Middle School English: The Essentials of Reading, Writing, and Speech Semester A
What's included
24 live meetings
22 in-class hoursHomework
2-4 hours per week. Students will read 20 minutes, five nights a week. They will also have homework which should take them 30-60 minutes a week.Assessment
We give specific and authentic feedback on student writing through the teacher tab of the classroom and on Google Docs. Writing is formally assessed.Letter Grade
Letter grades can be controversial, so it is good to know how we approach grading ahead of time. As I (Karen Lemons) homeschooled my children without formal tests and grades, they had difficulty adjusting to college. I realized that as a teacher, I need to give tests! Further, students on Outschool are more likely to complete their work on time if there are grades. They need to learn to perform under a little pressure, and this will bring out the best in them! Therefore, all students are formally graded, and parents have access to those grades.Grading
Parents get a 1-1 live meeting to discuss their learner's progress. This is at no additional cost!Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 8
Beginner - Advanced Level
๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Live 1-1 Parent Conferences are included in this semester class at no additional cost. Your teacher will meet with you to talk about your learner's progress. We support your homeschooling efforts! ๐งบ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Purchase semesters A and B in September and get a $50 discount on semester B. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐: ๐ This is one of our most popular, special classes on Outschool: The Essentials! ๐ฅ THEME: Check Language Arts off your list of subjects to teach and get individualized grading and feedback in this complete English course. This semester-long English class builds a foundation for learning as students master the essentials. This is the must-take class for middle school English students and emphasizes essay writing, Socratic Seminars, and developing a love of reading. This is ideal for 7th or 8th-grade learners; however, we often have advanced 6th-graders and young 9th-graders. As students become proficient with reading, writing, and communication skills, their confidence soars, and they are prepared for future success in all areas of study. We love this semester because skill development is rapid! We start fast, cruise through the middle, and finish strong. And it is a little hard to say goodbye at the end of the semester. ๐ท SNAPSHOT OF OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES: -Catching up with life -Grammar and sentence work with feedback -Students report on their daily reading -Student gives a Book Talk -Direct teaching with modeling -Workshop time with immediate feedback to each student -Students get homework ๐ฅ SNAPSHOT OF STUDENT OUTPUT: ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ: 1 full-length, beautiful essay 3 opinion pieces 1 illustrated fable Multiple summaries 24 pages of grammar 24 in-class writing exercises with immediate teacher feedback ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น, ๐ฉ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐: 4-8 novels of their choice Multiple nonfiction pieces, fables, opinion pieces, and short stories. ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ & ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐: Two class presentations Frequent in-class discussions Multiple Socratic Seminars ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐! ๐กWHY CHOOSE AN ORGANIZATION: If your teacher becomes ill or has an emergency, we have other English teachers to step in as subs. Each English teacher is qualified and trained and is likely already. teaching another section of this class. This continuity for learners is a great benefit. We also have ongoing professional development because our teachers are lifelong learners themselves. You are in good hands with Lemons-Aid Learning. ๐ฐ Scroll to the bottom of this page to see our commitment to you. We promise to teach this class all semester! In other classes that offer weekly payments, teachers may cancel the class if enrollment falls below the minimum. We don't do that. ๐ค ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐จ-๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ-๐๐ข๐, ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ! CLICK THROUGH TO GET A COUPON CODE! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JwlFnta1ZYAlNn8t2GMMA8Bb6dd0ums1IbdtpzZwuRc/edit?usp=sharing ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ: (๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ, ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ) ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ & ๐๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ & ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ--The back-and-forth work between a student and teacher significantly benefits a student if it is done well. We follow best practices in this area with how we design class time, assignments, and routines. According to Pennington Publishing, effective writing feedback (or grading) is: โข Specific, not general โข Immediate, not postponed โข Routine with a revision / feedback cycle โข Explanatory โข The right amount โข Targeted to the most critical issues โข Varied (written, audio, and video comments) โข Holding students accountable ๐ฉโ๐ซ YOUR TEACHER & A FREE CLASS: Nervous about the commitment to an entire semester? We offer a little taste in a reading comprehension class. If you take that class and enroll in this one, we will credit you the tuition you paid for the reading class, essentially getting it for free. You just need to send an email asking for it, so we don't miss it! Ages 11-12: https://outschool.com/classes/reading-for-understanding-kids-a-6-step-approach-to-reading-and-paraphrasing-a-text-e5lcv2lF?