9/10 Flex English
​
What is a badge?
A badge is a symbol of a skill a student has learned. There are several tiers of badges that build foundational skills into prestige skills. The tiers of badges, and the order they are generally earned in, are: initiation, component, foundation, prestige, and prestige+.
How does a student earn a badge?
Students must demonstrate they know fully the skill required to earn each particular badge, without the support of their teacher. This means that they 'own' that skill, and it will stay with them after this course.
Search for the desired badge on this website by using the Badge map and the Prestige Badge headings at the top of the homepage. On the Prestige Badge page, you will find the Foundation Badges that make up that Prestige. Those Foundation Badges are then made up of Component Badges, which each have a description of an activity or concept that student can then demonstrate and share with their teacher, who then decides if the skill has been adequately demonstrated. Students should come up with a plan for each badge attempt before starting work, to ensure no time is wasted! Multiple badges can be awarded from one activity.
Can you give an example of how a badge might be earned?
Sure! Let's take the Evoke Emotion Component Badge which is a piece of the Audience Foundation Badge, which is itself a piece of the Artistry/Craft Prestige Badge. The description reads: "A successful text makes us care about its characters and settings. A combination of stylistic devices can help writers evoke emotion in their readers." To earn this badge, students must create a text that uses stylistic devices to make their reader care about the people and places they are writing about. This text can be a story, poem, or video that the student will then share with the teacher or the rest of the class, and if the teacher feels the criteria of this badge has been met, the badge will be awarded. The story might also help the student earn other badges too!
01
02
03
What are the journals for?
Student journals (which could be a notebook, google doc, section of a binder, blog, or anything else that's durable and can record information) are used to record thinking and work related to acquiring badges in English. Sometimes students are assigned journal entries, but students should get in the habit of making regular entries to record any reading, writing, or thinking they do. They can record their progress with developing their Inquiry Projects, too.
04
How many badges should students aim to get each week?
If students earn three badges per week, they will acquire all the necessary badges to complete English this year. Seem like a lot? Remember that some activities (writing an essay, creating a video to share) can count for multiple badges at once, and activities that involve reading and writing in other Flex classes can count towards badges too.
05
Frequently Asked Questions...
...are sometimes not enough. If your questions isn't answered on this page, please drop us a line at the email addresses at the bottom of this page!