Week 8

Dr. Kemp’s last email about how we are all numbering our parts has made me wonder how conditioned most of us are to the idea that academic life is still to a certain extent “a game.” Even though we know that Dr. Kemp is interested in our thoughts and only wants us to show the knowledge we have gained we still feel the need to make sure that we all meet the basic requirements and emphasize that by the use of numbering. So how do we break this natural reflex? I am not sure there is a correct answer. You never know what kind of teacher you are going to get and part of the “game” is figuring out exactly what the teacher wants to see in order to pass. Graduate school has been more open to the development of personal thoughts and theories, but I still ran into one professor who only gave A’s to students who quoted her and reinforced her own personal research. I almost flunked that class, but fortunately after asking around I figured out what she wanted to see and managed to salvage my grade. Although I have chosen to number my posts through 4 I think that I will discontinue numbering them now that I have met the basic requirements, which I suppose means I am still trying to make sure that I can win the “game” by attempting to receive full credit for my participation. Is this sad or just a part of survival in the real world?

New Media/Composition project continued

There are lots of types of new media available to use these days. I think the hardest part is figuring out what to use to do what. I have not heard of Camtasia or vodcasting until Joseph mentioned it in his comment which makes me wonder if I am so behind in technology that I do not have a solid foundation to attempt to use new media in technology. Perhaps that should be part of the assignments that I come up with, research new media. Have the students figure out what new programs and technology are out there and then as a class find ways to incorporate it in to our composition class. I also just learned about the program Prezi and I think that it is a cool program to do presentations with instead of the plan old power point. I also came across a program at the May seminar, which I for some reason cannot remember the name of at this time (going to have to talk to a friend about that). Anyway, it allows you to choose characters and input a script to create your own Southpark style cartoon. As much as these kids like drawing and making movies I think this might also be an interesting way to teach script writing or plays.
There are so many possibilities for what new media is and the media is always changing; probably why it is called NEW media and not just media. I came across a YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdH1-L39Dh4) for a book called Writing New Media while I was researching using new media to teach composition classes. First off I have to say like most things on TV it looked bigger than it actually is in person. I thought I was getting a 600 page book, but it is a lot of information packed in to 260 or so pages. I have just started scratching the surface of this book, but I am excited to see what ideas it has for pedagogy and other uses for new media in the classroom. Who knew there was also a bunch of books on composition/ media in the TTU library (nothing compared to Dr. Rice, but not too shabby considering). I am still looking in to ideas and possibilities so any suggestions for where or what to try next is greatly appreciated. (If you can get the comment thing to work on blogger; I still haven’t gotten that glitch figured out.)

New Media nd Composition

For my final project I am going to try and prove that New Media is an effective way to teach composition. In the past I have used videos to as a resource for teaching research skills and also to try and help my students become more aware of the controversial issues going on in the world around them. Usually I have them write a formal research paper to turn in with the video as the composition part of the assignment. When I was talking with Dr. Rice during the May seminar we began discussing how New Media could be used to teach narrative as well and it occurred to me with this class that it could also be a useful way to teach persuasive and analysis as well. The students we are working with in today’s world are expert users of technology and the writing of formal essays is slowly becoming a dying art form. So, my question is how can we take these experts in technology and show them how to use formal composition skills with the technology? Obviously grammar is an important part of any composition whether in new media or formal writing. A missed spelled word on a paper is just as glaring as a misspelled word in a power point or video.
I have located a variety of resources for using media as a teaching tool and so far I have located a new media program at Columbia University that is intended to help educators incorporate new media in to their classroom. If programs like this one become a part of higher level education and continue to assist professors with incorporating new media the students will begin using new media technology in more creative and interesting ways. I am attaching a link to a video that one of my former students created as an assignment for a videography class. (Please excuse the obvious errors. It was not made for English class and he was 18yrs old and had serious case of Senioritis :))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeOogtF3ivo

After looking at the way in which he incorporated the text it occurred to Dr. Rice and me that this might be a great way to teach narrative and also grammar in context. Videos are obviously an effective way of informing an audience, but I think that as composition teacher we could also teach our students how to use rhetoric and technology to persuade and analyze as well. This is a lot to think about and I am hoping that it will help me to add more creativity and technology into my classroom.

Motivation in the classroom

How to motivate students? It is a difficult question to answer. Each student has their own currency that will get them to work harder. For some it is the approval of their parents and others all it takes is a piece of candy. The problem is that not every student responds to the same bribe as much as the inspirational teacher movies like “Stand and Deliver” and “Dangerous Minds” would like us to believe. For me the best movie that I ever saw that portrayed a motivational teacher in the classroom the most realistically was “To Sir with Love” starring Sydney Poitier. The teacher in this film does not want to be there and struggles trying to teach the flunking students the textbook stuff. He is finally successful when he looks at what the students are dealing with outside of school and what the students will be doing with the rest of their lives after leaving the school. With this knowledge Poitier is able to teach the kids things that are relevant to their world and that they are interested in. I am not saying that composition is something that can be ignored just because I kid may or may not use it later on.
Writing is something that everyone uses in some form or another whether they attend college or take a job straight out of high school. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that perhaps motivation comes from the teacher taking the time to understand what the students are dealing with outside of the classroom and trying to show them how what they are learning fits in to the rest of their life. Yes, grammar is important but is it important to know all of the specific rules or to know how to use the language in an effective way? Will being able to diagram and name each part of the sentence help them with their writing as much as learning how the different parts can be manipulated to create a better piece of writing? Of course there is no way to objectively test a good piece of writing as we talked about this week, good writing all depends upon how the reader defines good writing. There have been a few times that I have assigned essays and after reading the essays wondered if perhaps I did not explain it clearly. It is hard to tell if it is my explanation or the students not listening when one or two papers are correct and the others are way off. Another route I have taken with assignments is letting the students decide what they want to do to show they have comprehended the topic, but there are times when I cannot do this because we have to write a persuasive paper at least once and an analysis paper at least once according to the TEKS. I think having a voice in the classroom helps to motivate students, but I am in a situation now where I am trying to figure out how to make them understand that I value their opinions I just cannot always listen to them or use them. How can I create a relationship built on respect in which we are all working together towards the same goal without losing control of the classroom?

Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge

I wanted to post what the secondary teachers are given as an outline for what we are supposed to teach. The college readiness standards that Russell pointed out are include in parts of this, but it is not very easy to read. As new teacher this was a very overwhelming thing to be presented with. Take a look at it and see what you think as professional TC students.

Chapter 110. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading
Subchapter C. High School


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Statutory Authority: The provisions of this Subchapter C issued under the Texas Education Code, §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025, unless otherwise noted.


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§110.30. Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, High School, Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(a) The provisions of §§110.31-110.34 of this subchapter shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.

(b) Students must develop the ability to comprehend and process material from a wide range of texts. Student expectations for Reading/Comprehension Skills as provided in this subsection are described for the appropriate grade level.

Figure: 19 TAC §110.30(b)

Source: The provisions of this §110.30 adopted to be effective September 4, 2008, 33 TexReg 7162; amended to be effective February 22, 2010, 35 TexReg 1462.


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§110.31. English Language Arts and Reading, English I (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(a) Introduction.

(1) The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In English I, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

(2) For students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition.

(A) English language learners (ELLs) are acquiring English, learning content in English, and learning to read simultaneously. For this reason, it is imperative that reading instruction should be comprehensive and that students receive instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word attack skills while simultaneously being taught academic vocabulary and comprehension skills and strategies. Reading instruction that enhances ELL's ability to decode unfamiliar words and to make sense of those words in context will expedite their ability to make sense of what they read and learn from reading. Additionally, developing fluency, spelling, and grammatical conventions of academic language must be done in meaningful contexts and not in isolation.

(B) For ELLs, comprehension of texts requires additional scaffolds to support comprehensible input. ELL students should use the knowledge of their first language (e.g., cognates) to further vocabulary development. Vocabulary needs to be taught in the context of connected discourse so that language is meaningful. ELLs must learn how rhetorical devices in English differ from those in their native language. At the same time English learners are learning in English, the focus is on academic English, concepts, and the language structures specific to the content.

(C) During initial stages of English development, ELLs are expected to meet standards in a second language that many monolingual English speakers find difficult to meet in their native language. However, English language learners' abilities to meet these standards will be influenced by their proficiency in English. While English language learners can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, their level of English proficiency may impede their ability to demonstrate this knowledge during the initial stages of English language acquisition. It is also critical to understand that ELLs with no previous or with interrupted schooling will require explicit and strategic support as they acquire English and learn to learn in English simultaneously.

(3) To meet Public Education Goal 1 of the Texas Education Code, §4.002, which states, "The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the reading and writing of the English language," students will accomplish the essential knowledge, skills, and student expectations in English I as described in subsection (b) of this section.

(4) To meet Texas Education Code, §28.002(h), which states, "... each school district shall foster the continuation of the tradition of teaching United States and Texas history and the free enterprise system in regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the adoption of textbooks," students will be provided oral and written narratives as well as other informational texts that can help them to become thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to:

(A) determine the meaning of grade-level technical academic English words in multiple content areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes;

(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words;

(C) produce analogies that describe a function of an object or its description;

(D) describe the origins and meanings of foreign words or phrases used frequently in written English (e.g., caveat emptor, carte blanche, tete a tete, pas de deux, bon appetit, quid pro quo); and

(E) use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine or confirm the meanings of words and phrases, including their connotations and denotations, and their etymology.

(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze how the genre of texts with similar themes shapes meaning;

(B) analyze the influence of mythic, classical and traditional literature on 20th and 21st century literature; and

(C) relate the figurative language of a literary work to its historical and cultural setting.

(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling images, figurative language, understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.

(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain how dramatic conventions (e.g., monologues, soliloquies, dramatic irony) enhance dramatic text.

(5) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze non-linear plot development (e.g., flashbacks, foreshadowing, sub-plots, parallel plot structures) and compare it to linear plot development;

(B) analyze how authors develop complex yet believable characters in works of fiction through a range of literary devices, including character foils;

(C) analyze the way in which a work of fiction is shaped by the narrator's point of view; and

(D) demonstrate familiarity with works by authors from non-English-speaking literary traditions with emphasis on classical literature.

(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how literary essays interweave personal examples and ideas with factual information to explain, present a perspective, or describe a situation or event.

(7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain the role of irony, sarcasm, and paradox in literary works.

(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain the controlling idea and specific purpose of an expository text and distinguish the most important from the less important details that support the author's purpose.

(9) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) summarize text and distinguish between a summary that captures the main ideas and elements of a text and a critique that takes a position and expresses an opinion;

(B) differentiate between opinions that are substantiated and unsubstantiated in the text;

(C) make subtle inferences and draw complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns; and

(D) synthesize and make logical connections between ideas and details in several texts selected to reflect a range of viewpoints on the same topic and support those findings with textual evidence.

(10) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Persuasive Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about persuasive text and provide evidence from text to support their analysis. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze the relevance, quality, and credibility of evidence given to support or oppose an argument for a specific audience; and

(B) analyze famous speeches for the rhetorical structures and devices used to convince the reader of the authors' propositions.

