English Language Arts Grade 11-12
Educational Links

Reading: Informational Text Standard 9

Analyze seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

• Bill of Rights
  A transcription of the Bill of Rights.
• Every Punctuation Mark Matters: A Minilesson on Semicolons
  Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" demonstrates that even the smallest punctuation mark signals a stylistic decision, distinguishing one writer from another and enabling an author to move an audience. In this mini-lesson, students first explore Dr. King's use of semicolons and their rhetorical significance. They then apply what they have learned by searching for ways to follow Dr. King's model and use the punctuation mark in their own writing. Note that while this lesson refers to the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," any text which features rhetorically significant use of semicolons can be effective for this mini-lesson.
• Preamble to the Constitution
  We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
• Self-Assessment Rubric - Close Reading of Informational Text
  This self-assessment reading rubric will help Grade 11 and 12 students assess their reading of informational text.
• Using Informational Texts - Section Two
  Teacher & Student Editions - Learning Tasks and Cognitive Rigor (Grade Band 11-12)

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