57 core topics
+ 63 prerequisite topics taught
as needed · approximately 39 hours of instruction
including spaced review
How the course runs
An adaptive diagnostic (up to
40 questions) places the student on the course's knowledge
graph - topics already known are credited, and instruction begins exactly
at the learning frontier. Every topic is taught with a worked-example
lesson and auto-graded practice; a topic is mastered at
75%+ and then maintained through spaced reviews on an
expanding schedule. Mixed checks follow every 6 lessons;
each unit ends with a 12-item quiz, and course-wide assessments appear at
25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mastery. Prerequisite gaps below the course are detected and taught rather
than skipped, so completion certifies the whole tower, not just the top.
Core curriculum
The Rhetorical Situation
· 8 topics
Exigence: What Made This Necessary[H]
Identify the pressure that called a text into being, and separate it from the occasion.
The Audience Under the Audience[H]
Tell apart who a text is addressed to, who it is written for, and who is meant to overhear it.
The Speaker Is a Construction[H]
Describe the version of a writer that a text builds, and why that version fits the situation.
Stated Purpose and Working Purpose[H]
Separate what a text says it is doing from the job it is actually built to do.
What the Writer Was Not Free to Say[H]
Find the limits a situation places on a text, and read what those limits shaped.
Kairos: Why Now[H]
Judge how a text's timing changes what it can accomplish.
The Shape the Medium Demands[H]
Explain how the form a text is delivered in changes what it can and cannot do.
When a Text Changes Situations[H]
Track what happens to a text's meaning when it is carried out of the situation it was written for.
Rhetorical Appeals & Strategies
· 8 topics
Ethos: The Credit a Text Builds[H]
Identify how a text earns, spends or refuses the reader's trust.
Pathos: Feeling Put to Work[H]
Explain how a text produces feeling, and what the feeling is being asked to do.
Logos: The Part That Survives Dislike[H]
Test the reasoning and evidence in an argument on its own terms.
Which Appeal Is Carrying the Weight[H]
Decide which appeal a move depends on when a move is doing more than one thing.
Giving Ground on Purpose[H]
Analyze a concession as a trade: what was surrendered, and what it bought.
Word Choice as Strategy[H]
Explain what a chosen word does that its plainest alternative would not.
Arrangement, Repetition and the Short Sentence[H]
Show how sentence shape and order do persuasive work that the words alone do not.
Would This Move Land on This Reader[H]
Judge a strategy against the audience it was aimed at, including what it risks.
Argument: Claim, Evidence & Reasoning
· 8 topics
Finding the Claim[H]
Locate the exact proposition an argument is asking you to accept.
What the Evidence Can Carry[H]
Judge evidence by relevance, sufficiency and where it came from, not by how impressive it sounds.
The Reasoning in Between[H]
Name the unwritten step that connects a piece of evidence to the claim it is offered for.
What the Argument Is Standing On[H]
Surface the unstated premise an argument needs, and test what happens if it fails.
Concession, Rebuttal, and the Difference[H]
Tell apart granting a point, answering it, and refusing to engage with it.
Where the Reasoning Breaks[H]
Name what has gone wrong in a piece of reasoning, precisely enough to say what would fix it.
How Far the Claim Reaches[H]
Match the size of a claim to the size of the evidence behind it.
What Would Settle It[H]
Compare two arguments by asking what evidence would decide between them.
Logical Fallacies & Flawed Reasoning
· 9 topics
Attacking the Arguer[H]
Separate an attack on the person from a fair reason to check their evidence.
The Position Nobody Took[H]
Tell a reply that answers the stated position from one that answers an invented version of it.
After Is Not Because[H]
Test a causal claim against timing, confounding and the direction of the arrow.
The Sample That Chose Itself[H]
Judge a generalization by how its cases were gathered, not by how many there are.
Only Two Doors[H]
Tell a manufactured either/or from a choice that really does come down to two.
The Chain With No Links[H]
Test a chain of predicted consequences link by link for the mechanism that would carry it.
Borrowed Authority[H]
Weigh an appeal to expertise, numbers or tradition by what the source actually examined.
The Word That Changed Sides[H]
Track a key word through an argument and catch it changing meaning partway.
Naming the Flaw[H]
Say precisely which defect an argument has - and say when it has none.