(11) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Procedural Texts. Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze the clarity of the objective(s) of procedural text (e.g., consider reading instructions for software, warranties, consumer publications); and

(B) analyze factual, quantitative, or technical data presented in multiple graphical sources.

(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

(A) compare and contrast how events are presented and information is communicated by visual images (e.g., graphic art, illustrations, news photographs) versus non-visual texts;

(B) analyze how messages in media are conveyed through visual and sound techniques (e.g., editing, reaction shots, sequencing, background music);

(C) compare and contrast coverage of the same event in various media (e.g., newspapers, television, documentaries, blogs, Internet); and

(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone within the same medium for specific audiences and purposes.

(13) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

(B) structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and the rhetorical devices used to convey meaning;

(C) revise drafts to improve style, word choice, figurative language, sentence variety, and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing. Students are expected to:

(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable characters, and a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot;

(B) write a poem using a variety of poetic techniques (e.g., structural elements, figurative language) and a variety of poetic forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads); and

(C) write a script with an explicit or implicit theme and details that contribute to a definite mood or tone.

(15) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

(A) write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes:

(i) effective introductory and concluding paragraphs and a variety of sentence structures;

(ii) rhetorical devices, and transitions between paragraphs;

(iii) a controlling idea or thesis;

(iv) an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context; and

(v) relevant information and valid inferences;

(B) write procedural or work-related documents (e.g., instructions, e-mails, correspondence, memos, project plans) that include:

(i) organized and accurately conveyed information; and

(ii) reader-friendly formatting techniques;

(C) write an interpretative response to an expository or a literary text (e.g., essay or review) that:

(i) extends beyond a summary and literal analysis;

(ii) addresses the writing skills for an analytical essay and provides evidence from the text using embedded quotations; and

(iii) analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's use of stylistic or rhetorical devices; and

(D) produce a multimedia presentation (e.g., documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, visual or textual parodies, theatrical production) with graphics, images, and sound that conveys a distinctive point of view and appeals to a specific audience.

(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay to the appropriate audience that includes:

(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons supported by precise and relevant evidence;

(B) consideration of the whole range of information and views on the topic and accurate and honest representation of these views;

(C) counter-arguments based on evidence to anticipate and address objections;

(D) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context; and

(E) an analysis of the relative value of specific data, facts, and ideas.

(17) Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) use and understand the function of the following parts of speech in the context of reading, writing, and speaking:

(i) more complex active and passive tenses and verbals (gerunds, infinitives, participles);

(ii) restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses; and

(iii) reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another);

(B) identify and use the subjunctive mood to express doubts, wishes, and possibilities; and

(C) use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

(18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to:

(A) use conventions of capitalization; and

(B) use correct punctuation marks including:

(i) quotation marks to indicate sarcasm or irony;

(ii) comma placement in nonrestrictive phrases, clauses, and contrasting expressions; and

(iii) dashes to emphasize parenthetical information.

(19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

(20) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:

(A) brainstorm, consult with others, decide upon a topic, and formulate a major research question to address the major research topic; and

(B) formulate a plan for engaging in research on a complex, multi-faceted topic.

(21) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:

(A) follow the research plan to compile data from authoritative sources in a manner that identifies the major issues and debates within the field of inquiry;

(B) organize information gathered from multiple sources to create a variety of graphics and forms (e.g., notes, learning logs); and

(C) paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately cite all researched information according to a standard format (e.g., author, title, page number).

(22) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to:

(A) modify the major research question as necessary to refocus the research plan;

(B) evaluate the relevance of information to the topic and determine the reliability, validity, and accuracy of sources (including Internet sources) by examining their authority and objectivity; and

(C) critique the research process at each step to implement changes as the need occurs and is identified.

(23) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into a written or an oral presentation that:

(A) marshals evidence in support of a clear thesis statement and related claims;

(B) provides an analysis for the audience that reflects a logical progression of ideas and a clearly stated point of view;

(C) uses graphics and illustrations to help explain concepts where appropriate;

(D) uses a variety of evaluative tools (e.g., self-made rubrics, peer reviews, teacher and expert evaluations) to examine the quality of the research; and

(E) uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style) to document sources and format written materials.

(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) listen responsively to a speaker by taking notes that summarize, synthesize, or highlight the speaker's ideas for critical reflection and by asking questions related to the content for clarification and elaboration;

(B) follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, solve problems, and complete processes; and

(C) evaluate the effectiveness of a speaker's main and supporting ideas.

(25) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to give presentations using informal, formal, and technical language effectively to meet the needs of audience, purpose, and occasion, employing eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, building on the ideas of others, contributing relevant information, developing a plan for consensus-building, and setting ground rules for decision-making.

Source: The provisions of this §110.31 adopted to be effective September 4, 2008, 33 TexReg 7162.


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§110.32. English Language Arts and Reading, English II (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(a) Introduction.

(1) The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In English II, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

(2) For students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition.

(A) English language learners (ELLs) are acquiring English, learning content in English, and learning to read simultaneously. For this reason, it is imperative that reading instruction should be comprehensive and that students receive instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word attack skills while simultaneously being taught academic vocabulary and comprehension skills and strategies. Reading instruction that enhances ELL's ability to decode unfamiliar words and to make sense of those words in context will expedite their ability to make sense of what they read and learn from reading. Additionally, developing fluency, spelling, and grammatical conventions of academic language must be done in meaningful contexts and not in isolation.

