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Oklahoma Standards

Oklahoma 12th Grade ELA Standards

All 52 Oklahoma English language arts standards for 12th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is one click away under each one.

52 standards

Listening and Speaking: Listening

2 standards
Students will develop and apply effective communication skills through active listening.
12.1.L.1
Listen actively in discussions by following the group's norms and controlling your own verbal and body language, like in a college-style seminar.
Official wording
Students will actively listen using agreed-upon discussion rules with control of verbal and nonverbal cues.
12.1.L.2
Listen to analyze and evaluate both the words and body language of speakers, asking questions about their purpose and point of view, like in an interview.
Official wording
Students will actively listen in order to analyze and evaluate speakers’ verbal and nonverbal messages by asking questions to clarify purpose and perspective.

Listening and Speaking: Speaking

3 standards
Students will develop and apply effective communication skills to share ideas through speaking.
12.1.S.1
Contribute to diverse groups with respect by compromising for the shared goal, taking on part of the work, and acknowledging others' input, like on a senior project team.
Official wording
Students will work effectively and respectfully in diverse groups by showing willingness to make necessary compromises to accomplish a goal, sharing responsibility for collaborative work, and recognizing individual contributions
12.1.S.2
Discuss texts and writing in pairs, groups, and as a class by following norms, voicing ideas clearly, extending peers' points, and disagreeing respectfully when needed.
Official wording
Students will follow agreed-upon rules as they engage in collaborative discussions about what they are reading and writing, expressing their own ideas clearly, building on the ideas of others, and respectfully disagreeing when necessary in pairs, diverse groups, and whole-class settings.
12.1.S.3
Give formal and informal presentations in many contexts, using evidence and voice, posture, and eye contact to carry the message, like a senior project defense.
Official wording
Students will conduct formal and informal presentations in a variety of contexts supporting their message with evidence and using verbal and nonverbal cues.

Reading and Writing Process: Reading

2 standards
Students will read and comprehend inclusive, diverse, and increasingly complex literary and informational texts.
12.2.R.1
Capture the main ideas of complex texts in a short summary and restate key passages in your own words, like sections of a philosophy essay.
Official wording
Students will summarize the main ideas and paraphrase significant parts of increasingly complex texts.
12.2.R.2
Identify genre features of fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction and analyze how they help you understand a work, like the chorus in a Greek tragedy.
Official wording
Students will identify characteristics of genres and analyze how they enhance comprehension of fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction.

Reading and Writing Process: Writing

5 standards
Students will engage in a recursive process that may include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
12.2.W.1
Brainstorm and organize ideas before and during writing, like clustering ideas for a senior thesis or a scholarship essay.
Official wording
Students will routinely and recursively prewrite (e.g., develop and organize ideas).
12.2.W.2
Develop drafts with a clear organizing pattern, like compare and contrast in a literary paper or problem and solution in a policy proposal.
Official wording
Students will routinely and recursively develop drafts, applying organizational structure(s) (e.g., description, compare/contrast, sequential, problem/solution, cause/effect, etc.).
12.2.W.3
Revise drafts to improve flow and meaning through stronger organization, transitions, varied sentences, and a consistent tone and voice, like a senior thesis.
Official wording
Students will routinely and recursively revise drafts for organization, transitions, sentence variety, and consistent tone and point of view in order to improve coherence and meaning.
12.2.W.4
Edit with resources like a style guide for grammar, usage, mechanics, and formatting so finished pieces are ready to publish, like a scholarship essay.
Official wording
Students will routinely and recursively use resources to edit for grammar, usage, mechanics, and format in order to finalize drafts for publication.
12.2.W.5
Publish final work for real audiences, like a professional publication, a community forum, a magazine, or a scholarship contest.
Official wording
Students will routinely and recursively publish final drafts for an authentic audience (e.g., publishing digitally, community and professional audiences, newspapers and magazines, entering contests).

