Digital Photography

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Students should have access to a digital camera (a digital single-lens reflex [DSLR] or a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera [MILC] is recommended). If they do not have access to a camera, they can use a smartphone camera.
  • Tripod (optional)
  • Access to editing software (Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Pixlr, or other)

Golf

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Reliable access to ao computer and internet
  • Golf clubs, balls, and tees (other equipment [gloves, hat, shoes] are optional).
  • Access to a golf course (fees to golf are not included in the course fee).
  • The Rules of Golf, the United States Golf Association’s official rule book.  This can also be accessed online.

Tennis

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • A tennis racquet, tennis balls, and access to a tennis court.
  • Tennis, Anyone – required reading packet (can be used onsite at EA or purchased at EA for $40)

Geography: Semester 2

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • World Geography and Cultures (Publ. Glencoe/McGraw Hill; Author. Richard G. Boehm; ISBN. 978-0-07-874529-4)
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet

Contemporary Keyboarding: Foundations 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Key of D

  • Key of D
  • Inversions
  • Damper pedal

Lesson 2: The Blues

  • Blues chords
  • 12 bar blues
  • The blues scale
  • Blues improvisation

Lesson 3: Key of B-flat

  • Key of B-flat
  • B-flat inversion practice
  • B-flat chords improvisation
  • Improvisation exercises

Lesson 4: Additional Theory Concepts

  • Sixteenth notes
  • Compound vs. simple meter
  • 6/8 time signatures

Lesson 5: Seventh Chords

  • 7th chords
  • Diatonic 7th chords in C
  • Chord accompaniment
  • Ear training

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)

Contemporary Keyboarding: Foundations 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Major and Minor Five Finger Patterns

  • Piano mechanics
  • Note identification review
  • Octave practice
  • Major and minor five finger patterns

Lesson 2: The Chromatic Scale

  • Chromaticism
  • Chromatic scale
  • Major diatonic triad exercise

Lesson 3: Improvisation

  • Improvisation in the key of F
  • Triplets
  • Diminished and dominant 7th chords
  • Chord practice

Lesson 4: Developing Your Technique

  • Technique exercise
  • Composition assignment
  • Improvisation exercise

Lesson 5: Syncopation and Expanded Notation

  • Syncopation
  • 1st and 2nd endings
  • Improvisation with syncopation

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Course Materials: musictheory.net (no cost)

 

Bass Guitar: Foundations 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Articulations

  • Dynamics
  • Staccato and legato
  • Bends
  • Vibrato
  • Harmonics

Lesson 2: Expanding Your Range on the Fretboard

  • Playing scales up the neck
  • Playing arpeggios up the neck

Lesson 3: Note Identification Practice

  • Strategies for learning the fingerboard
  • Advanced scalar patterns

Lesson 4: Intervals

  • Interval Patterns
  • Major scale in thirds
  • Combining thirds and scale fragments
  • Embellishing your bass line

Lesson 5: Improvisation

  • Beginning improvisation
  • Beginning transcription
  • Transcription practice

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)

Bass Guitar: Foundations 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Minor Scales

  • Major scale review
  • Scale patterns
  • Melodic minor scale
  • Harmonic minor scale
  • Natural minor scale

Lesson 2: Keys

  • 12 keys
  • Key signatures
  • Tonality

Lesson 3: Diatonic Chords

  • Diatonic chords
  • Chord progression practice
  • Learning songs by ear

Lesson 4: Arpeggios

  • Arpeggios
  • C Major diatonic triads
  • Seventh chords

Lesson 5: Adding Style to Your Bass Line

  • Hammer-on
  • Pull-offs
  • Slides
  • Ghosted/Muted notes

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)

 

Ukulele: Foundations 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: D Major

  • D Major Scale
  • Scale review
  • Ear training
  • Practice habits and routines

Lesson 2: B Minor

  • Alternate tuning
  • B minor scale
  • Interval study
  • Ear training

Lesson 3: B-flat Major

  • B-flat major scale
  • Interval study
  • Ear training
  • String-skipping

Lesson 4: G Minor

  • G minor scale
  • Interval study
  • 5/4 time signature
  • Eighth-note triplets
  • Slurs—hammer-ons

