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In AP English Language and Composition, students investigate rhetoric and its impact on culture through analysis of notable fiction and nonfiction texts, from pamphlets to speeches to personal essays. The equivalent of an introductory college-level survey class, this course prepares students for the AP exam and for further study in communications, creative writing, journalism, literature, and composition.
Students explore a variety of textual forms, styles, and genres. By examining all texts through a rhetorical lens, students become skilled readers and analytical thinkers. Focusing specifically on language, purpose, and audience gives them a broad view of the effect of text and its cultural role. Students write expository and narrative texts to hone the effectiveness of their own use of language, and they develop varied, informed arguments through research. Throughout the course, students are evaluated with assessments specifically designed to prepare them for the content, form, and depth of the AP Exam.
AP English Language and Composition is recommended for 11th and 12th grade students. This course fulfills 11th grade requirements. Consequently, we recommend that students take only one of the following courses: English 11, Texas English III, and AP English Language and Composition.
This course has been authorized by the College Board® to use the AP designation.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are registered trademarks and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product.
Length: Two semesters
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1Lesson 1: The Depression and The Grapes of Wrath, Part I
- Journal - Is Money the Key to Happiness? Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - Interviews about the Great Depression: Listen to and recall details from interviews about the Great Depression. Synthesize details from each account to make a statement about the effects of the Depression on individuals.
- Study - Understand the Great Depression: Read and recall details about the Great Depression.
- Quiz - Understand the Great Depression: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address: Read and recall details form Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Establish individual roles.
- Study - Analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address: Analyze and identify Roosevelt's purpose and tone in his First Inaugural Address.
- Quiz - Analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Analysis: Write an explanatory text to examine the impact of word choice and sentence structure on tone and purpose.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise an analysis essay.
- Read - The Grapes of Wrath, Part I: Read and recall details from part I of The Grapes of Wrath
- Study - The Grapes of Wrath, Part I: Read and recall details for the first part of The Grapes of Wrath
- Quiz - The Grapes of Wrath, Part I: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice writing a rhetorical analysis essay and review your work.
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2Lesson 2: The Modernist Poets and The Grapes of Wrath, Part II
- Journal - Follow the Rules: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "Don't Crowd the Wheelbarrow": Read and comprehend the essay "Poetry: The Next Generation."
- Study - Understand Modern Poetry: Analyze the elements of Modernist and Imagist poetry.
- Quiz - Understand Modern Poetry: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - Modern Poets: Read and comprehend several Modernist poems. Connect themes and ideas in poetry to the Modernist time period.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Promote divergent or creative perspectives.
- Study - Analyze Modern Poetry: Analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. Connect themes and ideas in poetry to the Modernist time period.
- Quiz - Analyze Modern Poetry: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Analysis: Write an explanatory text to examine the impact of word choice on tone and meaning in a given poem.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Phrases: Identify types of phrases and employ a variety of phrases to vary sentence structure.
- Project - Revision Strategies: Revise an analysis essay.
- Read - The Grapes of Wrath, Part II: Read and Recall details from Part II of The Grapes of Wrath
- Study - Analyze The Grapes of Wrath, Part II: Read and recall details for the second part of The Grapes of Wrath
- Quiz - Analyze The Grapes of Wrath, Part II: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice writing an argument essay and then review your work.
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3Lesson 3: Experimenting with Language and The Grapes of Wrath, Part III
- Journal - Symbolism: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - Speaking of Symbolism: Read and comprehend an essay about symbolism.
- Study - Understand Breaking Traditions: Analyze the influence of the stream of consciousness technique in Modernist writing, what it's meant to do, and the influence of symbolism, imagery, and allusion in Modernist works.
- Quiz - Understand Breaking Traditions: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - Stream of Consciousness Texts: Read and comprehend "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Resolve contradictions when possible.
- Study - Analyze Stream of Consciousness Texts: Analyze the symbolism and structure in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Analyze the symbolism, allusions, and structure in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."
- Quiz - Analyze Stream of Consciousness Texts: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing a Narrative: Write a personal narrative that includes stream of consciousness.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Punctuation for Effect: Identify instances in which fragments are appropriate and add to meaning.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise a narrative essay.
- Read - The Grapes of Wrath, Part III: Read and recall details from part I of The Grapes of Wrath
- Study - Analyze The Grapes of Wrath, Part III: Read and recall details from the third part of the The Grapes of Wrath.
