Language Arts Class Descriptions

Can your child sit in a circle for story time? Line up for lunch? Take turns talking? This one-day, 3-hour (half-day) program is a "taste" of kindergarten for 5- year-olds. Start your child's week off right with "Mornings with Miss M" at Compass Kindergarten. Children will work in a small group with an experienced early elementary educator for this dynamic, play-based program that offers regular interaction and socialization.

This fun, activity-based program will create rhythm and routine in a homeschooled kindergartner's week and give them a sense of community and a peer group. Children will practice routines and transitions as they move through the morning. Each session will include some simple structure such as a daily arrival song/greeting, circle time, story, snack time, activity, lunch, active game, and closing/goodbyes. Through games and activities, they will also practice key childhood social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and entering play with others. Academic basics such as the ABCs, days of the week, colors, shapes, and number sense will be integrated into activities involving fairy tales, nature and art. The teacher will provide ideas for parents to work on at home with their child during the week.

Compass Kindergarten is offered in three weekly sessions: Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Registration is stand-alone for each day so parents can register for one, two, or all three. While each kindergarten class will give children the opportunities for learning and playing in a social environment along with classroom routines, each of the three days will focus on a particular area of study and discovery of how each is connected.

On Mondays, the focus will be on Language Arts where students will be exposed to folktales, seasonal stories, and classic favorites while also practicing some foundational language arts skills. The stories read in class will be used as inspiration to connect aspects of literacy such as comprehension, comparing similar/different, recalling sequences, and predicting outcomes. The Alphabet Book will be used as as "spine" to spark discussions on capital and lower case letter forms, initial letter sounds, blends, vowel sounds, rhyming words, and other pre-phonics skills. The language arts-themed kindergarten session is intended to enhance and clarify literacy skills being introduced at home, but is not a comprehensive reading curriculum.

Readiness: Students must be age five (5) by the start of the program or have the teacher's approval for younger. To be successful in this program, entering kindergartners must be able to do the following preschool-level skills: (1) be able to separate from parents with little discomfort; (2) be able to sit and listen to a story or stay on a task for 10 minutes; (3) be able to follow simple, age-appropriate directions from the teacher or another adult; (4) be able to write and recognize his/her first name; (5) be able to hold and use crayons and scissors correctly; (6) be completely self sufficient in a public restroom (wiping, flushing, washing hands, etc.)

Other Notes: Children should bring a bagged lunch and water bottle to each session. There is a $50.00 material fee for class consumables due payable to the teacher on the first day of class.

Parents can choose to drop children off for this program (different than Compass's school-year policies for 55 minute classes.)

Registration for this program is by 13-week semester with priority registration for continuing students.

Parents who are shopping around or applying to alternate kindergarten programs should review the Compass withdrawal policy.

In Cover-to-Cover, middle school-aged students will read renowned classics and award-winning young adult literature. This book discussion group will examine a different theme each quarter to introduce students to literary analysis. Students will read, examine, and compare two full-length novels that share similar themes through facilitated discussions and extension activities which encourage students to make personal connections to what is read. The group will evaluate themes, characters, setting, and writing style.

First quarter, students will study the genre of Science Fiction with A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

Assigned chapters are expected to be read at home, either as read-aloud, individual silent reading, or listening to the unabridged audiobook. Students should come to class prepared to discuss the reading. Classroom discussions will emphasize the use of textual evidence when explaining thoughts and opinions. Students will be assigned creative, short assignments to enhance and demonstrate their understanding of each novel such as quote explications, thematic questions, or imagining a conversation between characters from different books.

Topics in this Series: Science Fiction (Quarter 1); Animal Tales (Quarter 2); Dystopian (Quarter 3); and Mystery & Detective (Quarter 4).

Textbook/Materials: The cost of new, mass market paperback editions are included in class tuition because students need clean copies for annotation and must be able to reference identical page numbering.

