Tennessee English Language Arts Standards

General Introduction

Businessman and philanthropist W. Clement Stone claimed that “Definitiveness of purpose is

the starting point of all achievement,” and standards provide that definition of purpose for each grade

level. Standards should measure excellence, not just benchmark skills; therefore, the committee of

Tennessee teachers, administrators, and higher education faculty developed a set of learning

outcomes that embraces an overall expectation of 21

century literacy skills necessary to succeed in

post-secondary and workforce arenas. Thus, critical and divergent thinking, problem solving, active

listening, recognition of patterns and anomalies, and evaluation and questioning of source material

are essential skills in this document. Furthermore, these expectations reinforce the three ELA

instructional shifts: regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary; reading and

writing grounded in evidence from literary and informational text; and building knowledge through

content rich literary and informational text.

Standards Design

The keystone is our ultimate goal—students who are post-secondary and workforce-ready.

The term keystone offers the relevant descriptive metaphor: in masonry, the keystone is the central

stone at the summit of an arch, which holds the other pieces in place. While not mentioned directly in

the standards, the students as keystone remind all who implement the standards to keep the students

as the focus. The keystone encourages all stakeholders to embrace and celebrate the diversity of

young and adolescent learners and to employ evidence-proven, responsive, individualized

implementation. Forming the foundation for post-secondary and workforce readiness are the

cornerstone standards (previously anchor standards). These standards are foundational to the ELA

skills and progression of skills that ensure all students meet post-secondary and workforce

expectations. The term cornerstone offers another relevant descriptive metaphor: in ancient masonry,

the cornerstone was the principal stone placed at the corner of an edifice. As such, it was usually one

of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice.

“Integrate” means to render something whole. Continuing the masonry metaphor, the

standards graphic communicates how the individual strands are built as compact units, but only when

all of the standards are fused together do we have a strong structure. When crafting the English

Language Arts Standards, the committee focused on the integrated nature of the skills in the

discipline and the progression of the skills through the grade levels. Through presenting the

standards in a vertical chart by standard rather than with each grade separately, the document

emphasizes how the skills for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language spiral through all

of the grade levels, leading to post-secondary and workforce readiness. Linking standards signal that

planning for instruction needs to begin with a high quality text and that planning decisions with the

standards center on the selection(s). The exception to this thinking is the K-2 foundational skills.

Important to understanding the progression is the role of each grade band within them. In

grades K-5, the standards signal the importance of laying a solid foundation for reading and writing.

The middle grades, 6-8, solidify the foundation while increasing the complexity of text selection and

tasks. Finally, grades 9-12 focus on sophistication and style. When learning the standards for one

grade level, readers must read the standards in the previous and subsequent grades and understand

how that immediate grade fits into the students’ overall development. Additionally, the standards are a

progression, and teachers will need to assess student understanding of and build on the previous

years' standards as they implement the standards for their current grade.

The committee of Tennessee teachers, administrators, and higher education faculty who wrote

the standards maintained an intentional focus on the language of the five strands. Following the

mantra of “read about it, talk about it, write about it”—the committee approached reading and writing

as reciprocal skills; therefore, the role of texts and routine writing permeates all of the standards.

Students should read high quality texts, discuss their interpretation and analysis, and write about their

learning. When working with the writing and speaking and listening standards, students should

engage in reading and research practices as well as focus on the craft and correctness of their

language.

With regard to the technology integration, to the extent possible, the committee left the

standards open to the ever-changing environment. The goal of the integration is to ensure that

students are prepared for the technology demands of the post-secondary and workforce needs of

Tennessee high school graduates; therefore, the focus is not on specific types of technology but the

students’ ability to use the technology of their era.

Because the metaphor focuses on building skills from a strong foundation to support the

keystone, the rest of the document follows that same line of thinking. Foundational Literacy standards

are the first section to follow the introduction. Following the Foundational Literacy standards are the

strands that lead to literacy competence: Language, Reading, Speaking and Listening, and Writing.

Note on Coding

The standards are coded with the grade level, title of the strand, the category within the strand,

and the number within the strand. In a few cases, a letter might also be used to delineate subsections.

Example:

K.FL.PC.1

K is the grade level.

Foundational Literacy (FL) is the strand.

Print Concepts (PC) is the category.

1 is the number of the standard within the strand.

Foundational K-5 Literacy Standards

Literacy is a multi-faceted, complex relationship of interrelated skills. The ultimate goal of

literacy instruction is for students to become proficient readers and writers. Before proficiency can be

achieved, children must adequately develop the essential foundational skills during the early grades.

The foundational literacy standards for Tennessee students are a progression beginning with

foundational skills to the sophisticated application of oral and written language. These standards

include: print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, word and sentence

composition, and fluency.

Foundational literacy skills must be nurtured and developed from an early age. Acquisition of

language-related skills begins with exposure to linguistic awareness games, songs, nursery rhymes,

and rhythmic activities (NAEYC, 1998). The sounds and cadences serve as the groundwork for

phonemic awareness (a child’s ability to hear, manipulate, and identify small units of speech,

including sounds, words, and syllables). Phonemic awareness is a significant predictor of reading

success (Suggate, 2014). Also essential to building language-related skills is reading aloud to

children (Wells, 1985). During read-alouds, children learn language, experience new cultures and

ideas, and engage in conversation around text, all which lead to empowerment, comprehension, and

vocabulary development (NAEYC, 1998). In addition, participation in rich discussions helps students

build an innate understanding of the rules and patterns that govern the grammar and syntax of

standard English.

An early reading foundation begins with the alphabetic principle, the understanding that there

is a systematic relationship between letters and sounds. As children begin to develop this

understanding, they begin naming letters of the alphabet. This basic code-related skill is one of the

most significant predictors of future reading success (Adams, 1990; National Reading Panel, 2000).

Next, students connect the alphabet with the individual letter sounds and are ready for phonics

instruction. Phonics instruction builds upon phonemic awareness, which includes letter symbols

connected to letter sounds. Phonics instruction is a key component to children’s success in reading

and decoding unknown words. According to Chall (1987), “Research evidence over the past 70 years

indicates overwhelmingly that direct, explicit instruction in phonics is needed and contributes to better

development of decoding, word recognition, and comprehension.” The goal of the foundational

reading skills is to develop fluent readers who are able to comprehend texts across a wide range of

texts. To achieve this goal, children must be able to process words both accurately and efficiently and

read with appropriate expression (Duke & Carlisle, 2011; Rasinski, Reutzel, Chard & Linan-

Thompson, 2011). Fluent readers spend less time on word recognition, thereby freeing their cognitive

resources to focus on sentence, paragraph, and passage comprehension.

Early writing foundations include sound-letter basics, spelling, elements of grammar, sentence

composition, and the development of writing skills and habits. Instruction in grammar and sentence

composition enables the communication of meaning and allows the writer to make deliberate choices

about how ideas will be expressed. The grammatical characteristics of spoken language are different

in significant ways from those of written language and are often learned through years of instruction

and practice. In the early years, knowledge of these characteristics is formed through use in spoken

and written situations. In writing, as with reading, accuracy and fluency with component skills enables

young writers to focus on higher-level aspects of composition, such as topic focus and maintenance,

word choice, and attentiveness to the reader. As children gain fluency and automaticity with spelling

and sentence writing, their compositions tend to become longer and better constructed. When skills

are automatic, more cognitive resources are available for consideration of audience, purpose, and the

form in which ideas are expressed (Moats, 2015).

In an increasingly connected culture, literacy carries many human benefits, including self-

esteem and empowerment. As human beings, we have the right to literacy (UNESCO, 2005).

Educators have the responsibility to provide students with the tools to become active, literate

members of our society.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Print Concepts – Standard 1

FL.PC.1

Cornerstone: Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

1. FL.PC.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

a. Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence, such as first word,

capitalization, and ending punctuation.

K.F L.PC.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

a. Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.

b. Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific

sequences of letters.

c. Understand that words are separated by spaces in print; demonstrate one-to-one

correspondence between voice and print.

d. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet in isolation and

in connected text.

e. Distinguish between pictures and words.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Phonological Awareness – Standard 2

FL.PA.2

Cornerstone: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

1. FL.PA.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds

(phonemes).

a. Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable

words.

b. Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes) in

spoken single-syllable words.

c. Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds

(phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.

d. Segment spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of

individual sounds (phonemes).

K.F FL.PA.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and

sounds (phonemes).

a. Recognize and begin to produce rhyming words.

b. Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

c. Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

d. Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds

(phonemes) in two- and three-phoneme (VC or CVC) words, excluding CVC

words ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.

e. Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable

words to make new words.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Phonics and Word Recognition – Standard 3

FL.PWR.3

Cornerstone: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding isolated words

and in connected text.

GRADE SPAN STANDARDS

5. FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding

isolated words and in connected text.

a. Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication

patterns, and morphology (roots and affixes) to accurately read unfamiliar

multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

4. FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding

isolated words and in connected text.

a. Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication

patterns, and morphology (roots and affixes) to accurately read unfamiliar

multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

3. FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding

isolated words and in connected text.

a. Identify and define the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational

suffixes.

b. Decode words with common Latin suffixes, such as -ly, -less, and -ful.

c. Decode multi-syllable words.

d. Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

2. FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding

isolated words and in connected text.

a. Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable

words.

b. Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

c. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

d. Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

e. Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

f. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

g. Decode grade-level texts with purpose and understanding.

1. FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding

isolated words and in connected text.

a. Know the sound-spelling correspondence for common consonant digraphs.

b. Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

c. Know the final –e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel

sounds, including r controlled vowels.

d. Use knowledge that every syllable must have a vowel sound to determine the

number of syllables in a printed word.

e. Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into

syllables.

f. Read words with inflectional endings.

g. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

h. Read grade-level decodable text with purpose and understanding.

K.FFL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when

decoding isolated words and in connected text.

a. Demonstrate knowledge of one-to-one letter sound correspondence by producing

the most frequent sound for each consonant.

b. Associate the long and short phonemes with common spellings for the five major

vowels.

c. Read common high-frequency words by sight.

d. Decode regularly spelled CVC words.

e. Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the letters that differ.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Word Composition – Standard 4

FL.WC.4

Cornerstone: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding words; write

legibly.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

5. FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding

words; write legibly.

a. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.

b. Write legibly in manuscript and cursive.

4. FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding

words; write legibly.

a. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.

b. Write legibly in manuscript and cursive.

3. FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding

words; write legibly.

a. Use spelling patterns and generalizations in writing one-, two-, and three-syllable

words.

b. Use conventional spelling for high-frequency words, including irregular words.

c. Consult reference materials, including a dictionary and thesaurus, as needed to

check and correct spellings.

d. Write legibly in manuscript; write all lower and uppercase cursive letters.

2. FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding

words; write legibly.

a. Use conventional spelling for one-syllable words including position-based patterns,

complex consonant blends, less common vowel teams for long vowels, vowel-r

combinations, contractions, homophones, plurals, and possessives.

b. Use conventional spelling for regular two- and three-syllable words containing

combined syllable types, compounds, and common prefixes and derivational

suffixes.

c. Spell words with suffixes that require consonant doubling, dropping silent -e, and

changing y to i.

d. Write most common, frequently used words and most irregular words.

e. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, to check and correct

spelling.

f. Print legibly in manuscript; write many upper and lowercase letters in cursive.

1. FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding

words; write legibly.

a. Use conventional spelling for one-syllable words with common consonant spelling

patterns, including consonant diagraphs, double letters, and initial and final

consonant blends.

b. Use conventional spelling for one-syllable words with common vowel spelling

patterns including VCVe, common vowel teams, final -y, and r-controlled vowels.

c. Spell words with inflectional endings.

d. Spell two-syllable words that end in -y or -ly, are compounds, or have two closed

syllables.

e. Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling

conventions.

f. Write many common, frequently used words and some irregular words.

g. Print all upper and lowercase letters.

K.F FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when

encoding words; write legibly.

a. Write uppercase and lowercase manuscript letters from memory.

b. Write a letter/letters for most consonant and short vowel sounds (phonemes).

c. Represent phonemes first to last in simple words using letters (graphemes) such as

rop for rope.

d. Spell VC (at, in) and CVC (pet, mud) words with short vowels; spell V (a, I) and CV

(be, go) words with long vowels.

e. Identify the letters used to represent vowel phonemes and those used to represent

consonants; know that every syllable has a vowel.

f. Write some common, frequently used words (am, and, like, the).

g. Print many upper and lowercase letters.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Fluency – Standard 5

FL.F.5

Cornerstone: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

5. FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

b. Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and

expression on successive readings.

c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding of

words; reread as necessary.

4. FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

b. Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and

expression on successive readings.

c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding of words;

reread as necessary.

3. FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

b. Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and

expression on successive readings.

c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding of words;

reread as necessary.

2. FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

b. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on

successive readings.

c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding of words;

reread as necessary.

1. FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

b. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on

successive readings.

c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding of words;

reread as necessary.

K.F FL.F.5 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

a. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Sentence Composition – Standard 6

FL.SC.6

Cornerstone: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when

speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including capitalization and punctuation,

when writing.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

5. FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing.

a. Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections as used in general

and in particular sentences.

b. Form and use the perfect verb tense.

c. Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.

d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.

e. Use correlative conjunctions.

f. Use punctuation to separate items in a series.

g. Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.

h. Use a comma to set off the words yes and no, to set off a tag question from the rest of

the sentence (e.g., It’s true, isn’t it?), and to indicate direct address.

i. Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.

j. Write multiple cohesive paragraphs on a topic.

4. FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing.

a. Use relative pronouns and relative adverbs.

b. Form and use progressive verb tenses.

c. Use auxiliary verbs, such as can, may, and must, to clarify meaning.

d. Form and use prepositional phrases.

e. Produce complete sentences; recognize and correct inappropriate fragments and run-

ons.

f. Use correct capitalization.

g. Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.

h. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.

i. Write several cohesive paragraphs on a topic.

3. FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing.

a. Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as used in

general and in particular sentences.

b. Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.

c. Use abstract nouns.

d. Form and use regular and irregular verbs.

e. Form and use simple verb tenses.

f. Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.

g. Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs correctly.

h. Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

i. Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.

j. Capitalize appropriate words in titles.

k. Use commas in addresses.

l. Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.

m. Form and use possessives.

n. Write a cohesive paragraph with a main idea and detailed structure.

2. FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing.

a. Use collective nouns.

b. Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns.

c. Use reflexive pronouns, such as myself and ourselves.

d. Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs.

e. Use adjectives and adverbs correctly.

f. Produce, expand, and rearrange simple and compound sentences.

g. Use common coordinating conjunctions.

h. Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.

i. Use commas in the greeting and closing of a letter.

j. Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

k. With prompting and support, link sentences into a simple, cohesive paragraph with a

main idea or topic.

1. FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing.

a. Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.

b. Use singular and plural nouns with correct verbs in basic sentences.

c. Use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns.

d. Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future.

e. Use frequently occurring adjectives.

f. Use frequently occurring conjunctions.

g. Use articles and demonstratives.

h. Use frequently occurring prepositions, such as during, beyond, and toward.

i. Produce and expand simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and

exclamatory sentences in response to prompts.

j. Capitalize names of people and dates.

k. End sentences with correct punctuation.

l. Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series.

K.F FL.SC.6 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and

usage when speaking and conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including

capitalization and punctuation, when writing with adult support.

a. With modeling or verbal prompts, orally produce complete sentences.

b. Follow one-to-one correspondence between voice and print when writing a sentence.

c. Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs when speaking and in shared language

activities.

d. Form regular plural nouns when speaking and in shared language activities.

e. Understand and use question words (interrogatives) when speaking and in shared

language activities.

f. Use the most frequently occurring prepositions when speaking and in shared language

activities.

g. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

h. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.

i. Recognize and name end punctuation.

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY STANDARDS:

Vocabulary Acquisition – Standard 7

FL.VA.7

Cornerstone: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context

clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

GRADE SPAN STANDARDS

5. FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

i. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

ii. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a

word.

iii. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or

clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

5. FL.VA.7b Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in

word meanings.

i. Interpret figurative language, including similes and metaphors, in context.

ii. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms and proverbs.

iii. Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.

5.FL.VA.7c Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific

words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships.

4. FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

i. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

ii. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a

word.

iii. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or

clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

4. FL.VA.7b Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in

word meanings.

i. Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors in context.

ii. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms and proverbs.

iii. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites and to words with similar

but not identical meanings

4.FL.VA.7c Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific

words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being and that

are basic to a particular topic.

3. FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

i. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

ii. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word.

iii. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root.

iv. Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise

meaning of key words and phrases.

3. FL.VA.7b Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

i. Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context.

ii. Identify real-life connections between words and their use.

iii. Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of

certainty.

3.FL.VA.7c Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and

domain specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and time relationships.

2. FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

i. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

ii. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word.

iii. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root.

iv. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words.

v. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the

meaning of words and phrases.

2. FL.VA.7b Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

i. Identify real-life connections between words and their use.

ii. Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related words.

2.FL.VA.7c Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and

responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe.

1. FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

i. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

ii. Use frequently occurring affixes as a clue to the meaning of a word.

iii. Identify frequently occurring root words and their inflectional forms.

1. FL.VA.7b With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word

relationships and nuances in word meanings.

i. Sort words into categories to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

ii. Define words by category and by one or more key attributes.

iii. Identify real-life connections between words and their use.

iv. Distinguish shades of meaning among words by defining or choosing them or by acting out the

meanings.

1.FL.VA.7c Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and

responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships.

K.FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

based on Kindergarten conversations, reading, and content.

i. Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately.

ii. Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes as a clue to the meaning of an unknown

word.

K.FL.VA.7b With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in

word meanings.

i. Sort common objects into categories to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.

ii. Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their

opposites.

iii. Make real-life connections between words and their use.

iv. Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs describing the same general action.

K.FL.VA.7c Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to,

and responding to texts.

Language 6-12 Standards

Literacy is a multi-faceted, complex relationship of interrelated skills, beginning with language

development. The standards have been written based on a progression beginning with the skills in the

Foundational Literacy standards—print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word

recognition, word and sentence composition, and fluency. The progression continues to build toward a

more sophisticated manipulation of language in the upper grades. This progression of building and

reinforcing foundational skills will be critical for the success of Tennessee students as they advance

towards mastering post-secondary and workforce expectations. In every grade, the Language

standards are based on the development of language processing from the wordlevel, to the sentence

level, and finally to content knowledge as further explained below. These three areas—words,

sentences, and content knowledge—come together to help the reader make sense of the text he or

she is reading (Hennessey, 2014).

Words

“Vocabulary is the largest determinant of comprehension of language” (Biemiller, 2015).

Without vocabulary and word knowledge, students struggle to develop the complex skills required for

comprehension of a text, and they are also limited in what they can process through listening.

Additionally, they are limited in the words that they can use to effectively produce clear

communication. Therefore, the standards focus on developing a strong academic vocabulary and

emphasize strategies for continued vocabulary growth.

The standards incorporate several key strategies that good readers use in tandem when

appropriate. Using context is one strategy, but alone it is often ineffective in determining the meaning

of a word in a sentence (Ebbers; Archer). However, when students can combine the context of the

word with their awareness of meaningful word parts, they have the opportunity to access increasingly

complex texts. Further, students can verify their constructed meaning with reference material and

confirm their inferences.

Sentences

Marilyn Adams crafts an appropriate analogy when she explains, “Trying to read without syntax

is like doing math without the operations” (2012). Students who do not know how to distinguish

main ideas from subordinating ideas in sentences will struggle to know the speaker’s or writer’s focus.

The reverse is also true; the writer or speaker who does not know how to organize the various clauses

within a sentence will struggle to communicate clearly. After a 2013 review of the reciprocal

relationship between grammar and reading comprehension, Tim Shanahan summarized: “Studies

over the years have shown a clear relationship between syntactic or grammatical sophistication and

reading comprehension; that is, as students learn to employ more complex sentences in their oral and

written language, their ability to make sense of what they read increases, too” (2013).

Content Knowledge

Building knowledge from text is not directly addressed in the Language standards; however,

the Reading Literature, Reading Informational, and Speaking and Listening standards provide many

opportunities for the students to develop their content knowledge. Students draw on content

knowledge to determine the connotative meanings of words that rely on allusions to previously

learned material.

Command of Language

Students acquire command of language in environments rich in listening, speaking, reading,

and writing opportunities. Through discussion and collaboration, students develop flexible thinking

about language while learning to adhere to a set of conventions. Inviting students to experiment with

sentence structure helps them develop control over sentence and word choices. As Jeff Anderson

says in Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences and Beyond (2014, p. 9), “It’s not about

learning another rule such as how to use colons; it’s about writers discovering another option to make

their writing strong.” The goal of language education is for students to learn to adapt language to their

audience and to create an appropriate style and tone for the task.

While all students need to find their voice at some point, the standards focus the early years on

the foundational skills and emphasize the letter-sound correspondence and the basic components of

a sentence to give the students the tools to work with written language. Once the foundation has been

laid, the standards of the upper elementary and middle grades solidify the foundation and give the

student space to think flexibly about communicating a range of ideas effectively. Finally, the high

school standards focus on understanding the nuances of language and the evolution of language

rules to communicate in a social context leading to success in post-secondary and workforce

environments.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Conventions of Standard English – Standard 1

L.CSE.1

Cornerstone: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when

writing or speaking.

GRADE SPAN STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.CSE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

grammar and usage when writing or speaking; consider complex and contested

matters of usage and convention.

9-10

9-10.L.CSE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar

and usage when writing or speaking; use effective parallel structure and various types

of phrases and clauses to convey specific meaning and add variety and interest to

writing or presentations.

8.L.C SE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

grammar and usage.

a. When reading or listening, analyze the use of phrases and clauses within a

larger text.

b. When reading or listening, explain the function of verbs.

c. When writing or speaking, produce simple, compound, complex, and

compound-complex sentences with effectively-placed modifiers.

d. When reading or listening, explain the function of the voice (active and passive)

and the mood of a verb and its application in text.

e. When writing or speaking, produce and use varied voice and mood of verbs.

7.L.C SE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

grammar and usage.

a. When reading or listening, explain the function of phrases and clauses with

effectively-placed modifiers.

b. When writing or speaking, produce simple, compound, and complex sentences

with effectively-placed modifiers.

6.L.C SE.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

grammar and usage.

a. When reading or listening, explain the function of pronouns (pronoun case,

intensive pronouns, pronoun-antecedent agreement).

b. When writing or speaking, use pronouns (pronoun case, intensive pronouns,

pronoun- antecedent agreement) effectively.

c. When reading and listening, explain the function of phrases and clauses.

d. When writing or speaking, use simple, compound, and complex sentences.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Conventions of Standard English – Standard 2

L.CSE.2

Cornerstone: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,

and spelling when writing.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; when reading and writing, use

knowledge of punctuation to enhance sentence style to support the content of the

sentence; write and edit work so that it conforms to a style guide appropriate for the

discipline and writing type.

9-10

9-10.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English

capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; when reading and writing, explain

the functions of semicolons and colons to separate related ideas and use them correctly

to do so; write and edit work so that it conforms to a style guide appropriate for the

discipline and writing type.

8.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling. When reading and writing, explain the functions of punctuation

in creating sentence variety and style.

7.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling. When reading or writing, explain the function of commas to

separate coordinate adjectives and use them correctly to do so.

6.L.CSE.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling. When reading or writing, explain the functions of commas,

parentheses, and dashes to set off parenthetical elements and use them correctly to do

so.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Knowledge of Language – Standard 3

L.KL.3

Cornerstone: 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.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.KL.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; consult references for guidance; and apply an

understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts.

9-10

9-10.L.KL.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.

8.L.KL.3 When writing and speaking, adjust style and tone to a variety of contexts; when

reading or listening, analyze stylistic choices to determine context.

7.L.KL.3 When writing and speaking, choose precise language to express ideas concisely.

6.L.KL.3 When writing and speaking, vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener

interest, and style; maintain consistency in style and tone.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use – Standard 4

L.VAU.4

Cornerstone: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by

using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference

materials, as appropriate.

GRADE SPAN STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.VAU.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words

and phrases based on 11

-12

grade-level text by choosing flexibly from a range of

strategies.

a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.

b. Use common grade-appropriate morphological elements as clues to the meaning of a

word or a phrase.

c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word

or phrase.

d. Use etymological patterns in spelling as clues to the meaning of a word or phrase.

9-10

9-10.L.VAU.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and

phrases based on 9

-10

grade-level text by choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.

b. Use common grade-appropriate morphological elements as clues to the meaning of a

word or a phrase.

c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word

or phrase.

d. Use etymological patterns in spelling as clues to the meaning of a word or phrase.

8.L. AU.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and

phrases based on 8

grade-level text by choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.

b. Use common grade-appropriate morphological elements as clues to the meaning of a

word or a phrase.

c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word

or phrase.

d. Use etymological patterns in spelling as clues to the meaning of a word or phrase.

7.L. AU.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and

phrases based on 7

grade-level text by choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.

b. Use common grade-appropriate morphological elements as clues to the meaning of a

word or a phrase.

c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word

or phrase.

d. Use etymological patterns in spelling as clues to the meaning of a word or phrase.

6.L. AU.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and

phrases based on 6

grade-level text by choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

a. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or a phrase.

b. Use common grade-appropriate morphological elements as clues to the meaning of a

word or a phrase.

c. Consult reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word

or phrase.

d. Use etymological patterns in spelling as clues to the meaning of a word or phrase.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use – Standard 5

L.VAU.5

Cornerstone: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word

meanings.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.VAU.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and

nuances in word meanings in grades 11-12 reading and content; interpret figures of

speech in context and analyze their role in a text; analyze nuances in the meaning of

words with similar denotations.

9-10

9-10.L.VAU.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and

nuances in word meanings in grades 9-10 reading and content; interpret figures of speech

in context and analyze their role in a text; analyze nuances in the meaning of words with

similar denotations.

8.L.VAU.5 When reading, listening, writing, and speaking, explain the function of figurative

language, word relationships, and connotation/denotation and use them correctly and

effectively.

7.L.VAU.5 When reading, listening, writing, and speaking, explain the function of figurative

language, word relationships, and connotation/denotation and use them correctly and

effectively.

6.L.VAU.5 When reading, listening, writing, and speaking, explain the function of figurative

language, word relationships, and connotation/denotation and use them correctly and

effectively.

6-12 LANGUAGE STANDARDS:

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use – Standard 6

L.VAU.6

Cornerstone: Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and

phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the post-secondary and workforce level;

demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase

important to comprehension or expression.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use general academic and domain-specific words

and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the post-secondary

and workforce readiness level; demonstrate independence in building vocabulary

knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

9-10

9-10.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use general academic and domain-specific words

and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the post-secondary

and workforce readiness level; demonstrate independence in building vocabulary

knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

8.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate general academic and domain-

specific words and phrases; develop vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or

phrase important to comprehension or expression.

7.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate general academic and domain-

specific words and phrases; develop vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or

phrase important to comprehension or expression.

6.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately use grade-appropriate general academic and domain-

specific words and phrases; develop vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or

phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Reading K-12 Standards

As the young adult author Walter Dean Myers famously stated in almost every interview,

“Reading is not optional.” In this age of information, students and employees must be able to read

detailed, complex text to interpret the world around them. Be it the literary world, the natural world,

the academic world, or the work world, “Reading is a matter of survival” (Smith, 2014).Understanding

that reading is a key skill to accessing knowledge, the standards committee focused attention on

building a strong progression of standards from Kindergarten to twelfth grade that develop students’

ability to think critically about what they read. These reading standards are based on the

understanding that direct, explicit instruction of language and reading leads to strong confident

readers who are able to:

• Make inferences in increasingly complex text and logically explain their thinking

behind the inferences;

• Determine central ideas of texts, unpack the development of the ideas, and

summarize key aspects of a text to show the relationship between the details and

the central ideas;

• Analyze how and why ideas, events, and characters develop and interact over the

course of a single text;

• Interpret the explicit and subtle uses of language to shape meaning;

• Analyze how form and structure contribute to meaning-making;

• Assess how point of view, perspective, and purpose impact the development of a

text;

• Integrate and evaluate content in diverse media formats and analyze the impact

on a text;

• Evaluate arguments and trace the key points;

• Analyze ideas across texts and time;

• Build knowledge from content-rich nonfiction; and

• Consider alternate and opposing interpretations of text.

As with the other strands, the focus in elementary is on the foundational skills married with the

reading skills. Middle school solidifies the foundation and continues to build reading stamina with

increasingly complex literature and literary nonfiction, and the high school standards focus on the

students’ ability to recognize archetypal patterns, nuances of language, and intertextual connections.

In addition, when analyzing the Reading standards, Reading Standard 10 is integral to

understanding the other nine. The basic skills for reading are addressed in the Foundational Literacy

standards, and the skills for comprehension are embedded in the Reading standards. Furthermore,

the skills are applied to grade level texts. Reading Standard 1 for both Literature and Informational

Text are the building blocks for the teaching of the other standards because it focuses on the

students’ ability to make inferences and to cite the evidence that leads to their inferential thinking.

Literature and Informational Text in the English/Language Arts Classroom

Elementary students (K-5) interact with an equal division of time in literature and informational

text. Secondary students (6-12) focus on literature and literary nonfiction in the English classroom.

