South Dakota ELA 11-12.W.2.c
The Standard
- 11-12.W.2
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Use appropriate and varied syntax to fluently link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students connect sections of a piece of writing so readers can follow how the ideas relate. They vary sentence structure to show cause, contrast, or a trade-off.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can move from one section to the next without relying on a transition word alone. Their sentences make the connection clear and use different openings and lengths.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may add 'also' or 'however' without checking whether the ideas add to or contrast with each other. They may think variety means writing long, tangled sentences.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Put these ideas on the board: 'Later start times help students sleep' and 'Changing bus schedules may cost more.' Ask students to write two bridge sentences with different structures that explain the trade-off.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs index cards and paragraphs on sleep benefits and bus costs of later school starts; they write and place a bridge.
Compare 'Also, buses cost more' with 'Although later starts improve sleep, extra bus routes raise costs'; ask which better links the sections and why.
Play bridge swap: teams write two bridges between paragraphs on teen sleep and school attendance, using different sentence openings, then vote on the clearest.
Use a sample cafeteria proposal on lower lunch costs and more food waste; students write a bridge explaining the trade-off to the principal.
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Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to fluently link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(...
- 11-12.WHST.2.c
Use appropriate and varied transitional words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among...
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