End-of-year targets

What most 10th graders can do by June. Every child grows at their own pace; use this as a guide, not a test.

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Reading

Read world literature and grade-level nonfiction independently, using an audiobook or notes only as a support
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence, quoting accurately and explaining what the evidence shows
State a theme in a full sentence and trace how it develops across a story, novel, poem or play
Analyze how complex characters change, interact with others and advance the theme
Explain how an author's choices about structure, time and word choice create mystery, tension or surprise
Analyze a point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work from outside the United States
Delineate an argument's claim, reasoning and evidence and spot false statements and faulty reasoning
Use roots, context and reference tools to find the meaning of unfamiliar academic words

Write a literary analysis essay with a precise claim, embedded quotations and explanation that links evidence to theme
Write an argument with a clear claim, counterclaim and rebuttal, using valid reasoning and credible evidence
Write an informative research essay from several sources, paraphrasing and quoting with MLA in-text citations and a works cited page
Write a narrative with a deliberate structure, a clear point of view and precise sensory detail
Write a formal lab report with a question, hypothesis, procedure, data table, analysis and conclusion
Revise for claim, evidence and organization and edit for parallel structure, semicolons and colons

Use precise definitions of point, line, plane, segment, ray, angle and circle, and complete basic constructions
Write two-column and paragraph proofs about angles, parallel lines, triangles and parallelograms
Prove triangles congruent with SSS, SAS, ASA, AAS and HL, and use CPCTC
Use similarity, the Pythagorean theorem, special right triangles and the trig ratios to solve problems
Find arc measures, arc length, sector area and inscribed angles in circles
Find the area and volume of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres and apply them to real objects
Use coordinates to prove properties of figures, and describe and perform rigid motions and dilations

Follow lab safety rules, measure in SI units with correct significant figures and design a fair test
Describe atomic structure, isotopes and electron arrangement, and explain the patterns of the periodic table
Predict ionic, covalent and metallic bonding and connect bonding to the properties of substances
Write and balance chemical equations, classify reactions and explain conservation of mass
Use the mole, molar mass and mole ratios to solve stoichiometry problems
Explain energy changes in reactions, gas behavior, solutions, and acids and bases with a particle model
Apply chemistry to environmental problems and an engineering design challenge

Place major events from about 1450 to today on a timeline and a world map
Explain causes and effects of exploration, the Columbian Exchange and the rise of the gunpowder empires
Trace Enlightenment ideas into the American, French, Haitian and Latin American revolutions
Explain how the Industrial Revolution, imperialism and nationalism changed societies
Describe the causes, events and consequences of the two World Wars and the Holocaust, factually and respectfully
Explain the Cold War, decolonization and globalization, including economic and environmental effects
Source and corroborate primary documents and write evidence-based historical arguments

Keep a reading log, a lab notebook and a writing portfolio, and set monthly goals from them
Prepare for discussions and build on others' ideas with evidence
Explain reasoning out loud in proofs and labs, including mistakes and corrections
Plan multi-week projects with dated steps and meet the deadlines
Follow safety procedures every time without reminders
Reflect weekly on what worked and choose one thing to change