Supply Fee: Included

What to Bring: Students should bring the current novel, paper, pen or pencil and highlighter to class each week. Some students may wish to bring paper clips, adhesive flags or post-it notes for marking pages.

Children are full of stories and bubbling over with big ideas! In this class, students will learn how to capture their creative vision into a simple story that they will write and illustrate. This quarter, our storytellers will tell the tale of a great race. They will describe who was in the chase, what was their pace, and why the great haste.

Students will learn how to build a Story Arc through guided, weekly activities. They will discover the key elements to composing a story such as crafting characters, posing a problem, advancing the action, constructing the climax, and writing the resolution- through brainstorming questions like, "Who is in your story?", "Where does this take place?", "What does that look like?" and "What happened after ____?"

Students should be able to read, write, and spell at the second grade level or higher for this class. Psst- don't tell your child, but this class helps lay the foundation in language arts for more advanced creative writing and composition. Pair this class with Acting: Kids Theater or Writing Wonders to further encourage communication and storytelling skills. The supply fee is included in the class tuition.

Topics in this series: Great Race (Quarter 1), Mythical Mountain (Quarter 2), Time Machine (Quarter 3), and Fantastical Forest (Quarter 4).

This American Literature course is designed to prepare students for college-level academic writing. Students will strengthen their critical reading and textual analysis skills by examining the concept of the American Dream and exploring what it means to be American through texts spanning the 18th century to the present. Throughout the course, students will read and respond in writing to both fiction and nonfiction works. Written assignments will emphasize rhetorical analysis, with a focus on subject, purpose, and audience.

Literature: First quarter will explore the themes of Freedom and Foundations through Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Jacobs and selections from early American writing and founding documents.

Writing Lab: An essential component of this course will be an in-class Writing Lab. Students in this class should have mastered the basics of academic writing, such as constructing a thesis statement, organizing their thoughts with effective topic sentences and transition statements. This class will strengthen students' textual analysis skills with an emphasis on rhetorical analysis- the study of how a text creates meaning. Over the course of the year, students will develop familiarity with a variety of writing styles and forms including rhetorical analysis, literary analysis, critical response, close reading, opinion essay, and personal essay.

Prerequisites: Students taking this class should have an understanding of the types of literature (from Intro to Genres) and successful completion of British Literature (or equivalent). Students are expected to take an active role in discussion and complete all writing assignments.

Class Meetings: There will be two weekly, in-person class meetings: Tuesdays and Fridays.

Topics in this Series: Freedoms & Foundations (Quarter 10), Promise & Illusion (Quarter 2), Voice & Identity (Quarter 3), and War & Memory (Quarter 4).

Workload: Students should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted in a Google Classroom management site. Students will need their own gmail accounts to access Google Classroom.

Assessments: Students' written assignments will be graded using a rubric and assigned points that the homeschool parent can use when assigning an overall class grade.

Textbooks/Materials: The cost of new, mass market paperback editions are included in class tuition because students need clean copies for annotation and must be able to reference identical page numbering.

Supply Fee: Included

What to Bring: Students should bring the current literature, paper, pen or pencil and highlighter to class each week. Some students may wish to bring paper clips, adhesive flags or post-it notes for marking passages/pages. Students should also bring a laptop to class one day per week for in-class writing.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a partial credit (one quarter) or full credit (all four quarters) in English for purposes of a high school transcript.

AP students are required to register for all four quarters of Compass's World Literature AND the AP World Literature: Extended Coursework activity which covers differentiated assignments, additional instruction, and feedback on AP-style writing and test preparation.

This British Literature course focuses on developing critical reading and writing skills through the study of both canonical and postcolonial texts written in English. Drawing from a range of genres, time periods, and geographical regions, students will encounter diverse voices and perspectives.

Literature: First quarter will explore Medival England through Beowulf and other writings of the Anglo-Saxon era.

