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Credits: 1

Prerequisite: none

Recommended: 9th

Test Prep: DSST Principles of Public Speaking

Course Description: Students will gain foundational knowledge to apply to life and learning in the years to come. The major topics covered are character, critical thinking, logic, public speaking and study skills. Note taking, test taking, planning, reviewing and time management will be learned and practiced. Students will explore learning styles and a variety of study methods. Students will learn how to research, evaluate resources and use unique primary sources to learn about the past. Public speaking topics include active listening, overcoming fear, job interview skills, business communication, as well as preparing and giving a variety of types of speeches. Logical fallacies will be taught and examined in propaganda and in a variety of bias examples found in media and in the classroom. Daily critical thinking exercises as well as logic and brain training games will sharpen students’ focus and attention. A short daily reading based on a character trait will remind students of how their attitudes and actions affect others around them. Other minor topics include manners and etiquette, reading cursive, signature practice, money management, internet safety, personal information safety and spotting online scams.

Lesson 1(*) (Note that an asterisk in parentheses (*) indicates that there is an optional page to print on this day)

Welcome to your first day of school! I wanted to give you one important reminder before you begin. Many of your lessons below have an internet link for you to click on. When you go to the different internet pages for your lessons, please DO NOT click on anything else on that page except what the directions tell you to. DO NOT click on any advertisements or games. DO NOT click on anything that takes you to a different website. Just stay focused on your lesson and then close that window and you should be right back here for the next lesson. Okay?

1. This is a high school course recommended for ninth grade.
2. Read the definition of alertness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
3. Sign up for a free Read Theory student account and do the first reading comprehension exercise. Read the passage and answer all the questions.
4. You are going to be learning lots of different things in this course. This is a course to apply to your life, not just get through. You get to decide how important you make what you learn here. It can be valuable to you if you choose to make it so! Stop and think about what motivation you have to learn.
5. There is grading for this course, but you aren’t receiving scores until nearly half way into it. You can check off that you’ve completed each day. That will be part of your overall grade. Don’t check off a day unless it’s complete! No points for incomplete work.
6. (*)Print out your grading sheet for the whole course or use the Excel version.
7. This is the end of your work for this course for your first day. You are allowed to move at your own pace (this is homeschooling), but it’s intended you complete one lesson a day.
8. By the way, EP is free! We run on donations and appreciate all the gifts we receive. However, if you are paying an organization for these lessons, they may be scamming you. All of our courses are available for free. If a company is charging you for an account to get these lessons, please make sure you are getting other services that warrant the cost. And, if they are promising transcripts and diplomas, make sure their customers are actually getting those. We don’t want to see you scammed. You can learn about making transcripts (for free) and getting a valid diploma by talking to the other parents who have done it using our curriculum.

Lesson 2

1. Alertness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Learn about learning styles. Click on the different types and make sure you understand what they are.
4. Take a learning style quiz.

Lesson 3

1. Alertness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Take this quiz on identifying how you learn best.
4. At the end it will give you your result and a link for you to read more about your dominant way of learning.

Lesson 4

1. Alertness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Take this learning styles quiz. (alternative)

Lesson 5

1. Read the definition of attentiveness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. From the learning styles site: “While the idea that students have fixed, specific learning styles is not supported by scientific research, providing students with multiple ways to learn content has been shown to improve student learning (Hattie, 2011).” (You do not need to follow this link, it is just stating the source of the quote.)
4. Read about multiple intelligences.

Lesson 6

1. Attentiveness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. What do you want to DO? This is just for reading.
   • Just a note: This website is working on building career resources and wants to help teens connect with them. They have a five-week online program for students to learn leadership skills. We are running our own version of the program. Check the link for details.
4. Think about the things you really enjoy doing. Make a list of them, a list of verbs. They probably lay around your areas of strength on the quiz, since we all normally would rather do what comes easier to us! Be honest with yourself in making your list. What (job) would let you do those things?

Lesson 7

1. Attentiveness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Learn about learning.
4. You will learn some study skills.  You need to apply these lessons in all of your other studies.
5. Read over these simple ways to approach the studying/learning process:
   • Before you read a text, make sure you know what the follow-up assignment is going to be so you can keep it in mind as you read.
   • If there are questions to answer afterward, read them first and then the answers will stand out as you read.
   • While you read, take note of information that would be useful for your assignment and where that info is found so you can find it again if needed.
   • If you just need to learn the information for a potential test, take notes by writing down main words.

Lesson 8

1. Attentiveness
2. Watch the video on procrastination.
3. This course is teaching you various study skills.  You need to apply these lessons in all of your other studies.
4. Read over these simple ways to approach the reviewing process:
   • After you’ve gone through the assigned material, complete the assignment.
   • Check your answers and go over anything you got wrong and take the time to understand the correct answer.
   • Get any help needed to make sure you understand before you move on.

Lesson 9

1. Read the definition of availability. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch the video on memory.

Lesson 10

1. Availability
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Learn about time management.
4. Here are some more time management tips for students.
5. Take the time management quiz.

Lesson 11

1. Availability
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Learn about the importance of sleep.
4. Create a time-use log. Do it for at least 24 hours. The longer you do it, the more you’ll see where you lose/waste time.

Lesson 12

1. Availability
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Listen to this talk on learning how to learn. It’s hard to hear. Turn it way up. Learn how what you may view as your weakness can really create your strengths.

Lesson 13

1. Read the definition of boldness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Put what you have learned into practice. Choose a goal. It can be an assignment, such as an essay, or learning vocabulary words, or something else.
4. Set a deadline. Create smaller deadlines for what you are going to accomplish along the way and by when.

Lesson 14

1. Boldness   One more quote on Boldness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through the first section on student strategies (until you get to a heading in green).

Lesson 15

1. Boldness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through the second section on student strategies (until you get to the next heading in green).

Lesson 16

1. Boldness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through the third section on student strategies (until you get to the next heading in green).

Lesson 17

1. Read the definition of cautiousness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through the fourth section on student strategies (until you get to the next heading in green).

Lesson 18

1. Cautiousness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read about note-taking. It’s short, just at the top.
4. It talked about reviewing your notes that same day. Another thing you can do the same day, is to go into your learning with a question. A question piques curiosity which excites the brain to learn. Write a question that will push your learning further for each of the courses you are taking.

Lesson 19

1. Cautiousness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this article and then take a walk. 🙂

Lesson 20

1. Cautiousness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Review.
   • Time management
   • Study Skills

Lesson 21

1. Read the definition of compassion. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch the video on how to take notes.

Lesson 22

1. Compassion.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Learn to take notes with the Cornell system. Here’s an example.

Lesson 23

1. Read the definition of contentment. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch the video. What’s the point of taking notes this way (or in your own way but with similar effect)? How do you use them? What’s an advantage of the system?

Lesson 24

1.  Contentment
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Take notes on the dining etiquette video. Do not pause the video.

Lesson 25

1. Read the definition of creativity. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Take notes on the teen etiquette video. Stop at 6 minutes. Do not pause the video.

Lesson 26

1. Creativity
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Take notes on this article about manners for teens.
4. As you go through this course, take some notes. There will be a test.

