Caveat Academic ServicesPractice courses · Grades 9 to 12
High School Electives
Semester-length practice courses for the electives students choose most: try one before signing up for the class, keep up during it, or explore something the school does not offer. Lessons with worked examples, practice with instant feedback, unit quizzes, a final exam and a certificate.
$19 per course, or all 10 for $79Pay once, keep access. No subscription. Families on College Prep or Check-in get every course at no extra cost.
Get all 10 electives for $79
Jump to: Life and leadership · Arts and communication · Science and technology · Core classes: High School Pathway
Life and leadership
Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Leadership elective
High School Electives: Leadership
A semester of Leadership in six units: what leadership is and its styles, knowing your strengths and values, communication and public speaking, teamwork and meetings, planning projects and events, and ethics, service and leading change. Most students finish a unit every two to three weeks, using examples from clubs, teams, jobs and community service.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- What leadership is: Defining leadership; Leadership styles; Influence, power and followership
- Knowing yourself as a leader: Self-awareness and strengths; Values and character; Goal setting and time management
- Communication and public speaking: Active listening and giving feedback; Clear messages: writing and digital communication; Public speaking
- Teamwork and running meetings: How teams develop; Running effective meetings; Decision making and conflict on teams
- Planning projects and events: From idea to plan; Budgets, roles and delegation; Running the event and reflecting
- Ethics, service and leading change: Ethical decision making; Service and community projects; Leading change and passing the torch
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Emotional Intelligence elective
High School Electives: Emotional Intelligence
A semester of Emotional Intelligence in six units: understanding emotions, self-awareness, managing stress and impulses, empathy and perspective-taking, relationships and conflict, and responsible decisions and resilience. Most students finish a unit every two to three weeks, with practical tools to try in everyday life.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- Understanding emotions: What emotional intelligence is; What emotions are and why we have them; Naming emotions precisely
- Self-awareness: Noticing emotions in the body; Triggers, thoughts and patterns; Values, strengths and mindset
- Self-management and stress: Stress and the body; Calming strategies that work; Healthy habits and impulse control
- Empathy and perspective-taking: What empathy is; Reading emotional cues; Perspective-taking and bias
- Relationships and conflict resolution: Healthy relationships and communication; Resolving conflict; Peer pressure, assertiveness and online life
- Responsible decisions and resilience: Making responsible decisions; Resilience and bouncing back; Asking for help and building your support team
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Personal Finance elective
High School Electives: Personal Finance
A semester of Personal Finance in six units: earning and paychecks, budgeting and spending choices, banking and ways to pay, saving and investing, credit and debt, and insurance, scams and big purchases. Plan on about two to three weeks per unit, with real-life decisions and short worked examples in every lesson.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- Earning income and understanding your paycheck: Income, careers and the value of skills; Reading a pay stub: gross pay, deductions and net pay; Income taxes and filing a return
- Budgeting and spending choices: Needs, wants and financial goals; Building and tracking a budget; Smart spending and consumer decisions
- Banking and payment methods: Banks, credit unions and choosing an account; Ways to pay: cash, debit, credit and apps; Managing your accounts and avoiding fees
- Saving and investing basics: Saving with a purpose and the emergency fund; Compound growth, time and inflation; Investing: risk, return and diversification
- Credit, debt and credit reports: How credit and credit cards work; Loans, borrowing costs and managing debt; Credit reports and credit scores
- Insurance, consumer protection and big purchases: Insurance: sharing the risk; Consumer protection, scams and identity theft; Paying for college and other big purchases
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Arts and communication
Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Creative Writing elective
High School Electives: Creative Writing
A semester of Creative Writing in six units: writing habits and vivid detail, character and dialogue, plot and point of view, poetry, the personal essay, and revision and workshop. Plan on about two to three weeks per unit, with original model passages, short writing activities and practice questions in every lesson.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- The writer's habits and the power of detail: Building a writing habit; The writing process: from idea to draft; Concrete detail and the five senses
