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Real-World English for Future Leaders

PARENT CONFERENCES INCLUDED! No more boring English! This course blends academic excellence with project-based learning. Tailored to develop fundamental ELA skills & independence, active and engaged learners complete challenging projects.
Lemons-Aid Learning
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(675)
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What's included

26 live meetings
23 hrs 50 mins in-class hours
Homework
2-4 hours per week. Students have 1-2 hours of homework per week. This level of in-class and at-home work means they finish an entire semester of ELA in just 13 weeks.
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. We use the Outschool-approved, COPPA-compliant Google Classroom LMS for this.
Progress Report
Parents get a 1-1 live meeting to discuss their learner's progress. This is at no additional cost!
Grading
All students receive specific feedback on their work. We are intentional about putting a little pressure on them and teaching them how to handle that pressure. They will rise to the occasion with mental toughness and confidence because they will know what to do, how to do it, and are absolutely capable of pulling it off. We are building leaders who will take on the world as high achievers.

Class Experience

US Grade 7 - 9
Beginner - Advanced Level
๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐…๐‘๐„๐„ ๐๐Ž๐๐”๐’: Live, 1-1 Parent Conferences are included at no additional cost. Your teacher will meet with you to talk about your learner's progress. We support your homeschooling efforts! 

๐Ÿงบ ๐๐”๐๐ƒ๐‹๐„ ๐ƒ๐ˆ๐’๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“: Purchase semesters A and B in September and get a $50 discount on semester B. 

๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ This course has precise units, so students can join late if spots are available. We make newbies feel welcome! :)





๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž: โ„๐•–๐•’๐•-๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฃ๐•๐•• ๐”ผ๐•ƒ๐”ธ ๐•—๐• ๐•ฃ ๐”ฝ๐•ฆ๐•ฅ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•– ๐•ƒ๐•–๐•’๐••๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค: 


๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ:

๐Ÿง  inspire learners to think, create, and study hard.

๐Ÿ‘€ expose learners to different sectors in the real world.

๐Ÿ•น๏ธ get students to reduce gaming time.

๐Ÿ’ช encourage learners to do something great! 

๐Ÿง help learners develop a curiosity that will drive lifelong learning and skill development.

๐Ÿ’ฏ equip learners for state testing and their future learning journey.

๐Ÿ™‡ maximize student learning despite the hurdles posed by ADHD.

๐Ÿ“‹ teach kids how to conquer laziness and to create new habits that lead to success.

๐Ÿ‘” teach young scholars to dress, look, and act professionally when presenting. 

๐Ÿ™Œ set and work to achieve high standards.






Our learners are active, engaged, and they work! This course lays the groundwork for effective communication and critical thinking skills, essential for future leaders. Through a combination of literature, writing, and oral communication activities, students develop a strong foundation in language arts, the bedrock of all other content area studies. 

Students learn reading, writing, speech, research, and technology skills through explicit, direct instruction, and then they apply their knowledge while creating projects and presenting them to the class. This class is different in that we focus on real-world application of ELA skills and content. We talk about how to give presentations, how to make a good impression while pitching a proposal, and students learn to use 21st century literacy skills to deliver quality work. 

๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐•ฆ๐••๐•ช:
๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Investigative Journaling and Podcasting
๐ŸŽธ Poetry & Music Videos
๐Ÿ“ฆ Time Capsule Project
๐ŸŽž๏ธ Comic Strips Modernized with Reels

๐Ÿ“ธ ๏ผณ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ“๏ฝˆ๏ฝ๏ฝ” ๏ฝ๏ฝ† ๏ผณ๏ฝ”๏ฝ•๏ฝ„๏ฝ…๏ฝŽ๏ฝ” ๏ผฏ๏ฝ•๏ฝ”๏ฝ๏ฝ•๏ฝ”:
Students will: 
--present 4 major class presentations
--read research on a true crime
--write and present a podcast
--complete grammar and sentence writing exercises each day
--learn to edit video along with poetic devices
--produce a music video
--learn to research a historical time
--write a technical piece of writing
--participate in a Poetry Slam
--plan, edit, and produce a video version of a comic strip
--create a time capsule of the year of their birth


๐Ÿ“ท SNAPSHOT OF OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES:
-To create and maintain a friendly environment, we start class by briefly getting to know each other or catching up with life. 
-Students practice a short and sweet grammar/writing mini-lesson
-The instructor explicitly teaches the day's concept or skill, which includes modeling. We often have workshop time where students can get things done and ask questions.
-Students complete their projects in class and for homework.
-Some days include student presentations.






