CLASS DESCRIPTIONS (Offered 2022-2023)
Registration for 2022-2023 will open April 15. Please see the REGISTRATION INFO tab for more information about how to register.
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For a chart of days and times each class is offered, please see the SCHEDULE tab. 

Registration for classes held at Saddleback Christian Academy (SCA), Independent Learning Academy (ILA), and Pacific Coast Preparatory must be done through those groups. 

San Juan Capistrano classes are in a private residence and open to all.

I have adde  Inspirational Art /Modern Calligraphy Classes  that I am very excited about. Please click on the Inspirational Art tab above to learn more about it!
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WRITING CLASSES

2nd-4th Grade: Bible Heroes 
Wednesdays 10:30-11:25
$200 per semester (or $45 per month, Sept - May)
+ $35 material fee at registration, which pays for textbook 
This is a fun class that teaches the basics of writing with a variety of hands-on games and activities appropriate for young students. 

Children will write (or dictate to parent if not ready to write yet) one paragraph per week about a Bible hero chosen for a particular virtue he or she displays. 

They will write stories, reports, poems, and creative essays. They will learn to dress-up their writing with some of IEW’s elements of style and the vocabulary words provided. Each lesson includes a memory verse from the Bible as well. 





5th-7th Grade: Ancient History-Based Writing (Friday SCA  12:15-1:15)
$200 per semester (or $45 per month, Sept - May)
+ $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.


6th-8th Grade: US History-Based Writing Lessons + Literature CLOSED
Thursday (in San Juan Capistrano)  2:00-3:30
$225 per semester or $50 per month Sept-May (+ $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.


6th-8th MODERN WORLD HISTORY-BASED COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE
 Tuesday 12:30-2:00 SCA
Tuition: $225 per semester or $50 per month, Sept through May
As they move through Modern World history themes from Gutenberg’s printing press to present day, the lessons incrementally introduce and review models of structure and elements of style to give students confidence in writing. In addition, students read, discuss, and write about several classic works of fiction (see list below). Grammar and vocabulary instruction are included as well.

 Text:  Modern World History-Based Writing Lessons by Lori Verstegen, published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing

Structure
The models of structure taught in this course include the following:
·       Summaries of References
·       Narrative Stories
·       Responses to Literature, including theme and character anlysis
·       Short Research Reports (Multiple Sources)/ Formal Essays
·       Writing from Pictures
·       Creative Writing
 
Style
Elements of style taught in this course include the following:
IEW “dress-ups”: quality adjectives, strong verbs, -ly words, adjective clauses,  and adverb clauses A variety of sentence openers for varying sentence structure and length Literary devices:  alliteration, conversation, 3sss, similes, metaphors, and dramatic openers and closers  

Vocabulary
Seventy-two vocabulary words are taught. Students are expected to include some of these great words in each composition they write, so the words become part of their natural writing vocabulary. They are also quizzed on the words periodically.

Literature 
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare, Carry on Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham, The True Confessions of Charlette Doyle by Avi, Oliver Twist retold by Kathleen Olmstead or Mill Girl by Sue Reid, The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and The Giver by Lois Lowry.
 

 

 

Narnia-Based Writing  
Thursday 8:00-9:30 Pacific Coast Preparatory
$225 per semester or $50 per month Sept-May (+ $35 material fee at registration, which pays for textbook)
 
Using the first three books of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia collection as springboards (The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Horse and His Boy) and other classic books (Animal Farm by George Orwell, ​The Boy in Striped Pajamas by  John Boyne, and one more TBD) the literature lessons focus on both a study of C.S. Lewis’s masterful writing style as well as his Biblical parallels and life lessons. 
Writing lessons review the basics of IEW and then continue into more sophisticated models of structure and elements of style. Students will write stories, reports, research papers, narrative and descriptive essays, response to literature essays, comparison essays, persuasive essays, and poems.
 
Students will also be required to learn and use vocabulary words taken from their reading.
 
 HIGH SCHOOL 
9th-11th grade: ADVANCED US HISTORY-BASED WRITING WITH AMERICAN LITERATURE 
Tuesday 10:15-11:45 SCA
​Thurs.  12:30-2:00 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
$250 per semester

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
As they move through American history themes, the lessons very quickly review the models of structure and elements of style found in the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s Teaching Writing: Structure and Style; then, they move to more advanced writing skills for college preparation. In addition, the lessons incrementally teach 80 vocabulary words frequently found on college entrance SAT tests.


Writing
Students will write a variety of types of compositions, including the following:
·      Poetry (small amount) 
·      Summaries of References
·      Narrative Stories and Personal Narrative Essays
·      Research Papers in MLA Format
·      Argumentative and Persuasive Essays 
·      Response to Literature and Literary Analysis Essays
·      Descriptive Essays

Literature
Students will read, annotate, and write literary analysis essays about the following novels:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne  
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe   
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain    
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee   
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson  
The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemmingway  





INSPIRATIONAL ART & MODERN CALLIGRAPHY
FRI 10:15-11:45 (SCA)
WED 12:30-1:55 (ILA)
THURS 9:35-11:05 (Pacific Coast Prep)
Please see the Modern Calligraphy tab for a course description.