Lesson 5: A Major

  • A major scale
  • Interval study
  • Seventh chords
  • Ear training

Lesson 6: F-sharp Minor

  • F-sharp minor scale
  • Ear training
  • Cut time
  • History
  • Performance review

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Course Materials: musictheory.net (no cost)

Ukulele: Foundations 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: C Major

  • Review of Basics 1
  • C major scale
  • Interval study
  • Ear training
  • Barre chords
  • History

Lesson 2: A Minor

  • A minor scale
  • Diatonic chords
  • Interval study
  • C. al Fine
  • History

Lesson 3: F Major

  • F major scale
  • Diatonic Chords + chord progressions
  • Double-stops
  • Ear training
  • History

Lesson 4: D Minor

  • D minor scale
  • Interval study
  • Ear training
  • “Tag-the-end”
  • Composition

Lesson 5: G Major

  • G major scale
  • S. al Fine
  • 1st and 2nd endings
  • Swung eighth notes
  • Slurs—slides and pull-offs
  • History

Lesson 6: E Minor

  • E minor scale
  • Interval study
  • 6/8 time signature
  • History

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Course Materials: musictheory.net (no cost)

Guitar: Foundations 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: The Blues

  • Guitar history
  • The B7 chord
  • The blues

Lesson 2: The Pentatonic Scale and Introduction to Soloing

  • Concept review piece
  • The open E-minor and A-minor pentatonic scales
  • Soloing

Lesson 3: Open Power Chords

  • Guitar history
  • Concept review piece
  • Open power chords
  • Variations on open power chords

Lesson 4: Movable Power Chords

  • Concept review piece
  • Movable power chords with roots on the fifth and sixth strings
  • Memorizing notes on the fifth and sixth strings

Lesson 5: Barre Chords

  • Concept review piece
  • Guitar history
  • Barre chords
  • 12th fret harmonics
  • Performance review

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument & pick
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Metronome
  • Capo

Guitar: Foundations 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Common Fingers and Guide Fingers

  • Basics 1 concept review
  • Basic open chords
  • Common fingers
  • Guide fingers

Lesson 2: Dyads

  • Concept review piece
  • Dyads
  • Guitar history

Lesson 3: Transposition

  • Concept review piece
  • Diatonicism and chords
  • Chord clock
  • Capo theory

Lesson 4: Alternating Bass

  • Concept review piece
  • Alternating bass
  • Variations on alternating bass

Lesson 5: Fingerpicking

  • Concept review piece
  • Guitar history
  • Fingerpicking
  • Fingerstyle accompaniment
  • Travis picking

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument & pick
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Metronome
  • Capo

Cycling

Course Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.
  • Apply knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.
  • Achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.
  • Exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.
  • Recognize the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and social interaction.

Required Materials.

Students will need reliable access to a computer and internet for their coursework.  Students will also need access to a bicycle and helmet.

8th U.S. History: Semester 2

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Describe historical events that led to the development of America, its people, and its government.
  2. Describe history from a variety of viewpoints.
  3. Use skills that will help you in other areas of your education and life.

Course Materials

  • The units contain all of the material that you will need to successfully complete the unit quizzes and the final examination.
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet.

8th U.S. History: Semester 1

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Understand historical events that led to the development of America, its people, and its government.
  2. View history from a variety of viewpoints.
  3. Use skills that will help you in other areas of your education and life.

Course Materials

You will need access to a good atlas of the United States.

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Science 8: Semester 2

Learning Outcomes

There are four main areas that you should master during this course:

  • Describe the theories accounting for the history of the earth.
  • Explain the air, weather, and water patterns of Earth.
  • Describe the movement of Earth’s continents and the origin of volcanoes and earthquakes.
  • Distinguish between rocks and minerals and describe how both are formed.

Course Materials

  • There is no textbook that goes along with this course; it is a self-contained course. All of the information you need can be found in the units throughout this course.

Required Resources

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Science 8: Semester 1

Course Learning Outcomes

There are four main areas that you should master during this course:

  1. Describe the organization of the world around us, first on an atomic level, and then on a macroscopic, familiar level (from atoms to objects we use daily).
  2. Explain and provide several examples of different types of energy and discuss how energy changes from one form to another.
  3. Identify and utilize simple machines in everyday life.
  4. Define motion and the various items that affect motion.

