ABOUT MY CLASS
Thank you for your interest in my class! I'm so happy that you are here! This class is suitable for students aged 13-16 who wish to learn more advanced reading and writing strategies and techniques in preparation for advanced courses and/or college. Students will read short passages (a variety of genres and writing styles), complete writing activities, discuss and analyze texts, and engage in literary criticism. This class moves students past recall (who, what, when, where) and encourages students to analyze, think critically, and support ideas with evidence using dialectic methods. In doing so, students will explore how to argue their claims effectively, how authors structure writing for specific purposes, how forms of literary criticism (psychological, historical, reader-response, psychoanalytical, etc) expand the value of a text, and how rhetoric is used to persuade readers.

Structure:
1. Warmup/pop quiz/ writing prompt
2. Students discuss and engage with the text mentioning things that they found interesting, confusing, or that they disagreed with
3. Analysis questions/activities prompted by the instructor and discussion time


NOTE: Each week will be a new topic. Students can enter and leave at any time, however, each week students will have a reading assignment. The reading assignment MUST be read before class. Texts will be posted by unit and each text will be dated with the date that the student is expected to have the text read. For each unit, there is a short quiz and an essay.

REQUIREMENTS:
To be successful in this course, students should be able to read at an 8th-grade reading level, write coherently (embedding evidence), and be able to participate in class discussions. Students are required to speak and give opinions/feedback. Occasionally, students do need to use the chat for an informal writing prompt, however, most of the class will be spent in discussion.

TEACHING STYLE
The best way to teach writing and critical thinking is by looking at good literature. Many of our writing activities are supported by mentor texts (short essays, articles, and short stories). Students will be exposed to a diverse collection of excerpts from classics as well as modern literature. The majority of texts are read outside of class. We will use class time to discuss the text. After class is a formal writing assignment. My class will help build the skills that high school teachers and college professors are looking for--critical analysis, independent thinking, and articulation and support of claims and evidence. All FORMAL writing is done outside of class (there will be some informal writing done in class). The only way to become a better writer is to write more; this is why a writing assignment is given each week.

PARTICIPATION: 
Students may choose to keep cameras on or off as long as they briefly verify themselves with me at the beginning of the class (per Outschool policy). I do expect participation in this class. We cover quite a bit of material and it is essential that students discuss and understand the material. Being active participants helps them do so.

MISSED CLASSES
If your student misses a class, a recording will always be accessible on the classroom page. The PowerPoint lesson and notes are always available as well.

REFUND POLICY 
If your student is not able to attend in person but stays enrolled, refunds will not be issued. This is because the student can still access the materials, recordings, and receive feedback for assignments. I do provide refunds for emergency situations.

GRADES
Tests and writing assignments are graded. I provide grades for every test and keep track of student grades. If parents want to use this class for credit, I can send grades. I am a certified English educator, but some states have different requirements, so parents should make sure that the class fulfills all of the requirements. 

Schedule: 
Begins June 2024

UNIT 1: Argumentation Reading and Writing
- Arguing with Factual Evidence
-Humor, Irony, and Satire to Persuade
-Fear-mongering
-Arguing from Personal Experience
-Using Misconceptions and Counterarguments

Unit 2: American Fiction (Short Stories)

Unit 3: British Literature (Short Stories)

Unit 4: World/Multicultural Literature (Short Stories)

Unit 5: Poetry