Reading and Writing Standards

1. Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and for diverse audiences.

  • Teen Talk: Students will learn how to write a speech public speaking skills necessary to successfully speak in front of others.
  • Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will select a focused topic and then drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading a final product for a larger audience.
    • Students will form and support an opinion using various forms of persuasion in speaking and writing.
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will conduct oral history interviews and are available for speaking engagements.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Every Career, Journalist, Public Relations, Construction, Public Service, Educator, Medical Fields, Telemarketing
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • Every Class at GJHS

2. Students write and speak using correct grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

  • Teen Talk: Students will use correct mechanics (grammar, etc.) when speaking and writing.
  • Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will use and correctly punctuate all sentence types, transition, and parallel structures.
    • Students will use manuscript forms specified in various style manuals for writing (for example, indenting for extended quotations, precise placement and form of page numbers, appropriate line spacing, bibliography format).
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will publish a booklet on the history of their area.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Every Career, Journalist, Public Relations, Construction, Public Service, Educator, Medical Fields, Clerical
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • Every Class, particularly All English Courses

3. Students read and understand a variety of materials.

  • Teen Talk: Students will practice skills of reading comprehension necessary to succeed in every subject area.
  • Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will apply word recognition and comprehension strategies as they add essays, speeches, autobiographies, and first person historical documents to the types of literature they read.
    • Students will apply comprehension strategies as they explore literary criticism and literary analysis, professional and technical journals, and professional- level reading material that match their career or academic interests.
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will create a technical instruction manual requiring sequencing of steps.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Public Service, Librarian, Educator, Journalist, Research and Marketing
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • Every English Class, Humanities, All Science Classes, All Social Studies Classes

4. Students apply higher-level thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.

  • Teen Talk: Students will need to learn the importance of thinking things through and notjust accepting things as they are.
  • Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will identify unsupported statements, fallacies of logic, propaganda techniques, and the slanting of language in persuasive messages such as advertisements, political statements, or editorials.
    • Students will use reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing to solve problems.
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will create a checklist to use when critiquing oral and written presentations.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Journalist, Business person, Educator, Military Services, Anchor Person
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • All English Courses, Humanities, The Orange & Black, Social Studies

5. Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant information from a variety of media, reference, and technological sources.

  • Teen Talk: Students will learn the different sources of getting information. Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will use organizational features of electronic text such as bulletin boards, database keyword searches, and e-mail addresses to locate information when technology is available.
    • Students will us organizational skill such as note-taking , outlining, summarizing, and paraphrasing to reflect a more in-depth understanding of the information.
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will publish a brochure explaining how to make use of electronic information sources in the community.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Librarian, Economist, Computer Technician, Business Person, Social Services, Research and Development
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • All English Courses, Humanities, Comparative Religion, US History, American Government

6. Students read, appreciate, and recognize the literature as an expression of human experience.

  • Teen Talk: Students will learn about a variety of diverse people and societies through the writings of others.
  • Examples in the classroom:
    • Students will develop and supporting a thesis about the craft and significance of particular works of literature, both classic and contemporary.
    • Students will use literary terminology accurately, such as theme, mood, diction, perspective, style, and point of view.
  • Service Learning Activities:
    • Students will read new books purchased for the library, and write reviews which are attached to the inside cover.
  • Careers for Exploration:
    • Author, Journalist, Librarian, Educator, Clerical
  • Classroom Explorations:
    • All English Courses, Anthropology, Comparative Religion, Social Studies