I’m happy to share my course descriptions for this summer and fall. I will be offering two summer writing workshops and three yearlong courses. Registration for courses will open on March 16th.
All families who have taken any course with me in the past will be given a 10% discount off of tuition.
Five Paragraph Essay Intensive Workshop:
Location: Friend’s Home 485/Lawyers Road, Indian Trail
Session 1: July 20-24th 9:30 AM-12:15 PM, 13.5 Contact Hours
Session 2: August 3-7 9:30-12:15 AM, 13.5 Contact Hours
This 5 day course is designed to assist writers with the basic five paragraph essay in a concentrated format. It is ideal for students who have lacked writing instruction or need a focused supervised assistance. Each day, class will begin with 45 minutes of instruction, followed by a break and an hour of assisted in-class writing. The final hour of class will include general feedback and more instruction for completing a daily assignment at home. Students will be expected to spend time writing at home during the first four days of the workshop. During the final class, student will finalize a finished 5 paragraph essay to share with classmates. Obviously, an “intensive” class will require students to sustain attention and focus for the hours of the course and come prepared with finished homework each day. Students will need access to online word processor and email. Student may bring laptops to class for drafting.
Cost: Early Registration $125 March 16th-June 15th; Late Registration $140 After June 16th
Class Minimum: 6
Ages: 13+ (exceptions for my former students)
Fall/Spring Literature & Writing Classes
Location:Shanan Tutorials at Spirit of Joy Lutheran 8900 Potter Road, Weddington
32 Weeks: 15 Fall, 17 Spring
Shanan offers many courses for 8th-12th grade homeschoolers. I’ve linked their schedule for this year for your convenience. Shanan’s 2020-21 schedule will be released March 1st.
**Registration at Shanan is $100/student or $200/family regardless of number of classes taken. This covers building insurance and administrative costs. They offer free study halls where students can work between classes. I would like to point out that, even though Shanan courses may seem expensive when compared to some other drop-off classes or online courses, the value for each contact hour is better for Shanan than almost any other local option. My children have really enjoyed math and science there, which is why I looked into teaching there.
Literary Genres with Honors Option – Tutor: M&W 12:15-1:30: 80 contact hours
This class is a survey of literature, covering in equal parts novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. Major cannonical authors such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Lee, Poe, Sophicles, Ibsen, Homer, Hughes, and Dickinson are just a FEW that we may cover. The course will emphasize relevant features of each genre and cover a general understanding of literary devices such as symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, poetic language, etc. Reading comprehension will be a major emphasis of this class as we analyze and discuss our readings. While this is primarily a literature class, students will write paragraph and essay responses to literature selections.
Text: TBD (Novels and Plays plus textbook)
Annual Tuition: $580/80 Contact hours
Recommended: 9th/10th grade
Credit: 1 credit of English
Class Minimum: 5
Introduction to Grammar and Composition: Wed 10:30-1:45: 40 Contact Hours
Introduction to Grammar and Composition is a beginning grammar and essay writing course. During the Fall semester, we will emphasize grammar, sentence construction, and paragraph formation. Using the Michael Clay Thompson and Killgallon methodology, we will learn sentence analysis and combination methods. During spring semester we will introduce the five paragraph essay in three parts, learning how to format and construct a basic 5-paragraph essay.
Text: TBD (Will be determined based on diagnostic testing of registered students.)
Course Credit: 1 HSC of English
Available: 8th-10th (Students not ready for Pre-College Writing)
Annual Tuition: $400/ 40 contact hours
Class Minimum: 5
Creative Writing — Wednesday ONLY: 1:30-2:45: 40 contact hours
This writing elective class will give interested writers encouragement and feedback for a wide for variety of writing styles, including poetry, personal essays, stories. We will hone skills of description, dialogue, characterization, and plot development. We will share and peer edit on a regular basis, developing our skills with positive constructive criticism. Designed as an elective rather than a core language arts class, this course will have limited homework beyond developing a daily habit of creative writing for class review.
Text: TBD
Annual Tuition: $400/ 40 Contact hours
Recommended: 8th-12th
Credit: 1 elective credit
Class Minimums: 5
If any of these classes or workshops does not meet its minimums by July 31st, I will offer high school American Literature in my home.
Please email katrina@katrinaryder.com with any questions. Registrations will open on March 16th.