CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.6
The Standard
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Speaking and Listening Standards
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students change how they speak based on the audience, setting, and purpose. They use clear, correct language in formal situations and a suitable conversational style in informal ones.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can adjust vocabulary, tone, grammar, and level of detail for a specific audience and purpose. They can explain why their choices fit a classroom discussion, interview, ceremony, or casual conversation.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think formal speech means using long words or sounding stiff. They may use the same slang, tone, and sentence patterns with every audience. Some focus on volume and eye contact but ignore word choice and grammar.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Record two 20-second versions of the same request, one for a friend and one for the principal. Name two language choices you changed.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups audience, purpose, and setting cards, then have them deliver a 30-second announcement suited to the combination.
Compare a principal’s assembly announcement with a friend’s voice message, then list the language choices that make each fit its audience.
Play Register Switch: students repeat one message for audiences called out by the teacher, such as a coach, sibling, or employer.
Students practice leaving two voicemail messages about an absence, one for a friend and one for a workplace supervisor.
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Printable SL.9-10.6 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.6, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Speaking & Listening progression map.
Before This Standard
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