(B) For ELLs, comprehension of texts requires additional scaffolds to support comprehensible input. ELL students should use the knowledge of their first language (e.g., cognates) to further vocabulary development. Vocabulary needs to be taught in the context of connected discourse so that language is meaningful. ELLs must learn how rhetorical devices in English differ from those in their native language. At the same time English learners are learning in English, the focus is on academic English, concepts, and the language structures specific to the content.

(C) During initial stages of English development, ELLs are expected to meet standards in a second language that many monolingual English speakers find difficult to meet in their native language. However, English language learners' abilities to meet these standards will be influenced by their proficiency in English. While English language learners can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, their level of English proficiency may impede their ability to demonstrate this knowledge during the initial stages of English language acquisition. It is also critical to understand that ELLs with no previous or with interrupted schooling will require explicit and strategic support as they acquire English and learn to learn in English simultaneously.

(3) To meet Public Education Goal 1 of the Texas Education Code, §4.002, which states, "The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the reading and writing of the English language," students will accomplish the essential knowledge, skills, and student expectations in English II as described in subsection (b) of this section.

(4) To meet Texas Education Code, §28.002(h), which states, "... each school district shall foster the continuation of the tradition of teaching United States and Texas history and the free enterprise system in regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the adoption of textbooks," students will be provided oral and written narratives as well as other informational texts that can help them to become thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to:

(A) determine the meaning of grade-level technical academic English words in multiple content areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes;

(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words;

(C) infer word meaning through the identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships;

(D) show the relationship between the origins and meaning of foreign words or phrases used frequently in written English and historical events or developments (e.g., glasnost, avant-garde, coup d'état); and

(E) use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine or confirm the meanings of words and phrases, including their connotations and denotations, and their etymology.

(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) compare and contrast differences in similar themes expressed in different time periods;

(B) analyze archetypes (e.g., journey of a hero, tragic flaw) in mythic, traditional and classical literature; and

(C) relate the figurative language of a literary work to its historical and cultural setting.

(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the structure or prosody (e.g., meter, rhyme scheme) and graphic elements (e.g., line length, punctuation, word position) in poetry.

(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how archetypes and motifs in drama affect the plot of plays.

(5) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze isolated scenes and their contribution to the success of the plot as a whole in a variety of works of fiction;

(B) analyze differences in the characters' moral dilemmas in works of fiction across different countries or cultures;

(C) evaluate the connection between forms of narration (e.g., unreliable, omniscient) and tone in works of fiction; and

(D) demonstrate familiarity with works by authors from non-English-speaking literary traditions with emphasis on 20th century world literature.

(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to evaluate the role of syntax and diction and the effect of voice, tone, and imagery on a speech, literary essay, or other forms of literary nonfiction.

(7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain the function of symbolism, allegory, and allusions in literary works.

(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the controlling idea and specific purpose of a passage and the textual elements that support and elaborate it, including both the most important details and the less important details.

(9) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) summarize text and distinguish between a summary and a critique and identify non-essential information in a summary and unsubstantiated opinions in a critique;

(B) distinguish among different kinds of evidence (e.g., logical, empirical, anecdotal) used to support conclusions and arguments in texts;

(C) make and defend subtle inferences and complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns; and

(D) synthesize and make logical connections between ideas and details in several texts selected to reflect a range of viewpoints on the same topic and support those findings with textual evidence.

(10) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Persuasive Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about persuasive text and provide evidence from text to support their analysis. Students are expected to:

(A) explain shifts in perspective in arguments about the same topic and evaluate the accuracy of the evidence used to support the different viewpoints within those arguments; and

(B) analyze contemporary political debates for such rhetorical and logical fallacies as appeals to commonly held opinions, false dilemmas, appeals to pity, and personal attacks.

(11) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Procedural Texts. Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate text for the clarity of its graphics and its visual appeal; and

(B) synthesize information from multiple graphical sources to draw conclusions about the ideas presented (e.g., maps, charts, schematics).

(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;

(B) analyze how messages in media are conveyed through visual and sound techniques (e.g., editing, reaction shots, sequencing, background music);

(C) examine how individual perception or bias in coverage of the same event influences the audience; and

(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone within the same medium for specific audiences and purposes.

(13) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

(B) structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and rhetorical devices used to convey meaning;

(C) revise drafts to improve style, word choice, figurative language, sentence variety, and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing. Students are expected to:

(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable characters, a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot, and sensory details that define the mood or tone;

(B) write a poem using a variety of poetic techniques (e.g., structural elements, figurative language) and a variety of poetic forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads); and

(C) write a script with an explicit or implicit theme and details that contribute to a definite mood or tone.

(15) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

(A) write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes:

(i) effective introductory and concluding paragraphs and a variety of sentence structures;

(ii) rhetorical devices, and transitions between paragraphs;

(iii) a thesis or controlling idea;

(iv) an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context;

(v) relevant evidence and well-chosen details; and

(vi) distinctions about the relative value of specific data, facts, and ideas that support the thesis statement;

(B) write procedural or work-related documents (e.g., instructions, e-mails, correspondence, memos, project plans) that include:

(i) organized and accurately conveyed information;

(ii) reader-friendly formatting techniques; and

(iii) anticipation of readers' questions;

(C) write an interpretative response to an expository or a literary text (e.g., essay or review) that:

(i) extends beyond a summary and literal analysis;

(ii) addresses the writing skills for an analytical essay and provides evidence from the text using embedded quotations; and

(iii) analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's use of stylistic and rhetorical devices; and

(D) produce a multimedia presentation (e.g., documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, visual or textual parodies, theatrical production) with graphics, images, and sound that conveys a distinctive point of view and appeals to a specific audience.