Critical Reading and Writing: Reading

7 standards
Students will analyze, interpret, and evaluate increasingly complex literary and informational texts that include a wide range of historical, cultural, ethnic, and global perspectives from a variety of genres.
12.3.R.1
Analyze how historical, cultural, or global perspectives shape authors' style in literary and informational texts, like British writers responding to empire.
Official wording
Students will analyze the extent to which historical, cultural, and/or global perspectives affect authors’ stylistic choices in grade-level literary and informational texts.
12.3.R.2
Evaluate the perspective behind a text and explain how it builds meaning, like how a colonial or postcolonial viewpoint shapes a novel.
Official wording
Students will evaluate authors’ perspectives and explain how those perspectives contribute to the meanings of texts.
12.3.R.3
Evaluate how setting, foreshadowing, internal and external conflict, protagonist and antagonist, and archetypes shape theme, mood, or tone, with evidence.
Official wording
Students will evaluate how literary elements impact theme, mood, and/or tone, using textual evidence:•setting•plot structure (e.g., foreshadowing, flashback, in media res)•conflict (i.e., internal, external)•characters (e.g., protagonist, antagonist)•characterization (i.e., direct, indirect)•point of view (e.g., narrator reliability)•archetypes
12.3.R.4
Evaluate the effect of figurative language like personification and hyperbole, sound devices like onomatopoeia, and irony on theme, mood, or tone, using evidence.
Official wording
Students will evaluate how literary devices impact theme, mood, and/or tone, using textual evidence:•figurative language (i.e., simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, imagery, symbolism)•sound devices (i.e., onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance)•irony (i.e., verbal, situational, dramatic)
12.3.R.5
Explain and judge why two writers on one issue disagree, weighing their assumptions, evidence, reasoning, viewpoints, appeals, bias, and fallacies, like rival op-eds.
Official wording
Students will evaluate how authors writing on the same issue reached different conclusions because of differences in assumptions, evidence, reasoning, and viewpoints, including examining rhetorical appeals, bias, and use of logical fallacies.
12.3.R.6
Analyze how an informational text's structure, like a cause and effect report or a step-by-step proposal, supports the author's purpose.
Official wording
Students will analyze how informational text structures support the author’s purpose.
12.3.R.7
Evaluate how two or more texts take on a similar theme or topic, using evidence for claims and inferences, like a novel and a documentary about war.
Official wording
Students will evaluate how two or more texts address similar themes or topics, using textual evidence to support their claims and inferences.

Critical Reading and Writing: Writing

4 standards
Students will thoughtfully and intentionally write, addressing a range of modes, purposes, and audiences.
12.3.W.1
Write real or imagined narratives with complex characters and conflict, a strong narrator, a sequence built for effect, precise sensory detail, and craft from mentor texts.
Official wording
Students will compose narratives reflecting real or imagined experiences that:•include engaging plots involving well-developed, complex characters resolving conflicts•establish narrator(s) that enhance(s) the narrative•are intentionally sequenced in a way to achieve a specific effect (e.g., create suspense, establish mood, reflect theme)•provide clear descriptions, using precise language, sensory details, and dialogue•include varied syntax to enhance readability•emulate literary elements and/or literary devices from mentor texts
12.3.W.2
Write objective essays, reports, or technical documents with a defensible thesis, evidence like charts and data, clear organization, and a concise formal style.
Official wording
Students will compose informative essays, reports, or technical writing that:•objectively introduce and develop topics•include a defensible thesis•incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, details, charts and graphs, data)•maintain an organized structure•use sentence variety and word choice to create clarity and concision•establish and maintain a formal style•emulate literary devices from mentor texts
12.3.W.3
Write argumentative essays, reviews, or op-eds with informed claims, a thesis, counterclaims answered, well-ordered credible evidence, and a tone suited to readers.
Official wording
Students will compose argumentative essays, reviews, or op-eds that:•introduce precise, informed claims•include a defensible thesis•acknowledge counterclaims or alternate perspectives•organize claims, counterclaims, and evidence in a logical sequence•provide the most relevant evidence to develop balanced arguments, using credible sources•use sentence variety and word choice to create clarity and concision•use style and tone that suits the audience and purpose
12.3.W.4
Combine narrative, explanation, and argument to fit audience and purpose, like a commencement speech that mixes stories, facts, and a call to action.
Official wording
Students will blend narrative, informative, and argumentative writing to suit their audience and purpose.

