • Context and background relevant to the subject

  • Structure and elements of nonfiction texts and their impact on meaning

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Select and utilize strong evidence to support reading purpose

  • Support analysis of content

  • Make inferences

  • Understand central idea/claim

• Analyze how structure and rhetoric develop the claim or idea

  • reverse outline or other strategy to delineate author’s claim, supporting details, etc

• Evaluate the claim’s strength based on the evidence and reasoning

• Compare/contrast different texts’ treatment of the same subject

Evidence Outcomes:

a. 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. (CCSS: L.9-10.4)

i. Use context (for example: 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. (CCSS: L.9-10.4a)

ii. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (for example: analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy). *(CCSS: L.9-10.4b)

iii. Consult general and specialized reference materials (for example: 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. (CCSS: L.9-10.4c)

iv. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (for example: by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). (CCSS: L.9-10.4d)

b. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. (CCSS: L.9-10.5)

i. Interpret figures of speech (for example: euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text. (CCSS: L.9-10.5a)

ii. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. (CCSS: L.9-10.5b)

c. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. (CCSS: L.9-10.6)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Understand the function of language in different contexts and how its use makes meaning; also, use language appropriately and effectively when writing and speaking.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Determine the meaning words and phrases within a grade-level text independently

• Understand

  • the nuances of meaning for similar words

  • how figurative language impacts the meaning of a text

  • which words/phrases within a text are most important for understanding the text as a whole

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Strategies for determining and confirming word meaning

  • Context clues

  • Patterns of word changes

  • Reference tools - dictionary, thesaurus

• Types of figurative language

• Morphology of words

  • Prefixes, affixes, and roots to help determine meaning and tailor use

  • How parts of speech changes a word: analyze (v), analysis (n), analytical (adj)

• Synonyms and their nuanced meanings

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Use vocab strategies and reference tools to acquire new vocabulary

• Explain how figurative language affects meaning

• Explain the precise impact of a word based on nuances in meaning

• Acquire and use domain-specific words in writing and speaking independently

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. (CCSS: W.9-10.1)

i. 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. (CCSS: W.9-10.1a)

ii. 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. (CCSS: W.9-10.1b)

iii. 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. (CCSS: W.9-10.1c)

iv. Determine purpose for writing and use rhetorical appeals (i.e., ethos, pathos, logos) to address audience expectations and needs.

v. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. (CCSS: W.9-10.1d)

vi. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. (CCSS: W.9-10.1e)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Write coherent and credible arguments tailored to the audience and subject.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Formulate a clear argument in the form of a claim, and distinguish it from a reasonable counterclaim

• Support claim with strong and valid evidence

• Clearly and succinctly explain how and why the evidence provides adequate support for the claim

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Key Ideas and Details

  • How to identify/cite strong evidence

    • To support analysis of text

    • What text states directly (explicitly)

    • draw inferences

  • Determine Central Ideas

    • Development over course of text

      • Interactions

      • Summarizing text objectively

  • Analysis of sequence of ideas and events

    • Order in which points are made

    • Development of individuals, ideas and events

    • Draw connections

• Craft and Structure

  • Determining meaning of words/phrases

    • Figurative

    • Connotative and technical

    • Cumulative impact of specific word choices regarding meaning and tone

  • Analyze and evaluate structure

    • Development of author’s ideas or claims in regards to the language they use including structure

    • Does structure make points clear, convincing and engaging

  • Determine POV and purpose

    • Look for effective rhetoric

Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

• Analyze various accounts of a subject

  • Sources and formats

    • Utilize different media

      • Visually and quantitatively

      • Wording

    • Seminal (influential) US texts

      • Constitutional principles

      • Legal reasoning

      • Works of Public advocacy

        • Ex: Magna Carta, Machiavelli’s The Prince, Washington’s Farewell Address, Gettysburg Address, King’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

Use Key Ideas and Details to:

• Cite strong and thorough textual evidence

• Determine central idea in a text

• Analyze development of ideas and events

Use Craft and Structure to:

• Determine meaning of words and phrases

• Development of author’s ideas

• Impact of word choices

Use Integration of Knowledge and Ideas to:

• Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums

• Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal US and world texts

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. (CCSS: W.9-10.2)

i. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (for example: headings), graphics (for example: figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. (CCSS: W.9-10.2a)

ii. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. (CCSS: W.9-10.2b)

iii. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. (CCSS: W.9-10.2c)

iv. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. (CCSS: W.9-10.2d)

v. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. (CCSS: W.9-10.2e)

vi. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (for example, articulating implications or the significance of the topic). (CCSS: W.9-10.2f)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Write organized information about an idea which is as free from bias as possible.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Organize the evidence effectively to present information on the subject clearly and objectively

• Analyze the evidence to explain it clearly within the context of the larger topic

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Writing Structure

  • Complex ideas = ideas that build off of others

  • Develop the topic

    • Select the well-chosen and relevant (relates to topic) facts, extended definitions, concrete/solid details, quotations, or other information and examples

    • Awareness of audience's knowledge of the topic.

  • Transitions

    • Appropriate and varied

    • Clarify relationships among ideas

    • Organize transitions and syntax to enhance cohesion

    • Link major sections of the text

  • Conclusions

    • Follows from and supports the information or explanation presented

      • articulating impacts or the significance of the topic

• Writing Style & Techniques

  • Elements of formal style and tone appropriate to the discipline

  • Strategies to use domain-specific vocabulary effectively

    • Include definitions or appropriate context

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

Write informative/explanatory texts that include:

• Introduce a topic

• Organization

  • Complex ideas

  • Make important connections and distinctions

  • Provide a conclusion

  • Formatting (headings/subheadings, etc.)