Lesson 27

1. Creativity and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch this video on procrastinating and this one on how to study for a test.

Lesson 28

1. Read the definition of decisiveness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read about answering the telephone.
4. Role play. Have someone or a few people pretend to call you, or actually call you. Follow all the rules of good telephoning skills.

Lesson 29

1. Decisiveness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Study your etiquette and manners notes.

Lesson 30

1. Decisiveness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Answer the following questions (click and drag to reveal): Why are manners important? Why should you keep the fold of your napkin toward you? What’s courageous about having good manners? What does it mean to honor your parents?  end questions
4. Were your notes successful in helping you prepare for your test?

Lesson 31

1. Read the definition of deference. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through the research steps. When researching, plan ahead and keep organized. Take it step by step. Organized note cards will save the day!

Lesson 32

1. Deference  and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do the first two steps. Click on those links for specifics. Go ahead, choose a topic. It can be anything. You can research colleges, horse care, pumpkin pie recipes, Saturn, anything.

Lesson 33

1. Deference  and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do steps three and four. Click on those links. Make at least one source card for the place where you got your overview information.

Lesson 34

1. Read the definition of dependability. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do steps five and six. Click on those links to learn more about how to do it.

Lesson 35

1. Dependability  and one more
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do steps seven and eight.

Lesson 36

1. Dependability  and one more
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. You can do Steps 9 and 10 if you think of anything new to add.
4. Do steps eleven and twelve. Make sure you use reputable sources online. Just because someone wrote it doesn’t mean it’s accurate.

Lesson 37

1. Dependability
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do steps thirteen and fourteen.

Lesson 38

1. Read the definition of determination. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do step fifteen. (You’ll find a few options there to generate an online outline. Not all of them function well. Pick the one that works best for you.)
4. Save for your portfolio.

Lesson 39

1. Determination  Do you see how they are taught to succeed by sheer determination?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. DON’T DO steps 16-19. Just click on the links and read more about them.

Lesson 40

1. Determination
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. DON’T DO steps 20-23. Just click on the links and read more about them.

Lesson 41

1. Determination  Watch the video. Do you have determination? What prompts you to give up? What decisions can you make to change that? (The link to the quiz in the short article below the video doesn’t work.)
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. You are going to be learning about using the best kind of sources for research: primary resources. Primary resources are first-hand information. An interview is a primary resource. You are going to be looking at other primary resources.
4. Read this page about images as primary resources.
5. Then “be the historian.” Over several days you’ll be looking at different primary sources and analyzing them. The images today are paintings that were both gifts to the King of Spain at different times. They both show cultural change. Click through each of the nine numbered questions on the left. Answer the questions.
6. Read the historian’s answers.

Lesson 42

1. Read the definition of diligence. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about objects as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page, read each of the seven questions/prompts along the left side about analyzing historical objects.  Answer the questions.
5. Read a historian’s answers.

Lesson 43

1. Diligence
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about maps as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page click on each activity along the left. You are going to be analyzing maps. Answer the questions.
5. Read a historian’s analysis.

Lesson 44

1. Diligence
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about music as a primary resource. Just read this one page.
4. Make observations about this South Indian music.

Lesson 45

1. Diligence  and  one more. Think about how you demonstrate this character quality and about when you miss the mark.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about newspapers as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page you’ll do each activity to analyze newspapers. Click on each numbered activity along the left. Answer the questions. You can’t listen, but you can use the transcript.
5. Read a historian’s analysis.

This is the end of the first marking period. You don’t have any scores yet, but a big part of your grade will be your diligent completion of the daily assignments. Also, there will be a test on what you are learning. Are you remembering to practice your study skills? If you want to save things for a portfolio, you can print out samples of the different materials used. If you need a grade, divide your number of days completed to satisfaction by 45.

Lesson 46

1. Read the definition of discernment. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about official documents as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page you’ll click on each numbered activity on the left to analyze historical documents. Answer the questions.
5. Read a historian’s analysis.

Lesson 47

1. Discernment
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about official travel narratives as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page you’ll click on each activity on the left and answer the questions.
5. Read a historian’s answers.

Lesson 48

1. Discernment
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this page about personal accounts as primary resources. Just read this one page.
4. Then “be the historian.” On this page you’ll click on each activity along the left and answer the questions.
5. Read a historian’s answers.

Lesson 49

1. Read the definition of discretion. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Many personal accounts of old were written in some type of cursive handwriting. Maybe you’ve never learned to even write, let alone read cursive. It’s up to you whether or not you want to practice and get comfy with writing in cursive, but I want you to learn a little bit for a couple of good reasons. The first we are going to deal with is for reading old letters. My grandmother wrote all of her letters in cursive. You don’t have to go back very far to find cursive to be the only way things were written. If you are going to use written historic primary resources, you’ll need to be able to read cursive to some extent. Do you get this joke?
4. Click on each of the lowercase letters in the list (scroll down) and write each one down at least a couple of times as you watch.
5. (*) If you want to practice, here are worksheets for each letter. (Not mandatory)

Lesson 50

1. Discretion
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Click on each of the uppercase letters in the box on the right and write each one down at least a couple of times.
4. (*) If you are practicing cursive handwriting, here’s a little guide to how to go about it.  (Not mandatory)

Lesson 51* (Note: an asterisk * indicates that there is something to print on this day)

1. Discretion  and more
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. *Print out a cursive worksheet. Copy in this text or write your own.
   • Here is my practice sheet for reading and writing cursive. I want to learn so that I can read historical documents.
   • Can you read it? Figure out each word and copy the sentences.

Lesson 52

1. Read the definition of endurance. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Choose one of the five worksheets to read. If you want more practice, here is a page of words for each letter of the alphabet.

Lesson 53

1. Endurance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Here is another type of cursive practice sheet. Which letters are different?
4. You’ll quickly learn that everyone writes differently. Most adults nowadays write with a mixture of cursive and printing. Which letters are in cursive in this letter? Can you see where she connects letters? Look at “n” and “f” for example.
5. Here’s another example of a back and forth style. This letter was sold at an auction. It’s a letter about a famous discovery, written to his son. Try to read through the first page. Click on the first page of the letter in the image. Click it again to zoom in. You can click and drag the image around to see more. If you are unsure of a word, use context clues, and ask for help if you need it.
6. If you didn’t get the joke on Day 49, try again.

Lesson 54

1. Endurance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. If you go back further, you find exclusive use of cursive, though each person has their own way of writing. Use the clues in the picture and your new knowledge of cursive to read these two handwritten documents.  One  Two
4. Compare the first few lines of this script with the typed version. To see the typed out version, click on the first button on the left underneath the image. The button has a flower picture on it. The typed version will appear in the box on the right.

Lesson 55

1. Endurance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. As letters get older, they get harder to read. Try this one. Use context clues to figure out words you aren’t sure of.
4. My interpretation is at the bottom of the page.