Synthesis: Sources in Conversation
· 8 topics
The Question the Sources Are Arguing About[H]
State the proposition a set of sources is actually at issue over, and what each one is answering.
How One Source Stands to Another[H]
Describe the relation between two sources more precisely than agree or disagree.
Comparing Like with Like[H]
Test whether two pieces of evidence are about the same object, population, period and definition before setting them side by side.
Real Conflict and Apparent Conflict[H]
Tell a genuine contradiction from two sources measuring different things, and locate where a real one would have to live.
Putting a Source to Work[H]
Use a source inside your own argument instead of summarizing it in turn.
What a Source Can Be Cited For[H]
Match the claim you make to what the source actually measured.
Staking a Position the Sources Support[H]
Write a thesis that is neither a summary of the sources nor a refusal to choose between them.
What the Set Cannot Settle[H]
Name the question a source set leaves open and the evidence that would close it.
The Argumentative Essay
· 8 topics
The Thesis Somebody Could Refuse[H]
Write a thesis that is arguable, specific, and binding on the essay that follows.
The Order of the Reasons[H]
Arrange an argument so each paragraph makes the next one possible.
What a Body Paragraph Owes[H]
Open a paragraph with a claim it can finish, and keep the paragraph to that claim.
Putting Evidence Into a Sentence[H]
Choose, frame and attribute evidence so a reader knows where it came from and what it is for.
The Sentences After the Evidence[H]
Write the reasoning that turns a piece of evidence into support for your claim.
Where the Other Side Goes[H]
Place, state and answer an objection so the reader's own doubt is dealt with.
The Seam Between Paragraphs[H]
Join paragraphs by naming the relationship between them, not by announcing that another one is coming.
Openings and Endings That Earn Their Space[H]
Open with the situation the argument is answering, and close with something the reader did not already have.
Speech, Debate & Oral Argument
· 8 topics
Meeting the Argument[H]
Decide whether a reply actually answered the argument in front of it, or landed somewhere beside it.
If It Ends Even[H]
Say which side has to prove what, and what follows when nobody has proved it.
The Sentence That Decides[H]
Find the term whose meaning settles the dispute, and see what each proposed meaning would decide.
What the Question Is Doing[H]
Read a question in a cross-examination or from a bench as a move, and name what it is trying to get.
When Both Sides Are Right[H]
Compare two proved harms out loud, using likelihood, size, timing and whether the thing can be undone.
Giving Ground on Purpose[H]
Recognize a concession as a move, and say what it costs and what it buys.
Evidence, and Labels on Evidence[H]
Separate what a source says from what a speaker says it says, and name the move when the two differ.
Built for the Ear[H]
Explain what a spoken argument does differently because a listener cannot go back.
Prerequisite material
- taught
automatically when the diagnostic finds gaps
Phonics: Letters, Sounds & Short Vowels· 1 topics
Capital and Lowercase Letters
Match every capital letter to its lowercase partner.
High-Frequency Words & Sight Vocabulary· 2 topics
Recognizing High-Frequency Words
Know the most common words on sight, instantly.
High-Frequency Words in Sentences
Use common words correctly inside a real sentence.
Print Concepts & Early Comprehension· 1 topics
Listening Comprehension
Understand a story that is read out loud to you.
Sentence & Capitalization Basics· 4 topics
What Makes a Sentence
Tell a complete sentence from a group of words.
Naming Part and Telling Part
Split a sentence into who it is about and what happens.
Capital Letters and End Marks
Start every sentence with a capital and end it with a mark.
Choosing the Right End Mark
Use a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Context Clues (Grades 2-3)· 5 topics
When the Sentence Just Tells You
Find a word's meaning written into the sentence itself.
A Nearby Word That Means the Same
Use a synonym elsewhere in the passage to unlock a word.
When a Contrast Points the Other Way
Use a contrast word to work out the opposite meaning.
Working Back From Examples
Use a list of examples to work out the category.
When There Is No Clue Word
Work out a meaning from the whole situation.
Figurative Language & Idioms· 2 topics
Noticing When Words Are Not Literal
Tell when a sentence is not meant exactly as written.
Working Out What It Really Means
Say in plain words what a figure of speech is telling you.
Main Idea & Supporting Details· 6 topics
Topic or Main Idea?