Because secondary schools departmentalize by content area, the emphasis on reading informational

text is divided across the specialized disciplines. Through careful attention to word choice and

structures in literature and literary nonfiction, students can:

[become] fluent in the decoding processes [enabling them] to allocate the

time and attention necessary to process the ideas, information, story, and

intellectual arguments and assumptions presented.….For that reason,

readers must engage in an active construction of meaning, in which they

grapple with the text and apply their earlier knowledge as they question,

analyze, and probe. In the process, they learn to build knowledge and go

beyond the wisdom of the author to think their own thoughts (Woolf &

Barzillai, 2009).

Elementary Classrooms

Middle Grade ELA

Classrooms

High School English

Classrooms

50% literature with

introduction to the different

genres.

Emphasis on literature with an

integrated examination of

themes across genres; some

specific genre studies.

Emphasis on literature and the

interaction among archetypal story

patterns and the references of

classical, traditional, and religious

texts in contemporary texts.

50% informational text with

introduction to the different

text features and text

structures in scientific and

social science texts.

Literary nonfiction as a means

of exploration on matters of

science, social studies, and

other specialized disciplines.

Literary nonfiction as a means of

contemplation of concepts on

matters of science, social studies,

and specialized disciplines.

Informational text as it can be

used to research and support

an argument.

Sophisticated informational text

from specialized disciplines as it

can be used to research and

support an argument.

Background to Guide Decision-Making

Students need to experience a range in text variety, complexity, and length. As teachers wrestle

with the percentage of time, they focus not on the formula, but on the intention of using a balance of

informational texts to build background knowledge to lead into and/or supplement a more complex

anchor text. Units of texts need to be thematically aligned to support the development of

background knowledge, which supports comprehension.

If our students are to graduate with the requisite reading skills, then the foundation must be

established in the early grades, with emphasis on print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics

and word recognition, word composition, and fluency. These foundational skills paired with the

Reading standards will develop readers who can decode words and sentences with automaticity, so

they can derive context and make meaning of a text that they read.

Ultimately, the act of reading is a cognitively demanding skill. With careful guidance and

instruction, students can fluently read words and sentences, so they can have access to the world of

ideas presented to them in print.

READING STANDARDS: Key Ideas and Details – Standard 1

R.KID.1

Cornerstone: Read closely to determine what a 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.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says

explicitly and draw inferences; support an

interpretation of a text by citing and synthesizing

relevant textual evidence from multiple sources.

11-12.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says

explicitly and draw inferences; support an

interpretation of a text by citing and synthesizing

relevant textual evidence from multiple sources.

9-10

9-10.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says

explicitly and draw inferences; cite the

strongest, most compelling textual evidence to

support conclusions.

9-10.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw inferences; cite the strongest, most

compelling textual evidence to support

conclusions.

8.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; support an

interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual

evidence.

8.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; support an

interpretation of a text by citing relevant textual

evidence.

7.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; cite several pieces

of textual evidence to support conclusions.

7.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; cite several pieces

of textual evidence to support conclusions.

6.RL.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; cite textual

evidence to support conclusions.

6.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a text says explicitly

and draw logical inferences; cite textual

evidence to support conclusions.

5.RL.KID.1 Quote accurately from a text when

explaining what the text says explicitly and

when drawing inferences from the text.

5.RI.KID.1 Quote accurately from a text when

explaining what the text says explicitly and when

drawing inferences from the text.

4.RL.KID.1 Refer to details and examples in a

text when explaining what the text says

explicitly; refer to details and examples in a text

when drawing inferences from the text.

4.RI.KID.1 Refer to details and examples in a

text when explaining what the text says explicitly;

refer to details and examples in the text when

drawing inferences from the text.

3.RL.KID.1 Ask and answer questions to

demonstrate understanding of a text, referring

explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers.

3.RI.KID.1 Ask and answer questions to

demonstrate understanding of a text, referring

explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers.

2.RL.KID.1 Ask and answer such questions as

who, what, where, when, why, and how to

demonstrate understanding of key details in a

text.

2.RI.KID.1 Ask and answer such questions as

who, what, where, when, why, and how to

demonstrate understanding of key details in a

text.

1.RL.KID.1 Ask and answer questions about

key details in a text.

1.RI.KID.1 Ask and answer questions about key

details in a text.

K.RL.KID.1 With prompting and support, ask

and answer questions about key details in a

text.

K.RI.KID.1 With prompting and support, ask and

answer questions about key details in a text.

READING STANDARDS: Key Ideas and Details – Standard 2

R.KID.2

Cornerstone: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key

supporting details and ideas.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.KID.2 Determine multiple themes or

central ideas of a text or texts and analyze their

development; provide a critical summary.

11-12.RI.KID.2 Determine multiple central ideas

of a text or texts and analyze their development;

provide a critical summary.

9-10

9-10.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central

idea of a text and analyze its development;

provide an objective or critical summary.

9-10.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text

and analyze its development; provide an

objective or critical summary.

8.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea

of a text and analyze its development over the

course of the text, including its relationship to

the characters, setting, and plot; provide an

objective summary.

8.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text and

analyze its development over the course of the

text, including its relationship to supporting

ideas; provide an objective summary.

7.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea

of a text and analyze its development over the

course of the text; provide an objective

summary.

7.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text and

analyze its development over the course of the

text; provide an objective summary.

6.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea

of a text and analyze its development over the

course of the text; provide an objective

summary.

6.RI.KID.2 Determine a central idea of a text and

how it is conveyed through details; provide an

objective summary.

5.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme or central idea

of a story, drama, or poem and explain how it

is conveyed through details in the text;

summarize the text.

5.RI.KID.2 Determine the central idea of a text

and explain how it is supported by key details;

summarize the text.

4.RL.KID.2 Determine a theme of a story,

drama, or poem and explain how it is

conveyed through details in the text;

summarize the text.

4.RI.KID.2 Determine the main idea of a text and

explain how it is supported by key details;

summarize a text.

3.RL.KID.2 Recount stories, including fables,

folktales, and myths from diverse cultures;

determine the central message, lesson, or

moral and explain how it is conveyed through

key details in the text.

3.RI.KID.2 Determine the main idea of a text;

recount the key details and explain how they

support the main idea.

2.RL.KID.2 Recount stories, including fables

and folktales from diverse cultures, and

determine their central message, lesson, or

moral.

2.RI.KID.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-

paragraph text as well as the focus of specific

paragraphs within a text.

1.RL.KID.2 Retell stories, including key details,

and demonstrate understanding of their central

message or lesson.

1.RI.KID.2 Identify the main topic and retell key

details of a text.

K.RL.KID.2 With prompting and support, orally

retell familiar stories, including key details.

K.RI.KID.2 With prompting and support, orally

identify the main topic and retell key details of a

text.

READING STANDARDS: Key Ideas and Details – Standard 3

R.KID.3

Cornerstone: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.KID.3 Analyze how an author’s choices

regarding the development and interaction of

characters, events, and ideas over the course of a

text impact meaning.

11-12.RI.KID.3 Analyze how an author’s choices

regarding the ordering of ideas and events, the

introduction and development of ideas, and

connections among ideas impact meaning.

9-10

9-10.RL.KID.3 Analyze how complex characters,

events, and ideas develop and interact over the

course of a text to impact meaning.

9-10.RI.KID.3 Analyze how an author presents and

develops key ideas and events to impact meaning.

8.RL.KID.3 Analyze how particular lines of

dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel

the action, reveal aspects of a character, or

provoke a decision.

8.RI.KID.3 Analyze the techniques used to

distinguish between and to make connections

among individuals, events, or ideas in a text.

7.RL.KID.3 Analyze how specific elements of a

story or drama interact with and affect each other.

7.RI.KID.3 Analyze the relationships and

interactions among individuals, events, and/or

ideas in a text.

6.RL.KID.3 Describe how the plot of a story or

drama unfolds, as well as how the characters

respond or change as the plot moves toward a

resolution.

6.RI.KID.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual,

event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and

developed in a text.

5.RL.KID.3 Compare and contrast two or more

characters, settings, or events in a story or drama,

drawing on specific details in a text.

5.RI.KID.3 Explain the relationships and

interactions among two or more individuals, events,

and/or ideas in a text.

4.RL.KID.3 Describe in depth a character, setting,

or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific

details in a text, such as a character’s thoughts,

words, or actions.

4.RI.KID.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or

concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text,

including what happened and why, based on

specific information in a text.

3.RL.KID.3 Describe characters in a story and

explain how their actions contribute to the

sequence of events.

3.RI.KID.3 Describe the relationship between a

series of historical events, scientific ideas or

concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text,

using language that pertains to time, sequence,

and cause/effect.

2.RL.KID.3 Describe how characters in a story

respond to major events and challenges.

2.RI.KID.3 Describe the connections between a

series of historical events, scientific ideas, or steps

in a process in a text.

1.RL.KID.3 Using graphic organizers or including

written details and illustrations when

developmentally appropriate, describe characters,

settings, and major events in a story using key

details.

1.RI.KID.3 Using graphic organizers or including

written details and illustrations when

developmentally appropriate, describe the

connections between two individuals, events,

ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

K.RL.KID.3 With prompting and support, orally

identify characters, setting, and major events in a

story.

K.RI.KID.3 With prompting and support, orally

identify the connection between two individuals,

events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

READING STANDARDS: Craft and Structure – Standard 4

R.CS.4

Cornerstone: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including technical, connotative, and

figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of

words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative

meanings; analyze the impact of specific

word choices on meaning and tone, including

words with multiple meanings and language

that is stylistically poignant and engaging.

11-12.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of

words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings; analyze how an author uses and

refines the meaning of a key term or terms

over the course of a text.

9 - 10

9-10.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of

words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative

meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of

specific word choices on meaning and tone,

such as how language evokes a sense of

time and place, and how it communicates an

informal or formal tone.

9-10.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of

specific word choices on meaning and tone.

8.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative

meanings; analyze the impact of specific

word choices on meaning and tone, including

allusions to other texts, repetition of words

and phrases, and analogies.

8.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings; analyze the impact of a specific

word choice on meaning and tone, including

analogies and allusions to other texts.

7.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative

meanings; analyze the impact of specific

word choices on meaning and tone, including

allusions to other texts and repetition of

words and phrases.

7.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings; analyze the impact of specific word

choices on meaning and tone, including

allusions to other texts and repetition of words

and phrases.

6.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative

meanings; analyze the impact of specific

word choices on meaning and tone, including

allusions to other texts.

6.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings.

5.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative language with emphasis

on similes and metaphors; analyze the impact

of sound devices on meaning and tone.

5.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text

relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings.

4.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

including those that refer to significant

characters and situations found in literature

and history.

4.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text

relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area,

including figurative, connotative, and technical

meanings.

3.RL.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases as they are used in a text,

distinguishing literal from nonliteral language

(e.g., feeling blue versus the color blue).

3.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3

topic or subject area.

2.RL.CS.4 Describe how words and phrases

supply meaning in a story, poem, or song.

2.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2

topic or subject area.

1.RL.CS.4 Identify words and phrases in

stories and poems that suggest feelings or

appeal to the senses.

1.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words

and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 1

topic or subject area.

K.RL.CS.4 With prompting and support, ask

and answer questions about unknown words

in text.

K.RI.CS.4 With prompting and support,

determine the meaning of words and phrases

in a text relevant to a Kindergarten topic or

subject area.

READING STANDARDS: Craft and Structure – Standard 5

R.CS.5

Cornerstone: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of

a text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.CS.5 Analyze how an author’s

choices concerning the structure of specific

parts of a text contribute to its overall structure,

meaning, and aesthetic impact.

11-12.RI.CS.5 Analyze and evaluate the

effectiveness of the structure an author uses in

his or her own exposition or argument, including

whether the structure makes points clear,

convincing, and engaging.

9-10

9-10.RL.CS.5 Analyze how an author’s choices

concerning text structure, plot structure, and/or

time manipulation create effects such as

mystery, tension, or surprise.

9-10.RI.CS.5 Analyze how an author’s ideas or

claims are developed and refined by particular

sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a

text.

8.RL.CS.5 Compare and contrast the structure

of two or more texts and analyze how the

differing structure of each text contributes to its

meaning and style.

8.RI.CS.5 Analyze in detail the structure of a

specific paragraph or section in a text, including

the role of particular sentences in developing

and refining a key concept.

7.RL.CS.5 Analyze the form or structure of a

story, poem, or drama, considering how text

form or structure contributes to its theme and

meaning.

7.RI.CS.5 Analyze the structure an author uses

to organize a text, including how the major

sections contribute to the whole and to the

development of the ideas.

6.RL.CS.5 Analyze how a particular sentence,

chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall

structure of a text and contributes to the

development of the theme, setting, or plot.

6.RI.CS.5 Analyze how a particular sentence,

paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall

structure of a text and contributes to the

development of the ideas.

5.RL.CS.5 Explain how a series of chapters,

scenes, or stanzas fit together to provide the

overall structure of particular texts.

5.RI.CS.5 Compare and contrast the overall

structure of events, ideas, and concepts of

information in two or more texts.

4.RL.CS.5 Explain major differences between

poems, drama, and stories, and refer to the

structural elements when writing or speaking

about a text.

4.RI.CS.5 Describe the overall structure of

events, ideas, and concepts of information in a

text or part of a text.

3.RL.CS.5 Refer to parts of stories, dramas,

and poems, using terms such as chapter,

scene, and stanza; describe how each

successive part of a text builds on earlier

sections.

3.RI.CS.5 Use text features to locate information

relevant to a given topic efficiently.

2.RL.CS.5 Describe the overall structure of a

story, including how the beginning introduces

the story and the ending concludes the action.

2.RI.CS.5 Know and use various text features to

locate key facts or information in a text

efficiently.

1.RL.CS.5 Explain major differences between

books that tell stories and books that give

information, drawing on a wide range of text

types.

1.RI.CS.5 Know and use various text features to

locate key facts or information in a text.

K.RL.CS.5 Recognize common types of texts. K.RI.CS.5 Know various text features.

READING STANDARDS: Craft and Structure – Standard 6

R.CS.6

Cornerstone: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.CS.6 Analyze how point of view

and/or author purpose requires distinguishing

what is directly stated in texts and what is

implied.

11-12.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of

view and/or purpose in a text, analyzing how

style and content contribute to its effectiveness.

9-10

9-10.RL.CS.6 Analyze how point of view and/or

author purpose shapes the content and style of

diverse texts.

9-10.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of

view or purpose and analyze how an author

uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or

purpose.

8.RL.CS.6 Analyze how similarities and

differences in the points of view of the audience

and the characters create effects such as

suspense, humor, or dramatic irony.

8.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of view or

purpose in a text and analyze how the author

acknowledges and responds to conflicting

evidence or viewpoints.

7.RL.CS.6 Analyze how an author establishes,

conveys, and contrasts the points of view of

different characters or narrators in a text.

7.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of view or

purpose in a text and analyze how an author

distinguishes his or her position from that of

others.

6.RL.CS.6 Explain how an author establishes

and conveys the point of view of the narrator or

speaker in a text.

6.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s point of view or

purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed

in a text.

