California State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 9

CA.1.0. Reading: Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development: Students apply their knowledge of word origins to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials and use those words accurately.

1.1. Vocabulary and Concept Development: Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations. (CAHSEE 2005)

1.2. Vocabulary and Concept Development: Distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words and interpret the connotative power of words. (CAHSEE 2005)

1.3. Vocabulary and Concept Development: Identify Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology and use the knowledge to understand the origin and meaning of new words (e.g., the word narcissistic drawn from the myth of Narcissus and Echo).

CA.2.0. Reading: Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials): Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They analyze the organizational patterns, arguments, and positions advanced.

2.1. Structural Features of Informational Materials: Analyze the structure and format of functional workplace documents, including the graphics and headers, and explain how authors use the features to achieve their purposes. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.2. Structural Features of Informational Materials: Prepare a bibliography of reference materials for a report using a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents.

2.3. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Generate relevant questions about readings on issues that can be researched.

2.4. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Synthesize the content from several sources or works by a single author dealing with a single issue; paraphrase the ideas and connect them to other sources and related topics to demonstrate comprehension. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.5. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Extend ideas presented in primary or secondary sources through original analysis, evaluation, and elaboration. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.6. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Demonstrate use of sophisticated learning tools by following technical directions (e.g., those found with graphic calculators and specialized software programs and in access guides to World Wide Web sites on the Internet).

2.7. Expository Critique: Critique the logic of functional documents by examining the sequence of information and procedures in anticipation of possible reader misunderstandings. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.8. Expository Critique: Evaluate the credibility of an author's argument or defense of a claim by critiquing the relationship between generalizations and evidence, the comprehensiveness of evidence, and the way in which the author's intent affects the structure and tone of the text (e.g., in professional journals, editorials, political speeches, primary source material). (CAHSEE 2005)

CA.3.0. Reading: Literary Response and Analysis: Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They conduct in-depth analyses of recurrent patterns and themes.

3.1. Structural Features of Literature: Articulate the relationship between the expressed purposes and the characteristics of different forms of dramatic literature (e.g., comedy, tragedy, drama, dramatic monologue). (CAHSEE 2005)

3.2. Structural Features of Literature: Compare and contrast the presentation of a similar theme or topic across genres to explain how the selection of genre shapes the theme or topic.

3.3. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters in a literary text (e.g., internal and external conflicts, motivations, relationships, influences) and explain the way those interactions affect the plot. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.4. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Determine characters' traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.5. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Compare works that express a universal theme and provide evidence to support the ideas expressed in each work. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.6. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze and trace an author's development of time and sequence, including the use of complex literary devices (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks). (CAHSEE 2005)

3.7. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Recognize and understand the significance of various literary devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory, and symbolism, and explain their appeal. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.8. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Interpret and evaluate the impact of ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and incongruities in a text. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.9. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Explain how voice, persona, and the choice of a narrator affect characterization and the tone, plot, and credibility of a text. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.10. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Identify and describe the function of dialogue, scene designs, soliloquies, asides, and character foils in dramatic literature. (CAHSEE 2005)

3.11. Literary Criticism: Evaluate the aesthetic qualities of style, including the impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and theme, using the terminology of literary criticism. (Aesthetic approach) (CAHSEE 2005)

3.12. Literary Criticism: Analyze the way in which a work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical period. (Historical approach) (CAHSEE 2005)

1.4. Research and Technology: Develop the main ideas within the body of the composition through supporting evidence (e.g., scenarios, commonly held beliefs, hypotheses, definitions). (CAHSEE 2005)

1.5. Research and Technology: Synthesize information from multiple sources and identify complexities and discrepancies in the information and the different perspectives found in each medium (e.g., almanacs, microfiche, news sources, in-depth field studies, speeches, journals, technical documents). (CAHSEE 2005)

1.6. Research and Technology: Integrate quotations and citations into a written text while maintaining the flow of ideas.

1.7. Research and Technology: Use appropriate conventions for documentation in the text, notes, and bibliographies by adhering to those in style manuals (e.g., Modern Language Association Handbook, The Chicago Manual of Style).

1.8. Research and Technology: Design and publish documents by using advanced publishing software and graphic programs.

1.9. Evaluation and Revision: Revise writing to improve the logic and coherence of the organization and controlling perspective, the precision of word choice, and the tone by taking into consideration the audience, purpose, and formality of the context. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.1.a. Relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the audience. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.1.b. Locate scenes and incidents in specific places. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.1.c. Describe with concrete sensory details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; use interior monologue to depict the characters' feelings. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.1.d. Pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.1.e. Make effective use of descriptions of appearance, images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.2.a. Demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the significant ideas of literary works. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.2.b. Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.2.c. Demonstrate awareness of the author's use of stylistic devices and an appreciation of the effects created. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.2.d. Identify and assess the impact of perceived ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.3.a. Marshal evidence in support of a thesis and related claims, including information on all relevant perspectives. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.3.b. Convey information and ideas from primary and secondary sources accurately and coherently. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.3.c. Make distinctions between the relative value and significance of specific data, facts, and ideas. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.3.d. Include visual aids by employing appropriate technology to organize and record information on charts, maps, and graphs.

2.3.e. Anticipate and address readers' potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.3.f. Use technical terms and notations accurately. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.4.a. Structure ideas and arguments in a sustained and logical fashion. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.4.b. Use specific rhetorical devices to support assertions (e.g., appeal to logic through reasoning; appeal to emotion or ethical belief; relate a personal anecdote, case study, or analogy). (CAHSEE 2005)

2.4.c. Clarify and defend positions with precise and relevant evidence, including facts, expert opinions, quotations, and expressions of commonly accepted beliefs and logical reasoning. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.4.d. Address readers' concerns, counterclaims, biases, and expectations. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.5.a. Provide clear and purposeful information and address the intended audience appropriately. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.5.b. Use appropriate vocabulary, tone, and style to take into account the nature of the relationship with, and the knowledge and interests of, the recipients. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.5.c. Highlight central ideas or images. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.5.d. Follow a conventional style with page formats, fonts, and spacing that contribute to the documents' readability and impact. (CAHSEE 2005)

2.6.a. Report information and convey ideas logically and correctly.

2.6.b. Offer detailed and accurate specifications.

2.6.c. Include scenarios, definitions, and examples to aid comprehension (e.g., troubleshooting guide).

2.6.d. Anticipate readers' problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings.

1.10. Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications: Analyze historically significant speeches (e.g., Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address,' Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream') to find the rhetorical devices and features that make them memorable.

1.11. Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications: Assess how language and delivery affect the mood and tone of the oral communication and make an impact on the audience.

1.12. Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications: Evaluate the clarity, quality, effectiveness, and general coherence of a speaker's important points, arguments, evidence, organization of ideas, delivery, diction, and syntax.

1.13. Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications: Analyze the types of arguments used by the speaker, including argument by causation, analogy, authority, emotion, and logic.

1.14. Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications: Identify the aesthetic effects of a media presentation and evaluate the techniques used to create them (e.g., compare Shakespeare's Henry V with Kenneth Branagh's 1990 film version).

2.2.e. Anticipate and address the listener's potential misunderstandings, biases, and expectations.

2.2.f. Use technical terms and notations accurately.

2.3.g. Evaluate the effectiveness of the interview.