- Quiz - Analyze The Grapes of Wrath, Part III: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Multiple Choice: Practice answering multiple choice questions.
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4Lesson 4: Wrap-Up: Modernism and Language
- Review - Modernism and Language: Prepare for the unit test by reviewing key concepts and skills.
- Test (CS) - Modernism and Language: Take a computer-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
- Test (TS) - Modernism and Language: Take a teacher-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
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5Lesson 1: A Raisin in the Sun, Part I
- Journal - The Universality of Discrimination: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "Speech on Civil Rights": Read a speech by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and analyze how the rhetoric of the speech supports the author's purpose.
- Study - Understand A Raisin in the Sun, Part I: Analyze the use of drama in context of the civil rights movement.
- Quiz - Understand A Raisin in the Sun, Part I: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - A Raisin in the Sun, Part I: Read and comprehend Part I of A Raisin in the Sun and analyze how characters are introduced and developed.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Set clear goals and deadlines.
- Study - Analyze A Raisin in the Sun, Part I: Analyze the presentation of the same scene by two different groups of actors A Raisin in the Sun, Part I. Evaluate the presentation of the same scene in two different groups of actors.
- Quiz - Analyze A Raisin in the Sun, Part I: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore the Research Project, Part I: Develop a research question based on a topic. Develop and follow a research plan. Implement an advanced search in order to begin assessment of possible sources.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Clauses and Sentence Structure: Identify types of clauses. Use clauses to combine sentences to create transitions between ideas.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise a research essay.
- Read - "Declaration of Conscience": Read Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience."
- Study - Analyze "Declaration of Conscience": Analyze Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" for her point of view and effectiveness.
- Quiz - Analyze "Declaration of Conscience": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice using quotes in your essay writing.
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6Lesson 2: A Raisin in the Sun, Part II
- Journal - What's Our Obligation? Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "The American Promise": Read and comprehend President Lyndon B. Johnson's speech, "The American Promise" and analyze how the rhetoric of the speech supports the author's purpose.
- Study - Understand A Raisin in the Sun, Part II: Understand how characters are developed and how dramatic elements such as stage directions indicate additional information about characters. Analyze the intent of certain lines of the play. Track potential symbols: names and objects.
- Quiz - Understand A Raisin in the Sun, Part II: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - A Raisin in the Sun, Part II: Read and comprehend Part II of A Raisin in the Sun and analyze how characters are developed and how dramatic elements indicate additional information about characters.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives.
- Study - Analyze A Raisin in the Sun, Part II: Analyze how the symbolism in the play supports the meaning. Relate ideas in this section of the play to the ideas in "The American Promise." Analyze how the author's choice to end a story contributes to its aesthetic impact.
- Quiz - Analyze A Raisin in the Sun, Part II: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore the Research Project Essay, Part II: Integrate media and information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas. Cite sources correctly.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Wordiness and Redundancy: Identify wordy and redundant phrases and sentences. Revise to eliminate wordiness and redundancy.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise a research essay.
- Read - "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort": Read President Kennedy's "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort."
- Study - Analyze "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort": Analyze President Kennedy's speech and explore how he used ethos, logos and pathos.
- Quiz - Analyze "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Multiple Choice: Practice answering multiple choice questions.
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7Lesson 3: The Reaction to Change
- Journal - Dealing with It: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - A Calm Reply to Hades: Read an essay about a poem by Rita Dove and analyze the impact of allusion on meaning.
- Study - Understand the Impact of Time: Analyze the impact of word choice and figurative language on meaning and tone in "Sympathy" and "Caged Bird."
- Quiz - Understand the Impact of Time: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - "Notes of a Native Son": Read and comprehend an excerpt from "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin and trace at least two central ideas over the course of the essay.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Draw on evidence from the text or other resources.
- Study - Analyze "Notes of a Native Son": 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. Analyze how the structure of the argument contributes to the author's purpose.
- Quiz - Analyze "Notes of a Native Son": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore the Research Project, Part III: Create a works-cited page and prepare to write a speech.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Modifiers: Identify modifier rules and correct usage. Apply correct modifier use to enhance and clarify writing.
- Project - Revision Strategies: Revise a research essay.
- Read - "How It Feels to Be Colored Me": Read Zora Neale Hurston's "How It Feels to Be Colored Me."
- Study - Analyze "How It Feels to Be Colored Me": Analyze "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" for its tone, context and purpose.
