English Language Arts Grade 9-10
Educational Links

Writing Standard 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.)

• Argumentative Writing Standards Rubric
  This rubric will help assess first draft argumentative writing projects for 9th and 10th Grade English Language Arts.
• Choose Your Own Adventure: Hypertext Writing Exp.
  This lesson, from ReadWriteThink, combines reading and writing in a collaborative, small-group learning experience. It utilizes technology, specifically Web page design, group and individual work, and student self-assessment. After reading several examples, students will plan their own adventure story. They will be divided into smaller groups for each split in the story until finally the students are writing their own endings. Using Web-authoring software, groups will create their own Web sites with the parts of the story hyperlinked to each other.
• Evaluating Eyewitness Reports
  This lesson from EDSITEment offers students experience in making historical meaning from eyewitness accounts that present a range of different perspectives. The lesson asks students to evaluate the reliability of this primary source and to draw up a list of questions they would want to ask and issues they would want to explore before making this eyewitness report part of the historical record. To conclude the lesson, students apply their research skills to present-day eyewitness accounts, gathering published examples or conducting interviews, and produce a report on their value and use as historical evidence.
• Exploring Arthurian Legend
  In this lesson from EDSITEment, students will examine the historical origins of the Arthurian legend. Students will gain insight into the use of literature as historical evidence. Through the references and links in this lesson, students can track the growth of a legend like that of King Arthur, from its emergence in the Medieval Ages to its arrival on the silver screen.
• Grade Band 9-10 Sample Performance Assessment
  This sample English Language Arts performance assessment for Grade Band 9-10 covers three texts: 1) Lincoln, Abraham. "Gettysburg Address" 2) Monk, Linda R. Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution and 3) Hand, Learned. "I Am an American Day Address".
• Holocaust and Resistance
  In this lesson from EDSITEment, students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi persecution. Students will learn how the Holocaust happened and understand the devastation suffered by its victims; examine the evidence of resistance to the Holocaust that has been preserved in official documents and by oral tradition; reflect on the responsibilities of individuals when confronted with social policies that violate human rights; consider the significance of the Holocaust in society today.
• Life on the Great Plains
  In this four-part lesson, students examine the concept of geographic region by exploring the history of the Great Plains. Learning objectives include: to explore the concept of region and learn how culture and experience influence the perception of regions; to investigate the relationships between physical geography and human systems of culture and settlement; to trace the history and character of a region as reflected in literature and art; to examine factors that influenced westward expansion in the United States.
• Live From Antiquity!
  Ancient languages are the deepest root of the humanities, drawing life from that distant time when the study of history, philosophy, literature, and of language itself began. The goals of this lesson plan are to gain an appreciation for Greek drama through study of a play by Sophocles; to explore the cultural and historical context of Greek drama and its role in Greek society; to reconstruct the experience of seeing a Greek drama performed and share that experience in an imaginative report.
• Mark Twain and American Humor
  In this three-part lesson, students examine structure and characterization in the short story and consider the significance of humor through a study of Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Students will analyze the use of literary conventions and devices to develop character and point of view in the short story; investigate the purposes and significance of literary humor; and examine Mark Twain's storytelling style in relation to that of other American humorists.
• Perspective on the Slave Narrative
  This lesson plan introduces students to one of the most widely-read genres of 19th-century American literature and an important influence within the African American literary tradition even today. The lesson focuses on the Narrative of William W. Brown, An American Slave (1847), which, along with the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), set the pattern for this genre and its combination of varied literary traditions and devices. To help students recognize the complex nature of the slave narrative, the lesson explores Brown's work from a variety of perspectives.
• Put That on the List: Collaboratively Writing a Catalog Poem
  In these contemporary times, our lives are often driven by lists - to-do lists, shopping lists, wish lists. Working in small groups, students brainstorm a list of human emotions such as anger, guilt, and happiness. Then, as a class, they select six to eight emotions from the list. Students then add more specific ideas, words, and phrases that describe and provide examples of each emotion. Next, students read and discuss Raymond Carver's poem "Fear" as a model for writing their own powerful poetry. Finally, working with one of the emotions listed by the class, each group composes their own list poem. These poems, stripped down in the most minimalist fashion, allow students to concentrate on important aspects of poetry, including word choice, phrasing and rhythm as well as the all-important "heart" of the poem.
• Reading Formal and Informal Texts
  In this video lesson, students decide when formal or informal language is best. (14 minutes)

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.