Writing Lab: An essential component of this course will be an in-class Writing Lab. Students in this class should have mastered the basics of academic writing, such as constructing a thesis statement, organizing their thoughts with effective topic sentences and transition statements. Students will learn to write critical response papers and a complete literary analysis essay including how to support their ideas with textual evidence, organize a logical argument, and cite sources in MLA format. Over the course of the year, students will develop familiarity with a variety of writing styles and forms including rhetorical analysis, literary analysis, critical response, close reading, opinion essay, and personal essay.

Prerequisites: Students taking this class should have an understanding of the types of literature (from Intro to Genres). Students are expected to take an active role in discussion and complete all writing assignments.

Topics in this Series: Anglo-Saxon (Quarter 1), Elizabethan (Quarter 2), Roamticism (Quarter 3), and Regency (Quarter 4).

Class Meetings: There will be two weekly, in-person class meetings: Tuesdays and Fridays.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted in a Google Classroom management site. Students will need their own gmail accounts to access Google Classroom.

Assessments: Students' written assignments will be graded using a rubric and assigned points that the homeschool parent can use when assigning an overall class grade.

Textbooks/Materials: Students will use clean, inexpensive copies of each novel for annotation and must be able to reference passages using consistent page numbers. Copies of the mass market paperback edition(s) is included in the class tuition.

Supply Fee: Included

What to Bring: Students should bring the current literature, paper, pen or pencil and highlighter to class each week. Some students may wish to bring paper clips, adhesive flags or post-it notes for marking passages/pages. Students should also bring a laptop to class one day per week for in-class writing.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a partial credit (one quarter) or full credit (all four quarters) in English for purposes of a high school transcript.

In this introductory high school English workshop, students will be introduced to key literary genres and analytical writing. Each quarter, the class will examine one select work or genre.

Literature: First quarter will feature The Novel: Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Sallinger. Students will learn to recognize figurative language, tone, subtext and diction, identify symbolism and imagery, and develop an awareness of narrative perspective and of the social-historical contexts in which these works were created.

Composition: Students will also learn the fundamental components of academic writing, including how to construct a thesis statement that makes an argument, how to support their ideas effectively with textual evidence, how to organize an argument logically, and how to cite sources in MLA format. Some class periods will be dedicated Writing Lab session in which students write in-class in order to get on-the-spot support and feedback from the teacher.

Topics in this Series: The Novel (Quarter 1), Poetry (Quarter 2), The Play (Quarter 3), and The Epic (Quarter 4).

Prerequisites: Students should be able to read at grade level, and it is recommended that students have had a middle school writing class.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted in a Google Classroom management site. Students will need their own gmail accounts to access Google Classroom.

Assessments: Students' written assignments will be graded using a rubric and assigned points that the homeschool parent can use when assigning an overall class grade.

Textbooks/Materials: Students will use clean, inexpensive copies of each novel for annotation and must be able to reference passages using consistent page numbers. Copies of the mass market paperback edition(s) is included in the class tuition.

Supply Fee: Included

What to Bring: Students should bring the current literature, paper, pen or pencil and highlighter to class each week. Some students may wish to bring paper clips, adhesive flags or post-it notes for marking passages/pages. Students should also bring a laptop for in-class writing when requested.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a partial credit in English for purposes of a high school transcript. (Full credit if all 4 quarters are taken.)

In this Senior English course, students will engage deeply with World Literature while developing advanced literary analysis skills. Students will read a diverse body of global literature to identify symbolism, imagery, recurring themes and to develop an understanding of the narrative perspectives used. Through these works, the class will also examine the cultural, social, and historical contexts that shaped literature across different regions and time periods.

This course can be taken-on level or at the Advanced Placement (AP) level which will introduce college-level analytical writing and prepare the student for the AP Literature and Composition exam. AP students must also register for the Extended Coursework option.

Literature: First quarter will examine the theme of Fate and Free Will through works such as Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and other selections.

