- Christina School District
- English Language Arts
English Language Arts (ELA)
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Christina School District is working to fully implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA). The CCSS is part of a national effort to engage our students in a more rigorous educational experience that will ensure that they are college and career ready. Christina School District aims to produce graduates that are prepared for the challenges of a 21st Century Global Society.The standards are informed by the highest, most effective models from states across the country and countries around the world, and provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn. Consistent standards will provide appropriate benchmarks for all students, regardless of where they live.These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs.
Key Points for ELA
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Reading
- The standards establish a staircase of complexity for what students need to be able to read and comprehend.
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Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective.
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The standards mandate certain critical types of content for all students, including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare.
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Writing
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The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing—a basic form of argument—extending down into the earliest grades.
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Research—both short, focused projects (such as those commonly required in the workplace) and longer-term in-depth research —is emphasized throughout the standards.
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Speaking and Listening
- The standards require that students gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex information, ideas, and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media.
- An important focus of the speaking and listening standards is academic discussion in one-on-one, small-group, and whole-class settings. Through formal presentations and informal discussions, students collaborate to answer questions, build understanding and solve problems.
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Language
- Students grow their vocabularies through a mix of conversations, direct instruction, and reading that steadily expands their repertoire of words, phrases and understanding of language.
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Vocabulary and conventions are treated in their own strand not because skills in these areas should be handled in isolation but because their use extends across reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
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Media and Technology
- Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty-first century, skills related to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are integrated throughout the standards.
