Basic Skills Development

Enrollment Message

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Course Description

Basic skills in reading, math, and writing are fundamental building blocks that play a crucial role in an individual's personal and professional life. In this course, students will harness and develop essential skills in these subjects beginning with making inferences when reading and evaluating an author’s intent to finding central ideas and clarifying word meanings, then stepping into writing lessons where they will write an argumentative essay and give an engaging presentation. Students will wrap up the course with math lessons starting with various math computations and extending to finding area and perimeter in real-world problems.

• Counts as an elective for all diplomas

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• analyze text systematically in order to make inferences that help you better understand your reading. 
• identify central ideas in a given text.        
• determine the meaning of words and phrases by analyzing context clues in the text.  
• analyze the role figures of speech play in the text.     
• identify the basic structure of an argumentative essay.
• write an argumentative essay on a given topic that follows the basic format of an argumentative essay.
• use research to make effective claims and counterclaims in their argumentative essay and presentation.
• organize their thoughts and arguments logically when presenting their ideas, ensuring that listeners can follow their line of reasoning.
• cite sources and effectively quote and paraphrase information in their argumentative writing.
• apply problem-solving methods to solve real-world problems involving rational numbers and multiple operations.
• solve real-world and other mathematical problems involving the volume of cones, spheres, and pyramids, as well as the surface area of spheres.

Units of Instruction

• Unit 1 Reading - Analyzing Text, Making Inferences, and Evaluating the Author’s Intent
• Unit 2 Reading - Central Idea and Details; Clarifying Word Meanings and Figurative Language
• Unit 3 Writing An Argumentative Essay and Giving An Engaging Presentation
• Unit 4 Math - Real-World Problem Solving with Rational Numbers and Geometric Shapes

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Students must complete at least 70% of the course and take all parts of the final exam(s) to have a score reported to their school of record. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a score of 0 reported to the school of record.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the following assessments

• 2 Discussions
• 16 Assignments
• 12 Quizzes

Teacher Contact Response Time

Students can use email or the private message system within Genius or Canvas to access highly qualified teachers when they need teacher assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside Canvas. The Teacher Information page of their course may describe additional communication options.

The teacher will respond to student inquiries (email, text, call) within one business day. Assignments will be graded and posted within two business days.

Expectations for Academic Conduct 

Student Handbook 

It is your responsibility to read the student handbook to understand all aspects of taking an online course including expectations for academic conduct. Contact your teacher if you have any questions. 

Assistance for Students with Accommodations

Indiana Online supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

Technology

Technology Requirements 

Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Please review the Indiana Online’s Technology Requirements.

Technical Skills Needed 

Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to

• download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• download and install software
• use a messaging service similar to email
• communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• open attachments shared in messages
• create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• save a file as a .pdf
• copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• insert images or links into a file
• search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• use presentation and graphics programs
• follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• create and maintain usernames and passwords

Technical Questions?  Please contact the Indiana Online Helpdesk.