Composition: An essential component of this course will be an in-class Writing Lab. Students in this class should have mastered the basics of academic writing, such as constructing a thesis statement, organizing their thoughts with effective topic sentences and transition statements. This class will strengthen students' textual analysis skills with an emphasis on rhetorical analysis- the study of how a text creates meaning. Over the course of the year, students will develop familiarity with a variety of writing styles and forms including rhetorical analysis, literary analysis, critical response, close reading, opinion essay, and personal essay.

Topics in this Series: Fate & Free Will (Quarter 1), Culture & Conflict (Quater 2), Conformity & Courage (Quarter 3), Power & Prejudice (Quarter 4).

Prerequisites: Successful completion of year-long coursework in British and American Literature or the equivalent.

Class Meetings: There will be two weekly, in-person class meetings: Tuesdays and Fridays.

Levels: Two levels meet together: On-Level and Advanced Placement (AP). AP requires additional reading, writing, and AP skills practice. All students register online for the same course. AP students are required to also register for the AP World Literature: Extended Coursework activity which covers differentiated assignments, additional instruction, and feedback on AP-style writing and test preparation. Once the course begins, students may move down a level (from AP to On-Level) at any time, but may not "bump up." Students taking the AP level may designate the course as SP on their transcript and add one quality point when calculating their GPA.

Workload: On-level students should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week outside of class. AP students should expect to spend 4-5 hours per week.

Assignments: All assignments will be posted in a Google Classroom management site. Students will need their own gmail accounts to access Google Classroom. AP students have an additional summer assignment. They should purchase, read, and annotate

Assessments: Students' written assignments will be graded using a rubric and assigned points that the homeschool parent can use when assigning an overall class grade.

AP Testing: The AP English Literature and Composition exam fee (May 2027) is not included in tuition. Families are responsible for registering and paying for their student's AP exam at their local public high school by the end of October 2026.

Textbooks/Materials: The cost of new, mass market paperback editions are included in class tuition because students need clean copies for annotation and must be able to reference identical page numbering.

Supply Fee: Included

What to Bring: Students should bring the current literature, paper, pen or pencil and highlighter to class each week. Some students may wish to bring paper clips, adhesive flags or post-it notes for marking passages/pages. Students should also bring a laptop to class one day per week for in-class writing.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a partial credit (one quarter) or full credit (all four quarters) in English for purposes of a high school transcript.

Explore the world of gargantuan gods, humble heroes, and malevolent monsters! Some ancient myths have plots that rival today's comics and blockbuster movies. Many myths still have millennia-old appeal because of their timeless tales of good versus evil, life and death, creation and the afterlife. This class explores the origins of early mythology, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Aztecs, and more through epics, plays and poetry. Readers will explore the realm of mythology through short stories, class discussion, analyses, extension activities and projects that will boost comprehension and the understanding of myths as the basis for many other forms of modern media. Students will enjoy reading and discussing battles, romance, treachery, larger than life heroes and characters, intricate gods and goddesses, and all sorts of fantastical creatures!

First quarter, the class will explore Hero Myths, the exciting tales of bravery, cleverness, and courage that inspired legends across cultures. As examples, students will read about Hercules and his Twelve Labors, Theseus defeating the Minotaur, and Thor's encounter with the giant Utgaroa-Loki, where strength alone was not enough to win. They will also discover tricksters and epic heroes like Sun Wukong, Anansi, and Gilgamesh, whose adventures shaped the storytelling traditions of their worlds.

Topics in this Series include: Heroes (Quarter 1); Monsters (Quarter 2); Gods and Goddesses (Quarter 3), and Origin Tales (Quarter 4).

Wannabe Writers is a beginning writing class for first and second graders. Students will use creative journaling and illustrations to respond to simple writing prompts. The class will explore the use of various punctuation for simple sentences and will use new vocabulary words to express an idea. Each week, students will share their completed writing and drawings with their classmates. For this level, students must be able to read a Level 1 reader independently and possess the readiness skills outlined below. Children may repeat this class each quarter as new prompts and writing techniques will be introduced each session, and assignments will not be repeated.

