Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 6

Reading and writing affect a student's achievement in all aspects of schoolwork, so strong language arts skills are fundamental to success in homeschooling and beyond. This weekly class is a small group of 3-6 students* who read and write at a similar level. Students follow a comprehensive language arts curriculum under the guidance of an experienced reading specialist. Each class meeting will include a short story with select vocabulary words, a graphic organizer, main themes, and embedded learning objectives. Students will continue to practice language arts skills at home with easy-to-implement "page a day" workbook activities assigned by the instructor and implemented by the parents. For most early elementary learners, enrollment in Reading Rally can serve as a complete, self-contained language arts curriculum where families will not need additional resources in reading, comprehension, composition, spelling, and grammar. Weekly readings are organized around thematic units. The instructor will teach students how to approach a new story as a fun reading puzzle. For example, before reading aloud in class, students will conduct a "picture walk" to overview and predict elements of the story from the illustrations, review a graphic organizer to assist in writing sentences, define vocabulary words, and preview summary questions. Then, the instructor will read the story aloud, model good reading practices, and encourage students to read. Students will only be asked to read aloud when they feel comfortable and have built trust in their group. All follow-up activities are designed around learning objectives such as decoding, comprehension, prediction, visualization, and verbalization. READINESS: As a comprehensive language arts curriculum, a student must be at a similar grade level ability in reading, comprehension, and writing. Early readers who have not learned to write, for example, or emerging readers who struggle with comprehenion, may not be a good fit for this class. In addition, students must have the hand-eye coordination and basic handwriting skills to be able to copy the instructor's many notes, examples, and definitions from the classroom white board into their own notebook. Grade level references in Reading Rally are based on scope, sequence and pacing that correlate to the Grade Level Equivalent (GLE) standards of learning. Students who are more than one year behind in GLE in language arts or who have a difference in skill level between their reading and writing may be recommended for 1-on-1 private instruction to make up ground in reading or writing skills. Additional class meetings or private instruction will be an additional cost. ATTENTION! (1) Parents should not register for a Reading Rally class until they have had a Language Arts Skills Inventory (i.e. brief assessment) and placement determination by the reading specialist. This must be scheduled separately through Compass at a cost of $125.00. The fee is due prior to the assessment and is not refundable in the event the child is not recommended for a reading group. (2) Parents should not assume a specific reading section until the student has been evaluated. Reading skill levels are not interchangeable, and refunds will not be issued if you do not "get" the level you prefer. It is recommended you get your reading group assignment before scheduling other classes. (3) The instructor has experience working with reluctant and fearful readers, those who are late bloomers, neurodivergent, dyslexic, and ESOL students. However, she might recommend a more complete evaluation by another professional if she suspects other learning differences are impacting the student's langauge arts learning. (4) Pricing is based a minimum 3 students in a level. In the event only 2 students are assigned to one level, the family will be asked to pay the upcharge to a 2-person semi-private class. (3) Students will work from a spiral bound copy of reading textbook and workbook by Pearson. A class fee of $60-$120 (varies by reading level) is due payable to Compass for the required books. Students continuing from one semester to the next will receive priority registration to remain with their reading group.

