English Language Arts - Standard A - Performance Standards Grade 12

By the end of grade twelve, students will:

A.12.1 Use effective reading strategies to achieve their purposes in reading.

• Apply sophisticated word meaning and word analysis strategies, such as knowledge of roots, cognates, suffixes, and prefixes, to understand unfamiliar words
• Gather information to help achieve understanding when the meaning of a text is unclear
• Apply knowledge of expository structures, such as the deductive or inductive development of an argument, to the comprehension and evaluation of texts
• Identify propaganda techniques and faulty reasoning in texts
• Explain and evaluate the influence of format on the readability and meaning of a text
• Distinguish between fact and opinion in nonfiction texts
  • Consider the context of a work when determining the meaning of abbreviations and acronyms as well as the technical, idiomatic, and figurative meanings of term

A.12.2 Read, interpret, and critically analyze literature.

• Explain the structure of selected classical and contemporary works of literature, in whole and in part, from various cultures and historical periods, and illustrate ways in which authors use syntax, imagery, figures of speech, allusions, symbols, irony, and other devices in the context of history, culture, and style
• Draw on a broad base of knowledge about the universal themes of literature such as initiation, love and duty, heroism, illusion and reality, salvation, death and rebirth, and explain how these themes are developed in a particular work of literature
• Investigate and report on ways in which a writer has influenced or been influenced by historical, social, and cultural issues or events
• Develop, explain, and defend interpretations of complex literary works
• Explain how details of language, setting, plot, character, conflict, point of view, and voice in a work of literature combine to produce a dominant tone, effect, or theme
• Develop and apply criteria to evaluate the literary merit of unfamiliar works

A.12.3 Read and discuss literary and nonliterary texts in order to understand human experience.

• Examine, explain, and evaluate, orally and in writing, various perspectives concerning individual, community, national, and world issues reflected in literary and nonliterary texts
• Develop and articulate, orally and in writing, defensible points of view on individual, community, national, and world issues reflected in literary and nonliterary texts
• Identify the devices an author uses to influence readers and critique the effectiveness of their use
• Identify philosophical assumptions and basic beliefs underlying selected texts

A.12.4 Students will read to acquire information.

• Apply tests of logic and reasoning to informational and persuasive texts
• Analyze and synthesize the concepts and details encountered in informational texts such as reports, technical manuals, historical papers, and government documents
• Draw on and integrate information from multiple sources when acquiring knowledge and developing a position on a topic of interest
• Evaluate the reliability and authenticity of information conveyed in a text, using criteria based on knowledge of the author, topic, and context and analysis of logic, evidence, propaganda, and language

Content Standard A

For questions about this information, contact Beverly J. Kniess (608) 266-3706

Last updated on 2/25/2008 1:43:00 PM