I have a master’s degree in English and creative writing and have taught English for six years, but most of what I’ve learned about teaching has come from homeschooling my eight children. Learning takes place when the heart is engaged. This class is open ended and aimed to fit the individual student. Books and writing topics will be chosen according to the student’s interest and suggestion.
We will build vocabulary based around the student’s area of interest.
We will build sentences, then paragraphs, then short stories.
We will write letters to people that matter to the student.
We will read books and discuss who, why, when, where, and what.
We will tell stories to each other to practice organizing our thoughts and gain confidence in speaking.
We will have fun as our skills improve.

Critical reading/writing project format: 
--Introduction, project/book decision.
--Introduction to book and author. Overview of genre, point of view, and theme.
--Comprehension check and critical analysis of the book's opening chapters. Making predictions.
--Comprehension check and critical analysis of the week's reading. Learning how to think about a text. Review and edit writing responses to reading.
--Comprehension check and critical analysis of the week's reading. Learning how to think about a text. ---
--Review and edit writing responses to reading.
--Comprehension check and critical analysis of the week's reading. Introductory paragraphs. The importance of focusing a thesis.
--Comprehension check and critical analysis of the week's reading. Body paragraphs. Finding and following the logic!
--The pleasure of expression through words. Brining your writing to life by combining your personality with metaphors, similes phrasing, and figures of speech.
--The difficult fact of the first draft. Editing for a second draft. Creating a gem.
--The presentation of the essay. Satisfaction through expression.