Cluster 1: Text Types and PurposesArchived

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General Information
Number: LAFS.1112.W.1
Title: Text Types and Purposes
Type: Cluster
Subject: English Language Arts - Archived
Grade: 1112
Strand: Writing Standards

Related Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Access Points

LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1a
Introduce claim(s) for an argument that reflects knowledge of the topic.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1b
Use context or related text to establish the significance of the claim(s).
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1c
Identify claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims(s) in writing.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1d
Create a writing organizational structure (e.g., introduce claims, distinguish supporting and opposing claims and relevant evidence for each, provide conclusion) logically sequencing claim(s), counterclaims, reason and evidence.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1e
Select the most relevant evidence for claim(s) and counterclaim(s) for use in writing.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1f
Develop clear claim(s) with the most relevant evidence for a topic or text.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1g
Use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion within writing.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1h
Use words, phrases and clauses to clarify the relationship among claims, counterclaims, reasons and evidence.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1i
Maintain a consistent style and voice throughout writing (e.g., third person for formal style, accurate and efficient word choice, sentence fluency, voice should be active versus passive).
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.1j
Provide a concluding statement or section that supports the argument presented by stating the significance of the claim and/or presenting next steps related to the topic.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2a
Create an organizational structure for writing that groups information logically (e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast, descriptions and examples) to support paragraph focus.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2b
Provide a clear introduction previewing information to follow and summarizing stated focus.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2c
Provide the facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations or other information and examples that are most relevant to the focus and appropriate for the audience.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2d
Use transitional words, phrases and clauses that connect ideas and create cohesion within writing.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2e
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2f
Maintain a consistent style and voice throughout writing (e.g., third person for formal style, accurate and efficient word choice, sentence fluency, voice should be active versus passive).
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2g
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.2h
Report on a topic using a logical sequence of ideas, appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details that support the main ideas.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3a
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation or observation and establishing one or multiple point(s) of view.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3b
Engage and orient the reader to the narrator and/or characters.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3c
Produce a narrative that includes dialogue that advances the plot or theme (e.g., reveals character motivation, feelings, thoughts, how character has changed perspectives).
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3d
Include plot techniques and pacing (e.g., flashback, foreshadowing, suspense) as appropriate in writing.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3e
Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth or resolution).
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3f
Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3g
Use precise words and phrases, telling details and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting and/or characters.
LAFS.1112.W.1.AP.3h
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed or resolved over the course of the narrative.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans

The Declaration of Independence: Analyzing Changes Made by Congress:

In this lesson, students will listen to a mini-lecture by a history professor regarding two passages included in Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence but deleted from the final version. Students will then participate in an analysis of the two passages, then write an argumentative essay about the professor's argument.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Declaration of Independence: Analyzing Changes Made by Congress:

In this lesson, students will listen to a mini-lecture by a history professor regarding two passages included in Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence but deleted from the final version. Students will then participate in a close-reading analysis of the two passages to understand the professor's argument, explaining it in an essay. The hypocrisy of slavery is the primary theme: Can a people who enslave others validly plead for their own freedom?

Type: Lesson Plan

Contrasting Cultures:

In this lesson, students will explore the similarities and differences that exist between modern American culture and the setting of a story or novel that they have read in class. Any story or novel that is set in another society, whether it is a foreign country, a dystopian society, a fictional land, or simply another time period, can be used. The lesson serves as both an assessment of the student's reading comprehension and an activity to help develop skill in writing through the use of brainstorming, a graphic organizer, teacher feedback, and peer review. Two different assignment sheets, organizers, and rubrics are provided to allow for teacher flexibility.

Type: Lesson Plan

A Need for Sleep: A Close Reading of a Soliloquy from King Henry IV, Part II:

In this lesson, students will consider the literary elements Shakespeare uses to communicate King Henry's inability to sleep. As they close read this passage multiple times, students will discover how diction, tone, syntax, and imagery help to convey King Henry's state of mind. Once they have grappled with the text in small groups and on their own, they will bring their discoveries and interpretations together in a final essay. A text marking handout and key, independent practice questions and key, a planning sheet, and a writing rubric have been included with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Advice to Youth - A Satire by Mark Twain:

This close reading lesson focuses on Mark Twain's comical satire, "Advice to Youth." Students will close read the text three times to analyze Twain's powerful satirical style, as well as the power of nuances. For the first reading, students will focus on academic vocabulary. In the second reading, students will answer text-dependent questions as a guide for their comprehension of the satire. In the third close reading, students will analyze the advice Twain gives, the ways in which his essay critiques society and its behaviors, and how he uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to reveal his advice. For the summative assessment, students will write an argumentative essay in which they make a claim regarding whether or not Twain's advice is still pertinent for the youth of today. Graphic organizers and worksheets, along with teacher keys, and a writing rubric have been provided.

