Literacy Essentials
Course
A year-round way to inspire preteens and teens to fall in love with the English Language while deepening their writing and critical analysis skills.
Registration is open now!
September 3rd, 2024 - June 24th, 2025
This course introduces students to great classics in poetry and literature, inspires students to expand their own writing abilities, and empowers students to communicate intelligently through both verbal and written discourse.
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During the course, each month will highlight the works of three famous poets and one classic novel. Students will compose one essay per month, plus one creative writing composition of their choice (poem, story, play, etc). They will participate in book discussions and "play" one Kahoot quiz together per month, based on the month's readings.
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Class sizes are limited to no more than 12 students, in order to encourage students to participate and to be comfortable sharing opinions, ideas and creations with their classmates.
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There are four levels for this course, based on the difficulty level of the readings. These levels correspond roughly as follows: Level 1 is appropriate for grade 9 and below, Level 2 is for lower high school, Level 3 is for upper high school, and Level 4 is designed to prepare students for post-secondary reading, writing and thinking. If you're unsure which level to select, please contact us at classicsallowed@gmail.com
"These courses are so great... My kids have benefited so much from the selection of good books and poetry, from the class discussions, and from the gentle correction and huge encouragement that they receive from Savannah on their writing. With her encouragement, I have watched their writing improve with every essay they write."
-Kristina Hankyle, Homeschool Mother of Five
Level 1 Book List
September: MRS. FRISBY & THE RATS OF NIMH - Robert C. O'Brien
October: ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS - Scott O'Dell
November: THE SECRET GARDEN - Frances Hodgson Burnett
December: THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER - Barbara Robinson
January: LOST IN THE BARRENS - Farley Mowat
February: ELIJAH OF BUXTON - Christopher Paul Curtis
March: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - Lucy Maud Montgomery
April: FARMER BOY - Laura Ingalls Wilder
May: THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW - C.S. Lewis
June: WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS - Wilson Rawls
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This virtual course will run
on Tuesdays at 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm (ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME)
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Regular Cost: $40 (Canadian) monthly, or $400 for the year
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Level 2 Book List
September: LITTLE BRITCHES - Ralph Moody
October: OLD YELLER - Fred Gipson
November: CARRY ON, MR. BOWDITCH - Jean Lee Latham
December: OWLS IN THE FAMILY - Farley Mowat
January: A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST - Gene Stratton Porter
February: THE CALL OF THE WILD - Jack London
March: THE JUNGLE BOOK - Rudyard Kipling
April: JUST DAVID - Eleanor H. Porter
May: LITTLE WOMEN - Louisa May Alcott
June: THE LONESOME GODS - Louis L'Amour
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This virtual course will run on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm
(ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME)
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Regular Cost: $40 (Canadian) monthly, or $400 for the year
Level 3 Book List
September: WHITE FANG -Jack London
October: BENDIGO SHAFTER - Louis L'Amour
November: JANE EYRE - Charlotte Bronte
December: A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Charles Dickens
January: CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN - Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
and Frank Gilbreth Jr.
February: THE PEARL - John Steinbeck
March: THE CHOSEN - Chaim Potock
April: ENDER'S GAME - Orson Scott Card
May: LITTLE MEN - Louisa May Alcott
June: UNBROKEN - Laura Hillenbrand
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This virtual course will run on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm
(ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME)
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Regular Cost: $40 (Canadian) monthly, or $400 for the year
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Level 4
Post-Secondary Preparation
This course includes more complex and challenging texts and writing assignments. It also introduces students to some of the most influential and inspiring non-fiction documents, essays, letters and speeches in the English language.
September: UNCLE TOM'S CABIN - Harriet Beecher Stowe
October: FRANKENSTEIN - Mary Shelley
November: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - Jane Austen
December: NIGHT - Elie Wiesel
January: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - Alexandre Dumas
February: AND THERE WAS LIGHT - Jaqcues Lusseyran
March: WATERSHIP DOWN - Richard Adams
April: THE VIRGINIAN - Owen Wister
May: DAVID COPPERFIELD - Charles Dickens
June: THESE HAPPY GOLDEN YEARS - Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Non-fiction texts for this course include Thoreau's CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE,
Martin Luther King Jr.'s LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL,
Churchill's Wartime Speeches, Emerson's SELF RELIANCE,
C.S. Lewis' THE INNER RING, THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, and others.
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This virtual course will run on Tuesdays at 3:00 pm
(ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME)
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Regular Cost: $40 (Canadian) monthly, or $400 for the year
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