7 MAC Pt. 33
2006 Mississippi Language Arts
Cite as 7 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 33
Title 7: Education K-12
Part 33
2006 Mississippi Language Arts
Curriculum Framework - Revised
Dr. Hank M. Bounds, State Superintendent of Education
Dr. Beth Sewell, Executive to the Superintendent
Dr. Kris Kaase, Associate State Superintendent of Academic Education
Robin Miles, Bureau Director, Office of Reading, Early Childhood and Language Arts
Mississippi Department of Education
P.O. Box 771, 359 North West Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39205
(601) 359-3778
www.mde.k12.ms.us
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
The Mississippi State Board of Education, the Mississippi Department of
Education, the Mississippi School for the Arts, the Mississippi School for the
Blind, the Mississippi School for the Deaf, and the Mississippi School for
Mathematics and Science do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color,
religion, national origin, age, or disability in the provision of educational programs
and services or employment opportunities and benefits. The following office has
been designated to handle inquiries and complaints regarding the non-
discrimination policies of the above mentioned entities:
Director, Office of Human Resources
Mississippi Department of Education
359 North West Street
Suite 359
Jackson, Mississippi 39201
(601) 359-3511
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Mississippi Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the hard work
and dedication of the following educators for developing a quality framework
document to improve language arts instruction in Mississippi’s classrooms.
Martha Abadie
Hattie
Barnes
Leigh Bein
Janet Berry
Lucy Britton
Linda Brown
Marty Clark
Bobbie Clifton
Trudy Cook
Sandra Fletcher
Janet Fortner
Jason Frazier
Marcia French
Patrick Gray
Cindy Hale
Julia Harrington
Amy Kent
Allison Kittrell
Sharon Long
Rebecca McCaleb
Carolyn Miller
Alice Mitchell
Renee Moore
Melissa Ortego
Gaylynn Parker
Carol Rawlings
Ron Rodenmeyer
Theresa Schultz
Lisa Smith
Steven Sullivan
Jennifer Templeton
Linda Thames
Shelia Thompson
Sylvia Thornton
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Special thanks to those individuals who served on the Language Arts Advisory
Team and provided feedback in developing this document.
Joanna Bailey
Dr. Devon Brenner
Bobbie Clifton Vicki
Davidson Coretta
Doss Winona
Dykes Sally
Edwards Miranda
Freeman Dr. Mary
Grant
Elizabeth Hadaway
Marilyn Ishee
Nira Coleman-Johnson
Elease Lee
Carmen Malone
Robin Miles
Candace Mize
Jackie Mockbee
Emily Mulhollen
Dr. Kim Patterson
Nancy Pickering
Shemica Pitts
Dr. Bonita Coleman-Potter
Kathy Sellers
Cindy Simmons
Mary Ellen Szuwalski
Katie Tonore
Sonja Truesdell
Additional help for the creation of teaching strategies was provided to the
Revision Team by the Mississippi Writing Thinking Institute. The Language Arts
Curriculum Revision Team extends sincere thanks to this organization for their
valuable contributions to this document.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................................ i
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
vi
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
viii
MISSION STATEMENT
The primary purpose of the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
is to promote an understanding of the principles, concepts, and processes of the
language arts curriculum in Mississippi. The content of the framework is
centered on the areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, research,
and inquiry. In teaching each of these key areas of the language arts curriculum,
teachers should work to ensure students are actively engaged in meaningful
activities that emphasize the importance of language arts in daily life; enhance
students’ confidence in their ability to read, write, speak, listen, view, and conduct
research; and help students learn to communicate and reason more effectively.
The framework provides teachers with a guide to assist in instructing students
with the essential language arts concepts students should learn as they pursue a
career or continue their education.
PURPOSE
The 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised is the basis for
curriculum development for K-12 language arts teachers in Mississippi. The
framework provides an outline of what students should know and be able to do
through competencies and objectives (previously identified as benchmarks and
benchmark items), as well as curriculum guides that include teaching strategies
and student activities. The framework replaces the previous document, the
Mississippi Language Arts Framework 2006 that was implemented in 2006.
CYCLE
All Mississippi content area frameworks are reviewed on a six (6) year cycle.
Approximately three years after a framework is implemented, a team is chosen to
review the current framework and recommend changes and modifications based
on research and best practices in the teaching of language arts as reflected in
state and national trends.
The pilot year (optional) for the Mississippi Language Arts Framework 2006 was
school year 2005-2006. The implementation year for the framework was school
year 2006-2007. The implementation year for the 2006 Mississippi Language
Arts Framework–Revised is school year 2007-2008.
ORGANIZATION
The framework is organized by grade level (K-12) and by course at the
secondary level. A general description that includes the purpose, overview, and
suggested prerequisites is found preceding each Curriculum Outline for the
grade level or course. To enhance the implementation of the framework, a
Glossary and Appendix are included at the end of the framework. The
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
viii
Curriculum Outline for the Mississippi Language Arts Framework is formatted as
follows:
STRANDS
The 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised is comprised of five
strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Viewing. The five
interrelated strands combine to provide continuity to the teaching of K-12
language arts. These strands overlap and should be integrated and embedded
throughout teachers’ daily lesson plans. This continuity provides the necessary
foundation for successful completion of high school language arts requirements.
The five strands help to assure that appropriate processes are used and
important concepts are learned throughout each grade level and secondary
course. Even though the process strands are not listed throughout the
framework, these strands should be incorporated when presenting the content of
the curriculum.
COMPETENCIES
The competencies, printed in boldface type, are the required learning
standards for all students. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
and English II Subject Area Tests are aligned to the competencies. While
competencies for grades K-12 are similar, and in some cases identical,
COURSE
COMPETENCY
OBJECTIVES
DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE
LEVEL
NUMBERED ITEMS
Competencies and Objectives:
1. The student will use word recognition
and vocabulary (word meaning) skills to
communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of
concepts about print. (DOK 1)
1) Demonstrate an understanding of
book orientation by holding the book
correctly and indicating where to
begin reading (e.g., front to back, top
to bottom, left to right).
2) Demonstrate that print carries
meaning for the reader.
KINDERGARTEN
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
x
objectives require an extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of
skills. A critical component at each grade level is text complexity. Text
complexity is indicated by such elements as sophistication of language, content,
and syntax. As students move from kindergarten to grade twelve, texts should
require a greater cognitive involvement by the student in order for the student to
appreciate and comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language. Text
composed by students should also reflect this increasing complexity.
Competencies are intentionally broad in order to allow school districts and
teachers the flexibility to create a curriculum that meets the needs of their
individual students. They may relate to one, many, or all of the language arts
curriculum strands and may be combined and taught with other competencies
throughout the school year. Competencies do not have to be taught in the order
presented in the framework. The competencies are presented in outline form for
consistency and for easy reference throughout the framework. Competencies
may be taught throughout the year in any order and combined with other
competencies. They are not ranked in order of importance. Competencies
provide a general guideline of on-going instruction, not isolated units, activities,
or skills. The competencies are not intended to be a list of content skills that are
taught, assessed, and recorded as “mastered.”
OBJECTIVES
Objectives (previously identified as benchmarks and benchmark items), indicate
skills that enable fulfillment of competencies, describe competencies in further
detail, or show the progression of concepts throughout the grades. Objectives
require an extension of knowledge and broader and deeper application of skills.
A listing of numbered items further defines objectives. Many of the objectives are
interrelated rather than sequential. Objectives are not intended to be taught in
the specific order in which they are presented. Multiple objectives can and
should be taught at the same time.
The Mississippi Curriculum Tests 2nd Edition (MCT2) will be developed
based on the objectives found in the framework. At least fifty percent
(50%) of the test items on the MCT2 must match the Depth of Knowledge
level assigned to the objectives for each competency. The Depth of
Knowledge (DOK) level is indicated at the end of each objective.
DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE
Each objective for the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised has been assigned a depth-of-knowledge (DOK) level based on
the work of Norman L. Webb. DOK levels help administrators, teachers,
and parents understand the objective in terms of the complexity of what
students are expected to know and do. Standards (i.e., competencies
and objectives) vary in terms of complexity. Some objectives expect
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
x
students to reproduce a fact or complete a sequence of steps, while
others expect students to reason, extend their thinking, synthesize
information from multiple sources, and produce significant work over time.
Teachers must know what level of complexity is required by an objective
in order to ensure that students have received prior instruction or have
had an opportunity to learn content at the level students will be expected
to demonstrate or perform. Assessment items must be created to ensure
that what is elicited from students on the assessment is as demanding
cognitively as what students are expected to know and do as stated in the
objectives.
Four levels of depth of knowledge are used in the 2006 Mississippi
Language Arts Framework-Revised. The levels represent a hierarchy
based on two main factors. (1) One factor is sophistication and
complexity. Sophistication will depend on the abstractness of the activity, the
degree to which simple knowledge and skills have to be recalled or drawn upon,
the amount of cognitive processing required, the complexity of the content
concepts used, the amount of content that has to be recalled or drawn upon, the
lack of routine, and the need to extend knowledge meaningfully or produce novel
findings. (2) The other factor is that students at the grade level tested have
received prior instruction or have had an opportunity to learn the content.
Objectives and assessment items that address complex knowledge can still have
a low DOK level if the required knowledge is commonly known and students with
normal instruction at a grade level should have had the opportunity to learn how
to routinely (habitually) perform what is being asked. The four levels of depth of
knowledge (DOK) are described below.
Level 1. Recall and Reproduction
Level 1 is the recall of information such as a fact, definition, term, or a simple
procedure, as well as performing a simple process or procedure. Level 1 only
requires students to demonstrate a rote response, use a well-known formula,
follow a set procedure (like a recipe), or perform a clearly defined series of steps.
A “simple” procedure is well-defined and typically involves only one step. Verbs
such as “identify” work at the recall and reproduction level. Simple word problems
that can be directly translated into and solved by a formula are considered Level
1. Verbs such as “describe” and “explain” could be classified at different DOK
levels, depending on the complexity of what is to be described and explained.
Items that require students to recognize or identify specific information contained
in maps, charts, tables, graphs or drawings are generally Level 1.
A student answering a Level 1 item either knows the answer or does not: that is,
the answer does not need to be “figured out” or “solved.” In other words, if the
knowledge necessary to answer an item automatically provides the answer to the
item, then the item is at Level 1. If the knowledge necessary to answer the item
does not automatically provide the answer, the item is at least at Level 2. Some
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
xi
examples that represent but do not constitute all of Level 1 performance are as
follows:
•
Recall or recognize a fact, term, concept, trend, generalization, theory, or
property.
•
Represent in words or diagrams a concept or relationship.
•
Provide or recognize or identify a standard representation for simple
phenomenon or specific information contained in graphics.
•
Perform a routine procedure such as measuring length.
Level 2. Basic Reasoning, Using Skills and Concepts
Level 2 includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or
reproducing a response. The content knowledge or process involved is more
complex than in level 1. Items require students to make some decisions as to
how to approach the question or problem. In science and mathematics, keywords
that generally distinguish a Level 2 item include “classify,” “organize,” “estimate,”
“make observations,” “collect and display data,” and “compare data.” These
actions imply more than one step. For example, to compare data requires first
identifying characteristics of the objects or phenomenon and grouping or ordering
the objects. Level 2 activities include making observations and collecting data;
classifying organizing, and comparing data; and organizing and displaying data in
tables, graphs, and charts. In social studies, this level generally requires students
to contrast or compare people, places, events and concepts; convert information
from one form to another; give an example; classify or sort items into meaningful
categories; describe, interpret or explain issues and problems, patterns, reasons,
cause and effect, significance or impact, relationships, points of view or
processes.
Some action verbs, such as “explain,” “describe,” or “interpret,” could be
classified at different DOK levels, depending on the complexity of the action. For
example, interpreting information from a simple graph, requiring reading
information from the graph, is a Level 2. An item that requires interpretation from
a complex graph, such as making decisions regarding features of the graph that
need to be considered and how information from the graph can be aggregated, is
at Level 3. Some examples that represent, but do not constitute all of Level 2
performance, are as follows:
•
Specify and explain the relationship between facts, terms, properties, or
variables
•
Select a procedure according to specified criteria and perform it
•
Formulate a routine problem given data and conditions
•
Organize, represent and interpret data
•
Identify and summarize the major events in a narrative.
•
Predict a logical outcome based on information in a reading selection.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
xiii
Level 3. Complex or Strategic Thinking
Level 3 requires reasoning, planning, using evidence, and a higher level of
thinking than the previous two levels. Students would go beyond explaining or
describing “how and why” to justifying the “how and why” through application and
evidence. The cognitive demands at Level 3 are complex and abstract. The
complexity does not result only from the fact that there could be multiple
answers, a possibility for both Levels 1 and 2, but because the multi-step task
requires more demanding reasoning. In most instances, requiring students to
explain their thinking is at Level 3; requiring a very simple explanation or a word
or two should be at Level 2. An activity that has more than one possible answer
and requires students to justify the response they give would most likely be a
Level 3. Experimental designs in Level 3 typically involve more than one
dependent variable. Other Level 3 activities include drawing conclusions from
observations; citing evidence and developing a logical argument for concepts;
explaining phenomena in terms of concepts; and using concepts to solve non-
routine problems. Some examples that represent, but do not constitute all of
Level 3 performance, are as follows:
•
Identify research questions and design investigations for a scientific
problem,
•
Solve non-routine problems,
•
Develop a model for a complex situation
•
Form conclusions from experimental data,
•
Determine the author’s purpose and describe how it affects the
interpretation of a reading selection, and
•
Analyze and describe the characteristics of various types of literature.
Level 4. Extended Thinking or Reasoning
Tasks at Level 4 have high cognitive demands and are very complex. Students
are required to make several connections—relate ideas within the content area
or among content areas—and have to select or devise one approach among
many alternatives on how the situation can be solved. Many on-demand
assessment instruments will not include any assessment activities that could be
classified as Level 4. However, standards, goals, and objectives can be stated in
such a way as to expect students to perform extended thinking. “Develop
generalizations of the results obtained and the strategies used and apply them to
new problem situations,” is an example of a Grade 8 objective that is a Level 4.
Many, but not all, performance assessments and open-ended assessment
activities requiring significant thought will be Level 4.
Level 4 requires complex reasoning, experimental design and planning, and
probably will require an extended period of time either for the investigation
required by an objective, for accessing and investigating multiple sources, or for
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
xiii
carrying out the multiple steps of an assessment item. However, the extended
time period is not a distinguishing factor if the required work is only repetitive and
does not require applying significant conceptual understanding and higher-order
thinking. For example, if a student has to take the water temperature from a river
each day for a month and then construct a graph, this would be classified as a
Level 2 activity. However, if the student conducts a river study that requires
taking into consideration a number of variables, this would be a Level 4. Some
examples that represent but do not constitute all of a Level 4 performance are as
follows:
•
Based on provided data from a complex experiment that is novel to the
student, deduct the fundamental relationship between several controlled
variables,
•
Conduct an investigation, from specifying a problem to designing and
carrying out an experiment, to analyzing its data and forming conclusions,
•
Describe and illustrate how common themes are found across texts from
different cultures, and
•
Analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources.
THE REVISION PROCESS FOR THE MLAF 2000
The Language Arts Curriculum Revision Team was selected in March 2004. The
purpose of the team was to revise the existing language arts framework as a part
of the ongoing curriculum review cycle. The team was charged with ensuring the
revised framework reflects current scientifically-based reading research, reflects
the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, addresses increased rigor through
the use of Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge model, resembles the other
content area frameworks in format, and is user friendly for teachers and
administrators. The team met regularly from the spring of 2004 through the
summer of 2005. Professional analysis of the competencies and objectives was
conducted by Norman Webb and John Fortier. Revisions were made based
upon the comments of this group. Additional help for the creation of teaching
strategies was provided to the Revision Team by the Mississippi Writing Thinking
Institute. The Language Arts Curriculum Revision Team extends sincere thanks
to this organization for their valuable contributions to this document.
In revising the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised, the teacher
committees worked to accomplish two major goals. First, the framework was
revised to ensure close alignment between competencies, objectives, and
assessment items. Secondly, the framework was reorganized to make the
document similar in design to other subject area frameworks. In order to
accomplish these goals, competencies were condensed and reworded. All
revised competencies are assessable as required by USDE Standards and
Assessment Guidance, 2004. Benchmarks from the Reading and Writing
Instructional Intervention Supplements are now represented as objectives.
District personnel accustomed to using benchmarks in preparing for state level
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
xiv
assessments will now focus on objectives. The new format simplifies the
curriculum so that only one framework document is needed for reference.
The Refinement Process for the Language Arts Framework
Through the process of developing performance level descriptors and test item
specifications with teacher committees, areas in the framework needing additional
clarity or specificity were identified. In addition, feedback was requested and
received from over 400 practitioners through survey responses on the Mississippi
Language Arts Framework 2006. These resources were used to refine the
document. This revised edition provides more information for teachers,
administrators, and parents regarding implementation of the new framework and
should help teachers be better prepared for the implementation of the Mississippi
Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition (MCT2).
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
KINDERGARTEN
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade K; one-year course
KINDERGARTEN
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
While competencies for grades K-3 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from kindergarten to grade three, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In kindergarten, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, or viewed by students and then discussed. Although
students are expected to engage actively in activities involving text, kindergarten
students will participate in language activities as pre-emergent and emergent
readers and writers.
Priority objectives are underlined for grades K - 3.
Competencies and Objectives
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of concepts about print. (DOK 1)
1) Demonstrate an understanding of correct book orientation by holding
the book correctly and indicating where to begin reading (e.g., front to
back, top to bottom, left to right).
2) Demonstrate that print carries meaning for the reader.
3) Identify front cover, back cover, and title page of a book.
4) Point to words in a text when reading aloud, matching spoken words to
print.
5) Track words from left to right and top to bottom on a printed page.
6) Recognize that sentences in print are made up of separate words.
7) Distinguish letters from words.
8) Distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
Kindergarten
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. The student will apply knowledge of phonological and phonemic
awareness. (DOK 2)
(Phonological and phonemic awareness skills are oral skills. Once the
skills are paired with print, they become phonics activities. Research
indicates that over the course of a year no more than 20 hours should be
spent in phonemic awareness instruction. Priority items are underlined.)
1) Break spoken sentences into individual words (e.g., claps, taps,
speaks).
2) Identify and produce rhyming words in response to an oral prompt
(e.g., fat/cat, wig/pig, hid/kid).
3) Recognize the beginning, final, and some medial sounds in spoken
words (e.g., /k/ in cat, /t/ in fat, /ŏ/ in hop).
4) Generate a group of spoken words that begin or end with the same
sound (e.g., pig, party, penguin and cat, hot, sit).
5) Identify, blend, and segment syllables within spoken words (e.g., clap
the syllables in "letter," sum + mer = summer, and football = foot +ball).
6) Blend and segment the onset and rime of spoken one-syllable words
(e.g., /h/ + at = hat, big = /b/+ ig).
7) Articulate phonemes correctly.
8) Blend phonemes orally to make a word (e.g., /p/ /ă/ /t/ = pat, /b/ /ŭ / /g/
= bug).
9) Segment phonemes orally within a spoken word (e.g., sit = /s/ /ĭ/ /t/, rap
= /r/ /ă/ /p/).
c. The student will use word recognition skills. (DOK 1)
1) Match all consonant and short vowel sounds to the appropriate letters.
2) Understand the alphabetic principle, which means as letters in words
change, so do the sounds in the words.
3) Blend letter sounds in one syllable words.
4) Begin to recognize common word families.
5) Read some words derived from common word families (e.g., -at, -ig,
-ot).
6) Recognize some high frequency words in text (e.g., the, has, an, can,
run, color words, and number words).
7) Read some sight words (e.g., high frequency words, logos and/or signs
in environmental print, and words in language experience text).
d. The student will understand and explain the meaning of common affixes
(e.g., un-, re-, -s, -es, -ed, -ing). (DOK 1)
Kindergarten
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
e. The student will develop and apply knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
1) Name pictures of common objects and concepts.
2) Use words to describe location, size, color, and shape.
3) Identify and sort pictures of common words into basic categories (e.g.,
animals, foods, toys).
4) Begin to recognize word relationships.
f. The student will name commonly used synonyms and antonyms (e.g.,
big/huge, tiny/small, hot/cold, happy/sad). (DOK 1)
g. The student will use pictures and context to understand the meaning of a
word. (DOK 2)
h. The student will use reference materials to find, to confirm the meaning of,
to pronounce, or to spell unknown words with assistance (e.g., picture
dictionary, teacher and/or peer as resource). (DOK 1)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing levels of length,
difficulty, and complexity.
a. The student will use text features, parts of a book, text structures, and
genres to analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features – titles, illustrations, etc.
2) Parts of a book – title page, title, author, illustrator, etc.
3) Text structures – sequential order
4) Genres – fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (nursery rhymes)
b. The student will understand and make simple inferences about text.
(DOK 2)
1) Answer literal who, what, and where questions.
2) Identify and discuss main characters, settings, and major events.
3) Use illustrations to discuss the main idea of a simple story.
4) Make simple inferences about narrative and/or informational text.
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
paraphrase of the events or ideas in text. (DOK 2)
1) Retell a familiar story with the book as a reference.
2) Retell a familiar story without the book including a beginning, middle,
and end.
Kindergarten
3) Retell two to three steps in the sequence of events in text shared with
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
the student.
d. The student will respond to narrative and informational texts in a variety of
ways that reflect understanding and interpretation. (DOK 2)
1) Interpret text through moving, drawing, speaking, acting, or singing.
2) Make connections between self and text after shared reading.
3) Compose visual images (e.g., draw a picture based on something in
the text).
4) Identify favorite passages.
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
effectively.
a. The student will use an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning,
drafting, revising, editing, and publishing/sharing). (DOK 3)
1) Planning
• Begin to use graphic organizers to generate and organize ideas.
2) Drafting
• Begin to put thoughts on paper through use of scribbling, symbols,
pictures, or words. [*Writing for kindergarten students is defined as
making marks and/or symbols on a page that possess meaning for
the author.]
3) Revising
• Begin to add details to compositions.
4) Editing
• Begin to edit for capitalization and end punctuation in written
compositions.
5) Publishing/Sharing
• Share compositions with others by displaying and retelling ideas.
b. The student will compose a description of a person, place, or thing.
(DOK 3)
1) Compose drawings/visual images and orally describe compositions.
2) Compose oral descriptions of a familiar person, place, or thing.
c. The student will compose a personal story or narrative. (DOK 3)
1) Compose dictated narratives relating a personal story.
2) Compose drawings/visual images and use to dictate a personal story
or narrative.
Kindergarten
d. The student will compose informational text about a familiar topic (e.g.,
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
families, animals, etc.). (DOK 3)
1) Compose class reports/charts about a familiar topic.
2) Functional texts (e.g., labels, notes, etc.).
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will use Standard English grammar. (DOK 1)
1) Begin to recognize the use of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
2) Begin to recognize the use of articles and conjunctions.
b. The student will use Standard English mechanics. (DOK 1)
1) Begin to recognize and use end punctuation (e.g., period, question
mark, exclamation mark) in shared writing.
