Classics & Writing - Early Teen

Books & Materials:

Below is a list of some basic supplies students should have on hand for our class along with the books we’ll be reading this school year.

• Notebook or journal, and a 3-ring binder

• Loose leaf paper

• Dictionary

• Thesaurus

• Pens, pencils, general art supplies

• Access to Google Docs— not required but it is the easiest way for me to offer feedback and comments on students’ written work. If this is not an option for your student, his/her work can just be emailed in as typed assignments or scans and photos of handwritten work or other projects.

• Our books for the year:

  • The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (I love the editions that include Ernest Shepard’s illustrations)

  • Gentle Ben by Walt Morey

  • Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (Illustrated Junior Library edition published by Grosset & Dunlap is beautiful)

  • Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

  • Rascal by Sterling North

*Disclaimer: This link is to products on Amazon.com. If you click these links then purchase any of the books I recommend, this means I earn a small amount through the Amazon Associates program (at no extra cost to you).

Homework:

Aside from reading, homework will vary from week to week but, in general, I will be providing students with assignments as listed below. Please note the weekly reading will be required for everyone to be capable of keeping up and participating in weekly discussions. However, the rest of the assignments will be labeled “recommended/encouraged” (as in, please complete if at all possible), OR “extra” (as in, this is a fun enrichment project, please complete if you’re interested and have time). Ultimately, it will be up to each student and his/her parents to determine what assignments they need to complete each week in addition to the required reading. All of this is intended to take into account different schedules, understanding that students may have different work loads, and it allows for the class to be somewhat flexible and work for more students. So, if you want this class to serve as your child’s entire English class for the term, you may want them to complete all of the assignments. If this class is more of an extracurricular add-on for enrichment, maybe the extra assignments are less critical.

I will provide personalized feedback to each student, while recognizing everyone may be at different places in their learning—rather than expecting them all to produce the same level of work.

What readers can expect in terms of homework…

• Comprehension and critical thinking questions to consider as students read the assigned chapters for each week

• Reading or viewing recommended materials related to current reading and writing skills

• Vocabulary words when applicable

• Writing assignments of various kinds (essays, creative writing, character analysis, etc)

• Some art, cooking, research, or other enrichment projects on theme and related to whatever book we’re reading