• Develop the topic thoroughly

  • Include aids and visuals to enhance audience comprehension

• Use transitions to create cohesion

• Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques

• Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (CCSS: W.9-10.3)

i. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing multiple points of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. (CCSS: W.9-10.3a)

ii. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. (CCSS: W.9-10.3b)

iii. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole. (CCSS: W.9-10.3c)

iv. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. (CCSS: W.9-10.3d)

v. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. (CCSS: W.9-10.3e)

vi. Use a range of stylistic devices (for example: poetic techniques, figurative language, imagery, graphic elements) to support the presentation of implicit or explicit themes or to engage and entertain the intended audience.

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Craft engaging and significant narratives that illustrate universal truths about the human experience.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

Engage the reader by establishing a conflict, using the narrative to create growth or change in the characters, and resolving the conflict in order to reveal a theme.

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

Writing Structure

• Narrative plot structures

  • Varieties of plot structures

  • Pacing to maintain interest

  • Sequence events (plot) to create a coherent and impactful whole

• Engage and orient reader:

  • Introduce setting, character, problem/situation

  • Establish point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd person), narrative voice

  • Progression of story

• Character types and development

• Conflict types and resolution/change

• Conclusions

  • Resolution or transformation of main conflict

  • Change or growth of characters

  • Illuminates the meaning or impact implicit in the story (theme)

Style, Mechanics and Conventions

• Characteristics of genres

• Writing conventions

  • Formatting

  • Dialogue

  • Syntax

• Writing techniques

  • Diction

  • Precise details

  • Tone (author perspective/attitude)

  • Mood (emotional impact on audience)

  • Figurative language

  • Sensory details

  • Consistent point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd person)

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

Write narratives that:

• Utilize appropriate style for the genre

• Structure a story for maximum engagement and impact and to reveal a universal theme

  • Concise and engaging introduction (character, setting and conflict)

  • Progression of events raising tension and leading toward climax

  • Develop strong and dynamic characters

  • Craft a meaningful, impactful conclusion

  • Utilize varied writing conventions and techniques to achieve goal

Evidence Outcomes:

a. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. (CCSS: L.9-10.1)

i. Use parallel structure. (CCSS: L.9-10.1a)

ii. Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations. (CCSS: L.9-10.1b)

b. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. (CCSS: L.9-10.2)

i. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses. (CCSS: L.9-10.2a)

ii. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation. (CCSS: L.9-10.2b)

iii. Correctly spell frequently used words and consult reference materials (for example: dictionaries, both print and digital, spell check, and/or trusted peers and/or adults) to determine the spelling of less frequent vocabulary. (adapted from CCSS: L.9-10.2c).

c. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. (CCSS: L.9-10.3)

i. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (for example: MLA Handbook, or APA handbook) appropriate for the discipline and writing type. (adapted from CCSS: L.9-10.3a)

d. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in expectations 1-2 above.) (CCSS: W.9-10.4)

e. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (CCSS: W.9-10.5)

f. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. (CCSS: W.9-10.6)

g. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. (CCSS W.9-10.10)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Use effective writing, grammar, and mechanics to communicate ideas clearly.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

How to...

• apply grammar skills to speaking and writing, formal or informal

• collaboratively and independently engage in the revision process to improve the clarity of writing and speaking

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Conventions: Grammar & Usage

  • Phrase types

  • Clause types

  • Parallel structure

  • Reference resources

• Mechanics: (capitalization, punctuation, spelling)

  • Rules of punctuation

    1. Capitalization

    2. Commas

    3. Apostrophes

    4. Colons and semicolons

• Writing Process and Revision

  • Planning/prewriting

  • Writing

  • Feedback and revision

• Technology supports

  • Voice to text

  • Grammarly.com

  • Noredink.com

  • Google Docs / Comments

  • Etc.

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Keep a growth mindset toward the writing process: commitment, endurance, etc

  • Extended writing

  • Timed writing

  • Revision

• Apply appropriate writing conventions and mechanics to all writing

  • Use appropriate references and supports

  • Use varied phrases and clauses to introduce variety into the syntax

• Engage in the full writing process

  • Planning

  • Writing

  • Feedback

  • Revision

Evidence Outcomes:

a. 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. (CCSS: W.9-10.7)

b. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (adapted from CCSS: W.9-10.8)

c. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (CCSS: W.9-10.9)

i. Apply *grades 9-10 Reading standards to literature (for example: “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [for example: how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”). (CCSS: W.9-10.9)

ii. Apply grades 9-10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (for example: “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”). (CCSS: W.9-10.9)

Transfer Goals: Based on the Evidence Outcomes, what will students transfer to new contexts/situations?

Research and synthesize information from a variety of high-quality sources to thoroughly answer a complex question.

Essential Understandings: In order to meet these transfer goals, the essential ideas and core processes students must understand are...

• Focus research to show comprehensive understanding of a complex subject

• Evaluate the relevance of varied sources with an appropriate scope for the task

• Synthesize and integrate diverse sources into the product or project

• Cite sources accurately with an appropriate style and format

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must know...

• Ways to use or design relevant research questions

  • Criterion to broaden or narrow the scope and focus of a project

  • How to evolve or refocus a question as research requires

• Foundational research skills

  • Search operations in Google

  • Advanced search features

  • Databases

  • Print texts

• Ways to filter sources’ relevance

• When and how to use quotation, paraphrase, or summary

• Strategies to organize/outline information to create flow and a coherent structure

• Ways to embed evidence with appropriate context

• Elements of effective analysis to connect research to the larger question (conclusion)

• Citation skills, both in-text and at the end of the piece as style dictates

In order to meet these essential understandings, students must be able to...

• Conduct research to answer the research question with a variety of relevant sources

• Organize the information clearly to address all parts of the research question, and to demonstrate understanding of the topic

• Cite all information accurately