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 4

Reading and writing affect a student's achievement in all aspects of schoolwork, so strong language arts skills are fundamental to success in homeschooling and beyond. This weekly class is a small group of 3-6 students* who read and write at a similar level. Students follow a comprehensive language arts curriculum under the guidance of an experienced reading specialist. Each class meeting will include a short story with select vocabulary words, a graphic organizer, main themes, and embedded learning objectives. Students will continue to practice language arts skills at home with easy-to-implement "page a day" workbook activities assigned by the instructor and implemented by the parents. For most early elementary learners, enrollment in Reading Rally can serve as a complete, self-contained language arts curriculum where families will not need additional resources in reading, comprehension, composition, spelling, and grammar. Weekly readings are organized around thematic units. The instructor will teach students how to approach a new story as a fun reading puzzle. For example, before reading aloud in class, students will conduct a "picture walk" to overview and predict elements of the story from the illustrations, review a graphic organizer to assist in writing sentences, define vocabulary words, and preview summary questions. Then, the instructor will read the story aloud, model good reading practices, and encourage students to read. Students will only be asked to read aloud when they feel comfortable and have built trust in their group. All follow-up activities are designed around learning objectives such as decoding, comprehension, prediction, visualization, and verbalization. READINESS: As a comprehensive language arts curriculum, a student must be at a similar grade level ability in reading, comprehension, and writing. Early readers who have not learned to write, for example, or emerging readers who struggle with comprehenion, may not be a good fit for this class. In addition, students must have the hand-eye coordination and basic handwriting skills to be able to copy the instructor's many notes, examples, and definitions from the classroom white board into their own notebook. Grade level references in Reading Rally are based on scope, sequence and pacing that correlate to the Grade Level Equivalent (GLE) standards of learning. Students who are more than one year behind in GLE in language arts or who have a difference in skill level between their reading and writing may be recommended for 1-on-1 private instruction to make up ground in reading or writing skills. Additional class meetings or private instruction will be an additional cost. ATTENTION! (1) Parents should not register for a Reading Rally class until they have had a Language Arts Skills Inventory (i.e. brief assessment) and placement determination by the reading specialist. This must be scheduled separately through Compass at a cost of $125.00. The fee is due prior to the assessment and is not refundable in the event the child is not recommended for a reading group. (2) Parents should not assume a specific reading section until the student has been evaluated. Reading skill levels are not interchangeable, and refunds will not be issued if you do not "get" the level you prefer. It is recommended you get your reading group assignment before scheduling other classes. (3) The instructor has experience working with reluctant and fearful readers, those who are late bloomers, neurodivergent, dyslexic, and ESOL students. However, she might recommend a more complete evaluation by another professional if she suspects other learning differences are impacting the student's langauge arts learning. (4) Pricing is based a minimum 3 students in a level. In the event only 2 students are assigned to one level, the family will be asked to pay the upcharge to a 2-person semi-private class. (3) Students will work from a spiral bound copy of reading textbook and workbook by Pearson. A class fee of $60-$120 (varies by reading level) is due payable to Compass for the required books. Students continuing from one semester to the next will receive priority registration to remain with their reading group.

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 6

Reading and writing affect a student's achievement in all aspects of schoolwork, so strong language arts skills are fundamental to success in homeschooling and beyond. This weekly class is a small group of 3-6 students* who read and write at a similar level. Students follow a comprehensive language arts curriculum under the guidance of an experienced reading specialist. Each class meeting will include a short story with select vocabulary words, a graphic organizer, main themes, and embedded learning objectives. Students will continue to practice language arts skills at home with easy-to-implement "page a day" workbook activities assigned by the instructor and implemented by the parents. For most early elementary learners, enrollment in Reading Rally can serve as a complete, self-contained language arts curriculum where families will not need additional resources in reading, comprehension, composition, spelling, and grammar. Weekly readings are organized around thematic units. The instructor will teach students how to approach a new story as a fun reading puzzle. For example, before reading aloud in class, students will conduct a "picture walk" to overview and predict elements of the story from the illustrations, review a graphic organizer to assist in writing sentences, define vocabulary words, and preview summary questions. Then, the instructor will read the story aloud, model good reading practices, and encourage students to read. Students will only be asked to read aloud when they feel comfortable and have built trust in their group. All follow-up activities are designed around learning objectives such as decoding, comprehension, prediction, visualization, and verbalization. READINESS: As a comprehensive language arts curriculum, a student must be at a similar grade level ability in reading, comprehension, and writing. Early readers who have not learned to write, for example, or emerging readers who struggle with comprehenion, may not be a good fit for this class. In addition, students must have the hand-eye coordination and basic handwriting skills to be able to copy the instructor's many notes, examples, and definitions from the classroom white board into their own notebook. Grade level references in Reading Rally are based on scope, sequence and pacing that correlate to the Grade Level Equivalent (GLE) standards of learning. Students who are more than one year behind in GLE in language arts or who have a difference in skill level between their reading and writing may be recommended for 1-on-1 private instruction to make up ground in reading or writing skills. Additional class meetings or private instruction will be an additional cost. ATTENTION! (1) Parents should not register for a Reading Rally class until they have had a Language Arts Skills Inventory (i.e. brief assessment) and placement determination by the reading specialist. This must be scheduled separately through Compass at a cost of $125.00. The fee is due prior to the assessment and is not refundable in the event the child is not recommended for a reading group. (2) Parents should not assume a specific reading section until the student has been evaluated. Reading skill levels are not interchangeable, and refunds will not be issued if you do not "get" the level you prefer. It is recommended you get your reading group assignment before scheduling other classes. (3) The instructor has experience working with reluctant and fearful readers, those who are late bloomers, neurodivergent, dyslexic, and ESOL students. However, she might recommend a more complete evaluation by another professional if she suspects other learning differences are impacting the student's langauge arts learning. (4) Pricing is based a minimum 3 students in a level. In the event only 2 students are assigned to one level, the family will be asked to pay the upcharge to a 2-person semi-private class. (3) Students will work from a spiral bound copy of reading textbook and workbook by Pearson. A class fee of $60-$120 (varies by reading level) is due payable to Compass for the required books. Students continuing from one semester to the next will receive priority registration to remain with their reading group.

