English 9B

Course Description

This .5 credit course develops an understanding of literary genres and communication skills.

Course Requirements

To earn credit for this course by the deadline, the following requirements must be met:

• The final draft writing assignment must be submitted for scoring then earn at least a 60%
• All mastery test modules must either be marked exempt or mastered
• All modules without mastery tests must be completed, including pretests, posttests, semester tests and the drop box assignments

Time Requirements

This semester course contains 31 modules and is designed to fulfill the state-required 60 contact hours. Students should spend 7.5 hours per week, completing at least 4 module(s) each week of the 8-week program. Each bulleted item in the assignment list below is a module. TIP FOR SUCCESS: It is best to work on your course consistently to allocate time for technical and/or content assistance, if needed.

Grading Scale

There is one mandatory writing drop box assignment that will count as 25% of the overall course grade. In order to pass the course, students should earn at least a 60% score on that assignment. All mastery, post, and semester tests are equally weighted, and are calculated as 75% of your final grade.

A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69% (or 0-69% on unit/end of semester tests)
I = Incomplete (course requirements have not been met)

Pretests

Pretests provide an opportunity to exempt out of modules within the unit based on prior knowledge; the pretests are not included in the final grade. You may take the pretest one time. While you are not required to master modules that have been marked exempt, the unit posttest or end of semester test may contain questions from these modules; therefore, you may choose to master these modules to prepare for the posttests. The grade for a module that has been marked exempt is 100% whether you master it or not.  Not all courses will have pretests.             

Tutorials and General Tips

Most lessons include a tutorial. The purpose of the tutorials is to help prepare students for the mastery tests. This is similar to lessons in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms. Work in the tutorials will not be graded. If a mastery test is locked, reviewing the entire tutorial will automatically unlock the mastery test and allow you to retake it. The cycle of completing the tutorial to unlock a mastery test can be completed as often as needed until the required minimum 80% score is earned on the mastery test.

Utilize the blue toolbar on the left side of most tutorials. The toolbar options may include helpful resources such as notes, reading tools, calculator, translation, and highlighting options. 

For the Edmentum/PLATO courses, 60 minutes within the same URL such as a tutorial or test, may cause progress to be lost. The best practice is to save and close and then relaunch the activity if the end of the hour is near to be sure work is saved. As the URL or webpage changes, such as moving from one tutorial to a different tutorial, the 60 minute clock is reset.

Mastery Tests

The minimum score required for each mastery test module is 80%. You may take the mastery tests multiple times. To unlock a mastery test, go back through the preceding activities for that module. You have unlimited attempts on the mastery tests, and each mastery test must be mastered or exempt in order to earn credit for the course. Review and retake each mastery test until you have earned at least 80%, but you can continue to retake the test to try to earn 100%. The score for a module that has been marked exempt is 100%.

For any module that does not have a mastery test, all parts of the module must be completed.

Posttests/End of Semester Tests

The score for each posttest or end of semester test will be 0-100%. Each of these scores is factored into your final grade. You may take these tests one time. Not all courses have posttests or end of semester tests.

Assignment List

Each bulleted item below is a module. Each module marked with an asterisk (*) contains a mastery test. To receive credit, you must:

1. Complete all modules

2. Submit the final pdf copy of the writing assignment into the drop box in Edmentum/PLATO for scoring. This assignment should earn a score of at least 60% since it is 25% of the overall course grade.

3. AND earn a minimum 80% score on all mastery tests (mastery tests must be retaken to earn the 80% score).

NOTE: An indication of 100% complete in Edmentum/PLATO is NOT a guarantee of credit if the above criteria are not met. If a course shows 100% complete, select the course name then the gold "Not Mastered" to see the mastery tests that must be redone. To unlock a mastery test for another attempt, complete all slides of the tutorial again. If you think you have met all requirements to earn credit for the course, immediately email your advisor for verification.

Unit 1: Narrative, Drama, and Short Fiction

• Pretest:  Narrative, Drama, and Short Fiction
• Reading Fictional Narratives *
• Elements of Drama: Trifles*
• Character Study: "Fourteen"*
• Point of View and Conflict with the Self in Short Stories*
• Matching Tone to an Audience*
• Identifying Purpose in Nonfiction*
• Identifying Elements of Persuasion*
• Post Test: Narrative, Drama, and Short Fiction

Unit 2: More Than Just Fun and Games

• Pretest: More Than Just Fun and Games
• Analyzing Central Idea and Author’s Purpose in Informational Texts*
• Analyzing Portrayals of Katherine Johnson in Different Mediums*
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Thinking About Reading
• Conducting Research on the Impact of Technology*
• Post Test: More Than Just Fun and Games

Writing Assignment: The final draft is 25% of the course grade and should earn at least a 60% score. The writing assignment contains multiple parts. AI and Plagiarism, Writing Part 1-organization draft, Writing Part 2-final draft and submission, then the final draft must be submitted into the Edmentum drop box. 

• Final Draft Drop Box (graded by TRECA teacher and counts as 25% of the course grade)

Unit 3: Historically Speaking

• Pretest: Historically Speaking
• Examining Elements of Argument in The Declaration of Independence*
• Analyzing an Author’s use of Rhetoric to Advance Purpose in “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?”*
• Evaluating the Impact of Word Choice and Rhetoric in “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” and The Declaration of Independence*
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Benefits of Rereading
• Comparing the Development of Claims and Counterclaims in “On Women’s Right to Vote” and “I Am for the Equal Rights Amendment” Speeches*
• Post Test: Historically Speaking

Unit 4: The Power of Youth

• Pretest: The Power of Youth
• Gathering of Information Using Keywords and Phrases*
• Evaluating Sources to Determine Usefulness and Connections to the Research Topic*
• Evaluating Sources for Credibility and Reliability*
• Analyzing Structural Elements of an Expository Test to Develop an Outline*
• Synthesizing and Citing Sources to Develop a Paper*
• Post Test: The Power of Youth

End of Semester Test

• End of Semester Test: English 9B