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Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
Version Description
The purpose of this course is to develop student awareness, understanding, and application of language arts as it applies to oral communication concepts and strategies in a variety of given settings. Some activities may be required outside of the school day.General Notes
The content should include, but not be limited to, the following:- learning and practicing a variety of speech formats
- learning and 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
- collaboration amongst peers, especially during the drafting and practicing stages
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).
General Information
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Explore the famous speech “All the World’s a Stage” from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll analyze how connotation and imagery develop a character's perspective.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the famous speech “All the World’s a Stage” from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll analyze an extended metaphor within the speech and how it contributes to the speech’s meaning.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about Greek and Latin roots (anti, capit, bene, bon, and mal) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about ancient Latin roots — Ante, Post, Scrib, and Script — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about three roots from ancient Latin and Greek — Per, Seque, and Mis — and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Identify and apply context clues, including synonyms, antonyms, and inferences, to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in passages about the life of Frederick Douglass with this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about five roots from ancient Latin and Greek—frag, fract, cret, syn, and sym—and practice using twelve modern words connected with these roots to build your vocabulary in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about 3 Latin roots (Am, Ab, and Ad) and 12 new words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll make some interesting language connections and hopefully add some new words to your vocabulary!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to paraphrase grade-level content in this boxing-themed tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice changing sentences from passive to active voice in this interactive tutorial about mythical creatures.
This is Part Two in a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first! Click HERE to launch "It's No Myth -- Part One: Distinguishing Between Passive and Active Voice."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to distinguish between passive and active voice with this interactive tutorial about mythical creatures.
This is Part One of a two-part series. Click HERE to launch "It's No Myth -- Part Two: Changing Sentences from Passive to Active Voice."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about gerunds and gerund phrases in this two-part tutorial.
By the end of Part One, you should be able to identify a gerund or gerund phrase as the subject of a sentence. At the end of Part One, you'll also practice creating a sentence using a gerund as the subject and a sentence using a gerund phrase as the subject.
Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch "Gerunds -- Part Two: Identifying Gerunds and Gerund Phrases as Subject Complements."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about gerunds and gerund phrases in Part Two of this two-part series. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to identify a gerund or gerund phrase as a subject complement. At the end of this tutorial, you'll practice creating sentences of your own with a gerund phrase as the subject and a gerund phrase as a subject complement.
Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch "Gerunds -- Part One: Identifying Gerunds and Gerund Phrases as Subjects."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Continue to explore references to sight in the first chapter of Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine and how they convey different meanings and reveal information about characters.
This interactive tutorial is part 2 of 2. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the difference between vision and perception and how words related to sight convey different meanings and reveal information about characters in the first chapter of Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine.
This interactive tutorial is part 1 of 2. Click HERE to launch Part Two.
In Part Two, you'll continue to examine references to sight in the first chapter of Tangerine. You'll examine how these references convey different meanings and reveal information about characters.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate essential and nonessential elements in a sentence. In Part Two, you'll learn about essential and nonessential phrases and clauses and how to use commas with nonessential phrases and clauses in a sentence.
This is Part Two of a two-part tutorial series. Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate essential and nonessential elements in a sentence in this two-part tutorial series. In Part One, you'll learn about appositives and how to use commas with appositives when they provide nonessential information in a sentence.
When you're done, make sure to complete Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate a mysterious punctuation mark--the dash--in this interactive two-part tutorial. In this series, you'll learn about two types of dashes and their different uses. In Part Two, you'll learn about the em dash and practice using it correctly.
We recommend that you complete Part One first! Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Investigate a mysterious punctuation mark—the dash—in this interactive two-part tutorial. In this series, you'll learn about two types of dashes and their different uses. In Part One, you'll learn about the en dash and practice using it correctly. In Part Two, you'll learn about the em dash and practice using it correctly. We hope by the end of this series that the dash will no longer be quite so mysterious!
