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Adult Ed/ English Language Arts Curriculum English Language Arts Adult Basic Education 2
Course Preface Course Preface
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Core Standards of the Course

Reading Standards
To become college and career ready, students need to grapple with works of exceptional craft and thought whose range extends across genres, cultures, and centuries. By engaging with increasingly complex readings, students gain the ability to evaluate intricate arguments and the capacity to surmount the challenges posed by complex texts. Standards 1 and 10 play a special role since they operate whenever students are reading: Standard 1 outlines the command of evidence required to support any analysis of text (e.g., analyzing structure, ideas, or the meaning of word as defined by Standards 2-9); Standard 10 defines the range and complexity of what students need to read.
Reading Strand
Key: The citation at the end of each standard in the following chart identifies the CCSS strand, grade, and number (or standard number and letter, where applicable).
For example, RI.4.3 stands for Reading, Informational Text, Grade 4, Standard 3.

RI: Reading Informational Text RH: Reading Historical/Social Studies Text
RL: Reading Literature RST: Reading Scientific and Technical Text

CCR Anchor 1:
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)4

RI/RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.


CCR Anchor 2:
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.3.2
Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.


CCR Anchor 3:
Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.3.3
Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.


CCR Anchor 4:
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.3.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a topic or subject area.


CCR Anchor 5:
Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.2.5
Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

RI.3.5
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.


CCR Anchor 6:
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.

RI.3.6
Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.


CCR Anchor 7:
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outline by Standard 10.)

RI.3.7
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).


CCR Anchor 8:
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.2.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.


CCR Anchor 9:
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. (Apply this standard to texts of appropriate complexity as outlined by Standard 10.)

RI.3.9
Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.


CCR Anchor 10:
Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.5

Associated Quantitative Measures of Text Complexity to B-E Levels of Learning

Common Core Band ATOS Degrees of Reading Power® Flesch-Kincaid The Lexile Framework® Reading Maturity SourceRater
2nd - 3rd (B) 2.75 - 5.14 42 - 54 1.98 - 5.34 420 - 820 3.53 - 6.13 0.05 - 2.48
4th - 5th (C) 4.97 - 7.03 52 - 60 4.51 - 7.73 740 - 1010 5.42 - 7.92 0.84 - 5.75
6th - 8th (D) 7.00 - 9.98 57 - 67 6.51 - 10.34 925 - 1185 7.04 - 9.57 4.11 - 10.66
9th - 10th (E) 9.67 - 12.01 62 - 72 8.32 - 12.12 1050 - 1335 8.41 - 10.81 9.02 - 13.93
11th - CCR (E) 11.20 - 14.10 67 - 74 10.34 - 14.2 1185 - 1385 9.57 - 12.00 12.30 - 14.50


Writing Standards
 To be college and career ready writers, students must take task, purpose, and audience into careful consideration, choosing words, information, structures, and formats deliberately. The Writing Standards cultivate the development of three mutually reinforcing writing capacities: crafting arguments, writing to inform and explain, and fashioning narratives about real or imagined experiences. The overwhelming focus of writing throughout the levels is on arguments and informative/explanatory texts. Writing Standard 9 is a standout because it stresses the importance of the writing-reading connection by requiring students to draw upon and use evidence from literary and informational texts as they write arguments or inform/explain. Because of the centrality of writing to most forms of inquiry, research standards are prominently included in this strand as well.

Writing Strand
Key: The citation at the end of each standard in the following chart identifies the CCSS strand, grade, and number (or standard number and letter, where applicable).
For example, W.5.1a stands for Writing, Grade 5, Standard 1a.

W: Writing WHST: Writing for History/Social Studies, Scientific and Technical Subjects

CCR Anchor 1:
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

W.3.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

  1. Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
  2. Provide reasons that support the opinion.
  3. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.
  4. Provide a concluding statement or section.

CCR Anchor 2:
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

W.3.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. 6

  1. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
  2. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
  3. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.
  4. Provide a concluding statement or section.

CCR Anchor 3:
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

W.2.3
Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.


CCR Anchor 4:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.3.4
Produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.


CCR Anchor 5:
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

W.3.5
With guidance and support from peers and others, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 at this level.)


CCR Anchor 6:
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

W.3.6
With guidance and support, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.


CCR Anchor 7:
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

W.3.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.


CCR Anchor 8:
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

W.3.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.