5.RL.CS.6 Describe how a narrator’s or

speaker’s point of view influences how events

are described.

5.RI.CS.6 Analyze the similarities and

differences in points of view of multiple accounts

of the same event or topic.

4.RL.CS.6 Compare and contrast the point of

view from which different stories are narrated.

4.RI.CS.6 Compare and contrast two accounts

of the same event or topic; describe the

differences in focus and the information

provided.

3.RL.CS.6 Distinguish reader perspective from

that of the narrator or the perspectives of the

characters and identify the point of view of a

text.

3.RI.CS.6 Distinguish reader point of view from

that of an author of a text.

2.RL.CS.6 Determine when characters have

different points of view.

2.RI.CS.6 Identify the main purpose of a text,

including what an author wants to answer,

explain, or describe.

1.RL.CS.6 Identify who is telling the story at

various points in a text.

1.RI.CS.6 Distinguish between information

provided by pictures or other illustrations and

information provided by the words in a text.

K.RL.CS.6 With prompting and support, define

the role of authors and illustrators in the telling

of a story.

K.RI.CS.6 With prompting and support, define

the role of an author and illustrator in presenting

the ideas or information in a text.

READING STANDARDS: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 7

R.IKI.7

Cornerstone: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and

quantitatively, as well as in words.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.IKI.7 Evaluate the topic, subject,

and/or theme in multiple diverse formats and

media, including how the version interprets

the source text.

11-12.RI.IKI.7 Evaluate the topic or subject in

multiple diverse formats and media.

9-10

9-10.RL.IKI.7 Evaluate the topic, subject,

and/or theme in two diverse formats or

media.

9-10.RI.IKI.7 Evaluate the topic or subject in

two diverse formats or media.

8.RL.IKI.7 Analyze the extent to which a

filmed or live production of a story or drama

stays faithful to or departs from a text or

script, evaluating the choices made by the

director or actors.

8.RI.IKI.7 Evaluate the advantages and

disadvantages of using different mediums to

present a particular topic or idea.

7.RL.IKI.7 Compare and contrast a written

story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed,

staged, or multi-media version, analyzing the

effects of techniques unique to each medium.

7.RI.IKI.7 Compare and contrast a text to an

audio, video, or multimedia version of a text,

analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the

subject.

6.RL.IKI.7 Compare and contrast the written

version of a story, drama, or poem to the

experience of listening to or viewing an audio,

video, or live production of a text.

6.RI.IKI.7 Integrate information presented in

different media or formats, such as in tables,

images, diagrams, and words to develop a

coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

5.RL.IKI.7 Explain how visual and multimedia

elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or

mood of a text, such as in a graphic novel,

multimedia presentation, or fiction, folktale,

myth, or poem.

5.RI.IKI.7 Locate an answer to a question or

solve a problem, drawing on information from

multiple print or digital sources.

4.RL.IKI.7 Make connections between the

print version of a story or drama and a visual

or oral presentation of the same text.

4.RI.IKI.7 Interpret information presented

visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain

how the information contributes to an

understanding of the text in which it appears.

3.RL.IKI.7 Explain how illustrations in a text

contribute to what is conveyed by the words.

3.RI.IKI.7 Use information gained from

illustrations and the words in a text to

demonstrate understanding of a text.

2.RL.IKI.7 Use information gained from

illustrations and words in a print or digital text

to demonstrate understanding of its

characters, setting, or plot.

2.RI.IKI.7 Identify and explain how illustrations

and words contribute to and clarify a text.

1.RL.IKI.7 Either orally or in writing when

appropriate, use illustrations and words in a

text to describe its characters, setting, or

events.

1.RI.IKI.7 Either orally or in writing when

appropriate, use the illustrations and words in

a text to describe its key ideas.

K.RL.IKI.7 With prompting and support, orally

describe the relationship between illustrations

and the story in which they appear.

K.RI.IKI.7 With prompting and support, orally

describe the relationship between illustrations

and the text in which they appear.

READING STANDARDS: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 8

R.IKI.8

Cornerstone: 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.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

Standard #8 is

not applicable to

literature.

11-12.RI.IKI.8 Evaluate how an author

incorporates evidence and reasoning to

support the argument and specific claims in a

text.

9-10

9-10.RI.IKI.8 Evaluate how reasoning and

evidence affects the argument and specific

claims in a text.

8.RI.IKI.8 Delineate and evaluate the

argument and specific claims in a text,

assessing whether evidence is relevant and

sufficient to support the claims and the

reasoning is sound.

7.RI.IKI.8 Trace and evaluate the argument

and specific claims in a text, assessing

whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient

to support the claims.

6.RI.IKI.8 Trace and evaluate the argument

and specific claims in a text, distinguishing

claims that are supported by reasons and

evidence from claims that are not.

5.RI.IKI.8 Explain how an author uses reasons

and evidence to support points in a text,

identifying which reasons and evidence

support which points.

4.RI.IKI.8 Explain how an author uses reasons

and evidence to support particular points in a

text.

3.RI.IKI.8 Explain how reasons support

specific points an author makes in a text.

2.RI.IKI.8 Describe how reasons support

specific points an author makes in a text.

1.RI.IKI.8 Identify the reasons an author

provides to support points in a text.

K.RI.IKI.8 With prompting and support, identify

the reasons an author provides to support

points in a text.

READING STANDARDS: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 9

R.IKI.9

Cornerstone: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to

compare the approaches an author takes.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

11-12

11-12.RL.IKI.9 Demonstrate knowledge of and

analyze thematically-related, texts of literary

significance, considering how two or more texts

treat similar themes or topics.

11-12.RI.IKI.9 Analyze and evaluate a variety of

thematically-related texts of historical and literary

significance for their topics, facts, purposes, and

rhetorical features.

9-10

9-10.RL.IKI.9 Analyze a variety of related

literary texts and evaluate how an author draws

on, alludes to, or transforms source material to

provide a deeper and more thorough

interpretation of the text.

9-10.RI.IKI.9 Analyze a variety of thematically-

related texts of historical and literary significance

for the way they address related topics, facts,

and concepts.

8.RL.IKI.9 Analyze how contemporary texts are

shaped by foundational texts or literary

archetypes and how authors allude to traditional

works, myths, or religious texts; describe how

traditional elements are rendered anew.

8.RI.IKI.9 Analyze a case in which two or more

texts provide conflicting information on the same

topic and identify where the texts disagree on

matters of fact or interpretation.

7.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast an historical

account with a fictional portrayal of the same

time, place, or character.

7.RI.IKI.9 Analyze how two or more authors

writing about the same topic shape their

presentations of key information by emphasizing

different evidence or advancing an alternate

explanation of events.

6.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast texts in

different forms or genres in terms of their

approaches to similar themes and topics.

6.RI.IKI.9 Compare and contrast two or more

authors’ presentation of the same topic or event.

5.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast stories in the

same genre on their approaches to similar

themes and topics.

5.RI.IKI.9 Integrate information from two or more

texts on the same topic in order to build content

knowledge.

4.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast the treatment

of similar themes, topics, and patterns of events

in stories from different cultures.

4.RI.IKI.9 Integrate information from two texts on

the same topic in order to write or speak about

the subject knowledgeably.

3.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast the themes,

settings, and plots of stories written by the

same author about the same or similar

characters.

3.RI.IKI.9 Compare and contrast the most

important points and key details presented in two

texts on the same topic.

2.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast two or more

versions of the same story by different authors

or different cultures.

2.RI.IKI.9 Compare and contrast the most

important points presented by two texts on the

same topic.

1.RL.IKI.9 Compare and contrast the

adventures and experiences of characters in

stories including written details and illustrations

when developmentally appropriate.

1.RI.IKI.9 Identify basic similarities and

differences between two texts on the same topic

including written details and illustrations when

developmentally appropriate.

K.RL.IKI.9 With prompting and support, orally

compare and contrast the adventures and

experiences of characters in familiar stories.

K.RI.IKI.9 With prompting and support, orally

identify basic similarities and differences

between two texts on the same topic.

READING STANDARDS: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity – Standard 10

R.RRTC.10

Cornerstone: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

GRADE SPAN

LITERATURE

INFORMATIONAL TEXT

12.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature at the high end of the

grades 11-12 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

12.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction at the high end of

the grades 11-12 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

11.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature throughout the grades 11-

12 text complexity band proficiently, with a

gradual release of scaffolding at the higher

end as needed.

11.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction throughout the

grades 11-12 text complexity band proficiently,

with a gradual release of scaffolding at the

higher end as needed.

10.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature at the high end of the

grades 9-10 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

10.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction at the high end of

the grades 9-10 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

9.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature throughout the grades 9-

10 text complexity band proficiently, with a

gradual release of scaffolding at the higher

end as needed.

9.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction throughout the

grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently,

with a gradual release of scaffolding at the

higher end as needed.

8.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature at the high end of the

grades 6-8 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

8.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction at the high end of

the grades 6-8 text complexity band

independently and proficiently.

7.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature throughout the grades 6-8

text complexity band proficiently, with a

gradual release of scaffolding at the high end

as needed.

7.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction throughout the

grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently,

with a gradual release of scaffolding at the

high end as needed.

6.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literature throughout the grades 6-8

text complexity band proficiently, with a

gradual release of scaffolding at the high end

as needed.

6.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend a

variety of literary nonfiction throughout the

grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently,

with a gradual release of scaffolding at the

high end as needed.

5.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and poems at the high end of the grades 4-5

text complexity band independently and

proficiently.

5.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and informational texts at the high end of the

grades 4-5 text complexity band independently

and proficiently.

4.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and poems throughout the grades 4-5 text

complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding

at the high end as needed.

4.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and informational texts throughout the grades

4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with

scaffolding at the high end as needed.

3.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and poems at the high end of the grades 2-3

text complexity band independently and

proficiently.

3.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and informational texts at the high end of the

grades 2-3 text complexity band independently

and proficiently.

2.RL.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and poems throughout the grades 2-3 text

complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding

at the high end as needed.

2.RI.RRTC.10 Read and comprehend stories

and informational texts throughout the grades

2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with

scaffolding at the high end as needed.

1.RL.RRTC.10 With prompting and support,

read stories and poems of appropriate

complexity for grade 1.

1.RI.RRTC.10 With prompting and support,

read informational texts of appropriate

complexity for grade 1.

K.RL.RRTC.10 With prompting and support,

read stories and poems of appropriate

complexity for Kindergarten.

K.RI.RRTC.10 With prompting and support,

read informational texts of appropriate

complexity for Kindergarten.

Speaking and Listening K-12 Standards

Speaking and listening skills are necessary for young people to be successful in the post-

secondary, workforce, and creative endeavors they pursue. To this end, the Speaking and Listening

standards serve as a bridge between reading and writing skills: in the ELA classroom, students share

their understandings and ideas gleaned from reading and develop their written voice through

presentations, public speaking, and participation in classroom discussions. These speaking and

listening skills—like reading and writing skills—are founded upon the belief that students must “have

words in order to use words.” Thus, the K-5 Foundational Literacy standards work in conjunction with

the K-5 Speaking and Listening standards to help young students build their skills in understanding

spoken words and sounds, speak in complete sentences, ask and answer questions, and describe

and report on topics. In addition, the Speaking and Listening standards emphasize that students,

across grades K-12, will be able to:

• Participate in a range of conversations and collaborations with varied partners, building

on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively;

• Present information/ideas formally and informally in such a way that others can follow a

line of reasoning;

• Effectively integrate information from appropriate diverse formats;

• Evaluate a speaker’s point of view; and

• Make strategic use of digital media.

Effective speaking and listening skills are necessary in today’s job market. According to a 2015

Job Outlook survey—conducted each fall by the National Association of Colleges and Employers to

forecast hiring—employers from 260 organizations nationwide are looking for leaders who can “work

as part of a team” and “communicate effectively” (NACE, 2014). 77.8% of survey respondents

indicated "the ability to work in a team structure" was important, and 67% of respondents indicated

“verbal communication skills” were important in their hiring decisions.

To be a team-player and communicate effectively, young people must be able to do exactly

what the Speaking and Listening standards require. In 2013, Forbes magazine contributor Jacob

Morgan reported that the future of work is collaborative. Morgan provided examples of companies like

ING Direct Canada, where “employees have no offices. Anyone can talk to anyone and leaders focus

on removing obstacles instead of creating them.” At another financial-services company, the Motley

Fool, “employees play collaboration games to help work as a team, and have mobile desks that they

can relocate in their office.” The world of work as we know it is changing, and young people must

have strong and effective communication and collaboration skills to be considered employable.

Speaking and listening skills also aid reading comprehension and encourage engagement with

texts and ideas. Researchers have long suggested a link exists between oral language and reading

comprehension and that high-quality peer discussion and exploration of ideas—not just the

presentation of high-quality content by the teacher or text—are central to the developing

understandings of readers and writers.

Writing in 1948, Benjamin Bloome suggested discussion aids student problem-solving. In

1969, Britton suggested the concept of “talking to learn,” and in the 1970s, Vygotsky suggested

cognitive growth “is more likely when one is required to explain, elaborate, or defend one’s position to

others, as well as to oneself; striving for an explanation often makes a learner integrate and elaborate

knowledge in new ways” (1978, p. 158). In a 1991 study of 58 12

grade students, Sweigart found

that small-group discussions of nonfiction were superior to both lecture and whole-class discussion in

helping students recall and understand essays they read. In 2006, Nystrand reported that a meta-

analysis of 49 studies examining the effects of various types of small-group discussion approaches to

high-level thinking and comprehension found that, “in the most productive discussions, teachers

retained considerable control of text and topic while allowing students considerable interpretive

flexibility and the opportunity to elaborate their ideas for extended periods of time” (p. 398). In

research on whole-class discussion, Van den Branden (2000) found that discussion promotes reading

comprehension when problematic and difficult passages are the focus of sustained interaction. Van

den Branden also found that discussion benefited both fluent and limited English proficient speakers.

Long-standing, rigorous research supports the fact that discussion significantly supports

literacy skills, and employers want to hire young people who can be team-players and communicate

effectively. The Speaking and Listening standards afford opportunities for young people to develop

and practice the skills needed to successfully pursue post-secondary, workforce, and creative

endeavors.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Comprehension and Collaboration – Standard 1

SL.CC.1

Cornerstone: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with

varied partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas clearly and

persuasively.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKING

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.CC.1 Initiate and participate effectively with varied

partners in a range of collaborative discussions on appropriate

- 12

grade topics, texts, and issues, building on others’

ideas and expressing one’s own ideas clearly and

persuasively.

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.6

9-10

9-10.SL.CC.1 Initiate and participate effectively with varied

partners in a range of collaborative discussions on appropriate

- 10

grade topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas

and expressing one’s own ideas clearly and persuasively.