- Creating characters and writing dialogue: Characters who feel real; Showing character: direct and indirect characterization; Writing dialogue
- Plot, structure and point of view: Conflict and stakes; Story structure and scenes; Point of view and narrative distance
- Poetry: image, sound and form: Images and figurative language in poems; The sound of poetry; Poetic forms: haiku, sonnet, ballad and free verse
- Creative nonfiction and the personal essay: Truth, memory and the personal essay; Shaping a personal essay; Voice, tone and style
- Revision, workshop and sharing your work: Revision: seeing the piece again; Line editing: sharper sentences; Workshop feedback and sharing your writing
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Visual Arts elective
High School Electives: Visual Arts
A semester of Art 1 in six units: the elements of art, the principles of design, drawing from observation, perspective and composition, color theory and painting basics, and art history, critique and portfolio. Each lesson includes a hands-on activity with pencil, paper and inexpensive supplies, and most students finish a unit every two to three weeks.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- The elements of art: Line and shape; Form, value and texture; Space, color and the sketchbook habit
- The principles of design: Balance, proportion and scale; Emphasis, contrast and movement; Pattern, rhythm, unity and variety
- Drawing from observation: Contour and gesture drawing; Sighting, proportion and measuring; Value and shading on form
- Perspective and composition: One-point perspective; Two-point and atmospheric perspective; Composition: planning the whole picture
- Color theory and painting: The color wheel and color mixing; Color schemes, temperature and mood; Painting basics: watercolor, tempera and acrylic
- Art history, critique and portfolio: From cave paintings to the Baroque; From Impressionism to modern art; Critique and building a portfolio
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Graphic Design elective
High School Electives: Graphic Design
A semester of Graphic Design in six units: design foundations, typography, color for screen and print, layout and image files, logos and branding, and the design process, feedback and ethics. Activities use paper, pencil and free design software, and most students finish a unit every two to three weeks.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- Design foundations: What graphic designers do; Contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity; Visual hierarchy, white space and Gestalt
- Typography: Type anatomy and classification; Spacing and readability; Type hierarchy and pairing
- Color for screen and print: RGB, CMYK and color codes; Choosing color for a design; Contrast and accessibility
- Layout, grids and image files: Layout and grids; Raster, vector and resolution; File formats and preparing files
- Logos and branding: Types of logos; Designing a logo; Brand identity and style guides
- The design process, feedback and ethics: Working with clients; Feedback, critique and your portfolio; Copyright, fair use and licensing
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Guitar elective
High School Electives: Guitar
A semester of beginning guitar in six units: the parts of the guitar and tuning, chord diagrams, tab and rhythm, the first open chords, strumming and chord changes, the notes and keys behind I–IV–V progressions, and the E minor pentatonic scale, melodies and practice habits. Each unit takes about two to three weeks at a few short practice sessions a week.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- Getting to know the guitar: Types of guitars and their parts; Strings, string numbers and standard tuning; Posture, the pick and the fretting hand
- Reading chord charts, tab and rhythm: Reading chord diagrams; Reading tablature; Rhythm basics: beats, measures and note values
- Your first open chords: E minor, E major and A minor; A major, D major and D minor; C major and G major
- Strumming, rhythm and chord changes: Strumming quarter notes and eighth notes; Strumming patterns, accents and 3/4 time; Changing chords smoothly
- Notes, keys and chord progressions: The musical alphabet, half steps and whole steps; Notes on the low E and A strings; Keys, the major scale and I–IV–V
- Melody, scales and good habits: The E minor pentatonic scale in open position; Playing melodies from tab; Practice habits and guitar care
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester ASL 1 elective
High School Electives: American Sign Language
