Reading Comprehension - Use previously learned strategies to comprehend informational texts (e.g., formulating questions before, during, and after reading; visualize, predict, identify the writer's purpose).

Sequence Events - Sequence and identify the plot's main events, their causes, and the influence of each event on future actions.

Plot Development - Identify plot development techniques (e.g., foreshadowing and flashbacks) and explain their function in the text.

Characters - Identify and describe characters' (major/minor, antagonists and protagonists) features and relationships in literary texts.

Moral Dilemmas - Identify moral dilemmas in works of literature, as revealed by characters' motivation and behavior.

Types of Conflict - Differentiate between internal and external conflict.

Identify Conflict - Identify the kind(s) of conflict (e.g., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology) present in literary plots.

Identify Plot Elements - Identify the basic elements of plot (i.e., exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouement).

Setting - Identify and analyze the setting (location and time) and its impact on plot, character, and theme in literary texts.

Explore Character Development - Explore how the author reveals character (e.g., what the author tells us, what the characters say about him or her, what the character does, what the character says, what the character thinks).

Identify Point of View - Identify the narration and point of view (e.g., first person, third person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient) in literary texts.

Literary Forms - Consider how forms and conventions within genres (poetry, drama, essays, short stories) affect meaning.

Sound Patterns - Identify sound patterns (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme), figurative language (e.g., metaphor, simile), and other conventions of verse (e.g., limerick, lyric, narrative, haiku) in poetry and explain how these contribute to the poem's meaning and to the poem's effect.

Structural Elements - Explain the purpose and use of structural elements particular to dramatic literature (e.g., scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions) in plays that are read or viewed.

Identify Theme - Identify and explain the stated or implied theme of a literary text.

Similar Themes - Identify and explain the development of similar themes across two or more literary texts.

Historical Period - Identify the historical period in which a literary text was written and explain the text in light of this understanding.

Author's Viewpoint - Demonstrate understanding that an author's individual viewpoint may differ from the general values, attitudes, and beliefs of the author's society and culture.

Figurative Words - Determine the appropriate meaning of figurative words and phrases (e.g., idiom, metaphor, simile, personification, pun) in passages.

Allusions - Explore the concept of allusions.

State Performance Indicators

Elements of Plot - Demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouement.

Point of View - Identify the author's point of view (i.e., first person, third person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient).

Different Genres - Distinguish among different genres (e.g., poetry, drama, biography, novel) using their distinguishing characteristics.

Common Characteristics - Determine the common characteristics of literary drama, nonfiction, novels, poetry, and short stories.

Theme - Identify the stated or implied theme of a literary text.

Character Development - Identify how the author reveals character (i.e., what the author tells us, what the characters say about him or her, what the character does, what the character says, what the character thinks).

Plot Devices - Identify flashback, foreshadowing, and symbolism within context.

Effect of Sound - Analyze the effects of sound (i.e., accent, alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, rhyme, internal rhyme) in context.

Conflict - Identify the kind(s) of conflict present in a literary plot (i.e., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology).

Figurative Language - Identify and analyze figurative language (i.e., hyperbole, simile, metaphor, personification, pun) within context.

Time and Culture - Recognize and identify words within context that reveal particular time periods and cultures.

Author's Purpose - Identify the author's purpose for writing.