Tell what a text is about from what it says about it.
Finding the Main Idea
Say in one sentence what a whole text is telling you.
Main Ideas That Are Not Written Down
Work out the main idea when no sentence states it.
Details That Back It Up
Find the fact in a text that supports a particular idea.
Writing a Summary
Retell a text keeping only what matters.
Telling a Detail from the Main Idea
Spot the sentence that is only a detail.
Author's Purpose & Point of View· 7 topics
Why the Author Wrote It
Name what a text was built to do, not just what it is about.
The Evidence for a Purpose
Point to the move in the text that proves what the writer wanted.
Who It Was Written For
Work out the reader a text was aimed at, and how you can tell.
The Author's Point of View
Say what the writer thinks about the subject, even when no opinion is stated.
Words That Take a Side
Notice how a writer's wording steers what a reader concludes.
Facts, Judgments, and Honest Uncertainty
Sort what can be checked from what is argued, and spot a writer naming their own limits.
Two Writers, One Subject
Compare two texts on one subject and find the exact point where they part.
Inference, Evidence & Summarizing· 6 topics
Stated or Implied?
Tell what a text says outright from what it only lets you conclude.
What One Detail Tells You
Draw the conclusion a single detail supports, and stop there.
The Line That Proves It
Given a claim, find the sentence in the text that actually supports it.
Putting Two Details Together
Reach a conclusion that no single sentence in the text states.
Which Evidence Is Strongest
Choose between two relevant details by asking which one settles it.
Inference or Guess?
Spot the step that goes past what the text can carry.
Integrating Multiple Sources· 8 topics
What Your Sources Are Really About
State the one question a set of sources is answering, precisely enough to compare them.
Where Sources Agree
Find the ground two sources share before you look at where they split.
Where Sources Disagree
Locate the exact sentence where two sources stop agreeing.
A Fact Fight or a Meaning Fight
Tell whether two sources disagree about what happened or about what it means.
What Each Source Chose to Include
Notice what one source puts first, and what another leaves out entirely.
Choosing the Source That Can Answer It
Match a question to the source that is actually able to answer it.
Building One Answer from Several Sources
Write one sentence that holds everything the sources support and nothing more.
What None of the Sources Tells You
Name the question your sources leave open, and what would answer it.
Reading in Social Studies: American History (2-4)· 3 topics
The Main Idea of a History Text
Find what a history passage is really about.
Evidence in a History Text
Point to the detail that actually proves a claim.
Whose Story Is Being Told
Notice whose point of view a history text takes, and who is missing.
Reading in Social Studies: American History (5-6)· 3 topics
Reading a Source Like a Historian
Ask who made a source, when, and what they wanted it to do.
Claims and the Evidence Under Them
Separate what a history text asserts from what it shows.
When Sources Disagree
Compare accounts of the same event instead of trusting one.
Sentence Types, Fragments & Run-Ons· 1 topics
Spotting a Fragment
Tell when a group of words stops before it is a sentence.
Writing Strong Sentences· 2 topics
Knowing When You Have a Sentence
Tell a finished sentence from a piece of one.
Saying More Than the Bare Fact
Add detail that answers a question a reader would ask.
Paragraphs & Topic Sentences· 2 topics
The Sentence the Others Are About
Find or choose the sentence a paragraph is built on.
Details That Actually Support
Choose detail that backs the claim you made.
Opinion & Argument Writing· 7 topics
A Claim or a Fact?
Tell a position someone could argue with from a fact they could check.
The Reason Under a Claim
Find the sentence that says why a position holds.
A Reason That Just Says It Again
Spot a reason that goes in a circle instead of forward.
Evidence That Actually Proves It
Tell measured evidence from a stronger way of repeating an opinion.
Claims You Cannot Defend
Recognize a claim pushed past what any evidence could support.
Answering the Other Side
Answer the strongest objection instead of talking past it.
The Shape of an Argument
Name the job each sentence in an argument is doing.
Reading Fluency & Prosody· 3 topics
What the End Mark Tells Your Voice
Read a line the way its end mark says to read it.
Reading in Groups, Not One Word at a Time
Group the words in a line the way they belong before you read it aloud.
The Word You Lean On
Choose which word to stress, and know what stressing it tells a listener.