(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay to the appropriate audience that includes:

(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons supported by precise and relevant evidence;

(B) consideration of the whole range of information and views on the topic and accurate and honest representation of these views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context);

(C) counter-arguments based on evidence to anticipate and address objections;

(D) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context;

(E) an analysis of the relative value of specific data, facts, and ideas; and

(F) a range of appropriate appeals (e.g., descriptions, anecdotes, case studies, analogies, illustrations).

(17) Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) use and understand the function of the following parts of speech in the context of reading, writing, and speaking:

(i) more complex active and passive tenses and verbals (gerunds, infinitives, participles);

(ii) restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses; and

(iii) reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another);

(B) identify and use the subjunctive mood to express doubts, wishes, and possibilities; and

(C) use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

(18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to:

(A) use conventions of capitalization; and

(B) use correct punctuation marks including:

(i) comma placement in nonrestrictive phrases, clauses, and contrasting expressions;

(ii) quotation marks to indicate sarcasm or irony; and

(iii) dashes to emphasize parenthetical information.

(19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

(20) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:

(A) brainstorm, consult with others, decide upon a topic, and formulate a major research question to address the major research topic; and

(B) formulate a plan for engaging in research on a complex, multi-faceted topic.

(21) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:

(A) follow the research plan to compile data from authoritative sources in a manner that identifies the major issues and debates within the field of inquiry;

(B) organize information gathered from multiple sources to create a variety of graphics and forms (e.g., notes, learning logs); and

(C) paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately cite all researched information according to a standard format (e.g., author, title, page number).

(22) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to:

(A) modify the major research question as necessary to refocus the research plan;

(B) evaluate the relevance of information to the topic and determine the reliability, validity, and accuracy of sources (including Internet sources) by examining their authority and objectivity; and

(C) critique the research process at each step to implement changes as the need occurs and is identified.

(23) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into a written or an oral presentation that:

(A) marshals evidence in support of a clear thesis statement and related claims;

(B) provides an analysis for the audience that reflects a logical progression of ideas and a clearly stated point of view;

(C) uses graphics and illustrations to help explain concepts where appropriate;

(D) uses a variety of evaluative tools (e.g., self-made rubrics, peer reviews, teacher and expert evaluations) to examine the quality of the research; and

(E) uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style) to document sources and format written materials.

(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) listen responsively to a speaker by taking notes that summarize, synthesize, or highlight the speaker's ideas for critical reflection and by asking questions related to the content for clarification and elaboration;

(B) follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, solve problems, and complete processes; and

(C) evaluate how the style and structure of a speech support or undermine its purpose or meaning.

(25) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to advance a coherent argument that incorporates a clear thesis and a logical progression of valid evidence from reliable sources and that employs eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, building on the ideas of others, contributing relevant information, developing a plan for consensus-building, and setting ground rules for decision-making.

Source: The provisions of this §110.32 adopted to be effective September 4, 2008, 33 TexReg 7162.


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§110.33. English Language Arts and Reading, English III (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(a) Introduction.

(1) The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In English III, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

(2) For students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition.

(A) English language learners (ELLs) are acquiring English, learning content in English, and learning to read simultaneously. For this reason, it is imperative that reading instruction should be comprehensive and that students receive instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word attack skills while simultaneously being taught academic vocabulary and comprehension skills and strategies. Reading instruction that enhances ELL's ability to decode unfamiliar words and to make sense of those words in context will expedite their ability to make sense of what they read and learn from reading. Additionally, developing fluency, spelling, and grammatical conventions of academic language must be done in meaningful contexts and not in isolation.

(B) For ELLs, comprehension of texts requires additional scaffolds to support comprehensible input. ELL students should use the knowledge of their first language (e.g., cognates) to further vocabulary development. Vocabulary needs to be taught in the context of connected discourse so that language is meaningful. ELLs must learn how rhetorical devices in English differ from those in their native language. At the same time English learners are learning in English, the focus is on academic English, concepts, and the language structures specific to the content.

(C) During initial stages of English development, ELLs are expected to meet standards in a second language that many monolingual English speakers find difficult to meet in their native language. However, English language learners' abilities to meet these standards will be influenced by their proficiency in English. While English language learners can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, their level of English proficiency may impede their ability to demonstrate this knowledge during the initial stages of English language acquisition. It is also critical to understand that ELLs with no previous or with interrupted schooling will require explicit and strategic support as they acquire English and learn to learn in English simultaneously.

(3) To meet Public Education Goal 1 of the Texas Education Code, §4.002, which states, "The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the reading and writing of the English language," students will accomplish the essential knowledge, skills, and student expectations in English III as described in subsection (b) of this section.

(4) To meet Texas Education Code, §28.002(h), which states, "... each school district shall foster the continuation of the tradition of teaching United States and Texas history and the free enterprise system in regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the adoption of textbooks," students will be provided oral and written narratives as well as other informational texts that can help them to become thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to:

(A) determine the meaning of grade-level technical academic English words in multiple content areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes;

(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to draw conclusions about the nuance in word meanings;

(C) infer word meaning through the identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships;

(D) recognize and use knowledge of cognates in different languages and of word origins to determine the meaning of words; and

(E) use general and specialized dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, histories of language, books of quotations, and other related references (printed or electronic) as needed.

(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on the human condition;

(B) relate the characters and text structures of mythic, traditional, and classical literature to 20th and 21st century American novels, plays, or films; and

(C) relate the main ideas found in a literary work to primary source documents from its historical and cultural setting.

(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the effects of metrics, rhyme schemes (e.g., end, internal, slant, eye), and other conventions in American poetry.

(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the themes and characteristics in different periods of modern American drama.

