What does a student learn in StateGeorgia,GradeGrade 9,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Practices (P) Students engage routinely in four literacy practices that ground, shape, and inform the expectations of the Foundations, Language, and Texts domains.

Language (L) Students learn and apply the structures and conventions of standard English. Students observe and analyze how grammar works in reading and writing. Students build vocabularies and determine word meanings as they relate to reading and writing.

Texts (T) Students grow in their learning as they purposefully engage with texts.

Engagement & Intention for Comprehension & Composition Students develop personal and academic identities as readers and writers, approaching texts for a variety of tasks and purposes and engaging in reading and writing processes in order to deepen comprehension and strengthen composition.

Reader & Writer Identity Build an identity as a reader and writer, developing a repertoire of resources and tools to continuously expand participation as an active consumer and producer of texts.

Generate, understand, monitor, and discuss personal and academic reading and writing goals, revising as appropriate. (I/C)

Discuss or write about personal and academic reading and writing preferences, referring to specific techniques, topics, modes, and genres that resonate most. (I/C)

Select, read, and write texts of personal interest and academic relevance to grade-level texts and topics. (I/C)

Build a repertoire of comprehension and composition skills, strategies, and techniques, drawing from them as needed to aid the interpretation and construction of texts. (I/C)

Participate in a community of readers and writers by developing group norms, discussing texts, sharing individual writing, listening as others share their writing, and offering and responding to feedback. (I/C)

Develop independence and autonomy as a reader and writer. (I/C)

Engagement & Intention Engage in written or spoken dialogue as author and audience for a variety of tasks and purposes, making intentional connections within, between, and beyond texts.

Share real or imagined experiences by interpreting and constructing texts that tell or include stories. (I/C)

Make use of texts to build knowledge, develop skills, make informed decisions, and share information and ideas. (I/C)

Explain and learn concepts and processes by interpreting and constructing texts. (I/C)

Interpret and construct texts to aid the analysis and evaluation of texts and ideas. (I/C)

Consume and produce texts in order to solve problems or influence decisions. (I/C)

Comprehension Strategies Engage with a range of complex texts for a variety of tasks and purposes, accessing and using strategies for comprehension* before, during, and after reading as part of the meaning-making process.

Establish a purpose and set goals for reading, monitor comprehension, and adjust as needed. (I)

Scan and skim the text, making note of structures and sections that might be most useful. (I)

Draw from, compare, build, and integrate prior knowledge with the material in the text, addressing inconsistencies or gaps and adding to knowledge repertoires as appropriate. (I)

Summarize and visualize sections of the text to maintain understanding. (I)

Make and track predictions about the events and information likely to come next. (I)

Make, track, and support inferences about different levels of meaning within the text. (I)

Determine the meanings of unfamiliar words and concepts by applying knowledge of context and of academic vocabulary and word parts. (I)

Writing Processes Compose a range of texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, flexibly engaging in writing processes to plan, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit texts.

Establish a purpose and goals for writing and identify a target audience. (C)

Plan how to organize the text by selecting modes, genres, and structures that will achieve the purpose and meet the needs of the target audience. (C)

Generate ideas for content by assessing prior knowledge, gathering information from texts, and engaging in discussions with others. (C)

Link ideas and information to the organization plan, highlighting ideas and information that are most relevant, useful, and impactful. (C)

Construct an initial draft by integrating ideas and information; selecting words, phrases, and sentences; and incorporating craft techniques that will best achieve the purpose of the text and resonate with the target audience. (C)

Evaluate the text’s effectiveness based on self-review or feedback from others, determining whether the text matches the purpose and goals for writing. (C)

Make changes to the text based on self-evaluation or external feedback, revising the organization, ideas, information, word choices, and craft techniques in order to increase the text’s effectiveness. (C)

Edit the text, ensuring it adheres to the conventions of written language. (C)

Situating Texts Students develop and apply a multilayered understanding of context, author, audience, and purpose to ground and propel the interpretation and construction of texts.

Context Develop and apply knowledge of key components of context such as background information, geographic location, cultural influences, time period, and contemporary events when interpreting and constructing texts.

Use prior knowledge, formal or informal research, and discussions with others to identify the key components of context that are most relevant. (I/C)

Consider how context impacts the purposes of the author and the audience. (I/C)

Explore how context shapes the author’s decisions and the audience’s responses during the interpretation and construction of texts. (I/C)

Author, Audience, & Purpose Interpret and construct texts by developing and applying knowledge of the strategies and techniques authors use to accommodate the target audience and achieve the text’s purpose.