Note: This class is designed for students to enjoy a fun, new dimension of writing with peers and a teacher, but this will not take the place of a comprehensive language arts curriculum and regular writing practice.

Writing Readiness: Enrolling students must be able to (1) recognize, spell and write his/her first and last name; (2) recognize and write all upper case and lower case letters and know the corresponding sounds; (3) spell and pronounce simple blends, (4) recognize the following sight words: all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, day, did, do, eat, four, get, go, good, have, he, in, into, is, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, the, there, they, this, to, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes; (5) spell and write all 2-letter sight words unaided; (6) be familiar with simple sentence structure; and (7) hold and use a pencil correctly.

Wee Writers is a simple journaling class for emergent kindergarten writers ages 5 and 6. Beginning writers will use basic sight words and phonetics while writing about feelings and experiences. Students will learn basic sentence structure with noun-verb construction, initial capital letter, and ending punctuation. Beginning sentences such as, "I lik cak." or "I drnk wtr." would be typical of emergent writers. Students will illustrate their journal entries and have opportunities to share and discuss their writing with peers. Children may repeat this class each quarter as new writing activities will be introduced each session.

Note: This class is designed for students to enjoy a fun, new dimension of writing with peers and a teacher, but this will not take the place of a comprehensive language arts curriculum and regular writing practice.

Writing Readiness Enrolling students must be able to (1) recognize and write his/her first name; (2) recognize and write each letter of the alphabet and know the corresponding sounds; and (3) hold and use crayons and scissors correctly.

Social Readiness: Students must be age five (5) by the start of the class. To be successful in this program, kindergartners must be able to do the following preschool-level skills: (1) be able to separate from parents with little discomfort; (2) be able to sit and stay on a task for 10 minutes; (3) be able to follow simple, age-appropriate directions from the teacher or another adult; (4) be completely self-sufficient in a public restroom (wiping, flushing, washing hands, etc.)

Students will become immersed in the imaginary worlds they construct in this unique course that encompasses elements of fiction writing, sociology, and anthropology. Worldbuilding is the foundation of speculative fiction, such as sci-fi and fantasy, role-playing games, videos, comics, and other visual media. Countless examples of Worldbuilding exist in the movies and books we consume every day such as Tolkien's Middle Earth, the many elaborate settlements of the Star Wars franchise, and the popular RPG, Dungeons and Dragons.

In this course, students will develop a fictional locale. Will it be a small village in a known place, a new planet, or an original universe? Students will be guided through an interactive, iterative process of "top-down" design of their unique world, determining broad characteristics first then then elaborating with increasing detail. Builders will make coherent and integrated decisions on geography, climate, ecology, flora, fauna, inhabitants, races, history, social customs, language, religion, origin story, powers/magic, legal system, currency, and technology. The class will read excerpts and watch clips of well-known fictional works which will provide strong examples of each of the elements.

First semester, the develop their own perfectly polished, harmonious haven, Utopian Universes. Students, along with their instructor, will develop an in-class world as an example. Students will use the lessons and exercises reviewed in class to further develop their individual world project.

Students will be expected to keep a notebook of decisions and details as they progress through designing the elements of their world. Students will have the option to purchase a discounted student subscription to World Anvil, a web-based subscription service which allows students to create maps, timelines, and other tools to organize their made-up world. Each student will be expected to make a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the semester which addresses each of the built-world elements.

Topics in this Series: Utopian Universe (Semester 1), Underworlds (Semester 2).

Prerequisites: Reading/writing at grade level.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 2 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: Will be posted in a Google Classroom.

Assessments: The instructor will assign points for a final semester presentation and completed "Creative Sparks" which are written responses to weekly prompts. Parents may use the student's earned points versus total possible points to calculate a grade for the class.

Lab/Supply Fee: Included

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in language arts (creative writing) for purposes of a high school transcript.