Vocabulary: Reading

4 standards
Students will expand their grade-level vocabularies through reading, word study, and class discussion.
12.4.R.1
Analyze how words connect as synonyms, antonyms, and analogies, like the analogy pairs found on college entrance tests.
Official wording
Students will analyze the relationships among synonyms, antonyms, and analogies.
12.4.R.2
Use context, connotation, and denotation to clarify word meanings and tell multiple meanings apart, like the opposite senses of sanction in a legal text.
Official wording
Students will use context clues, connotation, and denotation to determine or clarify the meaning of words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words.
12.4.R.3
Figure out the meaning of advanced words from their affixes, stems, and Greek, Latin, or Anglo-Saxon roots, like anthropo and morph in anthropomorphic.
Official wording
Students will use word parts (e.g., affixes, Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin roots, stems) to define and determine the meaning of increasingly complex words.
12.4.R.4
Check a dictionary, glossary, or thesaurus for a word's meaning, syllables, pronunciation, synonyms, part of speech, and etymology, like the history of salary.
Official wording
Students will use resources (e.g., dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, etc.) to determine or clarify the meanings, syllabication, pronunciation, synonyms, parts of speech, and etymology of words or phrases.

Vocabulary: Writing

2 standards
Students will apply knowledge of vocabulary to speak and write effectively.
12.4.W.1
Write with exact, grade-level vocabulary so complex ideas come through clearly, like discipline-specific terms in a research paper.
Official wording
Students will use precise, grade-level vocabulary in writing to clearly communicate complex ideas.
12.4.W.2
Choose language for the effect it will have on a given audience and purpose, like a measured tone in a cover letter.
Official wording
Students will select language to create a specific effect in writing according to purpose and audience.

Language: Reading

2 standards
Students will expand and apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, and style to comprehend, analyze, and/or evaluate a variety of texts.
12.5.R.1
Apply what you know about syntax, like parallelism, voice, and phrases and clauses, to analyze and judge texts, noticing how usage changes across eras.
Official wording
Students will apply their knowledge of syntax (e.g., parallel structure, active and passive voice, and phrases/clauses) to analyze and evaluate a variety of texts, understanding that usage and convention change over time.
12.5.R.2
Find noun, verb, adjective, and adverb phrases in sentences and describe the effect each creates, like a long verb phrase that slows a scene.
Official wording
Students will recognize noun, verb, adjectival, and adverbial phrases and explain their effect in particular sentences.

Language: Writing

10 standards
Students will expand and apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, and style to speak and write effectively, demonstrating standard usage when appropriate.
12.5.W.1
Use parts of speech, phrases, and clauses to make writing and presentations clear, varied, and stylish, and break a rule on purpose when it helps, like opening with And.
Official wording
Students will add clarity, variety, and/or style to their writing and presentations with parts of speech and various types of phrases and clauses, intentionally breaking the rules for effect when appropriate.
12.5.W.2
Command standard English in writing, presentations, and media, choosing to depart from it for a set effect, like informal phrasing in a speech to sound personal.
Official wording
Students will demonstrate command of Standard American English (i.e., grammar, mechanics, and usage) in writing, presentations, and/or multimodal literacies to convey specific meanings and ideas, intentionally departing from standard usage to achieve a specific effect.
12.5.W.3
Capitalize correctly in all writing, like for regions, course names with proper nouns, and official titles placed before names.
Official wording
Students will write using correct capitalization mechanics.
12.5.W.4
Use end marks correctly, like ending rhetorical questions with a question mark and avoiding stacked exclamation points.
Official wording
Students will write using correct end mark mechanics.
12.5.W.5
Use apostrophes correctly, like showing shared ownership in Lewis and Clark's journey and leaving them out of plain plurals.
Official wording
Students will write using correct apostrophe mechanics.
12.5.W.6
Use commas correctly, like after long introductory phrases, before a conjunction joining two clauses, and with direct address.
Official wording
Students will write using correct comma mechanics.
12.5.W.7
Reveal key information with a colon or with dashes, like a colon before a final surprising word or dashes around a sudden aside.
Official wording
Students will use a colon or dash to reveal information in a sentence.
12.5.W.8
Trim quoted material with an ellipsis and insert clarifying words in brackets, like when quoting a court opinion in a research paper.
Official wording
Students will use an ellipsis to indicate omission from quoted material and brackets to indicate an addition or clarification to quoted material.
12.5.W.9
Use italics correctly, like for titles of long works, names of court cases, and scientific names.
Official wording
Students will write using correct italics mechanics.
12.5.W.10
Place semicolons correctly, like separating complex list items in a formal report or joining balanced independent clauses.
Official wording
Students will write using correct semicolon mechanics.

