Reading Standards in ELA

When we think of English, three things tend to come to mind; grammar, writing, and reading. They are all closely related because in order for one to be a good writer with correct grammar, they need to be good readers. The ELA standards for reading are split into two categories; reading literature and reading informational texts. The literature portion deals with identifying themes, complex characters, rhetoric, and other aspects of literature. The informational portion deals with identifying arguments, bias, and the author's point of view. There is quite a bit of overlap between the two sections, but they each require different skills. 

As I looked through the ELA standards, it surprised me that ELA teachers are responsible for teaching a wide range of skills. There are history related skills covered in the ELA standards when students need to read historical documents such as the Gettysburg Address or the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by MLK Jr. 

A lot of the skills covered in the language portion of the standards seems to be common sense to me now, but at one point I was taught the basics of antonyms and synonyms. Often times when I look at the standards, I wonder how I would teach the basic or abstract skills of sentence structure or identifying arguments. How many times does something need to be taught before a student is considered to be at a mastery level? How many different contexts do they need to learn it in? How can we truly know if a student properly knows how to cite textual evidence or identify bias in a piece of writing? These are the questions I find myself asking when I look over the standards for English.

As a future English teacher, I do like the versatility that comes with the subject. Yes, it does require a lot of reading and writing, but the subject of that reading and writing can vary greatly. Students can identify a theme in an article about the military or about a zoo in New York City. Students can show their proficiency in writing an argument by writing about any subject under the moon. English can accommodate different interests and cultures while still teaching the standards.