English Language Arts
The Archdiocese of Baltimore's English Language Arts (ELA) curricula , revised in 2015-2016 school year, ensures a commitment to the tradition of academic excellence in reading/literature, writing, grammar and spelling that have been a hallmark of Catholic education. This standards-based curriculum serves as a guide, a roadmap for both teachers and students as they embark on a journey, which will provide them with the knowledge and understanding of the faith as witnessed in the teachings and the traditions of the Catholic Church. Revised in 2015-16 school year, the English Language Arts Curriculum for the Archdiocese of Baltimore is designed using the Catholic, College and Career Ready clusters as its foundation. (ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE, STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM, February 7, 2016)
Standards For English Language Arts (ELA)
The K–12 standards define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. While these standards are not our curriculum, they reflect the skills and knowledge students will need to succeed in college, career, and life. (http://www.corestandards.org)
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific
textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and
figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g.,
a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
(Summary from: Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, College and Career Readiness (CCR), http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/CCRA/R/)