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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
Version Description
This course defines what students should understand and be able to do by the end of 12th grade. Knowledge acquisition should be the primary purpose of any reading approach as the systematic building of a wide range of knowledge across domains is a prerequisite to higher literacy. At this grade level, students are working with universal themes and archetypes. They are also continuing to build their facility with rhetoric, the craft of using language in writing and speaking, using classic literature, essays, and speeches as mentor texts.
This course is designed to be paired with Humane Letters 4 – History. Emphasizing the classical approach to teaching and learning, this course is devoted to reading, discussing, and writing based-on great works from Roman antiquity through the 19th century. In this course students strive to better understand the world around them through the evolution of the ideas of those who came before us. Through careful reading, thoughtful discussion, and persuasive writing, students will sharpen their abilities to think analytically and critically. Recommended texts for this course include, but are not limited to: Aeneid, Augustine’s Confessions, Aquinas’ Treatise on Law, Dante’s Inferno, Machiavelli’s Prince, the philosophy of Descartes, and The Brothers Karamazov (The recommended texts list entirely overlaps with Humane Letters 4—History, but the two complementary courses make use of these texts for different purposes).
The benchmarks in this course are mastery goals that students are expected to attain by the end of the year. To build mastery, students will continue to review and apply earlier grade-level benchmarks and expectations.
General Notes
The Humane Letters course focuses on the great literature and texts of the American canon with special attention to the historical progression of the United States from its founding to the present. The course explores the ideas, principles, and stories that have shaped this nation into a modern republic and how these ideas are reflected in representative literature and primary source texts. Through careful reading, thoughtful discussion, and persuasive writing, students will sharpen their abilities to think analytically and critically. The curriculum acquaints students with the American tradition and encourages them to search for truthful conclusions concerning the critical questions and ideas raised during class discussions.
The primary mode of instruction in Humane Letters is the seminar, which is supplemented with direct instruction through lecture or coaching. The seminar format requires that students participate actively in their search for the fullest understanding of the texts under examination. While the instructor serves as a guide in this project, the students and the instructor together investigate and explore the many complex ideas presented in the texts.
The content should include readings from classic American literature and selected primary source documents, but not be limited to, the following:
- active reading of varied texts for what they say explicitly, as well as the logical inferences that can be drawn
- analysis of literature and informational texts from varied literary periods to examine:
- text craft and structure
- elements of literature
- arguments and claims supported by textual evidence
- power and impact of language
- influence of history, culture, and setting on language
- personal critical and aesthetic response
- writing for varied purposes
- developing and supporting argumentative claims
- crafting coherent, supported informative/expository texts
- responding to literature for personal and analytical purposes
- writing narratives to develop real or imagined events
- writing to sources using text- based evidence and reasoning
- effective listening, speaking, and viewing strategies with emphasis on the use of evidence to support or refute a claim in multimedia presentations, class discussions, and extended text discussions
- collaboration amongst peers
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.
Literacy Standards in Social Studies:
Secondary social studies courses include reading standards for literacy in history/social studies 6-12, and writing standards for literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects 6-12. This course also includes speaking and listening standards. For a complete list of standards required for this course click on the blue tile labeled course standards. You may also download the complete course including all required standards and notes sections using the export function located at the top of this page.
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 Social Studies. 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: SS.pdf
General Information
- Honors
- Class Size Core Required
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
Read excerpts from Bram Stoker’s famous novel Dracula. In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine how the author created suspense by tying together the story elements of setting, characters, and action.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read the first chapter from Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart about a father and son who couldn't be more different. In this interactive tutorial, you'll identify their important traits, examine the importance of their differences, and explain the impact of the author’s choice to introduce these two characters by highlighting their differences.
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
Read and study excerpts from Willa Cather's classic novel My Antonia to analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding the selection of the narrator, where the story is set, and how the main character is introduced and developed.
This interactive English Language Arts tutorial is Part Three of three. Click below to open the other tutorials in the series.
- PART ONE -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choices
- PART TWO -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choicesn Author's Choices
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to use commas correctly to set off an introductory clause, phrase, or word at the start of a sentence with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to use commas correctly with this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll review a number of important comma rules, including when not to use a comma, and you'll learn to identify errors in comma usage.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Analyze the impact of an author's choices using excerpts from Willa Cather's classic novel My Antonia. In this series of interactive tutorials, you'll analyze the impact of an author's choices regarding the selection of the narrator, where the story is set, and how the main character is introduced and developed.