Course Materials

  • You will not need a textbook to complete this course. All of the information you need is in the lessons.

Required Resources

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Science 7: Semester 2

Course Learning Outcomes

There are four main areas that you should master during this course that continue on from the first half of this course:

  1. Explain different systems (digestive, circulatory, and immune) in our bodies and how they work together to make us whole.
  2. Explain the properties and states of matter.
  3. Describe the basic principles of ecology, including basic conservation principles.
  4. Describe the basic spheres of earth science and explain the effects of astronomy systems on Earth.

Required Resources

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Science 7: Semester 1

Course Learning Outcomes

There are four areas that you should master during this course.

  1. Describe the organization and makeup of living things first on a microscopic, cellular level and then on a macroscopic, familiar level (from cells to humans and things in between).
  2. Identify characteristics that are common to all living things.
  3. Explain the principles of heredity, including Mendelian genetics.
  4. Describe the interactions of living things with each other and their environment.

Required Resources.

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Math 8: Semester 2

Learning Outcomes

After you have successfully completed this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Simplify roots and solve equations with roots; use radicals in the Pythagorean theorem to analyze triangles and the distance between points.
  2. Evaluate the relationship between angles and find the measure of angles formed by a transversal and polygons.
  3. Use different transformations to move figures on a coordinate plane.
  4. Determine if figures are similar or congruent using transformations and informal arguments.
  5. Find the volume and missing measures of cylinders, cones, hemispheres, spheres, and composite figures.
  6. Construct and interpret two-way tables, including their relative frequencies; construct and interpret scatter plots and lines of best fit (trend lines) and then make predictions using the information.

Course Materials

Glencoe Math, Your Common Core Edition (Course 3, Volume 2). 1st ed. McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-07-661904-7.

Texas Instruments Explorer 30 (TI-30) or other graphing calculator with similar capabilities; this is the same calculator used in MATH 035.

Math 8: Semester 1

Learning Outcomes

After you have successfully completed this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Solve diverse types of equations using properties of equality, the distributive property, and like terms; write equations with one variable to represent real-world situations.
  2. Write linear equations given graphs, tables, or points; find the slope and constant rate of change; and determine if a linear equation is proportional.
  3. Write equations and solve systems of equations by using graphing, substitution, elimination, and algebraic methods.
  4. Identify and represent functions; identify the type of function; construct functions in different representations, including graphs, equations, and numeric and verbal forms; identify different parts of a function and compare different functions with each other as they apply in everyday situations; and interpret functions to give them meaning.
  5. Work with exponents, their expressions, and rules of use; identify how exponents can be helpful in expressing very large or small quantities; and perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation.
  6. Use the number system to work with and compare rational and irrational numbers; determine the value of numbers; use rational approximations for irrational numbers; and identify the meaning and properties of roots.

Course Materials

McGraw-Hill. Glencoe Math, Your Common Core Edition. Course 3, vol. 1.1st ed. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill, 2013. (ISBN-13: 978-0-07-661530-8)

Texas Instruments Explorer 30 (TI-30) or other graphing calculator with similar capabilities

Math 7: Semester 2

Learning Outcomes

After you have successfully completed this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Simplify and compare fractions.
  2. Change from fractions to mixed numbers and fractions to decimals and vice versa.
  3. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and mixed numbers.
  4. Identify unit rates in different representations.
  5. Work with ratios, proportions, and percents.
  6. Use number lines and modeling with integers.
  7. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers.
  8. Work with algebraic expressions and equations.
  9. Write and solve equations and inequalities.

Required Resources.

The calculator explorations are written for the Texas Instruments Explorer 30 (TI-30); however, most other graphing calculators have similar capabilities.

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

Math 7: Semester 1

Learning Outcomes

After you have successfully completed this course, you should be able to

  1. Represent data using a bar graph, a line graph, and a circle graph. Also make a spreadsheet, frequency table, and a line plot.
  2. Find the mean, median, and mode of a data set. Compare measures of central tendency among data sets.
  3. Find probabilities of events, predict the relative frequency of events, and use simulations to identify frequencies for compound events.
  4. Identify geometric terms such as points, lines, planes, segments, rays, and angles. Classify types of polygons by their number of sides. Explore types of triangles and special quadrilaterals.
  5. Perform operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on decimal numbers.
  6. Identify divisibility rules for numbers. Find the greatest common factor and least common multiple for a set of numbers using prime factorization.
  7. Find the area of geometric figures and the surface area of various geometric solids.
  8. Use estimation skills to order, approximate, and round answers to problems.
  9. Use various problem-solving skills to solve real-world application problems.

