English Language Arts 9

Forms of text

I can identify the form a text takes and explain how form shapes what it can do.

Functions of text

I can identify the function a text is built to do by analyzing its intended effect on an audience.

Genres of text

I can name a text's genre from its conventions and patterns.

Using text features

I can use text features to navigate a complex text and locate key information efficiently.

Characterization

I can analyze how an author builds a complex character, including characters who change.

Narrative structures

I can recognize different narrative structures and explain their effect on meaning.

Setting

I can analyze how setting shapes mood, conflict, and character beyond being a backdrop.

Sensory detail

I can identify sensory details and explain how they build atmosphere.

Figurative language

I can interpret figurative language and explain the layered meaning it adds.

Irony

I can recognize irony in a story and explain the effect it creates.

Paradox

I can recognize a paradox and explain the deeper truth it points to.

Oxymoron

I can recognize an oxymoron and explain the effect its contradiction creates.

Layout

I can analyze how layout guides a viewer's attention and shapes meaning.

Infographics

I can read an infographic by connecting its visuals, numbers, and text into one argument.

Emoticons

I can explain how an emoticon adds tone to a digital message.

Icons

I can explain how an icon communicates an action or idea instantly, without words.

Symbols

I can interpret a symbol in a visual text and explain what larger idea it represents.

Interactive visuals

I can explain how an interactive visual changes what a viewer can do compared to a static one.

Hypertext

I can explain how hypertext links let a reader choose their own path through information.

Colour

I can analyze how colour choices in a visual text set mood or carry symbolic meaning.

Illustration style

I can compare illustration styles and explain how each changes a viewer's response.

Using contextual clues

I can use surrounding context to work out the meaning of an unfamiliar or ambiguous word.

Using phonics and word structure

I can break an unfamiliar word into its structural parts to work out its meaning.

Visualizing

I can build a detailed mental image from a text's details to deepen comprehension of complex material.

Questioning (reading)

I can generate questions before, during, and after reading to drive deeper analysis.

Predicting

I can make a reasoned prediction from textual evidence and revise it as new evidence appears.

Previewing text

I can preview a complex text's structure before reading closely to set expectations and read more efficiently.

Summarizing

I can condense a text to its main argument or events in my own words.

Making inferences

I can combine textual evidence with background knowledge to draw a conclusion the author implies but never states.

Focusing on the speaker

I can give full, active attention to a speaker instead of mentally drafting my own response.

Asking questions to clarify

I can ask a targeted question to engage with a speaker's actual meaning rather than assuming.

Listening for specifics

I can listen for exact details rather than only following the general gist.

Expressing opinions

I can state an opinion clearly, support it with evidence, and respond respectfully to disagreement.

Speaking with expression

I can use vocal variety to deliver a presentation or argument so it lands as intended.

Staying on topic

I can keep contributions focused and relevant, building on the actual thread of conversation.

Taking turns

I can share speaking time fairly and invite quieter voices into a discussion.

Reflecting

I can look back on my own learning to identify specifically what strategies worked and why.

Questioning your own thinking

I can interrupt my own work to check my understanding and catch confusion early.

Goal setting

I can set a specific, checkable goal for my own learning or writing.

Self-evaluating

I can judge my own work honestly against a stated standard, naming specific strengths and next steps.

Revising

I can rework a draft's ideas, organization, and flow as a separate step before editing.

Editing

I can correct a draft's grammar, spelling, and punctuation once its ideas and structure are solid.

Considering audience

I can adjust vocabulary, tone, and detail to fit a specific audience.

Tone (spoken)

I can analyze how a speaker's tone can shift or reverse the literal meaning of their words.

Volume

I can explain how volume signals urgency, confidence, or emotion and choose it deliberately.

Inflection

I can explain how a speaker's pitch changes a sentence's meaning, including sarcasm.

Pace

I can explain how speeding up or slowing down speech builds tension or signals importance.

Gestures

I can analyze how a speaker's gestures reinforce, contradict, or add nuance to their words.

Multi-paragraphing

I can organize a multi-paragraph piece so each paragraph develops one idea building toward an overall point.

Language change

I can explain how language changes over time and why that change is a normal process, not decline.

Diction

I can analyze a writer's diction and explain the precise effect their word choices create.

Figurative language as style

I can analyze how a writer's use of figurative language is a deliberate stylistic choice that shapes their voice.

Tone (written style)

I can identify the tone a writer establishes and explain how word choice creates it.

Inclusive language

I can recognize inclusive language choices and explain why a writer chooses to represent a full range of readers.

Degree of formality

I can identify how formal or informal a piece of writing is and explain whether it fits its purpose and audience.

Avoiding double negatives

I can recognize and correct a double negative.

Mixed metaphors

I can recognize a mixed metaphor and revise it to one consistent image.

Malapropisms

I can recognize a malapropism and identify the intended word.

Word misuse

I can catch commonly confused words and correct them to the word that fits the sentence.

Using a mix of sentence types

I can combine simple, compound, and complex sentences deliberately to control pacing and emphasis.

Correct pronoun use

I can use pronouns correctly so a sentence has no ambiguous or dangling reference.

Subject-verb agreement

I can match a verb correctly to its subject even in more complex sentences.

Using transitional words

I can use transitional words to signal logical relationships between ideas.

Spotting run-ons and fragments

I can identify and fix run-on sentences and sentence fragments.

Punctuation

I can use punctuation correctly and purposefully, including more advanced marks.

Capitalization

I can apply capitalization rules correctly and consistently, including titles and quoted material.

Quoting

I can correctly punctuate and format a quotation, including an in-text reference to its source.

Canadian spelling

I can spell words consistently using Canadian conventions throughout a piece of writing.

Presentation techniques

I can use presentation techniques to deliver information clearly and hold an audience's attention.

Figurative language as rhetoric

I can analyze how figurative language is used persuasively to make an argument vivid and memorable.

Parallelism

I can recognize parallelism and explain how it makes an argument feel balanced and rhythmic.

Repetition

I can recognize deliberate repetition and explain how it drives home a speaker's central point.

Irony as rhetoric

I can recognize when a speaker uses irony to persuade or critique and explain its persuasive purpose.

Humour

I can explain how a speaker uses humour to win over an audience or make a serious point land more easily.

Exaggeration

I can recognize exaggeration used for persuasive effect and explain how it makes an argument feel more urgent.

Emotional language

I can identify an appeal to emotion in a persuasive text and explain how it's meant to make an audience feel.

Logic

I can identify a logical appeal in a persuasive text and evaluate whether the logic actually holds up.

Direct address

I can recognize direct address and explain how it creates a personal, persuasive connection.

Rhetorical questions

I can recognize a rhetorical question and explain the point it's designed to lead the audience toward.

Allusion

I can recognize an allusion and explain the meaning it borrows to strengthen an argument.

Connotation

I can identify a word's connotation and explain why a writer chose it over a near-synonym.

Denotation

I can identify a word's denotation and distinguish it from the connotations it carries in context.