Lesson 56

1. Read the definition of enthusiasm. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. The farther you go back in history, the harder the handwriting gets. Even those who grew up writing in cursive have trouble with this. Just give it a try today.
4. Read this page on transcribing (writing down what something says) on handwritten documents.
5. Try it. Can you get through the one line. Remember that you aren’t translating it. You aren’t writing it how we would write it today. You are just trying to read each letter and write it down. Scroll past the first image of a letter. Try the second one, under where it mentions the word artillery. That’s the easier one. If you want to try more, try the one under it with the word “afraid” in it. There is a sentence transcribed for you under the photo.

Lesson 57

1. Enthusiasm
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Go back to writing cursive. Write down each letter in your first, middle and last name. Make sure you use uppercase letters for the first letters!

Lesson 58

1. Enthusiasm
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Now connect the letters. Use these word worksheets to figure out how to connect the other letters together. Each page has a capital letter example.

Lesson 59

1. Read the definition of faith. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Faith
3. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
4. Practice writing your whole name, including middle name.

Lesson 60

1. Faith
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Look at these samples. Come up with a signature all your own. Write it at least twenty times.
   • one
   • two
   • three
   • four

Lesson 61

1. Faith
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. You are going to need your signature to make official many documents in your lifetime. One such document is the check, a method of payment. Before we get to that, let’s start with learning about banks.
4. Write your signature. We call it “signing your name.” When you need to sign something, you have to write your full name, no nicknames, and sometimes your middle name is required.
5. Read about how banks work. Scroll down and read the first five pages. Stop at “Credit Unions.”
6. Why is putting money in a bank better than just keeping it at home?  (answer: It’s protected at the bank; it can grow.)
7. I won’t make you learn the math of how interest grows your money. But here’s an example of what happens if you just let your money sit in an investment that’s making stable growth. A bank account won’t grow your money this quickly, but if your money is going to be sitting around, you might as well put it in an account that will grow it. Scroll down and look at the charts and understand what they are showing.

Lesson 62

1. Read the definition of flexibility. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Sign your name.
4. There are four ways to grow your money: earn, save, invest, give.
   • Earn: Work. The best is if you can figure out how to make money doing what you love or while learning or practicing what you enjoy. If that’s not yet an option, create work that you can do. You don’t have to go out and get hired. You can create employment by offering your services. Do your best, be honorable in your dealings and people will want to use your services.
   • Save: How does saving grow your money? Well, in some ways it doesn’t. It just protects it from shrinking. But, if you combine it with investing, then it will make a big difference in growing your money. Get in the habit of saving a portion of all the money you get, at least 10%. Put it away in a savings account and don’t touch it.
   • Invest: This is when you put your money into a type of account that uses your money to earn more money. They lend your money out to others and then you get part of the money made. Sometimes you can get a fixed rate of return on your money. That would be a lower amount, but you are sure to get it. Sometimes it’s a risk to put your money in an investment and you could lose all of your money if the people you lend your money to don’t make any money.
   • Give: In God’s economy it’s more blessed to give than to receive. The disciples pass out 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and end up with 12 baskets full of food. They ended up with more by giving. When Elijah asked the widow for bread, she gave up her last bit of food, but she ended up with a never-ending supply of oil. This isn’t a formula to get rich. God can see in your heart if you are giving out of love or out of greed!

Lesson 63

1. Flexibility (In many ways you could also call this trusting God.)
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Sign your name.
4. Let’s look at what the Bible says about these things. Let’s start with saving money. Explain to someone what the following verses teach about saving.

Saving

Proverbs 13:11

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

Lesson 64

1. Flexibility
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Now let me share a little more about investing. Investing is related to saving because it’s where you save your money. There are safe ways to invest your money, like in a bank that is insured so that you are sure to get your money back if anything happened. There are unsafe investments: the bigger the promise of how much money you’ll make in an investment, the bigger the risk the investment is. People have lost all of their money, their homes, their savings, everything, by making poor investment choices. Don’t get enticed by a get-rich-quick scheme.
4. Also, when you invest, you are lending your money to someone else. They may use your money for things you wouldn’t approve of as a Christian. Think about how your money will be used. Just making money shouldn’t be your highest aim.
5. There are also different kinds of investments in terms of what access you’ll have to your money. Sometimes you won’t be able to get your money for years. Sometimes you’ll have full access to your money. There are lots of decisions to be made. Your first investment should probably be putting your money into a savings account at your parent’s bank.
6. Now a little about giving. You can also be thoughtful about how you give. Some things may sound great, like organizations that help kids with cancer, but then if you research them you find out that most of the money you give goes to advertising for the organization instead of to the kids’ families. Giving is a lot of fun. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. It should make you happy to give. God may give you the faith and desire to give away lots of your money. If God places that in your heart (and it’s not from a feeling of guilt), then I personally would encourage you to give big. Your parents will be your best money guides in the years to come, so let them help you make these big decisions.

Lesson 65

1. Flexibility
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Giving could also be on the other side of our money talk, talking about saving. Where does your money go?
4. Some should go to savings; some should go to giving.  A goal would be to put at least 10% toward each, but it’s great to add to both those amounts any time you are able. While you are young, it’s a great time to save because you don’t have pressing needs like paying for a home or food for your family. Smart saving now will bless your now and future family.
5. When I suggest putting money into saving and giving away a portion of your money, I’m talking about budgeting, deciding where your money goes.
6. What does the Bible say about budgeting? Explain to someone what each of these verses teach about budgeting.

Luke 14:28–30

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?”

Lesson 66

1. Read the definition of generosity. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Now there’s one huge topic that remains when talking about money. That’s debt. Debt is when you borrow money from someone and have to pay it back. When you pay it back, they collect interest. This is when interest works against you. Instead of making extra money, you pay extra money. We’ll look at the math of this later. First let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this. Read this article about debt. Explain to someone the five principles.

Lesson 67

1. Read from the beginning through the second purpose for money, to give to Christians. Stop at the third purpose and you’ll start there tomorrow.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through these verses on debt. Explain to someone the general guideline that the Bible gives about debt.

Debt

Lesson 68

1. Generosity  Start where you left off, with the third purpose for money. Finish the article.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Sign your name.
4. Debt is bad. Why do people go into debt? There are many reasons. The biggest reason is that they buy a home. This kind of debt is called a mortgage. The bank owns your home and you pay for it bit by bit each month, all the while paying interest. If you don’t know how interest works, here’s a video.
5. Read this article to see just how much interest people pay a bank when they borrow money to buy a house.
6. Do you see that you can pay more in interest than the house is worth? If you like graphs, check out the top one which shows what percentage of your monthly mortgage payment is going to the bank instead of to paying for your house.
7. I admit it’s hard to buy a house without borrowing money. If you ever do borrow money, your goal should be to pay it back as fast as you can instead of giving as little as you can each month. It may seem like you have less money each month that way, but in the long run you are saving potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
8. I do want to tell you that there are people who have bought their home without borrowing. The original article has been taken down because they put it into a book, but they have had five sons buy debt-free homes.

