Priority standards represent the assured student competencies that each teacher needs to help every student learn, and demonstrate proficiency in, by the end of the current grade or course. Priority standards are not the total curriculum, rather they represent the basic standards that every teacher should ensure that every student learns. The English Department’s priority standards are represented below. Each lesson that is represented on the class web-site includes the designed standard for learning relative to the designed lesson.
Performance Indicators
P.S. ELA-1 Language: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
A. Notice and correct grammatical and mechanical errors in writing.
B. Demonstrate command of correct sentence structure and variety.
C. Apply standard usage to formal speaking and writing.
P.S ELA-2 Reading Analysis: 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.
A. Evaluate the relevant themes and synthesize how they are present in the novel in oral and written responses.
B. Interpret the implications of setting and circumstance.
C. Analyze the role of characters in the plot in oral and written responses.
D. Analyze important quotations from the text in oral and written responses.
E. Annotate the text.
P.S ELA-3 Reading Craft and Structure: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of a text.
A. Understand SOAPSTone: Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone
B. Analyze the plot and/or design of the text, following shifts in time and place.
P.S ELA-4 Writing Analysis: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
A. Select and limit a debatable thesis.
B. Research evidence using credible sources.
C. Select an appropriate organizational plan.
D. Acknowledge alternate sides of a position.
E. Apply the standards of English conventions.
F. Apply persuasive strategies.
G. Create a Works Cited for evidence used.
P.S ELA-5 Writing Craft: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
A. Create an effective introduction.
B. Use showing details v. telling details.
C. Maintain a focus on the main idea throughout the body paragraphs.
D. Write an effective conclusion.
P.S. ELA-6 Research- based Writing: Compose research- based writing to examine a topic through the selection, organization, analysis, and synthesis of relevant content.
A. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources
B. Assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience
C. Integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source
D. Follow a standard format for citation.
E. Select and limit an appropriate topic.
F. Take notes using a minimum of three sources.
G. Prepare an outline and multiple drafts
H. Write a works’ cited page.
I. Write a strong introduction and conclusion.
J. Include precise, effective quotations that directly correspond to the main idea.
P.S. ELA-7 Speaking and Listening: Engage effectively in a well-reasoned exchange of ideas
A. Attentively listen to the words of a speaker.
B. Summarize what someone has said.
C. Defend, refute, or challenge the ideas of others.
D. Use evidence to support a position.
E. Organize ideas clearly and logically.
F. Use annotations of the text to contribute to class discussion.