DLP 12th Grade

ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS (856)

Grades 9-12: Level 1

(Semester) .5 credits 

This course is designed to help develop the skills necessary for improved success in the classroom, particularly the core content classes.  Self-advocacy and frequent communication with teachers will be encouraged and reinforced.  Students are expected to bring assignments and/or study materials to class. The objective or organizational skills class is to help students stay organized, complete homework assignments, projects, study and become self advocates for their education.  Every class begins with students planning and organizing their materials, followed by consultation with the instructor, where work is prioritized.  Each class closes with students summarizing that day’s accomplishments and assessing that day’s performance. 

This is a pass/fail course where students are expected to be in class, equipped with those materials needed to accomplish their work. Students are expected to manage their time wisely, be respectful of the learning environment and complete their assignments in a timely manner.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES (913) 

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Semester) .5 credits

This course is designed to  provide students with the opportunity to participate in a variety of team-based and individual physical activities. The students assess their current levels of cardiovascular and muscle fitness by demonstrating competency in a number of specific skills and exercises. These assessments are used to set individual goals and reflect upon self-improvements.

CONTEMPORARY TEEN ISSUES​ ​(831)

Grades 11-12: Level 2

(Semester) .75 credits

This course is designed specifically for students enrolled in the Dynamic Learning Program. Its purpose is to assist students in coping effectively with life’s challenges, explore their aspirations and lifetime goals, and to address core issues impacting adolescents and society.

The course provides personal growth opportunities, as well as experiences within a group setting of engagement and collaboration. Global, national and community issues will be examined, as seen through the lens of adolescence.  Planning for one’s future after high school will also be a focal point, with students being given an opportunity to explore educational and career options via field trips and in cyberspace.

Individual research is emphasized, and students will be required to make both individual and group presentations regarding their findings. Of prime importance is assisting students in applying what they have learned to their own lives.

Upon completion of the course, students will be better equipped to understand causes and consequences of human behavior; better able to cope with their own needs and frustrations; develop a clearer concept of identity and self-worth; and strive to respect the dignity and worth of every individual.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS (818)

Grades 11-12:  Level 2

(Semester) .75 credits

This course is designed specifically for students enrolled in the Dynamic Learning Program.  Leadership skills are important for effective communication, making decisions about processes and maintaining skills that are essential to productivity and performance in the workplace and at school.  The ability to lead successful lives often depends on a person’s ability to strategize, listen to feedback and navigate social interactions with others.  Being able to develop creative solutions to solve problems is another trait that leads to success.  This course will help students find ways to implement strategies for effective problem solving, empathize with others, and ways to approach others with kindness and acceptance to foster positive relationships. 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to consistently show leadership by showing confidence in the ability to admit mistakes and improve, act as a role model for others, and be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.

NAVIGATING ADULTHOOD WITH CONFIDENCE (820)

Grades 11-12:  Level 2

(Semester) .75 credits

NOT OFFERED 2025-2026

Adulting is a class designed to prepare you for realistic decision making in a variety of content areas that confront young adults. The primary focus is to develop essential skills for living on your own, in a family, or with others. This class will introduce you to the concepts and practices to successfully manage your personal finances. You will learn to develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors associated with living on your own. This class will utilize and will focus on hands-on activities, lectures, project-based learning, group discussion, videos, guest speakers, and the use of technology. Students will work independently as well as part of a small group to complete assignments. 

This course will cover topics such as automotive care, health care needs, employability, wellness and nutrition, managing money (i.e banking, budgeting, taxes, credit cards, savings/stocks), social etiquette, etc.

ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION (824)

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits 

NOT OFFERED 2025-2026

Elements of Nonfiction focuses on prose based on facts and real-world events and people, including biography and history. Writing assignments include personal narrative, journal-keeping, letter-writing, essays, news writing, and biography. Primary texts for the class include selected memoirs, newspaper articles, professional writings, recounts of historical events, and a variety of biographies.

