Goals

=__What goals for Freshman Lit / Comp:__= = = We want to develop students who are active, critical readers of fiction and non-fiction texts. As a result students will. . . - preview, predict and question while they read (developing) - highlight and annotate texts (developing) - “think aloud” while they read (mastery) - connect (or find connections) to text and create personal relevancy (developing) - recognize how graphical features enhance texts (developing)

- infer meaning from texts. (developing) - ask open-ended insightful questions about texts that develop and showcase critical thinking skills (developing)

- explain how context (historical, biographical information on an author, genre) affects texts and our understanding of them (developing) - identify and explain how literary elements affect purpose, narrative, and theme (introduce)

- identify and explain how a writer’s style (sentence structure, language, word choice) and structure (organizational choices) affect purpose, theme, and narrative. (developing)

- identify and define narrative structure (points on the plot line) (mastery)

- identify and define various literary terms and tools (figurative language, irony, types of characters, symbol (mastery)

- form well-supported opinions (verbal and written) about readings using specific evidence from the text and their own sense of logical reasoning. (introduce) - synthesize multiple texts to form well-supported conclusions (introduce) - will not hate reading on their own. (developing)

- will enhance their vocabulary acquisition and usage (developing) We want to develop students who are confident and highly capable academic writers:

As a result our students. . . - are comfortable with the conventions and expectations of edited American English. In other words, they are able to code switch between informal discourses and a voice / style which is academic / formal. (developing)

- can consistently write sentences which are grammatical, clear and sophisticated. (developing / mastery)

- are aware of and confident in using a wide range of choices as related to word choice, sentence structure, punctuation as ways to improve the sophistication and clarity of their style. (developing)

- can understand the basic structure of an academic essay / argument and expository essay (mastery) - know how to writer an effective hook, structure a paragraph, write and effective conclusion, and writer an effective thesis statement. (mastery)

- are able to maintain a clear focus and deliberately follow a pre-determined organizational structure throughout the length of an essay. (developing)

- gain an awareness of their rhetorical and stylistic weaknesses / shortcomings / bad habits related to spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. (developing)

- make decisions about content (structure and style) based on their own rhetorical purposes and sense of audience. (developing)

- are familiar with basic grammatical terminology (parts of speech, types of phrases, sentence structures) (mastery)

- are able to recognize and fix what makes a sentence faulty, awkward, or confusing (run-ons, fragments, errors in punctuation, lack of parallel structure, passive voice, wordiness, modifier problems, shifts in tense) (introduce, developing, mastery)

- are able to fix problems with subject / verb agreement. (mastery)

- are able to minimize and eradicate informal / conversational features in their academic essays. (developing)

- are able to use transitions to improve the flow and connectivity of their writing. (mastery)

- can create well organized and supported paragraphs (mastery)

We want to develop students who are confident in their ability to research a wide variety of subjects for a variety of writing contexts and genres.

As a result, our students. . . - can utilize a specific process and structure for effectively completing a researched argument. (introduce) - can effectively and accurately paraphrase source material into their own words and writing style. (introduce)

- can apply the conventions and rules of MLA documentation style. (introduce)

- can effectively ask questions to narrow a search and find a topic. (introduce)

- can gather, read, and organize sufficient amounts of scholarly articles as they construct their argument / paper. (introduce)

- Our students can effectively evaluate the reliability, value, quality, and usefulness of the sources and information they read / view. (introduce)

- can pause and evaluate the value of the information in relationship to their thesis, purpose, and structural framework. (introduce)

- can know how to determine, find, and use the most effective resources for information. (introduce)

- can synthesize a wide variety of information from multiple sources to support and develop a single supporting point. (introduce)

We want to develop students who are confident in their ability to speak and communicate in a public format.

As a result, our students

- use listening techniques which keep them actively engaged and critically aware. - can design and deliver oral presentations where the audience is impressed with the speaker’s intelligence, clarity, and commitment.