English 09 is a completely re-designed course that offers 100% alignment to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. In addition to an emphasis on alignment, the redesigned lessons are designed based on a clear thematic connection and build upon each other ensuring that standards are scaffolded and covered multiple times going deeper with each lesson.

Texts in this course are diverse, authentic, complex, and rich in length. Students encounter texts multiple times over the course of a unit digging deeper in theme and focus standards. Each lesson follows a clear instructional model mirroring that of the traditional tier-one lesson cycle: warm-up, direct teach with modeling, guided practice, independent practice, and closure. Instructional best practices are embedded throughout lessons such as close reading, modeling, and chunking. Features to support student mastery included guided notes and graphic organizers.

Scaffolding pieces, such as Clarifying Big Ideas (CBI) lessons are included throughout the course to provide learners with opportunities to build on foundational skills as well as prepare for greater success by drawing learners’ attention to common misunderstandings and articulating the big ideas that underpin learning. These CBI lessons include additional modeling, student examples, and detailed explanations to ensure students internalize key concepts discussed in tutorials.