Develop and apply knowledge of author, audience, and context to discern and establish the purpose of texts being interpreted or constructed and to evaluate the extent to which those texts achieve those purposes. (I/C)

Draw from knowledge of author, audience, and context to discern and establish a clear point of view or unique perspective when interpreting and constructing texts. (I/C)

Draw from knowledge of how authors consider context and audience to determine which information and ideas to highlight, which text design is most accessible, which word choices and language structures are most effective, and which craft techniques are most impactful. (I/C)

Author’s Craft Students apply knowledge of author’s craft to enhance the interpretation and construction of texts.

Reading like a Writer Interpret texts through the author’s lens by identifying, analyzing, and evaluating craft techniques that are connected to the responses, thoughts, decisions, and questions triggered by the text.

Identify, apply, and analyze the literary, expository, and opinion (grades K-5) or rhetorical (grades 6-12) elements in texts, explaining or evaluating how specific elements affect the target audience and support the text’s purpose. (I/C)

Identify, apply, and analyze important, interesting, or effective uses of language, explaining or evaluating how specific word choices affect the target audience and support the text’s purpose. (I/C)

Explain, analyze, and evaluate how the author’s use of sentence structure and syntax affects the target audience and supports the text’s purpose. (I/C)

Describe, analyze, and evaluate the design and organization of the text, explaining how specific formats, structures, patterns, and features influence the audience, contribute to the text’s accessibility, and support the text’s purpose. (I/C)

Writing like a Reader Construct texts with the audience’s experience in mind, basing decisions about craft techniques on context and purpose.

Integrate literary, expository, and opinion (grades K-5) or rhetorical (grades 6-12) elements to appeal to target audiences and achieve specific purposes. (I/C)

Craft words and phrases in order to influence the responses, thoughts, decisions, and questions of the target audience and achieve a specific purpose. (I/C)

Make decisions about sentence structure and syntax in order to accommodate and influence the audience and achieve a specific purpose. (I/C)

Organize texts by incorporating specific formats, structures, patterns, and features to influence the audience, facilitate accessibility, and support the text’s purpose. (I/C)

Text Design Consider the impact of text design on audience and purpose when consuming and producing texts across modes and genres.

Explore and create texts in various modes and genres, developing and applying knowledge of how specific features impact meaning, tone, style, purpose, and audience. (I/C)

Apply knowledge of how mode and genre impact what kinds of ideas and information are included in texts. (I/C)

Apply knowledge of how mode and genre impact how ideas and information are structured and arranged in texts. (I/C)

Consume and produce multimodal texts, integrating a variety of genres, text features, and craft techniques to influence target audiences and achieve specific purposes. (I/C)

Collaboration & Presentation Students build and share knowledge as they engage with others in a range of settings and for a variety of purposes.

Collaboration Collaborate with others to accomplish shared goals and projects.

Arrive to group discussions and collaborative meetings prepared to be an active participant in the work. (I/C)

Collaborate with others to determine group norms, establish goals and procedures, and facilitate productivity when working on shared projects. (I/C)

Contribute to discussions and shared projects by offering ideas, listening to the ideas of others, and providing feedback. (I/C)

Work with others to discuss topics, investigate questions, solve problems, and explore and create texts. (I/C)

Presentation Use presentation skills to tailor communication to target audiences for specific purposes.

Communicate clearly to present ideas, information, and texts. (I/C)

Integrate modes and genres most appropriate to purpose and audience. (I/C)

Vary tone, pace, and nonverbal gestures as appropriate to purpose and audience. (I/C)

Engage in dialogue with audiences by asking and answering questions. (I/C)

Build background knowledge by reciting all or part of significant poems and speeches as appropriate by grade level. (I/C)

Grammar Conventions Students observe, analyze, and use the structures and conventions of Standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics as they interpret and construct texts.

Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics Draw from knowledge of the conventions of Standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics when analyzing, evaluating, and constructing texts.