This is the second tutorial in a three-part series. Make sure to complete all three parts. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.
- PART ONE -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choices
- PART THREE -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choices
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about two mysterious punctuation marks: quotation marks and the dash. As you complete this interactive tutorial, you'll learn a number of important rules and guidelines to help you use them correctly.
This is Part Two of a two-part series. Click HERE to launch Part One to learn about the apostrophe and the ellipsis.
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
Learn about four mysterious punctuation marks in this two-part interactive tutorial. In Part One, you'll learn important rules and guidelines to help you correctly use the apostrophe and the ellipsis.
In Part Two, you'll learn to correctly use quotation marks and the dash. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Read and study excerpts from Willa Cather's classic novel My Antonia to analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding the selection of the narrator, the setting, and how the main character is introduced and developed.
This interactive tutorial is Part One of three-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in the series.
- PART TWO -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choices
- PART THREE -- Analyzing the Impact of an Author's Choices
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn three rules for using commas correctly in your writing through use of this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll learn how to join two independent clauses without creating a comma splice, how to identify and offset a nonessential clause in a sentence, and how to use the controversial Oxford comma.
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
Learn about the ways to correctly use a colon in a sentence by exploring this interactive tutorial! We'll go over contexts where colon use is appropriate, and you'll learn guidelines for colon usage. You'll also learn several important rules for capitalization usage after a colon. By the end, you should be apply to apply these rules to correctly use a colon within a sentence.
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
Learn and practice how to use semicolons in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn three important rules for using the semicolon to join clauses together. By the end, you should be able to apply these three rules to correctly use a semicolon within a sentence.
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
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
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 about two significant writers of the Harlem Renaissance—Zora Neal Hurston and Langston Hughes. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read Hughes' poem "Freedom's Plow" to compare and contrast the authors' treatment of a similar topic and theme.
This is part two in a two-part series of interactive tutorials. Click HERE to launch Part 1 to identify topics and determine themes in excerpts from Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine text excerpts from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and evaluate several film clips based on different adaptations of Shelley's novel in this two-part interactive tutorial. By the end of this two-part tutorial, you should be able to analyze how the films’ various adaptations of the novel changes the audience’s perception of the creature that Mary Shelley originally created. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series.
Part One should be completed before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about two significant writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neal Hurston and Langston Hughes. In this two-part tutorial series, you'll read excerpts of texts from each author. In Part One, you'll practice identifying topics and determining themes using Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. In Part Two, you'll read Hughes' poem "Freedom's Plow" to compare and contrast the authors' treatment of a similar topic and theme.
Click here to launch PART TWO.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine text excerpts from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and evaluate several film clips based on different adaptations of Shelley's novel in this two-part interactive tutorial. By the end of this two-part series, you should be able to analyze how the films’ various adaptations of the novel changes the audience’s perception of the creature Mary Shelley originally created.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part 2.
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
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, you'll analyze the Pullman Strike of 1894, a dramatic event in the American labor movement. In Part 1, you'll focus on the history of the strike. In Part 2, you'll practice your literary skills while learning more about the same event.
Click HERE to open Part 1.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In Parts 1 and 2 of this interactive tutorial series, you'll analyze the Pullman Strike of 1894, a dramatic event in the American labor movement. In Part 1, you'll focus on the history of the strike. In Part 2, you'll practice your literacy skills while learning more about the same event.
Click HERE to open Part 2.
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
Learn how to use the hyphen in this interactive tutorial about sharks! You'll learn rules and strategies for the proper use of this often misunderstood punctuation mark.
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 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 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 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
Practice analyzing an author’s specific choices regarding characterization, setting, and plot structure within a text. In this interactive tutorial, we'll use excerpts from the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison to analyze the how various narrative elements impact the meaning of the text.
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 to make inferences when reading a fictional text using the textual evidence provided. In this tutorial, you'll read the short story "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. You'll practice identifying what is directly stated in the text and what requires the use of inference. You'll practice making your own inferences and supporting them with evidence from the text.
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
Congratulations
