K-12 Enduring Understandings

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GIPS K-12 Language Arts Program
Enduring Understandings

Reading

• Knowing the structure of language helps facilitate meaning.

• The meaning of a word is affected by the context in which it is used.

• Prior knowledge, reading experience and life experience shape how readers read and respond to text.

• Effective readers use appropriate strategies, as needed, to construct meaning.

• Self-awareness of background knowledge, motivation, and level of confidence shape how readers
  read and respond to text.

• Effective readers understand themselves as readers so they can use appropriate strategies, as needed, to construct meaning.

• Fluent readers use appropriate strategies to construct meaning for themselves and facilitate meaning for an audience.

• Authors employ structures, language, information, and images to elicit an intended response from the reader.

• The legitimacy of the source is grounded in the point of view of the author and the way he/she uses information to support a
   position.

• The legitimacy of an interpretation is grounded in the text.

• Reading expands an individual's knowledge base when it is incorporated into a mental model of how/why something works
   (or doesn't).

• Authors use devices, structures, language, and images to elicit an intended response from the reader.

• Genre influences the way readers engage with and interpret a text.

• The legitimacy of an interpretation is grounded in the text.

• Prior knowledge, reading experience, and life experience shape how readers read and respond to text.

• Comparing and evaluating responses to a text strengthens the connection between point of view and textual evidence.

• The struggles of the human condition remain constant.

• What we read affects how we make sense of the world.

• Prior knowledge and life experience shape how writers develop and present their ideas.

Writing

• Writing mode largely dictates the structure and rules of a text.

• Audience and purpose influence the use of language.

• An initial organizational structure focuses the thinking of the writer so he/she can evaluate the potential of the text before it is
   fully developed.

• A writer explores the use of ideas, devices, imagery, and information to elicit an intended response from the audience.

• Writers develop their ideas through the selective inclusion of evidence.

• A writer chooses words, imagery and information to elicit an intended response from the audience.

• The appropriateness of language is determined by the context in which it is used.

• Revising a piece of writing strengthens the writer's connection to text.

• Readers assume that a polished piece of writing reflects the writer's best work (clarity and quality of thinking and capacity to express it).

• Attention to detail affects the quality and accessibility of the text.

• The appropriateness of language is determined by the context in which it is used.

• Polishing a piece of writing strengthens the writer's connection to text.

Research

• Every resource is designed for a specific purpose.

• The quality of the search affects the effectiveness of the result.

• Verifying information requires work on the part of the researcher.

• The format and content of notes affects the researcher's ability to use them later.

• Relevance of information is dependent upon the purpose of the task, perspective of the researcher,
  and validity of the source.

• A strong organizational structure drives both the research and production process.

• The way research is presented is a reflection of the researcher's scholarship.

• The way research is received is affected by the knowledge base, experience, and beliefs of the
  audience.

Speaking

• The purpose of the presentation largely dictates its content and organization.

• Knowing the audience creates the opportunity for the speaker to more effectively develop the content of the oral presentation so
  that the intended message is received.

• Rehearsing an oral presentation enhances fluency of the oral text for the speaker and the audience.

• Observing the audience in the midst of speaking provides the opportunity to adjust, as needed, to make the experience more
   successful for all.

• The success of a speech is determined by the degree to which the message(s) is understood by the audience.

• Confidence and competence in oral presentations evolve through experience, feedback, and adjustment.

Listening

• Total immersion in the oral text frees the listener to focus on the logic, beliefs, and attitudes of the speaker without the burden
   (or opportunity) of a response.

• The presence of the speaker and the content of the speech affects the degree of natural engagement of the listener.

• The way an audience listens affects the way a speaker speaks.

• The way a listener conducts himself/herself communicates a specific message to the speaker.

• Responsive communication provides a unique opportunity for developing understanding and new knowledge.

• Dislike for the speaker or disagreement with the content of the speech does not automatically negate the value of the
   communication.