ENGLISH CLASSES

WriteShop 1 plus Book Discussion

7th-8th grades

This class will combine composition skills with the study of classic and contemporary literature. The main part of this class will be learning composition skills utilizing the WriteShop I curriculum. WriteShop focuses on teaching the elements of style. Students learn to develop strong paragraphs through choosing vivid, descriptive words and using sentence variations. They first learn to write descriptive paragraphs before moving on to informative and narrative writing. WriteShop is wonderful for guiding beginning writers because each assignment provides the student with a specific writing skills checklist, as well as one for the teacher. It is not a grammar program, but Mrs. O’Neill will frequently review many grammar components. Vocabulary, comprehension questions, and literary elements will be a point of discussion along with analysis of each book. Check out the Write Shop website for an overview of the style and expectation. Student must already be sufficiently competent with writing complete sentences and thoughts.

The book list for this class will include: The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, The Cure of Ars by Milton Lomask, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, Revised Kids Edition by Ben Carson, and possibly A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen.

Required Materials: Write Shop I Student Workbook, 1 yellow highlighter, notebook paper, 1.5 inch binder, student thesaurus, books listed above

Tuition: $45 per month for 9 months ($180 per semester after registration deposit)

Supply fee: $87 (includes $62 for the WriteShop1 Student Workbook, which will be purchased by tutor through Demme Learning)

Class size: minimum 6, maximum 12

Required Materials: Write Shop I Student Workbook (purchased by tutor), 1 yellow highlighter, notebook paper, books listed above

Tutor: Camille O’Neill

Middle School Literature & Composition

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
Another book to be determined before August
*** 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
- Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
- The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
- The Keeper of the Lost Cities (Book 1) by Shannon Messenger
- City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
- The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
- The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

Tuition: $45 per month for 9 months ($180 per semester after registration deposit)

Supply fee: $25

Class size: minimum 5, maximum 10

Tutor: Barbara Laudadio

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: $45 per month for 9 months ($180 per semester after registration deposit)

Supply fee: $45 includes US History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book

Number of students: minimum 6, maximum 12

Required materials: highlighters, books listed above, 3 ring binder with 3 dividers (may be shared with another class)

Tutor: Jennifer Quezada

High School English 1

9th-10th grade

English 1 represents the initial step into high school reading and writing, creating a strong foundation for higher education as well as developing important life skills. Literature forms the backbone of our year. Through our studies of the chosen selections, students will cultivate skills in reading comprehension, critical thinking, the expression of thought (spoken and written), and the ability to explore the world through language. Students will build up confidence in writing, beginning with forming a basic, strong paragraph at the start of the year to writing an MLA-based research paper in the spring. In addition, weekly vocabulary, weekly exercises in grammar and mechanics, and a variety of projects make this course a dynamic introduction to high school language arts.

Students should expect approximately 4 hours of homework per week for this course.

Literature choices for the year: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Fellowship of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, The Princess Bride movie and writing unit, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, as well as extra reading projects each semester. In addition, there will be a short story unit to start the year and a poetry unit to end the course.

Tuition: $50 per month for 9 months ($200 per semester after registration deposit)

Supply fee: $25

Number of Students: minimum 6, maximum 14

Required materials: highlighters (pink, orange, yellow, and blue), 3 ring binder with 5 dividers, and books listed above (with the exception of Romeo and Juliet)

Tutor: Christine Alcott

High School English 2

10th-11th grade

This class will combine the analysis of literature with composition skills. Students will read great literature including fiction, a memoir, short stories, two 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.

Book List:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

The Odyssey by Homer translated by Robert Fagles

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (a copy will be provided)

A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt (a copy will be provided)

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

We will also watch and discuss Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.

Mrs. Reisinger will be the primary tutor in class on Tuesdays, and Mrs. Mullan will be assisting with feedback on student writing assignments and grading.

Prerequisite: HS English 1 at C4 (or a comparable course completed elsewhere plus a writing sample submitted to Mrs. Reisinger)

Tuition: $55 per month for 9 months ($200 per semester after registration deposit)

Supply fee: $25 includes a copy of Macbeth and A Man for All Seasons

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: Stephanie Reisinger and Sondra Mullan

High School English 3

10th-11th grade target audience, 12th graders welcome

We are making some significant changes to this course for the 2024-2025 school year.

The fall semester will focus on writing and utilize materials from The Institute for Excellence in Writing’s new course titled University-Ready Writing. In this course, “students learn effective note-taking strategies as they write précis (summaries) and essays, tackling assignments of varying lengths from one paragraph to several pages. With tips and tools for writing an abstract, creating and arranging content, citing sources, applying various style guides, using literary devices, and writing on-demand essays, this curriculum will prepare your students for university writing assignments.” We will also 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 and a few novellas including The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis and The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrude von Le Fort.

The spring semester will focus on literature and have writing assignments based upon the works being studied plus a group project. To start the semester, we will read and analyze Fahrenheit 451 comparing it to modern-day Texas and the U.S. We will watch The Taming of the Shrew then read, analyze, and write about Hamlet. The year will end with novels and writing in first person. Students will be divided into small groups, and each group will read a different novel or memoir then complete a group project based upon what they have read. Book options include: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba, Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac, Night by Elie Wiesel, My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, and My Antonia by Willa Cather. Students will also complete a personal essay on a college application prompt.

The content of this course will no longer alternate for students to take it two years in a row. If in the future we have a significant number of seniors at C4 in need of an English 4 course, we will attempt to add one.

Mrs. Reisinger and Ms. Baumgarten will share the teaching and grading duties for this course.

Prerequisite: HS English 2 at C4 (or a comparable course completed elsewhere plus a writing sample submitted to Mrs. Reisinger)

Tuition: $55 per month for 9 months ($220 per semester after registration deposit)
Supply Fee: $45 (includes a copy of the University-Ready Writing student packet plus all necessary reading materials and books except The Screwtape Letters and Fahrenheit 451)
Class size: minimum 6, maximum 14
Required Materials: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, highlighters, 3 ring binder with 5 dividers

Tutors: Stephanie Reisinger and Rebecca Baumgarten