A semester of beginning American Sign Language in six units: Deaf culture and history, the fingerspelling alphabet, numbers 1 to 20 and first conversations, signs for family, school and daily life, ASL grammar with facial expression and space, and respectful interaction. Each unit takes about two to three weeks, with signs described in words and paired with reputable video dictionaries.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- ASL and the Deaf community: What American Sign Language is; Deaf identity, culture and respectful language; A short history of ASL
- The fingerspelling alphabet: Fingerspelling A to M; Fingerspelling N to Z; Fingerspelling in real conversation
- Numbers and first conversations: Numbers 1 to 10; Numbers 11 to 20 and using numbers; Greetings and introductions
- Vocabulary for family, school and daily life: Family; School; Everyday needs and conversation helpers
- ASL grammar basics: Facial grammar and questions; Sentence structure: topic, time and comment; Using space: pointing, pronouns and verbs
- Respectful interaction and continued learning: Deaf etiquette and communication strategies; Name signs, storytelling and Deaf arts; How to keep learning ASL well
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Science and technology
Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Robotics elective
High School Electives: Robotics
A semester of introductory robotics in six units: what robots are and how engineers design them, simple machines and gears, electricity and Ohm's law, motors and sensors, programming logic with loops and conditionals, and feedback control for competition-style challenges. Each unit takes about two to three weeks, every calculation is worked step by step, and the coding can be practiced in free browser-based simulators.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- What robots are and how engineers design them: What makes a machine a robot; The engineering design process; Safety, tools and the engineering notebook
- Mechanical basics: simple machines, gears and torque: Simple machines and mechanical advantage; Gears and gear ratios; Torque, speed and wheels
- Electricity basics for robots: Voltage, current and resistance; Ohm's law and power; Series and parallel circuits and safe wiring
- Sensors and actuators: DC motors and motor drivers; Servos and stepper motors; Common robot sensors
- Programming logic for robots: Algorithms, sequences and pseudocode; Loops and conditionals; Variables, functions and testing code in a simulator
- Control, feedback and competition-style projects: Open-loop, closed-loop and on-off control; Proportional control; Building, testing and teamwork in robot challenges
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Practice course · Grades 9 to 12 · Follows a typical semester Horticulture elective
High School Electives: Gardening and Horticulture
A semester of gardening and horticulture in six units: how plants grow, soil and compost, seeds and propagation, planning a garden and watering it, pests and diseases with integrated pest management, and harvest, food safety and growing for your community. Each unit takes about two to three weeks, with hands-on activities you can do with seeds, pots and a sunny window or a small plot.
6 units · 18 lessons · 54 practice questions · 6 unit quizzes · final exam · certificate
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- How plants grow: Plant parts and garden safety; Photosynthesis and respiration; Roots, water and transpiration
- Soil, compost and fertility: Soil texture, structure and pH; Composting; Plant nutrients and fertilizer labels
- Seeds, germination and propagation: Seeds and germination; Starting seeds and transplanting; Vegetative propagation
- Planning a garden: light, space and water: Light, climate and your growing season; Garden layout, spacing and containers; Watering and irrigation
- Pests, diseases and integrated pest management: Garden insects: friends and foes; Plant diseases and how to prevent them; Integrated pest management and safe chemical use
- Harvest, food safety and community gardens: Harvesting and storing produce; Food safety and seed saving; Growing food for your community
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How it works
- Buy, and you go straight to the course. The link is also on your emailed receipt.
- Progress saves in the browser on the device your student uses.
- Each unit has three lessons and a quiz. Most students finish one unit every two to three weeks, or a whole course in a semester.
- Hands-on electives such as guitar, art, gardening and robotics teach the ideas and give real activities to try; they are not a substitute for a teacher, an instrument lesson or a lab.
Practice courses from Caveat Academic Services. They do not award official school or college credit and do not replace the school course.
These courses are practice courses, not legal, tax or financial advice. Each college decides admission, aid and how credit counts, and requirements change; check each college's own pages. Examples are examples, not promises. Caveat Academic Services is an independent college preparation company. Students do all of their own work.