Make sure to complete Part Two! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Check out a mysterious punctuation mark, the ellipsis, in this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll learn a number of different uses for the ellipsis and apply what you learn to practice using the ellipsis correctly.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Don't be mystified by commas! This interactive tutorial will help you better understand how to correctly use this often mysterious punctuation mark. You'll learn several ways commas are commonly misused to help make sure you don't make these same mistakes in your own writing. Then, you'll learn several ways to correctly use a comma.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Check out a mysterious punctuation mark—the apostrophe—in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn several important rules and guidelines to help you demystify this punctuation mark so you can use it correctly in your own writing.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn 12 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
Learn a number of important rules that will help you master the mysterious comma. In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn how commas are used to separate three or more items in a series and to “set off” certain aspects of a sentence.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Explore the poem “The Railway Train” by Emily Dickinson in this interactive tutorial. Learn about personification and vivid descriptions and determine how they contribute to the meaning of a poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to recognize and fix one of the most common grammar errors—the run-on sentence—as you complete this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn more about that dreaded word--plagiarism--in this interactive tutorial that's all about citing your sources, creating a Works Cited page, and avoiding academic dishonesty!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn the rules of capitalization in this interactive tutorial! By the end, you'll have undergone a "crash course" in correct capitalization.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn 12 new academic 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 create a Found Poem with changing moods in this interactive tutorial. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. In Part One, students read “Zero Hour,” a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury and examined how he used various literary devices to create changing moods. In Part Two, students will use words and phrases from “Zero Hour” to create a Found Poem with two of the same moods from Bradbury's story.
Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn 12 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
Learn 12 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
Review common uses of the comma and learn how it can be properly used to set off nonrestrictive elements--like phrases and words--in a sentence. This interactive tutorial will also give you the chance to complete practice activities to check your understanding.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to use commas to connect two sentences, how to use commas with coordinate adjectives, and how to use the Oxford comma. In this interactive tutorial, you will complete practice exercises and read several short passages about primates, including gorillas and baboons.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about puns--a type of figurative language--in Philip K. Dick's science fiction short story "The Eyes Have It." In this interactive tutorial, you'll identify puns, interpret their various meanings, and explain how the author’s use of puns adds humor to the story.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify and analyze the development of theme in this interactive tutorial. We'll read excerpts from "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs and examine how several different themes are developed throughout the text. We'll explore how each theme is conveyed in the story as the plot unfolds.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how to determine the meaning of "mystery words" using several different strategies in this interactive crime-themed tutorial. You'll learn how to recognize a word's job or function in a sentence to help determine its meaning. You'll also practice identifying key words and word parts to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to analyze and evaluate arguments for their soundness and relevancy. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read several short passages about raising the legal driving age. You'll practice examining the evidence presented to determine whether it's sound and relevant to the argument at hand.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about two types of figurative language—similes and metaphors—in this interactive tutorial. You'll read several classic poems, including "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost and "Hope" by Emily Dickinson. You'll examine how each poem uses metaphor to convey a specific idea to readers.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this interactive tutorial, you'll take a "punctuation vacation" to learn how commas, dashes, and ellipses can be used to indicate breaks or pauses in your writing.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will practice identifying relevant evidence within a text as you read excerpts from Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire." Then, you'll practice your writing skills as you draft a short response using examples of relevant evidence from the story.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn about 3 Greek and Latin roots (spect, path, and omni) and 12 modern words that feature those roots. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice using these words and hopefully add them to your vocabulary!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how figurative language contributes to the meaning of an informational text. In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine excerpts from President Obama's 50th Anniversary Speech of the March on Selma. You'll specifically analyze his use of imagery and metaphors and how they add to the meaning of his speech.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to define and explain active and passive voice in this wizard-themed interactive tutorial. You'll also learn how to transform passive voice to active voice to make your writing stronger.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Tutorials
This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice correcting two common types of run-on sentences: comma splices and fused sentences. For each practice item, you must identify the best way to correct either a comma splice or a fused sentence. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There’s also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice identifying two common types of run-on sentences: comma splices and fused sentences. For each practice item, you must identify whether a run-on sentence is a comma splice or a fused sentence. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There’s also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice in recognizing sentence fragments types. For each practice item, you must identify the type of fragment being presented. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
This interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study; simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
This fun and interactive exercise will give you practice in correcting sentence fragments. For each practice item, you must select the best choice to correct a fragment in a short passage. After every response, you will get immediate feedback. Explanations of each correct answer are also provided. There's also an explanation of the rules of proper sentence structure for you to study, simply click the hyperlinked word "rules."
Type: Tutorial
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