BCSD English Language Arts Common Core State Standards
English III - Grade 11
Use this tool, the standards, learning targets (“I can” statements) and vocabulary terms to guide your instruction and assessments.
READING STRANDGrade 11 - Specific Standard Statement / I Can Statements / Vocabulary
Reading Standards for Literature
TOPIC—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.11.1.a. I can define textual evidence (“word for word support”). (K)
RL.11.1.b. I can define inference and explain how a reader uses textual evidence to reach a logical conclusion (“based on what I’ve read, it’s most likely true that…”). (R)
RL.11.1.c. I can read closely and find answers right there (explicit) in the text. (S)
RL.11.1.d. I can compare and contrast (within and among texts) in order to analyze strong and thorough textual evidence to infer author’s meaning. (R)
RL.11.1.e. I can evaluate cited textual evidence as strong and thorough support of what the text says explicitly and/or implicitly. (R)
RL.11.1.f. I can determine where the text leaves matters ambiguous (e.g., when the reader must draw his/her own conclusions/assumptions) and conclude why it is significant. (R)
RL.11.1.g. I can cite evidence that supports the analysis of what the text says explicitly and implicitly. (P) / ambiguous
implicit
Explicit
Inference
thorough textural-evidence
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 & build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of text. / RL.11.2.a. I can define/identify theme (a central idea or lesson the author is revealing; eg., Honesty is the best policy.) (K)
RL.11.2.b. I can identify story elements (plot, characterization, setting, point of view, conflict) as they occur in the text.
RL.11.2.c. I can analyze how themes within a text are developed over time. (R)
RL.11.2.d. I can analyze plot (the events that happen) to determine two or more themes (author’s overall message). (R)
RL.11.2.e. I can determine how multiple themes in a text develop and interact to build on one another and produce a complex account (e.g., The Old Man and the Sea, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre). (R)
RL.11.2.f. I can differentiate between objective and subjective summary (K)
RL.11.2.g. I can compose an objective summary stating the key points of the text without adding my own opinions or feelings. (P) / theme
complex-account
subjective
objective
summary
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). / RL.11.3.a. I can identify story elements (plot, characterization, setting, point of view, conflict) as they occur in the text. (K)
RL.11.3.b. I can define author’s choice is in relationship to the story elements (e.g., where a story is set, sequence of events, how the characters are introduced and developed). (R)
RL.11.3.c. I can analyze how elements of a story or drama are developed and/or interrelated. (R)
RL.11.3.d. I can analyze the impact of an author’s choices in presenting elements of a story or drama. (R) / sequence of events
TOPIC: Craft and Structure
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) / RL.11.4.a. I can define and identify various forms of figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia). (K)
RL.11.4.b. I can distinguish between literal language (it means exactly what it says) and figurative language (sometimes what you say is not exactly what you mean). (K)
RL.11.4.c. I can recognize the difference between denotative meanings (all words have a dictionary definition) and connotative meanings (some words carry feeling). (K)
RL.11.4.d. I can define and identify tone (the writer’s attitude toward the subject, character or audience). (K)
RL.11.4.e. I can analyze how an author’s choice of specific words (diction) evokes a particular meaning or tone in a text and how using language in a new way creates an engaging overall effect. (R)
RL.11.4.f. I can analyze how specific word choices build on one another to create a cumulative (collective) impact on the overall meaning and tone of a text. (R) / figurative language
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification
alliteration
assonance
onomatopoeia
connotative
denotative
diction
tone
READING STRAND
Grade 11 - Specific Standard Statement / I Can Statements / Vocabulary
Reading Standards for Literature (continued)
TOPIC: 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. / RL.11.5.a. I can determine how an author chose to structure specific parts of a text. (R)
RL.11.5.b. I can analyze specific parts of text and explain how the individual parts fit into the overall structure (e.g., An author chooses to begin a story with the main character’s death and relate the events in an extended flashback.) (R)
RL.11.5.c. I can analyze how an author’s choice of structuring specific parts of a text affects the overall meaning (e.g., An author may choose to write in short, choppy sentences to build suspense.) (R)
RL.11.5.d. I can analyze how an author’s choice of structuring specific parts of a text creates an aesthetic impact (e.g., An author creates beauty through words, sentence structure, etc., to impact the reader on an emotional level.). (R) / aesthetic-impact
comedic
tragic
resolution
RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g, satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). / RL.11.6.a. I can identify an author’s point of view in a text. (K)
RL.11.6.b. I can identify, define, and differentiate between types of literary points of view (first, second, third-person limited, third-person omniscient). (K)
RL.11.6.c. I can analyze words stated directly in a text and determine when an author is requiring the reader to make an inference as to what is really meant (e.g., reading between the lines). (R)
RL.11.6.d. I can recognize when authors use literary techniques that require a reader’s inferential skills (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement) to shape the content and style of a text. (R)
RL.11.6.e. I can apply relevant meaning and significance to an author’s use of literary techniques such as satire, sarcasm, irony, and understatement. (S) / satire
irony
points-of-view
understatement
inferential skills
TOPIC: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.11-12.7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.., 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 & one play by an American dramatist.) / RL.11.7.a. I can define what interpretations of the same source text.(K)
RL.11.7.b. I can identify multiple interpretations of a story or a drama. (S)
RL.11.7.c. I can identify multiple interpretations of the same story, drama, and poem through different mediums. (S)
RL.11.7.d. I can analyze how authors interpret a source text (e.g., transform themes, events, topics).