2) Begin to recognize and use capital letters (e.g., first word in a
sentence, name) in shared writing.
3) Begin to use developmentally appropriate spelling.
- Recognize and record some beginning and ending sounds in
words.
- Spell first and last name.
- Spell some sight words.
4) Develop handwriting skills
- Position paper in order to write in a left to right progression
moving from top to bottom on the page
- Trace/draw recognizable shapes.
- Reproduce a visual pattern.
- Trace, copy, and generate letters.
- Write first and last name legibly.
c. The student will begin to use a variety of sentence structures. (DOK 1)
1) Speak in complete sentences.
2) Initiate questions in conversation using age-appropriate words,
phrases, and sentences.
Kindergarten
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
FIRST GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 1; one-year course
FIRST GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in kindergarten. New skills and objectives
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
While competencies for grades K-3 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from kindergarten to grade three, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In first grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. First
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving
text as they move from emergent to developing readers and writers.
Priority objectives are underlined for grades K – 3.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in kindergarten. New skills and objectives
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of concepts about print. (DOK 1)
First Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
1) Point to words in text when reading aloud, matching spoken words to
print.
2) Distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
3) Identify and use title page, title, author, illustrator, and table of
contents of a book.
4) Identify dialogue in connected text.
b. The student will apply knowledge of phonological and phonemic
awareness. (DOK 2)
(Phonological and phonemic awareness skills are oral skills. Once the
skills are paired with print, they become phonics activities.)
1) Identify and produce rhyming words orally that include consonant
blends and digraphs (e.g., flat/splat, trap/snap, sing/ring).
2) Identify, blend, and segment syllables within compound, two, and
three syllable spoken words (e.g., clap the syllables in “bi-cy-cle,”
bas + ket + ball = basketball, telephone = tel + e + phone).
3) Identify and count the number of syllables in a spoken word.
4) Identify orally beginning, final, and medial sounds in one syllable words
(e.g., /ch/ in chat, /sh/ in wish, /ē/ in read).
5) Distinguish short and long vowel sounds in spoken one syllable
words (e.g., bĭt/bīte, hŏp/hōpe).
6) Blend and segment the phonemes in words containing two to four
phonemes (e.g., /b/ /ă/ /t/ = bat, treat = /t/ /r/ /ē/ /t/).
7) Blend and segment sounds in spoken words containing initial and final
blends.
8) Add or delete a phoneme to change a spoken word (e.g., Add /b/ to
“at” = bat or take /k/ from “cat"=at).
c. The student will use word recognition skills. (DOK 2)
1) Generate the sounds from all the letters and letter patterns
(including consonant blends, consonant digraphs, short and long
vowel patterns), and blend those sounds into recognizable words.
Examples:
Consonant blends:
/fl/, /tr/, /sl/, /sm/, /sn/, /bl/, /gr/, and
/str/
Consonants digraphs: /sh/, /wh/, /ch/, /th/, /ng/, /ck/
Short vowel patterns: CVC = pat, sit, mug
Long vowel patterns:
CV=me, be, no
CVCV(final e)=make, hide, cute
2) Begin to use knowledge of vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and
r-controlled letter-sound correspondences to decode unknown
words.
First Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Examples:
Vowel digraphs:
/oa/ in road, /ea/ in read
Diphthongs:
/oi/, /oy/, /ou/, /ow/, /ew/
R-controlled:
er = /r/ in fern
ir = /r/ in bird
ur = /r/ in turn
3) Read words derived from common word families (e.g., -it, -at, -
ite, -ate).
4) Begin to use common spelling patterns to make new words (e.g.,
make, take, lake, cake, etc.).
5) Use inflectional endings (e.g., -s, -es, -ed, or -ing) to produce new
words.
6) Identify simple compound words (e.g., dog + house = doghouse).
7) Identify simple contractions correctly (e.g., can + not = can't, has
+ not = hasn’t, did + not = didn’t).
8) Read 100 to 200 high frequency and/or irregularly spelled
words. A first grader should read approximately 40 to 60
words correct per minute by the end of first grade.
d. The student will use syllabication types (e.g., open, closed, r-
controlled, vowel team, vowel consonant +e, consonant plus le) to
analyze words. (DOK 1)
e. The student will begin to identify and use roots and affixes (e.g.,
un-, re-, -s, -es, -ed, -ing) to decode and understand words. (DOK
2)
f. The student will develop and apply knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
1) Identify and sort pictures and words into basic categories.
2) Recognize and explain word relationships within categories of
words.
g. The student will begin to identify and use synonyms, antonyms, and
homonyms. (DOK 2)
h. The student will use context to determine the meanings of unfamiliar or
multiple meaning words. (DOK 2)
i. The student will use reference materials to find, to determine the meaning
of, to pronounce, or to spell unknown words (e.g., picture dictionary,
personal dictionary, elementary dictionary, teacher and/or peer as a
resource). (DOK 1)
First Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will use text features, parts of a book, text structures, and
genres to analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features – titles, illustrations, headings, graphs, etc.
2) Parts of a book – title page, title, author, illustrator, table of contents,
etc.
3) Text structures – sequential order and description
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
b. The student will understand, infer, and make simple predictions.
(DOK 2)
1) Answer and generate who, what, when, where, why, and how
questions.
2) Answer and generate questions about characters, settings, and
events.
3) Make simple inferences based on information from narrative and/or
informational text.
4) Identify the main idea of a simple story or topic of an
informational text.
5) Make a prediction about narrative or informational text and
confirm or revise the prediction.
6) Use key words in text to justify prediction(s).
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
paraphrase of the events or ideas in text, citing text-based evidence.
(DOK 2)
1) Retell a story including characters, setting, and important events.
2) Retell the correct sequence of events in narrative and/or
informational text.
d. The student will analyze, interpret, compare, or respond to increasingly
complex literary and informational text, citing text-based evidence.
(DOK 3)
1) Interpret text through moving, drawing, speaking, acting, or singing.
2) Make connections between self and text or text and text after sharing
text or reading text independently.
3) Compose visual images based on text.
4) Identify favorite passages.
First Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
3. The student will express, communicate, or evaluate ideas effectively.
a. The student will use an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing/sharing) to compose or edit.
(DOK 3)
1) Planning
• Use graphic organizers to generate and organize ideas.
2) Drafting
• Put thoughts on paper using words and sentences.
3) Revising
•
Revise compositions by clarifying and adding details.
4) Editing
• Edit for capitalization and punctuation.
5) Publishing/Sharing
• Share compositions by displaying, retelling, and/or reading ideas.
b. The student will compose a description of a person, place, or thing.
(DOK 3)
1) Compose drawings/visual images and orally describe.
2) Compose oral and written descriptions of a familiar person, place, or
thing.
c. The student will compose a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
(DOK 3)
1) Compose retellings/stories with a beginning, middle, and end.
2) Compose drawings/visual images to tell stories with a beginning,
middle, and end.
d. The student will compose a short informational text based on a familiar
topic, including but not limited to: (DOK 3)
1) Reports
2) Letters, thank you notes, invitations
3) Functional texts (e.g, labels, directions, shopping lists, etc.)
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will use Standard English grammar. (DOK 1)
1) Begin to use nouns (e.g., singular, plural)
2) Begin to use verbs
3) Begin to use articles and coordinating conjunctions
4) Begin to use adjectives
First Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
5) Begin to use pronouns
b. The student will use Standard English mechanics. (DOK 1)
1) Begin to use appropriate end punctuation (e.g., period, question mark,
exclamation mark).
2) Begin to use periods in common abbreviations (e.g., Mr., Mrs., Dr.,
days of the week, months of the year).
3) Begin to use commas (e.g., dates).
4) Begin to use apostrophes (e.g., contractions).
5) Begin to use colon in notation of time.
6) Begin to use capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns,
days of the week, months of the year, the pronoun “I”).
7) Spell words commonly found in first grade level text.
8) Develop handwriting skills.
− Position paper in order to write in a left to right progression
moving from top to bottom on the page.
− Write first and last name legibly.
− Write lowercase and uppercase letters legibly.
− Write words and sentences legibly using proper spacing.
c. The student will use varied sentence structures. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze sentences to determine purpose (e.g.,
declarative/telling, interrogative/question, exclamatory/strong
feeling).
2) Compose sentences with a variety of purposes (e.g.,
declarative/telling, interrogative/asking a question,
exclamatory/showing strong feeling).
3) Compose simple sentences.
First Grade
SECOND GRADE
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 2; one-year course
SECOND GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in first grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
While competencies for grades K-3 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from kindergarten to grade three, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In second grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts, which
are read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed.
Second grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities
involving text as they continue to grow as developing readers and writers.
Priority objectives are underlined for grades K-3.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in first grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of phonological and phonemic
awareness. (DOK 2)
Second Grade
(Phonological and phonemic awareness skills are oral skills. Once the
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
skills are paired with print, they become phonics activities.)
1) Blend and segment spoken words into syllables and syllables into
phonemes.
2) Continue to identify and count the number of syllables in a spoken
word.
3) Add, delete, substitute, or begin to transpose a phoneme to
change a spoken word in the initial, medial, and final position
(e.g., Add /b/ to “at”= bat; or take /k/ from “cat” = at; change /i/
in hit to /a/ = hat. What happens when you change “spot” to
“stop”?).
b. The student will use word recognition skills for multi-syllabic words.
(DOK 2)
1) Use knowledge of vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and r-controlled
letter-sound correspondences to decode unknown words.
Examples:
Vowel digraphs:
/oa/ in road, /ea/ in read
Diphthongs:
/oi/, /oy/, /ou/, /ow/, /ew/
R-controlled:
er = /r/ in fern
ir = /r/ in bird
ur = /r/ in turn
2) Read words derived from word families (e.g., -it, -at, -ite, -ate).
3) Use common spelling patterns to make new words (e.g., make,
take, lake, cake, etc.).
4) Use inflectional endings (e.g., -s, es, -ed, or -ing) to produce or
analyze new words.
5) Identify and create compound words.
6) Identify and create contractions (e.g., can + not = can’t) correctly.
7) Read 200 to 300 high frequency and/or irregularly spelled words in
connected text. (A second grader should read approximately 90 to
100 words correct per minute in connected text by the end of
second grade.)
c. The student will use syllabication types (e.g., open, closed, r-controlled,
vowel team, vowel-consonant + e, consonant + le) to decode words.
(DOK 1)
d. The student will manipulate and analyze roots and affixes (e.g., un-, re-,
mis-, pre-, -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -y, -ly, -er, -est, –ful, and -less) to
understand unfamiliar words. (DOK 2)
e. The student will develop and apply knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
Second Grade
1) Identify and begin to generate words into categories.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2) Determine the relationship between pairs of words (e.g.,
icicles/ Popsicle’s, oven/heater, friend/enemy, gloves/socks,
etc.)
f. The student will identify and use synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
(DOK 1)
g. The student will use context to determine the meanings of unfamiliar or
multiple meaning words. (DOK 2)
h. The student will use reference materials to determine the meaning or
pronunciation of unknown words (e.g., personal dictionary, elementary
dictionary, glossary, teacher, and/or peer as a resource). (DOK 1)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will use text features, parts of a book, text structures, and
genres to analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features – titles, headings, illustrations, graphs, captions,
charts, etc.
2) Parts of a book – title page, title, author, illustrator, table of
contents, glossary, etc.
3) Text structures – sequential order, description, simple cause and
effect, etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
b. The student will analyze texts in order to identify, understand, infer, or
synthesize information. (DOK 2)
1) Answer literal and simple inferential who, what, when, where, why,
how, and what if questions.
2) Answer literal and simple inferential questions about main
characters, settings, and events.
3) Answer literal and simple inferential questions about
characters' actions, motives, traits, and emotions.
4) Identify the main idea and some details in narrative text or the
topic and some details in informational text.
5) Determine simple cause and effect relationships.
6) Identify simple fact and opinion.
7) Draw conclusions based on information from narrative and/or
informational text.
8) Identify and discuss the theme of a text.
Second Grade
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
paraphrase of the events or ideas in text, citing text-based evidence.
(DOK 2)
1) Retell a story orally and in writing including characters, setting,
problem, important events, and resolution.
2) Arrange in sequential order a listing of events found in narrative
and/or informational text.
d. The student will analyze, interpret, compare, or respond to increasingly
complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text, citing text-
based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Interpret text through moving, drawing, speaking, acting, or singing.
2) Make connections between self and characters and events in text.
3) Compose visual images.
4) Identify favorite passages and explain why the passage is a
favorite, citing text-based evidence.
3. The student will express, communicate, or evaluate ideas effectively.
a. The student will use an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing/sharing) to compose or edit. (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Use a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., Venn diagram,
bubble maps, story maps, etc.) to generate and organize
ideas.
2) Drafting
• Begin to transfer thoughts from graphic organizers into
sentences and simple paragraphs.
3) Revising
•
Begin to revise sentences and/or paragraphs for organization, to
add details, and to clarify ideas.
4) Editing
•
Edit for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
5) Publishing/Sharing
•
Publish writing by displaying, retelling, and/or reading written
ideas.
b. The student will compose descriptive text containing specific details.
(DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text with a beginning, middle, and end.
(DOK 3)
d. The student will compose informational text with a main idea and
supporting details. (DOK 3)
Second Grade
1. Reports
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2. Letters, thank you notes, invitations
3. Functional texts (e.g., labels, directions, shopping lists)
e. The student will generate questions and use one source to locate the
answers. (DOK 3)
4. The student will use Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will use Standard English grammar. (DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular, plural, common, proper, possessive)
2) Verbs, helping verbs and irregular verbs
3) Verb tense (conjugation and purpose for past, present, and
future)
4) Subject-verb agreement
5) Articles and coordinating conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., possessive, comparative, superlative)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject pronouns, singular pronouns, plural
pronouns)
9) Adverbs
b. The student will use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
3) Commas (e.g., dates, series, addresses, greetings, and closings
in a friendly letter)
4) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations)
5) Underlining/Italics (e.g., titles of books and movies)
6) Apostrophes (e.g., contractions, possessives)
7) Colons (e.g., in notation of time)
8) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, the pronoun “I”, holidays, titles,
initials)
9) Spell words commonly found in second grade level texts.
10)
Write words and sentences legibly.
c. The student will use correct and varied sentence structure. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze sentences to determine purpose (e.g., declarative/telling,
interrogative/question, exclamatory/strong feeling, imperative/
command or request).
Second Grade
2) Compose declarative/telling, interrogative/question,
exclamatory/strong feeling, and imperative/command or request
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
sentences.
3) Compose simple and compound sentences.
Second Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
THIRD GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 3; one-year course
THIRD GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in second grade. New skills and objectives
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for third grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Third graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which
no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with an
appropriate reading rate. (A third grader should read between 100 and 115
words per minute by the end of third grade.)
While competencies for grades K-3 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from kindergarten to grade three, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In third grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. Third
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving
text as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
Priority objectives are underlined for grades K – 3.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in second grade. New skills and objectives
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Third Grade
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd
Edition (MCT2) for third grade is based on the objectives found in
the framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the
MCT2 must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that
objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
Kindergarten through grade three.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will use word recognition skills for multi-syllabic words.
(DOK 2)
1) Continue to use knowledge of vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and r-
controlled letter-sound correspondences to decode unknown
words.
Examples:
Vowel digraphs:
/oa/ in road, /ea/ in read
Diphthongs:
/oi/, /oy/, /ou/, /ow/, /ew/
R-controlled:
er = /r/ in fern
ir = /r/ in bird
ur = /r/ in turn
2) Continue to use common spelling patterns to make new words
(e.g., make, take, lake, cake, etc.).
3) Use inflectional endings (e.g., -s, -es, -ed, or -ing) to produce and
analyze new words.
4) Create and analyze complex compound words (e.g., sky + scraper
= skyscraper).
5) Create and use complex contractions (e.g., will + not = won’t)
correctly.
6) Read 300 to 400 high frequency and/or irregularly spelled words in
connected text. (A third grader should read between 100 and 115
words correctly per minute in connected text by the end of third
grade.)
b. The student will use syllabication types (e.g., open, closed, r-controlled,
vowel team, vowel-consonant + e, consonant + le) to decode words.
(DOK 1)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Third Grade
c. The student will manipulate and analyze root words and affixes (e.g., un-,
re-, mis-, pre-, dis-, in-, im-, ir-, -s, - es, -ed,- ing, -y, -ly, -er, -est, –ful,
-less, -able, -ness, -ish) to analyze words. (DOK 2)
d. The student will develop and apply knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate. (DOK 2)
1) Generate words into categories.
2) Determine relationships among words organized in categories.
e. The student will identify and use synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
(DOK 1)
f. The student will use context to determine the meanings of unfamiliar or
multiple meaning words. (DOK 2)
g. The student will use context to determine the simple figurative meanings
(e.g., simile, metaphor, and personification) of words. (DOK 2)
h. The student will use reference materials to determine the meaning or
pronunciation of unknown words (e.g., elementary dictionary, glossary,
thesaurus, electronic dictionary, teacher or peer as a resource). [Note:
These reference materials are not available during the administration of
state tests.] (DOK 1)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will use text features, parts of a book, text structures, and
genres to analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features – titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs,
charts, diagrams, etc.
2) Parts of a book – title page, table of contents, glossary, index, etc.
3) Text structures – sequential order, description, simple cause and
effect, simple procedure, etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
b. The student will analyze texts in order to identify, understand, infer, or
synthesize information. (DOK 3)
1) Answer and generate questions about purposes for reading.
2) Answer literal and inferential questions about main characters,
setting, plot, and theme.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Third Grade
3) Answer literal and inferential questions about characters' actions,
motives, traits, and emotions.
4) Identify the stated main idea of a narrative text or the topic of an
informational text.
5) Arrange in sequential order a listing of events found in narrative
and/or informational text.
6) Identify cause and effect as stated in text.
7) Identify simple fact and opinion.
8) Synthesize information stated in the text with prior knowledge and
experience to draw a conclusion.
9) Predict an outcome based on information stated in text and confirm
or revise the prediction based upon subsequent text.
10) Use key words in text to justify prediction(s).
11) Identify important themes from texts and examine from more than
one point of view.
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
paraphrase of the events or ideas in text, citing text-based evidence.
(DOK 2)
1) Retell a story orally and in writing including characters, setting,
problem, important events, and resolution.
2) Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading
selection and the most significant details.
d. The student will analyze, interpret, compare, or respond to increasingly
complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text, citing text-
based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Interpret text through moving, drawing, speaking, acting, or
singing.
2) Make connections between self and characters, events, and
information in text or among texts.
3) Compose visual images based upon text.
3. The student will express, communicate, or evaluate ideas effectively.
a. The student will use an appropriate composing process (e.g., planning,
drafting, revising, editing and publishing/sharing) to compose or edit. .
[Note: Editing will be tested under competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
• Use a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., Venn diagrams, bubble
maps, story maps, simple outlines, etc.) to generate and
organize ideas.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Third Grade
2) Drafting
• Transfer thoughts from graphic organizers and simple outlines
into paragraphs.
3) Revising
• Revise paragraphs for organization, to add details, and to clarify
ideas.
4) Editing
• Edit paragraphs using a general rubric (e.g., grammar usage,
punctuation, and sentence structure).
• Edit for correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling and word
usage.
5) Publishing/Sharing
• Publish writing formally and informally using a variety of
media.
b. The student will compose descriptive text using specific details and vivid
language. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text with a clear beginning, middle,
and end. (DOK 3)
d. The student will compose informational text and at least three supporting
details. (DOK 3)
1. Reports
2. Letters, thank you notes, invitations
3. Functional texts (e.g., labels, directions, shopping lists)
e. The student will compose a simple persuasive text. (DOK 3)
f. The student will generate questions and use multiple sources to locate
answers. (DOK 3)
4. The student will use Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will use Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular, plural [including irregular forms], common,
proper, possessive)
2) Verbs, helping verbs and irregular verbs
3) Verb tense (conjugation and purpose for past, present, and future)
4) Subject-verb agreement
5) Articles and coordinating conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., possessive, comparative, superlative)
7) Prepositions
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Third Grade
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject pronouns, singular pronouns, plural
pronouns, singular possessive pronouns, and plural
possessive pronouns)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender)
10) Adverbs (avoiding double negatives)
11) Interjections
b. The student will use Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark,
comma)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
3) Commas (e.g., dates, series, addresses, greetings, closings,
quotations)
4) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations, titles of poems)
5) Underlining/ Italics (titles of books and movies)
6) Apostrophes (e.g., contractions; possessives)
7) Colons (in notation of time)
8) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun
“I”)
9) Spell words commonly found in third grade level text.
10) Write legibly.
c. The student will use correct and varied sentence structures. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze sentences to determine purpose (e.g., declarative,
interrogative, exclamatory, imperative).
2) Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or
compound predicates; compound sentences.
3) Avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
Third Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
FOURTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 4; one-year course
FOURTH GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in third grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for fourth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is defined
as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or analysis.”
For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials, teacher read
or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Fourth graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which
no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with an
appropriate reading rate. (A fourth grader should read between 115 and 140
words per minute by the end of fourth grade.)
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent
reading. Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per
minute, rates above 150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
While competencies for grades 4 - 8 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from grade four to grade eight, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and comprehend
the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In fourth grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. Fourth
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving text
as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
New language added to objectives or numbered items is printed in bold for grades
4 – 8.
Fourth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Competency and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in third grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for fourth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
Kindergarten through grade four.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will use syllabication types (e.g., open, closed, r-controlled,
vowel team, vowel -consonant + e, consonant + le) for decoding words.
(DOK 1)
b. The student will identify roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-, over-, anti-,
-tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic) in words. (DOK 2)
c. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
d. The student will identify and produce grade level appropriate synonyms,
antonyms, and homonyms. (DOK 2)
e. The student will use definitional, synonym, or antonym context clues to
infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. (DOK 2)
f.
The student will apply knowledge of simple figurative language (e.g., simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole) to determine the meaning of words
and to communicate. (DOK 2)
g. The student will use reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary, teacher
or peer [as a resource], thesaurus, electronic dictionary) to determine the
meaning, pronunciation, syllabication, synonyms, antonyms, and parts
of speech for unknown words. [Note: These reference materials are not
available during the administration of state tests.] (DOK 1)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing levels of length,
difficulty, and complexity.
Fourth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text
structures, and genres to understand, interpret, or analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts,
diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, maps, icons, pull down
menus, key word searches, etc.
2) Parts of a book - title page, table of contents, glossary, index, appendix,
footnotes, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect,
simple procedure, compare/contrast, etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
b. The student will analyze texts in order to identify, understand, infer, or
synthesize information. (DOK 2)
1) Identify the stated main idea or supporting details in a paragraph.
2) Apply knowledge of transitions or cue words to identify and
sequence major events in a narrative.
3) Identify stated causes and effect relationships in paragraphs and short
passages.
