This Academic year-long writing course will consist of three consecutive sessions to be held virtually beginning August 2025 – May 2026 by a credentialed English teacher with over twenty years of experience. Lessons are aligned with Common Core State Standards.
Students will be exposed to reading many interesting nonfiction topics (literature, history, science, current events, technology) as they practice their writing across the curriculum. We will brainstorm, organize, and begin writing their essay together. Then they will complete the essay for homework.
In my small classes, students will be given a new writing assignment each week. All their writing will be edited for grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. They will be taught how to improve their writing properly, otherwise, it is a useless exercise. Students will be required to make the necessary changes to their essays. Students will be selected to read their essays to the group.
Learning new vocabulary is essential for good writing. Many students can memorize a list of new words, but then forget the meaning long-term. I will not only teach students new vocabulary, but they will also learn how to appropriately use the new words to elevate their writing.
In school, students have to move quickly from one writing style to another. This can be confusing as the template for each is very different. However, during my classes, students will work on one type of writing consistently until they reach a level of success before beginning another writing style. This approach gives students the additional repetitive practice necessary to succeed with confidence.
This course will include the following:
Introductions/Conclusion
Introductions and conclusions play a special role in the academic essay, but they are very challenging for young writers. A good introduction should identify the topic, provide essential context, and indicate the focus of the essay. It also needs to engage the readers’ interest. A strong conclusion will provide a sense of closure to the essay while again placing concepts in a wider context. Students will learn the formula for both which they will practice and apply to all their essays.
Narrative Writing
These essays tell a story based on real or imagined events. Students will learn to use descriptive writing and dialogue to tell their tale. When writing narrative essays about real or imagined experiences, students will work on developing their dialogue and sensory details.
Opinion Writing
When writing an opinion essay, students will learn how to clearly state their claims, then support their claims with strong reasons and facts in each paragraph. Opinion essays should close the essay with a concluding paragraph and a summary of the argument.
Compare and Contrast Writing
This rhetorical style discusses the similarities and differences of two or more things: ideas, concepts, items, places, etc. This rhetorical style is one that is seen often as a complete essay, but also within paragraphs of any kind of essay in which a comparison is necessary to help illustrate a point.
Informational Writing
Students will introduce a topic, explain a process, or describe an idea, then provide facts, definitions, and details. Students will organize related information into paragraphs in order to write the most logical essay.
Course Schedule
This course will meet once a week for 90 minutes on the following days:
Wednesdays at 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. from August 13, 2025 – May 27, 2026
Saturdays at 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. from August 16, 2025 – May 23, 2026
Parents have an opportunity to create their own groups. Please contact me for more details.
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