Vocabulary/Grammar #3: Parts of a Sentence

Essential Questions:

• How do elements of language affect our understanding of information?

Learning Targets:

• I can show adequate use of language by employing many of the conventions of grammar.
• I can choose words that are appropriate and use varied sentence structure.

Standards:

• L.11-12.1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • a. Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.
  • b. Resolve issues of complex or contested usage, consulting references (e.g., Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, Garner’s Modern American Usage) as needed.
• L.11-12.3 - 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.
  • a. Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g., Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed; apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.

Assessments:

• Quizzes

Unit 2: Synthesis Writing

Essential Questions:

• How is a synthesis essay structured?

Learning Targets:

• I can read to draw conclusions and support arguments with evidence.
• I can synthesize various pieces of evidence.
• I can solve complex problems with no obvious answers.
• I can read complex texts, images, and tables/charts.

Standards:

• RI.11-12.1 - Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• RI.11-12.2 - Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
• RI.11-12.3 - Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
• W.11-12.1 - Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
  • b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
  • c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax 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.
  • d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  • e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
• W.11-12.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• W.11-12.5 - 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.
• W.11-12.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over-reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

Core Texts:

• Selected AP Synthesis Prompts
  • The Future of Libraries
  • High School Drama
  • Holiday Synthesis

Assessments:

• Synthesis Practice Essays