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10,

W.6

8.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 8

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-6

7.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 7

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-6

6.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 6

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-6

5.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 5

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

FL.F.5

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-6

4.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 4

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

FL.F.5

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-6

3.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative discussions on 3

grade

level topics and texts; engage effectively with varied partners,

building on others’ ideas and expressing one’s own ideas

clearly.

FL.F.5

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.4-6

2.SL.CC.1 Participate with varied peers and adults in

collaborative conversations in small or large groups about

appropriate 2

grade topics and texts.

FL.F.5

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.5-8

1.SL.CC.1 Participate with varied peers and adults in

collaborative conversations in small or large groups about

appropriate 1

grade topics and texts.

FL.F.5

RL.1-7, 9, 10

RI.1-10

W.1-3, 5-8

K.SL.CC.1 Participate with varied peers and adults in

collaborative conversations in small or large groups about

appropriate Kindergarten topics.

FL.F.5

RL.1- 7, 9,10

RI.1-10

W.1-3, 5-8

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Comprehension and Collaboration – Standard 2

SL.CC.2

Cornerstone: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media formats, such as visual,

quantitative, and oral formats.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKING

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.CC.2 Integrate multiple sources of information

presented in diverse media formats in order to make informed

decisions and solve problems; evaluate the credibility and

accuracy of each source and note any discrepancies among the

data.

L.VAU.5-6

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10.

RL/RI.7

W.8

9-10

9-10.SL.CC.2 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of

information presented in diverse media formats; evaluate the

credibility and accuracy of each source.

L.VAU.5-6

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10.

RL/RI.7

W.8

8.SL.CC.2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in

diverse media formats; evaluate the motives, such as social,

commercial, and political, behind its presentation.

L.VAU.5-6

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10.

RL/RI.7

W.8

7.SL.CC.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details

presented in diverse media formats; explain how this clarifies a

topic, text, or issue under study.

L.VAU.5-6

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10.

RL/RI.7

W.8

6.SL.CC.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media

formats; explain how source information contributes to a topic,

text, or issue under study.

L.VAU.5-6

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10.

RL/RI.7

W.8

5.SL.CC.2 Summarize a text presented in diverse media such as

visual, quantitative, and oral formats.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

RL/RI.7

W.8

4.SL.CC.2 Paraphrase portions of a text presented in diverse

media such as visual, quantitative, and oral formats.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

RL/RI.7

W.8

3.SL.CC.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a

text presented in diverse media such as visual, quantitative, and

oral formats.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

RL/RI.7

W.8

2.SL.CC.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text

read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

RL/RI.7

W.8

1.SL.CC.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text

read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

RL/RI.7

W.8

K.SL.CC.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or

information presented orally or through other media by asking and

answering questions about key details and requesting clarification

if something is not understood.

FL.VAC.7

Reading Cornerstone

Standards 1 and 10

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Comprehension and Collaboration – Standard 3

SL.CC.3

Cornerstone: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKING

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.CC.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and

use of evidence and rhetoric; assess the stance, premises, links

among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

L.4-5

RI.8

W.9

9-10

9-10.SL.CC.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and

use of evidence and rhetoric; identify any fallacious reasoning

and/or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

L.4-5

RI.8

W.9

8.SL.CC.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims,

evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and

sufficiency of the evidence; identify when irrelevant evidence is

introduced.

L.4-5

RI.8

W.9

7.SL.CC.3 Explain a speaker’s argument and specific claims,

focusing on whether the reasoning is sound, relevant, and

sufficient.

L.4-5

RI.8

W.9

6.SL.CC.3 Explain a speaker’s argument and specific claims,

distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence

from claims that are not.

L.4-5

RI.8

W.9

5.SL.CC.3 Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain

how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.

FL.7

RI.8

W.9

4.SL.CC.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides

to support particular points.

FL.7

RI.8

W.9

3.SL.CC.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a

speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

FL.7

RL.1

RI.1

2.SL.CC.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says

in order to gather information or clarify something that is not

understood.

FL.7

RL.1

RI.1

1.SL.CC.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says

in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is

not understood.

FL.7

RL.1

RI.1

K.SL.CC.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get

information, or clarify something that is not understood.

FL.7

RL.1

RI.1

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 4

SL.PKI.4

Cornerstone: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of

reasoning; the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKNG

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.PKI.4

Present information, findings, and supporting

evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective so that listeners

can follow the line of reasoning; address alternative or opposing

perspectives; and organize and develop substance and style

appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

RI.8

W.1, 4, 7,9

9-10

9-10.SL.PKI.4

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence

clearly, concisely, and logically, so that listeners can follow the line of

reasoning; ensure the organization, development, substance, and

style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

RI.8

W.1, 4, 7, 9

8.SL.PKI.4 Present claims and findings in a focused, coherent manner

with relevant evidence, valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use

appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

RL2

RI.2, 8

W.1, 4, 7

7.SL.PKI.4

Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in

a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details,

and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and

clear pronunciation.

RL2

RI.2, 8

W.1, 4, 7

6.SL.PKI.4

Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically

and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main

ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and

clear pronunciation.

RL2

RI.2, 8

W.1, 4, 7

5.SL.PKI.4 Report on a topic or text, or present an opinion,

sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant,

descriptive details to support main ideas.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.1-3, 4, 7

4.SL.PKI.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an

experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and

relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak

clearly at an understandable pace.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.2-3, 4, 7

3.SL.PKI.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an

experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details,

speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.2-3, 4, 7

2.SL.PKI.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts

and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent

sentences.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.3, 4, 7

1.SL.PKI.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant

details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.2-3, 4, 7

K.SL.PKI.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events, and,

with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

RL.1, 2, 3

RI.1, 2, 3

W.2-3, 4, 7

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 5

SL.PKI.5

Cornerstone: Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and

enhance understanding of presentations.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKING

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.PKI.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual

displays in presentations to enhance understanding of findings,

reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

9-10

9-10.SL.PKI.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual

displays in presentations to enhance understanding of findings,

reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

8.SL.PKI.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into

presentations to clarify information, to strengthen claims and

evidence, and to add interest.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

7.SL.PKI.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in

presentations to clarify claims and findings and to emphasize major

points.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

6.SL.PKI.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in

presentations to clarify information.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

5.SL.PKI.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in

presentations, when appropriate, to enhance the development of

main ideas or themes.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

4.SL.PKI.5 Add multimedia, such as audio and visual elements, to

presentations, when appropriate, to enhance the development of

main ideas or themes.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

3.SL.PKI.5 Add audio or visual elements, when appropriate,

to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

2.SL.PKI.5 Add audio or visual elements to stories or recounts of

experiences, when appropriate, to clarify ideas, thoughts, and

feelings.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

1.SL.PKI.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions,

when appropriate, to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

K.SL.PKI.5 Add drawings or other visual displays of descriptions as

desired to provide additional detail.

RI.7, 8, 9

W.6, 8

SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS:

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas – Standard 6

SL.PKI.6

Cornerstone: Adapt speech to a variety of contents and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of

formal English when indicated or appropriate.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

LINKING

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.SL.PKI.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,

demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or

appropriate.

L.1, 3

W.4-5

9-10

9-10.SL.PKI.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,

demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or

appropriate.

L.1, 3

W.4-5

8.SL.PKI.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,

demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or

appropriate.

L.1, 3

W.4-5

7.SL.PKI.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,

demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or

appropriate.

L.1, 3

W.4-5

6.SL.PKI.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,

demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or

appropriate.

L.1, 3

W.4-5

5.SL.PKI.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using

formal English when appropriate to task and situation.

FL. 6

W.4-5

4.SL.PKI.6 Recognize that different situations call for formal vs.

informal English, and use formal English when appropriate.

FL. 6

W.4-5

3.SL.PKI.6 Speak in complete sentences, when appropriate to

task and situation, to provide requested detail or clarification.

FL. 6

W.4-5

2.SL.PKI.6 Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task

and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

FL. 6

W.4-5

1.SL.PKI.6 With prompting and support, speak in complete

sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

FL. 6

W.4-5

K.SL.PKI.6 With guidance and support, express thoughts, feelings,

and ideas through speaking.

FL. 6

W.4-5

Writing K-12 Standards

Tennessee students matter, so writing must matter if young people are to graduate from high

school and be successful in the post-secondary, workforce, and creative endeavors they pursue. To

this end, the Writing standards support a progression of skills from Kindergarten through 12

grade

that help all young people develop into the writers they need to be in the 21

century. These skills are

founded upon the belief that students must “have words in order to use words.” Thus, the K-5 Writing

standards work in conjunction with the K-5 Foundational Literacy standards to help students build

their skills in understanding print concepts, spoken words and sounds, and writing words and

sentences. In addition, the Writing standards emphasize that students, across grades K-12, will be

able to:

• Recognize and write in various modes, for different purposes, including to support and

sustain an opinion or argument, to inform, and to express and reflect;

• Understand the relationship among writing task, purpose, and audience;

• Understand writing occurs through a process, and utilize a process that includes

planning, revising, editing, and rewriting;

• Use technology to communicate effectively and to produce and publish writing;

• Understand writing can be used to answer questions, and participate in short- and long-

term research and inquiry projects;

• Use evidence to support claims and convey ideas in writing;

• Integrate and synthesize others’ ideas into writing; and

• Write often to develop fluency, confidence, and stamina.

Ultimately, the Writing standards convey the importance of writing, for multiple and varied

purposes and audiences. Writing is important because Tennessee students need to write effectively

to gain and keep meaningful employment. According to a 2015 Job Outlook survey—conducted each

fall by the National Association of Colleges and Employers to forecast hiring— employers from 260

organizations nationwide are looking for leaders who can “communicate effectively” (NACE, 2014).

One of the biggest groups of survey respondents (73.4%) indicated “written communication skills” as

a skill/attribute most looked for in potential hires. In Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve

Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools, a 2007 study on the state of writing in our

schools, the authors explain, “Writing well is not just an option for young people—it is a necessity.

Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic

requirement for participation in civic life and the global economy” (p. 3).

But writing is also important for other reasons. Writing is a tool young people can use to

influence others. Books like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring changed the way we think about human

impact on the environment. George Orwell’s 1984 introduced us to such terms and concepts as “Big

Brother” and “doublespeak,” and continues to encourage us to consider the effects of censorship,

surveillance, and nationalism today. In addition, as technologies and social media become more

integral to and ubiquitous in daily life, we communicate with others and represent ourselves through

writing more than ever.

As Graham and Harris (2013) remind us, young people also write “to …tell stories, create

imagined worlds, explore who we are, …and chronicle our experiences” (p. 5). Kelly Gallagher (2015)

suggests that narrative writing can be important to the social development of young people. He

explains “when students write their way into imaginary worlds…they benefit from giving careful

consideration to the decisions, the relationships, and the actions of others. When students

are…writing narratives, they are in the process of re-creating themselves” (p. 106). In addition,

research has shown that writing can benefit us psychologically and physiologically (Graham & Harris,

2013; Smyth, 1998).

Writing also makes young people better readers. In their 2010 report, “Writing to Read:

Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading,” Graham and Hebert connect writing to reading

comprehension: students better understand material they read if they write about it. This works in

several ways. First, writing provides students with a tool for visibly and permanently recording their

thoughts and ideas about a text and analyzing, connecting, personalizing, and manipulating key ideas

from text. This has a strong impact on making text more memorable and understandable for students.

Second, knowledge about text structure and organization is improved by having students engage in

the process of composing text (Tierney & Shanahan, 1991). Writers gain insights about reading by

creating text for an audience to read. When they write, students must make their assumptions and

premises explicit as they observe the rules of logic, making them more aware of these same issues in

the material they read. In a 2011 meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on

reading, published in the Harvard Educational Review, Graham and Hebert report that increasing how

much students write and implementing process writing approaches in the classroom improve student

reading comprehension.

Writing is important, for many reasons, but as recent ACT data and the 2004 Writing Next

report suggest, every year in the United States, too many adolescents graduate from high school

unable to write at basic levels, and too many adolescents drop out of high school because they lack

basic literacy skills.

Tennessee students matter, so writing must matter. The Writing standards recognize that

reading and writing are interconnected processes that begin with the foundation of letter, sound, and

word recognition and composition. The Writing standards encourage students to practice and build on

these foundational skills as they also write in a variety of modes for a variety of purposes; synthesize

ideas across multiple texts; use textual evidence to support claims made and ideas conveyed in

writing; and demonstrate sophisticated understandings of the relationship between usage and style.

As these skills increase and progress, students grow as writers—and readers—who are able by

grade 12 to accomplish a variety of writing tasks required by post-secondary, workforce, and creative

endeavors.

WRITING STANDARDS: Text Types and Protocol – Standard 1

W.TTP.1

Cornerstone: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid

reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.TTP.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,

using valid reasoning supported by relevant and sufficient evidence.

a. Introduce precise claim(s).

b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaim(s) fairly, supplying evidence for each claim and

counterclaim while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that

anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

c. Create an organization that establishes cohesion and clear relationships among claim(s),

counterclaim(s), reasons, and evidence.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument

presented.

e. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the

topic.

f. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.

9-10

9-10.W.TTP.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using

valid reasoning supported by relevant and sufficient evidence.

a. Introduce precise claim(s).

b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaim(s) fairly, supplying evidence for each claim and

counterclaim while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that

anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

c. Create an organization that establishes cohesion and clear relationships among claim(s),

counterclaim(s), reasons, and evidence.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument

presented.

e. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the

topic.

f. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.

8.W.T TP.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

a. Introduce claim(s).

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence; acknowledge and

refute alternate or opposing claim(s).

c. Organize the reasons and evidence clearly and clarify the relationships among claim(s) and

reasons.

d. Use credible sources and demonstrate an understanding of the topic or source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that supports the argument presented.

f. Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary.

g. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas

and concepts.

h. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

i. Establish and maintain a formal style.

7.W.T TP.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

a. Introduce claim(s).

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence; acknowledge

alternate or opposing claim(s).

c. Organize the reasons and evidence clearly and clarify the relationships among claim(s) and

reasons.

d. Use credible sources and demonstrate an understanding of the topic or source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that supports the argument presented.

f. Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary.

g. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas

and concepts.

h. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

i. Establish and maintain a formal style.

6.W.T TP.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

a. Introduce claim(s).

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence; acknowledge

alternate or opposing claim(s).

c. Organize the reasons and evidence clearly and clarify the relationships among claim(s) and

reasons.

d. Use credible sources and demonstrate an understanding of the topic or source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that supports the argument presented.

f. Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary.

g. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas

and concepts.

h. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

i. Establish and maintain a formal style.

