This is the first course in a two-course sequence. As students progress through the course, they will explore two main themes, “Courage” and “Choice”, and address essential questions while reading a variety of works. Students will read novels, short stories and informational texts, engage in poetry analysis, view informational videos and write for various purposes. Larger writing assignments include a research project and a narrative essay. As a supplement to these writing assignments, students will partake in grammar challenges where they learn about grammar concepts and develop a mastery of their use. In addition to building their writing skills, students will learn several reading strategies such as how to use graphic organizers to extract important information and summarize to monitor comprehension. Furthermore, students will explore several rhetorical devices and strategies like symbolism, figurative language, theme, setting and more. Prerequisites: 8th Grade English
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to do the following:
- identify their values and beliefs
- activate prior knowledge and build a personal connection with unfamiliar texts
- use graphic organizers to write a variety of paragraphs
- understand, identify, and evaluate the effectiveness of several literary and rhetorical devices like setting and characterization
- develop an effective argument essay with claims and counter claims
- create a works cited page and parenthetical documentations using MLA format
- use graphic organizers and summarizing to guide them through readings and help them to think critically about literary and informational texts
- understand, identify, and evaluate the effectiveness of several literary and rhetorical devices like oxymoron, soliloquy, allusion, and irony
- evaluate how the passage of time alters perspectives and choices
- understand and identify the elements of an informative essay
- construct an effective informative essay
- use comparison and contrast for evaluation
Course Outline: Course Units and Major Topics:
- Unit 1: Establishing Values and Beliefs
- The study of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Values and Beliefs • TKAM Anticipation Guide • Times and Setting
- Unit 2: Societal Beliefs
- The study of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Setting • Characterization • Innocence and Ignorance • Similes and Metaphors • Expectations of Behavior • Idioms • Symbolism • Themes
- Unit 3: Argumentative Essay
- The study of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Outlining an Argument • Argumentative Essay: Developing the Introduction; Developing a Counterclaim; Supporting your Claims; Crafting the Conclusion; Revising with Transitions; Creating a Works Cited Page
- Unit 4: Choices in Society
- The study of various short works of literature will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • How Do You Relate to You Family, Community, and Society? • Allegory and "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" • Imagery in "The Road Not Taken" • Conflict and "The Interlopers" • Do I Recognize and Learn from My Mistakes? Discussion
- Unit 5: Getting to Know Shakespeare
- The study of Romeo and Juliet will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Shakespeare Biography • Shakespeare's World--The Globe Theatre • A Study in Elizabethan Language • Attitudes--Romeo and Juliet • The Prologue
- Unit 6: Choices in Romeo and Juliet
- The study of Romeo and Juliet will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Direct and Indirect Characterization; • Personification • Oxymoron • Strong Emotions • Soliloquy • Dramatic Irony; • Reading Comprehension
- Unit 7: The Informative Essay
- The study of Romeo and Juliet will be used as a context to explore and develop the following themes, literary elements, and skills: • Literary Parallels: The Hatfields and McCoys--A Comparison to Romeo and Juliet • Comparison and Contrast Chart for Juliet and Roseanna • Introduction to the Comparison and Contrast Essay • Constructing a Thesis • Developing the Outline • Construct an Introduction and Body of the Informative Essay • Crafting the Conclusion • Revising with Transitions
Resources Included: 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.
Students may need to locate some short stories, essays, and poems. There are links to electronic versions of all of these works in the course. Several video clips that are linked in the course Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” Saki’s “The Interlopers”.
Additional Costs: Students will be responsible for locating a print or online version of the following books: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
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 will be responsible for locating a print or online version of the following books: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.