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Standard 1 : Conventions of Standard EnglishArchived
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • LAFS.1112.L.1.1 : Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
    1. Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.
    2. Resolve issues of complex or contested usage, consulting references (e.g., Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, Garner’s Modern American Usage) as needed.
  • LAFS.1112.L.1.2 : Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
    1. Observe hyphenation conventions.
    2. Spell correctly.
Cluster Information
Number:
LAFS.1112.L.1
Title:
Conventions of Standard English
Type:
Cluster
Subject:
English Language Arts - Archived
Grade:
1112
Strand
Language Standards
Cluster Access Points

This cluster includes the following Access Points.

Cluster Resources

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

Original Student Tutorials
  • Blasting Off with Active and Passive Voice: Learn to distinguish between passive and active voice and how to revise sentences by changing them from passive voice to active voice in this interactive Space Race-themed tutorial.

  • Exploring Comma Usage: Learn to use commas correctly to set off an introductory clause, phrase, or word at the start of a sentence with this interactive tutorial.

  • Be Careful with Your Commas!: Learn to use commas correctly with this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll review a number of important comma rules, including when not to use a comma, and you'll learn to identify errors in comma usage. 

  • Mysterious Punctuation Marks—Part Two: Quotation Marks and the Dash: Learn about two mysterious punctuation marks: quotation marks and the dash. As you complete this interactive tutorial, you'll learn a number of important rules and guidelines to help you use them correctly.

    This is Part Two of a two-part series. Click HERE to launch Part One to learn about the apostrophe and the ellipsis.

  • Mysterious Punctuation Marks -- Part One: Learn about four mysterious punctuation marks in this two-part interactive tutorial. In Part One, you'll learn important rules and guidelines to help you correctly use the apostrophe and the ellipsis. 

    In Part Two, you'll learn to correctly use quotation marks and the dash. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to open Part Two.

  • Comma Check: Putting Your Punctuation in Order: Learn three rules for using commas correctly in your writing through use of this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll learn how to join two independent clauses without creating a comma splice, how to identify and offset a nonessential clause in a sentence, and how to use the controversial Oxford comma. 

  • Check it Out: Using Colons Correctly: Learn about the ways to correctly use a colon in a sentence by exploring this interactive tutorial! We'll go over contexts where colon use is appropriate, and you'll learn guidelines for colon usage. You'll also learn several important rules for capitalization usage after a colon. By the end, you should be apply to apply these rules to correctly use a colon within a sentence. 

  • Piece It Together: Understanding Semicolon Usage: Learn and practice how to use semicolons in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn three important rules for using the semicolon to join clauses together. By the end, you should be able to apply these three rules to correctly use a semicolon within a sentence.

  • Streamlining Sentences: Using Hyphens : Learn how to use the hyphen in this interactive tutorial about sharks! You'll learn rules and strategies for the proper use of this often misunderstood punctuation mark.  

  • Dynamic English: Understanding a Changing Language: Learn about the conventions of Modern English compared to the English of long ago. In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine some current language conventions that apply to our use of English when speaking and writing. We'll also see how our language has evolved since the days of Old English and Middle English. Finally, we'll examine some important differences between standard language and disputed (less formal) language.

Lesson Plans
  • Semicolons and Swift: Analyzing Punctuation and Meaning: In this lesson, students identify and categorize different ways Jonathan Swift and those who have edited his text since its initial publication used semicolons in the essay "A Modest Proposal." They compare these uses with rules for semicolon use as indicated in online guides, theorizing about uses that do not follow the rules. Following this analysis and theorizing, students use what they learn about punctuation and its influence on meaning to write insightfully about their findings, using semicolons as they do so.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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.