Lesson 69

1. Generosity
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. The article you read on Day 68 talked about being careful what you grow an appetite for. If you grow an appetite for something, you could be wasting your time and money on it for years and years to come.
4. One thing that feeds appetites is credit. Credit is buying something with money you don’t have. You swipe your card and the bank pays for you. You can pay it back later, bit by bit. I hope you already realize how dangerous this is. You could buy something for $100 and end up paying $1000 for it. Why would you do that? Now I do use a credit card. I use it because it’s convenient. I don’t have to worry about having enough money in my wallet. However, I ALWAYS pay my whole credit card bill in full each month. I never pay interest, and I never pay fees. It’s free for me to have the convenience of not carrying cash.
5. Never buy something you can’t pay for. If it’s not in your budget, save up until you have the money for it.
6. Maybe you’ve heard the mantra, “Save up for new; buy used; save the difference.” Buying a car that’s been used even one day is lots cheaper than buying a new one. You can save thousands by buying a car that’s just a year old. You don’t need new things to get good things. Be smart about your purchases. Be smart about saving. Be smart about controlling your desires. Be smart about what’s important.
7. Cash vs. credit  (Alternate link) If you were diligent to save, you’d have the money needed when a problem came up.
8. Take the spending quiz. (Alternate link) Okay, so you may not have a credit card. It didn’t always have options that I would have chosen. It’s a little just for fun, a little to think about choices.

Lesson 70

1. Generosity – This is a quote from a martyred missionary. What does it mean? What are examples of things you can and can’t hold onto?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch this video to understand how credit card companies make you their slave.
4. Play the personal finance adventure or play the budget game (in pounds or euros).
   • Click on “Join the Revolution” and then create an account. You have to activate it by clicking on a link in your email.
5. Maybe take a screen shot for your portfolio.
6. Just for fun…”The Ultimate Gift,” by Jim Stovall, is a lesson on money. It’s a book and a movie.

Lesson 71

1. Read the definition of gentleness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Here is an article on ways to earn college credit. There are ways to work towards earning a degree while in high school. Earning credit also shows college admissions officers that you are college ready.

Lesson 72

1. Read these verses about gentleness.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Sign your name.
4. On Day 71 you read about the advantages of a checking account.
5. Learn how to write a check (alternate link). (If this were on paper, you would have to sign your name. Practice your signature.)
6. Enter the Reality Check.
7. If you are interested in learning about personal finance, here are some links.
   • test 
   • DSST

Lesson 73

1. Read the definition of gratefulness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. On Day 71 you also read a little about keeping your credit card safe. You don’t want to ever give your credit card number to anyone you don’t trust. Only enter the number on e-commerce websites that will protect your information. There are many scams out there that aim to get your credit card or other sensitive personal information. When you enter your credit card or other info online, they have you use a login. Use a strong password with capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers. Don’t just write a word. Don’t use your name or birth date.
4. Read this article about scams that try to get your money and steal your information. I have gotten emails like these several times. A few times they were fake emails from PayPal. One said it was from Western Union and that I had money and had to log in to get it. Don’t fall for it. You can always go to the company’s real website and look carefully to compare the two.
5. This isn’t to scare you, but you need to be smart about using the internet.
6. Be honest with your parents if you encounter anything questionable online. They can help you. If you are finding it hard to avoid certain things, make a plan with your parents for how to help you. You can use a service that will block certain types of pages or things like chat rooms or even turn off internet access at a certain time of day. It’s a good idea to use some sort of help in keeping you and your siblings (and parents!) safe on the internet. One free service is called K9.

Lesson 74

1. Gratefulness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read each part of this internet safety/cyber bullying page.
   • Why is it so common?
   • Why is it so dangerous?

Lesson 75

1. Gratefulness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Sign your name.
4. Use your study skills to prepare for a test on what you’ve learned so far this semester.

Lesson 76*

1. Read the definition of hospitality. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. *Take the test.
4. Check your answers. Add 1 point to your total if you answered all the questions. There’s no reason to leave one blank. If you don’t know, make an effort to try. Record your score total on your course progress tracking sheet. (Total is 20 points. If it says to write “three” things, that’s for three points. The interest question has two parts, so that’s worth two points.)

Lesson 77

1. Hospitality
2. Create a Lumosity account. Say you want to learn it all. If you plan on taking the public speaking DSST, then read through this page before beginning this course, so you can pull out and take notes on relevant info.
3. Go through the key terms and introduction to public speaking. Just go through the reading quickly.
4. There is a fascinating three-part documentary about your brain, its capability and how to tap into its capability. If you can find it on YouTube (or elsewhere), I suggest watching it. It’s called, Redesign My Brain. In part 1 he uses games, like in Lumosity. Part 2 is about becoming more creative. I’m going to ask you to do some creative exercises. You can also develop your creativity by doing one thing differently every day. Eat something new; brush your teeth with the opposite hand; take a different route. You are just doing a little brain training in this course. If you want to do more, you need to take the initiative.

Lesson 78*

1. Read the definition of humility. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read through page 3 on the parts of a speech. Read the text on page 3 and skim the ACA Open Knowledge Guide. Pull out the important information. Skip the Flash presentation at the bottom of the page.
4. *Print the analyzing speeches assignment.

Lesson 79

1. Humility
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Watch this video and fill out the sheet on analyzing speeches you printed on Day 78.

Lesson 80

1. Humility
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a mug can you come up with? Write down your list.
3. Go through this page on planning a speech and then do the first two matching activities on page 5.
4. Record your score plus 7. Bonus!

Lesson 81

1. Humility
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read about overcoming fear of public speaking.
4. Watch this short video on overcoming fear of speaking.
5. This article says that trying to relax backfires, that it’s better to convert nervous to excitement. Take that nervous energy and consider yourself energized! (You don’t have to read it unless you want to. He’s speaking from an introverted perspective.)
6. Here are some more tips about public speaking.

Lesson 82

1. Humility  and this one.
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read this introduction to learning about the voice and ethics.
4. Warm up your voice.
5. Watch a video on ethics.
6. For a reminder, here’s another way you can practice your signature.

Lesson 83

1. Read the definition of initiative. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read about analyzing and connecting with your audience.
4. Watch about knowing your audience.
5. Watch one more on audience context.

Lesson 84

1. Initiative
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Prepare a 2-3 minute personal introduction speech. Read the top two paragraphs. You will not be following the numbered directions. You will be presenting your speech to a live audience. Pretend your audience knows nothing about you. Read over your rubric before you begin preparing so that you know what you’ll be scored on. You will not be scored on “sources.”
4. Write and practice giving your speech. Time yourself.

Lesson 85

1. Initiative
2. Let’s get creative. Read the “What’s a… duh… Droodle?” section. You are going to be looking at a simple line drawing and coming up with as many different, creative descriptions as to what it is like in the “bow tie caught in the elevator” example. You will be using the pictures on page 2. Imagine that they are numbered going across. The top row would be numbered 1 through 4. In the second row the pictures would be numbered 5 through 8 and so on down to 20. Start the one minute timer. How many different pictures do you see in this picture? Use picture 1. Write down your list.
3. Sign your name.
4. Give your speech.
5. Have your audience score you using this rubric. (Skip “sources” and “audience.”)  The total possible is 20. Record your score.