Students will become immersed in the imaginary worlds they construct in this unique course that encompasses elements of fiction writing, sociology, and anthropology. Worldbuilding is the foundation of speculative fiction, such as sci-fi and fantasy, role-playing games, videos, comics, and other visual media. Countless examples of Worldbuilding exist in the movies and books we consume every day such as Tolkien's Middle Earth, the many elaborate settlements of the Star Wars franchise, and the popular RPG, Dungeons and Dragons.

In this course, students will develop a fictional locale. Will it be a small village in a known place, a new planet, or an original universe? Students will be guided through an interactive, iterative process of "top-down" design of their unique world, determining broad characteristics first then then elaborating with increasing detail. Builders will make coherent and integrated decisions on geography, climate, ecology, flora, fauna, inhabitants, races, history, social customs, language, religion, origin story, powers/magic, legal system, currency, and technology. The class will read excerpts and watch clips of well-known fictional works which will provide strong examples of each of the elements.

First semester, the develop their own perfectly polished, harmonious haven, Utopian Universes. Students, along with their instructor, will develop an in-class world as an example. Students will use the lessons and exercises reviewed in class to further develop their individual world project.

Students will be expected to keep a notebook of decisions and details as they progress through designing the elements of their world. Students will have the option to purchase a discounted student subscription to World Anvil, a web-based subscription service which allows students to create maps, timelines, and other tools to organize their made-up world. Each student will be expected to make a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the semester which addresses each of the built-world elements.

Topics in this Series: Utopian Universe (Semester 1), Underworlds (Semester 2).

Prerequisites: Reading/writing at grade level.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 2 hours per week outside of class.

Assignments: Will be posted in a Google Classroom.

Assessments: The instructor will assign points for a final semester presentation and completed "Creative Sparks" which are written responses to weekly prompts. Parents may use the student's earned points versus total possible points to calculate a grade for the class.

Lab/Supply Fee: Included

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in language arts (creative writing) for purposes of a high school transcript.

Clear writing is power, and in today's world, the students who communicate ideas precisely are the ones who succeed. "Write to Work" equips high school students with the skills to write professional emails, craft persuasive proposals, create user guides, summarize data, and explain complex ideas clearly and confidently. No matter what the student's future field, clear professional writing is essential. Colleges expect it. Employers demand it. This course moves beyond essays and creative writing to focus on real-world communication- the kind used in offices, labs, startups, and organizations every day. Students will learn to write with clarity, structure, and purpose and gain a practical skill set that sets them apart in any future field.

First semester, students will build a strong foundation in professional business communication through practical, real-world writing tasks. The course begins with email etiquette and tone, teaching students how to communicate clearly and professionally in digital settings. From there, students will draft memos and internal communications, write precise instructions, and develop career-ready materials including resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and professional bios. As the semester progresses, students will craft persuasive business proposals and executive summaries, write structured informational reports, and learn the basics of writing market research and data findings. They will also practice customer service writing by responding to or writing product complaints, compose press releases, create compelling product descriptions, and write thoughtful product or service reviews. By the end of the semester, students will have assembled a polished portfolio of authentic business documents that reflect clarity, professionalism, and practical workplace readiness.

Topics in this Series: Business Writing (Semester 1), Technical Writing (Semester 2). Students continuing from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester.

Prerequisites: Students should be on-level for high school reading and comprehension.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 2-4 hours per week outside of class on class reading and activities.

Assessments: The instructor will award points for completed assignments that parents can use to assign a grade.

Textbook/Materials: All materials will be links to open-source materials or scans of documents provided by the instructor and posted to the class Canvas site.

Lab/Supply Fee: None

What to Bring: Notebook or paper, pen, or pencil.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as a component (partial) credit in English for purposes of a high school transcript.