Type: Lesson Plan

Shakespearean Soliloquy Fluency: A Close Reading and Analysis of "To be or not to be":

In this lesson, students will perform multiple close readings of the well-known "To be or not to be" soliloquy from William Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hamlet. The lesson is appropriate for 11th or 12th grade students who have some familiarity with reading Shakespeare but would benefit from fluency practice with the difficult text, as well as vocabulary building and argumentative writing about literature. The closure and extension activities provide suggestions for taking this study further using other Hamlet (or other Shakespearean) soliloquies.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Modernist Struggle: Allusions, Images, and Emotions in T. S. Eliot’s Prufrock:

Students will research modernism, analyze allusions and images in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," diagnose the character's mental weakness using evidence from the poem, and write him an email about how to improve his state of mind from the perspective of a hypothetical online mental health professional.

Type: Lesson Plan

Budgeting: Finding Personal Financial Success:

During this lesson, students will learn about budgets, checking and savings accounts, and interest. They will then have a research activity to focus on their future lives, which they will use to create a budget for their lives after they have finished their education and/or job training. This budget will be created using a spreadsheet or other technology to explore how various factors, such as interest rates, will affect their budget and necessary income.

Type: Lesson Plan

Universal Theme: The Cycle of Life:

Through an analysis of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," and E. E. Cummings' poem "anyone lived in a pretty how town," students will come to realize the importance of the cycle of life and nature as it pertains to human existence. The three texts come from dramatically different genres, time periods, and settings capturing the essence of a universal theme.

Type: Lesson Plan

Free Willy? An Argument Analysis of the Controversy over Captive Killer Whale Populations:

In this lesson, students will conduct several close readings of the article "SeaWorld, Activists Make Questionable Claims on Killer Whale Life Spans" by Jason Garcia. For the first close reading, students will focus on selected academic vocabulary. In the second reading, students will analyze the claims made in the article, focusing, in particular, on the validity of each claim made. During the final close reading, students will analyze the argument presented in the article, choose a side, and participate in a Philosophical Chairs discussion.

Type: Lesson Plan

Close Reading Exemplar: I am an American Day Address:

This unit from Student Achievement Partner web resources has been developed to guide students and instructors in a close reading of Learned Hand's "I am an American Day Address". The activities and actions described below follow a carefully developed set of steps that assist students in increasing their familiarity and understanding of Hand's speech through a series of text-dependent tasks and questions that ultimately develop college and career ready skills. This unit is recommended as an activity for a "Great Conversation" Module and can be taught in two days of study and reflection on the part of students and their teachers. A third day or more could be added if the time is needed or extension activities are desired.

Type: Lesson Plan

Comparing Portrayals of Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Photography and Literature:

Huck Finn's moral journey parallels Mark Twain's own questions about slavery. Like the photographers of the nineteenth-century, Twain, a Realist, struggled with how best to portray fictionalized characters, while still expressing truth and creating social commentary. In this lesson, students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Mark Twain's novel and/or excerpts from Frederick Doulgass' narrative to original photographs of slaves from the late-nineteenth century. Then they write an essay to compare the different portrayals, arguing to what extent art can reliably reflect truth. In addition, they will discuss art as social commentary.

Type: Lesson Plan

Propaganda Techniques in Literature and Online Political Ads:

After reading or viewing a text, students are introduced to propaganda techniques and then identify examples in the text. Students discuss these examples, and then explore the use of propaganda in popular culture by looking at examples in the media. Students identify examples of propaganda techniques used in clips of online political advertisements and explain how the techniques are used to persuade voters. Next, students explore the similarities of the propaganda techniques used in the literary text and in the online political ads to explain the commentary the text is making about contemporary society. Finally, students write a persuasive essay in support of a given statement.

In this lesson, some specific references are made to Brave New World as examples. A text list suggests additional novels, short stories, plays, and movies that will also work for this activity.