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 5

Reading and writing affect a student's achievement in all aspects of schoolwork, so strong language arts skills are fundamental to success in homeschooling and beyond. This weekly class is a small group of 3-6 students* who read and write at a similar level. Students follow a comprehensive language arts curriculum under the guidance of an experienced reading specialist. Each class meeting will include a short story with select vocabulary words, a graphic organizer, main themes, and embedded learning objectives. Students will continue to practice language arts skills at home with easy-to-implement "page a day" workbook activities assigned by the instructor and implemented by the parents. For most early elementary learners, enrollment in Reading Rally can serve as a complete, self-contained language arts curriculum where families will not need additional resources in reading, comprehension, composition, spelling, and grammar. Weekly readings are organized around thematic units. The instructor will teach students how to approach a new story as a fun reading puzzle. For example, before reading aloud in class, students will conduct a "picture walk" to overview and predict elements of the story from the illustrations, review a graphic organizer to assist in writing sentences, define vocabulary words, and preview summary questions. Then, the instructor will read the story aloud, model good reading practices, and encourage students to read. Students will only be asked to read aloud when they feel comfortable and have built trust in their group. All follow-up activities are designed around learning objectives such as decoding, comprehension, prediction, visualization, and verbalization. READINESS: As a comprehensive language arts curriculum, a student must be at a similar grade level ability in reading, comprehension, and writing. Early readers who have not learned to write, for example, or emerging readers who struggle with comprehenion, may not be a good fit for this class. In addition, students must have the hand-eye coordination and basic handwriting skills to be able to copy the instructor's many notes, examples, and definitions from the classroom white board into their own notebook. Grade level references in Reading Rally are based on scope, sequence and pacing that correlate to the Grade Level Equivalent (GLE) standards of learning. Students who are more than one year behind in GLE in language arts or who have a difference in skill level between their reading and writing may be recommended for 1-on-1 private instruction to make up ground in reading or writing skills. Additional class meetings or private instruction will be an additional cost. ATTENTION! (1) Parents should not register for a Reading Rally class until they have had a Language Arts Skills Inventory (i.e. brief assessment) and placement determination by the reading specialist. This must be scheduled separately through Compass at a cost of $125.00. The fee is due prior to the assessment and is not refundable in the event the child is not recommended for a reading group. (2) Parents should not assume a specific reading section until the student has been evaluated. Reading skill levels are not interchangeable, and refunds will not be issued if you do not "get" the level you prefer. It is recommended you get your reading group assignment before scheduling other classes. (3) The instructor has experience working with reluctant and fearful readers, those who are late bloomers, neurodivergent, dyslexic, and ESOL students. However, she might recommend a more complete evaluation by another professional if she suspects other learning differences are impacting the student's langauge arts learning. (4) Pricing is based a minimum 3 students in a level. In the event only 2 students are assigned to one level, the family will be asked to pay the upcharge to a 2-person semi-private class. (3) Students will work from a spiral bound copy of reading textbook and workbook by Pearson. A class fee of $60-$120 (varies by reading level) is due payable to Compass for the required books. Students continuing from one semester to the next will receive priority registration to remain with their reading group.