(5) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate how different literary elements (e.g., figurative language, point of view) shape the author's portrayal of the plot and setting in works of fiction;

(B) analyze the internal and external development of characters through a range of literary devices;

(C) analyze the impact of narration when the narrator's point of view shifts from one character to another; and

(D) demonstrate familiarity with works by authors in American fiction from each major literary period.

(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how rhetorical techniques (e.g., repetition, parallel structure, understatement, overstatement) in literary essays, true life adventures, and historically important speeches influence the reader, evoke emotions, and create meaning.

(7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the meaning of classical, mythological, and biblical allusions in words, phrases, passages, and literary works.

(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how the style, tone, and diction of a text advance the author's purpose and perspective or stance.

(9) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) summarize a text in a manner that captures the author's viewpoint, its main ideas, and its elements without taking a position or expressing an opinion;

(B) distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning and analyze the elements of deductively and inductively reasoned texts and the different ways conclusions are supported;

(C) make and defend subtle inferences and complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns; and

(D) synthesize ideas and make logical connections (e.g., thematic links, author analyses) between and among multiple texts representing similar or different genres and technical sources and support those findings with textual evidence.

(10) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Persuasive Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about persuasive text and provide evidence from text to support their analysis. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate how the author's purpose and stated or perceived audience affect the tone of persuasive texts; and

(B) analyze historical and contemporary political debates for such logical fallacies as non-sequiturs, circular logic, and hasty generalizations.

(11) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Procedural Texts. Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate the logic of the sequence of information presented in text (e.g., product support material, contracts); and

(B) translate (from text to graphic or from graphic to text) complex, factual, quantitative, or technical information presented in maps, charts, illustrations, graphs, timelines, tables, and diagrams.

(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;

(B) evaluate the interactions of different techniques (e.g., layout, pictures, typeface in print media, images, text, sound in electronic journalism) used in multi-layered media;

(C) evaluate the objectivity of coverage of the same event in various types of media; and

(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone across various media for different audiences and purposes.

(13) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

(B) structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and rhetorical devices to convey meaning;

(C) revise drafts to clarify meaning and achieve specific rhetorical purposes, consistency of tone, and logical organization by rearranging the words, sentences, and paragraphs to employ tropes (e.g., metaphors, similes, analogies, hyperbole, understatement, rhetorical questions, irony), schemes (e.g., parallelism, antithesis, inverted word order, repetition, reversed structures), and by adding transitional words and phrases;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing. Students are expected to:

(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, complex and non-stereotypical characters, a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot, and sensory details that define the mood or tone;

(B) write a poem that reflects an awareness of poetic conventions and traditions within different forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads, free verse); and

(C) write a script with an explicit or implicit theme, using a variety of literary techniques.

(15) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

(A) write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes:

(i) effective introductory and concluding paragraphs and a variety of sentence structures;

(ii) rhetorical devices, and transitions between paragraphs;

(iii) a clear thesis statement or controlling idea;

(iv) a clear organizational schema for conveying ideas;

(v) relevant and substantial evidence and well-chosen details; and

(vi) information on multiple relevant perspectives and a consideration of the validity, reliability, and relevance of primary and secondary sources;

(B) write procedural or work-related documents (e.g., résumés, proposals, college applications, operation manuals) that include:

(i) a clearly stated purpose combined with a well-supported viewpoint on the topic;

(ii) appropriate formatting structures (e.g., headings, graphics, white space);

(iii) relevant questions that engage readers and consider their needs;

(iv) accurate technical information in accessible language; and

(v) appropriate organizational structures supported by facts and details (documented if appropriate);

(C) write an interpretation of an expository or a literary text that:

(i) advances a clear thesis statement;

(ii) addresses the writing skills for an analytical essay, including references to and commentary on quotations from the text;

(iii) analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's use of stylistic or rhetorical devices;

(iv) identifies and analyzes the ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text; and

(v) anticipates and responds to readers' questions or contradictory information; and

(D) produce a multimedia presentation (e.g., documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, visual or textual parodies, theatrical production) with graphics, images, and sound that appeals to a specific audience and synthesizes information from multiple points of view.

(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g., evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate audience that includes:

(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons supported by precise and relevant evidence, including facts, expert opinions, quotations, and/or expressions of commonly accepted beliefs;

(B) accurate and honest representation of divergent views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context);

(C) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context;

(D) information on the complete range of relevant perspectives;

(E) demonstrated consideration of the validity and reliability of all primary and secondary sources used; and

(F) language attentively crafted to move a disinterested or opposed audience, using specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions (e.g., appeals to logic, emotions, ethical beliefs).

(17) Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) use and understand the function of different types of clauses and phrases (e.g., adjectival, noun, adverbial clauses and phrases); and

(B) use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

(18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization.

(19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

(20) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:

(A) brainstorm, consult with others, decide upon a topic, and formulate a major research question to address the major research topic; and

(B) formulate a plan for engaging in in-depth research on a complex, multi-faceted topic.

(21) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:

(A) follow the research plan to gather evidence from experts on the topic and texts written for informed audiences in the field, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources and avoiding over-reliance on one source;

(B) systematically organize relevant and accurate information to support central ideas, concepts, and themes, outline ideas into conceptual maps/timelines, and separate factual data from complex inferences; and

(C) paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately cite all researched information according to a standard format (e.g., author, title, page number), differentiating among primary, secondary, and other sources.

(22) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to:

(A) modify the major research question as necessary to refocus the research plan;

(B) differentiate between theories and the evidence that supports them and determine whether the evidence found is weak or strong and how that evidence helps create a cogent argument; and

(C) critique the research process at each step to implement changes as the need occurs and is identified.

