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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
Version Description
The purpose of this course is to apply advanced oral communication concepts and strategies for public debate in a variety of given settings. Some work outside of the regular school day may be required.General Notes
Honors and Advanced Level Course Note: Advanced courses require a greater demand on students through increased academic rigor. Academic rigor is obtained through the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation of complex ideas that are often abstract and multi-faceted. Students are challenged to think and collaborate critically on the content they are learning. Honors level rigor will be achieved by increasing text complexity through text selection, focus on high-level qualitative measures, and complexity of task. Instruction will be structured to give students a deeper understanding of conceptual themes and organization within and across disciplines. Academic rigor is more than simply assigning to students a greater quantity of work.
The content should include, but not be limited to, the following:
- delivering and analyzing a variety of argument and debate formats such as
- Lincoln-Douglas
- team debate
- delineating and evaluating the argument and specific claims in an oral or written text by
- citing specific text evidence
- assessing the validity of the evidence and soundness of the reasoning
- determining the sufficiency of evidence for success
- recognizing when irrelevant evidence or faulty reasoning is introduced
- demonstrating appropriate formal and informal public speaking techniques for audience, purpose, and occasion
- eye contact and body movements
- voice register and choices of language
- use of standard English
- using research and writing skills to support selected topics and points of view
- across a range of disciplines
- using a range of sources, including digital
- assessing the veracity of claims and the reliability of sources
- determining different types of evidence (e.g., documentary evidence in the social sciences, experimental evidence in the realm of natural sciences)
- determining reliable print and digital sources
- demonstrating use of techniques for timing and judging debates and other forensic activities
- collaboration amongst peers, especially during the drafting and practicing stages
Special Notes:
Instructional Practices: Teaching from well-written, grade-level instructional materials enhances students' content area knowledge and also strengthens their ability to comprehend longer, complex reading passages on any topic for any purpose. Using the following instructional practices also helps student learning.
- Reading assignments from longer text passages, as well as shorter ones when text is extremely complex.
- Making close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
- Asking high-level, text-specific questions and requiring high-level, complex tasks and assignments.
- Requiring students to support answers with evidence from the text.
- Providing extensive text-based research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence).
English Language Development ELD Standards Special Notes Section:
Teachers are required to provide listening, speaking, reading and writing instruction that allows English language learners (ELL) to communicate information, ideas and concepts for academic success in the content area of Language Arts. For the given level of English language proficiency and with visual, graphic, or interactive support, students will interact with grade level words, expressions, sentences and discourse to process or produce language necessary for academic success. The ELD standard should specify a relevant content area concept or topic of study chosen by curriculum developers and teachers which maximizes an ELL’s need for communication and social skills. To access an ELL supporting document which delineates performance definitions and descriptors, please click on the following link: https://cpalmsmediaprod.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/docs/standards/eld/la.pdf
General Information
- Honors
Educator Certifications
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series.
Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale.
In Part One, we'll cover some important background information and read the opening excerpts of the text. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn how to identify and apply three important types of context clues: synonyms, antonyms, and inferences. This tutorial features passages about some of the world's most incredible child prodigies.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to distinguish between passive and active voice and how to revise sentences by changing them from passive voice to active voice in this interactive Space Race-themed tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Compare and contrast how William Wordsworth established multiple themes within two of his poems: "Lines Written in Early Spring" and "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud."
This interactive tutorial is part 3 of 3. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to analyze William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" to determine multiple themes and craft thematic statements.
This interactive tutorial is part 2 of 3. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Part 1: Identifying Multiple Topics in a Poem
- Part 3: Comparing Themes Across Two Poems -- Including Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Study William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" to identify multiple topics and, in the next tutorial, to determine themes and craft thematic statements.
This interactive tutorial is part 1 of 3. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- Part 2: Determining Multiple Themes of a Poem
- Part 3: Comparing Themes Across Two Poems -- Including Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the poems "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley and "Life" by Charlotte Brontë in this interactive tutorial. Using these works of literature, you'll practice determining multiple themes in a poem and writing a summary of a poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn 15 new academic vocabulary words in this interactive tutorial! You'll practice the words' synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, and context clues in order to add them to your vocabulary.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" and examine words, phrases, and lines with multiple meanings. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze how these multiple meanings can affect a reader’s interpretation of the poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore Edgar Allan Poe's "A Dream Within a Dream" in this two-part series of interactive tutorials. In Part Two, you'll examine word choices, rhyme, and personification, and explain the impact of specific word choices on the meaning and beauty of the poem.
Click HERE to launch Part One before starting Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore Edgar Allan Poe's "A Dream Within a Dream" in this two-part series of interactive tutorials. In Part 1, you'll examine words with multiple meanings and make inferences about selected key words in the poem. By the end of this series, you should be able to explain the impact of specific word choices on the meaning and beauty of the poem.
