Concept Taxonomy¶
The 269 concepts in this learning graph are organized into 12 categories. No single category exceeds 30% of total concepts.
Categories¶
1. Foundation Concepts¶
TaxonomyID: FOUND Color: SteelBlue Concepts: 1–14 (14 concepts, 5.2%)
Core course-level concepts: the ELA overview, Common Core standards, college and career readiness, grade-band standards, the five strands, CCR anchor standards, close reading, textual evidence, text complexity, Lexile levels, independent reading, and academic vocabulary.
2. Reading Literature¶
TaxonomyID: RLIT Color: DarkGreen Concepts: 15–83 (69 concepts, 25.7%)
Literary genres and subgenres, plot elements, character development, point of view, figurative language, literary devices, tone, mood, author's style, narrative techniques, comparative analysis of adaptations, Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama, American and British literary periods, mythology, classical literature, and world literature in translation.
3. Reading Informational Text¶
TaxonomyID: RINF Color: Teal Concepts: 84–121 (38 concepts, 14.1%)
Informational text features, central idea, rhetoric, argument structure, rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos), US foundational documents, seminal American authors and speeches, scientific and technical texts, multiple source comparison, and author credibility.
4. Writing¶
TaxonomyID: WRITE Color: Gold Concepts: 122–168 (47 concepts, 17.5%)
Argument, informative, explanatory, and narrative writing modes; the writing process (prewriting through publishing); essay structure; thesis development; claim and counterclaim development; evidence integration; research writing; citation formats (MLA and APA); annotated bibliography; rhetorical and structural writing patterns; peer writing workshop; writing rubrics.
5. Speaking and Listening¶
TaxonomyID: SPEAK Color: DodgerBlue Concepts: 169–187 (19 concepts, 7.1%)
Academic and collaborative discussion, active listening, presentation and public speaking skills, multimedia presentation, digital media integration, formal English, code-switching, civil disagreement, evaluating a speaker's reasoning, and media evaluation.
6. Language¶
TaxonomyID: LANG Color: LightSkyBlue Concepts: 188–220 (33 concepts, 12.3%)
Standard English grammar, parts of speech, sentence types (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex), phrases and clauses, capitalization and punctuation conventions, spelling, vocabulary acquisition, context clues, morphology, word roots, prefixes and suffixes, reference materials, word relationships and nuances, and figurative vs. literal language.
7. Critical Thinking and Logic¶
TaxonomyID: CRIT Color: Crimson Concepts: 221–234 (14 concepts, 5.2%)
Critical thinking skills, logical reasoning, questioning assumptions, annotation, argumentation skills, rhetorical analysis, and named logical fallacies (ad hominem, straw man, false dichotomy, slippery slope, appeal to authority, circular reasoning, hasty generalization).
8. Media and Digital Literacy¶
TaxonomyID: MLIT Color: OliveDrab Concepts: 235–242 (8 concepts, 3.0%)
Media literacy, digital literacy, source evaluation, fact-checking skills, misinformation detection, social media literacy, propaganda techniques, and emotional manipulation in media.
9. Cognitive Bias¶
TaxonomyID: BIAS Color: DarkOrchid Concepts: 243–260 (18 concepts, 6.4%)
Cognitive bias as a general concept, and 17 specific biases: confirmation bias, availability heuristic, anchoring bias, in-group favoritism, framing effect, Dunning-Kruger effect, bandwagon effect, sunk cost fallacy, hindsight bias, attribution bias, survivorship bias, recency bias, halo effect, false consensus effect, negativity bias, motivated reasoning, and stereotyping.
10. Systems Thinking¶
TaxonomyID: SYS Color: Orange Concepts: 261–268 (8 concepts, 2.8%)
Systems thinking overview, feedback loops (balancing and reinforcing), causal loop diagrams, unintended consequences, holistic problem analysis, and second-order effects.
11. AI and Writing¶
TaxonomyID: AIWR Color: Coral Concepts: 282–295 (14 concepts, 4.7%)
The impact of AI on academic writing — both productive and problematic. Topics include cowriting with AI as a brainstorming and feedback tool, prompt engineering for writing tasks, AI limitations (hallucination, bias, loss of voice), ethical and academic-integrity considerations, AI disclosure and citation, AI-generated text detection, and critical evaluation of AI output.
12. Research and Citation¶
TaxonomyID: RES Color: MediumPurple Concepts: 296–299 (4 concepts, 1.4%)
Research methodology, library and database research, evaluating research sources, and synthesizing multiple sources.
13. Capstone and Assessment¶
TaxonomyID: CAP Color: DimGray Concepts: 300–308 (9 concepts, 3.1%)
Capstone project options (senior research thesis, literary portfolio, rhetorical analysis project, literary criticism portfolio, civic engagement portfolio), oral defense, public letter writing, and audience awareness.
Summary Table¶
| # | Category | TaxonomyID | Color | Count | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundation Concepts | FOUND | SteelBlue | 14 | 5.2% |
| 2 | Reading Literature | RLIT | DarkGreen | 69 | 25.7% |
| 3 | Reading Informational Text | RINF | Teal | 38 | 14.1% |
| 4 | Writing | WRITE | Gold | 47 | 17.5% |
| 5 | Speaking and Listening | SPEAK | DodgerBlue | 19 | 7.1% |
| 6 | Language | LANG | LightSkyBlue | 33 | 12.3% |
| 7 | Critical Thinking and Logic | CRIT | Crimson | 14 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Media and Digital Literacy | MLIT | OliveDrab | 8 | 3.0% |
| 9 | Cognitive Bias | BIAS | DarkOrchid | 18 | 6.1% |
| 10 | Systems Thinking | SYS | Orange | 8 | 2.7% |
| 11 | AI and Writing | AIWR | Coral | 14 | 4.7% |
| 12 | Research and Citation | RES | MediumPurple | 4 | 1.4% |
| 13 | Capstone and Assessment | CAP | DimGray | 9 | 3.1% |
| Total | 295 | 100% |