RL.11.7.e. I can identify and explain different mediums. (K)
RL.11.7.f. I can analyze and evaluate five elements of a story (plot, characterization, setting, theme, conflict) in relation to the author’s interpretation through various media. (R)
RL.11.7.g. I can evaluate various works that have drawn on or transformed the same source material and explain the varied interpretations of different authors. (R) / interpretation
mediums
RL.11-12.8. (Not applicable to literature)
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. / RL.11.9.a. I can identify various foundational works of 18th through early 20th century American literature from different time periods. (K)
RL.11.9.b. I can identify characteristics of literature indicative of particular time periods in American history. (K)
RL.11.9.c. I can analyze the impact of historical events on a foundational work or a period in literature in American history. (K)
RL.11.9.d. I can identify two or more texts from the same time period that contain similar themes or topics. (K)
RL.11.9.e. I can analyze how authors of two or more texts from the same time period treat similar themes or topics. (R)
RL.11.9.f. I can analyze how the point of view of an author impacts his/her approach to a theme or topic found in a particular time period. (R) / foundational-works
indicative
TOPIC: 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. / RL.11.10.a. I can recognize when the text I am reading is too easy or too difficult for me. (K)
RL.11.10.b. I can determine reading strategies (e.g., ask questions, make connections, take notes, make inferences, visualize, predict, recall, summarize, re-read) that will help me comprehend difficult texts. (S) / reading strategies (list)
comprehension-strategies
READING STRAND
Grade 11 - Specific Standard Statement / I Can Statements / Vocabulary
Reading Standards for Information
TOPIC: Key Ideas and Details
RI.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. / RI.11.1.a. I can define textual evidence (“word for word” support). (K)
RI.11.1.b. I can define inference and explain how a reader uses textual evidence to reach a logical conclusion (“based on what I’ve read, it’s most likely true that…”). (R)
RI.11.1.c. I can read closely and find answers explicitly in text (right there answers) and answers that require an inference. (S)
RI.11.1.d. I can analyze an author’s words and determine multiple pieces of textual evidence that strongly and thoroughly support both explicit and inferential questions. (R)
RI.11.1.e. I can determine places in the text that leave matters uncertain (e.g., when the reader must draw his/her own conclusions/assumptions). (R) / Inference
Inferential questions
textural evidence
Implicitly
explicitly
RI.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 & build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of text. / RI.11.2.a. I can define central idea (main point in a piece of writing). (K)
RI.11.2.b. I can determine two or more central ideas of a text. (R)
RI.11.2.c. I can determine how two or more central ideas of a text interact and build on one another to develop a text with complex meaning. (R)
RI.11.2.d. I can analyze how central ideas develop over the course of a text. (R)
RI.11.2.e. I can compose an objective summary stating the key points of the text without adding my own opinions or feelings. (P) / complex meaning
objective
RI.11-12.3. Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text. / RI.11.3.a. I can determine a complex set of ideas or sequence of events conveyed in a text. (R)
RI.11.3.b. I can analyze how specific individuals interact and develop within a complex set of ideas or sequence of events. (R)
RI.11.3.c. I can analyze how specific events interact and develop within a complex set of ideas or sequence of events. (R) / sequence of events
TOPIC: Craft and Structure
RI.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10). / RI.11.4.a. I can define and identify various forms of figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia). (K)
RI.11.4.b. I can distinguish between literal language (it means exactly what it says) and figurative language (sometimes what you say is not exactly what you mean). (K)
RI.11.4.c. I can recognize the difference between denotative meanings (all words have a dictionary definition) and connotative meanings (some words carry feeling). (K)
RI.11.4.d. I can recognize words that have technical meaning (jargon) and understand their purpose in a specific text (e.g., “stem” in an article about flowers versus “stem” in an article about cell research). (R)
RI.11.4.e. I can analyze how a key term or terms are used and refined over the course of a text. (R) / figurative vs. literal
connotative vs. denotative
technical meaning (Jargon)
RI.11-12.5. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whatever the structure makes points clear, convincing and engaging. / RI.11.5.a. I can determine how an author chose to structure his/her exposition or argument (e.g., chronological, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast). (R)
RI.11.5.b. I can analyze the structure of an author’s exposition or argument and evaluate whether the structure is effective. (R)
RI.11.5.c. I can determine if an author’s structure is effective in making his/her points clear, convincing, and engaging. (R)
RI.11.5.d. I can evaluate how an author’s choice of structure impacts his/her audience. (R) / target audience (in this context)
RI.11-12.6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text. / RI.11.6.a. I can define viewpoint at how the author feels about the situation/topic of a text. (K)