4) Synthesize information stated in the text with prior knowledge and
experience to draw a conclusion.
5) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a paragraph
or short passage and confirm or revised based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will recognize or generate a summary or paraphrase of the
events or ideas in text, citing text-based evidence. (DOK 2)
d. The student will interpret increasingly complex literary text, literary
nonfiction, and informational text to compare and contrast information,
citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Story elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, events,
resolution, point of view)
2) Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue)
3) Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance)
4) Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
e. The student will identify facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion in text.
(DOK 2)
1) Distinguish between fact and opinion.
2) Identify tools of persuasion (e.g. name calling, endorsement,
repetition, air and rebut the other side’s point of view).
Fourth Grade
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
effectively.
a. The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process
(e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing/ sharing) to express,
communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts
increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested under
competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,
brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion,
reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
•
Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
•
Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and
rearranging text based on teacher/peer feedback, writer’s
checklist, or rubric.
4) Editing
•
Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics,
spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
•
Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety of
media.
b. The student will compose descriptive texts using specific details and vivid
language. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text relating an event with a clear
beginning, middle, and end. (DOK 3)
1) Stories and retellings
2) Narrative poems
3) PowerPoint presentations
d. The student will compose informational text clearly expressing a main
idea with supporting details, including but not limited to, text
containing chronological order, cause and effect, compare and
contrast, or simple procedure. (DOK 3)
1. Reports
2. Letters
3. Functional texts
4. Presentations
5. Poems
Fourth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
e. The student will compose simple persuasive text clearly expressing a
main idea with supporting details for a specific purpose and audience.
(DOK 3)
1) Letters
2) Speeches
3) Advertisements
f. The student will compose text based on inquiry and research. (DOK 3)
1) Generate questions.
2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet) and gather relevant
information.
3) Identify and paraphrase important information from sources.
4) Present the results.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will apply Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular, plural [including irregular forms], common,
proper, singular possessive, plural possessive, appositives)
2) Verbs (e.g., helping verbs, irregular verbs, linking verbs)
3) Verb tense(conjugation and purpose for past, present, future,
present perfect)
4) Subject-verb agreement
5) Articles and coordinating conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., possessive, comparative, superlative)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject pronouns, singular pronouns, plural
pronouns, singular possessive pronouns, plural possessive
pronouns, object pronouns, reflexive pronouns, demonstrative
pronouns)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender)
10) Adverbs (avoiding double negatives; comparative forms)
11) Interjections
b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation point)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of the
week, months of the year)
Fourth Grade
3) Commas (e.g., dates, series, addresses, greetings and closings of
friendly letters, quotations, introductory prepositional phrases,
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
and nonessential appositive phrases)
4) Apostrophes (e.g., possessives; contractions)
5) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations; titles of poems, titles of songs,
titles of short stories)
6) Underlining/Italics (e.g., titles of books and movies)
7) Colons (e.g., time, before lists introduced by independent
clauses)
8) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun “I,”
first word in greetings and closings of friendly letters, proper
adjectives)
9) Spell words commonly found in fourth grade level text.
10) Produce legible text.
c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or
editing. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g., simple sentences including
those with compound subjects and/or compound predicates;
compound sentences; and complex sentences, including
independent and dependent clauses).
2) Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or
compound predicates; compound sentences; and complex
sentences.
3) Avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences, and comma
splices.
4) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases, and appositive phrases.
5) Compose sentences containing descriptive, adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
and appositive phrases.
Fourth Grade
FIFTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Grade 5; one-year course
FIFTH GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in fourth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for fifth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Fifth graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which
no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with an
appropriate reading rate. (A fifth grader should read between 140 and 170 words
per minute by the end of fifth grade.)
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent
reading. Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per
minute, rates above 150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
While competencies for grades 4 - 8 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from grade four to grade eight, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In fifth grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. Fifth
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving
text as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
New language added to objectives or numbered items is printed in bold for
grades 4 – 8.
Fifth Grade
COMPETENCIES and Objectives
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in fourth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for fifth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
kindergarten through grade five.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-,
over-, anti-, inter-, super-, semi-, –tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic, -ian, -
ist, -ous, -eous, -ious) in multi-syllabic words. (DOK 2)
b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
c. The student will identify and produce grade level appropriate synonyms,
antonyms, and homonyms. (DOK 2)
d. The student will use definitional, synonym, antonym, or example clues to
infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. (DOK 2)
e. The student will apply knowledge of simple figurative language (e.g.,
simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom) to determine the
meaning of text and to communicate. (DOK 2)
f. The student will select the appropriate reference materials (e.g.,
dictionary, glossary, teacher or peer [as a resource], thesaurus, electronic
dictionary) to understand or gain information from text regarding the
meaning, pronunciation, syllabication, synonyms, antonyms, and parts of
speech for words. [Note: These reference materials are not available
during the administration of state tests.] (DOK 1)
g. The student will communicate using vocabulary that is appropriate
for the context, purpose, and situation (e.g., formal and informal
language). (DOK 2)
Fifth Grade
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing of length, difficulty,
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
and complexity.
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text
structures, and genres to understand, interpret, or analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts,
diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, headings, subheadings,
numberings, captions, illustrations, graphs, diagrams, maps, icons,
pull down menus, key word searches, etc.
2) Parts of a book - title page, table of contents, glossary, index,
appendix, footnotes, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect,
procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance,
problem/solution, etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, and
autobiographies
b. The student will analyze text to understand, infer, draw conclusions, or
synthesize information. (DOK 2)
1) Identify and infer the main idea or topic in literary text, literary
nonfiction, and informational text of increasing length and
difficulty, citing text-based evidence.
2) Apply knowledge of transitions and cue words to identify and sequence
events in narrative text including text containing flashbacks and
events not in time order.
3) Identify and infer cause and effect in texts.
4) Synthesize information stated in the text with prior knowledge and
experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting evidence
including text-based evidence.
5) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will recognize or generate a summary or paraphrase of the
events or ideas in literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational
text of increasing length and difficulty, citing text-based evidence.
(DOK 2)
d. The student will respond to or interpret increasingly complex literary text,
literary nonfiction, and informational text to compare and contrast
information, citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Story elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot,
resolution, point of view)
Fifth Grade
2) Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue)
3) Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
assonance)
4) Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
e. The student will identify and interpret facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion
in texts. (DOK 2)
1) Distinguish between fact and opinion.
2) Identify and interpret tools of persuasion (e.g. name calling,
endorsement, repetition, air and rebut the other side’s point of view,
association, stereotypes, bandwagon).
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
effectively.
a.
The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process
(e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express,
communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on text of
increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested as a part of
competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,
brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion,
reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
•
Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
•
Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and
rearranging text based on feedback on teacher/peer feedback,
writer’s checklist, or rubric.
4) Editing
•
Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics,
spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
•
Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety
of media.
b. The student will compose descriptive texts using specific details and
vivid language. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text relating an event with a clear
beginning, middle, and end using specific details. (DOK 3)
1) Stories or retellings
Fifth Grade
2) Narrative poems
3) PowerPoint presentations
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
4) Plays
5) Biographies or autobiographies
6) Video narratives
d. The student will compose informational text clearly expressing a main
idea with supporting details, including but not limited to the following:
texts containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect;
comparison and contrast; order of importance; problem/solution.
(DOK 3)
1) Reports
2) Letters
3) Functional texts
4) Presentations
5) Poems
6) Essays
e. The student will compose simple persuasive text clearly expressing a
main idea with supporting details for a specific purpose and audience.
(DOK 3)
1) Letters
2) Speeches
3) Advertisements
f. The student will compose text of a variety of modes based on inquiry
and research. (DOK 3)
1) Generate questions.
2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet) and gather
relevant information.
3) Identify and paraphrase important information from sources.
4) Present the results.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will apply Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular; plural [including irregular forms]; common;
proper; singular possessive; plural possessive; appositives;
concrete; abstract; compound [one word: bookcase; two or
more words: prime number/Yellowstone National Park/George
Fifth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Washington; hyphenated words: editor-in-chief]; predicate
nominatives)
2) Verbs (e.g., helping verbs, irregular verbs, linking verbs)
3) Verb tense (conjugation and purpose for present, past, future;
present perfect and past perfect)
4) Subject-verb agreement
5) Articles and coordinating/subordinating conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., descriptive, comparative, superlative; predicate
adjectives)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject, object, reflexive, singular, singular
possessive, plural, plural possessive, demonstrative, and
interrogative)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender)
10)
Adverbs (e.g., comparative forms; avoiding double negatives)
11)
Interjections
b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation point)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
3) Commas (e.g., dates, series, addresses, greetings and closings of
friendly letters, quotations, introductory prepositional phrases,
nonessential appositive phrases, and interrupters)
4) Apostrophes (possessives; contractions)
5) Semicolons (compound sentences)
6) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations, titles of poems, titles of songs,
titles of short stories, titles of chapters, titles of magazine
articles)
7) Underlining/Italics (titles of books and movies)
8) Colons (e.g., time, before lists introduced by independent clauses,
business letters)
9) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun
“I,” first word in greetings and closings of friendly letters, proper
adjectives)
10)
Spell words commonly found in fifth grade level text.
11)
Produce legible text.
c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or
editing. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g., simple sentences
including those with compound subjects and/or compound
Fifth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
predicates; compound sentences including those with
compound subjects and/or compound predicates; and complex
sentences, including independent and dependent clauses).
2) Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or
compound predicates; compound sentences including those with
compound subjects and/or compound predicates; and complex
sentences, including independent and dependent clauses.
3) Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices.
4) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs), and
appositive phrases.
5) Compose sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs), and
appositive phrases.
Fifth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
SIXTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 6; one-year course
SIXTH GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in fifth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for sixth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the
MCT2 must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that
objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Sixth graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which
no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with an
appropriate reading rate. (A sixth grader should read between 170 and 195
words per minute by the end of sixth grade.)
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent
reading. Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per
minute, rates above 150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
While competencies for grades 4 - 8 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated
by such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As
students move from grade four to grade eight, texts should require a greater
cognitive involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In sixth grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. Sixth
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving
text as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
New language added to objectives or numbered items is printed in bold for
grades 4 – 8.
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in fifth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for sixth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the
MCT2 must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that
objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
kindergarten through grade six.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a.
The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-,
over-, anti-, inter-, super-, semi-, com-, ex-, il-, mid-, under-, sub-,
-tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic, -ian, -ist, -ous, -eous, -ious, -ance, -
ence, -ive, -en) to determine the meaning of multi-syllabic words.
(DOK 2)
b.
The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words
and word meaning to communicate. (DOK 1)
c.
The student will use grade level appropriate synonyms, antonyms,
and homonyms. (DOK 2)
d.
The student will use context clues to determine the meanings of
unfamiliar or multiple meaning words. (DOK 2)
e.
The student will use context clues to determine the figurative
meanings (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom) of
text and to communicate. (DOK 2)
f.
The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g.,
dictionary, glossary, teacher or peer [as a resource], thesaurus,
electronic dictionary) to evaluate word choice in a variety of texts
(e.g., revise writing, peer editing) and to determine meaning. [Note:
These reference materials are not available during the administration
of state tests.] (DOK 2)
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
g.
The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal
language). (DOK 3)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text
structures, and genres to understand, gain information from, interpret,
respond to, or analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts,
diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, headings, subheadings,
numberings, captions, illustrations, graphs, diagrams, maps, icons,
pull down menus, key word searches, etc.
2) Parts of a book - title page, table of contents, glossary, index,
appendix, footnotes, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and
effect, procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance,
problem/solution, etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, autobiographies,
and plays
b. The student will analyze text to understand, infer, draw conclusions, or
synthesize information. (DOK 2)
1) Identify and infer the main idea or topic in literary text, literary
nonfiction, and informational text of increasing length and difficulty
citing text-based evidence.
2) Apply knowledge of transitions and cue words to identify and
sequence events in narrative text including text containing flashbacks
and events in non-sequential order.
3) Infer cause and effect based on sequence of events and to
predict outcomes.
4) Synthesize information stated in the text with prior knowledge and
experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting evidence
including text-based evidence.
5) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
paraphrase of the events or ideas in literary text, literary nonfiction, and
informational text citing text-based evidence. (DOK 2)
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. The student will respond to, interpret, or compare and contrast
increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational
text citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Story elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot,
resolution, point of view)
2) Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue)
3) Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance)
4) Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
e. The student will identify and analyze facts, opinions, or tools of
persuasion in written and visual texts. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze use of and distinguish between fact and opinion.
2) Analyze use of tools of persuasion (e.g. name calling,
endorsement, repetition, air and rebut the other side’s point of view,
association, stereotypes, bandwagon, plain folks, tabloid thinking,
shock tactics and fear, intertextual references).
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
effectively.
a. The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process
(e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express,
communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts of
increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested as a part
of competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,
brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion,
reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
•
Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
•
Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and
rearranging text based on feedback on teacher/peer feedback,
writer’s checklist, or rubric.
4) Editing
•
Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics,
spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
•
Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety
of media.
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. The student will compose descriptive texts using sensory details and
vivid language. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text utilizing effective organization
and vivid word choice containing multiple events with specific details.
(DOK 3)
1) Stories or retellings
2) Narrative poems
3) PowerPoint presentations
4) P l a y s
5) Biographies and autobiographies
6) Video narratives
d. The student will compose informational text clearly expressing a main
idea with supporting details, including but not limited to the following:
texts containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect;
comparison and contrast; order of importance; problem/solution. (DOK 3)
1) Reports
2) Letters
3) Functional texts
4) Presentations
5) Poems
6) Essays
e. The student will compose persuasive text clearly expressing a main idea
with supporting details, utilizing effective word choice and
organization for a specific purpose and audience. (DOK 3)
1) Letters
2) Speeches
3) Advertisement
f. The student will compose text of a variety of modes based on inquiry and
research. (DOK 4)
1) Generate questions.
2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet, reference
materials, on-line data bases) and gather relevant information from
multiple sources.
3) Identify and paraphrase important information from sources.
4) Compare and contrast important findings and select sources
to support central ideas, concepts, and themes.
5) Present the results using a variety of communication
techniques.
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
6) Reflect on and evaluate the process.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will apply Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular, plural [including irregular forms], common,
proper, singular possessive, plural possessive, appositives,
concrete, abstract, compound [one word: bookcase; two or more
words: prime number/Yellowstone National Park/George
Washington; hyphenated words: editor-in-chief]; predicate
nominatives; direct and indirect objects)
2) Verbs (helping verbs, irregular, linking, transitive, and
intransitive)
3) Verb tense [including purpose] (present, past, future; present
perfect, past perfect, and future perfect)
4) Subject-verb agreement in sentences containing indefinite
pronouns, compound subjects, and prepositional phrases
separating subject and verb
5) Articles; coordinating/subordinating conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., descriptive, comparative, superlative; predicate
adjectives)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject, object, reflexive, singular, singular
possessive, plural, plural possessive, demonstrative, interrogative,
indefinite, relative)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender)
10) Adverbs (avoiding double negatives; comparative forms)
11) Interjections
b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
3) Commas (e.g., dates; series; addresses; greetings and closings of
letters; quotations; introductory prepositional phrases; appositives;
nonessential appositive phrases; interrupters; introductory
clauses; and nonessential clauses)
4) Apostrophes (possessives; contractions)
5) Semicolons (compound sentences)
6) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations, titles of poems, titles of songs,
titles of short stories, titles of chapters, titles of magazine articles)
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
7) Underlining/Italics (titles of books, movies, plays, and television
shows)
8) Colons (e.g., time, before lists introduced by independent clauses,
and business letters)
9) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun
“I,” first word in greetings and closings of friendly letters, proper
adjectives)
10) Spell words commonly found in sixth grade level text.
11) Produce legible text.
c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or
editing to achieve a purpose. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g., simple sentences
including those with compound subjects and/or compound
predicates; compound sentences including those with compound
subjects and/or compound predicates; and complex sentences,
including independent and dependent clauses).
2) Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or
compound predicates; compound sentences including those with
compound subjects and/or compound predicates; and complex
sentences, including independent and dependent clauses.
3) Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices.
4) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses
5) Compose sentences using descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Sixth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
SEVENTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 7; one-year course
SEVENTH GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in sixth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for seventh grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Seventh graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in
which no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with
an appropriate reading rate. (A seventh grader should read 195 and 235 words
per minute by the end of seventh grade.)
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent
reading. Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per
minute, rates above 150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
While competencies for grades 4 - 8 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from grade four to grade eight, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In seventh grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts which
are read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed.
Seventh grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities
involving text as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in sixth grade. New skills and objectives are
bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however, teachers
should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus on
increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for seventh grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
kindergarten through grade seven.
New language added to objectives or numbered items is printed in bold for
grades 4 – 8.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-,
over-, anti-, inter-, super-, semi-, com-, ex-, il-, mid-, under-, sub-, en-,
em-, fore-, de-, –tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic, -ian, -ist, -ous, -eous, -
ious, -ance, -ence, -ive, -en, -ative, -tive, -ible, -ty) to determine and infer
the meaning of unfamiliar words. (DOK 2)
b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
c. The student will use grade level appropriate synonyms, antonyms, and
homonyms. (DOK 2)
d. The student will use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar
or multiple meaning words. (DOK 2)
e. The student will use context clues to determine the figurative meanings
(e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom) of text and to
communicate. (DOK 2)
f.
The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g., dictionary,
glossary, teacher or peer [as a resource], thesaurus, electronic dictionary)
to evaluate word choice in a variety of texts (e.g., revise writing, peer
editing), and to determine meaning. [Note: These reference materials are
not available during the administration of state tests.] (DOK 2)
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
g. The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal
language). (DOK 3)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text
structures, and genres to understand, gain information from, interpret,
respond to, or analyze text. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts,
diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, headings, subheadings,
numberings, maps, icons, pull down menus, captions, illustrations,
graphs, diagrams, key word searches, etc.
2) Parts of a book - title page, table of contents, glossary, index,
appendix, footnotes, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect,
procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance, problem/solution,
etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, autobiographies, and
plays
b. The student will analyze text to infer, justify, draw conclusions,
synthesize, or evaluate information. (DOK 3)
1) Infer the implied main idea from one or more related texts.
2) Justify inferences about main idea by providing supporting
details.
3) Evaluate author’s use of sequence for its effect on the text.
4) Infer how the sequence of events may have contributed to cause and
effect relationships in a text.
5) Apply knowledge of cause and effect relationships to infer logical
causes and/or effects.
6) Synthesize information stated in one or more texts with prior
knowledge and experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting
evidence including text based-evidence.
7) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will recognize or generate an appropriate summary or
paraphrase of the events or ideas in literary text, literary nonfiction, and
informational text citing text-based evidence. (DOK 2)
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. The student will analyze, interpret, compare, contrast, or respond to
increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text
citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Story Elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot,
resolution, point of view)
2) Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue, irony
(situational and verbal)
3) Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance)
4) Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
e. Evaluate the author’s use of facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion in
written and visual texts to determine author’s purpose and consider
the effect of persuasive text on the intended audience. (DOK 3)
1) Evaluate the use of and distinguish between fact and opinion.
2) Evaluate the author’s use of tools of persuasion (e.g., name
calling, endorsement, repetition, air and rebut the other side’s point of
view, association, stereotypes, bandwagon, plain folks, tabloid
thinking, shock tactics and fear, intertextual references, card stacking,
slanted words, etc).
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
effectively.
a. The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process
(e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express,
communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts
increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested as a part of
competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,
brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion,
reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
•
Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
•
Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and
rearranging text based on teacher/peer feedback, writer’s
checklist, or rubric.
4) Editing
•
Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics,
spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
• Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety
of media.
b. The student will incorporate descriptive details into texts including
but not limited to narrative, expository, or persuasive text. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text utilizing effective organization,
transitions, vivid word choices, and specific supporting details, and
containing multiple events. (DOK 3)
1) Stories or retellings
2) Narrative poems
3) PowerPoint presentations
4) Plays
5) Biographies and autobiographies
6) Video narratives
d. The student will compose informational text utilizing topic sentences,
effective organization, transitions, vivid word choices, and specific
supporting details, including but not limited to the following: texts
containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect; comparison
and contrast; order of importance; problem and solution. (DOK 3)
1) Reports
2) Letters (friendly and business)
3) Functional texts
4) Presentations
5) Poems
6) Essays
e. The student will compose persuasive text with a clear problem and
solution, utilizing effective organization, transitions, vivid word choices,
and specific supporting details. (DOK 3)
1) Letters
2) Speeches
3) Advertisements
f. The student will compose texts of a variety of modes based on inquiry and
research. (DOK 4)
1) Generate questions.
2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet, reference
materials, on-line data bases) and gather relevant information
from multiple sources.
3) Take notes on important information from sources.
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
4) Synthesize and evaluate important findings and select
sources to support central ideas, concepts, and themes.
5) Present the results using a variety of communication
techniques.
6) Reflect on and evaluate the process.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will use Standard English grammar to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular [including irregular forms, i.e., gymnastics],
plural [including irregular forms], common, proper, singular
possessive, plural possessive, appositives, concrete, abstract,
compound [one word: bookcase; two or more words: prime
number/Yellowstone National Park/George Washington;
hyphenated words: editor-in-chief]; predicate nominatives;
direct and indirect objects; collective)
2) Verbs (helping verbs, irregular, linking, transitive and intransitive
verbs)
3) Verb tense [including purpose] (present, past, future; present
perfect, past perfect, future perfect; emphatic [present and
past])
4) Subject-verb agreement (in sentences containing collective
nouns, indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, and
prepositional phrases separating subject and verb.)
5) Articles; coordinating/subordinating conjunctions; correlative
conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., descriptive, comparative, superlative; predicate
adjectives)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject, object, reflexive, singular, singular
possessive, plural, plural possessive, demonstrative
interrogative, indefinite, relative)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender; with
collective nouns; for relative pronouns; for indefinite
pronouns; with expressions of amount)
10) Adverbs (avoiding double negatives; comparative forms)
11) Interjections
b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
3) Commas (e.g., dates; series; addresses; greetings and closings
of letters; quotations; introductory prepositional phrases;
appositives; interrupters including parenthetical expressions;
nonessential appositive phrases; introductory clauses; and
nonessential clauses)
4) Apostrophes (possessives; contractions)
5) Semicolons (compound sentences; with conjunctive adverbs)
6) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations, titles of poems, titles of
songs, titles of short stories, titles of chapters, titles of magazine
articles)
7) Underlining/Italics (titles of books, movies, plays, and television
shows)
8) Colons (e.g., time, before lists introduced by independent
clauses, business letters)
9) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days
of the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the
pronoun “I,” first word in salutations and closings of friendly
letters and business letters, proper adjectives)
10) Spell words commonly found in seventh grade level text
11) Produce legible text
c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or
editing to achieve a purpose. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g., simple sentences
including those with compound subjects and/or compound
predicates; compound sentences including those with
compound subjects and/or compound predicates; complex
sentences, including independent and dependent clauses; and
compound-complex sentences).
