Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Grades 6–12
Reading: Literature
Grades 9-10
Key Ideas and Details
RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.9-10.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.9-10.10
By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Grades 11-12
Key Ideas and Details
RL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Craft and Structure
RL.11-12.5
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.11-12.7
Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
RL.11-12.9
Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.11-12.10
By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Writing
Grades 9-10
Production and Distribution of Writing
W.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Grades 11-12
Production and Distribution of Writing
W.11-12.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Ohio English Language Arts Standards (2001)
Reading Applications: Literary Text Standard
Benchmarks (8–10)
B.
Explain and analyze how the context of setting and the author's choice of point of view impact a literary text.
D.
Identify similar recurring themes across different works.
E.
Analyze the use of a genre to express a theme or topic.
Benchmarks (11–12)
A.
Analyze and evaluate the five elements (e.g., plot, character, setting, point of view and theme) in literary text.
B.
Explain ways characters confront similar situations and conflict.
C.
Recognize and analyze characteristics of subgenres and literary periods.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 10)
2.
Analyze the features of setting and their importance in a literary text.
4.
Interpret universal themes across different works by the same author or by different authors.
5.
Analyze how an author's choice of genre affects the expression of a theme or topic.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 11)
1.
Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility, individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters' thoughts, words and actions.
2.
Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting.
5.
Analyze variations of universal themes in literary texts.
7.
Analyze the characteristics of various literary periods and how the issues influenced the writers of those periods.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 12)
1.
Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters confronting similar conflicts (e.g., individual vs. nature, freedom vs. responsibility, individual vs. society), using specific examples of characters' thoughts, words and actions.
2.
Analyze the historical, social and cultural context of setting.
5.
Analyze variations of universal themes in literary texts.
Writing Applications Standard
Benchmarks (8–10)
B.
Write responses to literature that extend beyond the summary and support references to the text, other works, other authors or to personal knowledge.
D.
Use documented textual evidence to justify interpretations of literature or to support a research topic.
Benchmarks (11–12)
A.
Compose reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life.
B.
Write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and that understand the author's use of stylistic devices and effects created.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 10)
2.
Write responses to literature that organize an insightful interpretation around several clear ideas, premises or images and support judgments with specific references to the original text, to other texts, authors and to prior knowledge.
4.
Write informational essays or reports, including research that:
a. pose relevant and tightly drawn questions that engage the reader.
b. provide a clear and accurate perspective on the subject.
c. create an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience and context;
d. support the main ideas with facts, details, examples and explanations from sources; and
e. document sources and include bibliographies.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 11)
1.
Write reflective compositions that:
a. use personal experiences as a basis for reflection on some aspect of life;
b. draw abstract comparisons between specific incidents and abstract concepts;
c. maintain a balance between describing incidents and relating them to more general, abstract ideas that illustrate personal beliefs; and
d. move from specific examples to generalizations about life.
2.
Write responses to literature that:
a. advance a judgment that is interpretative, analytical, evaluative or reflective;
b. support key ideas and viewpoints with accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works and authors;
c. analyze the author's use of stylistic devices and express an appreciation of the effects the devices create;
d. identify and assess the impact of possible ambiguities, nuances and complexities within text;
e. anticipate and answer a reader's questions, counterclaims or divergent interpretations; and
f. provide a sense of closure to the writing.
Grade Level Indicators (Grade 12)
1.
Write reflective compositions that:
a. use personal experiences as a basis for reflection on some aspect of life;
b. draw abstract comparisons between specific incidents and abstract concepts;
c. maintain a balance between describing incidents and relating them to more general, abstract ideas that illustrate personal beliefs; and
d. move from specific examples to generalizations about life.
2.
Write responses to literature that:
a. advance a judgment that is interpretative, analytical, evaluative or reflective;
b. support key ideas and viewpoints with accurate and detailed references to the text or to other works and authors;
c. analyze the author's use of stylistic devices and express an appreciation of the effects the devices create;
d. identify and assess the impact of possible ambiguities, nuances and complexities within text;
e. anticipate and answer a reader's questions, counterclaims or divergent interpretations; and
f. provide a sense of closure to the writing.