Speaking and Listening
 Including, but not limited to, skills necessary for formal presentations, the Speaking and Listening Standards require students to develop a range of broadly useful oral communication and interpersonal skills. The standards ask students to learn to work together, express and listen carefully to ideas, integrate information from oral, visual, quantitative, and media sources, evaluate what they hear, use media and visual displays strategically to help achieve communicative purposes, and adapt speech to context and task.7

Speaking and Listening Strand
Key: The citation at the end of each standard in the following chart identifies the CCSS strand, grade, and number (or standard number and letter, where applicable).
For example, SL.K.2 stands for Speaking and Listening, Grade K, Standard 2.

SL: Speaking and Listening  

CCR Anchor 1:
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

SL.3.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. 8

  1. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
  2. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
  3. Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.
  4. Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

CCR Anchor 2:
Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

SL.3.2
Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.


CCR Anchor 3:
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

SL.3.3
Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.


CCR Anchor 4:
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

SL.3.4
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.


CCR Anchor 6:
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

SL.3.6
Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See Language standards 1 and 3.)


Language Standards
 The Language Standards include the essential "rules" of standard written and spoken English, but they also approach language as a matter of craft and informed choice among alternatives. The vocabulary standards focus on understanding words and phrases and their nuances and relationships, and on acquiring new vocabulary, particularly general academic and domain-specific words and phrases. Students advancing through the levels are expected to meet each level's specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understanding mastered in preceding levels.9

Language Strand
Key: The citation at the end of each standard in the following chart identifies the CCSS strand, grade, and number (or standard number and letter, where applicable).
For example, L.9-10.1 stands for Language, Grade 9-10, Standard 1.

L: Language  

CCR Anchor 1:
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.2.1 and 3.1 merge 10
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

  1. Use collective nouns (e.g., group).
  2. Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences.
  3. Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.
  4. Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
  5. Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
  6. Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
  7. Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
  8. Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses.
  9. Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
  10. Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
  11. Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
  12. Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
  13. Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).

CCR Anchor 2:
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

L.2.2 and 3.2 merge
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  1. Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
  2. Capitalize appropriate words in titles.
  3. Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
  4. Use commas in addresses.
  5. Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
  6. Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
  7. Form and use possessives.
  8. Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
  9. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).
  10. Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
  11. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

CCR Anchor 3:
Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

L.3.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

  1. Choose words and phrases for effect.
  2. Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.

CCR Anchor 4:
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

L.2.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.

  1. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  2. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).
  3. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional).
  4. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
  5. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.

CCR Anchor 5:
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

L.3.5
Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

  1. Distinguish the literal and non-literal meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g., take steps).
  2. Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).
  3. Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).

CCR Anchor 6:
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

L.2.6
Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other people are happy that makes me happy).

L.3.6
Acquire and use accurately level-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).


Reading Standards: Foundational Skills K-5
 The Reading Standards: Foundational Skills are directed toward fostering students’ understanding and working knowledge of concepts of print, the alphabetic principle, and other basic conventions of the English writing system. These foundational skills are not an end in and of themselves; rather, they are necessary and important components of an effective, comprehensive reading program designed to develop proficient readers with the capacity to comprehend texts across a range of types and disciplines.11

Reading Standards: Foundational Skills K-5
Key: The citation at the end of each standard in the following chart identifies the CCSS strand, grade, and number (or standard number and letter, where applicable).
For example, RF.4.4 stands for Reading Foundational Skills, Grade 4, Standard 4.

RF: Reading Foundational Skills  

RF.3.
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. (Phonics and Word Recognition)

RF.2.3 and 3.3 merge
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

  1. Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
  2. Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
  3. Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.
  4. Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
  5. Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
  6. Decode words with common Latin suffixes.
  7. Decode multi-syllable words.
  8. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

RF.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (Fluency)

RF.2.4 and 3.4 merge
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

  1. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
  2. Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
  3. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

4 Standard 10 defines a staircase of increasing text complexity that rises from beginning reading to the college and career readiness level. Panel members added this statement to Anchor Standards 1-9 to make sure it is understood that the skills of reading are to be applied to level-appropriate complex text.
5 See Appendix D of this report for the research explaining the importance of text complexity in reading achievement.
6 To show how the standards for Writing and Speaking and Listening progress, differences in wording from level to level are underlined.
7 NGA (2010a), p. 8.
9 NGA (2010a), p. 8.
10 "Merge" signifies panelists selected all of the standards from the two grades indicated. In the merge, any repetition in content grade-to-grade was deleted; occasionally where similar content was covered grade-to-grade a single standard was edited, combining the text of both standards, to include the demands of both grades.
11 NGA (2010a), p. 15.

UEN logo http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Stephanie  Patton and see the Adult Ed/ English Language Arts website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Stephanie  Patton.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.