Search TEKS Guide

developing an engaging idea reflecting depth of thought with specific facts and details;

revise drafts for clarity, development, organization, style, word choice, and sentence variety;

complete complex sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;

consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses;

conjunctive adverbs;

prepositions and prepositional phrases and their influence on subject-verb agreement;

pronouns, including relative;

subordinating conjunctions to form complex sentences and correlative conjunctions such as either/or and neither/nor;

capitalization of proper nouns, including abbreviations, initials, acronyms, and organizations;

punctuation marks, including commas in complex sentences, transitions, and introductory elements; and

correct spelling, including commonly confused terms such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too; and

publish written work for appropriate audiences.

compose literary texts such as personal narratives, fiction, and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;

compose informational texts, including multi-paragraph essays that convey information about a topic, using a clear controlling idea or thesis statement and genre characteristics and craft;

compose multi-paragraph argumentative texts using genre characteristics and craft; and

compose correspondence that reflects an opinion, registers a complaint, or requests information in a business or friendly structure.

generate student-selected and teacher-guided questions for formal and informal inquiry;

develop and revise a plan;

refine the major research question, if necessary, guided by the answers to a secondary set of questions;

identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources;

differentiate between primary and secondary sources;

synthesize information from a variety of sources;

differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials;

reliability, credibility, and bias; and

faulty reasoning such as hyperbole, emotional appeals, and stereotype;

display academic citations and use source materials ethically; and

use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.

listen actively to interpret a message and ask clarifying questions that build on others' ideas;

follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, or solve problems;

present a critique of a literary work, film, or dramatic production, employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a variety of natural gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and

engage in meaningful discourse and provide and accept constructive feedback from others.

use print or digital resources to determine the meaning, syllabication, pronunciation, word origin, and part of speech;

use context such as contrast or cause and effect to clarify the meaning of words; and

determine the meaning and usage of grade-level academic English words derived from Greek and Latin roots such as omni, log/logue, gen, vid/vis, phil, luc, and sens/sent.

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--fluency. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to adjust fluency when reading grade-level text based on the reading purpose.

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.

establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;

generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;

make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;

create mental images to deepen understanding;

make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;

make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;

evaluate details read to determine key ideas;

synthesize information to create new understanding; and

monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.

describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts;

write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres;

use text evidence to support an appropriate response;

paraphrase and summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;

interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating;

respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate;

discuss and write about the explicit or implicit meanings of text;

respond orally or in writing with appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice; and

reflect on and adjust responses as new evidence is presented.

infer multiple themes within and across texts using text evidence;

analyze how characters' qualities influence events and resolution of the conflict;

analyze plot elements, including the use of foreshadowing and suspense, to advance the plot; and