Lesson 86

1. Initiative  and one more
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read this introduction on the importance of listening. Skip the last paragraph. Don’t worry about it.
4. Read about effective listening. Use the arrow to turn the page.
5. Watch about being an active listener.
6. Use the ideas to practice listening. Listen for 10 minutes to this famous sermon, “Ten Shekels and a Shirt.”

Lesson 87

1. Read the definition of joyfulness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice listening. Listen for 20 minutes to this famous sermon, from 10 to 30 minutes.

Lesson 88

1. Joyfulness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice listening. Listen to the end of this famous sermon, start at 30 minutes.

Lesson 89

1. Joyfulness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Watch the video about verbal and non-verbal communication. This has a part two which will load after the first.
4. Prepare a 2-3 minutes speech about your parents or other family members. Prepare and practice (out loud) today. Think about non-verbal communication. Are you communicating that you are confident by how you stand? Read over your rubric before you begin preparing so that you know what you’ll be scored on. You will not be scored on “sources.”

Lesson 90

1. Read the definition of love. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Let’s get creative. Let me give you a hint on being creative. Think like a little kid, where anything is possible. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a pane of glass can you come up with? Write down your list. (Why do things like this? You need creative thinking in order think creatively to solve problems. You can train yourself to be more creative, and it can help you come up with a solution when you are faced with an “impossible” problem.)
3. Give your speech.
4. Have your audience score you using this rubric. (Skip “sources” and “audience.”)  The total possible is 20. Record your score.

This is the end of the second grading period. If you want to save things for a portfolio, you could save your speech rubric with your scores on it, along with your written speech. At this point in the course, I suggest your grade still be based on satisfactory completion of each day divided by 45 days.

Lesson 91

1. Love
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read this introduction to choosing a topic, researching it and preparing to deliver a speech.
4. Read about selecting a topic, researching it and preparing an outline. Use the arrows to turn the page to keep reading.
5. What are the five bullets? Explain each one.  (part of the answer: The five bullets. They are an introduction, the thesis statement, the body of the speech, the conclusion, and the closure statement.)
6. Practice your signature, or use paper.
7. Though we run on donations, EP is free! If you are paying an organization for these lessons, they may be scamming you. All of our courses are available for free. If a company is charging you for an account to get these lessons, please make sure you are getting other services that warrant the cost. And, if they are promising transcripts and diplomas, make sure their customers are getting what they are promising. We don’t want to see you scammed.

Lesson 92

1. Love
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Learn about choosing a topic.
4. Choose a topic for a “how to” speech.  (It can be anything: how to set the table, how to sleep in, how to make a perfect speech, how to make potato soup, whatever you are interested in.)
5. Make a five-bullet outline. Write an intro and thesis as well as a conclusion and closure line. You can leave the body blank for now. The body will contain the steps for how to do whatever it is. There should not be steps/directions in the intro and conclusion.

Lesson 93

1. Love
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Write the body of your speech. These are your steps to do whatever you are going to be explaining.

Lesson 94

1.  Love.  This is something you can do as a family.
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Sign your name.
4. Perfect your intro and conclusion, especially your opening line, your thesis and your closing line. Make people interested. Leave them feeling satisfied.
5. Practice your speech out loud. Remember that how you present your content is as important as what you actually say. Here’s how you will be graded: rubric.

Lesson 95

1. Read the definition of loyalty. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Let’s get creative. Need some more inspiration to get creative? Check out this picture of four elephants investigating an orange. Start the one minute timer. How many different pictures do you see in picture number 2 (the second one in the top row)? Write down your list.
3. Give your speech.
4. Have your audience score you using this rubric. (Skip “sources” and “audience.”)  The total possible is 20. Record your score.

Lesson 96

1. Loyalty
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read all of the pages on the importance of words.
4. Write down the 6 Cs.
5. How did the speeches you read do in terms of the 6 Cs?

Lesson 97

1. Loyalty   examples
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Watch this video on word choice.
4. Here’s a video on what to do and not to do when giving a speech and ways to prepare.
5. You are going to give a speech telling a story about your life. It can be funny, sad, best day, worst day… Start working on your 5 bullets. Write an intro, conclusion, opening, thesis, closure. Your speech should be 3 to 5 minutes.

Lesson 98

1. Read the definition of meekness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Today work on the body of your speech. Think about the 6 Cs.

Lesson 99

1. Meekness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Finish your speech. Think about your bullets; make them great. Think about the 6 Cs. Edit your speech.
4. Practice it out loud. Think about how you will be graded: rubric.

Lesson 100

1. Meekness
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a ruler can you come up with? Write down your list.
3. Give your speech.
4. Have your audience score you using this rubric. (Skip “sources” and “audience.”)  The total possible is 20. Record your score.

Lesson 101

1. Meekness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read this introduction to informative speaking.
4. Read about informational speeches.
5. Watch this video on how to pick a topic for an informational speech.
6. Choose a topic (not a how-to). Be specific. Your speech should be three to five minutes.

Lesson 102

1. Morality
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read about visual aids.
4. Which is which? These are the dos and don’ts of visual aids.
5. Gather information/statistics that would work on a visual aid. Work on a visual aid for your topic.
6. Practice your signature, or use paper.

Lesson 103

1. Read the definition of obedience. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Watch this video on how to use openers in public speaking.
4. Watch this video on Steve Job’s presentations.
5. Start working on your speech. Get that opener right. Remember your five bullets.
6. Get the opening and closing (with intro and conclusion) done today.

Lesson 104

1. Obedience
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Here’s your reminder of how to organize your speech.
4. Write your body.

Lesson 105

1. Obedience
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many different pictures do you see in picture number 3? Write down your list.
3. Finish your speech.

Lesson 106

1. Obedience
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Finish your speech and your visual aid.
4. Here is your rubric.
5. You will also be scored on your visual aid.

Lesson 107

1. Read the definition of orderliness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Give your speech.
4. Have your audience score you using this rubric. (Skip “sources” and “audience.”)  The total possible is 20.
5. Score up to ten points for your visual aid. Did it enhance your presentation, make it more interesting? Was it carefully and neatly done? Was it colorful and attractive? Was it clear what purpose it served?  Score up to two points for each of those questions. Add two points for having a visual aid. Total 10 points.
6. Record your score out of 30.
7. Put your speech in your portfolio.

Lesson 108

1. Orderliness  and another and another
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Can you think of situations in a business setting where you would need communication skills?
4. Here’s a list. How many did you get?
5. Role play with someone where you ask for a raise. Stop and think first. You wanting or even needing money isn’t a good incentive. What would matter to your employer? Come at it from their perspective.

Lesson 109

1. Orderliness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Role play a job interview with someone. Pick whatever job you want. If your interviewer needs help, here are some sample questions. Think about how you present yourself. Start with a hello and a handshake. Think about word choice.

Lesson 110

1. Read the definition of patience. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a water bottle can you come up with? Write down your list.
3. Read through several of the answers. Why are these answers considered good answers? What do they say about you as a prospective employee?

Lesson 111

1. Patience and patience
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read about making speeches on special occasions.
4. Which speech is which?
5. Choose a type of special occasion speech for your next speech.

