EXCELS Standards Alignment Document
Common Core State Standard / Aligned Learning ExperiencesRL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. / Close reading of a text
Taking and using notes
Using graphics to organize text analysis
Use structures to defend analysis with support
RL2: 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. / Summarize a text in your own words
Complete a “Cultural Log” as you read a text
Make logical connections between texts
Compare/ contrast text content
RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). / Identify vocabulary in text and analyze meaning in context
Determine the author’s purpose for choosing meaningful words and phrases
Identify and make meaning from allusions, metaphors, and other literary devices
Complete the “Diction Analysis” organizer
RL5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. / Identify purpose of text from text structure and format
Analyze “juicy” sentences for meaning and explain purpose of complex structure
Explain how the parts combine to make a complete, meaningful work
RL6:Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. / Identify the point of view presented, and the bias of that point of view
Identify missing viewpoints, and explain why the author chose to minimize them
Analyze the rhetorical mode of the piece and evaluate the effectiveness of the format
Examine style choices of the author and evaluate for effectiveness
RL7: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). / Synthesize information you have gathered from various related texts
Gather evidence from texts to support your claims
Complete the “Close Reading” organizer
- Identify textual support for your claim by highlighting or annotating the text
RL10: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. / Keep a reading log with annotations and reflections
Keep a daybook with annotations and reflections
Reread parts of a text to clarify meaning or make it more coherent
RI1:Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. / Complete a graphic organizer like “Citing Textual Evidence”
Annotate a text as you read
Prepare for a debate, speech, or Socratic seminar
Make logical assumptions based on the text you read
RI2:Determine a central idea of a text and analyze 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. / Make connections between texts, cultures, or eras
Summarize a text in your own words
Complete a “Cultural Log” as you read a text
RI3:Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. / Identify details in the text that support characterization, theme, or plot
Explain why the author made structural decisions
Identify text shifts and explain importance
RI5:Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter). / Identify purpose of text from text structure and format
Analyze “juicy” sentences for meaning and explain purpose of complex structure
Explain how the parts combine to make a complete, meaningful work
RI6:Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. / Identify the point of view presented, and the bias of that point of view
Identify missing viewpoints, and explain why the author chose to minimize them
Analyze the rhetorical mode of the piece and evaluate the effectiveness of the format
Examine style choices of the author and evaluate for effectiveness
RI8:Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. / Assess a text for relevance and worth to include in your research
Identify the claim , evidence, and warrants in a peer’s argument
Determine if an argument is logically sound
RI10:By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary non-fiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. / Keep a reading log with annotations and reflections
Keep a daybook with annotations and reflections
Reread parts of a text to clarify meaning or make it more coherent
W1:Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. / Complete a graphic organizer like “Citing Textual Evidence”
Prepare for a debate, speech, or presentation
Create an advertisement, including convincing evidence for consumers
W2:Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. / Design a brochure that shares information
Write detailed instructions to solve problems on a blog, newspaper column, or other media format
Write a newspaper article
Critique a text
Complete a “Cultural Log” as you read a text
W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. / Write in a journal, on a blog, or other format
Co-write a piece of text with a partner
W5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. / Revise a piece of your own writing
Help a partner think about and edit a piece of text
W6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. / Produce, edit, and publish your writing to a blog, wiki, online anthology, online journal, or discussion board
W7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. / Use research to answer the essential question of the current unit of study
Formulate a question that will only be answered through research, then with a group, present your findings
Synthesize information you have researched into a brief statement
Beginning with an overarching essential question, narrow the question into reasonable chunks for research
Participate in a panel discussion, using notes from your research to answer questions
W8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. / Use technology to gather relevant sources to answer a question
Assess a text for relevance and worth to include in the research
Use quotes from a text to clarify your claim
Use MLA or APA format to cite text
W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. / Identify textual support for your claim by highlighting or annotating the text
Create an annotated bibliography
W10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. / Keep a reading log with annotations and reflections
Keep a daybook with annotations and reflections
Revise and rewrite parts of a text to clarify meaning or make it more coherent
L1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. / Use appropriate language conventions in oral and print presentations
Peer edit a text for conventions of grammar
Critique a partner’s speech for grammar usage and clarity of meaning
L2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. / Revise your own writing to correct usage problems
Work with a partner to edit a text
Offer constructive support on another’s text to revise for clarity and usage
L3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. / Change diction to suit audience and task (persuasive, informational, formal, etc.)
Analyze an author’s word choice for specific meaning and connotation
Complete the “Citing Textual Evidence” organizer as you read a text
Identify rhetorical devices in a speech
L4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. / Use affixes to predict meaning of unknown words
Use Frayer or another vocabulary study model to learn unfamiliar words
Identify unknown words and predict meaning using the context of the text
L5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. / Group words by common prefix or suffix and explain the connection
Make meaning from figurative language by analyzing word choice and context
Complete the Diction graphic organizer as a close reading strategy
L6: Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. / Use new vocabulary appropriately in writing and speaking
Keep a vocabulary section in your daybook for personal word study
Make specific word choices in writing and speaking for clarity and meaning
SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. / Complete a graphic organizer by listening to a class discussion
Participate in a classroom discussion based on a text
Participate in a debate
Ask pertinent questions to clarify your understanding
Explain your reasoning to a partner or small group
Expand on a partner’s thinking and chart the discussion with mind maps
Sl2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. / Design a brochure that shares information and present in class
Give detailed instructions to solve problems
Critique a text from a blog, newspaper column, or other media format for credibility with a partner
Sl3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. / Listen to a speaker and critique the information for accuracy within context
Listen to a speaker and identify rhetorical mode and devices in the speech
With a partner, identify fallacies in the speaker’s reasoning and evidence
SL4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. / Present your own claim and evidence from research to a class or panel
Convince your partners of your viewpoint with evidence from a text
Participate in a debate
SL5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. / Develop a graphic that supports your oral presentation
Help a partner think about and edit a piece of text by asking relevant and thought-provoking questions
SL6: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. / Use appropriate language conventions in presentations
Change speaking diction to suit audience and task (persuasive, informational, formal, etc.)