Required Resources.

The calculator explorations are written for the Texas Instruments Explorer 30 (TI-30); however, most other graphing calculators have similar capabilities.

Reliable access to a computer and internet.

English 8: Semester 2

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply new vocabulary words to your reading and writing.
  2. Write your own persuasive letter, argumentative essay, journal entries, and novel chapter.
  3. Analyze literature by reading an epic adventure and a novel and completing additional recreational reading.
  4. Identify the elements of the research process and incorporate them into your own research paper.

Course Materials

Most of the reading you do in this course will be found online within the course. However, you will need to have a copy of the novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. This novel was published in 2000 and should not be hard to find. You may check this book out at your local library or purchase a copy of it from a bookstore.

English 8: Semester 1

Course Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply new vocabulary words to your reading and writing and expand your individual “world of words.”
  2. Write your own creative poems, opinions, journal entries, film-to-novel comparison, expository essay, and short story.
  3. Compare and analyze life experiences by reading examples of several literary forms, including poetry, short stories, informational texts, and a novel.
  4. Identify the elements of fiction and incorporate them into a short story of your own.

Course Materials

You will need to have a copy of the novel The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper. It was published in 1973 and was awarded a Newbery Honor Award. This novel should not be too difficult to find; you may check it out at your local library or purchase a copy of it from a bookstore.

English 7: Semester 2

Course Outline: 

Lesson 1: Theme
Lesson 2: Poetry
Lesson 3: Shakespeare
Lesson 4: Literary Genres
Lesson 5: Research
Lesson 6: Publishing

What You Should Already Know

The prerequisite for English 33 is English 31: Seventh-Grade English 1, or a seventh-grade equivalent.

Learning Outcomes

This course will enable you to continue your growth as an effective reader and communicator. Here are the main learning outcomes of this course:

  1. Identify themes in literature, as well as the presence of imagery, symbols, and figurative language.
  2. Analyze techniques in poetry that intensify and enrich the experience of language; memorize and recite a poem using effective presentation skills.
  3. Compare the characteristics of selected genres in literature, including science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and dystopian literature.
  4. Read and interpret Shakespearean sonnets and excerpts from a play.
  5. Use the steps of inquiry and research to investigate your world; compose a research paper that develops a well-supported thesis and avoids plagiarism by citing sources.
  6. Apply reading and writing strategies by reading a novel and identifying the key ideas and questions it raises.
  7. Expand and enrich your vocabulary by learning word-mastery strategies.

Course Materials

This course requires no additional textbook; however, we will read and discuss a novel throughout the course, which you must acquire:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

English 7: Semester 1

Course Outline: 

Lesson 1: Reading Strategies: Literary Fiction
Lesson 2: Short Stories
Lesson 3: Biography and Autobiography
Lesson 4: Fables and Myths
Lesson 5: Reading Strategies: Informational Text
Lesson 6: Grammar and Language Workshop
Lesson 7: Argument and Persuasion

What You Should Already Know

There are no prerequisites for this course, but you should have basic seventh-grade-level reading, writing, and grammar skills.

Learning Outcomes

This course will enable you to continue your growth as an effective reader and communicator. In this course you will learn to do the following:

  1. Apply effective reading strategies to both literary fiction and informational text.
  2. Analyze characteristics of short stories, traditional stories, and nonfiction writing.
  3. Refine writing and persuasive skills by composing papers and giving presentations.
  4. Use correct grammar and language conventions in your own compositions.
  5. Expand and enrich your vocabulary by applying word-mastery strategies.

