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Language Arts - Secondary Curriculum English Language Arts Grade 6
Course Preface Course Preface
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Core Standards of the Course

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 Reading

The grades 6–12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards.

Reading Standards for Literature

The following standards offer a focus for instruction each year and help ensure that students gain adequate exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also infused through the requirement that students read increasingly complex texts through the grades. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.

Key Ideas and Details

Reading: Literature Standard 1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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Reading: Literature Standard 2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

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Reading: Literature Standard 3
Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

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Craft and Structure

Reading: Literature Standard 4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

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Reading: Literature Standard 5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

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Reading: Literature Standard 6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

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Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Reading: Literature Standard 7
Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

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Reading: Literature Standard 8
(Not applicable to literature)


Reading: Literature Standard 9
Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

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Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Reading: Literature Standard 10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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Reading Standards for Informational Text

Key Ideas and Details

Reading: Informational Text Standard 1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 2
Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 3
Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).

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Craft and Structure

Reading: Informational Text Standard 4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 5
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

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Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Reading: Informational Text Standard 7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 8
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

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Reading: Informational Text Standard 9
Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).

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Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Reading: Informational Text Standard 10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 Writing

The grades 6–12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards.

Writing Standards

The following standards for grades 6–12 offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Each year in their writing, students should demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades. The expected growth in student writing ability is reflected both in the standards themselves and in the collection of annotated student writing samples in Appendix C.

Text Types and Purposes

Writing Standard 1
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

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a.
Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.

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b.
Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

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c.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.

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d.
Establish and maintain a formal style.

e.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.

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Writing Standard 2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

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a.
Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

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b.
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

c.
Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

d.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

e.
Establish and maintain a formal style.

f.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.


Writing Standard 3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

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a.
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

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b.
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

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c.
Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.

d.
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.

e.
Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

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Production and Distribution of Writing

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.)

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Writing Standard 5
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3)

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Writing Standard 6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

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Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Writing Standard 7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.

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Writing Standard 8
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.

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Writing Standard 9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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a.
Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres [e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories] in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics”).

b.
Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not”).


Range of Writing

Writing Standard 10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.


College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 Speaking and Listening

The grades 6–12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards.

Speaking and Listening Standards

The following standards for grades 6–12 offer a focus for instruction in each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades.

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening Standard 1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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a.
Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

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b.
Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

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c.
Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.

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d.
Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.

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Speaking and Listening Standard 2
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

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Speaking and Listening Standard 3
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.


Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Speaking and Listening Standard 4
Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

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Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening Standard 5
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

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Speaking and Listening Standard 6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 6 Language Standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

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College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for 6-12 Language

The grades 6–12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards.

Language Standards

The following standards for grades 6–12 offer a focus for instruction each year to help ensure that students gain adequate mastery of a range of skills and applications. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades. Beginning in grade 3, skills and understandings that are particularly likely to require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking are marked with an asterisk (*). See the table on page 64 for a complete listing and Appendix A for an example of how these skills develop in sophistication.

Conventions of Standard English

Language Standard 1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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a.
Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).

b.
Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).

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c.
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.*

d.
Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents).*

e.
Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others' writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.*


Language Standard 2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

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a.
Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.*

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b.
Spell correctly.

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Knowledge of Language

Language Standard 3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

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a.
Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.*

b.
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*


Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Language Standard 4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

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a.
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

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b.
Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).

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c.
Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

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d.
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

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Language Standard 5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

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a.
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context.

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b.
Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better understand each of the words.

c.
Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., stingy, scrimping, economical, unwasteful, thrifty).


Language Standard 6
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

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UEN logo 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.