ENGLISH CLASSES
Beginning IEW (7th-8th grades)
7th-8th grades
This course will be an introduction to the co-op class experience. Our focus will be to slowly build composition skills using the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s techniques and materials. Weekly writing assignments will support students in developing their writing abilities and prepare them for high school. Each week in class we will spend time working through the writing process together. Over the course of the year, students will work through the IEW structural models and stylistic techniques, gently progressing from basic to more advanced writing. Grammar will also be studied using a “Grammar with a Giggle” format using story characters from our very own class, with materials provided by Mrs. Ryan. Homework will consist of completing the paragraph that we began in class and editing one sentence a day for grammar and mechanics. Longer writing assignments will be completed over two weeks.
Required book: (must be ordered in time for class)
● IEW “Discoveries in Writing” Student Book
The primary focus of the class is writing; literature will be incorporated when possible. If time allows, we will read some or all of the following books. Parents will be given ample warning to purchase a copy or find one at their local library.
Books that may be read:
● Holes by Louis Sachar
● A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
● Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
● The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Tuition: $45 per month for 9 months ($180 fall/$135 spring after registration deposit) Supply fee: $25
Number of students: minimum 6, maximum 12
Materials: pen, pencil, highlighters, IEW “Discoveries in Writing” Student Book, novels to be determined, 3-ring binder with 3 dividers (can be shared with another class)
Tutor: Michelle Ryan (michelleryan24@outlook.com, 469-682-2283)
Middle School Literature
7th-8th grades
This course will combine classic and contemporary literature with a variety of composition skills. Students will be exposed to great literature and introduced to the practice of annotating while reading a novel. Students will read, analyze, and discuss novels and a few poems that tie in with the novels being read. Literary devices such as figurative language, symbols, irony, flashback, and foreshadowing will be covered.
Fun “Book Talk” projects will be created by students and presented to the class over the novels read. Writings will include a persuasive letter, expository essay, narrative-descriptive epilogue, and opinion editorial with MLA citations (each following the five-step writing process and tied into the readings), as well as some short answer responses to the literature. Students will utilize the website NoRedInk, an online grammar practice tool.
This course is best suited to students who want to delve deeper into literature and are already comfortable writing basic paragraphs. Ms. Laudadio will begin the year by requesting a multiple paragraph writing sample to determine students’ current writing levels.
Required materials:
● Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
● The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
● Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sr. Imelda Wallace
● Sarah Bishop by Scott O’Dell
● Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
** The final book will be selected by the students for their literature circle groups in April from the following choices:
● The Phantom of the Colosseum by Sophie de Mullenheim
● Beyonders: A World Without Heroes (Book 1) by Brandon Mull
● The Keeper of the Lost Cities (Book 1) by Shannon Messenger
● City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
● The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
● Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Tuition: $45 per month for 9 months ($180 fall/$135 spring after registration deposit) Supply fee: $25
Class size: minimum 4 (negotiable), maximum 10
Tutor: Barbara Laudadio (utbarb73@yahoo.com, 214-797-5882)
Intermediate IEW Writing plus American Literature
8th-9th grade
This course will primarily focus on composition skills using the Institute for Excellence in Writing techniques and materials. Students will relive events of our country’s early history through historical fiction novels and biographies. Weekly writing assignments will help students grow in writing skills and prepare them for more advanced learning throughout high school and college. Students will learn the nine IEW structural models and stylistic techniques to gently move from the basics into more sophisticated writing. The U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book will be included in the supply fee.
Books to be read will most likely include:
● Saint Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask
● Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
● The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
● The Perilous Road by William O. Steele
● Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
● The Call of the Wild by Jack London
● True Grit by Charles Portis
● Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
● Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida
Tuition: $50 per month for 9 months ($200 fall/$150 spring after registration deposit) Supply fee: $50 includes US History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book
Number of students: minimum 6, maximum 14
Required materials: highlighters, books listed above, 3 ring binder with 3 dividers (may be shared with another class)
Tutor: Jennifer Quezada (jenniferlynnquezada@yahoo.com, 214-778-7582)
High School Writing Fundamentals
9th-12th grade
This course is for high school students that desire to improve their composition skills through more frequent writing assignments with specific directions and examples plus individualized feedback.
During the fall semester, students will focus on composition skills and grammar. Many of the composition techniques and structures come from The Institute for Excellence in Writing. We will read some short stories, poems, and two books. While reading Code Talker, students will write about Navajo code talkers, their training, and their importance during World War 2. As they read A Christmas Carol, students will learn and write about the author, Charles Dickens. For grammar, we will review the parts of speech, capitalization, complete sentences, subject + verb agreement, consistency of verb tenses, and punctuation with a focus on proper use of commas. There will be weekly writing assignments working on both factual reports and creative writing. Students should expect to write one or two paragraphs every week with a few weeks of three paragraph assignments. We will begin most writing assignments in class with a detailed outline. Students should finish their first draft at home and then review it themselves making any necessary changes before sending a copy to Mrs. Reisinger for review by Thursday night or Friday morning. She will send each student individual feedback to use when revising their work and creating a final draft to turn in on Tuesday.