2) Compose simple sentences with compound subjects and/or
compound predicates; compound sentences including those
with compound subjects and/or compound predicates; complex
sentences, including independent and dependent clauses; and
compound-complex sentences.
3) Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma
splices.
4) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses and noun
clauses.
5) Compose sentences using descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and
noun clauses.
Seventh Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
EIGHTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 8; one-year course
EIGHTH GRADE
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in seventh grade. New skills and objectives
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for eighth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
The term “text,” as it is used throughout the Language Arts Framework, is
defined as “a segment of spoken or written language available for description or
analysis.” For the purposes of this document, text may include written materials,
teacher read or taped passages, visual images, or film.
Eighth graders should read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which
no more than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult for the reader) with an
appropriate reading rate. (An eighth grader should read between 235 and 240
words per minute by the end of eighth grade.)
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent
reading. Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per
minute, rates above 150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
While competencies for grades 4 - 8 remain identical, objectives require an
extension of knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical
component at each grade level is text complexity. Text complexity is indicated by
such elements as sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students
move from grade four to grade eight, texts should require a greater cognitive
involvement by the student in order for the student to appreciate and
comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in language.
In eighth grade, students are presented with a wide, rich variety of texts that are
read to, listened to, read by, or viewed by students and then discussed. Eighth
grade students are expected to engage actively in language activities involving
text as they continue to grow as fluent readers and writers.
New language added to objectives or numbered items is printed in bold for
grades 4 – 8.
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in seventh grade. New skills and objectives
are bold-faced throughout the K-8 portion of the document; however,
teachers should review previously taught skills and objectives with a focus
on increasing complexity. The Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2nd Edition
(MCT2) for eighth grade is based on the objectives found in the
framework. At least fifty percent (50%) of the test items on the MCT2
must match the depth-of-knowledge level assigned to that objective.
State level assessments may reflect skills and objectives covered in
kindergarten through grade eight.
1. The student will use word recognition and vocabulary (word meaning)
skills to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes (e.g., non-, trans-,
over-, anti-. inter-, super, semi-, com-, ex-, il-, mid-, under-, sub-, en-, em-,
fore-, de-, after-, auto-, con-, mid-, –tion, -or, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ic, -ian, -
ist, -ous, -eous, -ious, -ance, -ence, -ive, -en, -ative, -tive, -ible, -ty, -
ation, -ition, -al, -ial) to infer meaning of unfamiliar words in novel
texts. (DOK 2)
b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate. (DOK 1)
c. The student will apply knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and
homonyms to evaluate word choices in a variety of texts (e.g.,
analyzing author’s craft, revising writing, peer editing). (DOK 3)
d. The student will use context clues to infer the meanings of unfamiliar
words or phrases in unfamiliar grade level appropriate text. (DOK 2)
e. The student will apply knowledge of figurative language (e.g., simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom) to evaluate author’s intent.
(DOK 3)
f.
The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g., dictionary,
glossary, teacher or peer [as a resource], thesaurus, electronic dictionary)
to evaluate word choice in a variety of texts (e.g., revise writing, peer
editing) and to determine and infer meaning. [Note: These reference
materials are not available during the administration of state tests.]
(DOK 2)
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
g. The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal
language). (DOK 3)
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to,
interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing length, difficulty,
and complexity.
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, text
structures, and genres to understand, gain information from, respond to,
analyze, compare, synthesize, or evaluate texts. (DOK 2)
1) Text features - titles, headings, captions, illustrations, graphs, charts,
diagrams, bold-faced print, italics, headings, subheadings,
numberings, captions, illustrations, graphs, diagrams, maps, icons, pull
down menus, key word searches, etc.
2) Parts of a book - title page, table of contents, glossary, index,
appendix, footnotes, etc.
3) Text structures - sequential order, description, simple cause and effect,
procedure, compare/contrast, order of importance, problem/solution,
etc.
4) Genres – Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biographies, autobiographies, and
plays
b. The student will infer, justify, evaluate, draw conclusions, predict
outcomes, synthesize, and evaluate information. (DOK 3)
1) Infer the implied main idea from one or more related texts.
2) Justify inferences about main idea by providing supporting details.
3) Evaluate author’s use of sequence for its effect on the text.
4) Infer how the sequence of events may have contributed to cause and
effect relationships in a text.
5) Apply knowledge of cause and effect relationships to infer logical
causes and/or effects.
6) Synthesize information stated in one or more texts with prior
knowledge and experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting
evidence including text based-evidence.
7) Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will evaluate or revise a summary or paraphrase of the
events or ideas in one or more literary texts, literary nonfiction and
informational texts of increasing length and difficulty citing text-based
evidence. (DOK 3)
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. The student will respond to, interpret, compare, contrast, critique, or
evaluate increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and
informational text citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)
1) Story Elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot,
resolution, point of view)
2) Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue, irony
(situational and verbal), sarcasm)
3) Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance)
4) Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade)
e. Evaluate the author’s use of facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion in
written and visual texts to determine author’s purpose and consider the
effect of persuasive text on the intended audience. (DOK 3)
1) Evaluate the author’s use of and distinguish between fact and opinion.
2) Evaluate the use of tools of persuasion (e.g., name calling,
endorsement, repetition, air and rebut the other side’s point of view,
association, stereotypes, bandwagon, plain folks, tabloid thinking,
shock tactics and fear, intertextual references, card stacking, slanted
words, glittering generalities, false syllogisms, etc).
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas
effectively.
a. The student will use and reflect on an appropriate composing process
(e.g., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) to express,
communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas with a focus on texts of
increasing complexity and length. [Note: Editing will be tested as a part of
competency four.] (DOK 3)
1) Planning
•
Plan for composing using a variety of strategies (e.g.,
brainstorming, drawing, graphic organizers, peer discussion,
reading, viewing).
2) Drafting
•
Draft with increasing fluency.
3) Revising
•
Revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, and
rearranging text based on teacher/peer feedback, writer’s
checklist, or rubric.
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
4) Editing
•
Edit/proofread drafts to ensure standard usage, mechanics,
spelling, and varied sentence structure.
5) Publishing/Sharing
•
Share writing with others formally and informally using a variety
of media.
b. The student will incorporate descriptive details into texts including, but not
limited to, narrative, expository, or persuasive. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose narrative text utilizing effective organization,
transitions, vivid word choices and specific supporting details, and
containing multiple events with a clear problem and solution. (DOK 3)
1) Stories or retellings
2) Narrative poems
3) PowerPoint presentations
4) Plays
5) Biographies and autobiographies
6) Video narratives
d. The student will compose informational text utilizing topic sentences,
effective organization, transitions, vivid word choices, and specific
supporting details, including but not limited to the following: texts
containing chronological order; procedural; cause and effect; comparison
and contrast; order of importance; problem and solution. (DOK 3)
1) Reports
2) Letters (friendly and business)
3) Functional texts
4) Presentations
5) Poems
6) Essays
e. The student will compose persuasive text with a clear problem and
solution utilizing effective organization, transitions, vivid word choices, and
specific supporting details. (DOK 3)
1) Letters
2) Speeches
3) Advertisements
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
f. The student will compose texts a variety of modes based on inquiry and
research. (DOK 4)
1) Generate questions.
2) Locate sources (e.g., books, interviews, Internet, reference
materials, on-line data bases) and gather relevant information from
multiple sources.
3) Take notes on important information from sources.
4) Synthesize and evaluate important findings and select sources to
support central ideas, concepts, and themes.
5) Present the results using a variety of communication techniques.
6) Reflect on and evaluate the process.
4. The student will apply Standard English to communicate.
a. The student will apply Standard English grammar in composing or editing.
(DOK 1)
1) Nouns (e.g., singular [including irregular forms, i.e., gymnastics],
plural [including irregular forms], common, proper, singular
possessive, plural possessive, appositives, concrete, abstract,
compound [one word: bookcase; two or more words: prime
number/Yellowstone National Park/George Washington;
hyphenated words: editor-in-chief]; predicate nominatives; direct
and indirect objects; collective)
2) Verbs (e.g., helping verbs; irregular; linking; transitive and
intransitive verbs)
3) Verb tense [including purpose] (present, past, future, present
perfect, past perfect, future perfect; emphatic [present and past])
4) Subject-verb agreement in sentences containing collective nouns,
indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, and prepositional
phrases separating subject and verb
5) Subordinating and coordinating conjunctions; correlative
conjunctions
6) Adjectives (e.g., descriptive, comparative, superlative; predicate
adjectives)
7) Prepositions
8) Pronouns (e.g., subject, object, reflexive, singular, singular
possessive, plural, plural possessive, demonstrative, interrogative,
indefinite, relative)
9) Pronoun-antecedent agreement (number and gender; with
collective nouns; for relative pronouns; for indefinite pronouns; with
expressions of amount)
10) Use adverbs correctly (avoiding double negatives; comparative
forms)
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
11) Identify and use infinitives/infinitive phrases (as nouns,
adjectives, and adverbs), gerunds/gerund phrases (as nouns),
and participles/participial phrases (as adjectives).
b. The student will apply Standard English mechanics to compose or edit.
(DOK 1)
1) End punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation point)
2) Periods in common abbreviations (e.g., titles of address, days of
the week, months of the year)
3) Commas (e.g., dates; series; addresses; greetings and closings of
letters; quotations; introductory prepositional phrases; nonessential
appositive phrases; interrupters including parenthetical
expressions; introductory clauses; nonessential clauses)
4) Apostrophes (possessives; contractions)
5) Semicolons (compound sentences; with conjunctive adverbs)
6) Quotation marks (e.g., quotations, titles of poems, titles of songs,
titles of short stories, titles of chapters, titles of magazine articles)
7) Underlining/Italics (titles of books, movies, plays, and television
shows)
8) Colons (e.g., time, before lists introduced by independent clauses,
business letters)
9) Capitalization (e.g., first word in a sentence, proper nouns, days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, titles, initials, the pronoun
“I,” first word in salutations and closings of friendly letters and
business letters, proper adjectives)
10) Spell words commonly found in eighth grade level text.
11) Produce legible text.
c. The student will apply knowledge of sentence structure in composing or
editing to achieve a purpose. (DOK 2)
1) Analyze the structure of sentences (e.g., simple sentences
including those with compound subjects and/or compound
predicates; compound sentences including those with compound
subjects and/or compound predicates; complex sentences including
independent and dependent clauses; and compound-complex
sentences).
2) Compose simple sentences including those with compound
subjects and/or compound predicates; compound sentences
including those with compound subjects and/or compound
predicates; complex sentences, including independent and
dependent clauses; and compound-complex sentences.
3) Avoid sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices.
4) Analyze sentences containing descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and noun
clauses.
5) Compose sentences using descriptive adjectives, adverbs,
prepositional phrases (functioning as adjectives or adverbs),
appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and noun
clauses.
6) Analyze sentences containing parallel structures to present
items in compound subjects and verbs, items in a series, and
items juxtaposed for emphasis.
7) Compose sentences containing parallel structures to present
items in compound subjects and verbs, items in a series, and
items juxtaposed for emphasis.
Eighth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
NINTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 9; one-year course
While competencies for grades 9-12 remain identical, objectives require an extension of
knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical component at each grade
level is appropriate text complexity. This complexity is indicated by such elements as
sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students move from grade 9 to
grade 12, texts should require a greater cognitive involvement for the student to
appreciate and comprehend the literal aspects, along with figurative subtleties and
nuances.
The student will read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which no more
than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult to the reader) with an appropriate reading
rate. (The high school student should read minimally 250 words per minute).
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent reading.
Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per minute, rates above
150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in grades K – 8.
With a high-stakes graduation exit exam required of grade 10 students, the
Mississippi Language Arts high school framework committee purposefully has
designed similar objectives in grades 9 and 10.
Items on the English II (grade 10) Multiple-choice Subject Area Test will assess
student mastery of objectives from both grades 9 and 10.
1. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate.
a. The student will analyze the relationships of pairs of words in analogical
statements (e.g., synonyms and antonyms) and infer word meanings from these
relationships. (DOK 2)
b. The student will analyze figurative language (e.g., metaphor, simile, hyperbole,
personification, oxymoron, idiom, etc.) in multiple texts to evaluate the effect on
setting, tone, theme, and mood. (DOK 3)
c. The student will analyze word choice and diction, including formal and informal
language, to determine the author’s purpose. (DOK 3)
Ninth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. The student will analyze text to determine how the author’s (or authors’) use of
connotative words reveals and/or affects the purpose of the text. (DOK 3)
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity.
a. The student will apply understanding of text features (e.g., introduction,
bibliography, prologue, charts, graphics, footnotes, preface, afterword, sidebars,
etc.) to verify, support, or clarify meaning. (DOK 2)
b. The student will recognize text structures (e.g., description, comparison and
contrast, sequential order, cause and effect, order of importance, spatial order,
process/procedural, problem/solution) and analyze their effect on theme, author’s
purpose, etc. (DOK 3)
c. The student will make inferences based on textual evidence of details,
organization, and language to predict, draw conclusions, or determine author’s
purpose. (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze or evaluate texts to synthesize responses for summary,
précis, explication, etc. (DOK 3)
e. The student will analyze (e.g., interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.) literary
elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media for their effect on
meaning. (DOK 3)
1) Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
-Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative
essays (e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of
view, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices, dramatic irony,
symbolism, imagery, language/word choice, foreshadowing, flashback,
etc.)
-Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict,
dramatic irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices,
imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
-Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood,
tone, conflict, imagery, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices,
dramatic irony, language/word choice, foreshadowing, etc.)
NOTE:
Figurative
language
includes
simile,
metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron,
paradox, etc. Stylistic devices include alliteration, assonance,
onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, etc. Both are to be used
with appropriate (or specific) mode/audience.
Ninth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2) Informational Texts
-Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure,
irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word
choice, etc.)
f. The student will distinguish fact from opinion in different media. (DOK 2)
1) TV ads
2) Billboards
3) Essays
4) Literary non-fiction
5) TV commentary
g. The student will apply understanding of electronic text features to gain
information or research a topic using electronic libraries (e.g., MAGNOLIA).
(DOK 2)
3. The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective communication.
a. The student will utilize, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (e.g.,
planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). (DOK 3)
1) Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
2) Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs (minimally five paragraphs)
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented text
3) Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person,
third person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for
unity, etc.)
•
Use precise language (appropriate vocabulary, concise wording, action
verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.)
•
Use available resources (reference materials, technology, etc.)
4) Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
•
Apply tools to judge quality (rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
5) Publishing:
•
Proofread final text
Ninth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
• Prepare final text (PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral
presentation, writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
b. The student will compose text in the narrative mode clearly relating an event,
telling what happened within a time frame defined by the event. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and expository
essays in the informative mode clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly
developed by relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient
in number. (DOK 3)
d. The student will compose persuasive texts for different audiences using facts and
opinions. (DOK 3)
1) Newspaper ads
2) Commercials
3) Billboards
4) Catalog descriptions
5) Editorials
e. The student will research a topic comparing and/or contrasting information from a
variety of sources to present findings. (DOK 4)
4. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
a. The student will analyze text to determine the appropriate use of advanced
grammar in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Verb tenses [including purpose] (present perfect, past perfect, future
perfect; emphatic [present and past])
2) Active and passive voice
3) Pronoun-antecedent agreement
4) Objective complements
5) Subject-verb agreement (in sentences containing collective nouns,
indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, and prepositional phrases
separating subject and verb.)
b. The student will analyze text to determine the appropriate use of advanced
mechanics in composing or editing. (DOK 1)
1) Capitalize regions of countries
2) Semicolons to separate items in a series when items include commas
3) Commas to avoid misreading
4) Coordinate adjectives
5) Single quotation marks to identify quotes-within-quotes.
Ninth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
c. The student will manipulate sentence structure to achieve a purpose such as
clarification, definition, or emphasis in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Parallel structure of sentences
i)
Using participial and infinitive phrases and adverb and adjective
clauses as modifiers; noun clauses as subjects, direct and indirect
objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of the preposition;
ii)
Presenting items in compound subjects and verbs, items in a
series, and items juxtaposed for emphasis.
2) Avoiding misplaced modifiers to ensure clarity
3) Using subordination to express the relationship between two unequal
ideas within a single sentence.
Ninth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
TENTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 10; one-year course
While competencies for grades 9-12 remain identical, objectives require an extension of
knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical component at each grade
level is appropriate text complexity. This complexity is indicated by such elements as
sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students move from grade
9 to grade 12, texts should require a greater cognitive involvement for the student to
appreciate and comprehend the literal aspects, along with figurative subtleties and
nuances.
The student will read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which no more
than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult to the reader) with an appropriate reading
rate. (The high school student should read minimally 250 words per minute).
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent reading.
Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per minute, rates above
150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in grades K – 9.
With a high-stakes graduation exit exam required of grade 10 students, the
Mississippi Language Arts high school framework committee purposefully has
designed similar objectives in grades 9 and 10.
Items on the English II (grade 10) Multiple-choice Subject Area Test will assess
student mastery of objectives from both grades 9 and 10.
1.
The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate.
a. The student will analyze the relationships of pairs of words in analogical
statements (e.g., synonyms and antonyms) and infer word meanings from these
relationships. (DOK 2)
b. The student will analyze author’s (or authors)’ uses of figurative language (e.g.,
metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, oxymoron, idiom, etc.) in multiple
texts in the creation of setting, tone, atmosphere, characterization, and mood.
(DOK 3)
c. The student will analyze word choice and diction, including formal and informal
language, to determine the author’s purpose. (DOK 3)
Tenth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. The student will analyze text to determine how the author’s (or authors’) use of
connotative words reveals and/or affects the purpose of the text. (DOK 3)
2.
The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity.
a. The student will apply understanding of text features (e.g., introduction, foreword,
bibliography, prologue, charts, graphics, footnotes, preface, afterword, sidebars,
etc.) to verify, support, or clarify meaning. (DOK 2)
b. The student will recognize text structures (e.g., description, comparison and
contrast, sequential order, cause and effect, order of importance, spatial order,
process/procedural, problem/solution) and analyze their effect on theme, author’s
purpose, etc. (DOK 3)
c. The student will make inferences based on textual evidence of details,
organization, and language to predict, draw conclusions, or determine author’s
purpose. (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze or evaluate texts to synthesize responses for summary,
précis, explication, etc. (DOK 3)
e. The student will analyze (e.g., interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.) literary
elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media for their effect on
meaning. (DOK 3)
1) Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
-Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative
essays (e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of
view, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices, dramatic irony,
symbolism, imagery, language/word choice, foreshadowing, flashback,
etc.)
-Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict,
dramatic irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices,
imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
-Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood,
tone, conflict, imagery, allusion, figurative language, stylistic devices,
dramatic irony, language/word choice, foreshadowing, etc.)
NOTE:
Figurative
language
includes
simile,
metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron,
paradox, etc. Stylistic devices include alliteration, assonance,
onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, etc. Both are to be used
with appropriate (or specific) mode/audience.
Tenth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2) Informational Texts
-Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure,
irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word
choice, etc.)
f. The student will distinguish fact from opinion in different media. (DOK 2)
1) TV ads
2) Billboards
3) Essays
4) Literary non-fiction
5) TV commentary
6) Editorials
7) Political speeches
8) Letters to the Editor
g. The student will apply understanding of electronic text features to gain
information or research a topic using electronic libraries (e.g., MAGNOLIA) to
produce or present a summary of findings from multiple sources. (DOK 3)
3.
The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective communication.
a. The student will utilize, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (e.g.,
planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). (DOK 3)
1) Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
2) Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs (minimally five paragraphs)
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented text
3) Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person,
third person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for
unity)
•
Use precise language (appropriate vocabulary, concise wording, action
verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.)
Tenth Grade
•
Use available resources (reference materials, technology, etc.)
4) Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
•
Apply tools to judge quality (rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
5) Publishing:
•
Proofread final text
•
Prepare final text (PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral
presentation, writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
b. The student will compose text in the narrative mode clearly relating an event,
telling explicitly what happened within a time frame defined by the event. (DOK
3)
c. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and expository
essays in the informative mode clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly
developed by relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient
in number. (DOK 3)
d. The student will compose persuasive texts for different audiences using facts and
opinions. (DOK 3)
1) Newspaper ads
2) Commercials
3) Billboards
4) Catalog descriptions
5) Editorials
e. The student will research a topic comparing and/or contrasting information from a
variety of sources to present findings. (DOK 4)
4.
The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
a. The student will analyze text to determine the appropriate use of advanced
grammar in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Verb tenses [including purpose] (present perfect, past perfect, future
perfect; emphatic [present and past)
2) Active and passive voice
3) Avoiding ambiguous pronoun reference
4) Objective complements
5) Subject-verb agreement (in sentences containing collective nouns,
indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, and prepositional phrases
separating subject and verb)
b. The student will analyze text to determine the appropriate use of advanced
mechanics in composing or editing. (DOK 1)
Tenth Grade
1) Capitalize regions of countries
2) Semicolons to separate items in a series when items include commas
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
3) Commas to avoid misreading
4) Coordinate adjectives
5) Single quotation marks to identify quotes-within-quotes
c. The student will manipulate sentence structure to achieve a purpose such as
clarification, definition, or emphasis in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Parallel structure of sentences
i.) Using participial and infinitive phrases and adverb and adjective
clauses as modifiers; noun clauses as subjects, direct and indirect
objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of the preposition;
ii.) Presenting items in compound subjects and verbs, items in a series,
and items juxtaposed for emphasis.
2) Avoiding misplaced modifiers to ensure clarity
3) Using subordination to express the relationship between two unequal
ideas within a single sentence.
Tenth Grade
ELEVENTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 11; one-year course
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
While competencies for grades 9-12 remain identical, objectives require an extension of
knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical component at each grade
level is appropriate text complexity. This complexity is indicated by such elements as
sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students move from grade 9 to
grade 12, texts should require a greater cognitive involvement for the student to
appreciate and comprehend the literal aspects, along with figurative subtleties and
nuances.
The student will read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which no more
than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult to the reader) with an appropriate reading
rate. (The high school student should read minimally 250 words per minute).
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent reading.
Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per minute, rates above
150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in grades K – 10.
Although the competencies and objectives for grades 11 and 12 are very similar,
subtle differences do exist; therefore, teachers should pay careful attention to the
differences between the objectives for the two grades.
1. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate.
a. The student will analyze the effect of the relationships between and/or among
words to infer the author’s purpose. (DOK 3)
b. The student will examine the author’s (or authors’) use (or uses) of figurative
language (e.g., metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, oxymoron, idiom,
etc.) in multiple texts to analyze its effect on theme. (DOK 3)
c. The student will analyze author’s (or authors’) use (or uses) of word choice and
diction in multiple texts as stylistic devices and/or the author’s (or authors’) use
(or uses) of formal and informal language in multiple texts to determine author’s
purpose (or authors’ purposes). (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze text to determine how the author’s (or authors’) use of
connotative words reveals and/ or affects the purpose of the text. (DOK 3)
Eleventh Grade
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing length, difficulty, and complexity.
a. The student will recognize text structures (e.g., episodic and
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
generalization/principle) and analyze their effect on theme, author’s purpose,
etc.) (DOK 3)
b. The student will interpret textual evidence of details, organization, and language
to predict, draw conclusions, or determine author’s purpose. (DOK 3)
c. The student will analyze or evaluate text, including but not limited to textual
criticism, to synthesize responses for summary, précis, and explication. (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze (e.g., interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.) literary
elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres to recognize patterns and
connections. (DOK 4)
1) Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
-Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative
essays (e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of
view, allusion, synecdoche, figurative language, stylistic devices, cosmic
irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word choice, foreshadowing,
flashback, etc.)
-Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict,
cosmic irony, symbolism, allusion, synecdoche, figurative language,
stylistic devices, imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
-Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood,
tone, conflict, imagery, allusion, synecdoche, figurative language, stylistic
devices, cosmic irony, language/word choice, foreshadowing, etc.)
NOTE:
Figurative
language
includes
simile,
metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron,
paradox, etc. Stylistic devices include alliteration, assonance,
onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, etc. Both are to be used
with appropriate (or specific) mode/audience.
2) Informational Texts
-Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure,
irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word
choice, etc.)
e. The student will analyze works of literature to evaluate them as responses to the
events of the historical period in which they were written. (DOK 3)
f. The student will recognize and evaluate persuasive techniques such as
propaganda and bias in different media. (DOK 3)
Eleventh Grade
g. The student will apply understanding of text and electronic text features to
assess the validity and to determine the appropriateness of sources (e.g.,
MAGNOLIA). (DOK 3)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
3. The student will produce, analyze, or evaluate effective communication.
a. The student will utilize, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (e.g.,
planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). (DOK 3)
1) Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
2) Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented papers
3) Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person,
third person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for
unity)
•
Use precise language (e.g., appropriate vocabulary, concise wording,
action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.)
•
Use available resources (reference materials, technology, etc.)
4) Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
•
Apply tools to judge quality (e.g., rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
5) Publishing:
•
Proofread final document
•
Prepare final document (e.g., PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral
presentation, writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
b. The student will produce a personal composition in the narrative mode. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose responses to literature in the informative mode clearly
expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by relevant supporting details,
which are well elaborated and sufficient in number. (DOK 3)
d. The student will compose formal persuasive texts, providing evidence as support.
(DOK 3)
e. The student will compose documented texts (e.g., MLA, APA). (DOK 2)
Eleventh Grade
f.
The student will compose functional documents (e.g., college applications,
resumes, PowerPoint presentations). (DOK 3)
g. The student will compose personal statements. (DOK 2)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
4. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
a. The student will analyze text(s) to evaluate the appropriate use of advanced
grammar techniques in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Verb tenses [including purpose] (e.g., present, past, and future
progressive; indicative, imperative, and subjunctive mood)
2) Pronouns (e.g., agreement, case, and reference)
3) Subject-verb agreement (in sentences containing adjective clauses
separated by intervening words from the word(s) they modify; [One of our
state’s most influential politicians, who typically wins his district’s
elections easily, trails in the most recent public opinion polls.] [e.g., One of
our state’s many influential politicians who typically win their districts’
elections currently serves as the chairperson of the Intelligence
Committee.])
b. The student will analyze text(s) to evaluate the appropriate use of advanced
mechanics in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Colons to separate sentences when the second sentence explains the first
sentence
2) Parentheses vs. Dashes
c. The student will analyze advanced sentence structure in multiple texts in
composing or editing to achieve a purpose. (DOK 2)
Eleventh Grade
TWELFTH GRADE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grade 12; one-year course
While competencies for grades 9-12 remain identical, objectives require an extension of
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
knowledge and broader, deeper application of skills. A critical component at each grade
level is appropriate text complexity. This complexity is indicated by such elements as
sophistication of language, content, and syntax. As students move from grade 9 to
grade 12, texts should require a greater cognitive involvement for the student to
appreciate and comprehend the literal aspects, along with figurative subtleties and
nuances.
The student will read accurately instructional level materials (texts in which no more
than approximately 1 in 10 words are difficult to the reader) with an appropriate reading
rate. (The high school student should read minimally 250 words per minute).
Reading rates below 150 minutes might include either oral reading or silent reading.
Because ordinary speech does not typically exceed 150 words per minute, rates above
150 minutes should be considered silent reading rates.
Competencies and Objectives
Each competency and objective assumes the student has mastered the
competencies and objectives in grades K – 11.
Although the competencies and objectives for grades 11 and 12 are very similar,
subtle differences do exist; therefore, teachers should pay careful attention to the
differences between the objectives for the two grades.
1. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word
meanings to communicate.
a. The student as reader will critique the author’s choice and placement of words
(diction and style) in an analysis of the reader’s response to the text. (DOK 3)
b. The student will contrast the author’s (or authors’) use (or uses) of figurative
language (e.g., metaphors, similes, hyperboles, personification, oxymoron,
idioms, etc.) in multiple texts to evaluate the author’s (or authors’) style (or
styles). (DOK 3)
c. The student will compare and contrast authors’ uses of word choice and diction
as stylistic devices. (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze text(s) to determine how the author’s (or authors’) use of
connotative words reveals and/or affects the purpose of the text(s) in relation to
the historical period that the text(s) addresses. (DOK 3)
Twelfth Grade
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing levels of difficulty.
a. The student will analyze text structures (e.g., concept/definition) in multiple texts
and evaluate their effects on theme, author’s purpose, etc. (DOK 3)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. The student will interpret textual evidence of details, organization, and language
to predict, draw conclusions or determine author’s purpose. (DOK 3)
c. The student will analyze or evaluate text, including but not limited to textual
criticism, to synthesize responses for annotated bibliography. (DOK 3)
d. The student will analyze (e.g., interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.) literary
elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres to assess the effectiveness of
patterns and connections. (DOK 4)
1) Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
-Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative
essays (e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of
view, allusion, synecdoche, metonymy, figurative language, stylistic
devices, cosmic irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, flashback, etc.)
-Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict,
cosmic irony, symbolism, allusion, synecdoche, metonymy, figurative
language, stylistic devices, imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
-Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood,
tone, conflict, imagery, allusion, synecdoche, metonymy, figurative
language, stylistic devices, cosmic irony, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, etc.)
NOTE: Figurative language includes simile, metaphor, personification,
hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron, paradox, etc. Stylistic
devices include alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm,
repetition, etc. Both are to be used with appropriate (or specific)
mode/audience.
2) Informational Texts
-Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure,
irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word
choice, etc.)
e. The student will compare multiple texts in different media to analyze persuasive
techniques such as propaganda and to evaluate for bias. (DOK 4)
f. The student will compare texts to distinguish between a deductive argument and
an inductive argument. (DOK 3)
Twelfth Grade
g. The student will use electronic text features to gain information or research a
topic, integrating multiple sources to synthesize information. (DOK 4)
3. The student will produce, analyze, or evaluate effective communication.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Objectives:
a. The student will produce, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (e.g.,
planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). (DOK 3)
1) Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
2) Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented papers
3) Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person,
third person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for
unity)
•
Use precise language (e.g., appropriate vocabulary, concise wording,
action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.)
•
Use available resources (e.g., reference materials, technology, etc.)
4) Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
•
Apply tools to judge quality (e.g., rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
5) Publishing:
•
Proofread final document
•
Prepare final document (e.g., PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral
presentation, writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
b. The student will produce a reflective composition in the narrative mode. (DOK 3)
c. The student will compose responses to literature in the informative mode clearly
expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by relevant supporting details,
which are well elaborated and sufficient in number. (DOK 3)
d. The student will compose formal persuasive texts, providing evidence as support.
(DOK 3)
Twelfth Grade
e. The student will compose research or I-SEARCH papers and documented texts
(e.g., MLA, APA). (DOK 4)
f.
The student will compose functional documents (e.g., college applications,
resumes, scholarship applications). (DOK 3)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
g. The student will compose personal statements. (DOK 2)
4. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
a. The student will analyze text(s) to evaluate the appropriate use of advanced
grammar techniques in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
1) Verbs tenses [including purpose] (e.g., present, past, and future perfect
progressive tense; indicative, imperative, and subjunctive mood)
2) Pronouns (e.g., agreement, case, and reference)
3) Subject-verb agreement (in sentences containing adjective clauses separated
by intervening words from the word(s) they modify; [One of our state’s most
influential politicians, who typically wins his district’s elections easily, trails in
the most recent public opinion polls.] [e.g., One of our state’s many influential
politicians who typically win their districts’ elections currently serves as the
chairperson of the Intelligence Committee.]
b. The student will analyze text(s) to evaluate the appropriate use of advanced
mechanics in composing or editing. (DOK 2)
c. The student will analyze the use of advanced sentence structure in composing or
editing passages to enhance style. (DOK 2)
Twelfth Grade
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ACCELERATED ENGLISH
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 9-12; One Year Course
Districts wishing to offer Accelerated English in any of the grades 9-12 should follow the
curriculum for the grade level as described in this Framework. The main distinguishing
feature between, for example, Accelerated Ninth Grade English and Ninth Grade
English is that the accelerated course will require much more literature to be read with
an emphasis on breadth and depth, and writing to be produced with more complexity
and sophistication. Students will be expected to perform at an even more demanding
level because of the accelerated nature of the course. Thoughtful discussion and critical
analysis should accompany the reading and writing. Students should develop a
sharpened sensitivity to vocabulary, syntax, and prose style – all of which complement
their knowledge of literature and the power of expression.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ADVANCED PLACEMENT: ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Year Course
The College Board, a national organization, sponsors this course, through which college
credit may be earned if the student chooses to take and passes the AP examination and
if the college in question accepts the credit. To teach this course for the first time or for
information, teachers should contact their principal, guidance counselor, or AP
coordinator at their school. If further assistance or an order form for the teacher's guide
and other helpful materials is needed, contact
The College Board
45 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 713-8000
According to the College Board, “[t]he AP English Language and Composition course is
designed to help students become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of
periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and to become skilled writers who can
compose for a variety of purposes. By their writing and reading in this course, students
should become aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience
expectations, and subjects, as well as the way generic conventions and the resources
of language contribute to effective writing.
The college composition course that the AP English Language and Composition course
is intended to parallel is one of the most varied in the curriculum. The college course
often allows students to write in a variety of forms—narrative, exploratory, expository,
argumentative—and on a variety of subjects from personal experiences to public
policies, from imaginative literature to popular culture. But the main objective in most
first-year writing courses is to enable students to write effectively and confidently in all
their college courses and in their professional and personal lives. Therefore, most
composition courses emphasize the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing
that forms the basis of academic and professional communication, as well as the
personal and reflective writing that fosters the ability to write in any context. As in the
college course, the purpose of the AP English Language and Composition course is to
enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose that is rich
enough and complex enough for mature readers. An AP English Language and
Composition course should help students move beyond such programmatic responses
as the five-paragraph essay that provides an introduction with a thesis and three
reasons, body paragraphs on each reason, and a conclusion that restates the thesis.
Although such formulaic approaches may provide minimal organization, they often
encourage unnecessary repetition and fail to engage the reader. Students should be
encouraged to place their emphasis on content, purpose, and audience and to allow this
focus to guide their organization.
College writing programs recognize that skill in writing follows from students' awareness
of their own composing processes: the way they explore ideas, reconsider strategies,
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
and revise their work. This process is the essence of the first-year writing course, and
should be emphasized in the AP English Language and Composition course. For
example, students can write essays that proceed through several stages or drafts, with
revision aided by teacher and peers. Although these extended, revised essays cannot
be part of the AP examination, the writing experience may help make students more
self-aware and flexible writers and thus may help their performance on the exam itself.”
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ADVANCED PLACEMENT: ENGLISH LITERATURE AND
COMPOSITION
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Year Course
The College Board, a national organization, sponsors this course, through which college
credit may be earned if the student chooses to take and passes the AP examination and
if the college in question accepts the credit. To teach this course for the first time or for
information, teachers should contact their principal, guidance counselor, or AP
coordinator at their school. If further assistance or an order form for the teacher's guide
and other helpful materials is needed, contact
The College Board
45 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 713-8000
The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in
the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close
reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers
use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read,
students should consider a work's structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-
scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.
Reading
The course should include intensive study of representative works from various genres
and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. The works chosen
should invite and gratify rereading.
Reading in an AP course should be both wide and deep. This reading necessarily builds
upon the reading done in previous English courses. These courses should include the
in-depth reading of texts drawn from multiple genres, periods, and cultures. In their AP
course, students should also read works from several genres and periods -- from the
sixteenth to the twenty-first century -- but, more importantly, they should get to know a
few works well. They should read deliberately and thoroughly, taking time to understand
a work's complexity, to absorb its richness of meaning, and to analyze how that
meaning is embodied in literary form. In addition to considering a work's literary artistry,
students should consider the social and historical values it reflects and embodies.
Careful attention to both textual detail and historical context should provide a foundation
for interpretation, whatever critical perspectives are brought to bear on the literary works
studied.
Writing
Such close reading involves the experience of literature, the interpretation of literature,
and the evaluation of literature. All these aspects of reading are important for an AP
course in English Literature and Composition, and each corresponds to an approach to
writing about literary works. Writing to understand a literary work may involve writing
response and reaction papers along with annotation, freewriting, and keeping some
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
form of a reading journal. Writing to explain a literary work involves analysis and
interpretation, and may include writing brief focused analyses on aspects of language
and structure. Writing to evaluate a literary work involves making and explaining
judgments about its artistry and exploring its underlying social and cultural values
through analysis, interpretation, and argument.
Writing should be an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition course,
for the AP Examination is weighted toward student writing about literature. Writing
assignments should focus on the critical analysis of literature and should include
expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. Although critical analysis should make
up the bulk of student writing for the course, well-constructed creative writing
assignments may help students see from the inside how literature is written. The goal of
both types of writing assignments is to increase students' ability to explain clearly,
cogently, even elegantly, what they understand about literary works and why they
interpret them as they do.
Writing instruction should include attention to developing and organizing ideas in clear,
coherent, and persuasive language; a study of the elements of style; and attention to
precision and correctness as necessary. Throughout the course, emphasis should be
placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is
characterized by the following:
•
Wide-ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and connotative
resourcefulness
•
A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordinate and
coordinate constructions
•
A logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of coherence such as
repetition, transitions, and emphasis
•
A balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail
•
An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a consistent
voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and antithesis
It is important to distinguish among the different kinds of writing produced in an AP
English Literature and Composition course. Any college-level course in which serious
literature is read and studied should include numerous opportunities for students to
write. Some of this writing should be informal and exploratory, allowing students to
discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading. Some of the
course writing should involve research, perhaps negotiating differing critical
perspectives. Much writing should involve extended discourse in which students can
develop an argument or present an analysis at length. In addition, some writing
assignments should encourage students to write effectively under the time constraints
they encounter on essay examinations in college courses in many disciplines, including
English.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The African-American Literature course is a survey course that draws upon a
compilation of genres, themes, styles, and language used by various writers of African-
American descent. The student will recognize and appreciate contributions of selected
authors through reading, speaking, and viewing selected works and by researching and
writing.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. The student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.)
literary elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media to
include: oral tradition, slave narratives, post Civil War literature, the Harlem
Renaissance, protest literature, the Black Arts Movement, and the
Contemporary period.
•
Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
o Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative essays (e.g.,
character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of view, allusion,
figurative language, irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, flashback, etc.)
o Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice,
etc.)
o Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood, tone,
conflict, imagery, allusion, figurative language, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, etc.)
•
Informational Texts
o Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice,
etc.)
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
THE AMERICAN NOVEL
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The American Novel course is an examination of literary works that have contributed
significantly to the culture and literary heritage of the United States. In this course,
students will read a variety of influential works representing the late 1700's to the
present to gain a sense of the evolution and current direction of the American novel.
The course allows students to analyze, evaluate, and interpret literature by considering
such influences as other literature, economics, politics, and aspects of culture including
the arts and entertainment.
The course may be organized thematically or chronologically. Excerpts or entire novels
may be read to show the scope and variety of the American novel, but it is
recommended that at least three entire novels be read during this course although more
are strongly encouraged.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objective:
1. The student will student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast,
evaluate, etc.) literary elements in multiple American novels to include:
Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism.
• Novels - character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of view,
allusion, figurative language, irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word
choice, foreshadowing, flashback, etc.
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
BROADCAST JOURNALISM
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 9-12; One Year Elective
(Pre-requisite: Introduction to Journalism)
The Broadcast Journalism course provides the student with quality academic instruction
in television/radio/video production by providing training in equipment operation,
reporting, and scriptwriting, as well as planning, directing, and producing video projects.
The Broadcast Journalism course is one Carnegie unit credit. Journalism labs may be
used to extend this course.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Operate basic video/audio production equipment (e.g., camera,
microphone, tripod, editing VCR’s, audio mixer and character generator).
a. Explain the function of each type of production equipment.
b. Operate and exhibit the correct use of camcorder or camera deck system on a
tripod, hand-held and/or lavaliere microphones, and audio mixer and
character/graphic generator.
c. Name and describe three main parts of the camera.
d. Explain the difference between a camcorder and a camera deck system.
e. Name and describe the two types of imaging.
f. Describe the function of the macro lens and name real-world uses.
g. Frame and focus a subject using a macro lens.
h. White-balance and manually focus a camera.
i. Identify and describe several camera angles.
j. Understand and demonstrate the correct use of automatic gain control, iris,
white-balance, and other camera features.
k. Explain the need for a tripod.
l. Understand and execute basic camera movements using a tripod.
m. Operate a camcorder or a camera deck system on a tripod.
n. Identify the different types of microphones available to the interviewer.
o. Identify and describe the different types of pick-up patterns on microphones.
p. Exhibit the correct use of hand-held and lavaliere microphones.
q. Understand and apply the basic structure of small studio lighting.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2. Acquire and use broadcast terminology for appropriate situations and
purposes.
a. Express new concepts and words in verbal and written form in all video/audio
production situations.
3. Demonstrate continuous progress toward recognizing and creating various
kinds of camera shots used in video production.
a. Create standardized camera shots, such as long shots, medium shots, close-
ups, bust shots, and over-the-shoulder shots.
b. Demonstrate the concepts of headroom, noseroom, and leadroom.
4. Write quality scripts for a variety of audiences and video/radio production
purposes through planning, writing, revising, and editing.
a. Use short, simple, conversational narration that employs proper usage of
Standard English.
b. Identify people by title and full name.
c. Develop a conversational easy-to-understand style.
d. Demonstrate skills in specialized writing, such as features and hard news stories.
e. Distinguish between newspaper/magazine writing and broadcast writing (writing
to be read vs. writing to be heard).
f.
Develop advanced editing skills.
5. Speak coherently, verbally as well as non-verbally, in order to express
ideas and opinions for a variety of purposes and audiences.
a. Use Standard English orally in live and taped presentations of video/audio
scripts.
b. Show increased proficiency in self and peer evaluation of presentation skills such
as voice quality, articulation, body language, and stage presence.
6. Plan and produce a video project which reflects increasing proficiency in
storyboarding, shooting video footage, editing video footage, writing a
script, and using audio mixer for audio dubbing techniques and graphic
design specific to audience and purpose.
a. Use planning skills, such as presenting and discussing project information and
format, brainstorming, researching, and storyboarding.
b. Demonstrate continuous progress toward recognizing and creating various kinds
of camera shots used in video production.
c. Select creative shots and interesting sound bites.
d. Edit raw footage into a meaningful sequence of events that complements the
spoken narration.
e. Use audio insert editing to produce sound tracks for video.
f.
Compose graphics and special effects for video project.
g. Identify steps in planning a video project.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
h. Complete a project proposal.
i. Log the video, audio, and time of simple video program.
j. Write quality scripts for video production.
k. Plan for an on-camera interview.
l. Identify possible topics for an on-camera interview.
m. Choose a topic from “1” and conduct the necessary on-camera interviews,
following an established format.
n. Videotape the necessary shots.
o. Write an effective introduction and conclusion.
p. Understand concepts of basic set design for a small studio news show.
q. List and describe equipment needed for ENG reports.
r. Identify videographer tasks to complete ENG reports.
s. Identify reporter tasks for ENG reports.
t. Write script, record, and produce an ENG report.
u. List and describe postproduction techniques.
v. Explain equipment checks prior to ENG videotaping,
w. Select an appropriate topic.
x. Plan, shoot, edit, and audio-dub an instructional video.
y. Connect the equipment for a talk show.
z. Select a guest and formulate thought-provoking questions for the guest.
7. Work individually and as a member of a team to research, analyze, and
interpret information, to make decisions, to solve problems, and to
evaluate, using increasingly complex and abstract thinking to produce
video/radio presentations.
a. Develop competency in critical thinking, leadership skills, consensus building,
and self-confidence.
b. Initiate peer interaction to examine production issues and ideas.
c. Evaluate completed projects to identify areas of growth and needed
improvement.
d. Assume a given role in a group, such as reporter/writer, videographer,
director/editor, producer, etc.
e. Assess and monitor individual contributions to the group’s effort.
f. Identify the director’s role in a production.
8. Exhibit knowledge of the history of television/radio and its role in the mass
media.
a. Recognize the history of TV production and mass media.
b. Identify television-related careers.
c. Write a report about a chosen career and present it on camera.
9. Understand the knowledge of videography and design for communciations
media.
a. Develop skills in using photography and/or videography.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
10. Understand the role of electronic publishing, Electronic News Gathering
(ENG), and other uses of technology in the communications media.
a. Develop skills in desktop publishing and other communications technologies,
such as video or audio production.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
COMPENSATORY READING, COURSE I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 8-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
This course is designed to give intensive, specialized reading instruction adjusted to the
needs of a student who does not perform satisfactorily with regular reading instruction.
Developmental reading instruction should be set at a different pace and designed for an
individual student or selected group. The course must allow flexible adjustment of
materials and methods for individual differences. This course is to be taken in addition
to the required language arts or English course.
COMPETENCIES:
1. The student will develop and apply an expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes to infer meaning of
unfamiliar words in novel texts.
b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word
meaning to communicate.
c. The student will apply knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms to
evaluate word choices in a variety of texts (e.g., analyzing author’s craft,
revising writing, peer editing).
d. The student will use context clues to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words or
phrases in unfamiliar grade level appropriate text.
e. The student will apply knowledge of figurative language (e.g., simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, humor) to evaluate author’s
intent.
f. The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g., dictionary,
glossary, thesaurus, electronic dictionary, teacher or peer as a resource) to
evaluate word choice in a variety of texts (e.g., revise writing, peer editing)
and to determine and infer meaning.
g. The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal language).
