This course is for young students who are advanced readers. It is very challenging to find appropriate reading material that can push a young, advanced reader to become even better at reading and comprehension. Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth" is an excellent novel for doing just that. This book is goofy and fun, which appeals to readers of all ages. It doesn't contain any intense violence (there is one small scuffle), there aren't any swear words, and there isn't a focus on romance. There are, however, many wonderful and important lessons to be learned from this fun adventure. 

Throughout this course, students and I will read the novel together. We will pause to discuss new vocabulary words, characters, and events. This book is also full of idioms, so we will discuss the meaning of many common idioms as well. I will ask students to read aloud during class. This is an intentionally small class, so I hope that students will be comfortable with this. Parents are always welcome to reach out to me if their learner does not feel comfortable reading in front of their peers. However, reading aloud does strengthen reading fluency. 

Students do not have to complete work outside of class. I will post games for students to practice new vocabulary words. I will also post questions related to the reading which students can consider or write about between classes. 

I am a very kind, gentle, and enthusiastic educator. Though I have spent the most time working with middle school aged students, I love interacting with younger kids who are interested and excited about learning new things. This book also contains a lot of excitement, so I know your learner will feel my energy as we read and talk about the book.

Some new words that students will encounter along their way through this book are:
effusive, monotonous, triumphantly, macabre, ominous, dodecahedron, pungent, murky, somber, obstinate, cordially, AND MORE!

The following is a rough breakdown of classes. Please know that this is subject to change depending on discussion length. 

Class 1: Chapters 1 & 2

Class 2: Chapters 3 & 4

Class 3: Chapters 5 & 6

Class 4: Chapters 7 & 8

Class 5: Chapters 9 & 10

Class 6: Chapter 11

Class 7: Chapters 12 & 13

Class 8: Chapters 14 & 15

Class 9: Chapter 16

Class 10: Chapters 17 & 18

Class 11: Chapters 19 & 20

Class 12: Overview what we have learned from The Phantom Tollbooth. *Any left over reading will be completed on this day*