1.) Identify genre, tone, and plot in short stories, drama, and poetry and identify organizational structure in essays and other nonfiction text to comprehend recreational reading materials.

2.) Compare the use of language and literary elements and devices, including rhythm, rhyme scheme, tone, and plot, in various selections, cultures, and genres.

3.) Read with comprehension a variety of ninth-grade informational and functional reading materials, including recognizing tone and propaganda.

4.) Identify literary components that contribute to authors' styles.

5.) Identify persuasive strategies, including propaganda, in world literature selections.

6.) Determine word meaning in world literature selections using word analysis and context clues.

7.) Write in narrative, expository, and persuasive modes using figurative language and imagery, including simile and metaphor, when effective and appropriate.

8.) Critique paragraphs for logical progression of sentences.

9.) Identify factors that influence the development of language.

10.) Determine correct use of commas with appositives and within direct quotations, colons to introduce lists, semicolons with a series of elements separated by commas, and punctuation for a divided quotation.

11.) Identify correct use of parallel words; incorrect verb tense shifts within sentences; correct number and tense in verb forms, including regular and irregular verbs; and correct forms of compound nouns, including singular, plural, and possessive forms.

12.) Apply the correct use of subject-verb agreement with collective nouns when verb forms depend on the rest of the sentence; with compound subjects, including those joined by or with the second element as singular or plural; and with the subjunctive mood.

13.) Demonstrate paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing of primary and secondary sources and various methods of note taking.

14.) Use the research process to locate, select, retrieve, evaluate, and organize information to support a thesis on a nonliterary topic.

15.) Identify persuasive strategies in oral and visual presentations.

16.) Evaluate a speech for use of presentation skills, including use of visual aids.

17.) Use supporting details to present a position and to respond to an argument.