The Lecture Hall

Shadowing Natural Speech

Students engage in a 'shadowing' technique, repeating audio immediately after hearing it to internalize the rhythm and flow of connected speech. This active processing reinforces their ability to predict and process sound streams.

Grammatical Reductions

Focusing on function words, this lesson tackles common reductions like 'gonna,' 'wanna,' and weak forms of auxiliary verbs. Students analyze unscripted interviews to catch these reductions in context.

Assimilation and Sound Changes

Students learn how sounds influence their neighbors (e.g., 'hand bag' becoming 'hambag'). The lesson uses minimal pair discrimination and dictation exercises to train ears to recognize words despite phonological changes.

Truth Tracker Pledge Lesson

Synthesizes learning through case studies of intentional vs. accidental plagiarism and concludes with an academic integrity pledge.

Final Credits Lesson

Teaches students how to compile individual citations into a cohesive, alphabetized reference list.

Basic Citations Lesson

Introduces the four core elements of a basic citation (Author, Title, Date, Source) and provides practice in locating this information.

Quoting and Paraphrasing Lesson

Students learn the mechanical and logical differences between direct quotes and paraphrasing, focusing on when to use each.

Idea Ownership Lesson

Students explore the concept of intellectual property through physical analogies and define plagiarism in an academic context.

Search Rescue

Students analyze search failures and practice iterative strategies to refine their inquiries when initial attempts don't yield the desired results.

Chief Editor Challenge

Students synthesize their evaluation skills to select the best resources for a hypothetical research scenario. They curate a small bibliography of trusted sources and justify their choices.

Master Summary Challenge

The culminating lesson where students apply all previous skills to write an original summary report based on an informational article.

Fact Check Mission

This lesson teaches the strategy of verifying information by finding it in multiple reliable sources. Students engage in a 'Fact-Check Challenge' to confirm or debunk specific claims.