Listen actively by interpreting verbal and non-verbal messages, understanding tone, and contributing relevant questions and comments in discussions.

Identify, explain the meaning of, and use adages and puns in reading, speaking, and writing.

Apply advanced syllable division and affix rules to spell complex words, and write legibly in cursive.

Analyze argumentative texts by identifying the main claim, distinguishing it from supporting evidence, and determining the intended audience and author's purpose.

Learners will analyze character relationships, identify internal and external conflicts, and explain how characters change through resolving conflicts.

Learners will identify major plot elements from exposition to resolution and trace how plot develops across a text.

Learners will identify sound devices and figurative language in poetry, distinguish the poet from the speaker, recognize poetic forms, and analyze how these elements work together.

Explain how print and graphic features, imagery, figurative language, and sound devices help authors achieve specific purposes.

Learners will evaluate how various settings, including historical and cultural, shape plot, characters, and themes across texts.

Learners will infer themes, distinguish them from topics, trace their development across a text, and support their inferences with text evidence.