The course emphasizes the following skills: recognizing the differences as well as the similarities between nonfiction and fiction; improving writing skills; distinguishing between the various forms of nonfiction and the reasons for employing them; becoming familiar with and using various literary devices; developing strategies for generating topics; developing editing accuracy; increasing spelling accuracy; improving reading comprehension; and expanding vocabulary.

Vocabulary is derived from literature read for class; spelling comes from individual student writing.

ELEMENTS OF POETRY (828)

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

NOT OFFERED 2025-2026

Elements of Poetry focuses on poetry and poets.  The output of student writing, combined with poetry from assorted anthologies, will provide the primary text for the class.  The writing component of the course provides students with a variety of assignments ranging from the simple to the complex, enabling students to experience what it takes to be a poet by writing poems of their own.

The course emphasizes the following skills: recognizing the distinction between connotative and denotative meaning and between figurative and literal language; improving writing skills; becoming familiar with and using various literary devices; developing editing accuracy; increasing spelling accuracy; improving reading comprehension; and expanding vocabulary. 

ELEMENTS OF FICTION ​(827)

Grades 10-12: Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

NOT OFFERED 2025-2026

Elements of Fiction is an academic English course designed for multiple grade levels as a substitute for the traditional Grades 10, 11, and 12 English classes.  It employs high interest and engaging books, short stories and prose to teach students the art of reading and writing.  These pieces of fiction are taken from a variety of sources including books, anthologies, and student-writing. 

The course provides students with a variety of writing assignments ranging from the simple to the complex and expectations are high.  Students learn to identify the various components of a piece of fiction and then practice creating various components on their own.  The goal is for students to be able to read and analyze diverse examples of fiction, with the ultimate goal of writing a high-level of fiction on their own.

The course emphasizes the following skills: recognizing the differences, as well as the similarities, between fiction and nonfiction; improving writing skills; becoming familiar with and using various literary devices; developing strategies for generating topics; developing editing accuracy; increasing spelling accuracy; improving reading comprehension; and expanding vocabulary.

Vocabulary is derived from literature read within and for the class, with spelling and grammar comes from individual student writing.

INTEGRATED GEOMETRY (871)

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

Prerequisite: A grade of D- or higher in Integrated Algebra I or teacher recommendation.

This course is similar to the Integrated Geometry course offered by the Mathematics Department and fulfills the same requirements.

Topics studied include concepts in plane geometry such as angle relationships, circles, similarity and congruence correspondences, geometric constructions, and coordinate geometry as well as systems of linear equations and inequalities, power models, symbolic manipulation of polynomial and rational expressions, properties of space-figures including area and volume and the ability to work with and estimate radicals.  

Four dimensions of understanding are emphasized: carrying out various algorithms with increasing skill, developing and using mathematical properties and relationships, applying mathematics to realistic situations and representing or picturing mathematical concepts.  

Classroom activities will include teacher and student explanations and class discussions of concepts, techniques and homework problems.

Modern Literature and Composition

Grades 9-12 Level 2

(Year Long) 1.5 credits

Modern Literature and Composition is a comprehensive English course for students in grades 9–12 that explores major works of 20th- and 21st-century literature while strengthening essential reading, writing, and thinking skills. Students engage with a diverse range of texts—including novels, short stories, graphic novels, poetry, plays, and nonfiction—by authors from a variety of cultural, social, and global backgrounds. Through close reading and discussion, the course explores key themes of the modern era such as identity, power, conflict, and social change, helping students understand how literature both reflects and shapes the contemporary world.

Alongside literary study, the course focuses on composition skills needed for academic success. Students practice analytical, argumentative, and reflective writing, developing clear thesis statements, effective organization in writing, and purposeful use of evidence. Instruction in grammar, style, and revision is integrated throughout the course to encourage skillful, effective academic writing. By the end of the course, students are prepared to read complex modern texts thoughtfully, communicate ideas effectively, and apply critical literacy skills across disciplines and real-world contexts.

INTEGRATED ALGEBRA I (839)

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

All students should take this course which focuses on algebra for a variety of reasons.  Algebra builds competency in arithmetic, encompasses formulas, graphs and the translation to the language of math of everyday situations which abound in the workplace.  Algebra also enables students to recognize that arithmetic is not merely a collection of unrelated rules and procedures.

