This is the second course in a two-course sequence. In this course students will read engaging works and explore topics of interest as they develop their reading, writing, and speaking skills. Students will use essential questions to focus on a topic for each unit. The course is aligned to the Common Core Standards. Prerequisites: English 10A
Course Objectives: By completing this course, students will be able to...
- Analyze theme in works of literature
- Write an informative essay
- Analyze various texts to identify literary elements and apply reading skills and literary critiques
- Generate and present research
- Use various forms of technology to complete assignments
Course Outline:
Unit 1: All Quiet on the Western Front
Unit 2: War Stories
Unit 3: Truth
Unit 4: Informative Essay
Unit 5: PSAT Practice
Unit 6: Things Fall Apart
Unit 7: Ideas and Change
Unit 8: Thinking into the Future
Unit 9: PSAT Practice
Unit 10: Research Essay
Resources Included: Resources that will be provided: Unbroken - Louis Zamperini Story, “Oranges” by Gary Soto, War by Sebastian Junger, “The Mountain” by Martin J. Hamer, Restrepo - DoctalkDigital Story sites “This I Believe” and “Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing”, www.npr.org. Essays by Malcolm Gladwell--"Part Concept, Part Click: Making Your Browser a Canvas," "Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms," and “The Lost Generation”.
The course also provides online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: Students must obtain the following novels: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; as well as one of the following:
- The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell;
- The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman;
- A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink;
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell;
- Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology by Allan Collins and Richard Halverson; OR
- Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie.
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school mentor is also able to access this score within the Student Learning Portal. Schools may use this score for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: Students must obtain the following novels on their own: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; as well as one of the following: The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell; The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman; A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink; Blink by Malcolm Gladwell; Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology by Allan Collins and Richard Halverson; or Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie.