PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
English 10
12AB
English
®
PLATO
PLATO® Course
Course
Teacher’s Guide
Copyright © 2012 PLATO Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Contents
English 12, Semester B
Overview......................................................................................................................................... 3
Course Components ....................................................................................................................... 4
Course Implementation Models ...................................................................................................... 7
English 12, Semester B, Overview .................................................................................................. 8
English 12, Semester B, Curriculum Contents and Pacing Guide .................................................. 9
Unit 1: The Age of Reason ......................................................................................................... 9
Unit 2: Fiction and Nonfiction Writing ........................................................................................ 16
Unit 3: Romantic and Victorian Literature ................................................................................. 19
Unit 4: Contemporary Literature ............................................................................................... 24
Unit 5: The Research Essay ..................................................................................................... 27
Appendix....................................................................................................................................... 32
Copyright © 2012 PLATO Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Overview
PLATO Courses are developed to give the instructor a variety of ways to engage different learning
modalities and to give the student an opportunity to experience a range of standards and
objectives to ensure academic success.
PLATO Courses integrate PLATO online curriculum, electronic learning activities, and supporting
interactive activities. An array of assessment tools allows the instructor to correctly place students
at the appropriate learning level, to evaluate strengths and needs, to create individualized
learning goals, and to determine proficiency. Reports assist the student in understanding where he
or she needs to focus to be academically successful as measured against objectives. Guidelines and
tools are provided to track student progress and to determine a final course grade.
PLATO Courses give the instructor control over the instructional choices for individual students as
well as for the classroom. The instructor may use all of the components as sequenced or select
specific activities to support and enhance instruction. PLATO Courses can be used in a variety of
ways to increase student achievement.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Course Components
Learning Activities
Four types of learning activities are available in PLATO Courses:

Tutorials. The tutorials are modules with direct instruction and practice interactions.
Instruction is made engaging through the use of videos and animations. Practice
interactions that help students check their progress at mastering new concepts include
drag-and-drops, multiple-choice questions, and fill-in-the blank questions. Some tutorials
also include Web links to informational sites, games, and videos, which are designed to
broaden students’ access to information on the topic.

Lesson Activities. The Lesson Activities are written assignments that allow the student
to develop new learning in a constructivist way or apply learning from the direct instruction
in a significant way. In either case, the Lesson Activities are designed to be an authentic
learning and assessment tool: doing something real to develop new understanding while
providing a subjective measure of that understanding.
The Lesson Activities are embedded in the tutorials and supply a document for offline use
by students to record results. Some activities have an answer key that provides answers for
single-answer questions and sample answers for open-ended questions. Other activities
have objective rubrics. Students need to submit some of these activities through the Digital
Drop Box for instructor evaluation and feedback. Other activities can be checked by
students themselves using the answer key. Keep in mind that some students may need
guidance to successfully self-check open-ended questions against a model.

Online Discussions. Online discussion with instructors and other students is a key
activity, based on twenty-first-century skills, that allows for higher-order thinking about
terminal objectives. An online threaded discussion mirrors the educational experience of a
classroom discussion. Instructors can initiate a discussion by asking a complex, open-ended
question. Students can engage in the discussion by responding both to the question and to
the thoughts of others. Each unit in a course has one predefined discussion topic;
instructors may include additional discussion topics. A rubric for grading discussion
responses is included in this guide.

Unit Activities. The culminating activity at the end of each unit aims to deepen
understanding of some key unit objectives and either tie them together or tie them to other
course concepts. The Unit Activities entail authentic performance and support development
of twenty-first-century skills. The student version includes a simple rubric, if appropriate,
while teacher versions may contain more complex rubrics, answer keys, and modeled
sample answers. Unit activities supply a document that students can use offline to record
results.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Learning aids assist students within the courseware activities. In English 12B, these learning
aids, or tools, include the following:

Assessment and Testing. Best practices in assessment and testing call for a variety
of activities to evaluate student learning. Multiple data points present a more
accurate evaluation of student strengths and needs. Some assessment activities also
serve as learning activities to provide authentic learning and assessment
opportunities. These activities are designed to encourage higher-order cognitive
thinking and most focus on real-world applications and/or twenty-first-century skills.
Note that assessment items are available for most tutorials in PLATO Courses. In
support of this model of evaluation, PLATO Courses include the following:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Lesson Activities are embedded in the tutorials. They are designed to encourage
investigation and to provide practice. Some activities have an answer key that
provides answers for single-answer questions and sample answers for open-ended
questions. Other activities have objective rubrics. Students need to submit some of
these activities through PLE’s Digital Drop Box for instructor evaluation and
feedback. Other activities can be checked by students themselves using the answer
key. Keep in mind that some students may need guidance to successfully self-check
open-ended questions against a model.
Discussions encourage students to reflect on concepts, articulate their thoughts,
and respond to the views of others. Thus, discussions help assess students’ criticalthinking skills. Each unit in a course has one predefined discussion topic; instructors
may include additional discussion topics. A rubric for grading discussion responses
is included in this guide.
Unit pretests are provided for each course unit. The purpose of these assessments
is to determine the student’s existing knowledge. If the student scores the prescribed
percentage on a unit pretest, he or she may be exempted from completing the related
courseware. Note, however, that this feature is primarily designed for credit
recovery purposes. For first-time credit, students are typically not allowed to “test
out” of course lessons.
Mastery tests at the end of each tutorial provide the instructor and the student
with clear indicators of areas of strength and weakness. These multiple-choice tests
are taken online.
Unit Activities give students the opportunity to apply and integrate concepts they
have learned across lessons within a course unit and thereby demonstrate higherorder thinking skills. Students can use the Digital Drop Box to electronically submit
their work for grading by the instructor.
Unit posttests help instructors track how well students have mastered the unit’s
content. The tests are multiple-choice and are provided online and offline.
End-of-semester tests assess the major objectives covered in the course. By
combining the unit pretest and unit posttest information with the end-of-semester
test results, the instructor will gain a clear picture of student progress.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Subjective Assessment
Of the assessment tools listed above, three are designed specifically to address higher-level
thinking skills and operations: Lesson Activities, Unit Activities, and Discussions. All of these
activities allow the instructor to score work either on a 4-point rubric or on a scale of 0 to 100.
Lesson Activities and Unit Activities employ the Digital Drop Box, which enables students to
submit work in a variety of electronic formats. This feature allows for a wide range of authentic
learning and assessment opportunities for courses. PLATO provides keys for PLATO-designed
Digital Drop Box activities. These keys range from simple rubrics to detailed sample responses.
Online discussions may use whatever rubric the instructor sets. A suggested rubric is provided
here for your reference.
Online Discussion Rubric
D/F 0–69
C 70–79
B 80–89
Below
Basic
Proficient
Expectations
Relevance of The responses
Some responses The responses
Response
do not relate to are not on topic are typically
the discussion
or are too brief
related to the
topic or are
or low level.
topic and
inappropriate
Responses may
initiate further
or irrelevant.
be of little value discussion.
(e.g., yes or no
answers).
Content of
Ideas are not
Presentation of
Ideas are
Response
presented in a
ideas is unclear, presented
coherent or
with little
coherently,
logical manner. evidence to back although there
There are many up ideas. There is some lack of
grammar or
are grammar or connection to
spelling errors.
spelling errors.
the topic. There
are few
grammar or
spelling errors.
Participation The student
The student
The student
does not make
participates in
participates in
any effort to
some
most
participate in
discussions but
discussions on a
the discussion.
not on a regular regular basis
basis.
but may require
some prompting
to post.
6
A 90–100
Outstanding
The responses
are consistently
on topic and
bring insight into
the discussion,
which initiates
additional
responses.
Ideas are
expressed clearly,
with an obvious
connection to the
topic. There are
rare instances of
grammar or
spelling errors.
The student
consistently
participates in
discussions on a
regular basis.
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Course Implementation Models
PLATO Courses give instructors the flexibility to define implementation approaches that address a
variety of learning needs. Instructors can configure the courses to allow individual students to
work at their own pace or for group or class learning. Furthermore, the courses can be delivered
completely online (that is, using a virtual approach) or can include both face-to-face and online
components (that is, using a blended approach). Depending on the learner grouping and learning
approach, instructors can choose to take advantage of peer-to-peer interaction through online
discussions. Similarly, if students have prior knowledge of the concepts taught in certain lessons,
instructors can decide to employ unit pretests to assess students’ prior knowledge and exempt
them from taking the lessons. Note, however, that this feature is primarily designed for credit
recovery purposes. For first-time credit, students are typically not allowed to “test out” of course
lessons. Following are two common implementation models for using PLATO Courses, along with
typical (but not definitive) implementation decisions.

Independent Learning
The student is taking the course online as a personal choice or as part of an alternative
learning program.
Learner grouping
Learning approach
Discussions
Unit pretests

independent learning
blended or virtual
remove from learning path
students do not take pretests
Group or Class Learning
The online course is offered for a group of students. These students may not be able to
schedule the specific course at their local school site, or they may simply want the
experience of taking an online course.
Learner grouping
Learning approach
Discussions
Unit pretests
group interaction
blended or virtual
use; additional discussion
questions may be added
students do not take pretests
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
English 12, Semester B, Overview
Instructional Approach
Each unit in English 12 uses a central theme to teach reading, writing, grammar, and mechanics,
thus providing learners with a cohesive and connected learning experience. Research strongly
supports the use of connections to increase learner achievement.
Each unit in the course includes a predefined discussion topic. These discussions provide an
opportunity for discourse on specific course concepts and their applications. In this way, the course
encourages the development of critical twenty-first-century skills.
To generate skills for lifelong learning, many of the lessons in this course use student-driven,
constructivist approaches for concept development. The remaining lessons employ direct
instruction approaches.
Instructional Strategies
Common instructional strategies include a structure that provides for both individual and group
learning. Learners are expected to respond to writing prompts, analyze both fiction and nonfiction
pieces, use the Internet to research, create presentations to share information, and use grading
rubrics to understand expectations.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
English 12, Semester B, Curriculum Contents
and Pacing Guide
This section provides a brief summary of the course units in the semester. This semester is
divided into 5 units spread over 90 days. The Unit Pacing Guide provides a general timeline
for presenting each unit. This guide is designed to fit your class schedule and is adjustable.
Unit 1: The Age of Reason
Summary
This unit focuses on a variety of literature types as students explore themes in works by
authors such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. Learners examine analogy and satire
in literature and learn about the variety of writing styles that can be employed in
autobiography and persuasive speech. Skills work focuses on spelling rules.
Activity Matrix
Students who score the prescribed percentage on a unit pretest will be exempted from
completing the related lesson.
Day
Activity/Objective
1 day:
1
Syllabus and Plato Student
Orientation
Review the Plato Student
Orientation and Course Syllabus at
the beginning of this course
1 day:
2
Using Analogies to Clarify
Your Ideas
Use analogies to elucidate
complex, abstract, and unfamiliar
concepts in writing
Common Core State Standard
Type
Course
Orientation
W.11-12.2a. Introduce a topic; organize
complex ideas, concepts, and information so that
each new element builds on that which precedes
it to create a unified whole; include formatting
(e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and
multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.11-12.2b. Develop the topic thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples appropriate
to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
W.11-12.2c. Use appropriate and varied
transitions and syntax to link the major sections
of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.2d. Use precise language, domainspecific vocabulary, and techniques such as
metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the
complexity of the topic.
W.11-12.2e. Establish and maintain a formal
style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which
they are writing.
W.11-12.2f. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented (e.g.,
articulating implications or the significance of the
topic).
1 day:
3
Analyzing Analogies
Analyze ideas expressed through
analogies in literary works
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
impact of specific word choices on meaning and
tone, including words with multiple meanings or
language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or
beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other
authors.)
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings;
analyze how an author uses and refines the
meaning of a key term or terms over the course
of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in
Federalist No. 10).
RI.11-12.8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning
in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of
constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning
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Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
(e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions
and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and
arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The
Federalist, presidential addresses).
W.11-12.2b. Develop the topic thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples appropriate
to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
L.11-12.4a. Use context (e.g., the overall
meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a
word’s position or function in a sentence) as a
clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
1 day:
4
Commonly Misspelled
Words
Correct spellings of commonly
misspelled words
L.11-12.2b. Spell correctly.
Lesson
1 day:
5
More Spelling Rules
Apply rules of spelling: doubling
final consonants, adding prefixes,
and using -cede, -ceed, and –
sede
L.11-12.2b. Spell correctly.
Lesson
3 days:
6-8
Satire in Literature
Explore satire as a literary
subgenre
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
Lesson
1 day:
9
Capturing Interest with
Anecdotes
Use anecdotes to draw in readers
and support claims
W.11-12.2d. Use precise language, domainspecific vocabulary, and techniques such as
metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the
complexity of the topic.
Lesson
W.11-12.2f. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented (e.g.,
articulating implications or the significance of the
topic).
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Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
1 day:
10
Biography and
Autobiography
Identify the differences between
the characteristics of a biography
and the characteristics of an
autobiography
W.11-12.3a. Engage and orient the reader by
setting out a problem, situation, or observation
and its significance, establishing one or multiple
point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator
and/or characters; create a smooth progression
of experiences or events.
Lesson
W.11-12.3b. Use narrative techniques, such as
dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and
multiple plot lines, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters.
W.11-12.3c. Use a variety of techniques to
sequence events so that they build on one
another to create a coherent whole and build
toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a
sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or
resolution).
W.11-12.3d. Use precise words and phrases,
telling details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting,
and/or characters.
W.11-12.3e. Provide a conclusion that follows
from and reflects on what is experienced,
observed, or resolved over the course of the
narrative.
1 day:
11
Analyzing First-Person
Narratives
Explore first-person narratives
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s
choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story
is set, how the action is ordered, how the
characters are introduced and developed).
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices
concerning how to structure specific parts of a
text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a
story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic
resolution) contribute to its overall structure and
meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a
point of view requires distinguishing what is
directly stated in a text from what is really meant
(e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
RI.11-12.3. Analyze how the author unfolds an
analysis or series of ideas or events, including the
order in which the points are made, how they are
introduced and developed, and the connections
that are drawn between them.
RI.11-12.6. Determine an author’s point of view
or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective, analyzing how style and
content contribute to the power, persuasiveness
or beauty of the text.
