Proof+of+Mastery

==== Below, you will find a list of markers you will need to tackle and tick off in the coming school year. The aim is to prove to your parents, your teachers and to the education powers-that-be (or PTBs) of this here great state of Michigan that you have mastery of the stuff they want you to know. In looking at the list and in speaking to you for just a few hours, I have cunningly deduced that you probably have a firm command of probably 85% of this checklist. However, this is only a theoretical deduction on my part so you have the burden of proof to all the stakeholders in your education. ====


 * 1) ==== **Key Ideas and Details** -- Do you know the stuff? ====
 * 2) ==== **Craft and Structure** -- Do you understand the stuff? ====
 * 3) ==== **Integration of Knowledge and Ideas** -- Can you apply the stuff? ====

==== Its really quite simple and I don’t really think they are asking for much. Especially since you have a wide range of ways that you can handle these matters. Although we will begin at the 7th grade level (which, in my humble opinion is a really silly chronological marker based on your date of manufacture and nothing else), I suspect you will quickly progress to a level that is more aligned with your intellect and life experiences. ====

= **The Master Checklist** = ==== IMPORTANT NOTE: OK, This checklist is impossible to complete with just one project and/or assignment. It is important to remember that this list is to be completed during one entire school year and beyond if needed. So, pace yourself young grasshopper.... ====

**Key Ideas and Details:** Prove that you know

 * ==== Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. ====
 * ==== Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. ====
 * ==== Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot). ====
 * ==== Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events). ====

**Craft and Structure:** Prove that you understand

 * ==== Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative meanings and technical meaning; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama ====
 * ==== Analyze the impact of specific word choice on meaning and tone ====
 * ==== Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning. ====
 * ==== Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text. ====
 * ==== Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. ====
 * ==== Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others. ====

**Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:** Prove that you can evaluate and apply your learning

 * ==== Compare and contrast a written story, drama, poem or text to an audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). ====
 * ==== Analyze each medium portrayal of the subject (e.g. how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words) ====
 * ==== Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history. ====
 * ==== Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims. ====
 * ==== Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. ====
 * ==== Your range of reading and level of text complexity in literature, including stories, dramas, and poems. Here is your chance to really show off. ====
 * ==== Read and comprehend literary nonfiction ====

**You should be able to**

 * ==== Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. ====
 * ==== Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. ====
 * ==== Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. ====
 * ==== Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence. ====
 * ==== Establish and maintain a formal style. ====
 * ==== Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. ====
 * ==== Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. ====
 * ==== Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. ====
 * ==== Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. ====
 * ==== Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. ====
 * ==== Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. ====
 * ==== Establish and maintain a formal style. ====
 * ==== Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented. ====
 * ==== Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. ====
 * ==== Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. ====
 * ==== Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. ====
 * ==== Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another. ====
 * ==== Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. ====
 * ==== Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. ====

**So, your writing projects and/or artifacts should**

 * ==== be clear and coherent in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. ====
 * ==== demonstrate growth and development. Therefore, you must show planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. This will be done with some guidance and support from peers, teachers and other adults ====
 * ==== demonstrate your use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources. ====
 * ==== especially demonstrate that you write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. ====

**Your projects and/or artifacts should**

 * ==== include short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. ====
 * ==== show that you have gathered relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. ====
 * ==== draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. ====
 * ==== present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. ====
 * ==== Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points. ====
 * ==== Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. ====

**Collaboration is my favorite form of working. It not only broadens my circle of friends but also grows my network. So, to prove that you can play well with others, you must**

 * ==== Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. ====
 * ==== Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. ====
 * ==== Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed. ====
 * ==== Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed. ====
 * ==== Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views. ====
 * ==== Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study. ====
 * ==== Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. ====

==== //REMEMBER: This checklist is impossible to complete with just one project or assignment. It is important to remember that this list is to be completed during one entire school year and beyond if needed.// ====