high school grammar standards 9 th- 12th grade english language arts
TRANSCRIPT
High School Grammar Standards
9th-12th grade
English Language Arts
L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Use parallel structure
What is parallel structure?
Parallel structure is repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.
What do you notice?
"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
—William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
L.8.1.a
What do you notice?
“The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the
people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling
with a broom.”
-The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
L.8.1.a
Your Turn!
L.8.1.a
Use your mentor sentence to create your own sentence that is parallel.
L.9.1: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
b. Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.
Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional phrases typically consist of a preposition followed by a noun group/phrase.
What do you notice?
"East of my grandmother's house, south of the pecan grove, there is buried a woman in a beautiful dress.”
(N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, 1969)
.
L.8.1.a
Noun Phrases
A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and the modifiers—either before or after—which distinguish it.
Noun Phrases
The shoplifted pair of jeans
Pair = noun; the, shoplifted, of jeans = modifiers.
A cat that refused to meow
Cat = noun; a, that refused to meow = modifiers.
A great English teacher
Teacher = noun; a, great, English = modifiers.
What do you notice?
"Panting, Harry fell forward over the hydrangea bush, straightened up and stared around."
(J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Bloomsbury, 2003)
.
L.8.1.a
Verb Phrases
Sometimes a sentence can communicate its meaning with a one-word verb. Other times, however, a sentence will use a verb phrase, a multi-word verb, to express more nuanced action or condition. A verb phrase can have up to four parts. The pattern looks like this:
AUXILIARY VERB(S) + MAIN VERB + VERB ENDING WHEN NECESSARY
Verb Phrases
Mom had just cleaned the refrigerator shelves when Lawrence knocked over the pitcher of orange juice.
Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short chapter in her Stephen King novel.
If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!
What do you notice?
"The mourners on the front benches sat in a blue-serge, black-crepe-dress gloom. A funeral hymn made its way around the church tediously but successfully. It eased into the heart of every gay thought, into the care of each happy memory."
(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1970)
L.8.1.a
Adjectival Phrases
An adjective phrase (or adjectival phrase) is a phrase that tells us something about the noun it is modifying.
Adjectival Phrase
The extremely tired lioness is losing patience with her overly enthusiastic cub.
My mother was fairly unhappy with the service.
Her baking always smells very tempting.
The consequences of agreeing were far too serious.
The dog covered in mud looked pleased with himself.
What do you notice?
"Marge, you're as pretty as Princess Leia and as smart as Yoda."
(Homer Simpson)
L.8.1.a
What do you notice?
L.8.1.a
"Humans can be fairly ridiculous animals.”
(Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, 2007)
Adverbial Phrase
A word group with an adverb as its head. This adverb may be accompanied by modifiers or qualifiers.
An adverb phrase can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and it can appear in a number of different positions in a sentence.
Adverbial Phrase
The Cheshire Cat vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of its tail.
The players responded surprisingly well to all the pressures of the playoffs.
The best way to preserve the flavor and texture of fresh vegetables is to cook them as quickly as possible.
As quickly as possible we cleaned the fish and placed them in coolers.
Absolute Phrases
An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or objects. The pattern looks like this:
NOUN + PARTICIPLE + OPTIONAL OBJECT(S) AND/OR MODIFIER(S)
Absolute Phrases
His brow knitted in frustration
Brow = noun; knitted = participle; his, in frustration = modifiers.
Her fingers flying over the piano keys
Fingers = noun; flying = participle; her, over the piano keys = modifiers.
Our eyes following the arc of the ball
Eyes = noun; following = participle; arc = direct object; our, the, of the ball = modifiers.
What do you notice?
"Six boys came over the hill half an hour early that afternoon, running hard, their heads down, their forearms working, their breath whistling."
(John Steinbeck, The Red Pony)
L.8.1.a
What do you notice?
"The accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, sat proudly upright with a rigid grace, his palms placed softly on the defendant's table--the posture of a man who has detached himself insofar as this is possible at his own trial."
(David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994)
L.8.1.a
Participial Phrases
A word group consisting of a present participle (also known as an -ing form) or past participle (also known as an -en form), plus any modifiers, objects, and complements.
A participial phrase commonly functions as an adjective.
What do you notice?
"The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail."
(Peter Benchley, Jaws, 1974
L.8.1.a
Your Turn!Writing
L.8.1.b
Write a paragraph about ______ using a variety of sentence structures.