(23) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into an extended written or oral presentation that:

(A) provides an analysis that supports and develops personal opinions, as opposed to simply restating existing information;

(B) uses a variety of formats and rhetorical strategies to argue for the thesis;

(C) develops an argument that incorporates the complexities of and discrepancies in information from multiple sources and perspectives while anticipating and refuting counter-arguments;

(D) uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style) to document sources and format written materials; and

(E) is of sufficient length and complexity to address the topic.

(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) listen responsively to a speaker by framing inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content and by identifying the positions taken and the evidence in support of those positions; and

(B) evaluate the clarity and coherence of a speaker's message and critique the impact of a speaker's diction and syntax on an audience.

(25) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to give a formal presentation that exhibits a logical structure, smooth transitions, accurate evidence, well-chosen details, and rhetorical devices, and that employs eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, offering ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the team towards goals, asking relevant and insightful questions, tolerating a range of positions and ambiguity in decision-making, and evaluating the work of the group based on agreed-upon criteria.

Source: The provisions of this §110.33 adopted to be effective September 4, 2008, 33 TexReg 7162.


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§110.34. English Language Arts and Reading, English IV (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2009-2010.

(a) Introduction.

(1) The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In English IV, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

(2) For students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition.

(A) English language learners (ELLs) are acquiring English, learning content in English, and learning to read simultaneously. For this reason, it is imperative that reading instruction should be comprehensive and that students receive instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word attack skills while simultaneously being taught academic vocabulary and comprehension skills and strategies. Reading instruction that enhances ELL's ability to decode unfamiliar words and to make sense of those words in context will expedite their ability to make sense of what they read and learn from reading. Additionally, developing fluency, spelling, and grammatical conventions of academic language must be done in meaningful contexts and not in isolation.

(B) For ELLs, comprehension of texts requires additional scaffolds to support comprehensible input. ELL students should use the knowledge of their first language (e.g., cognates) to further vocabulary development. Vocabulary needs to be taught in the context of connected discourse so that language is meaningful. ELLs must learn how rhetorical devices in English differ from those in their native language. At the same time English learners are learning in English, the focus is on academic English, concepts, and the language structures specific to the content.

(C) During initial stages of English development, ELLs are expected to meet standards in a second language that many monolingual English speakers find difficult to meet in their native language. However, English language learners' abilities to meet these standards will be influenced by their proficiency in English. While English language learners can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate, their level of English proficiency may impede their ability to demonstrate this knowledge during the initial stages of English language acquisition. It is also critical to understand that ELLs with no previous or with interrupted schooling will require explicit and strategic support as they acquire English and learn to learn in English simultaneously.

(3) To meet Public Education Goal 1 of the Texas Education Code, §4.002, which states, "The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the reading and writing of the English language," students will accomplish the essential knowledge, skills, and student expectations in English IV as described in subsection (b) of this section.

(4) To meet Texas Education Code, §28.002(h), which states, "... each school district shall foster the continuation of the tradition of teaching United States and Texas history and the free enterprise system in regular subject matter and in reading courses and in the adoption of textbooks," students will be provided oral and written narratives as well as other informational texts that can help them to become thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to:

(A) determine the meaning of technical academic English words in multiple content areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes;

(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to draw conclusions about the nuance in word meanings;

(C) use the relationship between words encountered in analogies to determine their meanings (e.g., synonyms/antonyms, connotation/denotation);

(D) analyze and explain how the English language has developed and been influenced by other languages; and

(E) use general and specialized dictionaries, thesauri, histories of language, books of quotations, and other related references (printed or electronic) as needed.

(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) compare and contrast works of literature that express a universal theme;

(B) compare and contrast the similarities and differences in classical plays with their modern day novel, play, or film versions; and

(C) relate the characters, setting, and theme of a literary work to the historical, social, and economic ideas of its time.

(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to evaluate the changes in sound, form, figurative language, graphics, and dramatic structure in poetry across literary time periods.

(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to evaluate how the structure and elements of drama change in the works of British dramatists across literary periods.

(5) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) analyze how complex plot structures (e.g., subplots) and devices (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks, suspense) function and advance the action in a work of fiction;

(B) analyze the moral dilemmas and quandaries presented in works of fiction as revealed by the underlying motivations and behaviors of the characters;

(C) compare and contrast the effects of different forms of narration across various genres of fiction; and

(D) demonstrate familiarity with works of fiction by British authors from each major literary period.

(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the effect of ambiguity, contradiction, subtlety, paradox, irony, sarcasm, and overstatement in literary essays, speeches, and other forms of literary nonfiction.

(7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze how the author's patterns of imagery, literary allusions, and conceits reveal theme, set tone, and create meaning in metaphors, passages, and literary works.

(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the consistency and clarity of the expression of the controlling idea and the ways in which the organizational and rhetorical patterns of text support or confound the author's meaning or purpose.

(9) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) summarize a text in a manner that captures the author's viewpoint, its main ideas, and its elements without taking a position or expressing an opinion;

(B) explain how authors writing on the same issue reached different conclusions because of differences in assumptions, evidence, reasoning, and viewpoints;

(C) make and defend subtle inferences and complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns; and

(D) synthesize ideas and make logical connections (e.g., thematic links, author analysis) among multiple texts representing similar or different genres and technical sources and support those findings with textual evidence.

(10) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Persuasive Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about persuasive text and provide evidence from text to support their analysis. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate the merits of an argument, action, or policy by analyzing the relationships (e.g., implication, necessity, sufficiency) among evidence, inferences, assumptions, and claims in text; and

(B) draw conclusions about the credibility of persuasive text by examining its implicit and stated assumptions about an issue as conveyed by the specific use of language.

