Course Syllabus

Lesson

Objectives

Quiz

Assignment

1: Twisted Plots and Plot Twists

• 1.1 - Recognize moments of suspense in a story and how the author creates that suspense.
• 1.2 - Understand how foreshadowing plays a role in suspense.
• 1.3 - Recognize moments of conflict and know what type of conflict is being used.
• 1.4 - Learn new vocabulary words from context clues in the reading.
• 1.5 - Determine the central idea or theme of the reading.
• 1.6 - Understand how foreshadowing adds to suspense. 
• 1.7 - Be able to determine the mood based on evidence from the text.
• 1.8 - Understand the basic idea of irony and how it applies to the meaning of a story.
• 1.10 - Understand what a noun is and how it is used in a sentence.
• 1.11 - Understand what a pronoun is and how it is used in a sentence.
• 1.12 - Be able to summarize the events of a story by telling who, where, what, when, why, and how.
• 1.13 - Write a summary in the form of a news article with a proper headline, lead, and details from the story.

Lesson 1 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

Lesson 1 Assignment - News Article (75 Points)

2: To the Future and Back

• 2.1 - Understand and be able to recognize the main theme of the story.
• 2.2 - Recognize what aspects of the story fit within the science fiction genre.
• 2.3 - Recognize literary devices from examples in the story. 
• 2.4 - Learn new vocabulary words from context in the reading.
• 2.5 - Understand and be able to use the correct degrees of adjectives.
• 2.6 - Understand, recognize, and be able to use the correct verb tenses.

Lesson 2 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

3: Just for Laughs

• Identify and analyze the use of a frame story, dialect, and hyperbole to create humor and tone.
• Identify characteristics of American realism in setting, character, and dialogue.
• Analyze how the story's structure—a tale within a tale—contributes to the overall theme and humor.
• Analyze the role of trickery, exaggeration, and dramatic irony within the context of a "tall tale".
• Identify how authors use satire to make a political or social point.
• Identify and describe how authors use personification to add to humor and satire. 
• Identify irony and explain how it applies to the overall purpose of the satirical writing. 
• Write an original humorous scene using at least three humorous elements, including hyperbole, understatement, situational irony, verbal irony, dialect, allusion, personification.

Lesson 3 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

Lesson 3 Assignment - Original Humor Scene (75 Points)

4: Fantastic Stories

• Distinguish between science fiction and fantasy by citing specific evidence of whether a story's "impossible" elements are rooted in future technology or mystical/magical means.
• Compare the characterization of a fantasy figure to a realistic character to demonstrate that "rules don't change" regarding how authors develop internal and external traits.
• Analyze how Lewis Carroll uses a "calm and comforting" tone to normalize nonsensical events, such as a rabbit in a waistcoat, within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
• Identify and Explain at least three literary devices (simile, metaphor, personification, or irony) used in "Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment" to build the story's mystical atmosphere.
• Evaluate the situational irony in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by describing the contrast between the characters' physical youth and their lack of mental growth or wisdom.
• Interpret the symbolic meaning of the "Fountain of Youth" water as it relates to the theme of human nature and the desire for second chances.
• Compose three original sentences that use a colon to join two independent clauses where the second clause explains or provides evidence for the first.

Lesson 4 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

5: Adventure Time

• Analyze the use of foreshadowing in "To Build a Fire" by connecting the narrator's early warnings about the cold to the protagonist's eventual fate.

• Deconstruct the personification of the ocean in "The Open Boat," identifying specific human characteristics the author attributes to the sea to make it feel like a conscious enemy.

• Interpret the symbolism of "fire" and "the boat" as representations of human survival and vulnerability within an indifferent natural world.

• Compare and Contrast the use of imagery in both stories, citing specific sensory details that describe the "Yukon cold" versus the "Florida sea."

• Identify and label examples of alliteration, simile, and metaphor within "The Open Boat" and explain how these devices enhance the story's suspense.

Lesson 5 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

Midterm Exam (50 MC Questions, 3 Pts Each & Midterm Project-Writing Your Own Short Story in a Specific Genre, 150 Points)

6: Purpose in Reading and Writing

• Categorize a nonfiction text as primarily intended to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain (P.I.E.) by citing specific textual evidence.