Type: Lesson Plan

Looking for the Byronic Hero Using Twilight's Edward Cullen:

This comprehensive lesson from ReadWriteThink.org helps students understand the complexity of a character (primarily the hero or protagonist) in a literary work. Several resources are included and the lesson is clear and easy to follow. Also, the culminating project offers several choices that should encourage student curiosity and creativity. Although the lesson is written for five 50 minute sessions, the teacher implementing the activities could effectively complete the lesson in less time.

Type: Lesson Plan

Playlist for Holden: Character Analysis With Music and Lyrics:

This mini-lesson invites students to think of a literary character as a peer, creating an authentic connection between literature and life. While the lesson uses The Catcher in the Rye as an example, the activities could be centered on the primary character of any novel. Students choose a perspective on the character (from options suggested by the teacher) and work in small groups to identify scenes in the novel that reflect their view. They then select songs appropriate for the character and write a rationale for each song chosen, including supporting evidence from the text. When students present their completed playlists in class, their classmates inevitably make observations that increase everyone's insights into the character and the novel.

Type: Lesson Plan

"The American Puritan Tradition: Part III":

This lesson is part three of a three-part unit that will explore and analyze how different authors convey American Puritanism. In this lesson, students plan to write and then complete an essay to explore how two different authors and texts portray American Puritanism, Jonathan Edwards in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Arthur Miller in “The Crucible.”

Type: Lesson Plan

Native American Myth Writing - Creating Our Own Creation Stories:

In this third and final lesson of the Native American Myth Unit, the students will use what they learned in the first two lessons to create original myths. They will use vivid, sensory language, well-structured event sequences, and standard English conventions as they go through the various stages of drafting, editing, and publishing.

Type: Lesson Plan

The American Puritan Tradition: Part II:

This lesson is part two of a three lesson unit that will explore and analyze how different authors convey American Puritanism. In lessons two of this unit, students will analyze key literary elements and Miller’s use of rhetoric to create mood in the play, "The Crucible."

Type: Lesson Plan

Show Me a Hero, and I Will Write You a Tragedy – F. Scott Fitzgerald - Part 3:

This is Part three of a three-part series on the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Students will analyze F. Scott Fitzgerald's inspirations for both his characters and stories. In this lesson, students will analyze a 1928 portrait of Louise Brooks by Eugene Robert Richee as a stimulus for creating an original character living during the glitter and glamour of the 1920s. Finally, using compiled textual evidence recorded throughout the three lessons, students will create a narrative in the style of Fitzgerald for Louise Brooks.

Type: Lesson Plan

Show Me a Hero, and I Will Write You a Tragedy – F. Scott Fitzgerald - Part 2:

This is Part two of this three-part series on the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Through reading and analyzing excerpts from F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story "The Offshore Pirate" (1920) in Flappers and Philosophers, students will examine the characterization of Artida and Carlyle and compare the two characters.

Type: Lesson Plan

Narrative of the Captivity Close Reading:

Students will read and analyze the "Narrative of the Captivity" for Rowlandson's use of allusion as it contributes to the meaning of her account. In addition, they will identify and analyze the central idea and supporting details as they contribute to meaning.

Type: Lesson Plan

The American Puritan Tradition: Part 1:

This lesson is part one of three in a unit that will explore and analyze how American Puritanism has been represented in different texts. The goal of this lesson is for students to analyze the central idea and how the authors' style (figurative language, persuasive techniques) contributes to establishing and achieving the purpose in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

Type: Lesson Plan

Gatsby Universal Themes Analysis – F. Scott Fitzgerald - Part 1:

This is Part one of a three-part series that focuses on passages from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Through reading, text marking, and participating in collaborative discussions, students will analyze the universal themes: “Success can be corrupted by greed,” and “Irresponsibility can lead to destruction.”

Type: Lesson Plan

User Beware: Exploring the Impacts of Technology through Science Fiction and Dystopian Texts:

In this lesson, students first complete a survey to establish their beliefs about technology before using a literary elements map to explore the role of fictional technology in a novel such as 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, REM World, or Feed (additional titles that could be used, including short stories, are included within the lesson plan). Next, using evidence from the text, students discuss and debate what they believe the story's author is saying about technology. As an assessment, students will utilize one of the items from the survey that caused the most disagreement in group discussions to form an argument as to why they think the author would agree or disagree with that particular statement on the survey. Students will write a letter to persuade another student in the class who disagrees with their viewpoint. Another group discussion can follow the exchange of these letters.

Type: Lesson Plan

Poetry Analysis and Time Periods:

Students will analyze how Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson each used figurative language to develop a specific tone in relation to mortality. They will also consider how each poet reflected the time periods within which they wrote.