- Quiz - Analyze "How It Feels to Be Colored Me": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice writing an argument essay and then review your work.
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8Lesson 4: Wrap-Up: Redefining Home
- Review - Redefining Home: Prepare for the unit test by reviewing key concepts and skills.
- Test (CS) - Redefining Home: Take a computer-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
- Test (TS) - Redefining Home: Take a teacher-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
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9Lesson 1: Vietnam
- Journal - Experience versus Witness: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - Vietnam: Read and recall details from the video "Vietnam."
- Study - Understand the Vietnam War: Analyze the impact of Vietnam on society as a whole: the nation's reaction to the war, protests.
- Quiz - Understand the Vietnam War: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - Vietnam Literature: Read and comprehend an excerpt from The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and analyze the impact of specific word choices and stylistic devices on meaning and tone.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Promote civil and democratic discussions.
- Study - Analyze Literature about Vietnam: Analyze the impact of specific word choices and stylistic devices on meaning and tone. Analyze how the structure of the story and the poems contribute to their aesthetic impact.
- Quiz - Analyze Literature about Vietnam: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Argumentative Speech: Write an argumentative speech to support a claim. Develop the claim and the counterclaims thoroughly, addressing the possible biases of the audience.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Periodic and Cumulative Sentences: Learn the effects of different sentence types.
- Project - Revision Strategies: Revise a persuasive speech.
- Read - The Things They Carried Part I: Read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
- Study - Analyze The Things They Carried Part I: Analyze the first part of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
- Quiz - Analyze The Things They Carried Part I: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Multiple Choice: Practice for the AP exam with example multiple choice questions.
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10Lesson 2: Divided Loyalties
- Journal - Cultural Loyalty: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "Fish Cheeks": Read and comprehend "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan and analyze how the main character is developed both internally and externally.
- Study - Understand Divided Loyalties: Analyze multicultural voices as an integral part of American literature.
- Quiz - Understand Divided Loyalties: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - "Gravity": Read and comprehend "Gravity" by Judith Ortíz Cofer.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue.
- Study - Analyze "Gravity": Analyze how the main character is developed both internally and externally, and how the cultural conflict is developed in the story. Analyze "Daughter of Invention."
- Quiz - Analyze "Gravity": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing a Narrative: Write a personal narrative that includes cultural conflict.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Cognates and Context: Use knowledge of cognates, word origins, and context to determine the meanings of words.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise a narrative essay.
- Read - The Things They Carried Part II: Read the second part of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
- Study - Analyze The Things They Carried Part II: Analyze the second part of The Things They Carried for symbolism.
- Quiz - Analyze The Things They Carried Part II: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice essay writing to prepare for the AP exam.
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11Lesson 3: Culture Clash
- Journal - Right and Wrong: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "Red Jacket's Speech": Read and comprehend a speech by Chief Red Jacket of the Seneca Tribe and analyze how the ideas in the speech interact over the course of the text.
- Study - Understand American Indian Literature: Analyze the history of the treatment of American Indians, such as the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears. Analyze the development of American Indian literature.
- Quiz - Understand American Indian Literature: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - The Way to Rainy Mountain: Read The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure and tone.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.
- Study - Analyze The Way to Rainy Mountain: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure of the exposition in making Momaday's point clear in The Way to Rainy Mountain. Determine Momaday's point of view in the literary portions of the novella. Analyze the impact of figurative language on tone. Relate the mythical text structures to Momaday's modern-day descriptions.
- Quiz - Analyze The Way to Rainy Mountain: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Analysis: Write an explanatory text to examine the impact of structure on the author's tone and meaning in Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Changing Meaning: Identify words and terms that have gone out of acceptable use. Change contested words to appropriate alternatives.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise an analysis essay.
- Read - The Things They Carried Part III: Read the third part of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
- Study - Analyze The Things They Carried Part III: Analyze the third part of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
- Quiz - Analyze The Things They Carried Part III: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice writing an essay to prepare for the AP exam.
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12Lesson 4: Wrap-Up: Fractured Identities
- Review - Fractured Identities: Prepare for the unit test by reviewing key concepts and skills.
- Test (CS) - Fractured Identities: Take a computer-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
- Test (TS) - Fractured Identities: Take a teacher-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
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13Lesson 1: Humans and the Environment
- Journal - Are We Responsible? Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "There Will Come Soft Rains," "The Last Wolf," and "Homework": Read and comprehend three poems from distinctly different time periods and perspectives that share a similar message about humans and the environment.
- Study - Understand Humans and the Environment: Analyze the growing concern about Earth's resources, the scientific debate about global warming, and "green" literature.
- Quiz - Understand Humans and the Environment: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - A Chapter from The World Without Us: Read a chapter from The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure of the author's argument.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
- Study - Analyze a Chapter from The World Without Us: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure Weisman uses in his argument. Determine the main idea of Weisman's text.
- Quiz - Analyze a Chapter from The World Without Us: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing, Presenting, and Publishing an Explanatory Article: Write an explanatory text or article about an environmental problem or solution. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Comparisons: Use precise language and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of a topic.
- Project - Revision Strategies: Revise an article into a speech.
- Read - "The Obligation to Endure" from Silent Spring: Read "The Obligation to Endure" from Silent Spring.
- Study - "The Obligation to Endure" from Silent Spring: Analyze "The Obligation to Endure" from Silent Spring for metaphors and Carson's tone.
- Quiz - "The Obligation to Endure" from Silent Spring: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Multiple Choice: Practice for the AP exam with multiple choice questions.
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14Lesson 2: Humans and Media
- Journal - Does T.V. Impact Us? Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - Amusing Ourselves to Death: Summarize the text Amusing Ourselves to Death and analyze the structure of the author's argument.
- Study - Understand the Impact of Technology: Analyze the impact of technology, science fiction, and our interactions with media, and how that has affected the way we think.
- Quiz - Understand the Impact of Technology: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - Bradbury and Vonnegut: Analyze the impact of setting and the way the characters are introduced and developed in stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Ray Bradbury.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue.
- Study - Analyze Bradbury and Vonnegut: Analyze the impact of setting and the way the characters are introduced and developed in stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Ray Bradbury. Analyze how the stories comment on the role of entertainment in our society.
- Quiz - Analyze Bradbury and Vonnegut: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Argument: Write an argument to support a claim. Develop the claim and the counterclaims thoroughly, addressing the possible biases of the audience.
- Checkup - Language Skills: Fragments and Run-ons: Identify fragments and run-ons. Use punctuation to correct fragments and run-ons.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise a persuasive essay.
- Read - "Is Google Making Us Stupid?": Read Nicholas Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"
- Study - Analyze "Is Google Making Us Stupid?": Analyze "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" for pacing, tone and evidence.
- Quiz - Analyze "Is Google Making Us Stupid?": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice essay writing to prepare for the AP exam.
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15Lesson 3: Humans and Machines
- Journal - Humans and Machines: Write a short, personal journal response to a prompt.
- Read - "The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine": Read "The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine" by Ray Kurzweil and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure the author uses in his article.
- Study - Combining Human and Machine: Analyze the intersection of humans and machines, and how science fictions writers explore idea that the combination of something organic and something man-made will change the world.
- Quiz - Understand Combining Human and Machine: Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Read - "Exhalation": Read and comprehend "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang and determine two or more themes of the text.
- Discuss - Think It Through, Talk It Out: Discuss a claim. Pose and respond to questions that probe reasons and evidence.
- Study - Analyze "Exhalation": Analyze the way the main character is introduced and developed in "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang. Determine two or more themes of the text and analyze how they interact and build on each other.
- Quiz - Analyze "Exhalation": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Study - Explore Writing an Analysis: Write an explanatory text about the dual message of Chiang's story. Analyze "Exhalation."
- Checkup - Language Skills: Strong Verbs: Recognize weak verb construction. Revise sentences to include strong verbs.
- Practice - Revision Strategies: Revise an analysis essay.
- Read - "The Ends of the World as We Know Them": Read and analyze Jared Diamond's "The Ends of the World as We Know Them."
- Study - Analyze "The Ends of the World as We Know Them": Analyze "The Ends of the World as We Know Them" for empirical evidence and Diamond's claim.
- Quiz - Analyze "The Ends of the World as We Know Them": Take a quiz to assess your understanding of the material.
- Checkup - Practice Essay Writing: Practice writing an essay to prepare for the AP exam.
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16Lesson 4: Wrap-Up: The Influence of Science and Technology
- Review - The Influence of Science and Technology: Prepare for the unit test by reviewing key concepts and skills.
- Test (CS) - The Influence of Science and Technology: Take a computer-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
- Test (TS) - The Influence of Science and Technology: Take a teacher-scored test to assess what you have learned in this unit.
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