Quarter(s): 1,2

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 5

Reading and writing affect a student's achievement in all aspects of schoolwork, so strong language arts skills are fundamental to success in homeschooling and beyond. This weekly class is a small group of 3-6 students* who read and write at a similar level. Students follow a comprehensive language arts curriculum under the guidance of an experienced reading specialist. Each class meeting will include a short story with select vocabulary words, a graphic organizer, main themes, and embedded learning objectives. Students will continue to practice language arts skills at home with easy-to-implement "page a day" workbook activities assigned by the instructor and implemented by the parents. For most early elementary learners, enrollment in Reading Rally can serve as a complete, self-contained language arts curriculum where families will not need additional resources in reading, comprehension, composition, spelling, and grammar. Weekly readings are organized around thematic units. The instructor will teach students how to approach a new story as a fun reading puzzle. For example, before reading aloud in class, students will conduct a "picture walk" to overview and predict elements of the story from the illustrations, review a graphic organizer to assist in writing sentences, define vocabulary words, and preview summary questions. Then, the instructor will read the story aloud, model good reading practices, and encourage students to read. Students will only be asked to read aloud when they feel comfortable and have built trust in their group. All follow-up activities are designed around learning objectives such as decoding, comprehension, prediction, visualization, and verbalization. READINESS: As a comprehensive language arts curriculum, a student must be at a similar grade level ability in reading, comprehension, and writing. Early readers who have not learned to write, for example, or emerging readers who struggle with comprehenion, may not be a good fit for this class. In addition, students must have the hand-eye coordination and basic handwriting skills to be able to copy the instructor's many notes, examples, and definitions from the classroom white board into their own notebook. Grade level references in Reading Rally are based on scope, sequence and pacing that correlate to the Grade Level Equivalent (GLE) standards of learning. Students who are more than one year behind in GLE in language arts or who have a difference in skill level between their reading and writing may be recommended for 1-on-1 private instruction to make up ground in reading or writing skills. Additional class meetings or private instruction will be an additional cost. ATTENTION! (1) Parents should not register for a Reading Rally class until they have had a Language Arts Skills Inventory (i.e. brief assessment) and placement determination by the reading specialist. This must be scheduled separately through Compass at a cost of $125.00. The fee is due prior to the assessment and is not refundable in the event the child is not recommended for a reading group. (2) Parents should not assume a specific reading section until the student has been evaluated. Reading skill levels are not interchangeable, and refunds will not be issued if you do not "get" the level you prefer. It is recommended you get your reading group assignment before scheduling other classes. (3) The instructor has experience working with reluctant and fearful readers, those who are late bloomers, neurodivergent, dyslexic, and ESOL students. However, she might recommend a more complete evaluation by another professional if she suspects other learning differences are impacting the student's langauge arts learning. (4) Pricing is based a minimum 3 students in a level. In the event only 2 students are assigned to one level, the family will be asked to pay the upcharge to a 2-person semi-private class. (3) Students will work from a spiral bound copy of reading textbook and workbook by Pearson. A class fee of $60-$120 (varies by reading level) is due payable to Compass for the required books. Students continuing from one semester to the next will receive priority registration to remain with their reading group.

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 1

Be part of a team! Join the Compass Collaborative newspaper staff. The staff is a mixed-age team with students from 6th to 12th grade.

Students will learn about journalism and develop writing skills. They will craft effective articles, conduct interviews, and write reviews. Each quarter, writing assignments and responsibilities will be divided based on individual interests. Students will each contribute at least 2-3 items to the Collaborative edition each quarter including articles of their chosing (book critiques, movie reviews, field trip recommendations, short fiction, poetry, comics, jokes, tc) and assigned articles about happenings at Compass.

While research and data collection will occur outside of class, a portion of staff meetings will be dedicated to writing and editing. The newspaper advisor will use these sessions to demonstrate what constitutes 'good' writing. All staff members will practice editing skills to improve grammar, punctuation, and overall clarity and accuracy in their writing. Students will be informally paired for peer review and feedback on their writing.

All students register for the same class, and roles and responsibilities will be reviewed and delegated during the first meetings. Students should expect to work on assignments outside of class and will be expected to bring a laptop, notebook, and pen/pencil to each class meeting.

