Orange School District s1

Orange School District

Language Arts
Literacy

Curriculum Guide – Grade 12

2010 Edition

APPROVED ON:______

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Patricia A. Arthur
President
Arthur Griffa
Vice-President
Members
Stephanie Brown / Rev. Reginald T. Jackson / Maxine G. Johnson
Eunice Y. Mitchell / David Wright
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Ronald Lee
ASSISTANT
SUPERINTENDENT / ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Paula Howard

Curriculum and Instructional Services

/ Belinda Scott-Smiley

Operations/Human Resources

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Adekunle O. James
DIRECTORS
Barbara L. Clark, Special Services
Candace Goldstein, Special Programs
Candace Wallace, Curriculum & Testing
Curriculum Writing Committee
Candace Wallace, Director
Kathryn Carter, Assistant Director of Language Arts

Table of Contents

Philosophy 4

Purpose & Vision 4

Components 5

Six + 1 Traits 6

Language Arts Outcomes 8

Curriculum Grade 12 9

Philosophy

In Orange, we recognize that each student is unique and that the purpose of education is to enable every student to acquire the learning skills necessary to compete in the global community. It is essential that we provide a rigorous, high-quality Language Arts curriculum that allows each student’s talents and abilities to be developed to their full potential.

A successful senior level literature curse integrates critical thinking and communication by asking students to synthesize a wide range of skills and knowledge into a spoken or written response. This includes instruction in and practice of the support skills underlying each of the processes. We believe students learn literary critical thinking, communication and written styles by immersion in authentic problem-based learning situations. Students learn the skills and knowledge of literary analysis through participation in a variety of activities. Subject matter is fused with students’ life experiences, historical and present day societal issues. Students are taught to analyze fiction and non-fiction literature and synthesize the relevance to the world today.

Purpose and Vision

The purpose of the Orange Language Arts Literacy Curriculum Guide is to provide a blueprint for organizing instructional strategies, methodologies and activities that provide an opportunity for every child to meet and exceed the New Jersey Language Arts Literacy Core Curriculum Content Standards NJCCCS and/or the Common Core State Standards. It will guide the implementation of the standards by specifying the design of instructional materials, curriculum and instructional strategies. The standards designate what to teach at specific grade levels, and this guide provides procedures and selected research-based approaches for implementing instruction to meet the diverse needs of the student population, including those with special learning needs and whose native language is other than English.

Educators will use the guide and the content standards as a road map for curriculum and instruction. The ultimate goal is cultivate global, independent thinkers by shifting classroom priorities from teaching to learning, with a focus on student outcomes. This paradigm shift in instructional trends from a teacher-directed model is designed to allow a student-centered learning environment to thrive. The guide will also:

·  Provide a vertical and horizontal framework for content and skills in alignment with the standards and district benchmarks

·  Provide student outcomes that are developmentally appropriate and measurable

·  Provide a flexible framework within which teachers can design instructional strategies and models that address various learning styles for a more individualized student learning environment

·  Present the Key Elements of content and skills for the purpose of creating an environment of Enduring Understanding through Essential Questions and student-centered learning scenarios

·  Provide resources of Best Practices from which teachers can glean examples of instructional strategies upon which they can model their classes

Intentional cross curricular content connections will guide students through the learning process by the use of active learning techniques which include:

·  Discovery

·  Exploration

·  Project-based Learning (PBL)

·  Essential Questioning

·  Collaborative learning groups

·  Learning centers

The Language Arts Literacy Curriculum Guide provides a balanced and comprehensive approach that focuses on:

·  Explicit teaching of skills as a means of supporting mastery of standards English conventions, comprehension strategies and communication skills to cultivate competent learners

·  Acquisition of literacy skills to support efficient readers, writers, speakers, listeners and viewers

·  Engage students in activities to develop self-monitoring strategies before, during and after reading

·  Instructional activities that provide opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving and inquiry skills

·  A variety of literary genres to create well rounded readers

·  Differentiated instructional strategies to address diverse learning styles and needs

·  Project based authentic learning activities

·  Instructional practices delivered in meaningful contexts in order to enable students to preserve the learning for future use or transfer to other learning activities

·  The use of technology as a tool for learning to develop 21st century learners

·  Intentional, explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary development

Six +1 Traits of Writing
The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of key qualities that define strong writing. These are:

·  Ideas, the main message;

·  Organization, the internal structure of the piece;

·  Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;

·  Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;

·  Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;

·  Conventions, the mechanical correctness;

·  andPresentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.

Ideas
The Ideas are the main message, the content of the piece, the main theme, together with all the supporting details that enrich and develop that theme. The ideas are strong when the message is clear, not garbled. The writer chooses details that are interesting, important, and informative–often the kinds of details the reader would not normally anticipate or predict. Successful writers do not "tell" readers things they already know; e.g., "It was a sunny day, and the sky was blue, the clouds were fluffy white …" Successful writers "show" readers that which is normally overlooked; writers seek out the extraordinary, the unusual, the unique, the bits and pieces of life that might otherwise be overlooked.

