English 9A

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 34 modules and is designed to fulfill the state-required 60 contact hours. Students should spend 2.5 hours per week, completing at least 2 module(s) each week of the 26-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: Page Turners and Plot Twists

• Pretest: Page Turners and Plot Twists
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Thinking about Reading
• Analyzing How Order of Events Creates Tension in “The Monkey’s Paw”*
• Examining the Relationship Between Pacing and Tension “The Monkey’s Paw”*
• Analyzing How Pacing and Structure Create Suspense in “New Chicago”*
• Analyzing Theme and Development in “New Chicago”*
• Comparing a Text to Source Material in “The Monkey’s Paw” and “New Chicago”*
• Post Test: Page Turners and Plot Twists

Unit 2: Leaving a Legacy

• Pretest: Leaving a Legacy
• Analyzing Theme and Development through Details and Parallel Structure in “If”*
• Examining the Order of Ideas in “Yangon’s Hero, Wielding Power of Stop and Go”*
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Benefits of Summarizing
• Evaluating Evidence in an Informational Text*
• Analyzing Argument in “Letter from Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman”*
• Researching What It Takes to Make a Difference*
• Post Test: Leaving a Legacy

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: Looking Inward

• Pretest: Looking Inward
• Determining the Central Idea in “The Cutting of My Long Hair’*
• Analyzing Central Idea Development in “By Any Other Name”*
• Analyzing Word Choice in “By Any Other Name”*
• Comparing Point of View in “The Cutting of My Long Hair” and “By Any Other Name”*
• Analyzing Text Structure in The Story of My Live*
• Analyzing Two Accounts of Hellen Keller’s Life*
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Rethinking the Writing Process
• ​​​​​​​Post Test: Looking Inward

Unit 4: A Natural Balance

• Pretest: A Natural Balance
• Using Vocabulary And Summarizing Strategies in “Survival Is Your Own Responsibility”*
• Analyzing How Authors Connect Ideas in “Survival Is Your Own Responsibility”*
• Clarifying Big Ideas: Benefits of Rereading
• Drawing Connections Between Ideas in “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West”*
• Examining Rhetoric and Point of View in the Speech “All-of-the-Above”*
• ​​​​​​​Post Test: A Natural Balance

End of Semester Test

• End of Semester Test: English 9A