Clauses and Phrases
L.8.1.a
A clause is a group of related words which has both a subject and a predicate. A clause is different from a phrase because a phrase is a group of related words which lacks either a subject or a predicate or both.
Clauses
L.8.1.a
Independent ClauseAn independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.
Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.
Clauses
L.8.1.a
Dependent ClauseA dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he studied? The thought is incomplete.)
What do you notice?
"Bricks are crumbling in places, and the front door is so swollen you have to push hard to get in." Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
L.8.1.a
What do you notice?
"If I hadn't gone outside, I don't know if I would have heard the scream." Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver
L.8.1.a
A dependent clause that functions as a noun (that is, as a subject, object, or complement) within a sentence.
Noun Clause
What do you notice?
"I knew exactly how clouds drifted on a July afternoon, what rain tasted like, how ladybugs preened and caterpillars rippled, what it felt like to sit inside a bush.”
(Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)
L.8.1.a
Your Turn!Writing
L.8.1.b
Write a paragraph about ______ using a variety of sentence structures.
Application
Continue to find examples in your reading!
Examine your own written work for effective use of sentence variety!
L.8.1.a
L.9-10.2a: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writinga. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses.
L.8.1.c
L.8.1.c
Mentor Sentence"There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister."
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
L.8.1.c
Mentor Sentence"His cast-iron features puckered into a smile of the richest drollery, and his
eyes twinkled with the wickedest fun; but no undignified giggle escaped the portal of those majestic lips." — A Journey
to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne
What Do You Notice?
L.8.1.c
Mentor Sentence"Something from deep inside the world had crept up from the well; a monster set loose in our midst. The fire was his breath; the jeers all around were his snarls. I felt something burn inside of me."~Alice Hoffman, Incantation
What Do Your Notice?
Your Turn!
L.8.1.c
Use your mentor sentence to create your own sentences following similar patterns and structures.
L.9-10.2b: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
b. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation.
Colon
Use a colon after an independent clause when it is followed by a list, a quotation, appositive, or other idea directly related to the independent clause.
What do you notice?
L.8.2.a
"I can remember lying awake in a hotel in downtown Washington listening to the sounds of an August night wash in through the open window: sirens, car horns, the thrum of neon from the hotel sign, the swish of traffic, people laughing, people yelling ..."(114; Bill Bryson, The Lost Continent)
What do you notice?
L.8.2.a
In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln urges Americans to rededicate themselves to the unfinished work of the deceased soldiers: "It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”
Your Turn!
L.8.2.a
What are some other uses of the colon?
Application
Continue to find examples in your reading!
Examine your own written work and add
punctuation to indicate a pause or break!
L.8.2.a
L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Understand that grammar usage is a matter of convention, and can be adjusted over time. Learn how issues of grammar contention are resolved.
Oxford Comma-TED Talk
The most hotly contested punctuation mark of all time: http://on.ted.com/h0QF5 (via @TED_ED) pic.twitter.com/yRwowzMRMw
L.9-10.2b: Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
b. Observe hyphenation conventions.
Hyphenation
Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
a one-way streetchocolate-covered peanutswell-known author
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered.The author was well known.
Hyphenation
Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
forty-sixsixty-threeOur much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
Hyphenation
Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)semi-independent (but semiconscious)shell-like (but childlike)
Hyphenation
Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husbandself-assuredmid-Septemberall-inclusivemayor-electanti-AmericanT-shirtpre-Civil Warmid-1980s
Hyphenation
Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables:
pref-er-encesell-ingin-di-vid-u-al-ist
NOTE: I tell students to avoid this in their own writing!
Hyphenation
For line breaks, divide already-hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
mass-producedself-conscious
NOTE: I tell students to avoid this in their own writing.
Hyphenation
For line breaks in words ending in -ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is doubled before the suffix, hyphenate between the consonants; otherwise, hyphenate at the suffix itself:
plan-ningrun-ningdriv-ingcall-ing
NOTE: I tell students to avoid this in their own writing.
Hyphenation
Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line, and don't put two-letter suffixes at the beginning of a new line:
lovely (Do not separate in a way which leaves ly beginning a new line.)eval-u-ate (Separate only on either side of the u; do not leave the initial e- at the end of a line.)
NOTE: I tell students to avoid this is their own writing.
Application
Continue to find examples in your reading!
Examine your own written work and see if hyphens are required!
L.8.2.a