RI.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11–
CCR text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal
style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which
they are writing.
W.11-12.2d. Use precise language, domainspecific vocabulary, and techniques such as
metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the
complexity of the topic.
W.11-12.3a. Engage and orient the reader by
setting out a problem, situation, or observation
and its significance, establishing one or multiple
point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator
and/or characters; create a smooth progression
of experiences or events.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.3b. Use narrative techniques, such as
dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and
multiple plot lines, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters.
W.11-12.3c. Use a variety of techniques to
sequence events so that they build on one
another to create a coherent whole and build
toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a
sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or
resolution).
W.11-12.3d. Use precise words and phrases,
telling details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting,
and/or characters.
W.11-12.3e. Provide a conclusion that follows
from and reflects on what is experienced,
observed, or resolved over the course of the
narrative.
1 day:
12
Supporting Arguments with
Additional Evidence
Identify when to support
arguments with multiple reliable
sources of evidence
W.11-12.2b. Develop the topic thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples appropriate
to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
Lesson
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
1 day:
13
Using Indirect Evidence
Identify indirect evidence to
support claims in a persuasive
essay
W.11-12.2b. Develop the topic thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples appropriate
to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
W.11-12.7. Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a
problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the
subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.
14
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from
multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the
strengths and limitations of each source in terms
of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain
the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
W.11-12.9a. Apply grades 11–12 Reading
standards to literature (e.g., ―Demonstrate
knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and earlytwentieth-century foundational works of
American literature, including how two or more
texts from the same period treat similar themes
or topics‖).
W.11-12.9b. Apply grades 11–12 Reading
standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., ―Delineate
and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts,
including the application of constitutional
principles and use of legal reasoning [e.g., in U.S.
Supreme Court Case majority opinions and
dissents] and the premises, purposes, and
arguments in works of public advocacy [e.g., The
Federalist, presidential addresses]‖).
4 days:
14-17
Unit Activity and
Discussion—Unit 1
Unit Activity
Discussion
1 day:
18
Posttest—Unit 1
Assessment
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Unit 2: Fiction and Nonfiction Writing
Summary
Learners will explore fiction techniques, concentrate on identifying characteristics and tone in
different types of texts, and write an original short story. Skills work focuses on punctuation.
Activity Matrix
Students who score the prescribed percentage on a unit pretest will be exempted from completing
the related lesson.
Day
Activity/Objective
Common Core State Standard
1 day:
19
Adding Commas to Indicate
Nonessential Information
Set off nonrestrictive clauses with
commas
L.11-12.2. Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Lesson
1 day:
20
Adding Commas after
Introductory Phrases
Set off introductory elements with
commas
L.11-12.2. Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Lesson
1 day:
21
Using Commas With
Certain Modifiers
Set off conjunctive adverbs with
commas
L.11-12.2. Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Lesson
1 day:
22
Techniques of Fiction
Explore literary subgenres and the
techniques of literary fiction
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
Lesson
1 day:
23
Kinds of Writing
Identify characteristics of different
types of writing (e.g., narrative,
descriptive, analytic, realistic,
poetic, metamorphic, objective)
W.11-12.10. Write routinely over extended time
frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day
or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences.
Lesson
1 day:
24
What’s a Formal Essay?
Identify the characteristics of a
formal essay
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal style
and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
W.11-12.2e. Establish and maintain a formal style
and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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Type
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
1 day:
25
What’s an Informal Essay?
Identify the characteristics of an
informal essay
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal style
and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
W.11-12.2e. Establish and maintain a formal style
and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
Lesson
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
1 day:
26
Characteristics of
Nonfiction Texts
Classify nonfiction texts by
identifying their characteristics
W.11-12.3a. Engage and orient the reader by
setting out a problem, situation, or observation
and its significance, establishing one or multiple
point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; create a smooth progression of
experiences or events.
W.11-12.3b. Use narrative techniques, such as
dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and
multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events,
and/or characters.
W.11-12.3c. Use a variety of techniques to
sequence events so that they build on one another
to create a coherent whole and build toward a
particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of
mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
W.11-12.3d. Use precise words and phrases,
telling details, and sensory language to convey a
vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting,
and/or characters.
W.11-12.3e. Provide a conclusion that follows
from and reflects on what is experienced,
observed, or resolved over the course of the
narrative.
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PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
1 day:
27
Characteristics of Fiction
Genres
Classify fiction texts by identifying
their characteristics
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text complexity
band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the
high end of the range.
3 days:
28-30
Writing a Short Story
Experiment with writing techniques
and devices to write a short story
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s
choices regarding how to develop and relate
elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story
is set, how the action is ordered, how the
characters are introduced and developed).
Lesson
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices
concerning how to structure specific parts of a
text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a
story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic
resolution) contribute to its overall structure and
meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
W.11-12.1c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as
well as varied syntax to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons,
between reasons and evidence, and between
claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.11-12.2d. Use precise language, domainspecific vocabulary, and techniques such as
metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the
complexity of the topic.
W.11-12.2e. Establish and maintain a formal style
and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
W.11-12.4. Produce clear and coherent writing
in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1–3 above.)
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
18
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
4 days:
31-34
Unit Activity and
Discussion—Unit 2
Unit Activity
Discussion
1 day:
35
Posttest—Unit 2
Assessment
Unit 3: Romantic and Victorian Literature
Summary
This unit focuses on the romantic and Victorian ages in British literature, with an examination of
works by authors such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, and Charles Dickens. Learners examine allegory in literature and focus their skill
development on vocabulary development. They will also create interpretive presentations through
both writing and performance. This symbol (**) indicates that there are additional resource
materials that must be downloaded for students to complete the online courseware. These
materials can be found on the PLATO Support Site and are accessed via the PLATO Course
Teacher Learning Path.
Activity Matrix
Students who score the prescribed percentage on a unit pretest will be exempted from completing
the related lesson.
Day
2 days:
36-37
Activity/Objective
Building Your Social
Sciences Vocabulary
Learn some word parts that are
common in social sciences
Common Core State Standard
Type
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in the text, including
figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
impact of specific word choices on meaning and
tone, including words with multiple meanings or
language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or
beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other
authors.)
Lesson
RI.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings;
analyze how an author uses and refines the
meaning of a key term or terms over the course
of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in
Federalist No. 10).
L.11-12.4a. Use context (e.g., the overall
meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a
word’s position or function in a sentence) as a
clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
19
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
L.11-12.6. Acquire and use accurately general
academic and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and
listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when considering a word
or phrase important to comprehension or
expression.
2 days:
38-39
Building Your Science
Vocabulary
Apply the meanings of word parts
to correctly define words related to
the social sciences
L.11-12.6. Acquire and use accurately general
academic and domain-specific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and
listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when considering a word
or phrase important to comprehension or
expression.
Lesson
1 day:
40
A Strategy for Reading
Directions
Apply a strategy to follow directions
and procedures
W.11-12.10. Write routinely over extended
time frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting
or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes,
and audiences.
Lesson
3 days:
41-43
Allegory in Literature
Explore allegory and symbolism in
English literature
RI.11-12.8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning
in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of
constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning
(e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions
and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and
arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The
Federalist, presidential addresses).
Lesson
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
1 day:
44
Inferring the Answer
Draw inferences, such as
conclusions, generalizations, and
predictions, and support them with
text, evidence, and experience
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
Lesson
2 days:
45-46
Interpreting Literature
Interpret literary works from the
Victorian era
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or
central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text,
including how they interact and build on one
another to produce a complex account; provide
an objective summary of the text.
Lesson
RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s
choices regarding how to develop and relate
20
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story
is set, how the action is ordered, how the
characters are introduced and developed).
RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices
concerning how to structure specific parts of a
text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a
story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic
resolution) contribute to its overall structure and
meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
RI.11-12.3. Analyze how the author unfolds an
analysis or series of ideas or events, including the
order in which the points are made, how they are
introduced and developed, and the connections
that are drawn between them.
RI.11-12.6. Determine an author’s point of view
or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective, analyzing how style and
content contribute to the power, persuasiveness
or beauty of the text.
RI.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11–
CCR text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
W.11-12.1a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable
claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s),
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or
opposing claims, and create an organization that
logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
W.11-12.1b. Develop claim(s) and
counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the
most relevant evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both in a
manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge
level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
21
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.1c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as
well as varied syntax to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons,
between reasons and evidence, and between
claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal
style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which
they are writing.
W.11-12.1e. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
argument presented.
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
4 days:
47-50
Creating an Interpretive
Presentation
Plan, rehearse, and stage an
interpretive presentation of a
literary work
RL.11-12.7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a
story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live
production of a play or recorded novel or
poetry), evaluating how each version interprets
the source text. (Include at least one play by
Shakespeare and one play by an American
dramatist.)
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
RI.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11–
CCR text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
W.11-12.1a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable
claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s),
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or
opposing claims, and create an organization that
logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
22
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
W.11-12.1b. Develop claim(s) and
counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the
most relevant evidence for each while pointing
out the strengths and limitations of both in a
manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge
level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
W.11-12.1c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as
well as varied syntax to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons,
between reasons and evidence, and between
claim(s) and counterclaims.
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal
style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which
they are writing.
W.11-12.1e. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
argument presented.
2 days:
51-52
Understanding Types of
Poetry
Classify poems by identifying their
characteristics
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
Lesson
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
4 days:
53-56
Unit Activity and
Discussion—Unit 3
Unit Activity
Discussion
1 day:
57
Posttest—Unit 3
Assessment
23
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Unit 4: Contemporary Literature
Summary
Learners will focus their skills development on using parallel structures in writing, summarizing
text, and understanding idioms. They will work on research skills such as finding main ideas and
identifying details that support the main idea and will explore universal themes in contemporary
literature.
Activity Matrix
Students who score the prescribed percentage on a unit pretest will be exempted from completing
the related lesson.
Day
Activity/Objective
Common Core State Standard
Type
1 day:
58
Using Parallel Structures
Practice using parallel structures
W.11-12.1d. Establish and maintain a formal
style and objective tone while attending to the
norms and conventions of the discipline in which
they are writing.
Lesson
1 day:
59
Understanding Idioms
Explore idiomatic language
L.11-12.5a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g.,
hyperbole, paradox) in context and analyze their
role in the text.
Lesson
1 day:
60
Identifying the Main Idea 2
Identify the topic and main idea of
a paragraph
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
Lesson
1 day:
61
The Title as the Main Idea 2
Select a title that most
appropriately represents the main
idea of a passage
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
Lesson
3 days:
62-64
Analyzing Themes in
Contemporary Literature
Explore the underlying themes of
contemporary British literary works
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
Lesson
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or
central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text,
including how they interact and build on one
another to produce a complex account; provide
an objective summary of the text.
24
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
RI.11-12.8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning
in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of
constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning
(e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions
and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and
arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The
Federalist, presidential addresses).
1 day:
65
Details that Support the
Main Idea
Identify details that support the
main idea of a passage
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
Lesson
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
2 days:
66-67
Summarizing Text
Create graphic organizers to help
effectively summarize expository
text
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or
central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text,
25
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
including how they interact and build on one
another to produce a complex account; provide
an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas,
and poems, in the grades 11-CCR text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
RI.11-12.10. By the end of grade 11, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 11–
CCR text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
W.11-12.7. Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a
problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the
subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.
W.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from
multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the
strengths and limitations of each source in terms
of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain
the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
26
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
4 days:
68-71
Unit Activity and
Discussion—Unit 4
Unit Activity
Discussion
1 day:
72
Posttest—Unit 4
Assessment
Unit 5: The Research Essay
Summary
This unit focuses on developing research skills, including asking and answering questions, finding
resources, and preparing for review, and culminates in writing an extended research paper. Skills
work focuses on reading strategies and understanding the root meanings of words.
Activity Matrix
Students who score the prescribed percentage on a unit pretest will be exempted from completing
the related lesson.
Day
Activity/Objective
Common Core State Standard
Type
1 day:
73
Finding Word Meanings
Apply meanings of prefixes, roots,
and suffixes in order to comprehend
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone, including words with multiple
meanings or language that is particularly fresh,
engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as
well as other authors.)
Lesson
RI.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words
and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings;
analyze how an author uses and refines the
meaning of a key term or terms over the course
of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in
Federalist No. 10).
L.11-12.4a. Use context (e.g., the overall
meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a
word’s position or function in a sentence) as a
clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
1 day:
74
Comprehending Vocabulary
Using Roots and Affixes
Apply etymological information to
find word meanings
L.11-12.1b. Resolve issues of complex or
contested usage, consulting references (e.g.,
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage,
Garner’s Modern American Usage) as needed.
27
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
L.11-12.4b. Identify and correctly use patterns
of word changes that indicate different meanings
or parts of speech (e.g., conceive, conception,
conceivable).
L.11-12.4c. Consult general and specialized
reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the
pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify
its precise meaning, its part of speech, its
etymology, or its standard usage.
L.11-12.4d. Verify the preliminary
determination of the meaning of a word or
phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in
context or in a dictionary).
1 day:
75
Finding the Resources
Select those portions of a given text
that should be read first in order to
find the most important ideas and
their order of presentation, and
distinguish between expository and
narrative texts and how to find the
text aids in each.
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
Lesson
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
1 day:
76
Preparing for Review
Prepare materials for review using
highlighting or underlining, note
taking, and table building skills
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
28
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
1 day:
77
Understanding History
Synthesize information from
narrative and expository passages
dealing with a single event or period
of history
RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a
point of view requires distinguishing what is
directly stated in a text from what is really
meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or
understatement).
Lesson
1 day:
78
A Strategy for Reading
Reference Materials
Analyze and evaluate complex texts
with supportive explanations to
generate connections to real-life
situations and other texts (e.g.,
consumer materials, public
documents)
W.11-12.7. Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a
question (including a self-generated question) or
solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry
when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources
on the subject, demonstrating understanding of
the subject under investigation.
Lesson
1 day:
79
Asking Questions
Use the structure of a passage to
generate questions that are
answered in the text, and use text
aids to generate pre-reading
questions
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
Lesson
1 day:
80
Finding Answers
Locate information within a text to
answer questions
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
Lesson
RI.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2. Determine two or more central
ideas of a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including how they
interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary
of the text.
