CLASS DESCRIPTIONS (Offered 2020-2021) Registration for 2020-2021 will open April 10. Please see the REGISTRATION INFO tab for more information about how to register. Click on the link there to print registration forms.
For a chart of days and times each class is offered, please see the SCHEDULE tab after April 10. SCA = Saddleback Christian Academy in Mission Viejo. You must belong to SCA to register for one of their classes. ILA = Independent Learning Academy of Alison Viejo, You must register with ILA before registering for my classes there. San Juan Capistrano classes are in a private residence and open to all.
This year I have added a Modern Calligraphy/ Inspirational Art Class that I am very excited about. Please click on the tab for it above to learn more about it! WRITING CLASSES
3rd-5th Grade: All Things Fun and Fascinating(Tuesday SCA 12:45-1:45) $180 per semester (or $40 per month, Sept - May) + $35 material fee that pays for the textbook Fun, fun, fun! This class covers most of the IEW units, including reports, stories, mini research reports, writing from pictures, and creative writing at an easy level for young students. Students will usually complete one paragraph per week. (More advanced students may opt to write more paragraphs.) Vocabulary words are also included. Themes focus on subjects intriguing to young children, such as fun facts from science, animals, men who changed the world, stories from around the world, and more.
HISTORY-BASED WRITING CLASSES The following history-based writing classes are all easily adaptable to a wide range of abilities. Each contains basic lessons plus challenges for more advanced students. No prior IEW experience is necessary, but those who have had IEW will find them to be a great review with added challenges to keep them progressing.
5th-6th Grade: Ancient History-Based Writing(Monday ILA 1:00-2:00) $235 per semester (or $47 per month, Sept - June) + $35 material fee at registration, which pays for textbook Lessons cover most of the IEW models of structure and elements of style. Students will write poems, stories, reports, critiques, essays, and a mini research paper. Vocabulary cards are included. Students will learn and be required to use these great words in their writing. Themes focus on Ancient civilizations: Sumer, Egypt, Israel, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. Optional literature suggestions will enhance students' understanding of ancient times as well as provide them with examples of excellent style in writing.
4th-6th Grade: Ancient History-Based Writing (Thursday 2:00-3:00 San Juan Capistrano) $200 per semester (or $45 per month, Sept - May) No material or registration fee (Parents must order their own textbook) Lessons are the same as above, but this class is taught by Abigail Rehard. Abigail just graduated from high school. She has had seven years of IEW classes with me, and this past year she taught IEW All Thing Fun and Fascinating under my guidance. I highly recommend her class. She is fun, enthusiastic, and very capable. Click here if you would like to see her biography. 5th-6th Grade: Medieval History-Based WritingFriday SCA 12:15-1:15. $45 per month Sept-May ($200 per semester + $35 material fee at registration
Lessons cover most of the IEW models of structure and elements of style. Students will write stories, reports, critiques, responses to literature, other types of essays, and a research paper. Vocabulary cards are included. Students will learn and be required to use these great words in their writing. Themes focus on major events and people of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Optional literature includes Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo, 1001 Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean, The King’s Shadow by Elizabeth Alder, Robin Hood by J. Walker McSpadden, Winning His Spurs by G.A. Henty, Adam of the Roadby Elizabeth Janet Gray orThe Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean, MarcoPolo by Emi, and Crispin of the Lead Cross by Avi.
5th-7th Grade: US History-Based Writing Lessons + Literature Monday ILA 10:20-11:20 $50 per month Sept-June ($250 per semester + $35 material fee at registration, which pays for textbook) As they move through American history themes from explorers to present day, the lessons incrementally introduce and review the models of structure and elements of style found in the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. In addition, the lessons incrementally teach 72 vocabulary words as well as important grammar rules of punctuation and usage.
Literature includes the following historical fiction novels: Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla, Night Journeys Avi, Ben and Me by Robert Lawson, Tolliver's Secret by Esther Wood Bradley, Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit, By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman, Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit, Hatie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida, and Eleven by Tom Rogers. Note: This class is not recommended for 5th graders unless they have had previous IEW experience. 7th-9th Grade: C.S. Lewis-Based Writing Lessons (with Other Related Literature) Monday ILA, "English 7" 8:00-9:30 $50 per month Sept-June ($250 per semester + $40 material fee, which pays for textbook and other expenses)
Tuesday SCA 9:00-10:30 $50 per month Sept-May ($225 per semester + $35 material fee, which pays for textbook)
Thursday, San Juan Capistrano 12:30-2:00 $50 per month Sept-May ($225 per semester + $35 material fee, which pays for textbook)
Lessons focus on teaching structure and style in writing as they move through themes related to C.S. Lewis and the first three or four books of the Chronicles of Narnia. This class is a step up from basic IEW classes and moves away from detailed style checklists. Instead, the focus is on content and organization of more advanced types of compositions such as narrative stories, summaries, research papers, narrative and descriptive essays, response-to-literature essays, comparison essays, persuasive essays, and poems.
Vocabulary Several vocabulary words are taught from the literature. Students are expected to include some of these great words in each composition they write, so they become part of their natural writing vocabulary. They are also quizzed on the words periodically.
Literature Students will read and write about the following books: C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller by Goeff Benge The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis Animal Farmby George Orwell The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobeby C.S. Lewis The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian or The Screwtape Letters (for more advanced students) by C.S. Lewis
Grammar Grammar is taught chiefly in the context of its use, but additionally 20 critical grammar and punctuation rules are taught.
HIGH SCHOOL 10th-12th Grade The Lively Art of Writing & Literary Analysis with World Literature Tuesday, SCA 10:45-12:15-10:30 Thursday, San Juan Capistrano, 2:00-3:30 $50 per month Sept-May ($225 per semester + $35 material fee, which pays for IEW Elegant Essay)
The first semester focuses on refining several variations of the basic essay using principles from IEW's The Elegant Essay and The Lively Art of Writing by Lucile Payne. These are excellent books that will help students write with more sophistication in structure, style, and content. Students will write expository, argumentative, narrative, descriptive, response to literature, compare/contrast, and persuasive essays. They will also receive SAT and ACT essay preparation from IEW's High School Essay Intensive.
The second semester will focus on literary analysis using the curriculum Windows to the World by Lesha Myers. The work in this revolves around short stories included in the student text as well as classic novels. Novels and stories include, but may not be limited to, the following.
First Semester - Novels: Night by Elie Wiesel, A Christmas Carol and Tale of Two Cities (abridged) by Charles Dickens, plus a novel of choice Second Semester - Novels: Frankenstein (Student’s Abridged Edition) by Mary Shelley, The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged) by Alexander Dumas, Les Miserables (abridged) by Victor Hugo; Short Stories: “The Gift of the Magi” (abridged) by O. Henry, “The Open Window" by Saki, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, “Fighting with a Cannon" by Victor Hugo Vocabulary is taught using Barron’s 1100 Words You Need to Know, 6th edition. No IEW experience is required.