Lesson 112

1. Patience
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Watch this graduation speech.
4. Watch these videos on how to prepare and deliver a wedding toast.
   • intro
   • know your audience
   • what it should be
5. Watch this video on how to write a eulogy.
6. Write the opening and introduction to your speech. You will be giving your speech on day 115. It is to be four to five minutes long.

Lesson 113

1. Read the definition of persuasiveness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Work on your speech. It should be four to five minutes. If you are given a time expectation, you need to make sure you meet it! Finishing in time will be part of your score.

Lesson 114

1. Persuasiveness  and another
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Sign your name.
4. Finish your speech.

Lesson 115

1. Persuasiveness  Read part 1, (I.)
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many different pictures do you see in picture number 4? Write down your list.
3. Give your speech. It needs to be timed.
4. Time the speech. Have your audience score you using this rubric. Consider the intended audience, not who actually heard it. The total possible is 32. Take off a point for every 30 seconds off!

Lesson 116

1. Persuasiveness  Read part 2, (II.)
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Let’s not forget our signatures. Practice writing your signature.
4. We are going to take a detour before we learn about persuasive and argumentative speaking (or debating).
5.  We’re going to be learning about logic. Along with logic, we will be looking at bias in the media as well as propaganda.
6. In these types of speeches you will hear what we call logical fallacies, which are basically bad arguments. The speaker may be using them very purposefully to trick people into agreeing with them. You need to be able to spot them so that you don’t fall for the trick. An example would be Al Gore saying that “all scientists” believe in global warming as a threat to the world, and so we all need to believe it too. Has he spoken to every scientist in the world? No. When there is something that is growing in popularity, then people use that to try to make others feel like it must be true and they should join in. That’s called the “bandwagon” fallacy. It’s what we call a logical fallacy. Here’s another example.
7.  The strawman fallacy
8. The fallacy fallacy
9. Come up with examples of each.

Lesson 117

1. Persuasiveness  Read numbers 3, 4, 5.
2. Play 5 minute mystery. You’ll need to create an account.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. The False Cause Fallacy.  Here’s an example. I wore red and then our soccer team lost. I’m never going to wear red again to a game, and we’ll win the championship!
5. Appeal to emotion.  An example is a commercial that uses American pride to make you want to buy their American-made product.
6. The slippery slope fallacy.
7. Come up with examples of each.

Lesson 118

1. Persuasiveness  Read numbers 6, 7, 8.
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. The ad hominem fallacy.  Political campaign advertisements are great places to see a lot of these fallacies.
5. The tu quoque fallacy.  These strange words are Latin. There is a strong Latin foundation to what we know as logic and rhetoric, the words we speak.
6. Special pleading
7. Come up with examples of each.

Lesson 119

1. Persuasiveness  Read numbers 9 and 10.
2. Practice writing your signature.
3. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
4. Loaded question
5. Burden of proof
6. Come up with examples of each.

Lesson 120

1. Persuasiveness  Read numbers 11, 12, 13.
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a box of Q-tips can you come up with? Write down your list.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. Ambiguity
5. The gambler’s fallacy
6. Composition/division
7. Come up with examples of each.

Lesson 121

1. Persuasiveness  Read the REMARKS.
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. No True Scotsman
5. Genetic
6. Black or White
7. Come up with an example of each.
8. Put some of your examples in your portfolio.

Lesson 122

1. Read the definition of punctuality. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play 5 minute mystery.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. Begging the Question (or circular argument)
5. Appeal to Nature
6. Anecdotal
7. Come up with an example of each.

Lesson 123(*)

1. Punctuality
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. Texas Sharp Shooter   The saying goes that you can find a statistic to support anything.
5. Middle Ground   When you read examples of fallacies, they can be very biased. They will choose things they are against as the examples of the ones using the fallacies. This example does just that. (FYI: There have been many court cases won where it was shown that the child’s autism was caused by a vaccine.) Just because there are flimsy arguments for something you are for does not make all arguments for it wrong. But you know that, that would be a logical fallacy.
6. Come up with an example of both of the above fallacies.
7. (*) For review, look over (and print out if you like) this page of all of the fallacies we just quickly went over.

Lesson 124

1. Punctuality
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. Read this story, Love Is a Fallacy, which presents many fallacies in it.
5. *Then complete this worksheet on fallacies by finding examples from the story. Find all the examples you can.
6. There are ten answers for that worksheet. Score 1 point for each example you provided. Record your score. There are some where there was more than one example, so you could get some extra credit on this one.
7. Here is an answer guide if you need/want it.

Lesson 125

1. Read the definition of resourcefulness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many different pictures do you see in picture number 6? Write down your list.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. What fallacy is taking place in this story?
   • One day, Janie and her mom are baking a ham.  In preparing the ham for the oven, Janie’s mom cuts off the bottom third of the ham before putting the rest of it in the pan to go into the oven.  Janie asks, “Mom, why do you cut off the bottom third of the ham like that?”  Janie’s mom replies, “Well, I do it because that’s the way grandma does it.”  So Janie asks, “Ok, why does grandma do that?”  Mom replies, “I don’t know, let’s call her.” They call grandma and ask.  Grandma says, “I do it because great-grandma did it that way.”  So Janie asks, “Why did she do it that way?”  Grandma replies, “I don’t know, let’s call her.”  They call great-grandma and ask, “Nana, in our family we always cut the bottom third of the ham off before putting it in the oven.  Why do we do that?”  Great-grandma replies, chuckling, “You know, I never understood why all you fools keep doing that.  I did it because I never had a pan big enough for a full ham!”
   • Answer: (Some call this Tradition. “It’s always been done this way, so it must be right.”)
   • You’ll find there are all sorts of fallacies out there, and many fall under others as types of fallacies. There’s not just one list out there of what they are. The important thing is to see the flaw and to be able to address it.
     
5. What is the flaw in this argument?
   • A scientist wanted to know if all odd numbers were prime.  He checked 3, 5, and 7.  He decided that must mean all odd numbers are prime.
   • Answer: (This is a hasty generalization. Just because a few things checked out, doesn’t mean they all will.)
6. What flaw is in this argument?
   • I once discarded all the tax records for a particular year.  Within a short time, the IRS notified me of an audit.  They’ve never audited me for any year I kept records for.  I therefore conclude that the IRS knows which records I keep, and won’t audit me on the years when I keep the records.
   • Answer: (This is a false cause. Just because something happened and then something happened after it doesn’t mean the one caused the other.)
7. What flaw is in this argument?
   • If he was innocent, he wouldn’t be on trial.
   • Answer: (Being on trial doesn’t mean you are guilty. This could be called circular reasoning. He’s on trial to prove his innocence, but his innocence is in question because he’s on trial.)
8. These examples came from the forum at the chronicle.com.

Lesson 126

1. Resourcefulness
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Practice writing your signature.
4. Let’s look at propaganda. You’ll see that propaganda is a way logical fallacies are used.
5. Propaganda is the art of persuasion.
   • It is the spreading of ideas in order to help or hurt someone or something.
   • Its intention is that we’ll accept something without having the evidence.
   • It encourages emotion and avoids critical thinking.
6. Learn about propaganda in political campaigns. Click on the Youtube links. A couple of pages down in the presentation it will talk about each one.
7. Here’s some more propaganda in advertising.