After you complete Part One, click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read excerpts from E.B. White's moving personal essay "Once More to the Lake." In this tutorial, you will determine an author’s personal point of view and examine how it contributes to the beauty of a text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine some commonly confused pronouns that often trick people into believing that they have the same meaning when their meanings can be very different. This interactive tutorial will help you properly use the following pronouns: who, whom, which, that, their, there, they're.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine what it means to be an American by analyzing a speech delivered by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes, in 1941. This tutorial is Part Three of a three-part series. In this tutorial, you will read more excerpts from Ickes’ speech, and then you will evaluate the effectiveness of his argument's structure.
Be sure to complete the first two parts before completing Part Three.
Click HERE for Part One. Click HERE for Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Avoid "doppelganger danger" as you examine six pairs of commonly confused words in this interactive tutorial. Learn how to correctly use these commonly confused words to improve your language and writing skills.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Avoid "doppelganger danger" as you examine six pairs of commonly confused words. Learning how to correctly use these commonly confused words will help improve your writing and mastery of English.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine what it means to be an American by analyzing a speech delivered by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes, in 1941. This tutorial is Part Two of a three-part series. In this tutorial, you will read excerpts from Ickes’ speech, and then you will identify his use of rhetorical appeals and analyze the structure of his argument.
Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE for Part One.
Click HERE for Part Three.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine what it means to be an American by analyzing a speech delivered by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes, in 1941. This tutorial is Part One of a three-part series. In this tutorial, you will read excerpts from the opening sections of Ickes’ speech. Then, you will work on determining his purpose, point of view, and important claims in these sections.
Make sure to complete all three parts! Click HERE to view Part Two. Click HERE to view Part Three.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine five pairs of commonly confused words in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial focuses on language and resolving issues of complex usage. You will examine pairs of words that are often confused in order to learn the correct use of each word. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to accurately use these ten commonly confused words.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Avoid "doppelganger danger" as you examine fourteen homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Learning how to use these homophones correctly in this interactive tutorial will help you avoid some of the most common usage mistakes.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Avoid "doppelganger danger" as you examine eleven homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Learning how to use these homophones correctly in this interactive tutorial will help you avoid some of the most common usage mistakes.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Avoid "doppelganger danger" as you examine twelve homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Learning how to use these homophones correctly in this interactive tutorial will help you avoid some of the most common usage mistakes.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this two-part series. This tutorial is Part Two. In this tutorial, you will continue to examine excerpts from Emerson's essay that focus on the topic of traveling. You'll examine word meanings and determine the connotations of specific words. You will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of this portion of the essay.
Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this two-part interactive tutorial series. You will examine word meanings, examine subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and think about the emotions or associations that are connected to specific words. Finally, you will analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of these excerpts.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this interactive two-part tutorial. This tutorial is Part Two. In this two-part series, you will learn to enhance your experience of Emerson's essay by analyzing his use of the word "genius." You will analyze Emerson's figurative meaning of "genius" and how he develops and refines the meaning of this word over the course of the essay.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to view Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Having studied two key topics in excerpts from the classic novel Pride and Prejudice in previous parts of this tutorial series, in Part Four you will use these topics and textual details from the novel to determine two themes of the novel. You will also analyze how these themes interact and build on one another.
Make sure to complete the previous parts of this series before beginning Part Four.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" in this interactive two-part tutorial. In Part One, you’ll learn to enhance your experience of a text by analyzing its use of a word’s figurative meaning. Specifically, you'll examine Emerson's figurative meaning of the key term "genius." In Part Two, you’ll learn how to track the development of a word’s figurative meaning over the course of a text.
Make sure to complete both parts of the tutorial! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to explore two key topics in the classic novel Pride and Prejudice and analyze characters’ actions as they relate to these topics in Part Three of this four-part series. By the end of this series, you will use these topics and textual details to determine two themes of the novel. You will also analyze how these themes interact and build on one another.
Make sure to complete all four parts of the series!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore two key topics (first impressions and self-awareness) in the classic novel Pride and Prejudice and analyze characters’ actions as they relate to these topics. This tutorial is Part Two in a four-part series. By the end of this tutorial series, you will use these topics and textual details to determine two themes of the novel. You will also analyze how these themes interact and build on one another.
Make sure to complete all four parts of the series.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore two key topics in excerpts from Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice and analyze characters’ actions as they relate to these topics in Part One of this four-part interactive tutorial series. By the end of this series, you will use these topics and textual details to determine two themes of the novel and analyze how these themes interact and build on one another.
Click below to complete all four parts of the series.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Batten down the hatches, mateys! In this two-part series, you'll learn about syntax and the ways in which writing with varied syntax can affect the meaning of a text. This tutorial is Part Two. In this tutorial, you'll learn about complex sentence structures. Then you'll combine what you learned in both parts of this series to identify different sentence structures and analyze the effect of simple, compound, and complex sentence structures on the meaning of a text. You'll also practice writing using varied syntax.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two! Click HERE to view Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Ahoy, mateys! Learn about syntax and the ways in which writing with varied syntax can affect the meaning of a text. In this two-part interactive tutorial, you'll learn about syntax. You'll practice identifying simple, compound, and complex sentence structures and analyze the effect of these different types of structures on the meaning of a text. You'll also practice writing using varied syntax.