Organization
Organization is the internal structure of a piece of writing, the thread of central meaning, the pattern and sequence, so long as it fits the central idea. Organizational structure can be based on comparison-contrast, deductive logic, point-by-point analysis, development of a central theme, chronological history of an event, or any of a dozen other identifiable patterns. When the organization is strong, the piece begins meaningfully and creates in the writer a sense of anticipation that is, ultimately, systematically fulfilled. Events proceed logically; information is given to the reader in the right doses at the right times so that the reader never loses interest. Connections are strong, which is another way of saying that bridges from one idea to the next hold up. The piece closes with a sense of resolution, tying up loose ends, bringing things to a satisfying closure, answering important questions.

Voice
Voice is the writer coming through the words, the sense that a real person is speaking to us and cares about the message. It is the heart and soul of the writing, the magic, the wit, the feeling, the life and breath. When the writer is engaged personally with the topic, he/she imparts a personal tone and flavor to the piece that is unmistakably his/hers alone. And it is that individual something–different from the mark of all other writers–that we call Voice.

Word Choice
Word Choice is the use of rich, colorful, precise language that communicates not just in a functional way, but in a way that moves and enlightens the reader. In descriptive writing, strong word choice resulting in imagery, especially sensory, show-me writing, clarifies and expands ideas. In persuasive writing, purposeful word choice moves the reader to a new vision of ideas. In all modes of writing figurative language such as metaphors, similes and analogies articulate, enhance, and enrich the content. Strong word choice is characterized not so much by an exceptional vocabulary chosen to impress the reader, but more by the skill to use everyday words well.

Sentence Fluency
Sentence Fluency is the rhythm and flow of the language, the sound of word patterns, the way in which the writing plays to the ear, not just to the eye. How does it sound when read aloud? That's the test. Fluent writing has power, rhythm, and movement. It is free of awkward word patterns that slow the reader's progress. Sentences vary in length, beginnings, structure, and style, and are so well crafted that the writer moves through the piece with ease.

Conventions
The Conventions Trait is the mechanical correctness of the piece and includes five elements: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar/usage, and paragraphing. Writing that is strong in Conventions has been proofread and edited with care. Since this trait has so many pieces to it, it's almost an analytical trait within an analytic system. As you assess a piece for convention, ask yourself: "How much work would a copy editor need to do to prepare the piece for publication?" This will keep all of the elements in conventions equally in play. Conventions is the only trait where we make specific grade level accommodations, and expectations should be based on grade level to include only those skills that have been taught.

Presentation
Presentation combines both visual and textual elements. It is the way we exhibit or present our message on paper. Even if our ideas, words, and sentences are vivid, precise, and well constructed, the writing will not be inviting to read unless the guidelines of presentation are present. Some of those guidelines include: balance of white space with visuals and text, graphics, neatness, handwriting, font selection, borders, overall appearance. Think about examples of text and visual presentation in your environment. All great writers are aware of the necessity of presentation, particularly technical writers who must include graphs, maps, and visual instructions along with their text. Presentation is key to a polished piece ready for publication.

GRADE 12

OUTCOMES

READING OUTCOMES / WRITING OUTCOMES
Form / Form
Recognize central idea or theme / Communicate message to intended audience
Recognize supporting detail / Develop topic/central idea
Connect with prior knowledge / Develop thesis
Determine author or reader’s purpose / Provide supporting details
Using appropriate reading strategic / Create opening/closing
Identify and analyze: Text type, Literary forms, Elements, Devices, Patterns of Organization / Use variety of lead sentences
Form opinions and conclusions / Logical progression of ideas
Self-assess one’s own reading strategies and responses to text / Varied sentence structure
Make inferences and predict / Engage in writing process
Understand new vocabulary / Self-assess using standard criteria
Recognize persuasion / Develop conclusions
Use context clues to enhance comprehension / Convey point of view
Extrapolate information / Elaborate
Ask relevant questions to enhance comprehension / Select and research a topic
Distinguish information as relevant/irrelevant/opinion / Use models or examples
Interpret literary devices / Identify traits and use to publish
Recognize literary terms / Identify and develop writing artifacts for each genre
Outline efficiently / Refer to personal experiences in writing
Summarize effectively / Refer to historical or literary references in writing

9

LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY – GRADE 12

2010

KEY ELEMENTS / CONTENT
What Students should know / PERFORMANCE TARGETS
What Students should be able to do
Common Core State Standards
English Language Arts
Reading: Literature
Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining w where the text leaves matters uncertain.
2. 2.Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build one another to pr produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
3. 3.Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how ch the characters are introduced and developed).
Craft and Structure
4. 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (include Shakespeare as well as other aut authors.)
5. 5.Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
6. 6.Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or ate understatement).

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7 7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version ur interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
8. 8. (Not applicable to literature)
9. 9. Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the sa same period treat similar themes or topics.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Reading: Informational Text

Key Ideas and Details

1. 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the the text leaves matters uncertain.
2. 2. Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to ov provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
3 3. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of text.Craft and Structure