• Demonstrate critical reading skills by identifying at least two instances of bias in a persuasive text using the "Look for What Isn't There," "Check the Experts," or "Verify the Stats" techniques.

• Compare "voiceless" (clinical/encyclopedic) writing with "voiced" (personal/narrative) writing, identifying the specific word choices and stylistic elements that give an author a unique personality.

• Determine if an author’s ideas are supported by fact or opinion and explain how that support aligns with the author's intended purpose.

• Compose two distinct paragraphs about their own name—one with the purpose to inform (focusing on facts/origins) and one with the purpose to entertain (focusing on a compelling or humorous anecdote).

• Revise a "clinical" summary into a personal narrative by replacing formal vocabulary with authentic, personal "voice" and imagery that reflects their own experiences.

• Identify and repair "run-on" sentences in a draft by correctly applying semicolons to join two related independent clauses.

Lesson 6 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

Lesson 6 Assignment - What's in a Name? (75 Points)

7: Formality in Reading and Writing

• Categorize a piece of writing as formal or informal by identifying at least three specific markers, such as the use of contractions, sentence complexity, or the choice of point of view (first vs. third person).

• Determine the appropriate level of formality for a given scenario (e.g., a professional business letter vs. a note to a friend) and justify their choice based on the relationship between the author and the audience.

• Explain how an author uses an informal tone to make complex or "harrowing" topics—such as climate change or human DNA—more accessible and inviting to a modern reader.

• Analyze how Charles Wohlforth uses an extended metaphor (e.g., comparing Earth to a garden) and specific diction to convey a serious message through a conversational or humorous lens.

• Recognize infinitive phrases (the word "to" followed by a verb) within a complex sentence and explain how they function as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

Lesson 7 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

8: Audience in Reading and Writing

• Categorize an audience based on the author's purpose, specifically distinguishing between novice, general, and expert audiences for informative writing.

• Categorize a persuasive audience as friendly, apathetic, uninformed, or hostile and explain the specific rhetorical strategy required for each (e.g., educating the uninformed vs. using logic for the hostile).

• Evaluate a text to identify "jargon" or specialized references and determine if the author successfully explained these terms for a general audience.

• Demonstrate the "reading as engagement" skill by listing three things they already know about a topic (such as "television as literature") before beginning a new text.

• Identify gerunds (verb forms ending in -ing acting as nouns) and gerund phrases within a sentence.

Lesson 8 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

Lesson 8 Assignment - The Role of Technology (75 Points)

9: Tone in Reading and Writing

• Identify specific "keywords" or phrases in a text to categorize the author’s tone as positive, negative, or neutral.

• Track a single informational text and pinpoint at least one instance where the author's tone shifts (e.g., from objective to cautionary) between the introduction and the conclusion.

• Evaluate how a writer’s tone can signal whether a message is meant to be interpreted literally or satirically.

• Explain the relationship between an author’s purpose (to inform, persuade, or entertain) and their chosen tone, using evidence from the readings on AI and morality.

• Define "nuance" in writing and demonstrate how recognizing subtle word choices helps avoid common misunderstandings or miscommunications.

• Recognize participial phrases (verb forms ending in -ing or -ed acting as adjectives) and identify the noun or pronoun they modify within a sentence.

Lesson 9 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

10: Style in Reading and Writing

• Identify and define the characteristics of Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive, and Narrative writing styles.

• Categorize the primary writing style and provide two pieces of textual evidence to support their classification.

• Explain how an author’s overall purpose (to inform, persuade, or entertain) dictates their choice of style, using the provided "Student Government" scenario as a model.

• Distinguish between Expository writing (which focuses on objective facts) and Persuasive writing (which incorporates the author’s personal opinions and biases).

• Analyze how a matter-of-fact (Expository) style differs from an emotional/story-driven (Narrative/Descriptive) style in achieving a specific goal, such as selling a home.

• Identify how the author uses Narrative anecdotes to support an Expository explanation of human psychology.

• Describe the process of developing a personal "voice" by comparing their own past writing to current work, identifying shifts in word choice and sentence structure.

Lesson 10 Quiz (15 MC Questions, 1 Point Each)

No Assignment

Final Exam 

(50 MC Questions, 3 Pts Each & Midterm Project-Writing Your Own Short Story in a Specific Genre, 150 Points)