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing length, difficulty, or complexity.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, and text
structures to understand, gain information from, respond to, analyze,
compare, synthesize, or evaluate texts.
b. The student will infer, justify, evaluate, draw conclusions, predict outcomes,
synthesize, and evaluate information.
• Infer the implied main idea from one or more related texts.
• Justify inferences about main idea by providing supporting details.
• Evaluate author’s use of sequence for its effect on the text.
• Infer how the sequence of events may have contributed to cause and
effect relationships in a text.
• Apply knowledge of cause and effect relationships to infer logical causes
and/or effects.
• Synthesize information stated in one or more texts with prior knowledge
and experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting evidence
including text based-evidence.
• Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will evaluate or revise a summarization or paraphrasing of the
events or ideas in one or more literary texts, literary nonfiction and
informational texts of increasing length and difficulty citing text-based
evidence.
d. The student will respond to, interpret, compare, critique, or evaluate
increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text
citing text-based evidence.
• Story Elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot, resolution,
point of view),
• Text structures (e.g., description, sequential order, procedural,
cause/effect, compare/contrast, order of importance),
• Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue, irony, sarcasm),
• Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance), and
• Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade).
e. Evaluate the author’s use of facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion to
determine author’s purpose and consider the effect of persuasive text on the
intended audience.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
COMPENSATORY READING, COURSE II
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 8-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
This course should be an extension of the competence and objectives addressed in
Compensatory Reading Course I, and should be designed to meet the needs of
students who need further assistance upon their completion of Course I.
COMPETENCIES:
1. The student will develop and apply an expansive knowledge of words and
word meanings to communicate.
a. The student will apply knowledge of roots and affixes to infer meaning of
unfamiliar words in novel texts.
b. The student will develop and apply expansive knowledge of words and word
meaning to communicate.
c. The student will apply knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms to
evaluate word choices in a variety of texts (e.g., analyzing author’s craft,
revising writing, peer editing).
d. The student will use context clues to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words or
phrases in unfamiliar grade level appropriate text.
e. The student will apply knowledge of figurative language (e.g., simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, humor) to evaluate author’s
intent.
f. The student will apply knowledge of reference materials (e.g., dictionary,
glossary, thesaurus, electronic dictionary, teacher or peer as a resource) to
evaluate word choice in a variety of texts (e.g., revise writing, peer editing)
and to determine and infer meaning.
g. The student will analyze and evaluate vocabulary usage based on
appropriateness for context and purpose (e.g., formal and informal language).
2. The student will comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of
texts of increasing length, difficulty, or complexity.
a. The student will apply knowledge of text features, parts of a book, and text
structures to understand, gain information from, respond to, analyze,
compare, synthesize, or evaluate texts.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. The student will infer, justify, evaluate, draw conclusions, predict
outcomes, synthesize, and evaluate information.
•
Infer the implied main idea from one or more related texts.
•
Justify inferences about main idea by providing supporting details.
•
Evaluate author’s use of sequence for its effect on the text.
•
Infer how the sequence of events may have contributed to cause and
effect relationships in a text.
•
Apply knowledge of cause and effect relationships to infer logical
causes and/or effects.
•
Synthesize information stated in one or more texts with prior
knowledge and experience to draw valid conclusions with supporting
evidence including text based-evidence.
•
Predict a logical outcome based upon information stated in a text and
confirm or revise based upon subsequent text.
c. The student will evaluate or revise a summarization or paraphrasing of the
events or ideas in one or more literary texts, literary nonfiction and
informational texts of increasing length and difficulty citing text-based
evidence.
d. The student will respond to, interpret, compare, critique, or evaluate
increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text
citing text-based evidence.
•
Story Elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, plot,
resolution, point of view),
•
Text structures (e.g., description, sequential order, procedural,
cause/effect, compare/contrast, order of importance),
•
Literary devices (e.g., imagery, exaggeration, dialogue, irony,
sarcasm),
•
Sound devices (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
assonance), and
•
Author’s purpose (e.g., inform, entertain, persuade).
e. Evaluate the author’s use of facts, opinions, or tools of persuasion to
determine author’s purpose and consider the effect of persuasive text on
the intended audience.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
COMPENSATORY WRITING, COURSE I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 8-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
This course is designed to give extra writing experience and assistance to those who
desire or need it. Compensatory Writing is to be taken in addition to the required
English course. Compensatory Writing should be designed around the needs of the
students in order to develop their ability to express thoughts, ideas, actions, events, and
feelings in written form. Assistance should be focused on their ability to control
sentences, paragraphs, and multi-paragraph pieces in a well organized, detailed,
interesting, accurate, and grammatically correct manner. The use of literature is
suggested to stimulate the imagination, focus students’ attention, and prompt writing
activities.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective communication.
a. The student will utilize, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (planning,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing).
Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs (minimally five paragraphs)
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented text
Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person, third
person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for unity)
•
Use precise language (appropriate vocabulary, concise wording, action verbs,
sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.) [NOTE: figurative language (simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron,
paradox, etc.), stylistic devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia,
rhyme, rhythm, repetition, etc.) used with appropriate (or specific)
mode/audience].
•
Use available resources (reference materials, technology, etc.)
Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
•
Apply tools to judge quality (rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Publishing:
•
Proofread final text
•
Prepare final text (PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral presentation,
writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
2. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
COMPENSATORY WRITING, COURSE II
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 8-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
This course should be an extension of the competencies and objectives addressed in
the Compensatory Writing, Course I and should be designed to meet the needs of
students who need further assistance upon their completion of Course I.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective communication.
b. The student will utilize, analyze, or evaluate the composing process (planning,
drafting, revising, editing, publishing).
Planning:
•
Determine audience
•
Determine purpose
•
Generate ideas
•
Address prompt/topic
•
Organize ideas
•
Compose a clearly stated thesis
Drafting:
•
Formulate introduction, body, and conclusion
•
Create paragraphs (minimally five paragraphs)
•
Use various sentence structures
•
Use paraphrasing for reports and documented text
Revising:
•
Revise for clarity and coherence [consistent point of view (first person, third
person), tone, transition, etc.]
•
Add and delete information and details (for audience, for purpose, for unity)
•
Use precise language (appropriate vocabulary, concise wording, action verbs,
sensory details, colorful modifiers, etc.) [NOTE: figurative language (simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, irony, oxymoron,
paradox, etc.), stylistic devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia,
rhyme, rhythm, repetition, etc.) used with appropriate (or specific)
mode/audience].
•
Use available resources (reference materials, technology, etc.)
Editing:
•
Proofread to correct errors
•
Apply tools to judge quality (rubric, checklist, feedback, etc.)
Publishing:
•
Proofread final text
•
Prepare final text (PowerPoint, paper, poster, display, oral presentation,
writing portfolio, personal journal, classroom wall, etc.)
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
2. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
CREATIVE WRITING
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Creative Writing course will provide the student practices in the processes of
composing poems, personal descriptive and narrative essays, and short fiction. If time
allows, the writing of drama may be pursued. The course affords an opportunity for self-
expression, promotes critical thinking, expands the imagination, and develops the use of
figurative and literal language. The student will pursue an independent project in
creative writing. The student will become a critical reader and editor of his/her own work
and of the work of his/her classmates. The student will be encouraged to submit works
for publication.
COMPETENCIES:
1. The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective creative
communication to include poems, novellas, autobiographies, plays, short
stories, essays, etc.
2. The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence
structure to communicate.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
DEBATE I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 9-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
The Debate I course, a one-semester course for one-half Carnegie unit credit or a two-
semester course for one credit, builds important communication skills that will enhance
all aspects of the individual’s life. This course provides instruction in how to acquire,
analyze, and evaluate information in order to organize effective arguments, and it
provides practice in making those arguments. Skill in debate helps the individual to think
logically, clearly, and quickly; and it makes a student able to identify flawed reasoning
and argue persuasively. It also contributes to the student’s understanding of himself and
his confidence in his own ability to analyze issues. This oral communication course is
designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with a proper understanding
of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Practice both prepared and extemporaneous delivery.
b. Expand personal vocabulary.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Identify the main points of an opponent’s speech.
b. Recognize fallacies when used in an opponent’s speech.
3. Gain self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of participating in debate.
a. Recognize the contribution that skill in debate provides for the adult world.
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Identify the components underlying the communication process.
b. Control and guide the concentration of the audience upon the message produced
by the speaker.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
5. Understand the role of nonverbal communication.
a. Identify nonverbal barriers to communication.
b. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Apply effective research skills to find the best available information.
b. Critically analyze factual material toward resolving conflict.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
c. Organize data effectively through sound reasoning.
NOTE: Students earning a full credit will participate in more of these strategies and do
research and case writing for more topics.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
DEBATE II
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 10-12; One Semester or One Year Elective
Debate II, a one-semester course for one-half Carnegie unit credit or a two-semester
course for one credit, builds important communication skills that will enhance all aspects
of the individual’s life. This course provides instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and
evaluate information in order to organize effective arguments, and it provides practice in
making those arguments. Skill in debate helps the individual to think logically, clearly,
and quickly; and it makes a student able to identify flawed reasoning and argue
persuasively. It also contributes to the student’s understanding of himself and his
confidence in his own ability to analyze issues. This oral communication course is
designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with a proper understanding
of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Practice extemporaneous delivery without note cards.
b. Practice polished, memorized delivery of oratory.
c. Practice persuasive delivery of both constructive and rebuttal speeches.
d. Expand personal vocabulary.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Identify the main points of an opponent’s speech.
b. Recognize fallacies when used in an opponent’s speech.
c. Identify the underlying purpose of a question in cross-examination.
3. Gain self-confidence by demonstrating a faculty for presenting a sustained,
reasoned argument.
a. Recognize the contribution that skill in debate provides for the adult world.
4. Use human relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Identify the components underlying the communication process.
b. Control and guide the concentration of the audience upon the message
produced by the speaker.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
5. Determine the meaning of nonverbal communication.
a. Identify nonverbal barriers to communication.
b. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Apply effective research skills to find the best available information.
b. Critically analyze factual material toward resolving conflict.
c. Organize data effectively through sound reasoning.
NOTE: Students earning a full credit will participate in more of these strategies and do
research and case writing for more topics.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
DEBATE III
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Year Elective
The Debate III course, for one Carnegie unit credit, builds important communication
skills that will enhance all aspects of the individual’s life. This course provides
instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate information in order to organize
effective arguments, and it provides practice in making those arguments. Skill in debate
helps the individual to think logically, clearly, and quickly; and it makes a student able to
identify flawed reasoning and argue persuasively. It also contributes to the student’s
understanding of himself and his confidence in his own ability to analyze issues. This
oral communication course is designed to help a student see himself as a whole person
with a proper understanding of himself as a communicator as both a source and a
receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Polish extemporaneous delivery without note cards.
b. Practice persuasive delivery of both constructive and rebuttal speeches.
c. Expand personal vocabulary.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Identify the main points of an opponent’s speech.
b. Identify the underlying purpose of a question in cross-examination.
3. Gain self-confidence by demonstrating a facility for presenting a sustained,
reasoned argument.
a. Recognize the contribution that skill in debate provides for the adult world.
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Identify the components underlying the communication process.
b. Control and guide the concentration of the audience upon the message
produced by the speaker.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
d. Practice working with a partner in formulation and delivery of arguments.
5. Determine the meaning and use of nonverbal communication.
a. Identify nonverbal barriers to communication.
b. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Apply effective research skills to find the best available information.
b. Critically analyze factual material toward resolving conflict.
c. Organize data effectively through sound reasoning.
d. Practice participating in policy debate by researching, organizing a case and
arguments, and delivering the arguments under the time restraints established
for the activity.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
DEVELOPMENTAL READING
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades K-8; One Semester Elective or One Year Elective
This course provides additional reading instruction, except remedial, for students in K-8
grade levels. The instruction should be all-inclusive, incorporating reading, writing,
listening, speaking, and viewing. Diverse plans, media technology, and approaches for
the provision of a wide range of individual differences should be considered when
planning the course.
This course is to be taken in addition to the required English or language arts course.
The Framework curriculum for the appropriate grade level should be used as the basis
for this course.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 9-12; One Year Elective
Introduction to Journalism, an elective course for one Carnegie unit credit, is intended
as a general course to enhance the students’ skills as communicators and as informed
users of the communications media. It is a prerequisite for subsequent journalism lab
courses. Units of study can be designed from the objectives list in varying combinations
and intensities to produce basic levels of proficiency or concepts tailored to school
publication needs.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop an awareness of the history and role of journalism in our society.
a. Define responsibilities and role of the communications media, identifying the
legal and ethical restrictions.
b. Identify the relationship of a free press to a democratic society, tracing the
historical development of newspapers and/or other media.
c. Identify careers related to the field of journalism, such as advertising, reporting,
editing, public relations, photography, radio/television production, commercial art,
graphic art.
2. Develop skills in evaluating journalistic reports.
a. Differentiate between fact and opinion.
b. Detect inaccuracies and bias in news coverage.
c. Classify the content of newspapers/broadcast news.
3. Develop journalistic writing skills.
a. Identify news, elements of news, news sources, and beats.
b. Develop effective interview techniques.
c. Develop techniques in researching and “backgrounding” written reports.
d. Present facts without editorializing.
e. Write effective leads.
f.
Identify the five W’s (who, what, when, where, why or how) of news writing.
g. Identify and write the basic inverted pyramid structure of a news story.
h. Identify and compose the elements of feature writing—structure, topics, and
sources.
i.
Recognize and develop categories of specialized writing including opinion,
captions, broadcast reports, headlines, and yearbook copy.
4. Develop proficient editing skills.
a. Use copy symbols and stylebook to proofread/copyedit writing for errors in
content, organization, grammar, and accuracy.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
5. Understand the role of advertising.
a. Recognize the role of advertising in the communications media.
b. Develop techniques in designing advertisements.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of art, photography, and design for communications
media.
a. Recognize basic rules of layout and page design, including typography.
b. Identify uses of photography in publication and develop skills in using
photography for publication.
7. Understand the role of electronic publishing.
a. Students will be introduced to electronic publishing and other uses of technology
in the communications media.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
JOURNALISM LABORATORY I, II, III
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 10-12; One Year Elective (for each)
(Pre-requisite: Introduction to Journalism)
In Journalism Laboratory, students will perform specific duties with leadership functions
to be outlined, assigned, and evaluated by the advisor/teacher according to the nature
of the publication and staff organization. Development and evaluation of skills will be
individualized and performance-based, varying in publication style and content and in
nature of assigned duties. By the Laboratory II level, individual skills should be
developed to marketable levels with decision-making capabilities for entry-level
positions in the field or on college publication staffs. The publications from these
classes should be distributed for critical appraisal and enjoyment of others and entered
for critical review by a rating service outside the school. In Laboratory III, students
assume management/editorial positions for the publications staff in addition to duties
acquired in previous laboratories. Each Journalism Laboratory Course is a one
Carnegie unit credit.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop an awareness of the history and role of journalism in our society.
a. Demonstrate knowledge of skills, training and aptitude for journalism careers.
b. Demonstrate management/editorial competencies for school publications.
c. Develop standards for school publications.
2. Develop journalistic writing and editing skills.
a. Demonstrate skills in specialized writing, such as columns, reviews, speech
coverage, the meeting story.
b. Create newspaper/yearbook/creative writing magazine pages as needed.
c. Develop advanced editing skills.
3. Understand the role of advertising/marketing.
a. Develop techniques in selling and designing advertisements.
4. Understand the knowledge of art, photography, and design for
communications media.
a. Develop skills in using photography.
b. Develop skills in artwork and design.
5. Understand the role of electronic publishing and other uses of technology
in the communications media.
a. Develop skills in desktop publishing and other communications technologies.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
MISSISSIPPI WRITERS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Mississippi Writers course focuses on the state's rich literary heritage through the
study of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama. The one-semester elective course
identifies major sources and themes of twentieth century and contemporary Mississippi
writing as it emerges from and contributes to historical, political, and social milieux. The
student will recognize the contribution of Mississippi writers to twentieth century
American literature and recognize that Mississippi writing is an expression of a
particular place that achieves universality. Group discussions, individual presentations,
and writing experiences are suggested for this course.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. The student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.)
literary elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media to
include: Antebellum Era, Reconstruction Era, the prominent writers (William
Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, Margaret Walker Alexander, and
Tennessee Williams), Civil Rights Era, and contemporary writers.
•
Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
o Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative essays
(e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of view,
allusion, figurative language, irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word
choice, foreshadowing, flashback, etc.)
•
Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
•
Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood, tone,
conflict, imagery, allusion, figurative language, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, etc.)
•
Informational Texts
o Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice,
etc.)
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
MYTHOLOGY
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Mythology course will include reading of myths from several cultures. The content
will also include an epic by Homer or Virgil. Group discussions, individual presentations,
and writing experiences will be required in this course.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Read myths from various cultures to distinguish the kinds of myths.
a. Define myth, legend, folk tale, heroic saga, and epic.
b. Identify major deities, mortals, heroes, and creatures in myths of different
cultures.
c. Compare and contrast myths from different cultures, such as Greek, Roman,
Norse, African, Egyptian, etc.
2. Analyze the epic conventions found in myths: the hero, influence of deities,
high adventure, role of fate, symbolism, fatal flaw, and hubris.
a. Identify the above-named epic conventions in myths of different cultures.
b. Compare and contrast the myths of different cultures.
3. Analyze such themes as creation, adventure, sin and punishment, romance,
etc., in myths.
a. Identify these themes in myths read.
b. Compare and contrast myths of similar themes from different cultures.
4. Recognize mythological allusions found in literature, language, and other
aspects of culture.
a. Locate mythological allusions found in selected literary works.
b. Locate mythological allusions found in advertising, product names, and other
areas of everyday life.
c. Recognize vocabulary derived from or influenced by myths.
d. Recognize influence of myths in art and architecture.
5. Read an epic by Homer or Virgil.
a. Recognize epic conventions in this work.
b. Analyze the characters, theme, and development of plot.
c. Gain an awareness of historical events and persons associated with or described
in this epic.
6. Engage in a variety of writing experiences related to mythology.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
a. Write letters, journal entries, character sketches, bio-poem, etc., related to myths
studied.
b. Research cultures related to the myths studied.
7. Compose an original myth that authentically represents the current culture or
a culture studied, and express it through the arts (drama, illustration, dance,
song, etc.).
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ORAL COMMUNICATION (Middle School)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
No Credit, Elective
Oral Communication for middle school is a non-credit elective course that builds
important communication skills that will enhance all aspects of the individual’s life. This
course includes instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate information in order
to make decisions and establish satisfying relationships. Skill in oral communication
helps the individual to think logically, clearly, and creatively. It also contributes to the
student’s understanding of himself and his management of relationships. The oral
communication course is designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with
a proper understanding of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Analyze characteristics of desirable voice quality.
b. Establish acceptable pronunciation patterns and proficient functional English
usage.
c. Practice voice projection, modulation, and enunciation, building natural and
effective speech habits.
d. Expand and apply vocabulary when speaking.
e. Analyze personal speech patterns for purpose of building on strengths and
correcting weaknesses.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Differentiate between hearing and listening.
b. Identify the responsibilities of an effective listener.
c. Analyze barriers to effective listening and ways to overcome them.
3. Gain self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of experiencing public
speaking.
a. Recognize the value of a positive self-image.
b. Identify the components of self-concept.
c. Recognize the positive contribution of good oral expression to self-esteem and
personality development by identifying the strong and weak points of self.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Recognize the importance of speech communication.
b. Identify components of the communication process and their complexities by
analyzing the barriers to effective communication.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
d. Identify the roles people play in different settings.
5. Determine the meaning and use of nonverbal communication.
a. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
b. Determine proper dress for a speech or job interview.
c. Demonstrate effective gestures for public speaking.
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Recognize barriers that prevent communication and keep channels of
communication clear.
b. Analyze issues by finding, validating, and qualifying the best available data.
c. Prove a point through effective use of supporting material.
d. Arrange main and subordinate points in logical, consistent sequence.
e. Construct effective introductions and conclusions for all types of speeches.
f.
Gain public speaking experience by participating in the delivery of varied types of
speeches.
7. Practice oral communication through a variety of activities.
a. Participate in group discussion, developing skills in observation, listening, and
critical thinking that will contribute to proficient skills both for times as a group
member and as a group leader.
b. Practice using parliamentary procedure, learning why rules are needed in
society, and building effective use of the motions that will allow for effective
participation in formal decision-making groups.
c. Apply the skills in oral communication to the process of job application by
practicing effective use of the telephone and good interview skills.
d. Explore drama through either attending a live performance or watching
appropriate videotape of a stage production, then discussing the technical
responsibilities of staging the production.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ORAL COMMUNICATION I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 9-12; One Year Elective
The Oral Communication I course builds important communication skills that will
enhance all aspects of the individual’s life. This course, for one Carnegie unit credit,
includes instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate information in order to
make decisions and establish satisfying relationships. Skill in oral communication helps
the individual to think logically, clearly, and creatively. It also contributes to the
student’s understanding of himself and his management of relationships. The oral
communication course is designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with
a proper understanding of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Analyze characteristics of desirable voice quality.
b. Establish acceptable pronunciation patterns and proficient functional English
usage.
c. Practice voice projection, modulation, and enunciation, building natural and
effective speech habits.
d. Expand and apply vocabulary when speaking.
e. Analyze personal speech patterns for purpose of building on strengths and
correcting weaknesses.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Differentiate between hearing and listening.
b. Identify the responsibilities of an effective listener.
c. Analyze barriers to effective listening and ways to overcome them.
d. Demonstrate listening skills.
3. Gain self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of experiencing public
speaking.
a. Recognize the value of a positive self-image.
b. Identify the components of self-concept.
c. Recognize the positive contribution of good oral expression to self-esteem and
personality development by identifying the strong and weak points of self.
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Recognize the importance of speech communication.
b. Identify components of the communication process and their complexities by
analyzing the barriers to effective communication.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
d. Identify the roles people play in different settings.
5. Determine the meaning and use of nonverbal communication. (R, W, S, L, V)
a. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
b. Determine proper dress for a speech or job interview.
c. Demonstrate effective walk patterns and gestures for public speaking.
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Recognize barriers that prevent communication and keep channels of
communication clear.
b. Analyze issues by finding, validating, and qualifying the best available data.
c. Prove a point through effective use of supporting material.
d. Arrange main and subordinate points in logical, consistent sequence.
e. Construct effective introductions and conclusions for all types of speeches.
f.
Gain public speaking experience by participating in the delivery of varied types of
speeches.
7. Practice oral communication through a variety of activities.
a. Participate in group discussion, developing skills in observation, listening, and
critical thinking that will contribute to proficient skills both for times as group
member and as group leader.
b. Practice using parliamentary procedure, learning why rules are needed in
society, and building effective use of the motions that will allow for effective
participation in formal decision-making groups.
c. Apply the skills in oral communication to the process of job application by
practicing effective use of the telephone and good interview skills.
d. Explore drama through either attending a live performance or watching
appropriate videotape of a stage production, then discussing the technical
responsibilities of staging the production.
e. Explore simplified varsity debate.
f.