Mechanics: Use conventional capitalization, quotation marks, commas, end punctuation, and parentheses (citations) when incorporating textual evidence. (Master)

Usage: Form and use verbals and verbal phrases (participles/participials, gerunds, and infinitives) based on function. (Master)

Usage: Use tenses and aspects to indicate the mood of a verb. (Master)

Mechanics: Use colons to introduce quotations. (Master)

Mechanics: Use dashes appropriately. (Continue)

Grammar, Usage, Mechanics: Use an appropriate style guide to address complex issues of grammar, usage, or mechanics. (Continue)

Syntax Apply understanding of syntax to comprehend, analyze, evaluate, craft, and reshape sentences to achieve desired effects.

Apply understandings of syntax to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate a wide variety of texts, recognizing instances of parallel structure. (I)

Compose texts with varied syntax, reshaping sentences for effect while maintaining consistency of verb tenses, aspects, and moods. (C)

Maintain consistent use of active voice throughout a text to communicate clearly and concisely. (C)

Expand and enrich ideas and information, incorporating details and descriptions to achieve specific purposes or facilitate engagement. (C)

Recognize and use parallel structure within a sentence to create symmetry and convey a congruence of ideas. (C)

Vocabulary Students engage in a wide range of written and spoken activities during which they expand and deepen their vocabularies, build word analysis skillsets (morphology), and determine or clarify the meanings of words and phrases.

General, Academic, & Specialized Vocabulary Use expanding vocabulary knowledge to interpret texts and to craft effective communications across a wide variety of real-life, academic, disciplinary, technical, and professional contexts.

Acquire a range of general, academic, disciplinary, technical, and professional vocabulary through grade-level print, digital, and/or multimodal texts or content. (I)

Use grade-level general, academic, disciplinary, technical, and professional vocabulary to communicate clearly and precisely, adjusting style as appropriate in a variety of settings. (C)

Word Analysis Use word knowledge and word analysis skills to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases and to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes.

Deconstruct unknown words or phrases using etymology knowledge, common Greek and Latin roots, root words, and/or affixes to determine meaning as used in grade-level texts. (I)

Determine the meanings of words and phrases in context by analyzing the function of parts of speech. (I)

Construct words based on Greek and Latin roots, root words, and/or affixes and use those words appropriately in context. (C)

Use knowledge of parts of speech to determine precise and effective words and phrases when constructing texts. (C)

Meaning & Purpose Analyze and craft nuanced words and phrases in a variety of texts and for a variety of purposes.

This progression transitions to 9-12.L.V.3.b.

Analyze relationships between words to determine connotative and denotative meanings for words and/or phrases across a variety of contexts. (I)

Analyze the nuances in connotative meaning of words that share a similar denotation. (I)

Use available print and/or digital resources, including reference materials, style guides, digital tools (e.g., online searches, embedded word processing features) to determine, clarify, or verify the meaning of unknown or multiple-meaning words and phrases. (I)

Make strategic language decisions when writing or speaking by determining, clarifying, or verifying the nuanced meanings of closely related words or phrases using available print and/or digital resources. (C)

Context Students investigate the relationships between authors, purposes, and audiences of texts, and analyze the influence of contextual factors.

Purposes & Audiences Analyze the impact of purpose and audience on a wide variety of texts.

Use knowledge of texts’ distinct disciplinary, personal, or technical purposes to aid comprehension. (I)

Assess the impact of context and language on a text’s reception by the audience. (I)

Construct and self-evaluate multimodal texts and/or presentations that serve more than one purpose and target a specific audience using multiple, clearly identifiable features of incorporated modes. (C)

Authors & Speakers Evaluate how authors’ and/or speakers’ perspectives influence texts and how circumstances shape their creation.

Compare and contrast varying perspectives on a particular topic found across a variety of texts, analyzing how texts establish and develop perspective to shape perceptions or beliefs. (I)

Identify the impact of the speaker’s reliability or credibility on the text. (I)

Determine the reasons for changing attitudes around a topic and how that affects text. (I)

Synthesize information from a variety of credible sources used to research the answers to questions on academic and individual topics of interest. (C)

Structure & Style Students analyze and use organizational structures and style to shape ideas and information.

Organization Analyze, evaluate, and use organizational structures and style to shape thoughts across genres.

Analyze the effectiveness of a text’s organizational structure to meet the needs and expectations of the target audience. (I)

Craft and organize texts using an appropriate structure and features for mode, genre, purpose, and audience. (C)

Guide the audience through texts using transitions between ideas and paragraphs to enhance cohesion. (C)

Apply knowledge of text structure and organization to create coherent and cohesive texts with an introduction that guides the focus and captures the audience; purposefully organized and developed supporting facts, reasons, explanations, details, descriptions, and/or events; and a memorable conclusion. (C)

Craft Analyze, evaluate, and craft language to produce intended effects in a wide variety of texts.

