This is a 40 minute ongoing class. See Schedule for 24/25 School Year!

  It  is meant for students who have a good working knowledge of the 8 parts of speech. 

     In this class we will go beyond the 8 parts of speech and dig deeper into the workings of the English language.   

    One of the best ways to learn grammar is to study the  examples from well written literature. 

     Each week I will send a pdf of the passage with some additional pdfs for reference.  These will usually be sent out the Monday before the class.  

     In class I will give a brief summary of the book our passage was taken from.   If any of the students have read the book I encourage their input, thoughts and opinions.   

    It is not necessary to read the book our passage was taken from but I do hope to inspire their reading and engage in The Great Conversation. 

     We will read the passage together and discuss its context in the story.    We will identify new and challenging vocabulary, tricky spellings and other interesting parts of the passage.   

    In this advanced class we will dig deeper into each part of speech to identify them further.  I will teach a mini lesson in each class to deepen the understanding of each word and its role in the sentence.   We will also pull out a sentence and complete a diagram of that sentence. 
     There will be an optional homework assignment for those who wish for extra practice. 

Topics we will cover include (but are not limited to):
Noun types
Verb types  including verbals and irregular verbs
Adjective properties
Conjunction types
Syntax of a sentence including phrases, clauses
Rules of Capitalization and Punctuation 
Sentence patterns and types
Objects and compliments
Sentence combination
Quotations

My research source for this class is "Harvey's Revised Grammar" a public domain text.


 Many students prefer to use the Zoom annotating tools to mark the passage and others like to put pen or pencil to the printed page.   

If your student is not confident in his or her ability to locate the 8 parts of speech with ease may I recommend the ongoing class "Learning Grammar Through Literature" prior to taking this course.    They can jump in any time. 

Here is our schedule for this year. (Subject to change)

Week of 
September 2 The Toothpaste Millionaire
September 9 Matilda
September 16   Harry Potter
September 23   Anne of Green Gables
September 30   Jo's Boys

Week of    
October 7 Legend of Sleepy Hollow
October 14 Frankenstein
October 21 Dracula
October 28 Coraline

Week of  
November 4 A Horse and His Boy
November 11  Black Beauty
November 18  War Horse
November 25 No Class.  Thanksgiving Break

Week of 
December 2 A Christmas Carol
December 9The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever
December 16 No Class Christmas Break
December 23 No Class Christmas Break
December 30 No Class Christmas Break


Week of  
January 6 Robinson Crusoe
January 13 Swiss Family Robinson
January 20 Turtle in Paradise
January 27 Swallows and Amazons

Week of  
February 3 The Family Under the Bridge
February 10 The Invention of Hugo Cabret
February17 The Three Musketeers
February 24 A Tale of Two Cities

Week of 
March 3 Cheaper By The Dozen
March 10  Who Gets The Drumstick?
March 17 The Penderwicks
March 24 The Five Children and It
March 31 No Class Spring Break

Week of  
April 7 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
April 14 City of Ember
April 21  The Giver
April 28  Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Week of 
May 5 Student Choice
May 12 Student Choice
May 19  Last Class!

We will take the summer off and resume in September.  There is no need to unenroll.  

Please reach out if you have any questions about the content of this class.