Mrs. Ryder’s Shanan English, Writing, and Drama Courses: 2021-2022

UPDATED: AUGUST 3, 2021

I’m excited to be preparing FOUR classes for the Shanan Tutorials 2021-22 Schedule shown below.  Shanan is a program for homeschooled families to partner with experienced tutors for instruction in classroom settings once or twice per week. At home, parents help students and collaborate with tutors to complete instruction of course materials. All Shanan classes meet at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, NC on Mondays AND/OR Wednesdays for 70 minute classes. Shanan meets for 32 weeks: 16 Fall and 16 Spring.  Here’s the full schedule of classes, updated after early registration.

For those experiencing sticker shock about the prices, check out THIS post about why Shanan is worth it.The bottom line is that our classes are LONGER and meet more frequently than most drop off classes, so you just get a lot more for your money. Compared to other drop off options, Shanan offers the best value.  I think Shanan is the perfect hybrid of a homeschool and private school experience for a fraction of the cost.

Most classes have a 5 student MINIMUM and a 16 student MAXIMUM. Classes are filling and closing or being removed from the schedule, so do not wait to apply.

As you can see, there are two English teachers at Shanan, me and Mr. Jack Gale. I have almost 10 years of classroom experience in public, private, and homeschool environments. Mr. Gale has 50+ years of classroom experience!  He was my high school English teacher in the mid 90s! He’s amazing.  Mr. Gale will teach the twice a week Honors Grammar & Composition (9th-12th). This is a great class to prepare students for Dual Enrollment at the Community College level. My class is more of an intermediate level class.

In order to be placed in MY writing courses, students must demonstrate 90% proficiency on a 4-6th grade level grammar test. My class is NOT for beginners with little to no previous writing or grammar instruction.

Essay Writing & Grammar. TWICE PER WEEK 7th-9th grade. ONLY 5 SEATS REMAINING! 

The Intro to Grammar and Composition class that I offered this year has been redesigned as a TWICE a week course in two parts. Click blue course title to see planned schedule of essays and grammar skills covered.  Most middle grade developing writers will attend both days.  Essay Writing will be covered on Mondays focusing on everyday writing, personal narrative, descriptive writing, expository writing, persuasive writing, argumentative writing, and literary analysis. Some of our essays will be paired with various readings and novels.  Grammar instruction on Wednesdays will cover 7-9th grade curriculum, covering the Get Smart Grammar program from Grammar Revolution.com and methodology from The Writing Revolution. There IS a required placement pre-test to ensure students have proficiency with 4th-6th grade grammar.

Writing for Muggles. ONCE per week. 7th-9th grade.  10 SEATS REMAINING!

Our text is Grammar for Middle School by Killgallon, but our major writing assignments will be creatively derived from reading the Harry Potter series. We will write letters from Hogwarts, Daily Prophet articles, fan fiction creating a sibling for Harry, and other pieces designed to energize writing from those who love the Harry Potter series. We will cover 7 types of writing in conjunction with each of the 7 novels.

  1. Hogwart’s Letters and Emails (HP & Sorcerer’s Stone)
  2. Tom’s Diary: Personal Narrative (HP & Chamber of Secrets)
  3. Save Hagrid Persuasion (HP & Prisoner of Azkaban)
  4. Description: Sports & Events (HP & Goblet of Fire)
  5. Daily Prophet Article & Argumentation (HP & Order of the Phoenix)
  6. Fan Fiction (HP & the Half-Blood Prince)
  7. Literary Analysis Essay (HP & the Deathly Hallows)

Students need to have already read or be concurrently reading ALL 7 books in the series. There IS a required placement pre-test to ensure students have proficiency with 4th-6th grade grammar. Click blue course title to see planned schedule.

Literary Genres. M&W–9th-12th grade. ONLY 4 SEATS REMAINING!

Students prepared for a Mock Trial.

Our spine text is IEW Windows to the World  by Lesha Meyers.  This survey  course covers a broad scope of American, British, and world literature, including poetry, novels, short stories, and plays in relatively equal portions.  This year our long works have included To Kill a Mockingbird, A Christmas Carol, Cry the Beloved Country, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Honors students also read Just Mercy, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, and Othello. (Next year’s selections may be slightly different based on what student’s have already read.). We have covered many short stories and poems. The course does involve writing literary analysis essays, but its primarily emphasis is literary analysis and discussion. All Literary Genres students will also be involved in DRAMA for no additional fee. (Students who cannot attend the performance will be assigned other tasks for the play.)**

**BRAND NEW** DRAMA ELECTIVE, “The Shananigans”. SPRING ONLY. TWICE per week for 12 weeks. Jan-March. 7th-12th grade.

The cast & crew of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 2020-2021.

After we determine enrollment numbers in the class, we will select a play to perform in the final week of March before Spring break. This is likely to be an abridged Shakespeare play similar to what we performed in 2021 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I am leaning toward Romeo and Juliet. We will join with my Literary Genres students for this production. All participants MUST attend a minimum of 22 of 24 rehearsal times AND be available during production week. Registration is now open for The Shananigans! Only students committed to exceptional attendance need apply. 

ALL my classes will require students to use and submit assignments via Google Classroom. I spend the first week of each course teaching students how to utilize this platform. All my students MUST have their own email address that they check regularly.

I am including my course intro video from last year (2020-2021), in which I introduce myself and discuss some of the curriculum that I’ve used this year. It isn’t up to date, but it does have some helpful info and give a chance to see me.

Shanan follows ALL mask-wearing, social distancing, and COVID cleaning protocols followed by our church host, Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church. UPDATE MAY 30: The church is currently following a mask optional policy. Any changes to COVID and masking rules will be those initiated and allowed by the church. All policies are in deference to our stewardship there, which is to say that our policies DO NOT stem from tutor, parent, or student opinions.  We simply follow the policies of the church. All tutors and students have to sign agreement forms acknowledging adherence with these policies. 

Thankfully, with the exception of a few weeks, we  have been able to meet live.  When classes were virtual, they proceeded at their normal schedule on a digital platform; I use Zoom.

Follow THIS LINK to Shanan’s website to find out more info about my classes and others. SIGN UP SOON to ensure that you receive a seat.

2 thoughts on “Mrs. Ryder’s Shanan English, Writing, and Drama Courses: 2021-2022

  1. Hi Katrina. I filled out the class interest earlier. I know there is a lot of planning involved in the scheduling of these classes but would like to add that I am interested in the Essay Writing and possible Grammar for my rising 7th grade daughter if instruction is held in the morning. Since it looks like she may have to take the Grammar to take the Essay Writing and we would have to do possible Monday and Wednesday, that is what works for us as she has another commitment on Wednesdays from 1:30-4. Look forward to seeing more info.

    1. I don’t know if you saw the schedule that I added to the post, but it looks like the time would work out. Just thought you’d like to see that.

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