29
PLATO® Courses
4 days:
81-84
Writing an Extended
Research Essay
Apply a systematic approach to
write a research essay
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes
or central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text,
including how they interact and build on one
another to produce a complex account; provide
an objective summary of the text.
RL.11-12.7. Analyze multiple interpretations of
a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live
production of a play or recorded novel or
poetry), evaluating how each version interprets
the source text. (Include at least one play by
Shakespeare and one play by an American
dramatist.)
RI.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple
sources of information presented in different
media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as
well as in words in order to address a question
or solve a problem.
W.11-12.7. Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a
question (including a self-generated question) or
solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry
when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources
on the subject, demonstrating understanding of
the subject under investigation.
W.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from
multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the
strengths and limitations of each source in terms
of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain
the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
30
Lesson
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
SL.11-12.1d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse
perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and
evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve
contradictions when possible; and determine
what additional information or research is
required to deepen the investigation or
complete the task.
SL.11-12.2. Integrate multiple sources of
information presented in diverse formats and
media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in
order to make informed decisions and solve
problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy
of each source and noting any discrepancies
among the data.
4 days:
85-88
Unit Activity and
Discussion—Unit 5
Unit Activity
Discussion
1 day:
89
Posttest—Unit 5
Assessment
1 day:
90
End-of-Semester Exam
Assessment
31
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Appendix
Unit 1: The Age of Reason
Using Analogies to Clarify Your Ideas (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Sleep and Dreams‖
 ―My Family‖
 ―Blackout‖
 ―Why Buy Car Insurance?‖
Analyzing Analogies (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―An Essay on Man‖ by Alexander Pope (excerpt)
Satire in Literature (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Lesson Activity
 Untitled ("Who's Laughing Now? American Political Satire"), Now, PBS
 ―A Modest Proposal‖ by Jonathan Swift
 Untitled (Essay on ―A Modest Proposal‖)
Capturing Interest with Anecdotes (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Inuit Settlement)
 Untitled (Franck Goddio)
 Untitled (Lonesome George)
 ―Anatomy of an Orchestra‖
 Untitled (Tchaikovsky)
 ―Being a Good Driver‖
 ―Road Rage Driver Found Guilty‖
 Untitled (Insurance Agent)
32
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Biography and Autobiography (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Galileo the Astronomer‖
 ―Copernicus’s Revolutionary Idea‖
 Untitled (Copernicus Anecdote)
 ―Why Learn a Foreign Language?‖
 ―Need for Translators Remains High‖
 Untitled (Translate Anecdote)
Analyzing First-Person Narratives (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (excerpt)
 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (excerpt)
Supporting Arguments with Additional Evidence (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (School Board Members)
Using Indirect Evidence (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Obesity)
 Untitled (Soda Machines)
 ―Soda Machines Could Save Extracurricular Activities‖
 Untitled (Vegetarian Diet)
 ―Vegetarianism—A Healthy Alternative‖
 Untitled (Driver’s License)
 Untitled (Car Insurance)
 ―Change Driver’s License Minimum Age to 18‖
 Untitled (Community Service)
 ―Community Service Should Be Required‖
33
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Unit 2: Fiction and Nonfiction Writing
Adding Commas to Indicate Nonessential Information (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Zen and the Art of Making Egg Rolls‖
Adding Commas after Introductory Phrases (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Zen and the Art of Making Egg Rolls‖
Using Commas With Certain Modifiers (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Normandy)
Kinds of Writing (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (O Sun Hung High)
 Untitled (Car Hood)
 ―Las Vegas Charley‖ by Hasaye Yamamoto
What’s a Formal Essay? (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Lakeshore)
 Untitled (Dogs)
What’s an Informal Essay? (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding‖ by John Locke (excerpt)
 Untitled (Fixing Dinner)
 Untitled (Job Application)
 Untitled (Ballpoint Pens)
34
PLATO® Courses
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Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Untitled (Deadline)
―Notes by the Contributor‖ by Simon J. Oritz (excerpt)
Unit 3: Romantic and Victorian Literature
Building Your Science Vocabulary (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Three States of Matter‖
 ―Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere‖
A Strategy for Reading Directions (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Fuel Filter Replacement‖
 Untitled (Normal Setup)
Allegory in Literature (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―The Lady of Shallot‖ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Lesson Activity
 Animal Farm by George Orwell
 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
 Hard Times by Charles Dickens
 ―Young Goodman Brown‖ by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Inferring the Answer (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Teenager)
