Students will learn how to write an essay. I will write the essay with them, explaining why I am writing it the way that I am. Beginner students will copy the essay that I write, and the more advanced students will be encouraged to paraphrase that which I write, which will demonstrate this skill for the beginner and intermediate students. This will expand the vocabulary of all learners in this class.

Day 1 of 5: We will write the introduction which will pertain to the topic questions in the following paragraphs.

Day 2 of 5: We will write the first paragraph of the body of the essay with the first topic sentence and 3 to 4 sentences supporting that topic sentence.

Day 3 of 5: We will write the second paragraph of the body of the essay with the second topic sentence and 3 to 4 sentences supporting that topic sentence.

Day 4 of 5: We will write the third paragraph of the body of the essay with the third topic sentence and 3 to 4 sentences supporting that topic sentence.

Day 5 of 5: We will write the conclusion which will pertain to the previous three paragraphs.

Reading: Learners will read the paragraph aloud to the class (unless they opt out of reading aloud). Depending upon how many students there are per class they will each read approximately a sentence each. They will read the rest to themselves and read along with the class.

Writing: Learners will practice handwriting with pen or pencil and paper. They can either print or write in cursive depending upon their skill level. Students will copy the paragraph on their own paper and show it to the camera in class, or take a photo of it and upload it to the classroom if they finish it after class. They can also bring it to show at the beginning of the next class if they prefer.

Typing: Learners will practice typing by typing the paragraph of the day into a word processing software program such as Microsoft Word or alike. Learners can also type it into the chat box on Zoom during class. If learners do not type their paragraph into the chat box during class, they can either type it into the classroom directly or as a direct message to the teacher, or upload their word processing document to the classroom or to the teacher in a private message after class if they prefer.

I always teach the class, even if there is only one learner enrolled, so please do not worry about the cancellation of my classes if you should receive an automated email from Outschool stating that the class might be cancelled if enrolment is too low.

This class will adhere to the Common Core Standards.

The first essay that we are going to write together in this class is about the "Centennial Lightbulb" which is now safely looked after by the firefighters at Livermore's Fire Station. I have actually visited this lightbulb in real life! The story of this lightbulb is amazing, as it has been turned on since the year 1901. We will write about the science and technology of the lightbulb, which explains how it was able to last for 121 years and counting, and the social science of the lightbulb, as it was manufactured in Germany long before any World Wars: http://centennialbulb.org/

If we have time at the end of class at the end of the week, I can show the short video that I took whilst I was at this fire station in 2017. The firefighters there are very proud to be the custodians of this lightbulb, and they love having foreign visitors coming in to 'check' on the lightbulb.

When applicable, I will screen share slides from Google Slides, and media from YouTube.