In the spring, the focus will shift to literature and writing about the works being studied. We will read a variety of classic literature, analyze it, and write about it. The pace of writing assignments will slow down to allow more time for reading. We will spend the first two weeks reading The Pearl and then write an essay about the theme of the novella. As students read Ender’s Game, they will analyze the story, characters, and theme. We will end the year with two plays, The Taming of the Shrew and Twelve Angry Men. We will read aloud parts of each play in class, and students will watch a movie of the play for homework.
Students in ninth grade that have not yet taken Intermediate IEW Writing plus American Literature are strongly encouraged to take that course first.
Required Book List:
● Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
● A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
● Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
● The Giver by Lois Lowry, Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis, or Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (Parents and students will get to vote in May.)
The following will be studied and materials supplied by the tutor:
● The Pearl by John Steinbeck
● The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
● Twelve Angry Men a play by Reginald Rose
Tuition: $50 per month for 9 months ($200 fall/$150 spring after registration deposit) Supply Fee: $30 (Includes a student resource binder and lots of copies)
Class size: minimum 6, maximum 10
Required Materials: Books listed above, pencil or pen, notebook paper
Tutor: Stephanie Reisinger (stephanie@reisingerfamily.net, 214-509-0828)
High School English 1
9th-10th grades
English 1 marks the beginning of high school reading and writing, establishing a solid foundation for both higher education and essential life skills. Literature is central to the course, and through the study of selected texts, students will strengthen their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and ability to express ideas clearly, both orally and in writing. Throughout the year, students will gain confidence in writing, starting with constructing strong, basic paragraphs and progressing to an MLA-based research paper in the spring. In addition, the course includes weekly vocabulary lessons, grammar and mechanics exercises, and various projects, making it an engaging and comprehensive introduction to high school language arts.
Students should expect approximately 4 hours of homework per week for this course. Literature choices include (additional novels may be added): Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Princess Bride movie and writing unit, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, as well as extra reading projects each semester. In addition, there will be a short story unit to begin the course and a poetry unit to end it.
Tuition: $50 per month for 9 months ($200 fall/$150 spring after registration deposit) Supply fee: $30
Number of Students: minimum 6, maximum 14
Required materials: highlighters (available if needed, will not use every week), 3 ring binder—if being shared with other classes, I recommend having dividers to separate materials, and books listed above (with the exception of Romeo and Juliet)
Tutor: Christy Gutierrez Quintanilla (christygq@gmail.com, 214-458-0895)
High School English 2
10th-11th grade
We will combine the analysis of literature with composition skills. Students will read great literature including fiction, a memoir, short stories, plays, and poetry. Students will write a variety of different compositions including short summaries, a five-paragraph essay, compare and contrast essay, research paper, and personal essay. Teacher feedback and individualized editing suggestions will be given on most writing assignments. Many of the composition techniques and structures come from The Institute for Excellence in Writing.
Books to purchase:
● The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
● The Odyssey by Homer translated by Robert Fagles
● The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Materials provided by the tutor:
● The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
● Much Ado About Nothing (We will watch the movie.)
● Macbeth by William Shakespeare
● A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt
Prerequisite: HS English 1 at C4 (or a comparable course completed elsewhere plus a writing sample submitted to Mrs. Quezada)
Tuition: $55 per month for 9 months ($220 fall/$165 spring after registration deposit) Supply fee: $30 includes a copy of the Shakespeare Macbeth play, A Man for All Seasons, and The Book Thief Number of students: minimum 6, maximum 14
Required materials: highlighters, books listed above, 3 ring binder with 3 dividers (may be shared with another class)
Tutor: Jennifer Quezada (jenniferlynnquezada@yahoo.com, 214-778-7582)
High School English 3
11th-12th grades
This course is designed to prepare students for college level English courses.
During the fall semester students will focus on shorter works of fiction and composition skills starting with what to include in a well-developed single paragraph essay and working up to a multiple page research paper about dystopian literature and issues in the modern world that the works reflect. We will read a variety of short stories from “Young Goodman Brown” published in 1835 by Nathaniel Hawthorne to “The Wretched and the Beautiful”
by E. Lily Yu published in 2017, a couple novellas, and Fahrenheit 451. Students and parents will vote on which of the following additional works to study in the fall: The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Lilies of the Field by William Barrett, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, and short stories about Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton. There will be one group project about a novella.
The spring semester will focus on literature and have writing assignments based upon the works being studied plus a second group project. To start the semester, students will read, analyze, and write about Hamlet. While reading a modern memoir The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba, students will complete
a personal essay on a college application prompt. After Easter Sunday, we will read a Christian work by C. S. Lewis. Students and parents can vote for either Out of the Silent Planet or The Screwtape Letters.
Prerequisite: HS English 2 at C4 with tutor recommendation for English 3 (or a comparable course completed elsewhere plus a writing sample submitted to Mrs. Reisinger)
Tuition: $55 per month for 9 months ($220 fall/$165 spring after registration deposit) Supply Fee: $30 (includes a copy of Hamlet and all stories and novellas for the fall semester) Class size: minimum 6, maximum 14
Required Materials:
● Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
● The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (P.S.) by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer ISBN 0061730335 - Make sure you get the adult version.
● A copy of either Out of the Silent Planet or The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Students and parents will vote in May to determine which book will be studied.
Highlighters in yellow, pink, orange, and blue
Binder with 3 dividers (It may be shared with another class.)
Tutor: Stephanie Reisinger (stephanie@reisingerfamily.net, 214-509-0828)