Course Standards
General Course Information and Notes
Version Description
Students examine the various dimensions of characters through analysis, discussion, and classroom performance, working with scripts from a variety of time periods and cultures. They learn to break down a scene from a character’s point of view, and also learn to sustain a character and build the relationship between actor and audience. Public performances may serve as a culmination of specific instructional goals. Students may be required to attend and/or participate in rehearsals and performances outside the school day to support, extend, and assess learning in the classroom.General Information
Educator Certifications
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Explain how Edmond Dantès’ overall transformation takes the plot in a new direction as you continue to examine how the main character is reborn from a prisoner into a newly freed man in a chapter from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
You should complete Part One and Part Two before beginning Part Three.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
As you continue to study a chapter from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, you'll examine how the main character, Edmond Dantès, is reborn from a prisoner into a newly freed man, identify his key character traits or strengths, and examine how he begins to transform as he works to secure his freedom.
This is part 2 of a three-part interactive tutorial series. Make sure to complete all three parts!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Study a chapter from one of the most popular adventure stories of all time: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. In this interactive tutorial, you will identify key character traits or strengths of Edmond Dantès and determine how he draws on these strengths as he struggles to survive and avoid recapture.
This is part 1 of a three-part series. Make sure to complete all three parts!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part Two of a two-part series. Learn to identify faulty reasoning in this interactive tutorial series. You'll learn what some experts say about year-round schools, what research has been conducted about their effectiveness, and how arguments can be made for and against year-round education. Then, you'll read a speech in favor of year-round schools and identify faulty reasoning within the argument, specifically the use of hasty generalizations.
Make sure to complete Part One before Part Two! Click HERE to launch Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify faulty reasoning in this two-part interactive English Language Arts tutorial. You'll learn what some experts say about year-round schools, what research has been conducted about their effectiveness, and how arguments can be made for and against year-round education. Then, you'll read a speech in favor of year-round schools and identify faulty reasoning within the argument, specifically the use of hasty generalizations.
Make sure to complete both parts of this series! Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in this interactive tutorial. You will examine Kennedy's argument, main claim, smaller claims, reasons, and evidence.
In Part Four, you'll use what you've learned throughout this series to evaluate Kennedy's overall argument.
Make sure to complete the previous parts of this series before beginning Part 4.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in this interactive tutorial. You will examine Kennedy's argument, main claim, smaller claims, reasons, and evidence. By the end of this four-part series, you should be able to evaluate his overall argument.
In Part Three, you will read more of Kennedy's speech and identify a smaller claim in this section of his speech. You will also evaluate this smaller claim's relevancy to the main claim and evaluate Kennedy's reasons and evidence.
Make sure to complete all four parts of this series!
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part Two of a two-part tutorial series. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice identifying a speaker's purpose using a speech by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. You will examine her use of rhetorical appeals, including ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. Finally, you'll evaluate the effectiveness of Earhart's use of rhetorical appeals.
Be sure to complete Part One first. Click here to launch PART ONE.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This is Part One of a two-part tutorial series. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice identifying a speaker's purpose using a speech by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. You will examine her use of rhetorical appeals, including ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. Finally, you'll evaluate the effectiveness of Earhart's use of rhetorical appeals.
Click here to launch PART TWO.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing word choices in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, including word meanings, subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and emotions connected to specific words. In this interactive tutorial, you will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of the poem.
This is Part Two of a two-part series. Part One should be completed before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to open Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice analyzing word choices in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe in this interactive tutorial. In this tutorial, you will examine word meanings, examine subtle differences between words with similar meanings, and think about emotions connected to specific words. You will also analyze the impact of specific word choices on the meaning of the poem.
This tutorial is Part One of a two-part series on Poe's "The Raven." Click HERE to open Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice using textual details and connotative meanings to determine a speaker's/narrator's tone in this two-part interactive tutorial. You'll also analyze the impact of word choices on the meaning and tone of the text in excerpts from Ayn Rand's dystopian novella Anthem.
Make sure to complete Part One before you begin Part Two. Click HERE to open Part One.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Practice using textual details and connotative meanings to help you determine a speaker's/narrator's tone in this two-part interactive tutorial. You'll also analyze the impact of word choices on the meaning and tone of a text. This tutorial series features excerpts from Ayn Rand's dystopian novella Anthem.
Part One should be completed before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn how speakers use rhetoric to achieve their purpose. In this interactive tutorial, you'll learn how speakers can achieve their purpose through the use of pathos, ethos, and logos. Using excerpts from President Wilson's "War Message to Congress," you'll analyze how speakers use rhetoric to make their case effectively.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine some of the various topics and themes present in the American classic To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In this interactive tutorial, you'll read excerpts from the novel and examine the development of the main character, Scout. You'll analyze how her words and actions help develop the important themes of the novel. You'll wrap up the tutorial by creating your own theme statement based on the text.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
In this tutorial, you'll practice identifying and analyzing how specific concepts are addressed in texts from two different time periods. The featured texts include the Bill of Rights and an excerpt from the "Four Freedoms" speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. You'll practice analyzing the similarities and differences in how the two texts address certain concepts.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine the use of hyperbole and personification in the prologue of the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice identifying examples of hyperbole and personification within the text. You'll also learn how these two types of figurative language help authors convey their intended meaning.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify figurative language within poetry, including the use of similes, metaphors, and personification. In this interactive tutorial, we'll analyze William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and William Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to discover how figurative language contributes to the meaning of each poem.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Analyze a complex character’s development in text excerpts from the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze how the main character is described and developed through his interaction with other characters.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Learn to identify how authors create mystery, tension, and suspense within a story. In this interactive tutorial, you will learn how Richard Connell used exposition, foreshadowing, pacing, and the manipulation of time to build tension and suspense in the short story "The Most Dangerous Game."
Type: Original Student Tutorial
This tutorial is Part One of a two-part series. In Part One, you'll learn about the use of plot twists and their impact on a text. In this interactive tutorial, you'll examine two ways authors often create plot twists within a story. Reading excerpts from the short story "The Interlopers," you'll analyze and explain how the author creates several plot twists in the story by purposely setting and disrupting expectations for readers.
After completing Part One, click HERE for Part Two.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Tutorials
In this very engaging animated video from TEDed, you will learn about antiheroes. Antiheroes can be hard to distinguish from typical heroes. However, through this video you will be able to identify what an antihero is and understand how these complex characters with often unclear motivations play such important roles in great literature.
Type: Tutorial
A great way to understand literature from epic poetry to literary series is to understand what makes a hero. In this very engaging animated video from TEDed, you will learn about the hero cycle, a common literary trope that can been found in many works like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and even The Odyssey!
Type: Tutorial
In this animated video from TEDed, you will learn about the power of metaphors in your reading and in your writing. The video explores questions like: "How do metaphors help us better understand the world?", as well as "What makes a good metaphor?"
Type: Tutorial
Video/Audio/Animation
View a 10-part video on the Battle of Yorktown, the culminating battle of the Revolutionary War. With French aid, George Washington led American troops to a victory that ensured American independence.
In addition to the video, you will find primary source documents and a graphic organizer to help you analyze the Battle of Yorktown in greater detail.
Type: Video/Audio/Animation