This course covers four target areas: grammar & mechanics reading (beginning of the first semester); vocabulary, writing (end of the first semester and all of the second semester), and reading (second semester). The course utilizes lectures, online worksheets, games, and discussions. You will be required to read a book of your choice during our fall break. You will have to write a book report about it when you come back from break. You will need Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters to follow along and refer to for the second semester.

2024 Fall Semester:
Aug 26-29: Nouns & Possessives / Pronouns and Conjunctions
Sep 2-5: Verbs / Verb Tenses
Sep 9-12: Adverbs & Adjectives
Sep 16-19: Prepositions & Misplaced Modifiers / Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms
Sep 23-26: Sentence Fragments & Run-Ons / Types of Sentences and Punctuation
Sep 30 - Oct 03: Semicolons, Colons / Hyphens, & Dashes
Oct 7-10: Clauses, Appositives, & Tiered Vocabulary
Oct 14-17: Prefixes & Suffixes / Root Words & Etymology
Oct 21-24: Capitalization & Letter Formatting / Types of Writing & Literacy Genres
Oct 28-31: Literary Devices / More Literary Devices
Nov 4-7: Active & Passive Voice / Main Idea, Theme
Nov 11-14: Plot & Characters / Conflict & Setting, Writing Process & Persuasive Writing
Nov 18-21: Prewriting & Organizing Writing/Writing Process & Persuasive Writing & Essay / Biography Essay

****NOVEMBER 25-28: NO CLASS****

Dec 2-5: Poetry 1 (Angelou & Poe)
Dec 9-12:  Poetry 2 (Dickinson, Shakespeare, & Homer)
Dec 16-20: Homer's "The Iliad" & "The Odyssey" Crash Course

****NO CLASS DEC 23 - JAN 9****

2025 Spring Semester:
January 13 - April 10: The Lightning Thief Unit
Apr 14 - May 29: The Sea of Monsters Unit


Part 2 continues to add to, goes more in-depth, and has more practice time with the subjects than Part 1. It is a MUST that students already know how to write the following essays: book report, opinion piece, compare/contrast, and persuasive. If they do not know how to write these, I suggest enrolling in Part 1. Each week, new words will be added to their spelling/vocabulary list. The first month will cover grammar and journal writing but afterward, the main focus of the course will be reading and analyzing short stories. Students will discuss and have writing prompts based on what they read. Each week will feature a new short story. This course utilizes lectures, online worksheets, games, and discussions.

Fall Semester 2025:
Aug 21-24: Nouns, Pronouns, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing
Aug 28-31: Verbs, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing
Sep 4-7: Adverbs, Adjectives, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing
Sep 11-14: "The Fun they Had", Spelling/Vocab
Sep 18-21: "The Most Dangerous Game," Spelling/Vocab
Sep 25-28: "The Pit and the Pendulum," Spelling/Vocab
Oct 2-5: "The Tell-Tale Heart," Spelling/Vocab
Oct 9-12: "The Monkey's Paw," Spelling/Vocab
Oct 16-19: Coraline Chapters 1-4
Oct 23-26: Coraline Chapters 5-8
Oct 30-Nov 2: Coraline Chapters 9-13
Nov 6-9: Coraline Review & Test / Movie Analysis
Nov 13-16: Coraline Movie Analysis / Comparison Essay Lesson
****Nov 20-21: Coraline Comparison Essay - ONLY ONE CLASS DAY****
****November 22 - 24: NO CLASS****
****Nov 27-30: Artemis Fowl Chapters 1-5****
Dec 4-7: Artemis Fowl Chapter 6-7
Dec 11-14: Artemis Fowl Chapter 8-9
Dec 18-21: Artemis Fowl Movie Comparison & Essay
****December 26-27: NO CLASS****

Spring Semester 2026:
Jan 1-4: Holes Ch 1-10
Jan 8-11: Holes Ch 11-20
Jan 15-18: Holes Ch 21-30
Jan 22-25: Holes Ch 31-40
Jan 29-Feb 1: Holes Ch 41-50
Feb 5-8: Movie Comparison
Feb 12-15: Movie Comparison/Theme Essay & Project
Feb 19-22: Analysis & The Scarlet Ibis Unit Part 1
****Feb 26-29: NO CLASS****
March 4-8: Analysis & The Scarlet Ibis Unit Part 2 / Dystopian Lesson
****March 11-14: NO CLASS****
March 18-22: The Giver Ch 1-5
March 25-29: The Giver Ch 6-10
April 1-5: The Giver Ch 11-15
April 8-11: The Giver Ch 16-20
April 15-18: The Giver Ch 21-23/Essay
April 22-25-May 2: Tangerine Prologue/Part 1
May 6-21: Tangerine Part 2
May 22-30: Tangerine Part 3