Grade 10

Other Florida English Language Arts sets

• Kindergarten
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8
• Grade 9
• Grade 11
• Grade 12

Key elements of a literary text are setting, plot, characterization, conflict, point of view, theme, and tone.

For layers of meaning, any methodology or model may be used as long as students understand that text may have multiple layers and that authors use techniques to achieve those layers. A very workable model for looking at layers of meaning is that of I.A. Richards: Layer 1) the literal level, what the words actually mean Layer 2) mood, those feelings that are evoked in the reader Layer 3) tone, the author’s attitude Layer 4) author’s purpose (interpretation of author’s purpose as it is often inferred)

Style is the way in which the writer uses techniques for effect. It is distinct from meaning, but can be used to make the author’s message more effective. The components of style are diction, syntax, grammar, and use of figurative language. Style helps to create the author’s voice. 

A universal theme is an idea that applies to anyone, anywhere, regardless of cultural differences. Examples include, but are not limited to, an individual’s or a community’s confrontation with nature; an individual’s struggle toward understanding, awareness, and/or spiritual enlightenment; the tension between the ideal and the real; the conflict between human beings and advancements in technology/science; the impact of the past on the present; the inevitability of fate; the struggle for equality; and the loss of innocence. 

For more information, see Literary Periods.  

Students will evaluate the use of the following structures: description, problem/solution, chronological, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and sequence. 

Students will analyze the use of the following features: table of contents, headings, captions, photographs, graphs, charts, illustrations, glossary, footnotes, annotations, and appendices.  

In this grade level, students are using and responsible for the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. 

See Rhetorical Appeals and Rhetorical Devices. 

Validity refers to the soundness of the arguments. 

Figurative language use that students will analyze are metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, meiosis (understatement), allusion, and idiom. Other examples can be used in instruction.

See Secondary Figurative Language. 

Most grade-level texts are appropriate for this benchmark. 

The classical source texts for this benchmark should be from ancient Greece or Rome’s Classical period (1200 BCE–455 CE). Mythical texts for this benchmark can be from any civilization’s early history. Religious texts for this benchmark include works such as the Bible. 

Students will analyze the appropriateness of appeals and the effectiveness of devices. In this grade level, students are using and responsible for the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. 

Rhetorical devices for the purposes of this benchmark are the figurative language devices from 10.R.3.1 with the addition of irony, rhetorical question, antithesis, zeugma, metonymy, synecdoche, and asyndeton. 

See Secondary Figurative Language. 

See Rhetorical Appeals and Rhetorical Devices. 

Communicating Through Writing ELA.10.C.1

Communicating Orally ELA.10.C.2

Following Conventions ELA.10.C.3

ResearchingELA.10.C.4

Creating and CollaboratingELA.10.C.5

See Writing Types and Narrative Techniques. 

See Writing Types and Elaborative Techniques. 

The tone should be both formal and objective, relying more on argument and rhetorical appeals rather than on propaganda techniques. Use narrative techniques to strengthen writing where appropriate. 

See Writing Types. 

At this grade level, the emphasis is on the content, but students are still expected to follow earlier expectations: volume, pronunciation, and pacing. A clear perspective is the through-line that unites the elements of the presentation.  

For further guidance, see the Secondary Oral Communication Rubric. 

Skills to be mastered at this grade level are as follows:  

Add variety to writing or presentations by using parallel structure and various types of phrases and clauses.

Skills to be implemented but not yet mastered are as follows: 

Use knowledge of usage rules to create flow in writing and presenting.

See Conventions Progression by Grade Level for more information. 

While the benchmark does require that students consult multiple sources, there is no requirement that they use every source they consult. Part of the skill in researching is discernment—being able to tell which information is relevant and which sources are trustworthy enough to include. 

The presentation may be delivered live or delivered as a stand-alone digital experience. 

Finding Meaning ELA.10.V.1

To integrate vocabulary, students will apply the vocabulary they have learned to authentic speaking and writing tasks independently. This use should be intentional, beyond responding to a prompt to use a word in a sentence. 

Academic vocabulary appropriate to grade level refers to words that are likely to appear across subject areas for the current grade level and beyond, vital to comprehension, critical for academic discussions and writing, and usually require explicit instruction. 

Etymology refers to the study of word origins and the ways that words have changed over time. 

Derivation refers to making new words from an existing word by adding affixes. 

Review of words learned in this way is critical to building background knowledge and related vocabulary. 

See Context Clues and Word Relationships. 

See 10.R.3.1 and Secondary Figurative Language.