Course Materials

This course requires no additional textbook; however, we will read and discuss a novel throughout the course, which you must acquire:

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Bass Guitar: Basics 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Learning Bass Lines Efficiently

  • Notes on the third string
  • 3/4 time signature
  • Identifying song form
  • Pickup bar
  • Bass history
  • Performance review preparation

Lesson 2: Muting Technique and Closed Position

  • Bass history
  • Notes on the fourth string
  • Muting technique and closed position
  • Right hand exercises

Lesson 3: Accidentals

  • Accidentals
  • Enharmonic equivalents
  • Developing effective practice habits
  • Bass history

Lesson 4: Dotted Quarter Note Rhythms

  • Bass history
  • Dotted quarter note rhythms
  • The tie
  • Repeat sign

Lesson 5: Major Scales

  • Major scale construction
  • 5-fret shapes
  • Applying scales during practice
  • Bass history
  • Performance review

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)

Contemporary Keyboarding: Basics 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Intervals and Range Expansion

  • Melodic intervals
  • Harmonic intervals
  • Crossing over to expand range

Lesson 2: The Dotted Quarter Note

  • Piano history
  • Dotted quarter notes
  • Expanded intervals
  • More dynamics
  • Improvisation

Lesson 3: Accidentals

  • Accidentals
  • Improvisation
  • Composition
  • Performance review preparation

Lesson 4: Major Scales and Key Signatures

  • Stepwise motion
  • Scales and key signatures
  • Scale practice

Lesson 5: Primary Chords and Triad Construction

  • Triad formation
  • Primary chords in F
  • Primary chords in G
  • Composition
  • Performance review
  • Final exam preparation

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)

Ukulele: Basics 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Demystifying the Fretboard (the chromatic scale)

  • Octaves
  • The musical alphabet
  • Accidentals
  • Half- and whole-steps
  • The chromatic scale
  • Performance review preparation

Lesson 2: From Chromatic to Diatonic (the Key of C)

  • Chromatic scale review
  • Scales and keys
  • Extracting a major scale
  • C major scale/key of C major

Lesson 3: Building Harmony

  • Introduction to harmony
  • How to build triads
  • Triads in the key of C
  • Common chord progressions

Lesson 4: Reading and Playing Standard Notation

  • Introduction to standard notation
  • Elements of standard notation
  • Advantages and disadvantages of standard notation
  • Playing material

Lesson 5: More Strumming and Rhythms

  • Reviewing strumming
  • Reviewing rhythm
  • New note durations and rhythms
  • Alternate strumming
  • Pick-up measure
  • 3/4 time signature
  • Playing material

Lesson 6: From One Key to Another (the Keys of G & F)

  • Review of the chromatic scale
  • Review of scales and keys
  • G major scale/key of G major
  • Triads in the key of G
  • F major scale/key of F major
  • Triads in the key of F
  • Playing material

Lesson 7: From Major to Minor (the Keys of A Minor, E Minor and D Minor)

  • Review of the chromatic scale
  • Review of scales and keys
  • A minor scale/key of A minor
  • E minor scale/key of E minor
  • D minor scale/key of D minor
  • Playing material

Lesson 8: Ukulele History

  • Origin of the ukulele
  • Pre-WWII
  • Post WWII to present
  • Performance review

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Course Materials: musictheory.net (no cost)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Pick

Bass Guitar: Basics 1 – UC Approved

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: An Introduction to the Bass Guitar

  • Bass guitar history
  • Parts of the bass guitar
  • Types of basses
  • Bass guitar equipment
  • Holding the bass guitar
  • Fingerboard diagrams
  • Tuning

Lesson 2: Playing on the Fretboard

  • Warm-up stretches
  • Fingerstyle plucking
  • Using a pick
  • Left hand position
  • Finger permutations
  • Your first bass line

Lesson 3: Reading Tablature and Rhythms

  • Bass history
  • Tuning the bass to itself
  • Introduction to notation
  • Using the staff and reading rhythms
  • Rests
  • Reading tablature

Lesson 4: Introduction to Standard Notation

  • Standard notation—pitch
  • Notes on the first string
  • First string étude
  • Bass history

Lesson 5: Bass Guitar Maintenance

  • Bass history
  • Bass guitar care and maintenance
  • Notes on the second string
  • Dotted half note rhythm

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)

Contemporary Keyboarding: Basics 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: An Introduction to the Keyboard

  • Piano history
  • Types of pianos
  • Setting up to play
  • Sounding notes on the keyboard
  • Rhythm and timing
  • Time signatures