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 3

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. First quarter, our storytellers will uncover passages and portals beyond bookshelves and blank walls. Will they find the key to the mysterious secret room, or can they ever unlock the truth? 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 ____?" Emerging writers or readers are welcome and will receive support, if needed, to get their own words written down. Psst- don't tell your child, but this class helps lay the foundation in language arts for more advanced creative writing and composition. Topics in this Series: Once Upon a...Secret Room (Quarter 1), Shipwreck (Quarter 2), Magic Kingdom (Quarter 3), Winding Path (Quarter 4)

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 5

In this class, students will learn about American History through graphic novels. Kids will not realize they are absorbing factual information and learning about history through the entertaining, illustrated, short-form novels. First quarter will feature American Presidents with the biographies of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. Through colorful, dramatic graphics and an approachable conversational tone, graphic novels show kids that history can be thrilling! Each quarter will begin with an overview of the graphic novel genre including vocabulary unique to the illustrations and format (panels, speech bubbles, etc.) by looking at several other examples of graphic novels. Each week, students will read a portion of a graphic novel at home from the Saddleback Educational Publishing Graphic, Graphic Biographies Series. The class will disuss the life, times, contributions and historical context of key US personalities. Extension activities will be incorporated such as reading, listening, or watching excerpts of other accounts of the same historical figures. Students will think they are talking about cool, comic-style books, but the facilitated class discussion will lay the groupwork for an understanding of US History, chronology, and critical thinking skills. Students are expected to read approximately one half of one graphic history novel (25-30 pages) per week which they may read individually or read aloud with their families. These novels are generally considered at an ages 8-12 reading level. Build a graphic history library. Collect all 16 (4 per quarter)! Because students will need the same editions of all four graphic novels to be able to refer to the same passages and page numbers, class sets of the graphic novels will be pre-purchased for students. A supply fee of $54.00 will be due payable to Compass on or before the first day of class for three novels. Topics in this series include: Presidents (Quarter 1), Adventurers (Quarter 2), Inventors (Quarter 3) and Influencers (Quarter 4)

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 3

Secret Pages Society is a facilitated book club just for elementary readers who want to embark on the adventure of reading and the camaraderie and community of a continuing club. Inspired by highlights from Hogwarts, members of the group may decide to design a club crest, establish leadership roles like club chronicler and treasurer (to manage Compass cash and a treasure chest), and sort themselves into "houses" by interests. Class members will shape the rules and readings for the club! Each quarter, the Society will read one book that is teacher's choice and a second book that the members select as a group from a list curated by the instructor and nominated by members. Members must read assigned chapters from their books at home, either as individual silent reading, read-aloud with parents' support, or listening to an audiobook edition. Readers will be encouraged to take notes on key passages or questions. All books are selected from among Newbery Medalists and Honor Books, Caldecott Medal books, and proven classics of children's fiction. Club members will read high-quality, age-appropriate literature and expand their understanding of what they read through book discussion and hands-on extension activities. They will be encouraged to interact with the story and each other through activities such as acting out or illustrating favorite scenes, discussing and writing alternate endings, prequels, origin or spinoff stories, researching specific aspects of the story, or dressing as favorite characters. Through guided club discussion, the group will be exposed to beginning literary analysis in a fun, interactive setting by discussing plot, theme, characters, setting, genre, writing style, and artistry using specific examples from the story. They will learn to analyze characters, their actions and motives, respond to hypothetical questions, make predictions, and answer prompts using examples from the book. Textbook/Materials: Because students will need clean, inexpensive copies of each novel to mark in, and because they must be able to refer to the passages on the same page numbers, copies of mass market paperbacks will be pre-purchased for students for the first book. (See Supply Fee below). Parents will be responsible for buying or checking-out a copy of the second book, once selected. Supply Fee: A class fee of $14.00 is due payable to Compass on the first day of class for Book 1. Topics in this Series and teacher's choice books include: -Dreams: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by xxxx (Quarter 1); Spooky Spectacles- -Time Travel: Tom's Midnight Garden by xxxx (Quarter 2); -Mysteries: The Mysterious Benedict Society by xxxxx (Quarter 3) - Undercover: Faker by Gordon Korman (Quarter 4)