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Ages 13-14 https://outschool.com/classes/reading-for-understanding-a-6-step-approach-to-reading-and-paraphrasing-a-text-FtXMQBAT?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link ๐ฅ To see teacher introduction videos, go here: https://youtu.be/vHavD9LJ_gg ๐ฐ A Quick Note on Why Ask for Full Payment Up Front: Outschool has a new class payment system, where parents can pay weekly for a semester class. This is helpful for the pocketbook! However, students can unenroll if their schedule changes. If a class falls below the minimum enrollment, teachers may cancel it, leaving remaining learners and their parents in the lurch for a class! We want to offer a consistent learning experience in our semester courses, so we commit to running the course all semester, and learners commit to remaining enrolled. We charge less per class in semester classes because of the upfront investment. A guaranteed semester allows us to build on content and do long-range projects and essays. It also allows us to build a special community of learnersโand itโs a little hard to say goodbye at the end! We also offer ongoing middle school English classes, which are wonderfulโjust different. Hopefully, this helps you understand how our semester classes differ from others that offer weekly payments.
Learning Goals
Thoroughly understand and master essay writing!
Read critically and think critically.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created CurriculumStandards
Aligned with State-Specific Standards4 Units
24 Lessons
over 12 WeeksUnit 1: Procedures and Book Talks
Lesson 1:
Welcome & Procedures
Develop a tight-knit community and learn how we roll (and intro to grammar, reading, homework, and how to engage in class).
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Book Talks
Learn how to analyze the structure of a narrative and how to prepare for your oral presentations (students give a presentation in every class). This is a fancy, more analytical oral book report.
55 mins online live lesson
Unit 2: Opinion Writing with Fables
Lesson 3:
Opinion Writing: Screen Time
Learn to express an opinion and support it.
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Opinion Writing: Wasting Kindness on the Evil
Learn to express an opinion and support it.
55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Students need to have a Google account. Parents can set Google accounts up for children under age 13 here: https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/kidaccountinfo?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=ServiceLogin
Supply List
Find a book, any book, you want to read. Get the audiobook to go with it for a fun approach. Also, come to class with a notebook for taking notes and a folder to keep the printouts you will get. Your teacher will provide everything else.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Teacher expertise and credentials
5 teachers have teaching certificates
New York Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Washington Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Washington Teaching Certificate in Foreign Language
Washington Teaching Certificate in Social Studies/History
Missouri Teaching Certificate
Tennessee Teaching Certificate in Science
2 teachers have a Graduate degree
Master's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Master's Degree in Education from Western Governors University
10 teachers have a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Philadelphia College of Bible
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Millersville University
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Bachelor's Degree in English from Florida State University
Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Missouri State University
Bachelor's Degree in Music from Western Connecticut State University
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Government from Patrick Henry College
Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Biological Sciences from Middle Tennessee State University
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from University of Northwestern - St. Paul
Mrs. Lemons, who developed this course, has a B.A. in English Literature, a minor in Education, and a Master's in Education Administration. She has her teaching certificate and principal's license, and she is certified to teach English / Language Arts and History / Social Studies. She has many years of experience at the middle and high school levels. Further, she is an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Christian University, supervising teacher candidates in their undergraduate and graduate programs. She is a teacher of teachers. All that being said, middle school is her jam!
All teachers that teach this course also think middle school students are awesome! Further, they have English degrees and teaching certificates. They are qualified experts who love kids!
Reviews
Live Group Course
$545
for 24 classes2x per week, 12 weeks
55 min
Completed by 199 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
5-15 learners per class