๐Ÿšจ๏ผฉ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ’๏ฝ”๏ฝ๏ฝŽ๏ฝ”  ๏ผฎ๏ฝ๏ฝ”๏ฝ…:
All students receive specific feedback on their work. We are intentional about putting a little pressure on them and teaching them how to handle that pressure. They will rise to the occasion with mental toughness and confidence because they will know what to do, how to do it, and are absolutely capable of pulling it off. We are building leaders who will take on the world as high achievers.






๐Ÿ‹ ๐™๐™๐™š ๐™‡๐™š๐™ข๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™จ-๐˜ผ๐™ž๐™™ ๐™’๐™–๐™ฎ ๐Ÿ‹
๐‹๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐‹๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ-๐€๐ข๐, ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ! CLICK THROUGH TO GET A SURPRISE COUPON CODE!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JwlFnta1ZYAlNn8t2GMMA8Bb6dd0ums1IbdtpzZwuRc/edit?usp=sharing

๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ & ๐˜ˆ๐˜ค๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ
๐˜Œ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ
๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ
๐˜Ž๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜–๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด
๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ
๐˜›๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ--The back-and-forth work between a student and teacher significantly benefits a student if done well. We follow best practices in designing class time, assignments, and routines. According to Pennington Publishing, effective writing feedback (or grading) is:
โ€ข Specific, not general
โ€ข Immediate, not postponed
โ€ข Routine with a revision / feedback cycle
โ€ข Explanatory
โ€ข The right amount
โ€ข Targeted to the most critical issues
โ€ข Varied (written, audio, and video comments)
โ€ข Holding students accountable






๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿซ 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-comprehension-6-steps-to-understanding-paraphrasing-e5lcv2lF?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link
Ages 13-14
https://outschool.com/classes/reading-strategies-6-steps-to-understanding-paraphrasing-FtXMQBAT?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

๐ŸŽฅ To see teacher introduction videos, go to the Lemons-Aid profile page where you can view the video and also read bios. 
https://outschool.com/teachers/Karen-Lemons?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&authTrigger=follow_teacher&follow=true&utm_campaign=share_leader_link
Learning Goals
Use technology in the context of hands-on projects.
Develop a strong, working understanding of English standards (reading, writing, grammar, and communication).
learning goal

Syllabus

Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
Standards
Aligned with State-Specific Standards
26 Lessons
over 13 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Setting a Standard for Excellence
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Investigative Journalism & Podcasting: True Crime!
 Class Podcast: "Kids on the Case" by the website ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜Š๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ.
Students learn journalistic language arts, investigate crime stories, and practice voice recording and editing. The final project entails creating a podcast episode featuring an investigative story. 
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Investigative Journalism & Podcasting: Research and Reading for Information
55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Investigative Journalism & Podcasting: Research and Reading for Information
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 We show students various AI tools but they are not required to use them.
Pre-Requisites
Students should know how to use Google products and be able to tackle extensive technology tools with perseverance as they learn new tools.
Supply List
Learners will need their own copy of the class novel Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe. https://amzn.to/48ouhQL 

 
They also need to have a free Canva and 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
Joined June, 2020
4.9
675reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
New York Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Kimberly Parinisi
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Kimberly Parinisi
Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Jenn Riale
Washington Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Karen Lemons
Washington Teaching Certificate in Foreign Language
Karen Lemons
Washington Teaching Certificate in Social Studies/History
Karen Lemons
Missouri Teaching Certificate
Ali Marie
Tennessee Teaching Certificate in Science
Danielle Mortimore
Master's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Karen Lemons
Master's Degree in Education from Western Governors University
Danielle Mortimore
Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University
Becky Padgett
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Philadelphia College of Bible
Kimberly Parinisi
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Millersville University
Jenn Riale
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Liberty University
Kristen Freeman
Bachelor's Degree in English from Florida State University
Karen Lemons
Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Missouri State University
Ali Marie
Bachelor's Degree in Music from Western Connecticut State University
Blake Dahlmeyer
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Government from Patrick Henry College
Brian Smyth
Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Biological Sciences from Middle Tennessee State University
Danielle Mortimore
Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from University of Northwestern - St. Paul
Kendra Mancuso
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!

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Live Group Course
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$42

weekly or $545 for 26 classes
2x per week, 13 weeks
55 min

Live video meetings
Ages: 13-16
4-15 learners per class

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