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Standard 2 : Knowledge of LanguageArchived
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • LAFS.1112.L.2.3 : Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
    1. Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g., Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed; apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.
Cluster Information
Number:
LAFS.1112.L.2
Title:
Knowledge of Language
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
  • Discovering the Treasure of Sentence Variety: Part 2: Batten down the hatches, mateys! In this two-part series, you'll learn about syntax and the ways in which writing with varied syntax can affect the meaning of a text. This tutorial is Part Two. In this tutorial, you'll learn about complex sentence structures. Then you'll combine what you learned in both parts of this series to identify different sentence structures and analyze the effect of simple, compound, and complex sentence structures on the meaning of a text. You'll also practice writing using varied syntax. 

    Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two! Click HERE to view Part One.

  • Discovering the Treasure of Sentence Variety: Part 1: Ahoy, mateys! Learn about syntax and the ways in which writing with varied syntax can affect the meaning of a text. In this two-part interactive tutorial, you'll learn about syntax. You'll practice identifying simple, compound, and complex sentence structures and analyze the effect of these different types of structures on the meaning of a text. You'll also practice writing using varied syntax. 

    Make sure to complete both parts of this series! Click HERE for Part Two.

Lesson Plans
  • 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. Students will analyze how diction, tone, syntax, and imagery help to convey King Henry's state of mind, and will write a short response to outline their analysis, using text to support their answers.

  • 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. Students will then write two paragraphs to show their analysis of Shakespeare’s use of figurative language and its effect on the text.

  • Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: This lesson plan explores symmetry in the structure and themes of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," delving into the antagonist's representation of the "duality of nature." In examining knightly virtues, students will measure Gawain's strength as the poem's hero. The lesson explains background information that every medieval thinker listening to a performance of the poem would know, in an effort to put the student into the mind-set of the medieval audience, providing a deeper appreciation and understanding of the work.

  • 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.

Teaching Ideas
  • 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.

  • Langston Hughes' Drafts of "Ballad of Booker T.": Exploring the Creative Process: This teaching idea involves analysis of original drafts and edits that Langston Hughes made to the poem "Ballad of Booker T." The Library of Congress site provides a primary source analysis tool, teacher guides, and supplemental resources about Booker T. Washington.
Unit/Lesson Sequence
  • The Passion of Punctuation: Students learn to use commas, semicolons, colons, and exclamation points correctly, and explore how they can use punctuation to contribute to the development of their own voice and style in writing.