Lesson 2: Reading Notation

  • Pitch notation and the grand staff
  • C-position
  • Right hand exercises
  • Left hand exercises
  • Both hands together
  • Improvisation introduction

Lesson 3: Hands Together

  • Piano history
  • Middle C position
  • Combining C and middle C positions
  • Eighth notes

Lesson 4: Moving Hands

  • Low G-position
  • Dynamics
  • Tempo indication
  • Composition
  • Dotted rhythms
  • 3/4 time

Lesson 5: Open and Close Hand Position

  • Piano history
  • Reading pitch notation efficiently
  • Identifying random notes quickly
  • Articulation

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)

Ukulele: Basics 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Ukulele

  • Types of ukuleles
  • Parts of the ukulele
  • Holding the ukulele
  • Tuning the ukulele
  • Understanding the fretboard
  • Playing your first notes
  • Ukulele care

Lesson 2: Playing Chords

  • How to read chord diagrams
  • How to finger chords
  • Strumming
  • Switching between chords
  • How to name and say chords
  • Playing material

Lesson 3: Reading and Playing Rhythms

  • Introduction to rhythm
  • How to use a metronome
  • Note durations
  • Time signature and counting rhythm
  • Tempo
  • Playing material

Lesson 4: Reading and Playing Tablature

  • Tablature introduction
  • Elements of tablature
  • Advantages and disadvantages of tablature
  • Playing material

Lesson 5: The Sound of Silence

  • Introduction to rests
  • Using notes vs. rests
  • Introduction to ties
  • Playing material

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Pick

Guitar: Basics 2 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: Full Chords and Strum Patterns

  • Alternate strumming
  • Five strum patterns
  • D7 chord
  • Full G, C, D, and E minor chords
  • Playing two chords per measure
  • Performance review preparation

Lesson 2: Playing in Other Time Signatures

  • 3/4 Time
  • Two chords per measure in 3/4
  • Simple meter
  • Other time signatures
  • Pickup measure
  • The tie in strumming notation

Lesson 3: The G Major Scale

  • Guitar history
  • G major scale
  • Dotted quarter note
  • Anticipated chord changes
  • Notes on the fourth string

Lesson 4: The C Major Scale

  • Guitar history
  • Notes on the fifth string
  • C Major Scale
  • Notes on the sixth string

Lesson 5: A Deeper Understanding of the Fretboard

  • Fretboard understanding
  • Chromatic scale
  • Major scale construction
  • “Say and Play” warm up
  • Beyond the 12th fret

Lesson 6: Keys and Key Signatures

  • Keys and key signatures
  • Minor scale construction
  • Relative scales
  • Theory assignments
  • Performance review
  • Preparing for your final exam

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument & pick
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • Course Materials: musictheory.net (no cost)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Metronome
  • Capo

Guitar: Basics 1 – UC APPROVED

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Lesson 1: An Introduction to the Guitar

  • Guitar history
  • Types of guitars
  • Parts of the guitar
  • Holding the guitar
  • Plucking and picking
  • Hand health
  • Tuning the guitar

Lesson 2: Playing With Both Hands

  • Left hand position and fingering
  • How to read music diagrams
  • Fretting warm up
  • Strumming
  • G, C, and D chords

Lesson 3: Reading TAB and Rhythms

  • Warm up exercises
  • Beats and rhythm
  • Reading rhythms
  • How to read tablature
  • Reading rests
  • Guitar care
  • String replacement

Lesson 4: Reading Notes on the First and Second Strings

  • Notes on the first string
  • First string études
  • Notes on the second string
  • Second string études
  • Dotted rhythms

Lesson 5: Standard Notation Fundamentals

  • Standard notation
  • Up picking
  • Alternate picking
  • Rhythm assignments
  • The tie

Lesson 6: Accidentals

  • Guitar history
  • Accidentals
  • Notes on the third string
  • Syncopation

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

  • Working instrument & pick
  • Reliable access to a computer and internet
  • Recording device for recording assignments (phone, tablet, camera, computer, etc.)
  • The Rhythm Trainer (John Blank; http://www.therhythmtrainer.com)
  • Tuner (electronic tuner, computer program, or phone app are all suitable)
  • Metronome

Chemistry: Semester 2

Course Learning Outcomes

The main purpose of this course is to help you become proficient in core principles of chemistry.