5.W.T TP.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and

information.

a. Introduce a topic or text.

b. Develop an opinion through logically-ordered reasons that are supported by facts and

details.

c. Create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the

writer’s purpose.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

e. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses.

f. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

4.W.T TP.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and

information.

a. Introduce a topic or text.

b. Develop an opinion with reasons that are supported by facts and details.

c. Create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s

purpose.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

e. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases.

f. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

3.W.T TP.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

a. Introduce a topic or text.

b. Develop an opinion with reasons that support the opinion.

c. Create an organizational structure that lists supporting reasons.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

e. Use linking words and phrases to connect opinion and reasons.

f. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

2.W.T TP.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts.

a. Introduce topic or text.

b. State an opinion.

c. Supply reasons to support the opinion.

d. Use linking words to connect the reasons to the opinion.

e. Provide a concluding statement or section.

1.W.TTP.1 With prompting and support, write opinion pieces introducing the topic or text, stating an

opinion, supplying a reason for the opinion, and providing some sense of closure.

K.W.TTP.1 With prompting and support, use a combination of drawing, dictating, and/or writing to

compose opinion pieces.

WRITING STANDARDS: Text Types and Protocol – Standard 2

W.TTP.2

Cornerstone: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly

and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.TTP.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to analyze, synthesize, and convey complex ideas,

concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection and organization of

content.

a. Provide an introduction that is relevant to the rest of the text and effectively engages the

audience.

b. Organize ideas to create cohesion and clarify relationships among ideas and concepts,

including but not limited to use of appropriate and varied transitions.

c. Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended

definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the

audience’s knowledge of the topic.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or

explanation presented.

e. Use appropriate formatting, graphics, and multimedia to aid comprehension.

f. Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile,

and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic.

g. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.

9-10

9-10.W.TTP.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to analyze and convey complex ideas, concepts, and

information clearly and accurately through the effective selection and organization of content.

a. Provide an introduction that is relevant to the rest of the text and effectively engages the

audience.

b. Organize ideas to create cohesion and clarify relationships among ideas and concepts,

including but not limited to use of appropriate and varied transitions.

c. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete

details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge

of the topic.

d. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or

explanation presented.

e. Use appropriate formatting, graphics, and multimedia to aid comprehension.

f. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

g. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.

8.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and

information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

a. Introduce a topic clearly, using the introduction to prepare the reader for what is to follow.

b. Synthesize and organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories using

effective strategies to create cohesion and aid in comprehension.

c. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other

information and examples.

d. Thoroughly and accurately explain and elaborate on the evidence provided, demonstrating a

clear understanding of the topic and the source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion.

f. Include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when appropriate.

g. Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among

ideas and concepts.

h. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.

i. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

j. Establish and maintain a formal style.

7.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and

information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

a. Introduce a topic clearly, using the introduction to prepare the reader for what is to follow.

b. Organize ideas, concepts, and information using effective strategies to create cohesion and aid

in comprehension.

c. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other

information and examples.

d. Thoroughly and accurately explain and elaborate on the evidence provided, demonstrating a

clear understanding of the topic and the source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion.

f. Include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when appropriate.

g. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and

concepts.

h. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.

i. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

j. Establish and maintain a formal style.

6.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and

information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

a. Introduce a topic clearly, using the introduction to prepare the reader for what is to follow.

b. Organize ideas, concepts, and information using effective strategies to create cohesion and aid

in comprehension.

c. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other

information and examples.

d. Thoroughly and accurately explain and elaborate on the evidence provided, demonstrating a

clear understanding of the topic and the source material.

e. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion.

f. Include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when appropriate.

g. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and

concepts.

h. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.

i. Use varied sentence structure to enhance meaning and reader interest.

j. Establish and maintain a formal style.

5.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information.

a. Introduce a topic by providing a general observation and focus.

b. Group related information logically.

c. Include formatting features, illustrations, and multimedia, when needed, to provide clarity to

the reader.

d. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and

examples related to the topic.

e. Provide a conclusion related to the information or explanation presented.

f. Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses.

g. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

h. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

4.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information.

a. Introduce a topic.

b. Group related information in paragraphs and sections.

c. Include formatting, features, illustrations, and multimedia, when needed, to provide clarity to the

reader.

d. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and

examples related to the topic.

e. Provide a conclusion related to the information or explanation presented.

f. Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases.

g. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

h. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

3.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information.

a. Introduce a topic.

b. Group related information together, including illustrations when needed, to provide clarity to

the reader.

c. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

d. Provide a conclusion.

e. Use linking words and phrases to connect ideas within categories of information.

f. Use precise language to inform about or explain the topic.

g. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

2.W.T P.2 Write informative/explanatory texts.

a. Introduce a topic.

b. Use facts and definitions to provide information.

c. Provide a concluding statement or section.

1.W.TTP.2 With prompting and support, write informative/explanatory texts, naming a topic,

supplying some facts about the topic, and providing some sense of closure.

K.W.TTP.2 With prompting and support, use a combination of drawing, dictating, and/or writing

to compose informative/explanatory texts.

WRITING STANDARDS: Text Types and Protocol – Standard 3

W.TTP.3

Cornerstone: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective

techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.TTP.3 Write narrative fiction or literary nonfiction to convey experiences and/or events

using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its

significance, establishing point of view, and introducing a narrator/speaker and/or

characters.

b. Sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build

toward a particular tone and outcome.

c. Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

d. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot

lines to convey experiences, events, and/or characters.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or

resolved over the course of the narrative.

f. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a

vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

g. Use appropriate language and techniques, such as metaphor, simile, and analogy.

h. Establish and maintain an appropriate style and tone.

9-10

9-10.W.TTP.3 Write narrative fiction or literary nonfiction to convey experiences and/or events

using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or

observation, establishing point of view, and introducing a narrator/speaker

and/or characters.

b. Sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.

c. Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

d. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot

lines to convey experiences, events, and/or characters.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or

resolved over the course of the narrative.

f. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a

vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

g. Establish and maintain an appropriate style and tone.

8.W.T TP.3 Write narratives (fiction and nonfiction) to develop real or imagined experiences or

events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event

sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing

a narrator and/or participants/characters.

b. Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

c. Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

d. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection when

appropriate, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

e. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal

shifts, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

f. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that reflects on the narrated experiences

or events.

g. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to

convey experiences and events.

7.W.T TP.3 Write narratives (fiction and nonfiction) to develop real or imagined experiences or

events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event

sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing

a narrator and/or participants/characters.

b. Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

c. Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

d. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description when appropriate, to

develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

e. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal

shifts, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

f. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that reflects on the narrated experiences

or events.

g. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language

to convey experiences and events.

6.W.T TP.3 Write narratives (fiction and nonfiction) to develop real or imagined experiences or

events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event

sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a

speaker/narrator and/or participants/characters.

b. Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

c. Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

d. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description when appropriate, to

develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

e. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal

shifts, and show the relationships among experiences and events.

f. Craft an effective and relevant conclusion that reflects on the narrated experiences

or events.

g. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to

convey experiences and events.

5.W.T TP.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using an effective

technique, such as descriptive details and clear event sequences.

a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation, using a narrator, and/or introducing characters.

b. Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

c. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description to develop experiences

and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

d. Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence

of events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

f. Use precise words and phrases and use sensory details to convey experiences and events.

g. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

4.W.T TP.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using an effective

technique, such as descriptive details and clear event sequences.

a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation, using a narrator, and/or introducing characters.

b. Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

c. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of

characters to situations.

d. Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

f. Use precise words and phrases and use sensory details to convey experiences and events.

g. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

3.W.T TP.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using an

effective technique, such as descriptive details and clear event sequences.

a. Establish a situation by using a narrator, including characters, and organizing an

event sequence that unfolds naturally.

b. Use dialogue and/or descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop

experiences and events, or to show the response of characters to situations.

c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.

d. Provide a sense of closure.

e. Apply language standards addressed in the Foundational Literacy standards.

2.W.T TP.3 Write narratives recounting an event or short sequence of events.

a. Include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings.

b. Use time order words to signal event order.

c. Provide a sense of closure.

1.W.TTP.3 With prompting and support, write narratives recounting an event, including some

details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings; use time order words to signal event order

and provide some sense of closure.

K.W.TTP.3 With prompting and support, use a combination of drawing, dictating, and/or writing

to narrate a single event.

WRITING STANDARDS: Production and Distribution of Writing – Standard 4

W.PDW.4

Cornerstone: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to

task, purpose, and audience.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,

and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for

writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

9-10

9-10.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,

and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for

writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

8.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and

style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing

types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

7.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and

style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing

types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

6.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and

style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing

types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

5.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and

style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing

types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

4.W.PDW.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and

style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing

types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

3.W.PDW.4 With guidance and support, produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-

specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

2.W.PDW.4 With guidance and support, produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-

specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

1.W.PDW.4 With guidance and support, produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-

specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

K.W.PDW.4 With guidance and support, produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-

specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

WRITING STANDARDS: Production and Distribution of Writing – Standard 5

W.PDW.5

Cornerstone: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new

approach.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.PDW.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. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of

Foundational Literacy standard 6 and Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades

11-12.)

9-10

9-10.W.PDW.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. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of

Foundational Literacy standard 6 and Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades

9-10.)

8.W.PDW.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen

writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing

on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should

demonstrate command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 and Language standards 1–3 up

to and including grade 8.)

7.W.PDW.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen

writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing

on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (Editing for conventions should

demonstrate command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 and Language standards 1–3 up

to and including grade 7.)

6.W.PDW.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen

writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing

for conventions should demonstrate command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 and

Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 6.)

5.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing

as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate

command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 up to and including grade 5.)

4.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing

as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate

command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 up to and including grade 4.)

3.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing

as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate

command of Foundational Literacy standard 6 up to and including grade 3.)

2.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions

and suggestions from peers, and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.

1.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions

and suggestions from others, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

K.W.PDW.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions

from others and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

WRITING STANDARDS: Production and Distribution of Writing – Standard 6

W.PDW.6

Cornerstone: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and

collaborate with others.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.PDW.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update

individual or shared writing products, utilizing ongoing feedback, including new arguments and

information.

9-10

9-10.W.PDW.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update

individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other

information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

8.W.PDW.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to

collaborate with others; present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently;

type a complete product in a single sitting as defined in W.1-3.

7.W.PDW.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to

collaborate with others; link to and cite sources; type a complete product in a single sitting as

defined in W.1-3.

6.W.PDW.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to

collaborate with others; type a complete product in a single sitting as defined in W.1-3.

5.W.PDW.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the

Internet, to produce and publish writing, as well as to interact and collaborate with others;

demonstrate sufficient command of technology skills to type a complete product in a single

sitting as defined in W.1-3.

4.W.PDW.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the

Internet, to produce and publish writing, as well as to interact and collaborate with others;

demonstrate sufficient command of technology skills to type a complete product in a single

sitting as defined in W.1-3.

3.W.PDW.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish

writing, as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of

technological skills to type a complete product in a single sitting as defined in W.1-3.

2.W.PDW.6 With guidance and support from adults, and in collaboration with peers, use a

variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing.

1.W.PDW.6 With guidance and support from adults, and in collaboration with peers, explore a

variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing.

K.W.PDW.6 With guidance and support from adults, and in collaboration with peers, explore a

variety of digital tools to produce and share writing.

WRITING STANDARDS: Research to Build and Present Knowledge – Standard 7

W.RBPK.7

Cornerstone: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focus questions,

demonstrating new understanding of the subject under investigation.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.RBPK.7 Conduct and write short as well as more sustained research projects to

answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem by narrowing or

broadening the inquiry when appropriate, synthesizing multiple sources on the subject, and

demonstrating a new understanding of the subject under investigation.

9-10

9-10.W.RBPK.7 Conduct and write short as well as more sustained research projects to

answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem by narrowing or

broadening the inquiry when appropriate, synthesizing multiple sources on the subject, and

demonstrating a new understanding of the subject under investigation.

8.W.RBPK.7 Conduct research to answer a question (including a self-generated question),

drawing on multiple sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for

multiple avenues of exploration.

7.W.RBPK.7 Conduct research to answer a question, drawing on multiple sources and

generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

6.W.RBPK.7 Conduct research to answer a question, drawing on multiple sources and

refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.

5.W.RBPK.7 Conduct short research projects that use multiple sources to build knowledge

through investigations of different aspects of a topic.

4.W.RBPK.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of

different aspects of a topic.

3.W.RBPK.7 Conduct short research projects that build general knowledge about a topic.

2.W.RBPK.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects, such exploring a number of

books on a single topic or engaging in science experiments to produce a report.

1.W.RBPK.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects, such as exploring a number

of “how to” books on a given topic and using them to write a sequence of instructions.

K.W.RBPK.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects, such as reading a number of

books by a favorite author and expressing opinions about them.

WRITING STANDARDS: Research to Build and Present Knowledge – Standard #

W.RBPK.8

Cornerstone: Integrate relevant and credible information from multiple print and digital sources while avoiding

plagiarism.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.RBPK.8 Use advanced searches effectively, assessing the credibility and

effectiveness of sources in answering a research question; integrate relevant and credible

information selectively, while avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and

following a standard format for citation.

9-10

9-10.W.RBPK.8 Use multiple search terms to generate a variety of print and digital sources;

integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism

and following a standard format for citation.

8.W.RBPK.8 Use search terms effectively; integrate relevant and credible information from

print and digital sources; quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while

avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

7.W.RBPK.8 Integrate relevant and credible information from print and digital sources; quote

or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a

standard format for citation.

6.W.RBPK.8 Integrate relevant and credible information from print and digital sources; quote

or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing

basic bibliographic information for sources.

5.W.RBPK.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from

print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work and

provide a list of sources.

4.W.RBPK.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from

print and digital sources; take notes, categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

3.W.RBPK.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital

sources to answer a question; with support; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into

provided categories.

2.W.RBPK.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources

to answer a question.

1.W.RBPK.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or

gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

K.W.RBPK.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or

gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

WRITING STANDARDS: Research to Build and Present Knowledge – Standard 9

W.RBPK.9

Cornerstone: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARDS

11-12

11-12.W.RBPK.9 Support and defend interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with

evidence found in literature or informational texts, applying grade band 11-12 standards for

reading to source material.

9-10

9-10.W.RBPK.9 Support and defend interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with

evidence found in literature or informational texts, applying grade band 9-10 standards for

reading to source material.

8.W.RBPK.9 Support interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with evidence found in

literature or informational texts, applying grade 8 standards for reading; assess whether the

reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims and

recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

7.W.RBPK.9 Support interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with evidence found in

literature or informational texts, applying grade 7 standards for reading; assess whether the

evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.

6.W.RBPK.9 Support interpretations, analyses, reflections, or research with evidence found in

literature or informational texts, applying grade 6 standards for reading.

5.W.RBPK.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,

and research, applying grade 5 standards for reading.

4.W.RBPK.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,

and research, applying grade 4 standards for reading.

3.W.RBPK.9 Include evidence from literary or informational texts, applying grade 3 standards

for reading.

