All West Virginia teachers are responsible for classroom instruction that integrates content standards, learning skills, and technology tools. Students in ninth grade will continue enhancing skills in a developmentally-appropriate progression of standards. In grades 9-10, students should be exposed to texts that fall in the 1050-1185 Lexile range in order to meet college- and career-readiness expectations. In grades 11-12, students should be exposed to texts that fall in the 1185-1385 Lexile range in order to meet college- and career-readiness expectations. By the end of the programmatic level (grade 12) and over the course of the entire instructional day, the distribution of text types should shift to 30% literary and 70% informational, and writing types should shift to 40% argumentative, 40% informative, and 20% narrative.

This strategy bank is designed to be a dynamic resource for educators. It contains research-based strategies that teachers of all content areas can use to support literacy development, increase the effectiveness of classroom instruction, and address the diverse needs of their students.

The resources below are a collection of standards-based activities and lessons designed to be used as stand-alone lessons or to supplement an existing unit of study. Most resources featured here are designed to be completed in 1-3 sessions though some extend to 4 or 5 sessions. While some resources were created for West Virginia students by West Virginia educators, some resources are housed on external sites. When implementing lessons from outside resources remember to double-check the instructional goals and objectives to ensure that they align with the West Virginia College- and Career- Readiness Standards for ELA in the desired grade level.

The resources below are a collection of standards-based performance tasks. Some performance tasks featured here are intended to serve as stand-alone tasks that provide students with a means to demonstrate their understanding of an overall concept or mastery of a skill while other tasks serve as a culminating activity in a longer unit of study and are intended to support students in demonstrating mastery of concepts, skills, and content. While some resources were created for West Virginia students by West Virginia educators, some resources are housed on external sites. When implementing lessons from outside resources remember to double-check the instructional goals and objectives to ensure that they align with the West Virginia College- and Career- Readiness Standards for ELA in the desired grade level.

Standards-based units provide the classroom teacher with models of quality instructional design that include both formative and summative assessments with accompanying rubrics. The units focus on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions inherent in the West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Standards. They contain research-based strategies that involve students in real-world application. Many of the units below were created for West Virginia students by West Virginia educators while some resources were procured from external sources. When implementing lessons from external sources remember to double-check the instructional goals and objectives to ensure that they align with the West Virginia College- and Career- Readiness Standards for ELA in the desired grade level.

When engaged in standards-focused Project Based Learning (PBL), students are working in teams to experience and explore relevant, real-world problems, questions, issues and challenges; then creating presentations and products to share what they have learned. The teacher’s role is one of coach, facilitator, guide, advisor, or mentor; it is not one of directing and managing all student work. Well-designed projects that meet PBL criteria differ from activities, or even projects, that have been traditional in the classroom. Many of the project based learning designs featured below were created by West Virginia teachers who worked with the Division of Teaching and Learning through participation in the Teacher Leadership Institute, the Secondary PBL project, or other WVDE content-specific professional development. Other resources featured were procured from external sources. When using instructional plans from external sources remember to double-check the instructional goals and objectives to ensure that they align with the West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Standards for ELA in the desired grade level.