Here are some of the main things you will learn to do:

  1. Organize the elements that make up our Earth and our atmosphere.
  2. Solve, in a common-sense fashion, chemical problems dealing with results from an experiment or reaction.
  3. Discuss atoms—their makeup, what they do, and how they do it.

Required Resources:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection

Chemistry: Semester 1

Course Learning Outcomes

The main purpose of this course is to help you become proficient in core principles of Chemistry. I hope that this course will help you get the most out of building your scientific thinking foundation. Here are some of the main things you will learn to do:

  1. Organize the elements that make up our earth and our atmosphere.
  2. Solve, in a common-sense fashion, chemical problems dealing with results from an experiment and/or reaction.
  3. Discuss atoms—their makeup, what they do, and how they do it.

Required Resources:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection

English 09: Semester 2

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
  • Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

English 09: Semester 1

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Night (Elie Wiesel)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
  • Much Ado About Nothing (William Shakespeare)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

English 12: Semester 2

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Blood Brothers (Elias Chacour)
  • House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
  • A Raisin in the Sun (Lorraine Hansberry)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

English 12: Semester 1

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl)
  • Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell)
  • One of the following: The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien), Tiger Lily (Jodi Lynn Anderson), Flight (Sherman Alexie), or Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

English 11: Semester 2

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
  • The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

English 11: Semester 1

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Crucible (Arthur Miller)
  • Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
  • Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

English 10: Semester 2

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
  • Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

English 10: Semester 1

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)
  • Ten Days in a Madhouse (Nellie Bly)

*Students attending Educational Advantage will have the opportunity to use EA’s copy of the texts or listen to them via Audible.

*Please note: Some texts may contain mature themes, situations, or language.

Digital Literacy (8th grade)

Learning Outcomes

This course is designed to prepare you for the workplace by helping you become comfortable using a computer. When you complete this course, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Explain technology operations and concepts.
  2. Use productivity application software.
  3. Use communication networks, the Internet, and digital citizenship.
  4. Use multiple processes of electronic communication and collaboration.
  5. Integrate course knowledge in another general education class.

Required Resources:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection
  • A computer with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access (Microsoft Office Suite). Equivalent software found in Google Docs or on Macintosh computers may also be used, but be aware that versions of software will be different and may or may not have the tools to complete parts of the assignments.

Biology: Semester 2

Required Resources:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection

LAB MATERIALS:

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • White bread
  • Wheat bread
  •  Sandwich bags
  • 4 glasses
  • Measuring cups
  • 4 stalks of celery (with leaves–if possible)
  • Food coloring (4 different colors)
  • Stopwatch
  • Oyster, clam, or mussel
  • Colored pencils
  • Fabric or blindfold
  • Several labs call for various, common food items
  • Lab 7 requires a friend or family member

Biology: Semester 1

Required Resources:

  • Reliable access to a computer and internet connection

LAB MATERIALS:

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • M&M’s
  • Scissors
  • Coins
  • Tape
  • Cup
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Leaf from tree or house plant
  • Green split peas
  • Liquid dish soap
  • Table salt
  • Measuring cups
  • Wooden stick
  • Meat tenderizer (or approved replacement: pineapple juice or contact lens solution)
  • Blender
  • Strainer
  • Small glass container (or test tubes)
  • 2 bowls
  • 5 cups of four different types of dry beans (or a multi-bean mix)
  • 2 trays (or cookie sheets)

Astronomy

Course Outline: 

  1. Observing the Night Sky
    2. Historical Highlights in Astronomy
    3. The Solar System: The Terrestrial Planets
    4: The Solar System—Jovian Planets, Comets, Asteroids, etc.
    5: The Sun and Other Stars
    6: Galaxies

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should have done the following:

  1. Developed a basic knowledge of astronomy, both historical and observational.
  2. Acquired an appreciation for astronomy and the night skies.
  3. Learn how astronomers study the universe and exercise some of those skills yourself.

Course Materials

This course is self-contained. You do not need a separate astronomy book to complete the units.

Required Resources

Access to a computer and internet access.