Reading & Writing 1 (NW)

Class Year:  2021-2022
Time:  Wed 12:30 pm - 02:30 pm;
Teacher:  Jennifer Jones
Tuition:  $500 / Year or $50 / Month (August - May)
Supply Fee:  $50 / Year - Due Upon Registration
Location:  Northwest (Cypress)

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NOTE:  A student must be at least twelve years old by September 1, 2021, to register for this class for the 2021-22 school year.

Seventh grade is a great time for students to sharpen the skills they have been taught and add some new ones to challenge their active minds. This class is designed to do just that through the four areas of language study:  reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Students will learn a good deal of new vocabulary as well as comprehension strategies and will also begin to analyze literature while delving into discussions of the themes of some excellent novels.  These include The Secret Garden (Burnett), Where the Red Fern Grows (Rawls), Prince Caspian (Lewis), My Side of the Mountain (George), A Wrinkle in Time (L’Engle), and Number the Stars (Lowry).  Even if some students have already read one or more of these books, they likely have not truly studied them or been required to think deeply about the themes. Also, when a book is re-read and discussed with peers, a fresh perspective often arises, causing a “mundane” book to come alive or an already loved book to be that much more treasured.

Using the WriteShop 1 curriculum, students will have the opportunity to master that blank page by learning to construct, edit, and revise paragraphs written for different purposes, including description, exposition, and narration.  Additionally, I will provide weekly English grammar exercises in which students will thoroughly review parts of speech, phrases, and clauses through parsing and diagramming.

As we read and write together, we will hone listening and speaking skills through in-depth discussion not only of the novels but also of the students’ writing samples. The students will also be required to give the class periodic presentations based on the books and recite at least one poem from memory.

Parents provide the novels (any paper edition that is not simplified or abridged), WriteShop 1 (student book only), Rodale’s The Synonym Finder or other thesaurus, and a good hard-copy dictionary, preferably Webster’s or another title that has stood the test of time.

The withdrawal fee after October 1 is three months’ tuition.