By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Writing:

• Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
• Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
• Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
• Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
• Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

• Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
• Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
• Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
• Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
• Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
• Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).

• Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
• Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
• Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
• Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
• Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

• Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”).
• Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”).

The CCR anchor standards and high school grade-specific standards work in tandem to define college and career readiness expectations—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity.

Speaking & Listening:

• Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
• Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
• Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
• Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.

Language:

• Use parallel structure.*
• Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.

• Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
• Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.

• Spell correctly.

• Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type.

Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
Consult general and specialized 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, its part of speech, or its etymology.

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).

Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

L.9-10.6. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Grammar Skills:

• Review subject–verb agreement
• Review verb tenses
• Introduce parallel structure
• Reinforce in depth the use of various introductory elements and the writing of complex sentences (longer prepositional phrases, adverb clauses, participial phrases), and work with the proper punctuation of these elements
• Review the types and functions of clauses
• Introduce the types of sentences (declarative, imperative, interrogative)
• Introduce students to the common idioms of the language and work on correcting the misuse of them in writing; also direct students’ attention to the appropriate and stylistic effects of diction, and informal usage and slang
• Work with sentence beginnings not only for generating variety in sentence structure, but also to introduce adverbial transitions, subordinate conjunctions, and coherency in a line of thought (making use of prepositional phrasing, adverbial clauses, and participial phrasing and the proper punctuation for these elements)
• Review the identification and analysis of various sentence patterns
• Reinforce in depth the verb forms (present and past participles, gerunds, infinitives, and main verbs); reinforce in depth the simple past, present, and future verb tenses; introduce perfect tenses
• Introduce the distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs (not only in the students’ writing, but also in their vocabulary study and their growing familiarity with dictionary definitions and formats)
• Introduce concept of restrictive and non-restrictive elements (especially in regard to appositives and their proper punctuation)
• Review proper pronoun usage (objective vs. nominative, possessive case without apostrophe and before a gerund, and agreement in number between antecedent and pronoun)
• Introduce the identification and function of relative pronouns, calling attention to the use of “This,” “That,” “Which,” and “What” as a tool of general pronoun reference, a device to introduce clauses, and as a subordinate conjunction
• Introduce the many uses of the dash and parentheses

Research Skills:

• Develop fundamental ability to find and evaluate information on-line and in reference books 
• Analyze acquired information and collate, apply, and synthesize this material for a variety of purposes
• Develop understanding of the effectiveness and many uses of a dictionary