Students should expect homework every class period and are required to have a scientific calculator for classwork and homework.  Before the purchase of calculators and notebooks, the student is advised to consult with his/­her teacher.

Integrated Algebra I exposes students to statistics and geometry as the framework for the study of linear expres­sions, equations and inequalities.  The study of probability provides a context for fractions, functions and set ideas.  Content and methodology reflect real-life applications and current technology.  Geometric concepts are integrated through­out this course as a context for algebraic applications and as preparation for geometry.  Throughout these topics, reading, problem solving and the graphic representation of solutions are emphasized.

Four dimensions of understanding are emphasized: carrying out various algorithms with increasing skill, developing and using mathematical properties and relationships, applying mathematics to realistic situations and representing or picturing mathematical concepts. 

Classroom activities will include teacher and student explanations and class discussions of concepts, tech­niques and homework problems.

INTEGRATED ALGEBRA II AND TRIGONOMETRY (834)

Grades 9-12:  Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

Prerequisite:   A grade of D- or higher in Integrated Geometry.  

This course is similar to the Integrated Algebra II and Trigonometry course offered by the Mathematics Department and fulfills the same requirements.
Topics include work with trigonometric ratios and circles, multiple-variable models, algebraic relations and functions, formal reasoning and deduction as well as further work with linear, exponential, power, and periodic models.

Four dimensions of understanding are emphasized: carrying out various algorithms with increasing skill, developing and using mathematical properties and relationships, applying mathematics to realistic situations and representing or picturing mathematical concepts.
Classroom activities will include teacher and student explanations and class discussions of concepts, techniques and homework problems.

UNITED STATES HISTORY I: U.S. History from 1763 to 1900 (833)

Grades 10 -12: Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

Students will examine the historical and intellectual origins of the United States during the Revolutionary and Constitutional eras.  The important political and economic factors that contributed to the Revolution as well as the consequences of the Revolution, including the writing and key ideas of the U. S. Constitution, will provide the foundation for this course.  Other topics to be studied in U.S. History I will be America’s westward expansion, the establishment of political parties, and economic and social change in the new nation.  The course will culminate with study of the growth of sectional conflict in the emerging nation, the resultant Civil War and the consequences of the Civil War, including Reconstruction. The reading of primary source documents is a key feature of this course.  

Students will be asked to develop a variety of skills in an effort to meet the course objectives.   Specific concepts and skills include, but are not limited to: long and short- term cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, interpretation of historical maps, charts and graphs, distinguishing intended from unintended consequences, gathering and assessing evidence, historical context and the language skills necessary to become and independent learner.

Instructional strategies and materials include the use of discussions, readings, role-playing, lectures, cooperative learning, audio-visual programs, research and computer activities.

CELLULAR BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION (836)

Grades 9-12: Level 2

(Year) 1.5 credits

This course is designed to provide ALP students with a basic understanding of the workings of cells, heredity and evolution, and prepare them for the High School Biology MCAS Exam, one of three MCAS exams that students must pass as one prerequisite for high school graduation in Massachusetts. 

Beginning with a look at cellular biology, students will learn the contents of the cell with particular emphasis on mitosis and growth, and then they learn about the cell’s role in sexual reproduction, meiosis and heredity.

The geologic time scale will be introduced with specific emphasis on the fossil record and will be used to explore topics in evolution including natural selection, adaptation, adaptive radiation and speciation.

Students are expected to recognize the patterns in inheritance that led to Mendel’s tenets of heredity and, also, those patterns within the fossil record that led to general evolutionary theory as well as Darwin’s theory of natural selection.  An appreciation for the challenges that these scientists and others faced when first introducing their paradigm-shattering theories to the scientific and political communities of their day will be stressed.

The basic concept of this course is that data and information can be utilized to make inferences about the workings of the natural world.  Students will develop the skills necessary for making a scientific inquiry, synthesizing information and communicating their information through a variety of means.

Methods of instruction consist of class discussions, field trips, laboratory studies, audio-visual presentations and guest speakers, as well as library and Internet research.