High School ELA

In this Grade 10 ELA argument writing unit, students explore the delicate balance between honoring cultural traditions and navigating modern environmental and economic challenges. Assuming the role of community advocates, students research a local socio-ecological tension in Hawaiʻi and draft a persuasive essay for Ka‘ū News to propose solutions that sustain traditional knowledge in a contemporary world.

Launching the Task

Teachers anchor the unit with a local imagery gallery walk where students evaluate traditional practices being adapted to modern life. Following a personal quickwrite and a small-group discussion on cultural preservation, students are introduced to the core prompt demanding a community-facing stance on balancing heritage with modern demands.

Building Understanding

Students evaluate curated multi-perspective sources using a checklist to ensure geographic relevance and credibility. Collaborating in groups, they select a local focus area (such as hunting traditions, land development, or commercial versus traditional fishing) and gather evidence using text annotations, scaffolded two-column notes, and an annotated bibliography.

Constructing the Products

Individual students utilize an argument template to map out, draft, and revise a formal essay featuring a targeted claim, an exploration of multiple perspectives, and a specific call to action. After engaging in a constructive peer-review cycle and polishing their work for sentence fluency and conventions, students submit a final, fully cited essay formatted as a newspaper-style article.

CCSS ELA Standards: RI.9-10.3, W.9-10.1, W.9-10.4, W.9-10.6, SL.9-10.4, RI.3 and SL.4, L.9-10.2-3

In this Grade 9-10 English Language Arts performance assessment, students examine how complex ideas construct personal and cultural identities — demonstrating their informational literacy skills by synthesizing data regarding migration, assimilation, and acculturation in Hawaiʻi to present an informational campaign to local ethnic community groups.

• Part 1 (~3 periods, individual/whole class) — Students explore diverse cultural histories, places of origin, and ancestral traditions through informational texts, media, and guided brainstorming, using visual diagrams and graphic organizers to develop compelling inquiry questions regarding immigration and cultural markers.

• Part 2 (~2 periods, individual/small group) — Students construct an organized informational writing essay based on their research and personal interviews, selectively curating relevant facts, concrete details, and structural transitions to synthesize historical data with real-world reflections on community adaptations.

• Part 3 (Additional class periods, individual/partner) — Students transform their research into a specialized presentation format—such as an infographic poster, video, podcast, panel discussion, or slideshow—incorporating precise domain-specific vocabulary and an MLA/Turabian works cited page to deliver their findings to a wider community audience.

CCSS ELA Standards: W.9-10.2.A-F, SL.9-10.4, RI.9-10.1, RI.9-10.2, RI.9-10.5-6

In this Grade 11-12 English Language Arts performance assessment, students assume a real-world role to evaluate, select, and analyze poetry suitable for recitation at a high school commencement ceremony — demonstrating their analytical skills by defending how specific literary elements and author techniques resonate with an audience of parents, teachers, and peers.

• Part 1 (~2 hours, individual/whole class) — Students activate background knowledge on milestone life events and review a multi-perspective poetry text set, using structured graphic organizers and written notes to log explicit and implicit evidence tied to specific literary elements and author techniques.

• Part 2 (~2 hours, individual/partner) — Students formulate an independent analytical argument, organizing and drafting a defensible thesis statement that evaluates the poem's theme and systematically links the author's stylistic craft to the contextual needs of a graduation ceremony audience.

• Part 3 (~1-2 hours, optional presentation) — Students refine their final analytical product through peer-editing cycles, choosing to submit a formal academic essay or deliver an oral presentation supported by digital media elements and active text referencing.

CCSS ELA Standards: W.11-12.9, W.11-12.2.A-F, SL.11-12.5, RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.2, RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.4, RL.11-12.5, RL.11-12.6

In this Grade 11-12 English Language Arts performance assessment, students examine how authors construct universal themes about the personal, familial, or cultural struggles of locating oneself within a community — demonstrating their analytical skills by synthesizing textual elements and presenting a cohesive literary analysis to a real-world audience.

• Part 1 (~1 period, individual/whole class) — Students read a core literary work or full-length text, using double-entry graphic organizers and margin annotations to log explicit and implicit text evidence linked to specific literary elements like characterization, symbolism, and perspective.

• Part 2 (~1-2 periods, small group/whole class) — Students participate in collaborative group discussions using higher-order comprehension questions to evaluate how the author's stylistic craft, word choices, and structural development build an underlying message about finding one's place in society.

• Part 3 (~1-2 periods, individual/partner) — Students organize, draft, and peer-review an original analytical presentation for the school's annual Literacy Night, choosing between an academic essay, digital slideshow, or visual layout to communicate their thesis, logical reasoning, and real-world connections.

CCSS ELA Standards: W.11-12.9, W.11-12.2.A-F, SL.11-12.5, RL.11-12.9.A, RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.2, RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.4, RL.11-12.6

In this Grade 11-12 English Language Arts performance assessment, students evaluate the shifting definitions and accessibility of visual and performing arts — demonstrating their analytical skills by engaging in text-based collaborative discourse and communicating a formal argument regarding the implementation of physical vs. digital art mediums in public education.

• Part 1 (~45 min, small group/whole class) — Students participate in a collaborative Socratic Seminar to evaluate teacher-provided informational texts, blog posts, and TED Talks, actively analyzing each author's rhetoric, perspective, and core arguments surrounding physical and artificial intelligence (AI)-sourced artwork.

• Part 2 (~45 min, individual) — Students select an authentic real-world audience—such as community leaders, local media outlets, or school stakeholders—and establish a definitive position on whether public schools should fund in-person creative art experiences or rely on digitized representations.

• Part 3 (~90 min, individual) — Students systematically organize, draft, and refine their argument in an appropriate structural format—such as an op-ed article, academic essay, or recorded speech—incorporating relevant textual evidence, fair counterargument refutations, cohesive syntax, and formal language conventions.

CCSS ELA Standards: W.11-12.1.A-E, SL.11-12.5, RI.11-12.1, RI.11-12.6, RI.11-12.7

In this Grade 11 English Language Arts performance assessment, students engage in the writing process to develop a creative nonfiction manuscript — demonstrating their narrative skills by writing a personal narrative that uses vivid details, community-based inquiry, and reflective storytelling to convey a central insight about identity and voice.

• Part 1 (~1 week, individual/whole class) — Students explore the creative nonfiction genre by analyzing mentor texts like blogs, memoirs, and essays to select a meaningful personal topic, family narrative, or college application essay prompt.

• Part 2 (~1 week, individual) — Students conduct personal or community-based inquiry, interviewing mentors or elders and researching family artifacts or online regional archives to gather authentic contextual details for their manuscript.

• Part 3 (~1-2 weeks, individual/partner) — Students map out, draft, and systematically revise a 500–600 word narrative, prioritizing creative exploration and voice before utilizing peer review checklists to refine text coherence.

• Part 4 (~1 week, individual or small groups) — Students share their completed manuscript through an oral storytelling format of their choice, utilizing expressive vocal delivery, pacing, and optional visual artifacts to engage their audience.

CCSS ELA Standards: W.11-12.2.A, W.11-12.3.A-B, W.11-12.4, W.11-12.6, W.11-12.10, SL.11-12.1.A-D, L.11-12.5.A-B