Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Effective readers use different strategies and skills to understand a variety of texts.

• Effective readers are independent learners who use critical thinking skills.

• Effective readers are able to select and use relevant information that requires evaluating a variety of sources.

• Effective readers know that literature provides an understanding of human experience.

• Effective writers utilize the writing process to organize and strengthen all modes of writing.

• Effective writers practice and use editing skills for self and peer writing evaluation.

• Effective writers use conventions correctly.

• Effective writers write in complete sentences varying sentence structure and length using appropriately punctuated, dependent clauses.

• Effective writers identify and use the parts of speech correctly.

• Effective writers know their audience and purpose.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• What is text? How do we apply different strategies and skills to understand a variety of texts
• How do we communicate? What is effective communication? Why does effective communication require a process?
• What is standard English? Why do we need to know and use standard English rules?
• How do we apply stylistic elements and appropriate formats?
• What is critical thinking? How do we think critically in our lives?
• What is responsible research? What makes information relevant?
• How do I use information?
• What is literature?
• How can we make personal connections through literature?
• What makes us human?

  Highest Frequency Standards

Reading:

1c. Locate and paraphrase the key/main ideas and supporting details in fiction and poetry
1g. Identify the meaning of unfamiliar words in context using word recognition skills and context clues
4a. Determine author's purpose
4d. Make predictions and draw conclusions from text in various genre
5a. Use organizational features of text
5c. Summarize and organize info about a topic in a variety of ways (graphic organizers, etc.) from various sources
6a. Read and respond to a variety of literature
6b. Identify characters, setting, problem/conflict, plot, resolution, theme, sequence

Writing:

High Frequency Standards

Reading:

1d. Infer using a variety of texts and genre
4b. Use reading to solve a variety of problems and answer questions
4c. Differentiate fact from opinion in a variety of texts
5e. Locate other's ideas, image, or information in a bibliography
5f. Locate meanings and pronunciations of unfamiliar words
6c. Use knowledge of literary techniques and terminology (dialogue, scene, flashback, figurative language)

Writing:

2c. Use language which supports and enriches the idea.
2d. Plan, draft, revise, and edit for a final copy.
2e. Use transitions to link ideas.
2f. Use a variety of sentence structures.
3b. Use subject/verb agreement, nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, homonyms, and homophones.

Other Standards & E-skills

1a. Compare/contrast different texts with similar themes and ideas
1b. Summarize and synthesize fiction and poetry
1e. Identify sequential order in fiction and poetry
1f. Locate and recall information in text with different structures
4e. Explain the text's main point and use relevant details
5b. Use organizational features of electronic information
5d. Select info to support ideas and justify

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units.