Standards Alignment Guide: Grade11-12 Reading Literature and Informational Text

Reading Literature:

Key Ideas and Details
RL 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 text leaves matters uncertain.
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the author include key details which can help a reader ask and answer questions?
Does the story have enough substance for students to draw inferences? For example, is a character developed enough? Also, a poem that is purely descriptive may not be appropriate for comprehension questions.
Does the text leave matters unclear? / Questions to ask students:
  • What inferential analysis about ______can be drawn from the text? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
  • What explicit information about ______can be drawn from the text? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
  • What conclusions can be drawn from the text about the character of ______? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
  • What can be inferred from paragraph ______(ex. #)? Explain your thinking behind the inferences using evidence from the text.
  • Speculate what the meaning of ______is in the story (when the author does not explicitly state what happens)? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
/ Students will be able to:
  • Make, test and revise predictions as they read
  • Make inferences about content, abstract ideas, and events in a text and identify author’s decisions
  • Identify/cite appropriate text support for inferences about content, concrete ideas, and author’s decisions in a text
  • Identify how author’s choices affect central ideas
  • Analyze texts to make generalizations
  • Differentiate between strong and weak textual support
  • Use the combination of background knowledge, explicitly stated information, and connections from the text to answer questions they have as they read
  • Make critical or analytical judgments to make generalizations
  • Analyze what text says explicitly as well as inferentially and cite textual evidence to support the analysis
  • Determine where a text leaves matters uncertain
  • Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs or knowledge
  • Make critical or analytical judgments about what they read
  • Create interpretations of text that are adapted as they continue to read and after they read
  • Create self-motivated interpretations of text where the text leaves matters uncertain.
  • Analyze connections between self and literary themes
  • Identify rhetorical strategies used by an author in a text
  • Analyze an author’s choice of rhetorical strategies
  • Explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies with strong and thorough evidence from the text
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  • Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters

RL 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 on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
Should I use this text for this standard?
Are there lessons or central messages worth identifying?
Are there literary devices/specific details which serve to create & develop the themes?
Do the themes or central messages work together to develop a complex work? / Questions to ask students:
  • What are the themes or central ideas? Cite evidence from the text to support the themes/central ideas.
  • What aspects of the text (e.g., title, character, scenes, word choice, etc.) best capture the themes? Cite specific evidence from the text to support assertions.
  • How are the themes developed over the course of the text?
  • Consider the theme of ______and ______. How do they work together to develop a deeper understanding of the text? Cite evidence to support your claim(s).
  • Summarize the text.
/ Students will be able to:
  • Describe or graphically represent the relationship between central ideas and specific details
  • Identify two or more themes or central ideas that interact and build on one another
  • Analyze the development of two or more themes or central ideas over the course of the text, examining how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account
  • Create an objective summary (excluding personal opinions)
  • Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas

RL 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 the characters/archetypes are introduced and developed).
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the author use specific literary elements to develop the theme or central idea?
Do the literary elements interact with each other in order to impact the reader and/or the overall meaning? / Questions to ask students:
  • Why did the author choose the setting of ______? How does this setting in the selection affect the development of the plot? Cite specific evidence to support claim.
  • Why did the author use ______(an element of plot)? How does this serve to develop the character of ______? Cite evidence to support your answers.
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  • How does the use of both direct and indirect characterization work to illustrate the character of ______as an archetype? Cite specific evidence to support claim.
  • How does the author’s use of the archetype of ______(e.g., character, setting, symbols, images, etc.) impact the overall meaning of the story? Cite examples to support your answer.
  • How does the author’s choice of dialogue provide a contextual foundation for the story? Cite specific evidence to support claim.
/ Students will be able to:
  • Differentiate among complex or multi-dimensional character types and roles within a story or drama
  • Identify multiple and/or conflicting motivations of complex characters
  • Explain what specific lines of dialogue or narration/exposition reveal about characters
  • Analyze (tell, write, or graphically represent) how characters, events, setting, and plot elements interact to create/ develop mood and tone and develop theme
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  • Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
  • Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama
  • Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text

Craft and Structure
RL 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 authors.) (See grades 11-12 Language standards 4-6 for additional expectations.)
Should I use this text for this standard?
Are there words-worth-knowing where meanings can be determined from…
  • Context clues?
  • Greek/Latin roots and affixes?
  • Word relationships with antonyms and/or synonyms?
Does the author’s use of diction (figurative language and/or connotation) serve to help determine meaning and/or tone?
Does the author use words that are unique and compelling? / Questions to ask students:
  • What does the word/phrase ______mean in this selection? How does this contribute to the overall meaning of the text?
  • What can be inferred from the use of ______(word/phrase)? (Consider connotative meanings.) How does this impact your understanding of the text?
  • What are the meanings of the word ______in the selection? Which meaning is the author intending for the reader to consider? How does this intended meaning affect your understanding of the text?
  • Consider the use of imagery in paragraph ______. What can you assert is the author’s tone? Cite examples to support your claim.
/ Students will be able to:
  • Read and reread other sentences, paragraphs, and non-linguistic images in the text to identify context clues
  • Use context clues to help unlock the meaning of unknown words/phrases
  • Determine the appropriate definition of words that have more than one meaning
  • Differentiate between literal and non-literal meaning
  • Identify and use genre-specific terms to explain author’s language choices
  • Identify and interpret figurative language and literary devices
  • Explain how figurative language and literary devices enhance and extend meaning
  • Explain the impact of specific language choices by the author
  • Explain how authors use language choices to create an aesthetic quality
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  • 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
  • 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
  • Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone

RL 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 tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the structure of the text contribute to its overall meaning and/or style?
Does the author choose to structure specific parts of the text to entice the reader? / Questions to ask students:
  • Speculate why the author chose to use ______(e.g., comedy, tragedy, suspense, etc.) in the ______(beginning, middle or end) of the text. How does the work to add to the meaning of the text as a whole?
  • Speculate why the author chose to use ______(e.g., ambiguity, foreshadowing, irony, etc.) in the ______(beginning, middle or end) of the text. How does the work to add to the meaning of the text as a whole?
  • How does the author use ______(e.g., punctuation, capitalization, spacing, indentation, paragraphing, stanzas, etc.) to visually represent the content of the selection? Cite specific evidence to support your answer.
/ Students will be able to:
  • Analyze the relationship between text organization and development of ideas
  • Analyze the relationship between form/structure and meaning in text
  • Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact
  • Analyze the structure of text, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole

RL 6: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the author use verbal irony?
Does the understanding of the verbal irony impact the reader’s understanding of the author’s point of view? / Questions to ask students:
  • Find an example of sarcasm in the text and explain how it illustrates the author/character’s intended point of view?
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  • Find an example of irony in the text and explain how it furthers the point of view of the author or character.
  • In (paragraph #) ______, what is really meant by ______. What does this show you about the character or author true feelings about the topic? Cite specific examples to support your claim.
/ Students will be able to:
  • Distinguish what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, parody, irony, or understatement)
  • Analyze the author’s overall purpose for writing a text
  • Analyze how the author’s purpose shape the content
  • Analyze how point of view affects a literary text (e.g., how a story would be different if told from a different point of view)
  • Evaluate the effect of an author’s use of point of view such as first vs. third, limited vs. omniscient and subjective vs. objective on the reader
  • Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement)

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL 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 interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the text have a drama, visual, or oral version of itself?
NOTE: This standard refers to a presentation of text—not the audio CD.
Does the other medium depict similarities and/or differences from the original text? / Questions to ask students:
  • What medium most impacts your understanding of the selected work? Cite evidence from all sources and provide reasoning to support claim.
  • Compare and contrast an event that is depicted in all sources. How are these portrayals different and why? How does each affect the overall meaning of the story, drama, or poem? Cite specific evidence to support your answer.
  • After evaluating multiple interpretations of ______, which one is the most effective in capturing the overall meaning of the work?
/ Students will be able to:
  • Interpret and analyze the source text
  • Interpret and analyze multiple versions of the source text
  • Compare and contrast multiple interpretations of the source text
  • Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry)
  • Evaluate how each version interprets the source text
  • Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words

RL 8: (Not applicable to literature)
RL 9: Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
Should I use this text for this standard?
Is the text an 18th through early 20th century foundational work of American literature?
Do two or more of the texts discuss a similar theme or topic? / Questions to ask students:
  • How does this selection ______reflect the values of the time period in which it was written? Cite specific evidence from the text(s).
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  • How does the author’s portrayal of ______(e.g., women, men, ethnicities, cultures, religions, etc.) mirror the social constructs of the time period? Cite specific evidence from the text(s).
  • What could the author have done to provide a more accurate portrayal of the time period/place? Cite specific evidence from the text(s).
/ Students will be able to:
  • Identify the characteristics of foundational works of American literature
  • Identify and explain author’s perspective/view point
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  • Identify, cite, and explain textual evidence (examples of author’s choices) which reveal the author’s intentions/purposes
  • Compare and contrast texts within the same period in terms of the treatment of similar themes and topics (eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature)
  • Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take

Reading Informational Texts:

Key Ideas and Details
RI 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 text leaves matters uncertain.
Should I use this text for this standard?
Does the author include key details which can help a reader ask and answer questions?
Does the text have enough substance for students to draw inferences? (For example, students reading about geographical features need to infer how they affected the civilization.)
Does the text leave matters unclear? / Questions to ask students:
  • What inferential analysis about ______can be drawn from the text? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
  • What explicit information about ______can be drawn from the text? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
Continued on next page
  • What can be inferred from paragraph ______(ex. #)? Explain the thinking behind inferences using evidence to support.
  • Speculate what the meaning of ______is in the text (when the author does not explicitly state what happens)? Cite specific evidence to support claim(s).
/ Students will be able to:
  • Make, test, and revise predictions as they read
  • Make inferences about content, abstract ideas, and events in a text and identify appropriate text support
  • Identify/cite appropriate text support for inferences about content, concrete ideas, and author’s decisions in a text.
  • Analyze texts to make generalizations
  • Differentiate between strong and weak textual support.
  • Use the combination of background knowledge, explicitly stated information, and connections from the text to answer questions they have as they read
Continued on next page
  • Make critical or analytical judgments to make generalizations
  • Analyze what text says explicitly as well as inferentially and use textual evidence to support the analysis
  • Supply strong and thorough textual support for analysis of a text
  • Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs or knowledge
  • Make critical or analytical judgments about what they read
  • Create interpretations of text that are adapted as they continue to read and after they read
  • Create self-motivated interpretations of text where the text leaves matters uncertain.
  • Determine where the text leaves matters uncertain
  • Identify rhetorical strategies used by an author in a text.
  • Analyze an author’s choice of rhetorical strategies
  • Explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies with strong and thorough evidence from the text
At Grade 12 :