Make sure to complete both parts of this series! Click HERE for Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to determine themes and write thematic statements in this interactive tutorial. In this tutorial, you'll examine three famous poems: “If-” by Rudyard Kipling, “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley. Using these works of literature, you will practice determining multiple themes in a poem and crafting thematic statements.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to transform words into other words, including nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, adjectives into adverbs, and much more with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Acquire 15 new vocabulary words, identify their parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms, and use them in context with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to identify use of verbal and dramatic irony in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" in this interactive two-part tutorial. Students will also examine how Poe's use of irony with first person point of view affects the story. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. In Part One, students read and analyzed the first two excerpts from the story. In Part Two, students will read and analyze the last three excerpts from the story.
Make sure to complete Part One first! Click HERE to complete Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to identify use of verbal and dramatic irony in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" in this interactive two-part tutorial. You'll also examine how Poe's use of irony with first person point of view affects the story. You'll read and analyze the first two excerpts from the story in Part One, and the last three excerpts from the story in Part Two.
Be sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence. In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and evaluate the effectiveness of his words by analyzing his use of reasoning and evidence.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of sources to use in your writing. In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn to evaluate sources based on their relation to the audience, task, and purpose of your writing. You'll also practice determining whether potential sources are useful, relevant, and authoritative for your specific topic.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing an informational text using President Abraham Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address. In this interactive tutorial, you'll determine Lincoln's purpose in this historical speech. You'll also analyze how his specific word choice and use of parallel structure help support his purpose.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Acquire new vocabulary through this interactive tutorial. You'll learn the definitions for 15 new words, as well as their parts of speech, their synonyms and antonyms, and you'll practice using them in context.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore word relationships by identifying and interpreting various figures of speech in context. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze the use of several kinds of figures of speech, including hyperbole and paradox. You'll also analyze the nuances in the meaning of words with similar definitions.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Acquire 15 new vocabulary words, identify their parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms, and use them in context with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify common text structures used in nonfiction texts: problem/solution, definition/example, cause and effect, and compare and contrast. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read excerpts from Walden by Henry David Thoreau and examine how complex ideas can be expressed using various text structures.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to analyze the use of irony to distinguish what is directly stated from what is really meant within the text. In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine humorous epitaphs from Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology. You'll learn to interpret an author’s true feelings and intentions versus what is actually stated in the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the rhetorical techniques used by Henry David Thoreau in his influential essay "Civil Disobedience." In this interactive tutorial, you'll cover some important background information on Thoreau and this classic essay, examine his purpose for writing, and identify his use of specific rhetorical techniques, including the use of allusions, metaphors, and rhetorical questions.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify and analyze extended metaphors using W.B. Yeats' poem, "The Stolen Child." In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine how Yeats uses figurative language to express the extended metaphor throughout this poem. We'll focus on his use of these seven types of imagery: visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, and organic. Finally, we'll analyze how the poem's extended metaphor conveys a deeper meaning within the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to draw appropriate text evidence to support your written response to analysis and reflection prompts. In this interactive tutorial, you'll be working with excerpts from two of George Orwell’s works: 1984 and “Shooting an Elephant.” You'll practice identifying important evidence in the text to support your own thoughts and ideas.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, you'll hone your skills of analysis using excerpts of the essay "For Brevity and Clarity" by Ambrose Bierce. You will sharpen your skills identifying textual evidence to support what an author states directly and as well as draw inferences from the text. You'll then learn to distinguish what is stated through satire and determine what amiguities the author creates.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn several strategies for determining the meaning of unfamiliar words as you read about the late Dian Fossey's research on mountain gorillas. This interactive tutorial will also help you identify common prefixes and how they affect the meaning of words.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to provide a complex analysis of two or more central ideas in a nonfiction text in this interactive tutorial. You will also analyze how the author’s central ideas develop over the course of the text and describe how they interact and build on one another. This tutorial utilizes an excerpt from the closing arguments by Clarence Darrow at the trial of Leopold and Loeb.
*Due to the subject matter of the Leopold and Loeb trial, this tutorial is recommended for a mature audience.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about the conventions of Modern English compared to the English of long ago. In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine some current language conventions that apply to our use of English when speaking and writing. We'll also see how our language has evolved since the days of Old English and Middle English. Finally, we'll examine some important differences between standard language and disputed (less formal) language.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how the meaning and tone of a poem is shaped by the author's specific word choice. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read Sonnet 43 (“How Do I Love Thee?”) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. You'll examine how her specific word choice affects the overall tone and meaning of the poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Study excerpts from a suspenseful science fiction short story in this interactive tutorial. In this tutorial, you'll study excerpts from "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury. You'll study his use of color imagery, learn about the connotations of particular colors, and analyze the impact of color imagery on the meaning of the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Tutorial
In this vidcast from the Purdue Online Writing Lab, you will learn how to write your personal statement for your college application. Further, you will be able to write for a specific audience while adhering to particular guidelines for your format and style. Note- the vidcast may take a minute or two to load.
Type: Tutorial
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