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 2

'Simon Says' sentence structure. 'Go Fish' grammar games. Preposition 'Pictionary'. Word Games is a weekly Language Arts Olympics which uses games and active play to teach the boring stuff: the rules and definitions of language arts such as grammar, punctuation, parts of speech, spelling, vocabulary, and word roots. Kinesthetic learners will have fun with the hands-on and activity-filled adventures which introduce grade-level aspects of language arts. The class will use stories and games such as charades, puzzles like connect-the-dot and crosswords, card games, and fun, in-class challenges like 'Twister', hula hoops, hangman, and relays to reinforce the language arts rules that help young students become better readers, writers, and spellers. Every class is different, so students can take this class each quarter to continue to build their language arts toolbox.

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 3

Explore the world of gargantuan gods, humble heroes, and malevolent monsters! Mythology is the birthplace of some of the most entertaining and incredible cultural stories ever written. Some ancient myths even 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 compehension 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 classic tales of trial and triumph that inspired many modern adventure stories. As examples, students will read about the journeys of Theseus, who defeated the Minotaur in the Labyrinth and navigated various challenges to become king and Hercules, who accomplished heroic feats, battled mythical creatures, and struggled against curses to eventually ascend Olympus as a god. They will also consider the tale of King Arthur, the legendary British king aided by his Knights of the Round Table and their quests for the Holy Grail. For this class, students need to be on-grade-level for reading. Topics in this series include: Heroes (Quarter 1); Origins (Quarter 2); Monsters (Quarter 3); Transformations (Quarter 4)

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 4

Word Masters is a language challenge for students who enjoy word games, building their vocabulary, and verbal adventures. Why study lists of words if you can make a game of it? The best way to learn new words is to use them! This class is inspired by the annual Word Masters Challenge (www.wordmasterschallenge.com). Each week students will tackle new vocabulary words and practice them through analogies and critical thinking challenges. Students will examine word meanings, relationships, synonyms and antonyms with in-class activities and games such as Pictionary, Scategories, Charades, and Apples-to-Apples. Word Masters will improve a student's reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, logic skills, and the ability to think analytically and metaphorically. Students can repeat Word Masters as new word lists will be introduced each quarter.

Quarter(s): 1

Day(s): Wed

Open Spots: 2

Who remembers Peter Rabbit, Frog & Toad, or the Little Engine that Could? In this class, middle school students will reminisce, write, and illustrate, their own children's picture. Initially, students will review illustrated children's books to gain an understanding of the creative process and the elements that help make a children's book successful with instructor/children's author Karen Hickman. Using graphic organizers to brainstorm ideas for the character, setting, and conflict of their own stories, students will work on story ideas, pitch their story concepts to their peers, and incorporate peer feedback as they develop their stories. Students will create storyboards to plan the relationship between the illustrations and text. Finally, students will learn about a variety of methods to bind their books in an attractive manner and present their books to their peers. The Writers Workshop gives middle school students in grades 6-7 the skills they need for writing, reading, listening, and speaking that come from practicing by putting pen to paper. In class, students will share drafts and in-progress works to receive peer feedback and promote revising and editing skills. Each quarter, students will review samples of literature and write about popular themes using the story elements of that theme. Imagination and creativity come easily to most young writers, but acquiring technical skills is also important. Each quarter, students will focus on specific skills in addition to specific genres as part of their "Writer's Tool Kit." These skills include: grammar basis such as parts and kinds of sentences, plurals, possessives, punctuation; learning how to use a dictionary and a thesaurus; and advanced middle/high school skills like summarizing, outlining, note taking, writing a book report, or citing sources. Homework: Students are expected to write in a journal for a minimum of four minutes per day and respond to prompts that are sent home on an assignment bookmark. They will also be asked to read short assignments such as a chapter or excerpt in preparation for class discussions. Topics in this Series: Creating Children's Books (Quarter 1); Time Travel- Fantasy & Science Fiction (Quarter 2); Time Travel- Historical Fiction (Quarter 3); and Reading Classics, Writing New Endings (Quarter 4).