Lesson 127

1. Resourcefulness and one more
2. Play 5 minute mystery.
3. Read through this page on the message of advertising and answer the questions concerning the Messy Marvin ad. Keep scrolling. It will direct you to watch the clip again and answer more questions. You will NOT watch the Pepsi commercial. There’s immodest dress in it.

Lesson 128

1. Read the definition of responsibility. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Play a Lumosity game.
3. Read through the beginning and complete activity one on identifying fact from opinion in advertising.
4. Think about it: how are opinions used in advertising as propaganda?

Lesson 129

1. Responsibility
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Read this quote from Noam Chomsky’s Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda about slogans used as propaganda.
   • In fact, what does it mean if somebody asks you, Do you support the people in Iowa? Can you say, Yes, I support them, or No, I don’t support them? It’s not even a question. It doesn’t mean anything. That’s the point. The point of public relations slogans like “Support our troops” is that they don’t mean anything. They mean as much as whether you support the people in Iowa. Of course, there was an issue. The issue was, Do you support our policy? But you don’t want people to think about that issue. That’s the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That’s the one you’re not allowed to talk about. So you people arguing about support for the troops? “Of course I don’t not support them.” Then you’ve won. That’s like Americanism and harmony. We’re all together, empty slogans, let’s all join in, let’s make sure we don’t have these bad people around to disrupt our harmony with their talk about class struggle, rights and that sort of business.
   • How are slogans used as propaganda?

Lesson 130

1. Responsibility
2. Let’s get creative. Start the one minute timer. How many uses for a fan can you come up with? Write down your list.
3. Scroll down and read, “What is Propaganda?” and “A Sound Example.” Stop at “Hidden Messages.”

Lesson 131

1. Responsibility  (I think I may have linked to this before, but I like it. Take responsibility for teaching your siblings good things by example.)
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Scroll down and go through the section, “Hidden Messages.” Stop at “Is Propaganda Always Negative?”

Lesson 132

1. Read the definition of reverence. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Scroll down and go through the section, “Is Propaganda Always Negative?“

Lesson 133

1. Reverence  Read the first two sections.
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read “What is propaganda?“
4. What is the opposite of propaganda? (We’ll come back to this.)

Lesson 134

1. Reverence  Read the section, Romans 3:18.
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Read the two speeches and compare them. What details were changed? added?

Lesson 135

1. Read the definition of security. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Look at this list of propaganda techniques and use it to identify propaganda in the speeches.
4. Do you think it’s possible for a reporter to be absolutely neutral?

This is the end of the third quarter. It’s time to save some things for your portfolio. Print out some samples of the types of materials you are using. You can either grade based on days completed, or you can make that 60% of your grade and figure 40% of your grade to be your speeches and things.

Lesson 136

1. Security
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this article about the propaganda campaign against schools.
4. What does she say are the methods used in the propaganda campaign?  (Answer: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
5. Be aware when something stirs up these feelings in you. (They tried really hard to do this in 2020!) The Bible commands, “Do not be afraid!” Get control of your emotions and find out the other side to the story.

Lesson 137

1. Read the definition of self-control. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Since education is supposed to be the opposite of propaganda, people sometimes disguise propaganda as educational material.
4. Read this article about propaganda in schools.

Lesson 138

1. Self-control  and Self-control and Self-control
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Here are some examples of propaganda in schools.
   • one
   • two
4. Read the assignment on page 6. Numbers 4, 5 and 6 are propaganda. Why? (For number 4: There are three branches of the government, each with different jobs.)
5. Here’s another example from a different political perspective. These are examples of changes to textbooks in Texas. Any idea what the propaganda message is?
6. Here’s another about the second amendment.
7. Look at these pictures to see some examples of history being altered: one, two.

Lesson 139

1. Self-control
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Look through this page pointing out errors about Jewish history.

Lesson 140

1. Self-control
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. What is this article saying about the headlines?
4. Of course, posters and political cartoons aim to make a point at a glance as well.
5. Politicians use headlines. Here’s one from WWII. What does it make it sound like?
   • The truth was that the British were sailing their ships with neutral flags. If they were hit, the Germans were blamed for firing upon neutral ships.
   • The Lusitania was sunk, a passenger ship with Americans on board. They were carrying small-arms ammunition.
   • Here are some headlines. one  two
6. How are headlines used? This was a fake front page published in the Boston Globe’s Sunday Ideas section in April 2016 (before Donald Trump was elected president in November 2016). It’s an editorial representation of what could happen if… i.e. “If Trump is elected president, this is what the headlines could be in a year.” Read through it, think critically, and look for “red flag” words and phrases (like “may,” “some think,” “possibly,” that show these aren’t really facts) so you can recognize what is editorializing/opinion verses the reporting of facts.

Lesson 141

1. Self-control and self-control and Self-control
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Below is from one of my assignments in the Modern History course.
   • Here’s a quote about the “corrupt bargain” from Education Portal’s American History course. “[Clay would] help get Adams elected president only if Adams would name Clay Secretary of State. Clay believed that the job of Secretary of State was the perfect launching pad for his future presidential ambitions. Adams agreed, and the deal was struck.”
   • That lesson assumes the corrupt bargain happened.
   • Read this quote from a lesson from NROC’s history course:  “Since Adams was such a moral man, it is unlikely that the accusations of corruptness were accurate.”
   • This time the lesson assumes the bargain didn’t happen, making an inference based on what we know of Adams. However, the other course just calls it a fact when we don’t really know what happened behind closed doors.
   • This is an example of a differing “facts” in history texts. History isn’t always as factual as it seems. History is always viewed from a perspective. In one of the lessons, Jackson is viewed as doing wrong, and in the other, Adams.
   • Our family used to live in Macedonia. When a different political party won the election, the schools got new textbooks. Why? That party wanted their version of history taught!
   • Why would they want their version of history taught?

Lesson 142

1. Read the definition of sensitivity. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch this video on how children in schools are taught to use propaganda!  How would teaching kids to be manipulative and to use fear and anger hurt relationships and damage their ability to have logical discussions about important topics?

Lesson 143

1. Sensitivity and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this lesson on bias in scientific research.

Lesson 144

1. Sensitivity
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. What do you think of the manipulation in these ads?
   • Dove, watch video
   • Look at the Time magazine cover on the right.

Lesson 145

1. Read the definition of sincerity. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Look at these ads. What are they selling? How are they selling it? Some are selling more than one thing. Go through the backpack today.

Lesson 146

1. Sincerity and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Look at these ads. What are they selling? How are they selling it? Some are selling more than one thing. Start at the backpack today.

Lesson 147(*)

1. Sincerity
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. (*)Make an ad.

Lesson 148

1. Sincerity
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read through this definition of persuasive speech and through these types of speeches. Your next speeches are going to aim at convincing people of something.
4. Some of this should sound familiar. Are you going to use propaganda techniques in your speeches?