Analyze how the use of figurative, connotative, and/or rhetorical language contributes to the development of meaning, tone, or mood in a wide variety of texts. (I)

Use literary devices, figurative language, rhetorical language, and/or rhetorical appeals to create a variety of effects, as appropriate to intended purpose and target audience. (C)

Use formal or informal style, as appropriate to audience, purpose, and context. (C)

Techniques Students evaluate and apply various techniques to comprehend and shape meaning.

Narrative Techniques Evaluate and apply narrative techniques to enhance text’s appeal to audiences or achieve specific purposes.

Describe how narrative techniques (including archetypes, multiple perspectives, plot structure, and symbolism) interact, using textual evidence. (I)

Analyze how plot structures, conflict, narrative devices, word choice, and other craft techniques impact an author’s purpose. (I)

Analyze how a text’s theme has social relevance and is developed across a text, comparing passages within and across texts, providing both reasoning and supportive textual evidence. (I)

Analyze how literary works draw on themes, event patterns, or character types from different time periods. (I)

Effectively apply a variety of narrative techniques to develop complex character(s) who change, use setting to create mood, develop an idea or theme across the text, achieve specific purposes, engage audiences, and enhance writing. (C)

Expository Techniques Evaluate and apply expository techniques to enhance text’s appeal to audiences or achieve specific purposes.

Analyze and evaluate the use and effect of expository techniques and organizational patterns. (I)

Analyze texts with conflicting information or opposing viewpoints and determine where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretations. (I)

This progression ends in 5th grade.

Apply expository techniques to develop a cohesive text, organized in a way that clarifies the relationship between ideas, includes multiple and varied types of information, and uses the appropriate tone to address a target audience and specific purpose. (C)

Argumentative Techniques Evaluate and apply argumentative techniques to enhance text’s appeal to audiences or achieve specific purposes.

Read, discuss, evaluate, and critique a variety of texts, considering the argumentative techniques used to present and design content and their associated implications on meaning or central idea. (I)

Recognize and analyze the use of rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos) in a variety of texts. (I)

Apply argumentative techniques strategically to enhance writing and engage audiences. (C)

Use rhetorical devices and appeals to guide the creation and revision of texts. (C)

Poetic Techniques Evaluate and apply poetic techniques to enhance text’s appeal to audiences or achieve specific purposes.

Read, discuss, evaluate, and critique a variety of poetic texts, considering poetic techniques used to present and design content and their associated implications on meaning and/or theme. (I)

Apply knowledge of various poetic techniques and conventions to create poetic text for an intended purpose. (C)

Research & Analysis Students use, discuss, analyze, and curate texts as they engage in various conversations, activities, and projects about a range of grade-level texts and topics.

Research & Inquiry Conduct research, generating questions to guide investigations of complex topics of interest and using credible sources to support analyses.

Generate questions to guide research, make connections between complex topics, explore creative solutions, narrow focus, and/or refine text creation. (I)

Use analytical findings to support a research question or thesis, citing appropriately. (I)

Integrate paraphrased, summarized, and quoted material into original texts in various ways for intended purposes that strengthen the writing, citing ideas in Modern Language Association (MLA) format. (C)

Curating Sources & Evidence Reference parts of texts to address a specific topic or question and explore various sources of information to make connections across a broad range of topics.

Navigate and use a variety of credible print and digital sources, including academic databases, to locate relevant information about a central argument, topic, or question. (I)

Analyze information from a variety of sources by identifying misconceptions, conflicting information or perspectives, and/or author bias and verifying the validity, relevancy, and accuracy of the information being considered. (I)

Follow Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines when responding to inferential questions about texts or when integrating and citing textual evidence, ensuring each source is accompanied by a basic entry on a works cited page. (C)

Periods & Movements Students demonstrate knowledge of dominant themes, genres, and verbal styles of literature from a particular time period.

Demonstrate knowledge of dominant themes, genres, and verbal styles of literature from a particular time period.

Examine an archetypal story, myth, event, or figure as it is represented in two or more different time periods. (I)

Identify and discuss major authors and works of one period of English or American literary history, including key themes and stylistic features. (I)