Language Arts: Terms 1-2 Super Pack (Full Year)

Purchase a discounted year (32 weeks) of classes! This includes:
 
The Fortress: Foundations of Writing (8 weeks)
The question of building a foundation of writing requires us to have a definition of the very idea of writing, and writing is the act of building. Building a thought, a view, a belief, and manifesting it in one of thousands of ways: a sentence, a paragraph, an essay, a story, a song. In this course, students explore pillars of writing, including fairytales and the compare-contrast essay. With careful guidance and thoughtful examination, students discover how to mold writing into concise, specific, powerful paragraphs, and build upon their work to make a statement and prove a point. They begin to look beyond the foundation of writing when they contrast written fairytales with visual ones, noting the messages and character creation choices. What makes a story a story? And, once you find out, do you have the tools to tell us? 
 
During this eight-week course, students will be involved in writing a basic 500+ word narrative essay, a 750+ word compare-contrast essay, and a 1,000+ word fairytale of their choice. 
 
Required Materials: Fairytale reading material will be provided (PDF or Gutenberg Project). Students must have access to Disney’s The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast (2017).
 
Descriptive Writing and Human Expression: Narratives and Poetry (8 weeks)
People do not read because they love the sight of black and white or the smell of ink (though some may): they read because words attempt to embody experience and emotion. We dive into a story to experience something new and exciting–something beyond the world of our current understanding. Students experience the excitement of not only diving into others’ worlds but of creating their own. Through careful observation and exploration, students discover how to relay their experiences colorfully, both in narrative and poetic forms. Students travel along the sands of time to discover how these forms have emerged and transformed through thousands of years, and choose one poem of millions to examine in detail. Through their explorations of others’ works and communicative choices, students determine how they can connect with others, and not only through the written word. 
 
During this eight-week excursion, students will be involved in poetry exploration and analysis, narrative writing, and reflective work. This includes a 700+ word poetry analysis essay and a 500+ word narrative piece.
 
Castles in the Grass: The Subtleties of Creative Writing (8 weeks)
Building a world or even a simple character takes time and understanding of the subtleties of creation and impression. J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings took twelve years to write. J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series took sixteen years to complete. What is it about writing that takes so long? Students will not be asked to write a trilogy or series during their time in this course. Instead, students are challenged to explore the works of Ray Bradbury, an American author and screenwriter who wrote over 600 short stories before his death in 2012. Students will step into a world of adventure, motive, emotion, and difference as they explore Bradbury’s works and begin their own. What sets a tasteless character apart from the characters whose tales we read with relish and apprehension? What makes a world worth building? How do you record a human experience in such a way that the reader falls into the story, head first? Through discussion and explorative challenges, students experiment with the subtleties of language and character building, discovering that stories are deeper than the pages they cover.  
 
During this eight-week exploration, students will be involved in writing an original 2,000-word short story in three segments, writing a 700+ word expository essay, and writing flash fiction pieces. The course includes literary device study, descriptive work, and research essay work. 
 
Required Material: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
 
Understanding and Evaluation: Executing Essays (8 weeks)
Writing is the primary channel for passing on information to others. Writing an essay forces an individual to organize their thoughts, streamline their thinking by disposing of irrelevant information, and choose their words precisely and effectively. Students will be challenged to work on a professional level as they propose an original question about a current concern or problem, examine it in detail, and propose solutions. With guidance and a thorough study of professional writing, students learn how to integrate various forms of media into their writing, develop topics through the use of facts, details, quotations, examples, and subject-specific terms and definitions, and maintain flow and continuity in their work. Like riding a bicycle, writing is a balancing act, and students learn to walk the line with confidence. 
 
During this eight-week workshop, students will be involved in writing a 750+ word expository essay that examines a problem, and an 850+ word research paper that examines solutions to that problem and proposes the best one.
 
Day and Time: Mondays, 12:45 - 1:45 PM ET
Bundle Duration: 32 Weeks
Dates: September 16, 2024 - May 26, 2025
No class
November 25 (Thanksgiving Break)
December 16, 23, 30 (Christmas Break)
April 14 (Spring Break) 
Recommended for: Ages 13+ / Grades 8-9
Teacher: TTK Faculty
 
See more language arts classes: thethinkingkid.org/language-arts
See more classes for ages 13+ / grades 8-9: thethinkingkid.org/grades-8-9