Explore the dynamics of mass communication, including the Internet.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
ORAL COMMUNICATION II
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 10-12; One Year Elective
The Oral Communication II course, for one Carnegie unit credit, further develops
important communication skills that will enhance all aspects of the individual’s life. This
course includes instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate information in order
to make decisions and establish satisfying relationships. Skill in oral communication
helps the individual to think logically, clearly, and creatively. It also contributes to the
student’s understanding of himself and his management of relationships. The oral
communication course is designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with
a proper understanding of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Practice using the voice to create character and establish tone and mood.
b. Practice acceptable pronunciation patterns and proficient functional English
usage.
c. Practice voice projection, modulation, and enunciation, building natural and
effective speech habits appropriate for specific situations.
d. Expand and apply vocabulary when speaking.
e. Analyze personal speech patterns for purpose of building on strengths and
correcting weaknesses.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Practice good listening skills.
b. Practice critiquing both interpreters and speakers.
3. Gain self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of experiencing public
speaking.
a. Demonstrate skills of effective oral communication.
b. Develop a distinctive speaking style.
c. Develop skills in expressing opinions.
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Direct a group in completing a task.
b. Explain why rules are needed in society.
c. Identify the order of business used by most formal decision-making groups.
5. Determine the meaning and use of nonverbal communication.
a. Identify purposes of nonverbal communication.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. Identify ways nonverbal communication contributes to communication
breakdown.
c. Demonstrate decoding of nonverbal messages.
d. Use nonverbal signs appropriate for a given situation.
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Practice impromptu speaking.
b. Practice extemporaneous speaking.
c. Practice analyzing a topic, researching a topic, writing an oratory, memorizing
the oratory, and delivering it with style.
7. Practice oral communication through a variety of activities.
a. Participate in group discussion, developing skills in observation, listening, and
critical thinking that will contribute to proficient skills both as group member and
as group leader.
b. Practice using parliamentary procedure, learning why rules are needed in society
and building effective use of the motions that will allow for effective participation
in formal decision-making groups.
c. Apply the skills in oral communication to the process of job application by
practicing effective use of the telephone and good interview skills.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
PUBLIC SPEAKING
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Public Speaking course, for one-half Carnegie unit credit, builds important
communication skills that will enhance all aspects of the individual’s life. This course
provides instruction in how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate information in order to
organize effective speeches and practice in making those speeches. Skill in public
speaking helps the individual to think logically, clearly, and creatively. It also contributes
to the student’s understanding of himself and his management of relationships. This oral
communication course is designed to help a student see himself as a whole person with
a proper understanding of himself as a communicator as both a source and a receiver.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Develop proficient speaking skills.
a. Manage language orally so that ideas are stated clearly.
b. Practice voice projection, modulation, and pronunciation.
c. Build natural and effective speech habits based on good, functional English
usage.
d. Expand personal vocabulary.
2. Develop listening skills.
a. Practice identifying and avoiding barriers to good communication.
b. Listen accurately, appreciatively, and critically.
3. Gain self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of experiencing public
speaking.
a. Recognize the contribution that skill in public speaking provides for the adult
world.
4. Use human-relations skills when communicating with different audiences.
a. Identify the components underlying the communication process.
b. Control and guide the concentration of the audience upon the message
produced by the speaker.
c. Analyze an audience and adapt speaking to the situation.
5. Determine the meaning and use of nonverbal communication.
a. Identify nonverbal barriers to communication.
b. Acquire, interpret, and evaluate nonverbal messages.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
6. Research, analyze, and compile data to prepare and deliver effective
speeches.
a. Analyze issues and find, validate, and qualify the best available data.
b. Prove a point through effective use of supporting materials.
c. Arrange main and subordinate points in logical, consistent sequence.
d. Construct effective introductions and conclusions for all types of speeches.
e. Gain public speaking experience by participating in the delivery of varied types of
speeches.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
SHORT STORY
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Short Story course allows the student to analyze, evaluate, and interpret short
stories and to gain a sense of the development of the genre. Students will recognize the
contributions of writers to this genre and evaluate their reflections on society. Short
stories mentioned in the competencies are for illustration only. Careful planning should
occur to ensure that the teacher's short story assignments are not too repetitious of
works students have already read in the required English class.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1.
The student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.)
literary elements in multiple short stories.
• Short Stories
o character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of view, allusion,
figurative language, irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, flashback, etc.
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well-elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
TECHNICAL AND WORKPLACE WRITING
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Technical and Workplace Writing course focuses on the variety of kinds of written
communication currently occurring in a variety of workplaces and careers. In this
course, students examine actual examples of written materials produced to
communicate within the workplace as well as outside the workplace for the customer
and general public. Through reviewing examples and through instruction, students will
gain a sense of general principles of communication, learn how audience and purpose
shape the form and content of the written piece, and discern how organization, wording,
accuracy and specificity of details, typography, visuals, design, grammar, usage, and
mechanics contribute to effective communication. Students will apply what they have
learned by creating a variety of kinds of written communication. Since conveying
information is at the heart of much of workplace and technical writing, students will
practice gathering information through research as well as communicate information
through various kinds of writing.
The course should be taught so that it offers challenge. Writings should include pieces
requiring more sophistication or complexity: delivering or justifying bad news or an
unpopular stance, persuading or manipulating the reader's opinions or emotions, and
explaining complex processes such as is found in grants, scientific writing, or annual
reports. Students will produce individual pieces as well as participate in group review of
their writings. Through these experiences of working with others, they will practice the
language skills of explaining, persuading, and negotiating, and learn the importance and
effect of their words.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. Determine the kinds and purposes of writing used in different careers and
workplaces.
a. Research and interview to determine the kinds of writing, the audiences for
whom the pieces are written, and the purpose for which the pieces are written.
b. Collect and read a variety of career and workplace writing samples, such as
letters, reports, annual reports, procedures, directions and instructions,
summaries, rationales, resumes, recommendations, news releases, descriptions,
brochures, fliers, newsletters, etc.
c. Analyze the purpose and audience of materials collected.
2. Identify principles of communication, including factors that help or hinder
clear communication.
a. Understand the elements of communication theory: sender, message, receiver,
and message interference.
b. Identify factors that interfere with clear communication.
c. Identify factors that facilitate clear communication.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
3. Analyze what is effective and what is not in different kinds of writing, such
as business letters, reports, memos, brochures, etc.
a. Analyze how organization, wording, style, voice, and grammar usage and
mechanics contribute to effective writing.
b. Analyze how the use of typography, page layout and document design, and
visuals contribute to effective writing.
c. Analyze how accuracy of information, details, and grammar usage and
mechanics contribute to credibility and effective writing.
4. Communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing.
a. Record information completely and accurately for intended purposes and
audiences.
b. Summarize information and actions accurately and concisely.
c. Plan the creation of documents and other written materials using language, style,
organization, and format appropriate to the subject matter, purpose, and
audience.
5. Gather and use information as part of research conducted in completing a
piece of writing.
a. Locate and gather information, using interviews and library resources such as
books, periodicals, publications, electronic catalog, and the Internet (if available).
b. Recognize the difference in primary and secondary sources of information.
c. Read, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.
d. Analyze and interpret charts and graphs as part of information gathering.
6. Produce effective business letters, reports, memos, a resume, and either a
brochure or newsletter.
a. Write effective business letters, such as letters of application, thanks, complaint,
bad news, congratulations, persuasion, inquiry, etc.
b. Write effective reports, such as summaries, proposals, status of projects,
procedures, etc.
c. Write a résumé for self or for an imagined person.
d. Write a brochure or newsletter, either working individually or with others.
e. Make effective use of content, organization, wording, style, voice, grammar
usage and mechanics, typography, and visuals.
f.
Employ a writing process that includes revising, editing, and proofreading.
7. Understand the dynamics of producing written communication when
working with or for others.
a. Determine when working with others is necessary in producing written material
for the workplace.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
b. Observe and analyze patterns of group interaction.
c. Practice process and task behaviors that promote teamwork and the production
of a quality piece of writing.
d. Appreciate and cope with diversity among team members.
e. Apply negotiating skills in working with others.
f.
Use written and spoken language effectively when explaining, persuading, and
negotiating with others.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective
The Twentieth Century Literature course covers major writers and themes in the
Americas and Western Europe for the period from World War I to the present time.
Major themes which run through the literature of this period include:
•
horror, aftermath, and protest of war;
•
social commentary, e.g., migrant workers; class struggle; gender, age, and
race discrimination; loss of identity in a mechanical age; and abuse and violence;
•
role of religion in an advancing technological and scientific world, the rise
of existentialism and continuation of nihilism; and
•
disillusionment of life in a modern age (Cold War/Nuclear Age,
governmental interference, loss of innocence, futility of existence).
The material may be presented in a chronological manner, by genre, or in a thematic
scheme. Authors indicated in each time period are representative and certainly not all-
inclusive of any period with their suggested works indicated parenthetically. Where
possible, complete works should be used; however, given time constraints, it may be
necessary to read excerpted texts in some instances.
The student will recognize major themes present in twentieth century literature and will
draw parallels to history and present day concerns. Group discussions, presentations,
and writings, as well as individual presentations and writing experiences, are suggested
for this course. As a result of this course, students will have a greater awareness of
events and writings that have shaped and been part of the ideas and culture of the
twentieth century.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives:
1. The student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.)
literary elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media to
include major writers and themes in the Americas and Western Europe for the
period from World War I to the turn of the century.
•
Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
o Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative essays (e.g.,
character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone, point of view, allusion,
figurative language, irony, symbolism, imagery, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, flashback, etc.)
•
Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona, conflict, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
•
Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy], mood, tone,
conflict, imagery, allusion, figurative language, language/word choice,
foreshadowing, etc.)
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
• Informational Texts
o Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view, structure, irony,
symbolism, allusion, figurative language, imagery, language/word choice,
etc.)
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
WORLD LITERATURE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
One Semester Elective or One Year Elective
The World Literature course is an examination of literary works that have contributed
significantly to the thinking of humankind and have contributed greatly to various
cultures. In this course, students will read a variety of masterpieces and influential
literary works. The course may be organized by theme, genre, or chronology. The
course may be taught for one semester or for one year. The one-semester World
Literature course may focus mainly on one time period or span centuries to show the
range of literary heritage, whereas the one-year course will require reading of literature
from the ancient classical period to the twentieth century. In either case, the teacher will
need to determine whether the course will include mainly one or two genres or cover
many genres, such as plays, poetry, novels, and short stories. The teacher also has the
freedom to determine the particular countries and cultures that the works will represent.
In the one-semester course, however, at least one work should be chosen to represent
the literature of each: (a) Classical Greece or Rome, (b) Great Britain, (c) Europe, (d)
the Americas, and (e) either Asia or Africa.
The year-long course will require additional literary selections to be read from each of
the five areas just named. It is hoped that students will come to see the world's
literature as a tapestry in which the experiences, stories, and thoughts of humankind
have been woven through time and cultures.
COMPETENCIES and Suggested Objectives for One Semester Course:
1. The student will analyze (e.g. interpret, compare, contrast, evaluate, etc.)
literary elements in multiple texts from a variety of genres and media to
include: Classical Greece or Rome; Great Britain; Europe; the Americas;
Asia or Africa.
•
Literary Text and Literary Non-fiction
-
Short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, narrative
essays (e.g., character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, mood, tone,
point of view, allusion, figurative language, irony, symbolism,
imagery, language/word choice, foreshadowing, flashback, etc.)
•
Poetry (e.g., structure, language, theme, setting, persona,
conflict, irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language,
imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
•
Drama (e.g., character, structure, techniques [e.g., soliloquy],
mood,
tone,
conflict,
imagery,
allusion,
figurative
language,
language/word choice, foreshadowing, etc.)
•
Informational Texts
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
-
Exposition, argumentation (e.g., language, point of view,
structure, irony, symbolism, allusion, figurative language,
imagery, language/word choice, etc.)
2. The student will compose responses to literature, position papers, and
expository essays, clearly expressing a main idea thoroughly developed by
relevant supporting details, which are well elaborated and sufficient in
number.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Grades 7 – 8; One Semester Elective or One Year Elective
This course is designed to be taken in addition to the English class. The course
provides extra experience in writing a variety of kinds of writing for various audiences
and purposes. Some kinds of writing include poetry, tall tales, fairy tales, explanations,
stories, descriptions, captions, bumper stickers, dialogues, lab reports, learning logs,
letters, narratives of personal experiences, newscasts and news articles, reports,
summaries, and self-evaluations. Different purposes for writing include recording
observations; justifying actions or decisions; giving directions; describing procedures;
persuading others to an action or opinion; informing others; analyzing events, people,
art, movies, or literature; expressing feelings; describing people, places, or things;
making predictions; interpreting visual material; clarifying thinking; and reflecting on
problem-solving processes.
Creativity is to be encouraged, and accuracy, organization, and detail in expression are
to be developed. Experience in conducting short research projects should be provided.
Students should be able to write multi-paragraph pieces at least by the end of the
course. The use of literature is suggested to stimulate the imagination, focus students'
attention, and prompt writing activities.
Electives, Grades 7-12
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary of Terms
Affix
A meaningful part of a word that is attached before
(prefix ) or after (suffix) a root or base word to modify its
meaning.
Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring
words (e.g., The slithering, slimy snake).
Allusion
A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical
person, place, or thing.
Alphabetic principle
The assumption underlying an alphabetic writing system
that each speech sound or phoneme of a language has
its own distinctive graphic representation.
Ambiguous pronouns
See Indefinite Pronouns and Misplaced Modifiers
American Psychological A research documentation style that many of the social
Association (APA)
and behavioral sciences have adopted to present written
Writing Style
material in the field.
Analogy
A comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting
that if they are alike in certain respects, they will
probably be alike in other ways, too.
Analysis
A separating of a whole into its’ parts with an
examination of these parts to find out their nature and
function.
Antagonist
A person or thing working against the main character.
Antecedents
The noun that a pronoun refers to or replaces.
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in person
and number.
A singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent.
My dog Chester chews his tennis ball into tiny pieces.
The singular possessive pronoun his agrees with the
singular noun antecedent Chester.
A plural pronoun refers to a plural antecedent.
Many of the fans lost their voices during the final
minutes of the exciting playoff game.
The plural possessive pronoun their agrees with the
plural noun fans.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Antithesis
A contrast or opposition of thought, the opposite. In
persuasive writing, it is the idea that every argument
generates a counter argument. In effective persuasive
writing, opposing arguments should be addressed and
rebutted.
Antonym
A word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
(e.g., love-hate, hot-cold).
Argumentation
Writing that seeks to influence through appeals that
direct readers to specific goals or try to win them to
specific beliefs.
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant
sounds (e.g., fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks).
Audience
Those who read or hear what is written. Many qualities
of writing must be appropriate to the audience: (voice
and tone, language, etc.)
Author’s chair
A special chair in which students are privileged to sit
while reading aloud their own writing to other class
members.
Author’s craft
The techniques the author chooses to enhance writing
(e.g., style, bias, point of view, flashback, foreshadowing,
symbolism, figurative language, sensory details,
soliloquy; stream of consciousness, etc.).
Author’s purpose
The motive or reason for which an author writes, as to
entertain, inform, or persuade.
Autobiography
A written account of the author’s own life.
Automaticity
The ability to recognize a word (or series of words) in
text effortlessly and rapidly.
Ballad
A song or songlike poem that tells a story.
Base word
A word to which affixes may be added to create related
words (e.g., as teach in reteach or teaching).
Bias
A highly personal judgment (e.g., regional, economic,
disability bias, etc.).
Biography
An account of the life of an individual, classified as non-
fiction or informational text.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Buddy reading
Two students read or reread a text together.
Capitalization
The act of writing or printing a particular word (e.g., a
proper noun) and using an uppercase (capital) letter of
the alphabet for the first letter of the word.
Cause/Effect
A text or response to reading text that provides
explanations or reason for phenomena.
Characterization
The method an author uses to reveal the characters and
their various personalities. Authors use two major
methods of characterization: direct and indirect. When
using direct characterization, a writer states the
characters’ traits, actions, motives, or feelings. When
describing a character indirectly, a writer depends on the
reader to draw conclusions about the character’s traits or
uses other participants in the story to reveal a
character’s traits and motives.
Choral reading
A group reading aloud.
Note: Choral reading may be used with a group to
develop oral fluency or to make a presentation to an
audience. It may also be used by two people, one of
whom usually is a better reader and serves as a model
during the reading.
Citation
A direct quote from the text; acknowledgment and
documentation of sources of information.
Cite
To quote as an example.
Closed syllable
A syllable ending with one or more consonants (e.g.,
mat, hand).
Coherence
The quality achieved when all the ideas are clearly
arranged and connected. The arrangement of ideas,
within and among paragraphs, should be organized in
such a way that the reader can easily move from one
point to another. When all ideas are arranged and
connected, a piece of writing has coherence.
Comparison/Contrast
A text or response to reading text that identifies how
information presented has similar or different
characteristics or qualities.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Concrete or Specific
Details are concrete when they can be seen, heard,
details
smelled, tasted, or touched. The use of factual details to
create a picture.
Conflict
The problem or struggle in a story that triggers the
action. Conflicts may be internal (struggles from within a
character) or external.
Connotation
An implied meaning of a word, opposite of denotation
(e.g., Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing
thee to thy rest (burial)).
Context
The background information a reader needs to know. It
may be a set of facts or circumstances surrounding an
event or a situation; explanation of characters, or
definition of important terms; and the background
information the reader needs to know in order to fully
understand the message of the text.
Context clues
Information in the reading passage that helps the reader
to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases
(e.g., illustrations or the meaning of other words in the
text).
Controlling idea
This is the main idea focus that runs throughout the
paper.
Conventions
Features of standard written English that usually include
sentence formation, grammar, spelling, usage,
punctuation, and capitalization.
Correlative conjunctions Conjunctions used in pairs (e.g., either, or; neither, nor;
not only, but also; both, and; whether, or; just, so; as so).
Counter argument
See antithesis.
Decode
The ability to translate a word from print to speech,
usually by employing knowledge of sound-symbol
correspondence.
Decoding
A series of strategies used selectively by readers to
recognize and read written words. The reader locates
cues (e.g., letter-sound correspondences) in a word that
reveals enough about it to help in pronouncing it and
attaching meaning to it.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Deductive argument
allows the reader to draw conclusions from looking at an
adequate and representative sample of facts; if the
premises are all true and the argument's form is valid,
the conclusion is inescapably true.
Denotation
The literal meaning of a word, the dictionary meaning.
Opposite of connotation (e.g., Good night, sweet prince,
and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest (sleep)).
Description
One of the four traditional forms of composition in
speech and writing. Its purpose is to provide a verbal
picture of a character, event, setting, etc.
Detail
A fact revealed by the author or speaker that supports
the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose. In
informational text, details provide information to support
the author’s main point.
Dialogue
A conversation between two characters. In poems,
novels, and short stories, dialogue is usually set off by
quotations marks to indicate a speaker’s exact words; in
a play, dialogue follows the names of the characters, and
no quotation marks are used.
Diction
The writer’s choice of words based on their
effectiveness.
Drama
A story written to be performed by actors. Dramas are
often divided into parts called acts, which are often
divided into smaller parts called scenes.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is
neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties
with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor
spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties
typically result from a deficit in the phonological
component of language that is often unexpected in
relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of
effective classroom instruction. Secondary
consequences may include problems in reading
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
comprehension and reduced reading experience that
Glossary
can impede growth of vocabulary and background
knowledge.
Editing
The process of reviewing text in draft form to check for
correctness of the mechanics and conventions of writing
(e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and
format).
Elaboration
Words used to explain and in some way support the
central idea; the development and expansion of ideas
and arguments. Elaboration varies with the type of
writing (e.g., A report may have statistics, examples,
anecdotes, and facts, while a narrative would have
description, dialogue, show-and-tell, etc.).
Encoding
Transferring oral language into written language.
Environmental print
Any print found in the physical environment (e.g., street
signs, billboards, labels, business signs).
Embedded phrases and
clauses
Grammatical structures which are placed in simple
sentences to enhance sentence variety (e.g., The bird
sat on the fence...chirping loudly in the early morning
mist; the bird with the colorful feathers sat on the fence
which divided the pasture from the yard, while the cat
looked longingly from the window.)
Etymology
The study of the history of words.
Evaluate
Examine and judge carefully, based on evidence found
in the text.
Explicit instruction
The intentional design and delivery of information by the
teacher to the students. It begins with (1) the teacher’s
modeling or demonstration of the skill or strategy; (2) a
structured and substantial opportunity for students to
practice and apply newly taught skills and knowledge
under the teacher’s direction and guidance; and (3) an
opportunity for feedback.
Exposition
One of the four traditional forms of composition in
speech and writing. Its purpose is to set forth or explain.
Expository text
A traditional form of written composition that has as its
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
primary purpose explanation of the communication of
details, facts, discipline, or content-specific information.
Glossary
Fable
A short story or folk tale embodying a moral, which may
be expressed explicitly at the end. Though a fable may
be conversational in tone, the understanding from the
outset is that it is an invention, a created fiction.
Fiction
An imaginative narrative in any form of presentation that
is designed to entertain, as distinguished from that which
is designed primarily to explain, argue, or merely
describe. It includes novels, short stories, plays,
narrative poetry, fictional elements at times included in
historical fiction, fables, fairytales, folklore, legends, and
picture books.
Figurative language
Techniques used in writing (particularly expressive
writing) to create images (e.g., similes, metaphors,
alliteration, assonance, personification, onomatopoeia).
Figure of speech
A word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of
something else, often involving an imaginative
comparison between seemingly unlike things.
Flashback
A scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a
previous event. By giving material that occurred prior to
the present event, the writer provides the reader with
insight into a character’s motivation and or background
to a conflict.
Fluency
The clear, easy, and quick written or spoken expression
of ideas; freedom from word-identification problems that
might hinder comprehension in silent reading or the
expression of ideas in oral reading; automaticity.
Focus
The specific idea(s) within the topic that the writer is
addressing (e.g., If the topic is “horses,” the focus might
be: Horses are very expensive to own).
Folktales
A short story from the oral tradition that reflects the
mores and beliefs of a particular culture.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen
later in literature.
Formal language
Language use characterized by:
• speech before a passive audience
• the assumption of a role by the speaker
• the use of artificial means of communication such
as writing or electronics, and
• the use of a “high” dialect or language in
preference to a “low” one
(e.g., domains where formal language may take
place: a sermon, a political speech, a lecture, a
letter, poetry).
Formative evaluation
The gathering of data during the time a program is being
developed to guide the development process.
Functional text
A technical document such as a business letter,
computer manual, or trade publication that assists in
getting information in order to perform a task
(e.g., perform job at work).
Genre
A term used to classify literary works (e.g., novel,
mystery, historical fiction, biography, short story, and
poem).
Grammar
The system of rules for the use of language; the study of
the collection of specific spoken and written conventions
that exist in a language.
