Holding the Map Backwards: Not Always a Problem

I do not currently teach, but I expect to teach in a secondary school English Language Arts when all is said and done, in Hawaii, which uses the Common Core State Standards. As such, for my planning today, I will be using standard CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3 for 9th and 10th graders. This standard reads

"Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening."

I chose this standard as it is quite important not just in class or in school, but in the world at large. Many different companies or groups use language differently, and as a functioning member of society, one must be able to not only hold a conversation with your friends, but be able to communicate with the legal system and the government, understand warning labels on packaging and doctor's notes, and otherwise be able to understand complicated language and, often, explain it to people who don't have these skills. It is a vital and useful ability in this day and age, and one that we shouldn't skimp on teaching.

Also, for the student in school, this standard involves critical thinking in being able to understand and edit papers they both receive and are working on, giving them the scholastic tools to be able to write academically when they need to and creatively, informally, or professionally when it is more appropriate.

When my students are done with this unit, the proficiencies I can expect are:

• Be able to recognize the differences in language used in different contexts.
• Be able to edit other people's writing to fit into a specific context.
• Be able to write their own work as appropriate for a specific context.
• Be able to understand new information when it is provided to them, regardless of the context.

There are many useful assessments for these proficiencies, but for my own purposes, I plan to use things such as:

• Using a fresh text (not given to the student before), each student has to write a summary and rewording of what is being written.
• Using a fresh text read aloud in class (one they have not heard before) students must be able to summarize the statements and give suggestions on what kind of contexts those statements might be appropriate for.
• Using a prompt and given information, students must be able to write a letter or paper appropriate for different contexts.
• Using a fresh text, students must be able to guess the context it was written in, then edit the content to fit into a different context or make suggestions on how to change its context.

A few learning activities I have thought of that could be useful are:

• A summary practice day: Students read several short passages from different contexts. Initially as a class, but later on their own, students identify the contexts the passages may be from and summarize their meaning. 
• The summary should be short (A single sentence to a full paragraph, depending on passage length) and clearly show the information given.
• The summary should identify what context it is in.
• Letter writing practice: After discussing how students talk differently to their parents, their teachers, prospective employers, and people like police officers or guards, students are given a single situation and some details and must write a version of a letter or essay for their family, for a classroom presentation, for their boss, and for a courtroom to demonstrate their ability to write for different contexts.
• Students would be able to peer-review each other's works, editing and suggesting changes to better fit contexts.
• All students would have the same information to begin with, but may use their own critical thinking and creativity to create any letter they wish.
• Letters would be collected, and exemplary instances of writing for each context would be shared with the class in a later discussion on the topic.
• Conversation time: Students would be placed into groups, each of which having different information. They would have to share that information, but when a bell is rung, must change how they speak to fit a different context. At the end, one person (chosen at random) must present the information they gleaned from the experience.
• Students must share all information, or else the student sent up would not be able to share their information with everyone else.
• Students must be able to understand multiple contexts, and be flexible enough to share information with a student not-comprehending in a context they might understand.
• Groups would be assessed in whole, and by anonymous peer review after the fact to narrow it down to individuals.