Description
This high school level English Language Arts course focuses more on writing than literature. We use a range of literature (mostly short pieces) to explore techniques in our readings to develop a range of writing styles and formats. This secular but inclusive full year hybrid course is offered in Naperville as a full year elective course with in-person class meetings once/week for 1.5 hour with additional work done between classes qualifying for 1 full credit of transcriptable English Language Arts.
The Craft of Writing
In-person class Tuesdays, 12:45-2:10pm with an additional approximately 2 to 3 hours of work to be done between classes. (Parents may opt to enroll in our Flex Work Session/s to contribute toward completing work done outside of regular class time)
Registration is for the full 2024-25 school year.
Our literature pieces will be our guide for analyzing writing and cover a broad range of pieces and styles. We will cover both the mechanics of good writing and progress through the year to more solid essays. They will begin with an exploration of themselves (a subject they know and should know better) and move on toward the world around them – all through writing.
Minimum writing topics that will be covered during the year are:
- Descriptive (“painting a mental picture” for the reader)
- Expository (explaining something to the reader)
- Narrative (tell a story to the reader with all of the appropriate elements)
- Persuasive (attempt to convince the reader to agree with your point of view)
- Argumentative (similar to Expository, but with more research and source evaluation)
Minimum content covered in our writing include:
- Structure and style
- Word choice
- Summarizing
- Paragraph construction
- Self-reflective writing
- Figurative language
- Citing sources
Writing content will be repeated and developed over the course of the year and can be differentiated to meet the needs of students who have more or less experience with writing.
Any additional needed content, texts and course materials will be loaned to participating families while needed.
Students and families need to provide the following for each their students:
- Pencil case with:
- 2-3 typical (non-colored) pencils
- Pencil sharpener with a COVERED blade (one that captures it’s own shavings and keeps blade from being exposed)
- Double pocket folder for handouts
- A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers
- A blank journal (Students will use a journal to keep track of key passages, new vocabulary, observations about characters, settings, and literary technique, etc. As a result, students MAY need one for each semester)
Additionally, students will need technical ability to access Zoom, FlipGrid, Nearpod.com, Discovery Education Streaming, Study.com and Canvas (our learning management system)
At home, students will need access to the internet (home or library) to look up information, related published materials and/or videos and do work through our class learning management system. Some videos will be subscription-based and issued by illuminat-ED (all students will have accounts for Discovery Streaming and Study.com for additional video support). Some videos will be freely available.
Combined with our live class time, this is a total of 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours/week for a course total of 112-144 hours. This equates to one full credit of English Language Arts using the Carnegie unit methodology.
If your student has never written an essay or your feel they are not already familiar with many of these concepts but you feel they are ready to take these on, there will be support for them to grow in these areas. Letting the instructor know so that accommodations can be made ahead of time can be an enormous help in this matter.
If you feel your child would be challenged, but not completely overwhelmed with this level of content, then your child would be a good fit for this course. If you are unsure, please contact us to discuss further.
Course time will be devoted to discussion related to the content that is the culmination of the students individual work assigned for the week. Pre-reading and individual work is an essential component for this class. In addition to listening and taking notes, students are expected to actively participate in the course, through asking and answering questions and doing research to expand on the material.
Discussion may cover varied cultural and religious factors, more mature or unpleasant content–sometimes dealing with death or difficult life circumstances, sexual orientation, race issues, and the students will need to participate in these discussions in a respectful and mature manner.