Grand conversation
Students talk about a text with classmates in
discussions.
Graphic organizer
A visual representation of facts and concepts from a text
and their relationships within an organized frame.
Graphic organizers are effective tools for thinking and
learning. They help teachers and students represent
abstract or implicit information in more concrete form;
depict the relationships among facts and concepts, aid in
organizing and elaborating ideas; relate new information
with prior knowledge; and effectively store and retrieve
information.
Historical fiction
Fiction drawn from the writer’s imagination, but true to
life in some period of the past.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Homonym
One of two words that have the same sound and often
the same spelling but differ in meaning (e.g., bear “to
carry”, bear “the animal”, and bare “naked”).
Homophone
One of two or more words that are pronounced the same
but differ in meaning, origin, and sometimes spelling
(e.g., hair/hare, knight/night, and scale [fish]/
scales[musical]).
Hyperbole
A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous
(Exaggeration)
overstatement that is used for emphasis or comic effect.
Idiom
An expression that does not mean what it literally says,
as to have the upper hand has nothing to do with hands
or don’t let the cat out of the bag means to not tell
something one knows, to keep silent.
Note: Idioms are peculiar to a given language and
usually cannot be translated literally.
Imagery
Multiple words or a continuous phrase that a writer uses
to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and
ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses (e.g.,
such sweet sorrow).
Indefinite pronoun
A pronoun that refers to an unnamed or unknown
person, place or thing.
When the dispatcher talked to the messenger, he told
him to deliver the package to the new address.
The problem lies with the pronouns “he” and “him”.
Since two different people are mentioned, the question is
asked, “Who is HE and who is HIM?” A better way of
writing the sentence so the reader will clearly know is as
follows:
The dispatcher told the messenger to deliver the
package to the new address.
Independent practice
The phase of instruction that occurs after skills and
strategies have been explicitly taught and practiced
under teacher direction or supervision. Independent
practice involves the application of newly taught skills in
familiar formats or tasks and reinforces skill acquisition.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Inductive argument
Contains a conclusion that provides the best or most
probable explanation of the truth of the premises but is
not necessarily true.
Inference
A deduction or conclusion made from facts that are
suggested or implied rather than overtly stated (e.g.,
Mom said that I should study more and watch television
less. I inferred that I should get better grades or the
television would be taken out of my room).
Informal language
Language use characterized by:
• spontaneous speech in situations that may be
described as natural or “real-life,” and
• the use of “low” dialect or language in preference
to a “high” one
(e.g., instruction to subordinates, conversation
with family and friends, portrayal of “real” life in a
soap opera).
Informational text and
materials
Text that has as its primary purpose the communication
of technical information about a specific topic, event,
experience, or circumstance. Informational text is
typically found in the content areas (e.g., science,
history, social studies) in grades four through twelve.
Interactive writing
A shared writing experience used to assist emergent
readers in learning to read and write. With help from
the teacher, students dictate sentences about a shared
experience, such as a story, movie, or event. The
teacher stretches each word orally so that students can
distinguish its sounds and letters as they use chart paper
to write the letter while repeating the sound. After each
word has been completed, the teacher and students
reread it. The students take turns writing letters to
complete the words and sentences. The completed
charts are posted on the wall so that the students can
reread them or rely on them for standard spelling.
Irony
The tension that arises from the discrepancy, either
between what one says and what one means (verbal
irony), between what a character believes and what a
reader knows (dramatic irony) or between what occurs
and what on expects to occur (situational irony).
Juxtapose
Placing two ideas (words or pictures) side by side so that
their closeness creates a new, often ironic meaning.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Learning center or
station
Listening
comprehension
A location within a classroom in which students are
presented with instructional materials, specific directions,
clearly defined objectives, and opportunities for self-
evaluation.
The act or ability of understanding what a speaker is
saying and seizing the meaning.
Literary analysis
The study or examination of a literary work or author.
Literary conflict
The tension that grows out of the interplay of the two
opposing forces in a plot.
Literary criticism
The result of literary analysis; a judgment or evaluation
of a work or a body of literature.
Literary devices
Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to
the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration, foreshadowing,
personification, metaphors, etc.).
Literary elements
The essential techniques used in literature, such as
characterization, setting, plot and theme.
Literary nonfiction
A text that conveys factual information. The text may or
may not employ a narrative structure and characteristics
such as dialogue.
MAGNOLIA
A Mississippi statewide consortium funded by the
Mississippi Legislature that provides online databases
for publicly funded K-12 schools, public libraries,
community college libraries, and university libraries in
Mississippi.
Matthew effect
The “rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer” effects embedded
in the educational process. The term is derived from
Matthew’s Gospel.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which one thing is described in
terms of another to make an implicit comparison-that is,
a comparison that does not use words such as “like” or
“as” (e.g., The sky’s lamp was bright).
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Mini-lesson
Direct and explicit instruction conducted to benefit
students who need more information or further
clarification of skills or topics already taught. The lessons
or series of lessons are connected to the broader goal of
getting students to become independent readers and
writers. They are presented briefly and succinctly on the
assumption that such information will be added to the set
of ideas, strategies, and skills to be drawn upon as
needed.
Misplaced modifiers
Modifiers that have been placed incorrectly; therefore,
the meaning of the sentence is not clear, though,
sometimes humorous.
Misplaced:
•
We have an assortment of combs for physically
active people with unbreakable teeth. (People with
unbreakable teeth?)
•
I scrubbed the garage with my brother.
Corrected:
•
For physically active people, we have an assortment
of combs with unbreakable teeth.
•
My brother and I scrubbed the garage.
Modern Language
Association (MLA)
Writing Style
A research documentation style widely adopted by high
schools, colleges, and publishing houses. The Modern
Language Association, the authority on MLA
documentation style, assists students with aspects of
research writing, from selecting a topic to submitting the
completed paper, including information regarding online
research.
Mood
The atmosphere or predominant emotion in literary work.
Morpheme
A linguistic unit of relatively stable meaning that cannot
be divided into smaller meaningful parts; the smallest
meaningful part of a word.
Multiple meaning words Words that have several meanings depending upon how
they are used in a sentence (e.g., I watched the bat
flitting through the trees. Raymond gripped the bat
tightly as he waited for the pitch. I hope I can bat a
home run!)
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Narration
One of the four traditional forms of composition in
speech and writing. Its purpose is to tell a story or give
an account of something dealing with sequences of
events and experiences.
Narrative
A story or narrated account of actual or fictional events.
Narrative essay
Narrative writing tells a story. Most essays of this type
spring from an event or experience in the writer’s life.
Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view,
often the author’s, so there is feeling as well as specific
and often sensory details provided to get the reader
involved in the elements and sequence of the story. The
verbs are vivid and precise. The narrative essay makes
a point and that point is often defined in the opening
sentence, but can also be found as the last sentence in
the opening paragraph.
Narrative passage
Text in any form that recounts or tells a story.
Narrator
The person (or animal or object) telling a story, who may
be a character within the story or someone outside of the
story.
Non-fiction
Prose designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe
rather than to entertain; specifically, a type of prose other
than fiction but including biography and autobiography.
Occasion
The happening or event that make the response
possible.
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which the sound of the word
imitates the sounds associated with the object or actions
to which they refer (e.g., crackle, moo, pop, zoom).
Onset and rime
Intersyllabic units that are smaller than words and
syllables but larger than phonemes. The onset is the
portion of the syllable that precedes the vowel (e.g., in
the word black the onset is bl). The rime is the portion of
the syllable including any vowels and consonants that
follow (e.g., in the word black the rime is ack). Although
not all syllables or words have an onset, all do have a
rime (e.g., the word or syllable out is a rime without an
onset).
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
Glossary
Opinion
A belief or conclusion held with confidence, but not
sustained with proof.
Open syllable
A syllable ending in a vowel sound rather than a
consonant sound as /bā/ and /bē/ in baby.
Organization
The clear evidence of a plan or foundation on which
writing is built. It includes intentional introduction,
conclusion, and internal/external transitions to connect
ideas.
Orthographic
Pertains to orthography, the art or study of correct
spelling according to established usage.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which contrasting or contradictory
words are brought together for emphasis (e.g., deafening
silence, cruel kindness, living death).
Pacing
The rate of movement and action of a narrative.
Paradox
Reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory
(e.g., Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a
cage).
Parallel structure
The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have
the same grammatical structure or that restate a similar
idea.
Paraphrase
Restate text or passage mostly in other (or in own)
words.
Pedestrian
Commonplace, usual; when applied to vocabulary, over-
used (“good things,” “nice stuff”).
Peer editing
A form of collaborative learning in which students work
with their peers in editing a piece of writing.
Personification
The attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects
(e.g., The clouds played and danced in the sky.).
Persuasion
One of the four traditional forms of composition in
(Argumentation)
speech and writing. Its purpose is to move a reader by
argument or entreaty to a belief, position, or course of
action.
Phonemes
The smallest units of speech that distinguish one
utterance or word from another in a given language (e.g.,
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-
Revised
the /r/ in rug or the /b/ in bug.)
Glossary
Teaching awareness of words, syllables, and phonemes
along a developmental continuum that includes rhyming,
recognition and production, isolation, blending, matching
of phonemes, segmentation, and substitution. Early
phonemic instruction should focus on exploration of the
auditory and articulator structure of spoken language,
not on letter-sound correspondences.
The aspect of phonemic awareness that involves the
ability to blend phonemes (sounds) into words.
The aspect of phonemic awareness that involves the
ability to break words into its separate phonemes
(sounds).
Phonemic awareness
instruction
Phoneme blending
Phoneme segmenting
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Phonics
A system of teaching reading and spelling that stresses
basic symbol-sound relationships and their application in
decoding words.
Phonological awareness A broad term that includes phonemic awareness. In
addition to phonemes, phonological awareness activities
involve work with rhymes, words, syllables, and onset
and rimes.
Plot
The plan, design, storyline, or pattern of events in a play,
poem, or works of fiction.
Poem
A composition characterized by use of condensed
language, chosen for its sound and suggestive power
and the use of literary techniques such as rhyme, blank
verse, rhythm, meter, and metaphor.
Point of view
The way in which an author reveals characters, events,
and ideas when telling a story. The perspective or
vantage point from which a story is told.
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Précis
A short summary of the essential ideas of a longer
composition; the basic thought of a passage is
reproduced in miniature, retaining the mood and tone of
the original. No interpretation or comment should be
interjected. It must possess clear, emphatic diction and
effective sentence construction. Its unity and coherence
should be emphasized through smooth, unobtrusive
transitions. The summary must be intelligible to a reader
who has not seen the original.
Predictable text
Reading material that supports the prediction of certain
features of text. Text is predictable when it enables
students to predict quickly and easily what the author is
going to say and how the author is going to say it on the
basis of their knowledge of the world and of language.
Predictable books can also contain rhythmical, repetitive,
or cumulative patterns; familiar stories or story lines;
familiar sequences; or a good match between
illustrations and text.
Prewriting
The initial creative and planning stage of writing, prior to
drafting, in which the writer formulates ideas, gathers
information, and considers ways in which to organize a
piece of writing.
Primary language
The first language a child learns to speak.
Print-rich environment
An environment in which students are provided many
opportunities to interact with print and an abundance
and variety of printed materials are available and
accessible. Students have many opportunities to read
and be read to. In such an environment, reading and
writing are modeled by the teacher and used for a wide
variety of authentic everyday purposes.
Problem
The conflict or struggle (internal or external) that causes
the action in a story or play. An internal conflict takes
place within the mind of a character, such as a struggle
to make a decision, take an action, or overcome a
feeling. An external conflict is one in which a character
struggles against some outside force, such as another
person or something in nature.
Prose
Writing that is not restricted in rhythm, measure, or
rhyme. Most writing that is not drama, poetry, or song is
considered prose.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
Protagonist
The main character or hero of a text.
Punctuation
The appropriate use of standard marks (e.g., periods,
commas, and semicolons) in writing and printing to
separate words into sentences, clauses, and phrases to
clarify meaning).
Purpose
The specific reason for writing. The goal of the writing is
to entertain, express, inform, explain, persuade, etc.).
Readers Theatre
A performance of literature (e.g., a story, play, poetry,
etc.) read aloud expressively by one or more persons,
rather than acted.
Reading comprehension The ability to apprehend meaning from print and
understand text. At a literal level, comprehension is the
understanding of what an author has written or the
specific details provided in a text. At a higher-order
level, comprehension involves reflective and purposeful
understanding that is thought-intensive, analytic, and
interpretive.
Reading critically
Reading in which a questioning attitude, logical analysis,
and inference are used to judge the worth of the text;
evaluating relevancy and adequacy of what is read; the
judgment of validity of worth of what is read, based on
sound criteria and evidence.
Reading rate
The speed at which a person reads; generally measured
as words per minute or words correct per minute.
Realistic fiction
Fiction drawn from the writer’s imagination, but is true to
life; often focuses on universal human problems.
Recreational reading
Voluntary or leisure reading for which students use self-
selected texts that can be read comfortably and
independently.
Reference to text
Mentioning or alluding to something in the text without
directly quoting the text (e.g., Pip was frightened when
he met the convict in the graveyard.).
Repetition
The deliberate use of any element of language more
than one sound, word phrase, sentence, grammatical
pattern, or rhythmical pattern.
Resolution
The portion of a play or story in which the problem is
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
resolved. It comes after the climax and falling action,
and is intended to bring the story to a satisfying end.
Retelling
The paraphrasing of a story in a student’s own words to
check for comprehension. Sometimes, retelling can be
followed by questions to elicit further information.
Retelling
A restatement of the events in the story.
Revising
The process of changing a piece of writing to improve
clarity for its intended audience and make certain that it
accomplishes its stated purpose.
Rhyme
A metrical device in which sounds at the ends of words
or lines or verse correspond. Another common device is
the use of internal rhymes, or rhyming words within lines.
Rhyme scheme
A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem, usually
indicated by assigning a different letter to each rhyme in
a stanza such as, a-b-a-b.
Rhythm
In verse or prose, the movement or sense of movement
communicated by the arrangement of long and short or
stressed and unstressed syllables.
Root
The form of a word after all affixes are removed.
Sarcasm
The use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be
praising something but is actually insulting it.
Satire
A piece of prose in which witty language is used to
convey insults or scorn.
Scaffolding
The temporary support, guidance, or assistance
provided to a student on a new or complex task (e.g.,
students work in partnership with a more advanced peer
or adult who scaffolds the task by engaging in
appropriate instructional interactions designed to model,
assist, or provide necessary information). The
interactions should eventually lead to independence.
Schema
A reader’s organized knowledge of the world that
provides a basis for comprehending, learning, and
remembering ideas in stories and texts.
Self-monitoring
Students learn to monitor their own reading behaviors
and use appropriate strategies to decode and
comprehend text effectively.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
Semantics
The study of meaning in language, particularly the
meaning of words and changes in the meanings.
Sensory description
Elaboration on a key part or character of the story that
includes the five senses: Sight, smell, touch, taste, and
sound. All five senses do not have be used, just the
ones that naturally fit into the description. Feelings and
thoughts, as well as dialogue, may be embedded.
Sentences
Declarative—a sentence that makes a statement.
Exclamatory—a sentence that makes a vehement
statement or conveys strong or sudden emotion.
Imperative—a sentence that expresses a command or
request.
Interrogative—a sentence that asks a question or makes
an inquiry.
Sequence
A text structure in which ideas are grouped on the basis
of order or time.
Setting
The time and place of the action in a literary work. The
setting includes all the details of a place and time. In
most stories, the setting serves as a backdrop or context
in which the characters interact and the plot progresses.
Shared reading
(shared book
experience)
An instructional strategy in which the teacher involves a
group of children in the reading of a particular big book in
order to help them learn different aspects depending on
the grade level (e.g., for young children with the
beginning literacy skills of print conventions and the
concept of word). These aspects can also include
development of reading strategies, such as decoding or
the use of prediction.
Shared writing
An opportunity for teachers and children to share the act
of composing a piece of writing.
Sight vocabulary/sight
Words that are read automatically on sight because they
words
are familiar to the reader.
Simile
A figure of speech in which one thing is likened to
another using an explicit comparison (that is, using the
words “like” or “as”) to clarify or to enhance an image
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
(e.g., It was as cold as an ice cube.).
Soliloquy
A speech delivered by a character when he/she is alone
on the stage; monologue.
Spelling
The forming of specific words with letters in the correct
order according to established usages; orthography.
Spelling,
An emergent writer’s attempt to spell a word phonetically
temporary/invented
when the spelling is unknown. Temporary spelling is a
direct reflection of the writer’s knowledge and
understanding of how words are spelled.
Sonnet
A fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic
pentameter.
Stereotype
A pattern of form that does not change. A character is
“stereotyped” if she or he has no individuality and fits the
mold of that particular type of person or character, (e.g.,
a villain).
Story frame/map
A graphic organizer of major events and ideas from a
story to help guide students’ thinking and heighten their
awareness of the structure of stories.
Story grammar
The important elements that typically constitute a story.
In general the elements include plot, setting, characters,
conflict or problem, attempts or resolution, twist or
complication, and theme.
Structural analysis
The identification of word-meaning elements, as re and
read in reread, to help understand the meaning of a word
as a whole
Note: Structural analysis commonly involves the
identification of roots, affixes, compounds, hyphenated
forms, inflected and derived endings, contractions, and
in some cases, syllabication.
Structured/guided
practice
A phase of instruction that occurs after the teacher
explicitly models, demonstrates, or introduces a skill or
strategy. In this phase students practice newly learned
skills or strategies under teacher supervision and receive
feedback on performance. This critical interactive phase
involves teachers and students.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
Style
The characteristic manner used by an author to express
ideas and create intended effects, including the writer’s
use of language, choice of words, and use of literary
devices.
Summary
Writing that presents the main points of a larger work in
condensed form.
Summative evaluation
An overall assessment or decision regarding a program.
Syllabication
The division of words into syllables, the minimal units of
sequential speech sounds composed of a vowel sound
or a vowel-consonant combination.
Syllable
A word part that contains a vowel or, in spoken
language, a vowel sound (e.g., e-vent; news-pa-per;
ver-y).
Syllable blending
An aspect of phonological awareness that involves the
ability to blend syllables to make words.
Syllable segmenting
An aspect of phonological awareness that involves the
ability to break words into syllables.
Syllogisms
A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major
premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion (e.g., All
humans are mortal, the major premise, I am a human,
the minor premise, therefore, I am mortal, the
conclusion).
Symbolism
A device in literature where an object, person, place, or
action represents an idea, quality, attitude, or value. The
device symbolizes a word or object that stands for
another word or object. The object or word can be seen
with the eye or not visible (e.g., A dove stands for Peace.
The dove can be seen and peace cannot).
Synonym
Two or more words that have highly similar meanings
(e.g., happy, glad, and cheerful).
Syntax
The pattern or structure of word order in sentences,
clauses, and phrases.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Systematic instruction
The strategic design and delivery of instruction that
examines the nature of the objective to be learned
and selects and sequences the essential skills,
examples, and strategies necessary to achieve the
objective by (1) allocating sufficient time to essential
skills; (2) scheduling information to minimize confusion
on the part of the learner; (3) introducing information in
manageable and sequential units; (4) identifying
prerequisite skills and building on prior knowledge of the
learner; (5) reviewing previously taught skills;
(6) strategically integrating old knowledge with new
knowledge; and (7) progressing from skills in easier,
manageable contexts to more complex contexts.
Temporal sequence
Ideas or events presented in the order in which they
happen.
Text
A segment of spoken or written language available for
description or analysis.
Text difficulty (relative to
student’s ability):
• The independent reading level is the level of reading
material a child can easily read independently with high
comprehension, few problems with word identification,
and an accuracy rate of 95–100 percent.
• The instructional reading level is the level of reading
material a child can read successfully with instruction
and support and an accuracy rate of 90–94 percent.
• The frustration reading level is the level of reading
material a child can read with an accuracy rate of 89
percent or less.
Text structures
The organizational structures used within paragraphs or
within texts, appropriate to writing genre and purpose
(e.g., description, sequential chronology,
proposition/support, compare/contrast, problem/solution,
cause/effect, and investigation).
Theme
The central ideas, message, concern, or purpose in a
literary work, which may be stated directly or indirectly.
Thesis
The controlling idea about a topic that the writer is
attempting to prove; a sentence that announces the
writer’s main, unifying, controlling idea about a topic. A
thesis statement usually contains two main elements; a
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
limited subject (Internet), a strong verb, and the reason
for it-the “why” (The Internet provides information of
varying depth and quality.).
Tone
The overall feeling or effect created by a writer’s attitude,
use of words, and sentence structure. This feeling may
be serious, mock-serious, humorous, sarcastic, solemn,
objective, etc.
Topic
The general subject matter covered in a piece of writing.
Traditional literature
Stories passed down orally throughout history (e.g., folk
tales, fairy tales, myths, legends, and epics).
Transitions
Words or phrases that help tie ideas together (e.g.,
however, on the other hand, since, first, etc.).
Transitional devices also include numbering, use of such
things as space, or ellipses to enhance meaning.
Turning point
The moment in a story or a play when there is a definite
change in direction and one becomes aware that it is
now about to move toward the end.
Vocabulary and concept
development
Instruction in the meaning of new words and concepts.
Vocabulary instruction is most effective when specific
information about the definitions of words is
accompanied by attention to their usages and meanings
across contexts. The development of an extensive
reading vocabulary is a necessary phase of good
comprehension.
Voice
The style and quality of the writing, which includes word
choice, a variety of sentence structures, and evidence of
investment. Voice portrays the author’s personality or
the personality of the chosen persona. A distinctive
voice establishes personal expression and enhances the
writing.
Web
A graphic organizer used to involve students in thinking
about and planning what they will study, learn, read
about, or write about within a larger topic. A teacher may
begin with a brainstorming discussion of topics related to
a particular theme and then represent subtopics through
the use of a web drawn on the board. Webbing can be
used to encourage students to consider what they know
about each subtopic or what they want to know.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Word attack (or word
analysis)
Refers to the process used to decode words. Students
are taught multiple strategies to identify a word. This
sequence progresses from decoding of individual letter-
sound correspondences, letter combinations, phonics
analysis and rules, and syllabication rules to analyzing
structural elements (including prefixes, suffixes, and
roots). Advanced word-analysis skills include strategies
for identifying multi-syllabic words.
Word family
Also known as phonograms, word families are groups of
words that have a common pattern. (e.g., the an words
fan, pan, ran, plan, man, and so on).
Word play
A child’s manipulation of sounds and words for language
exploration and practice or for pleasure (using
alliteration, creating rhymes, singing songs, clapping
syllables, and so forth).
Writing as a process (or
process writing)
The process used to create, develop, and complete a
piece of writing. Depending on the purpose and
audience for a particular piece of writing, students are
taught to use the stages of prewriting, drafting, revising,
editing, and publishing.
Word recognition
The identification and subsequent translation of the
printed word into its corresponding sound(s), leading to
accessing the word’s meaning.
Word segmentation
The ability to break words into individual syllables.
2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised
Glossary