WRITING STANDARDS: Range of Writing – Standard 10

W.RW.10

Cornerstone: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter

time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

GRADE SPAN

STANDARD

11-12

11-12.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a

range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

9-10

9-10.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range

of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

8.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

7.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

6.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

5.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences; promote writing fluency.

4.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences; promote writing fluency.

3.W.RW.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of

discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences; promote writing fluency.

2.W.RW.10 With guidance and support from adults, engage routinely in writing activities to

promote writing fluency.

1.W.RW.10 With guidance and support from adults, engage routinely in writing activities to

promote writing fluency and build writing stamina.

K.W.RW.10 With guidance and support from adults, engage routinely in writing activities to

promote writing fluency and build writing stamina.

Glossary

The purpose of this glossary is to provide clarification on terms embedded in the ELA content

standards.

Active Voice: in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb: “The student

wrote an essay” (contrast with passive voice: “The essay was written by the student”).

Adage/Proverb: an old or well-known saying that expresses a truth.

Aesthetic Impact: pertaining to an author’s intentional decisions to use words or images that directly

impact the artistic appeal.

Affix: a morpheme or meaningful part of a word attached before or after a root to modify its meaning;

a category that subsumes prefixes, suffixes, and infixes.

Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden and/or symbolic meaning.

Allusion: a textual reference to another literary, political, mythological, or religious contemporary

work, text, or event.

Alphabetic Code: specifies that letters, singly and in combination, represent single speech sounds.

Alphabetic Principle: the principle that letters are used to represent individual phonemes in spoken

words.

Alphabetic Writing System: a system of symbols that represents each consonant and vowel sound

in a language.

Analogy: a comparison between two things to help explain or illustrate one or both of them.

Anglo-Saxon: Old English; a Germanic language spoken in Britain before the invasion of the

Norman French in 1066.

Archetype, Literary: universal patterns and symbols in stories and mythologies regardless of culture

or historical period (e.g., the hero’s journey, star-crossed lovers, etc.).

Argumentation:

● Aristotelian: writer uses logic to state his/her claim, appeal to the reader’s rationale with

factual evidence, anticipate counterclaims, offer a rebuttal, and offer an effective conclusion

persuading the audience to accept the writer’s point of view.

● Rogerian: writer focuses on finding common ground with the audience with four main parts: 1)

state the problem and the effects to both parties; 2) sympathize with the reader’s point of view;

3) present writer’s point of view clearly and with evidence; 4) present a compromise.

● Toulmin: writer grounds the claim in truthful data, links the grounds to the claim (warrant),

backs up the warrant, may or may not address counterclaims, and offers rebuttals.

Audio-visual Elements: non-paper items that involve sight and sound.

Author’s Choice: intentional decisions by an author that may impact meaning, style, development,

formatting, conventions, and/or plot progression.

Auxiliary Verb: a component of the verb that adds functional or grammatical elements to the clause;

to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, or emphasis.

Base Word: a free morpheme to which an affix can be added.

Central Idea: not to be confused with subject or topic, the central idea(s) is the focused idea of a

specific text; it is expressed as a complete thought and is directly tied to the text, highlighting the

author’s main point(s); it is synonymous with main idea (Example from Charlotte’s Web: “Charlotte and

Wilbur forge an unlikely friendship which ultimately saves Wilbur’s life”; example from The Gettysburg

Address: “The sacrifices of those who died on the battlefield of Gettysburg were made to preserve the

principles of human equality and self-government as set forth in the Declaration of Independence.”)

Citation: the means of acknowledging the source of evidence; this refers to both in-text parenthetical

citations, as well as the works cited section at the end of the paper. The style of citation (APA, MLA,

or Chicago, for example) should reflect the discipline of the topic.

Cite: to quote or refer to a source, as used to support a statement or claim.

Claim: to state or assert that something is true; in the standards, it can be used synonymously with

“thesis”.

Clause: a group of words containing a subject and a predicate.

Close Reading: (Vanderbilt Peabody College, The Iris Center) intensive, thorough, and

methodical analysis of a text passage to determine its key ideas and supporting details, as well as to

gain a deeper understanding of the overall text.

Closed Sound: a consonant made with obstruction of air by the tongue, teeth, or lips as it is pushed

through the vocal cavity.

Cluster: adjacent consonants before or after a vowel; a consonant blend.

Cohesion: the action of creating a unified whole.

“Cold” Read: a text given to students to read for which they have not been prepared.

Colloquial Expressions: informal sayings (e.g., “easy come, easy go”; “mark my words”).

Complex Sentence: one or more dependent clauses with an independent clause.

Compound Sentence: two equally weighted, independent clauses joined by a conjunction.

Concept: (to explore how idea and concept differ) a developed principle or procedure created by a

group of individuals.

Conjunction: a word (such as those in the acronym FANBOYS: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so) that

joins parts of a sentence together.

Connotation: the emotional value of the words; the subtext.

Consonant: a phoneme (speech sound) that is not a vowel, and that is formed with obstruction of the

flow of air with the teeth, lips, or tongue; also called a closed sound. The English language has 21

consonant letters and 25 consonant phonemes.

Consonant Digraph: a consonant letter combination that represents one speech sound that is not

represented by either consonant letter alone.

Counter/Opposing Claim: a claim made to offset another claim, sometimes the opposition’s claim.

Critical Summary: a concise review of a text (e.g., article, book, digital text) that combines an

objective summary (to convey main ideas) and a critical comment that involves analysis and

evaluation of the text.

CVC: Consonant-Vowel-Consonant patterns present within words.

Decodable Text: text in which a high proportion (80-90 percent) of words comprise sound-symbol

relationships that have already been taught; used for the purpose of providing practice with specific

phonics or word-recognition skills; text that provides opportunities to apply learned phonics skills

during reading.

Denotation: the technical meaning of the words; the literal meaning.

Delineate: to determine the exact boundary or distinction of the argument or discussion .

Dependent Clause: a subject and predicate joined with a conjunction to the main or independent

clause.

Dialects: mutually intelligible versions of the same language with systematic differences in

phonology, word use, and/or grammatical rules.

Digraphs: a two-letter consonant combination that stands for a single phoneme in which neither letter

represents its usual sound (e.g., “th,” “ph”).

Diphthong: a vowel sound produced by the tongue shifting position during articulation; a vowel feels

as if it has two parts, especially the vowels spelled out “ou” and “oi”; some linguistics texts also

classify all tense (long) vowels as diphthongs.

Discourse: how we combine sentences to communicate ideas; conversation.

Diverse Formats/Media: the variety of outlets or tools used to communicate information or data.

Examples of media include but are not limited to print (books, magazines, newspapers), music, video,

and works of art.

Diverse Texts: a variety of texts in terms of complexity, genre, length, style, and authors.

Double Negative: two negative words or word parts used in a sentence that results in a positive

meaning (e.g., “We were never as unprepared as we were that day.”).

Domain Specific Vocabulary: vocabulary that is specific to a particular field of study.

Downtoner: a degree adverb that decreases the effect of the modified item (e.g., slightly, somewhat,

quite).

Effectiveness: a measure of quality, not quantity; accomplishing a task well.

Encoding: producing written symbols for spoken language; also, spelling by sounding out.

Etymology: the study of word origins and history.

Edit: to address problems with spelling, grammar, and punctuation on a sentence level.

Evidence: quotes or references to a passage that support claims or statements.

Figurative Language: words or phrases with non-literal meanings used for comparisons or clarity,

usually evoking strong images.

Form: refers to the defining structural characteristics of a work, especially a poem (i.e., meter and

rhyme scheme).

Formal Style: style characterized by complex, objective, and precise use of language.

Formatting Features: also known as text features.

Gap-filling Inferences: the ability of the reader to make connections (inferences) between actual

words in a text and their underlying meanings.

General Academic Words and Phrases: high frequency words used by mature language users;

typically found in writing (as opposed to domain-specific words, which are integral to specific content

areas).

Genre: this term can refer broadly to the general category that a literary work falls into (drama, poetry,

fiction, nonfiction) or more specifically to a certain subset of literary works grouped together on the

basis on similar characteristics.

Glide: a type of speech sound that glides immediately into a vowel; examples include /y/, /w/, /h/.

Gradual Release: removal of scaffolding to move students toward independence.

Grapheme: a letter or letter combination that spells a phoneme; can be one, two, three, or four letters

in English (e.g., “e,” “ei,” “igh,” “eigh”).

Idea: a spontaneous thought developed in isolation as contrasted with a concept, which is developed

through collective research, collaboration, or authoritative confirmation.

Idioms: phrases or fixed expressions that have figurative or nonliteral meanings (“It’s raining cats and

dogs.”).

Imperative Mood: imperative means "expressing an order." The imperative mood is a category of

verb forms used to express orders, instructions, commands, or requests (e.g., “Put that down,

please”; “Go to bed”).

Independent(ly): a student performance completed at an accepted level of proficiency without

scaffolding from a teacher, other adult, or peer; see scaffolding.

Independent Clause: a complete sentence made up of a noun phrase and a verb phrase that can

stand alone.

Indicative Mood: indicative means "stating a fact." The indicative mood is a category of verb forms

that we use to state facts (e.g., “It will rain today”; “Angela runs after school”).

Integrate: when used in writing and/or research, integration includes sorting information, developing

relationships to existing texts, and, ultimately, conveying new meaning through the synthesis of ideas.

Inference: our perceptions of the meanings of words that are unstated.

Integrated Mental Model: a detailed understanding of what a whole text means and how the parts

are related to the whole.

Inter-sentence Extraction of Meaning: the ability of the reader to understand the meaning found

between sentences.

Interpretations: explanations of meanings; they depend on inferences (perceptions of meanings that

are unstated) and on stated meanings.

Intra-sentence Extraction of Meaning: the ability of the reader to understand the meaning found

within a sentence.

Irregular Word: a word whose spelling or pronunciation does not conform to the system of sound-

symbol correspondence or syllable patterns.

Irony, Dramatic: tension created by the contrast between what a character says or thinks and what

the audience knows to be true; as a result, some words and actions take on different meaning for the

audience than for the characters.

Irony, Situational: a discrepancy between what seems fitting or expected and what actually

happens.

Irony, Verbal: a figure of speech that occurs when a speaker or character says one thing but means

something else, or when what is said is the opposite of what is expected, creating a noticeable

incongruity. Sarcasm is one form of verbal irony with express purpose of being derisive.

Lexicon: a dictionary or compilation of words; also, the mental dictionary in every person’s linguistic

processing system.

Literary Archetypes: universal patterns in all stories and mythologies regardless of culture or

historical period (ex., the hero’s journey, the evil stepmother, star-crossed lovers, etc.).

Definition source (not examples)-Carl Jung.

Literary Nonfiction: a genre of literature in which literary techniques are employed in the

development of nonfiction texts such as the personal essay, personal memoir, and works of creative

nonfiction.

Liquids: a type of sound pronounced as a consonant at the beginning of words or syllables, and as a

vowel at the end of words or syllables (e.g., /l/, /r/).

Logical/Logically: a systematic approach to developing or evaluating an argument using concepts

such as reliability, credibility, or validity.

Main Idea: see “central idea”; the standards use the term “main idea” in the early grades and “central

idea” in the middle and upper grades; the terms are synonymous.

Medium: a particular format for conveying information (for example, a digital medium could include

blogs, podcasts, and a variety of platforms for communication).

Metaphor: implied comparisons; comparisons between two different things in order to show how they

are similar (e.g., heart of stone, river of tears, the world is a stage).

Metaphor, Extended: a metaphor that continues over several lines or throughout an entire work.

Mode of Writing: types of writing such as informative/explanatory, narrative, and

argumentative/opinion.

Mood (Reading): the feeling that the writer creates for the reader through imagery and diction; not to

be confused with tone.

Mood (Verb): a way to express the attitude of the speaker (see imperative, indicative, and

subjunctive mood).

Morpheme: an indivisible unit of meaning; a prefix, suffix, root, or base.

Morphology: the study of meaningful units in language and how they are combined.

Multisyllabic: having more than one syllable.

Multimedia: the combination of differing forms of communication from a variety of audio and visual

outputs such as images, full-motion videos, and sound recordings.

Narrative: text that tells about the sequence of events, usually with the structure of a story, fiction or

nonfiction; often contrasted with expository text, which reports factual information and the relationship

among ideas (Example of nonfiction narratives: memoir, research methodology, personal statement

for applications).

Nasal Blends: blends with sounds that resonate through the nose (e.g., -mp, -nd, -nt).

Nasal Phoneme: a phoneme that directs resonance through the nose; in English, /n/, /m/, or /ng/ are

nasal phonemes.

Negations: adjectives that denote the absence of something; words that begin with a negative prefix

(e.g., un- or ir-).

Node: the words within sentences when analyzed in a Parse Tree.

Nominalizations: nouns that are related to verbs or adverbs morphologically and are said to be

derived from the verb or adverb.

Nonrestrictive Elements: additional information about a subject or object in a sentence; removal of

a nonrestrictive element would not alter the meaning of the rest of the sentence.

Noun phrase: the subject of a sentence; contains the “naming part” (also referred to as the “who” or

“what” portions are the sentence).

Nuance: subtle variation in meaning, expression, or tone.

Objective Summary: a conveying of the main ideas of a text (or part of a text) that remains neutral

and unbiased (i.e., does not convey the writer’s opinion).

Onset-rime: the natural division of a syllable into two parts, the onset coming before the vowel and

the rime including the vowel and what follows it (e.g., pl – an, shr – ill).

Orient the Reader: in narrative writing, establishing a situation and introducing a narrator.

Orthography: a writing system for representing language.

Paraphrase: to express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using

one’s own words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

Parse Tree of Sentences: a syntactic tree representing a sentence to study the complexity of the

nodes, or words and their functions, within the sentence.

Passive Voice: in passive voice, the one performing the action is named after the verb or not named

at all (e.g., “The book was read by the students”; “The coffee cup was drained”).

Phoneme: a speech sound that combines with others in a language system to make words.

Phonics: the study of the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent.

Phonological Awareness: metalinguistic awareness of all levels of a language’s speech-sound

system, including word boundaries, stress patterns, syllables, onset-rime units, and phonemes.

Phonology: the rule system within a language by which phonemes can be sequenced and uttered to

make words.

Phrase: a natural group of words that work together to fill a slot within a sentence frame.

Plot Structure: the sequence of events in a story.

Point of View: the position or perspective conveyed or represented by an author, narrator, speaker,

or character; chiefly in literary texts, the narrative point of view can be labeled (as in first- or third-

person narration); in literary nonfiction, the point of view might also be the perspective.

Prefix: a morpheme that precedes a root and that contributes to or modifies the meaning of a word; a

common linguistic unit in Latin-based words.

Print and Digital Texts/Sources: although the word “text” can be applied to multiple mediums

(including print-based and digital formats with a variety of multimodal qualities such as audio, video,

and text), print and digital texts/sources denotes particular instances where the standard is likely to be

applied to electronic as well as traditional texts.

