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English

The ultimate purpose of the English/Language Arts curriculum is for students to gain the language skills they need to communicate effectively as individuals and as contributing members of a global society.

The North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study (ELA) requirements for grades K-8 and grade bands 9- 10 and 11-12/College and Career Readiness (CCR) are organized into the strands of Reading, Writing, Speaking/Listening and Language. The Reading standards establish a staircase of increasing complexity in what students must be able to read and comprehend in order to meet the demands of college and career level texts. The Writing standards promote writing throughout the grade levels by fostering the ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning and relevant evidence. The Speaking and Listening standards require that students be able to gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex information, ideas and evidence. The Language standards include vocabulary and convention standards. Although Language standards are identified in a separate strand, they should not be taught, learned and implemented in isolation but should be used and developed throughout reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The scope and sequence of literature for North Carolina high school students allows for a literary experience that carries not only a global perspective but an opportunity to view U. S. literature and literary nonfiction within a global lens. Literary nonfiction (a type of informational text) uses artistic and literary techniques often associated with fiction or poetry to report on actual persons, events or places. In each English course (I-IV) students are required to study U. S. documents “of historical significance,” as well as one Shakespearean play.