 Untitled (Cocker Spaniel)
 Untitled (Rocky Outcrops)
 Untitled (Researchers)
 Untitled (Weight Lifting)
 Untitled (Credit Contract)
 Untitled (Technology Advances)
 Untitled (Foreign Language)
 Untitled (Credit Rates)
35
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Interpreting Literature (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Lesson Activity
 ―Kubla Khan‖ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 ―The Rime of the Ancient Mariner‖ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 ―The World Is Too Much With Us‖ by William Wordsworth
 ―London‖ by William Blake
 ―To Autumn‖ by John Keats
 The Prelude, book 14, by William Wordsworth
 Biographia Literaria, chapter 1, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Creating an Interpretive Presentation (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Lesson Activity
 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Understanding Types of Poetry (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 The Odyssey by Homer (excerpt)
 ―The Rime of the Ancient Mariner‖ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 ―The World Is Too Much With Us‖ by William Wordsworth
 Poetry (varied), Haiku for People
 ―Space Station‖ by Tom Sleigh
 ―To Autumn‖ by John Keats
 ―My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun‖ (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare (excerpt)
Unit 3 Unit Activity (Offline)
Reading Passages
Unit Activity
 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (excerpts)
 Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (excerpts)
 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (excerpts)
36
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Unit 4: Contemporary Literature
Using Parallel Structures (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―The Jumblies‖ by Edward Lear (excerpt)
Identifying the Main Idea 2 (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Physical Activity)
 Untitled (Language)
The Title as the Main Idea 2 (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Aerobics)
 Untitled (Landscape Artists)
 Untitled (Diminishing Value)
 Untitled (Salt)
Analyzing Themes in Contemporary Literature (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Lesson Activity
 Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence (excerpts)
 Ulysses by James Joyce (excerpts)
 To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (excerpts)
 1984 by George Orwell (excerpts)
 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (excerpts)
 Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (excerpts)
Details that Support the Main Idea (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (Mass Transportation)
 Untitled (Sixth Amendment to the Constitution)(excerpt)
 Untitled (Distance and Time)
 Untitled (Air Space)
37
PLATO® Courses
Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Summarizing Text (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Crash Owes a Debt to Dickens‖ by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 19, 2006.
Lesson Activity
 ―Dickens: A Brief Biography‖ by David Cody, The Victorian Web
 Novels by Charles Dickens (Varied)
Unit 4 Unit Activity (Offline)
Reading Passages
Unit Activity
 ―Easter 1916‖ by William Butler Yeats
 ―Easter 1916‖ by Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, The Modernism Lab at Yale University
 ―Dulce Et Decorum Est‖ by Wilfred Owen
 ―Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s ―Dulce Et Decorum Est‖ by Sophia Brookshire
 ―A Room of One’s Own‖ by Virginia Woolf (excerpt)
 "You Do Your Worst—and We Will Do Our Best" by Winston Churchill
 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
 ―Ivy Day in the Committee Room‖ by James Joyce
 ―A Society‖ by Virginia Woolf
 ―A Hanging‖ by George Orwell
 ―Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night‖ by Dylan Thomas
 ―If‖ by Rudyard Kipling
 ―Home Is So Sad‖ by Phillip Larkin
 ―As I Walked Out One Evening‖ by W. H. Auden
 ―The Pomegranate‖ by Eavan Boland
 ―Awake! Young Men of England‖ by George Orwell
Unit 5: The Research Essay
Finding the Resources (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Immigrants of the Twentieth Century‖
 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (excerpt)
 ―Overland to Alaska‖
 ―The Panama Canal‖
 Untitled (San Andreas Fault)
 ―Sod Houses of the Great Plains‖
 Untitled (Hummingbirds)
 Untitled (Study Strategy)
 Untitled (Government Control)
38
PLATO® Courses
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




Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
Untitled (Recorded Music)
School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (excerpt)
―To Helen‖ by Edgar Allen Poe (excerpt)
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (excerpt)
Untitled (The Battle of Little Big Horn)
―A noiseless patient spider‖ by Walt Whitman
Preparing for Review (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Effective Communication‖
 ―The Pioneers of Astronomy‖
 ―Comets‖
 ―A Longtime Debate‖
 ―Architecture as a Reflection of Society‖
 ―The Birth of Psychology‖
Understanding History (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 Untitled (18th Amendment)
 Untitled (Second Continental Congress)
 ―The Writings of John Adams‖
 Untitled (Letter by a Colonist)
 ―The Trial of Socrates‖
 ―A Trapper’s Journal‖
A Strategy for Reading Reference Materials (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Repairing Dehumidifiers‖
 Untitled (Hazard Communication Standards)
Asking Questions (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―Mixed Economies‖
 ―Diabetes‖
 ―Scientific Progress‖
39
PLATO® Courses



Teacher’s Guide—English 12B
―Remembering‖
Untitled (Ocean Waves)
―Oasis‖
Finding Answers (Tutorial)
Reading Passages
Tutorial
 ―The Human Heart‖
 ―A Longtime Debate‖
 ―Papermaking‖
 ―The Friendly and Fearsome Fungus‖
 Untitled (Fort Dearborn)
 Untitled (Arctic Seasons)
 ―Alfred Nobel: Mad Scientist and Pacifist‖
 ―Earthquake Damages‖
 ―The Marshall Plan‖
40