ELA 10  Learning Goals (I Can Statements)

Each lesson in ELA 10 has one learning goal. Before you complete an assignment in this class, read the goal for that lesson and ask yourself: can I actually do this?

UNIT 1: Identity and Worldview (Lessons 1–5)

Lesson 1: Reading the World Around Us

Outcomes: ELA10.1 a,b,c,d,e,i | ELA10.4 a,b,d,e

I can read a fiction or non-fiction text and explain whose worldview the author is writing from. I can connect that worldview to a question about identity or about how we treat each other.

Lesson 2: How Mode Shapes a Message

Outcomes: ELA10.1 g | ELA10.5 a,b,c,d,e,f

I can explain how a creator's choice of mode changes what an audience takes from a text. I can pick one specific choice the creator made and say what it adds that words alone could not.

Lesson 3: The Stories We Carry

Outcomes: ELA10.3 a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h

I can explain how an oral story carries cultural knowledge and relationships that a written summary cannot hold. I can explain why Indigenous oral storytelling is also an act of resistance.

Lesson 4: Painting with Words

Outcomes: ELA10.7 a,b,c,e | ELA10.9 a,b

I can find specific images in descriptive prose and explain the feeling or atmosphere they create. I can name one craft choice an author made and describe what it does to me as a reader.

Lesson 5: The Poem as Map

Outcomes: ELA10.9 d | ELA10.1 b,e | ELA10.11 f

I can read a poem twice and explain what I noticed the second time that I missed the first. I can explain how a poet's line breaks shape what the poem feels like to read.

UNIT 2: Social Responsibility (Lessons 6–10)

Lesson 6: Reading Between the Lines

Outcomes: ELA10.1 c,d,f | ELA10.4 c,g,h

I can read a non-fiction text and notice when an author's position or background is shaping what they include. I can take one event and show how two writers with different contexts would tell it differently.

Lesson 7: Shape of a Story

Outcomes: ELA10.7 a,b,g,h | ELA10.9 c

I can trace a story from opening problem to resolution and explain why the author ordered events the way they did. I can read two stories on the same theme and explain what each author's structural choices say about their purpose.

Lesson 8: Language Under Pressure

Outcomes: ELA10.9 a,b,d | ELA10.10 a,b,d

I can find a metaphor or simile in a poem and explain exactly what it does to the meaning. I can use a figurative technique in my own writing and name the effect I was after.

Lesson 9: Who Gets to Speak?

Outcomes: ELA10.14 a,b,c,f,g | ELA10.15 a,b,c

I can look at the sources in a non-fiction text and judge whether the author has earned my trust. I can bring evidence into my own writing: introduce it, quote or paraphrase it, and explain what it proves.

Lesson 10: What Is This Really About?

Outcomes: ELA10.16 a,b,c,d | ELA10.1 e

I can say the difference between a topic and a theme, and prove the theme I see using lines from the text. I can read two texts and explain what their themes have in common.

UNIT 3: Voice and Social Action (Lessons 11–15)

Lesson 11: Finding Your Voice

Outcomes: ELA10.8 a,b,e | ELA10.10 d | ELA10.2 a

I can write the same poem from two different voices and explain which version lands harder and why. I can take a technique from a poet I have studied and put it to work in my own poem.

Lesson 12: Making Something New

Outcomes: ELA10.6 a,b,c,d,e | ELA10.5 c,d,g

I can watch a multimodal text and explain what each mode adds that the others cannot. I can build my own multimodal composition and defend every element I chose.

Lesson 13: Reading Below the Surface

Outcomes: ELA10.11 a,b,c,d,f,g | ELA10.4 e

I can slow down on a difficult text, re-read it, and name something I missed the first time. I can tell when a narrator might be lying or wrong, and explain what that does to my reading of the story.

Lesson 14: The Art of Persuasion

Outcomes: ELA10.7 d,e | ELA10.9 f | ELA10.10 f

I can read a persuasive text and name the specific moves the writer makes to win the reader over. I can use one of those moves in my own writing and explain what I wanted it to do.

Lesson 15: Building an Argument

Outcomes: ELA10.16 e,f,g,h | ELA10.15 d,e,f | ELA10.2 e

I can write a clear claim and support it with credible evidence, cited in MLA format. I can revise an argument until every paragraph earns its place.

UNIT 4: Craft and Reflection (Lessons 16–20)

Lesson 16: Drafting and Revising

Outcomes: ELA10.12 a,b,c,d,e,f | ELA10.13 a,b,d

I can take a composition from rough draft to finished piece and explain the specific decisions I made at each stage. I can use grammar and punctuation to serve my purpose, not just follow the rules.

Lesson 17: Speaking to Be Heard

Outcomes: ELA10.8 f | ELA10.10 g,h | ELA10.2 c

I can write and perform a dramatic monologue from a character's point of view. I can explain how slowing down, pausing, or shifting tone changes what an audience hears in the same words.

Lesson 18: Conversation as Thinking

Outcomes: ELA10.17 a,b,c,d,e,f,g

I can discuss a text by asking questions that push the conversation forward, not just sharing opinions. I can explain one way a discussion shifted how I read the text.

Lesson 19: Research and Evidence

Outcomes: ELA10.18 a,b,c,d,e,f | ELA10.13 j

I can evaluate a source for credibility and cite it correctly in MLA format. I can give another writer specific, useful feedback and use the feedback I receive to make my own composition better.

Lesson 20: Your Composition, Your Voice

Outcomes: ELA10.2 e,f,g,h | ELA10.4 f,g,h | ELA10.16 g,h

I can write a final composition in a form I choose, on a theme that matters to me, in my own voice. I can explain the choices I made about form and voice, and say honestly whether they worked.