South Dakota ELA 11-12.L.1.a

ELAGrades 11–12Language

The Standard

11-12.L.1: Demonstrate command of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Consult references as needed.

Apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time and within different contexts, and is sometimes contested.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students decide whether a wording choice fits its audience and purpose, not just whether a rulebook accepts it. They compare older and newer usage and explain why people disagree about forms such as singular “they.”
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can revise wording for a formal email or a text to a friend and explain each choice. They can spot a change in usage and discuss a disputed form without treating a dialect difference as poor writing.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think every usage rule is permanent or applies in every setting. Others assume that if usage changes, any wording works for any audience, or that a dialect difference means someone writes poorly.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Rewrite “Each applicant must include his address” for a current form. Explain your revision and one reason someone might object to it.

Lesson moves

Give students cards with “Each student brought his book” and “Each student brought their book”; have them sort the cards by likely audience.
Put “Thou art late” beside “You are late”; ask students to write where each might appear and why.
Play audience switch: partners rewrite “Send me your stuff ASAP” for a teacher, then swap and mark choices that fit.
Compare a school email and a group chat announcing the same deadline; have students identify two wording choices suited to each audience.

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