Course Learning Outcomes

As students complete the course assignments, they will increase their knowledge, improve 21st-century skills, and develop an attribute.

Knowledge: English 10, Part 1

In this course, knowledge refers to the subject matter and content students will learn while completing the readings, practices, quizzes, and assignments.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to do the following:

• Explore how our brains make meaning of stories through reading.

• Explore the development of archetypes by examining traditional and contemporary texts.

• Identify and describe characterization by applying this principle to anchor text characters.

• Use text structure clues to determine the elements of The Hero's Journey text structure and apply them to the anchor text.

• Compare and contrast traditional and modern heroes by using the definition of a hero and applying this definition to texts of their choice.

• Define conflict and distinguish between internal and external conflict by reading texts and participating in the interactives in the module pages.

• Discover ways to make writing suspenseful by identifying the structure of a suspense text structure.

• Identify the importance of a mentor archetype and the mentor-hero relationship in literature by defining the role of the mentor and applying it to the Multigenre Project.

• Practice steps in a close read and take notes on each step in the Unit 3 Content Guide.

• Write about a rite of passage by choosing two articles or videos and writing a paragraph about the rite of passage in the chosen resources.

• Write about a "call to adventure" by writing a descriptive piece about an experience or more when they felt like they were leaving childhood behind and moving toward adulthood.

• Describe how the journeys we have, help us create our identities by annotating an article; and

• Choose two genres to use by writing additional pieces for the Multigenre Project

21st-Century Skill: Creativity: Openness and Courage to Explore

The twenty-first-century skill the student will focus on for this semester is Creativity: Openness and Courage to Explore. There are four criteria students will master with this skill: Experience, Create, Learn, and Connect

Attribute: Courage

The attribute the students will focus on in this course is courage. There are various examples drawn from literature and things to think about to help students think of ways to increase their courage.

Course Description

In English 10, Part 1, students will explore the course theme of I Need a Hero. The course is divided into three units of instruction:

• Unit 1 includes modules 1–5. In this unit, students will examine archetypes—a hero, an antihero, a villain, and a trickster—and they will learn how these characters play important roles in telling a story. The character traits of a hero will be examined and compared to the other archetypes.

• Unit 2, which includes modules 6–10, will focus on heroes in literature. Students will choose an anchor text from a list of novels, based on their interest. Within each novel, students will analyze the characters and heroes in their chosen story and assess whether or not the novel's hero demonstrates heroic character traits. Students will also analyze the hero's journey the character takes in the novel.

• Unit 3, which includes modules 11–15, students will apply the principles and concepts of a hero's journey to their own life. This unit will allow students to examine the courageous events of their lives and write about their journeys. Module 16 is the module where students will submit their final paper, take the final exam, and claim their micro-credential if they choose to do so. 

Course Structure

The structure of each module in the course includes three main sections, referred to as "lessons," so students can monitor their time:

1. Literacy Skills and Strategies: This is where students will learn how to be expert readers, writers, and thinkers around literature. 

   1. Application and Writing Assignments: Most of the written assignments for submission will be in this section. Sometimes an assignment is out of order simply because it needs to occur before the next concept is taught.

   2. English Skill Enrichment Focus: These are the English skills that students need to master, including grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, vocabulary, fluency, etc.