Lesson 149

1. Sincerity
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Learn about persuasive speech.
4. Did you take notes? You haven’t forgotten all you learned about taking notes, have you? And good study techniques? There were four pieces to effective persuasion. What were they? They should be in your notes.
5. If they are in your notes, record four points, all extra credit. Virtual high five!

Lesson 150

1. Read the definition of thoroughness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read about passionate speech.
4. Read about Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Lesson 151

1. Thoroughness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read this sample speech by Stephanie Cloward.
4. Think of the four points of persuasive speech. How are they used in this speech?

Lesson 152

1. Thoroughness  and Thoroughness.  I don’t personally think God cares so much about hygiene, except that it shows care for His creation and love for those who have to be around us. 🙂
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read the steps of Monroe’s “Motivated Sequence.”
4. Read about the psychology of persuasion.

Lesson 153

1. Thoroughness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Read Sojourner Truth’s famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”
4. Look for persuasive techniques.

Lesson 154

1. Read the definition of thriftiness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Read this assignment for Sojourner Truth’s speech. Read the questions and then reread the speech with them in mind. (You aren’t writing answers yet.)

Lesson 155

1. Thriftiness and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Answer the first two questions about the speech.
   • questions
   • speech

Lesson 156

1. Thriftiness  and another
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Answer the second two questions about the speech.
   1. • questions
      • speech
4. Score up to 6 points for each answer if there were at least six sentences in the answer and they appropriately responded to the question.
5. Record up to 24 points.

Lesson 157

1. Thriftiness
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Watch the short video on writing the introduction to a speech.
4. Watch the short video on tips for persuasive speeches.
5. Watch the short video on writing the conclusion to your persuasive speech.

Lesson 158

1. Read the definition of tolerance. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Before you start writing, write down this outline of how a persuasive speech should be written and then choose a famous persuasive speech to read for inspiration.

Lesson 159

1. Tolerance
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. Write an analysis of your audience. Who are they? (Male, female, ages, education level, social status…) What are their feelings about your topic? What exposure have they had to the topic? Look at the rubric below, before you start writing.
4. Here is the rubric for how it will be scored. Pay attention to length and what kind of details you could include.
5. Stuck on a topic? Here’s a list.

Lesson 160

1. Tolerance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Write an outline for your speech. Check out the rubric.

Lesson 161

1. Tolerance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on writing your speech. You have three days.

Lesson 162

1. Tolerance
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on writing your speech.

Lesson 163

1. Read the definition of truthfulness. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on writing your speech. This is your last writing day.

Lesson 164

1. Truthfulness
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. A speech isn’t meant to be read. It’s meant to be heard, and nowadays, seen. Read this article on effective speaking techniques.
4. What were some of his tips on body language?
5. What does it mean to be engaged with your audience?

Lesson 165

1. Truthfulness and again
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Give your speech to an audience.
4. Your speech project should be scored with this rubric.
5. Divide your score in half.
6. Record your score out of 50.

Lesson 166

1. Don’t forget to be practicing your signature. Sign your full name now. Sometimes it’s required for you to sign your middle initial. Practice signing your full name with middle initial.
2. Truthfulness and another
3. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
4. Argumentative speaking is a form of persuasive speech. It is the kind of speech done in debates. Read this introduction.
5. Read about making claims and how to agree to disagree (next page).
6. What does it mean to agree to disagree? How do you do it? What do you need to avoid?

Lesson 167

1. Practice signing your full name with middle initial.
2. Truthfulness
3. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
4. Read about the value of being a critical thinker, ethics and plagiarism (turn the page).
5. What does it mean to be a critical thinker?
6. “Knowing how to think is critical; knowing how to communicate thoughts is equally vital if we are to impact the culture and the society.” -Andrew Pudewa

Lesson 168

1. Practice signing your full name with middle initial.
2. Read the definition of virtue. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
3. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
4. Read this sample argumentative speech.
5. What elements of argumentative speech do you see in the speech?

Lesson 169

1. Practice signing your full name with middle initial.
2. Virtue
3. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
4. Watch this video on how to write an argumentative speech.

Lesson 170

1. Practice signing your full name with middle initial.
2. Virtue
3. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
4. Read this introduction to your final speech project. You will write and present an argumentative speech. It should be about four minutes.
5. Read this sample speech.
6. Choose your topic for your argumentative speech. You don’t have to choose from the list. These are just ideas.
7. Here are other topics with some research videos for you.

Lesson 171

1. Virtue
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Do research for your speech. Do you remember your research techniques from earlier this year?

Lesson 172

1. Virtue
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on your outline for your speech.

Lesson 173

1. Virtue
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on your outline and do research as necessary. The more you put into your outline, the easier it will be to write.

Lesson 174

1. Read the definition of wisdom. How do you demonstrate this character quality and when do you miss the mark?
2. Read this page on media bias and answer the questions. Read through the top section with the directions. There are explanations of different types of bias on the side, which you should read through. Then read the excerpt and answer the questions.
3. I just participated in a local vote where they were deciding about a constitutional amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution. I was struck by the bias I saw. Here’s the text of the question as it was put to voters.
   • Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration-and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration-through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?
   • What’s the bias? Can you spot any leading words?
   • It says do you want to increase power and remove the check and balance? That’s the opposite of what an American thinks they want. They are leading you to vote no.
   • However, the reality was that the PA governor had more power than any other governor. He had complete control over all the emergency stuff during the shutdowns and no one could do anything about it. The new amendment, if it passes, says there would have to be a vote instead of the governor just getting what he wants.
4. Work on writing your speech. You have three days.

Lesson 175

1. Wisdom
2. Go to Read Theory. Do the next quiz offered to you.
3. Work on writing your speech.

Lesson 176

1. Wisdom
2. Work on writing your speech.

Lesson 177

1. Wisdom
2. Read over your speech (out loud) and practice. Edit as necessary. When you read out loud, you can find problems you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Lesson 178

1. Wisdom
2. Present your speech.
3. Score it using the rubric. There are 5 bullet points. Score up to 4 points for each. Double your score.
4. Record your score out of 40.

Lesson 179

1. Wisdom
2. Watch this video on what it takes to succeed.
3. Do you have what it takes? Do you have grit? Notice how it says that certain “character qualities” are the best determination of success. What have we been learning about this year?
4. What do you notice about the difference between the two cultures of education?

Lesson 180

1. Let’s see how successful your brain training was. Follow the directions to test your creativity. You can test your memory as well.
2. Decide on one character quality you want to work on. Ask your parents to choose one trait they’d like you to work on. Read through those pages. (Find it on the drop-down menu on the top right of the page.)
3. Write a plan of action for both character traits. Many of the character traits have a section about “how to demonstrate” that quality which might help you. What are you going to do? When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? Who will hold you accountable for doing it?
4. One final project: invest in others. You are not more important than everyone else in the world. Be confident in who you are so that you are wanting and willing to build up those around you.
5. Find your final grade for the course. I suggest multiplying your grade by .4. Then figure out your score for your 180 days of work by using how many days you completed of the course – completed days/180. Multiply that by .6 . Add those together or your grade. That makes your daily work worth 60% of your grade.
6. Here’s one more motivational video to send you off.

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