Things to Do > Computer Resource Center > Electronic Curricula > Performance Standards

Communication Tools and Techniques

A2b
The student composes and sends correspondence, such as thank-you letters and memoranda providing information; that is, the student:

• Expresses the information or request clearly;
• Writes in a style appropriate to the purpose of the correspondence

Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language

E4a
The student demonstrates a basic understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work, and selects the structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context of the work. The student demonstrates control of:

• Grammar
• Paragraph structure
• Punctuation
• Sentence construction
• Spelling
• Usage

E4b
The student analyzes and subsequently revises work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought. The student's revisions should be made in light of the purposes, audiences, and contexts that apply to the work. Strategies for revising include:

• Adding or deleting details
• Adding or deleting explanations
• Clarifying difficult passages
• Rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning
• Sharpening the focus
• Reconsidering the organizational structure

English Language Arts

E1c
The student reads and comprehends informational materials to develop understanding and expertise and produces written or oral work that:

• Restates or summarizes information
• Relates new information to prior knowledge and experience
• Extends ideas
• Makes connections to related topics or information

Functional Documents

E7a
The student critiques functional documents with an eye to strategies common to effective functional documents, including:

• Visual appeal, e.g., format, graphics, white space, headers
• Logic of the sequence in which the directions are given
• Awareness of possible reader misunderstandings.

Information Tools and Techniques
A3a
The student gathers information to assist in completing project work; that is, the student:

• identifies potential sources of information to assist in completing the project;
  
• uses appropriate techniques to collect the information, e.g., considers sampling issues in conducting a survey;
  
• distinguishes relevant from irrelevant information;
  
• shows evidence of research in the completed project.
  

A3b
The student uses information technology to assist in gathering, organizing, and presenting information; that is, the student:

• Uses word-processing, drawing, and painting programs to produce project reports and related materials

Learning and Self-management Tools and Techniques

A4
The student learns from models; that is, the student:

• Consults with or observes other students and adults at work, and identifies the main features of what they do and the way they go about their work;
• Examines models for the results of project work, such as professionally produced publications, and analyzes their qualities;
• Uses what he or she learns from models to assist in planning and conducting project activities

Literature

E5b
The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.

Mathematics
The student produces evidence that demonstrates understanding of geometry and measurement concepts: that is, the student:

M2a
Gives and responds to directions about location, e.g., by using words such as "in front of," "right," and "above."

M2d
Uses many types of figures (angles, triangles, squares, rectangles, rhombi, parallelograms, quadrilaterals, polygons, prisms, pyramids, cubes, circles, and spheres) and identifies the figures by their properties, e.g., symmetry, number of faces, two or three-dimensionality, no right angles.

M2f
Extends and creates geometric patterns using concrete and pictorial models.

Tools and Techniques for Working with Others

A5
The student works with others to complete a task; that is, the student:

• Reaches agreement with group members on what work needs to be done to complete the task and how the work will be tackled
• Takes a share of the responsibility for the work
• Consults with group members regularly during the task to check on progress in completing the task, to decide on any changes that are required, and to check that all parts have been completed at the end of the task

Writing

E2a
The student produces a report that:

• Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest
• Develops a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on a subject
  
• Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context
  
• Includes appropriate facts and details
  
• Excludes extraneous and inappropriate information
  
• Uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, and narrating a relevant anecdote
  Provides a sense of closure to the ending

E2d
The student produces a narrative procedure that:

• Engages the reader by establishing a context, creating a persona, and otherwise developing reader interest
• Makes use of appropriate writing strategies such as creating a visual hierarchy and using white space and graphics as appropriate