9^th Grade:

·         Literal and figurative use of words

·         Denotative and connotative meanings of words

·         Prepare a bibliography

·         Extend ideas in primary and secondary sources

·         Evaluate author credibility

·         Determine character traits

·         Recognize literary devices: figurative language, imagery, symbolism

·         Effects of choice of narrator on characterization, tone, and plot

·         Establish a coherent thesis with a clear perspective

·         Develop main ideas supporting evidence

·         Integrate quotations and citations

·         Use MLA conventions for documentation within text, notes and bibliographies

·         Revise writing to improve logic, coherence, and word choice

·         Write biographical or autobiographical narrative

·         Write responses to literature

·         Write expository compositions

·         Write persuasive compositions

·         Formulate judgments about ideas and support judgments with evidence

·         Use props, visual aids, graphs, and electronic media

·         Analyze occasion and interests of audience

·         Understand sentence structure

·         Identify and use clauses and mechanics of punctuation

·         Demonstrate understanding of proper grammar, paragraph and sentence structure

·         Deliver expository presentations

·         Deliver oral responses to literature

10^th Grade:

·         Generate relevant questions about readings on issues that can be researched

·         Synthesize the content from several sources or works by a single author to demonstrate comprehension

·         Evaluate the credibility of an author's argument or defense of a claim

·         Compare and contrast the presentation of a similar theme or topic across genres to explain how the selection of genres shapes the theme or topic

·         Analyze and trace an author's development of time and sequence

·         Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate modifiers, and the active rather than the passive voice

·         Use clear research questions and suitable research models

·         When writing, synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities

·         Write biographical or autobiographical narratives or short stories

·         Write responses to literature

·         Write expository compositions, including analytical essays and research reports

·         Write persuasive compositions

·         Choose logical patterns of organization to inform and persuade

·         Reflect appropriate manuscript requirements (eg., in-text citation, use of direct quotations, paraphrasing) with appropriate citations

·         Deliver narrative presentations

·         Deliver persuasive arguments

·         Deliver descriptive presentations

11^th Grade:

·         Word analysis and vocabulary development

·         Analyze a variety of genres and traditions in American Literature

·         Evaluate the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of the historical period that shaped the characters, plots, and settings

·         Analyze the ways in which irony, tone, mood, the author's style, and the "sound" of language achieve specific rhetorical or aesthetic purposes

·         Analyze philosophical approach, clarity and political assumptions in literary works

·         Analyze purpose, speaker, audience, form

·         Structure ideas and support them with precise and relevant examples (use quotes and citations)

·         Use parenthetical citations and annotated bibliographies

·         Demonstrate understanding of proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, paragraph and sentence structure

·         Deliver oral presentations

·         Write responses to literature

·         Evaluate and revise your writing

·         Recognize strategies used by the media to inform, persuade, entertain, transmit culture

·         Deliver reflective presentations

·         Deliver multimedia presentations