Type: Lesson Plan

Close Reading Exemplar: Living Like Weasels:

The goal of this four-day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to discover the rich language and life lesson embedded in Dillard's text. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will be equipped to unpack Dillard's essay. When combined with writing about the passage, students will learn to appreciate how Dillard's writing contains a deeper message and derive satisfaction from the struggle to master complex text.

Type: Lesson Plan

Literary Analysis through Close Reading of "The Yellow Wallpaper":

This learning module supports implementation of academic standards in the 11-12th grade classroom. It includes a learning module template for teachers, as well as a student handout that provides the literary text and the learning tasks. The purpose of this lesson is for students to read, understand, and analyze complex text through close reading and scaffolded learning tasks. At the conclusion of the lesson, students will conduct an inquiry-based research task that culminates in an analysis paper that asks students to use evidence from their research and the text to support an original claim.

Type: Lesson Plan

Lesson IV: The Trials of Phillis Wheatley-- A Debate:

This is the fourth and final lesson in a small unit on the life and works of Phillis Wheatley. Although details are given only for this final lesson, some information is given on the preceding three lessons.

Type: Lesson Plan

Dealing with Grief: A Comparison of Tone and Theme:

In this four-part lesson series, students will delve into the topic of grief through analysis of poetic devices, form, and point of view in poems by Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Students will connect theme to the poets’ viewpoints on the emotions, or the lack thereof, that one experiences during times of pain and loss. Students will read the poems multiple times to seek layers of meaning and write an in-depth analysis.

Type: Lesson Plan

Demonstrating Understanding of Richard Wright's Rite of Passage:

After reading Richard Wright's short novel Rite of Passage, students will demonstrate their understanding of plot, character, and conflict by writing recommendations for the protagonists' future to a juvenile court system judge.

Type: Lesson Plan

Poetry Analysis Lesson 1: Figurative Language Creates Tone:

Students will read Emily Dickinson poems, complete text marking and annotations of the poems, and write a response that explains their analysis of how Emily Dickinson uses figurative language to create tone.

Type: Lesson Plan

Poetry Analysis Lesson 2: Figurative Language and Theme:

Students will identify and analyze how two authors use figurative language to support the themes of each of their poems. Students will complete text marking and annotations to show their analysis of each, and will write a response that explains their analysis of each.

Type: Lesson Plan

Teaching Ideas

Facilitating a Socratic Seminar with the play "The Piano Lesson" by August Wilson:

This teaching idea guides students in generating questions for a student led seminar based on their reading of August Wilson's play, "The Piano Lesson". Students will then use their questions to conduct a Socratic Seminar about the play.

Type: Teaching Idea

Analyzing Grammar Pet Peeves:

This teaching idea is designed to help students analyze grammar pet peeves. Students begin by thinking about their own grammar pet peeves and then read a "Dear Abby" column in which she lists several grammar pet peeves of her own. Students become aware that attitudes about race, social class, moral and ethical character and 'proper' language use are intertwined and that rants such as this one reveal those attitudes. Finally, students discuss the pet peeves as a class while gaining an understanding that issues of race, class, combined with audience expectations, help to determine what is considered 'proper' language use.

Type: Teaching Idea

Unit/Lesson Sequences

Of Sound Mind: Looking Toward the Future:

Of Sound Mind tells the story of the frustrations, anxiety, and sorrow experienced by Theo, who is the only hearing son in a family that is deaf. Theo is torn between helping his family and planning for his future. Students investigate issues of family responsibility, maturity, and deafness in this unit as they cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says, work to analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding elements of the story, and write informative/explanatory texts to convey complex ideas clearly.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Wild Orchid: Coming of Age:

In this unit, students will examine the challenges of transitioning into adulthood faced by Taylor, who is an 18-year-old girl with autism. Taylor must go to Waskesiu Lake for the summer because her mother has a new job. Wild Orchid explores how Taylor learns to apply the coping strategies she has been taught when she finds herself in a new environment. She learns that she can be independent and think for herself. Through this lesson plan, students will work to determine two or more themes of a text, analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding the elements of a story, and write arguments to support claims with valid reasoning and sufficient evidence in response to questions.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments:

After gaining skills through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as: "What makes the speech an argument?", "How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?", and "Why are the words still venerated today?".

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Analyzing a Famous Speech:

After gaining skill through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as: What makes the speech an argument?, How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?, and Why are the words still venerated today?

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Student Resources

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Parent Resources

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