Prompting and Support: when the teacher uses questions, prompts, and cues to guide the student

to mastery.

Prose: written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.

Prosody: the rhythms and patterns of sounds in spoken language; expression.

Purpose: the reason for writing a text, and/or author intent and message. It is the varied purposes of

a rhetorical situation that determine how an author communicates a text and how audiences receive a

text. Most texts are written to fill a broader purpose (e.g., to persuade, to inform, to argue, to define, to

describe, etc.).

Quantitative(ly): a type of measurement often contrasted with qualitative measures, quantitative

measures often employ mathematical principles such as the statistical evaluation of texts.

Reading Fluency: speed and accuracy of oral reading; the ability to read text with sufficient speed to

support comprehension.

Rebuttal: a refutation or denial.

Revise: to review the paper as a whole, considering strengths and weaknesses, arguments, focus

and organization, support, and voice.

Rhetoric: a style of speaking or writing, especially the language of a particular subject; verbal

communication, discourse.

Rhetorical Analysis: the study of using language effectively and persuasively.

Rhyme: a word pattern that reflects the same sound sequence at the ends of words (e.g.,

tail/pail/sale; hat/cat/bat).

Rime: the last syllable of a word that includes the vowel and any final consonants (e.g., “at” in sat;

“ee” in tree).

Root: a bound morpheme, usually of Latin origin, that cannot stand alone but that is used to form a

family of words with related meanings.

Sarcasm: the use of words that mean the opposite of what the speaker really means, especially in

order to insult/offend, show irritation, and/or be funny; ironic language.

Satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, and/or ridicule to expose and denounce evil, greed, foolish

behavior, and/or lack of judgment; a literary work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked

through irony, derision, or wit.

Scaffold(ing): the use of a variety of instructional techniques to move students progressively toward

stronger understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the learning process.

Schwa: the “empty” vowel in an unaccented syllable, such as the last syllables of circus and bagel.

Semantic Gradients: (“Shades of Meaning) looking at the nuance of meaning among groups of

words; often a semantic gradient has antonyms, synonyms, or morphological elements at each end of

a continuum, and the words that fill in the middle escalating or de-escalating to the other end

complete the gradient; also referred to analyzing the shades of meaning among words (Example:

exclaim, shout, yell, scream) (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2006).

Semantics: the study of words and phrase meanings.

Sensory Language: making references and appealing to the senses through word choice and

details.

Sentence Structure: the system of permissible word order and structures in a language; also known

as syntax.

“Shades of meaning”: (Semantic Gradients) looking at the nuance of meaning among groups of

words; often referred to as a semantic gradient, the continuum has antonyms, synonyms, or

morphological elements at each end, and the words that fill in the middle escalating or de-escalating

to the other end complete the gradient (Example: exclaim, shout, yell, scream) (Blachowicz & Fisher,

2006).

Short Research: an inquiry intended to address a narrowly-tailored question using one or more

sources in a brief period of time, as in a few class periods or a week of instructional time.

Sight Word: a word that is recognized instantly without the reader having to sound it out; may be

regular or irregular.

Silent Letter Spelling: a consonant grapheme with a silent letter and a letter that corresponds to the

vocalized sound (e.g., “kn,” “wr,” “gn”).

Simple Sentence: one independent clause with a subject and predicate.

Sound-Symbol Correspondence: same as phoneme-grapheme correspondence; the rules and

patterns by which letters and letter combinations represent speech sounds.

Source/Source Material: a text (book, article, letter, interview transcript, etc.) that supplies

information; used largely for informational purposes, as in research.

Stop: a type of consonant that is spoken with one push of breath and not continued or carried out

(e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/).

Stretch-Text: a text that is somewhat beyond the student’s comfort zone but manageable with

scaffolding and several opportunities to reread.

Subjunctive Mood: subjunctive means "subordinate" (less important than something else) or

"dependent" (needing something/someone else). The subjunctive mood is a category of verb forms

that we use to express things that are not facts: wishes, possibilities, doubts, suggestions, conditions,

etc. (e.g., “You should listen to me”; “I would go if I could”).

Sufficient: enough to accomplish the task.

Suffix: a derivational morpheme added to a root or base that often changes the word’s part of speech

and that modifies its meaning.

Summary: a brief statement of the main points or events in the text; requires students go beyond

chronological order and determine the main points in a text and evaluate which supporting details

most strongly support the main points (Example from Charlotte’s Web: “After having his life spared

by Fern, pet pig Wilbur grows up in uncle Zuckerman's farm where he meets a spider named

Charlotte who becomes his friend and ultimately save his life.”)

Sustained Research: an inquiry intended to address one or more relatively expansive questions

using several sources over an extended period of time, as in a few weeks of instructional time.

Syllable: the unit of pronunciation that is organized around a vowel; it may or may not have

consonants before or after a word.

Syntax: the system of permissible word order and sentence structures in a language.

Synthesize: to combine a number of ideas or information into a coherent whole.

Text Complexity: the level of sophistication in a text (in terms of content, intellectual engagement,

and student readiness); text complexity can be measured through a three-part assessment that pairs

qualitative and quantitative measures with reader-task considerations.

Text Complexity Band: a range of text sophistication corresponding to grade spans within the

standards; specifically, the spans from grades 2-3, grades 4-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-10, and grades

11-12.

Text Features: components which bring attention to important information in texts (fiction, nonfiction,

digital, etc.), and include, but are not limited to, table of contents, glossary, index, chapter titles,

headings, captions, footnotes, etc.

Text Structures: organizational patterns found within various text types (e.g., argumentative texts

may have a compare/contrast structure; informational/expository texts may have a sequence,

problem/solution structure; narrative texts may have a chronological or dramatic structure).

Textual Evidence: facts, figures, details, quotations, or other sources of data and information that

provide support for claims or an analysis; should appear in a form and be derived from a source

widely accepted as appropriate to a particular discipline, as in details or quotations from a text in the

study of literature and experimental results in the study of science.

Theme: the overarching message, abstract idea, or universal truth that emerges from a literary text's

treatment of the subject matter. It is expressed as a complete thought and can be applied to many

situations across time. (Example from Charlotte’s Web: “True friendship can endure challenges.”)

Tone: the author’s attitude toward the subject.

Transcription: the translation of language into conventional written symbols (spelling, punctuation,

spacing, capitalization).

Types of Text: see text structures.

Unvoiced Consonant: a speech sound that is spoken without engaging the vocal cords.

Valid Reasoning: sensible, fair, logical reasoning.

Verb Phrase: the predicate; the “action part” of a sentence; it tells us that the subject is doing, was

doing, or will be doing.

Voice: in grammar, the quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (see active voice) or is

acted upon (see passive voice). In writing, voice is the quality that makes an author’s writing unique

and which conveys an author's attitude, personality, and character. In literature, voice is the

characteristic speech and thought patterns of a first-person narrator; a persona.

Voiced Consonant: a speech sound that is spoken with the vocal cords activated; also called a

“sounded” consonant or a “noisy” consonant.

Vowel: one of 15-18 vowel phonemes in English, not including vowel-r combinations; an open

phoneme that is the nucleus of every syllable; classified by tongue position and height (e.g., high-low,

front-back).

Warrant: the chain of reasoning that links the evidence to the claim.

“When developmentally appropriate”: a skill that requires students to see many models and

practice with guidance before being released to independence; some students will be ready to be

released to independence and others will continue to need teacher guidance even at grade-level

proficiency.

“With guidance and support”: following explicit instruction and modeling, students practice with

continued guidance and support from adults.

Word Choice: the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning; usually refers to the use of

sensory/figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor), descriptive words, and appropriate, relevant

vocabulary to convey purpose, meaning, and tone to various audiences.

References

Foundational Literacy:

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Pearson Merrill-Prentice Hall.

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9(2), 167–188.

Ferreiro, E., & Teberosky, A. (1982). Literacy before schooling. Exeter, N.H.: Heinemann Educational

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Appendix A

Tennessee Text Complexity Framework

Teachers, working collaboratively through their PLCs, might use this document as guidance for making decisions about how to select

appropriate texts for their classroom instruction. Specific text selections are curriculum decisions, which are made at the local level.

Reader

Qualitative

Measures

Quantitative

Measures

Text

Tennessee Text Complexity Quantitative Measures

Metric

Measure

The Lexile Framework®

(Metametrix)

Word frequency, Sentence Length

ATOS Word Length, Word Grade Level, Sentence Length, Book Length

Degrees of Reading Power®

(Quester)

Word Length, Word Difficulty, Sentence Length, Within-Sentence Punctuation

SourceRater

(ETS)

Word Frequency, Word Length

Word Meaning features (concreteness, imageability, etc…), word syntactic features (tense, part of

speech, proper names, negations, nominalizations, etc…), word types (academic verbs, academic

downtoners, academic word list), sentence length, paragraph length, within-sentence and between-

sentence cohesion measures, number of clauses (including type and depth), text genre: informational,

literary, or mixed

Reading Maturity

(Pearson)

Pearson Word Maturity Metric, Word Length (e.g. syllables per word), Sentence-length, Within-sentence

Punctuation, Within and between-sentence coherence metrics, Sentence and paragraph complexity (e.g.,

perplexity), order of information

Flesch-Kincaid

Reading ease based on the number of words in a sentence and the number of syllables in the words

Tennessee

Grade Band

The Lexile

Framework®

ATOS

Degrees of

Reading

Power®

SourceRater

Reading

Maturity

Flesch-

Kincaid

– 3

420 – 820

2.75 – 5.14

42 – 54

0.05 – 2.48

3.53 – 6.13

1.98 – 5.34

– 5

740 – 1010

4.97 – 7.03

52 – 60

0.84 – 5.75

5.42 – 7.92

4.51 – 7.73

– 8

925 - 1185

7.00 – 9.98

57 – 67

4.11 – 10.66

7.04 – 9.57

6.51 – 10.34

- 10

1050 – 1335

9.67 – 12.01

62 – 72

9.02 – 13.93

8.41 – 10.81

8.32 – 12.12

– 12

1185 – 1385

11.20 – 14.10

67 - 74

12.30 – 14.50

9.57 – 12.00

10.34 – 14.2

Additional Resources to Match Reader to Text

REAP

(Carnegie-Mellon)

Word Frequency, Word Length, Sentence

Length

Sentence Count, Parse Tree of Sentences

and Paragraphs, Frequency of Node

Elements

REAP does not analyze text, but it will analyze student skills and

interests and match them to texts on the Web.

Coh-Metrix:

University of

Memphis

Word frequency, word length, word meaning

features (concreteness, imageability,

number of senses, etc…), word syntactic

features (part of speech, negations, etc…),

sentence length, sentence complexity,

paragraph length, within-sentence and

between-sentence cohesion measures

Coh-Metrix does not provide a single number for measurement, but

its text analyzer can generate helpful information about the

challenges of a text. It will generate a Flesch-Kincaid grade level.

Caveat to Selecting Grade-Appropriate Texts

The Standards call for students to read within the range throughout the grade-band. The quantitative measures are only one-third of the

decision-making process when selecting texts, and careful consideration needs to be given to the other qualitative measures, which

include the text itself, inter-textual complexity, task complexity, and reader considerations (see below). As students move through the

grade-band, they should experience supportive texts in the lower ends of the range to prepare them for the more challenging texts in the

upper ends of the range. Some texts, such as poems are drama, are not suitable for quantitative measures, yet they are central genres

to developing student awareness of word power and syntax.

At the K-1 grade band, complex text is accessed primarily through read-aloud because students are not generally able to read with

sufficient fluency to allow them to read complex texts independently. Independent reading is developed with students below the 2-3

grade band through decodable and leveled texts.

Tennessee Text Complexity Qualitative Measures

Measure

Definition/Guiding Questions

Text Complexity

One measure to consider when judging the complexity of a text is the text itself—what is the genre of the text?

What genre conventions or text features has the author employed (or not employed) in writing the text? What is

the text’s structure (e.g., nonlinear plot structure, multiple narrators, etc.)? How is the text organized? The

text’s purpose? How does the form of the text fit its function? What ideas are presented in the text? Are there

multiple levels of meaning in the text? Is the theme of a literary work implicit or explicit? Is the theme complex?

What language is used in the text (e.g., vernacular, Standard English, etc.) and to what purpose? What is the

tone/mood of the text? Is the language sophisticated (e.g., use of figurative language, purposeful word choice,

sophisticated syntax, etc.)? Are there graphics or images in the text? If so, how do the graphics/images work in

conjunction with print/words to shape meaning? Is the text authentic—in other words, is the literature in the

language, form, and length as originally published? Is the text one that people would encounter in daily life

(e.g., books, magazines, newspapers)?

Inter-textual Complexity

Inter-textuality can be defined as the shaping of a text’s meaning by another text. Examples of inter-textuality

are allusion and parody. Inter-textuality is expressed by considering the relationship that exists between

multiple works of literature. For example, James Joyce’s Ulysses shares an inter-textual relationship with

Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, just as Frankenstein shares an inter-textual relationship with the Greek

myth of Prometheus. When considering this measure in text selection, consider how texts build on each other

and connect to one another. When texts have inter-textual relationships, how does the relationship deepen

understanding? When considering text selection, think about what texts have already been taught, and what

texts will be taught in the future--what relationship does the text have with other texts? What inter-textual

knowledge can be created and built upon?

Task/Interpretive

Complexity

Another important measure to consider when making text selection decisions is what interpretive work readers

will be expected to do with the text. Text complexity not only includes the number of words or sophisticated

themes in a text—it also includes what students are asked to do with the text. As example, a political cartoon is

a complex text if students are engaged with the text and reading it closely, negotiating the images and words to

construct meanings, and using text-based evidence to support interpretations.

Tennessee Text Complexity Reader and Task Considerations

Reader Considerations

Readers of the text must also be considered when making text selection decisions. Are readers likely to be

interested in the situation, theme, topic, issue, or subject matter of the text? What prior background

knowledge or experience will readers need to successfully access and comprehend the text? Do readers

already have this background knowledge and experience? What cultural details will students need to know to

access/engage with/comprehend the text? What vocabulary will readers need to know to access and

comprehend the text? Will readers need to know domain-specific (specific to a discipline) vocabulary? Do

readers have vocabulary and inferential skills necessary to comprehend the text? How much support will

readers need to access/comprehend the text? Does the text have potential to stimulate thought and good

discussion among readers? Does the text raise issues or questions likely to inspire readers to further

reading, writing, and research? Are readers mature enough to deal with the subject matter?

Task Considerations

Before selecting a text, teachers need to know the culminating task and make sure that the text lends itself to

the complexity of the task. What learning experiences must students have to lead them toward successful

completion of the culminating task? With what kind of grouping structure will the students engage when

analyzing this text? What do the annotations look like? Will they be done with guidance or independently?

How many models have students seen with the type of task they are going to be asked to do? What kinds of

thinking and problem solving will students have to use to fully access the text?