(11) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Procedural Texts. Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents. Students are expected to:

(A) draw conclusions about how the patterns of organization and hierarchic structures support the understandability of text; and

(B) evaluate the structures of text (e.g., format, headers) for their clarity and organizational coherence and for the effectiveness of their graphic representations.

(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

(A) evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;

(B) evaluate the interactions of different techniques (e.g., layout, pictures, typeface in print media, images, text, sound in electronic journalism) used in multi-layered media;

(C) evaluate how one issue or event is represented across various media to understand the notions of bias, audience, and purpose; and

(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone across various media for different audiences and purposes.

(13) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

(B) structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and the rhetorical devices to convey meaning;

(C) revise drafts to clarify meaning and achieve specific rhetorical purposes, consistency of tone, and logical organization by rearranging the words, sentences, and paragraphs to employ tropes (e.g., metaphors, similes, analogies, hyperbole, understatement, rhetorical questions, irony), schemes (e.g., parallelism, antithesis, inverted word order, repetition, reversed structures), and by adding transitional words and phrases;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing. Students are expected to:

(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, a clear theme, complex and non-stereotypical characters, a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense), devices to enhance the plot, and sensory details that define the mood or tone;

(B) write a poem that reflects an awareness of poetic conventions and traditions within different forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads, free verse); and

(C) write a script with an explicit or implicit theme, using a variety of literary techniques.

(15) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

(A) write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes:

(i) effective introductory and concluding paragraphs and a variety of sentence structures;

(ii) rhetorical devices, and transitions between paragraphs;

(iii) a clear thesis statement or controlling idea;

(iv) a clear organizational schema for conveying ideas;

(v) relevant and substantial evidence and well-chosen details;

(vi) information on all relevant perspectives and consideration of the validity, reliability, and relevance of primary and secondary sources; and

(vii) an analysis of views and information that contradict the thesis statement and the evidence presented for it;

(B) write procedural and work-related documents (e.g., résumés, proposals, college applications, operation manuals) that include:

(i) a clearly stated purpose combined with a well-supported viewpoint on the topic;

(ii) appropriate formatting structures (e.g., headings, graphics, white space);

(iii) relevant questions that engage readers and address their potential problems and misunderstandings;

(iv) accurate technical information in accessible language; and

(v) appropriate organizational structures supported by facts and details (documented if appropriate);

(C) write an interpretation of an expository or a literary text that:

(i) advances a clear thesis statement;

(ii) addresses the writing skills for an analytical essay including references to and commentary on quotations from the text;

(iii) analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's use of stylistic or rhetorical devices;

(iv) identifies and analyzes ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text; and

(v) anticipates and responds to readers' questions and contradictory information; and

(D) produce a multimedia presentation (e.g., documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, visual or textual parodies, theatrical production) with graphics, images, and sound that appeals to a specific audience and synthesizes information from multiple points of view.

(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g., evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate audience that includes:

(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons with various forms of support (e.g., hard evidence, reason, common sense, cultural assumptions);

(B) accurate and honest representation of divergent views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context);

(C) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context;

(D) information on the complete range of relevant perspectives;

(E) demonstrated consideration of the validity and reliability of all primary and secondary sources used;

(F) language attentively crafted to move a disinterested or opposed audience, using specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions (e.g., appeals to logic, emotions, ethical beliefs); and

(G) an awareness and anticipation of audience response that is reflected in different levels of formality, style, and tone.

(17) Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) use and understand the function of different types of clauses and phrases (e.g., adjectival, noun, adverbial clauses and phrases); and

(B) use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

(18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization.

(19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

(20) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:

(A) brainstorm, consult with others, decide upon a topic, and formulate a major research question to address the major research topic; and

(B) formulate a plan for engaging in in-depth research on a complex, multi-faceted topic.

(21) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:

(A) follow the research plan to gather evidence from experts on the topic and texts written for informed audiences in the field, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources and avoiding over-reliance on one source;

(B) systematically organize relevant and accurate information to support central ideas, concepts, and themes, outline ideas into conceptual maps/timelines, and separate factual data from complex inferences; and

(C) paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately cite all researched information according to a standard format (e.g., author, title, page number), differentiating among primary, secondary, and other sources.

(22) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to:

(A) modify the major research question as necessary to refocus the research plan;

(B) differentiate between theories and the evidence that supports them and determine whether the evidence found is weak or strong and how that evidence helps create a cogent argument; and

(C) critique the research process at each step to implement changes as the need occurs and is identified.

(23) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into an extended written or oral presentation that:

(A) provides an analysis that supports and develops personal opinions, as opposed to simply restating existing information;

(B) uses a variety of formats and rhetorical strategies to argue for the thesis;

(C) develops an argument that incorporates the complexities of and discrepancies in information from multiple sources and perspectives while anticipating and refuting counter-arguments;

(D) uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style) to document sources and format written materials; and

(E) is of sufficient length and complexity to address the topic.

(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

(A) listen responsively to a speaker by framing inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content and by identifying the positions taken and the evidence in support of those positions; and

(B) assess the persuasiveness of a presentation based on content, diction, rhetorical strategies, and delivery.

(25) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to formulate sound arguments by using elements of classical speeches (e.g., introduction, first and second transitions, body, and conclusion), the art of persuasion, rhetorical devices, eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, offering ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the team towards goals, asking relevant and insightful questions, tolerating a range of positions and ambiguity in decision-making, and evaluating the work of the group based on agreed-upon criteria.

Source: The provisions of this §110.34 adopted to be effective September 4, 2008, 33 TexReg 7162.