Research: Reading

3 standards
Students will gather, comprehend, evaluate, and synthesize researched information to acquire and refine knowledge.
12.6.R.1
Find and make sense of information about a topic using research questions you design yourself, like how a new law affects local businesses.
Official wording
Students will find and comprehend information about a topic, using their own viable research questions.
12.6.R.2
Bring together useful details from archives, interviews, journal articles, and other primary and secondary sources, crediting each ethically and legally.
Official wording
Students will synthesize relevant information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, following ethical and legal citation guidelines.
12.6.R.3
Decide whether research findings fit your question, come from trustworthy sources, and hold up, like weighing a government report against a partisan blog.
Official wording
Students will evaluate the relevance, reliability, and validity of the information gathered.

Research: Writing

4 standards
Students will synthesize information ethically through speaking and writing.
12.6.W.1
Form a research question that can be answered and refine it as you go, like narrowing a topic for a senior capstone.
Official wording
Students will formulate and refine a viable research question.
12.6.W.2
Develop a thesis that states a clear position in few words and can be defended, like the central claim of a senior capstone paper.
Official wording
Students will develop a clear, concise, defensible thesis statement.
12.6.W.3
Integrate quotes, paraphrases, and summaries smoothly with one consistent citation style, like MLA or APA, so every source gets credit and nothing is plagiarized.
Official wording
Students will integrate quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from research, following a consistent citation style (e.g., MLA, APA) to avoid plagiarism.
12.6.W.4
Share research through long formats like a capstone paper and short, informal ones like a single-day inquiry, for audiences in and beyond school.
Official wording
Students will present research in longer formats (e.g., sustained research projects, process essays) and shorter, informal formats (e.g., single-day research projects, informal discussion) to a variety of audiences.

Multimodal Literacies: Reading

1 standard
Students will comprehend and evaluate multimodal content.
12.7.R
Analyze and evaluate how techniques in multimodal content, like framing, graphics, and narration in a news segment, shape what it means.
Official wording
Students will analyze and evaluate the techniques used in a variety of multimodal content and how they contribute to meaning.

Multimodal Literacies: Writing

1 standard
Students will create multimodal content to communicate effectively.
12.7.W
Create engaging multimodal work that helps diverse audiences understand findings, reasoning, and evidence, like a research poster or presentation with charts.
Official wording
Students will create engaging multimodal content that intentionally enhances understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence for diverse audiences.

Independent Reading and Writing: Reading

1 standard
Students will read self-selected texts independently, choosing genres to suit and expand their personal preferences and purposes.
12.8.R
Select texts for a specific purpose and read on your own for long periods, like a classic novel or a book about a planned college major.
Official wording
Students will select texts for specific purposes and read independently for extended periods of time.

Independent Reading and Writing: Writing

1 standard
Students will write independently, intentionally selecting modes, purposes, and audiences.
12.8.W
Write independently by hand or typing for different lengths of time, choosing and blending modes and genres to fit readers and purpose, like a memoir or proposal.
Official wording
Students will write independently using print, cursive, and/or typing for various lengths of time, intentionally selecting and combining modes and genres to suit their audiences and purposes.

The official Oklahoma documents

Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts, Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The plain-English lines are EMStudio's own explanations, shown beside the official wording. They are not part of the standards.