Writers @ Work is a fundamental writing class that will prepare seventh and eighth grade students for high school level composition. Writing is not only a critical skill for high school and beyond, it gives teens a voice! In this class, teens will gain confidence, increase writing fluency, and learn how to incorporate writing into schoolwork and hobbies. The objective of this class is for each student to progress and improve his/her own writing. This class does not have a fixed curriculum trying to achieve the same outcome and same skillset for each child, because each student comes to class with different writing experience and varying needs. Instead, through personalized feedback from the instructor and peer feedback exercises, student writers will improve their writing skills from where they started.

Students will always be encouraged to write about what interests them, but prompts will also be offered. They will write for a few minutes in class each week and will be expected to write short assignments at home and submit their work to the instructor for feedback. Students will receive individual feedback to work on aspects of their writing such as organizing thoughts, defining a purpose and audience for the paper, formulating a topic sentence or main idea, developing supporting details, using correct sentence structure (for example, initial capitalization and end punctuation).

The instructor will model the steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Writing tips will be introduced throughout the year pulling from both a "toolbox" of grammar rules (i.e. sentence structure, complex and compound sentences, independent and dependent clauses, parts of speech, agreement, tense, use of dialogue and quotation marks, correct use of punctuation) and stylistic techniques (i.e., using metaphors, adding details, and building tension). Examples and exercises will be presented from a variety of styles and genres.
Students should be on or near grade level in reading to take this class.

Writers @ Work is offered both semesters under the same class name, but students may take it each semester to continue to improve their writing skills.

Writing is not only a critical skill for school and life, it gives kids a voice! In this class, fifth and sixth graders will gain confidence, increase writing fluency, and learn how to incorporate writing into everyday work and play. The objective of this class is for each student to progress and improve his/her own writing. This class does not have a fixed curriculum trying to achieve the same outcome and same skillset for each child, because each student comes to class with different writing experience and varying needs. Instead, through personalized feedback from the instructor and peer feedback exercises, student writers will improve their writing skills from where they started.

Students will learn the steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Key skills practiced at this level include organizing one's thoughts, defining a purpose and audience for the paper, formulating a topic sentence or main idea, developing supporting details, using correct sentence structure (for example, initial capitalization and end punctuation). Students will always be encouraged to write about what interests them. They will write for a few minutes in class each week and will be expected to write short assignments at home and submit their work to the instructor for feedback. Each week, the instructor will share brief lessons on grammar (such as correct capitalization, agreement, tenses, parts of speech, use of adjectives/adverbs), and/or style (for example, using metaphors, adding details, building tension). Examples and exercises will be presented from a variety of styles and genres with the instructor using models from fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Students should be on or near grade level for reading. Writing Well is offered each quarter under the same class name, but students may take it each quarter to continue to improve their writing skills.

Writing is not only a critical skill for school and life, it gives kids a voice! In this class, third and fourth graders will gain confidence, increase writing fluency, and learn how to incorporate writing into everyday work and play. The objective of this class is for each student to progress and improve his/her own writing. This class does not have a fixed curriculum trying to achieve the same outcome and same skillset for each child, because each student comes to class with different writing experience and varying needs. Instead, through personalized feedback from the instructor and peer feedback exercises, student writers will improve their writing skills from where they started.

Students will learn the steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Key skills practiced at this level include organizing one's thoughts, defining a purpose and audience for the paper, formulating a topic sentence or main idea, developing supporting details, using correct sentence structure (for example, initial capitalization and end punctuation). Students will always be encouraged to write about what interests them. They will write for a few minutes in class each week and will be expected to write short assignments at home and submit their work to the instructor for feedback. Each week, the instructor will share brief lessons on grammar (such as correct capitalization, agreement, tenses, parts of speech, use of adjectives/adverbs), and/or style (for example, using metaphors, adding details, building tension). Examples and exercises will be presented from a variety of styles and genres with the instructor using models from fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Students should be on or near grade level for reading. Writing Wonders is offered each quarter under the same class name, but students may take it each quarter to continue to improve their writing skills.