LANGUAGE ARTS 2019-20

TARGET: Grades 1-5.

COURSE DURATION: 1 year (two, 14 week semesters – classes begin Sept 18, 2019)

COST PER SEMESTER  (ALL materials provided):

$250 for private pay homeschool families.

$275 for iLead, Epic, Aveson,  Inspire, Sage Oak, Sky Mountain, Summit, Valiant Prep and Excel Academy Charter students. If you don’t see your school listed, please contact us at WeSparkLearning@yahoo.com so we can apply to become a vendor for you.

Students become “neighbors” in a crazy Town they help create, where they will experience many events through the year including festivals, natural disasters, community events, unbelievable mishaps and some silly celebrations!  As each town event effects the residents, it will serve as the journal prompt for a creative writing assignment for the week.

“For Adopt-a-pet day I chose a…”

“When I ran the charity marathon, I couldn’t believe it when…”

“A meteor crashed into the town square today, and I was so…”

Town residents will start by deciding what to name their town and decorating their own home and property. Each student will choose a job that will produce weekly earnings. They can use their income to save and upgrade their home, or enhance their property with decorative and fun items from the marketplace (trampoline, gazebo, bird bath, backyard mini golf, and much more!).  Town residents will talk about and compare stories about the events of the week.  Some drawing, crafts, prize games, and other creative expressions will also be incorporated throughout the year.

While the class will have some mini lessons on writing techniques, literary devices, figurative language, and poetry, our focus is not on the formal fundamentals of writing.  The main goal of this class is to motivate kids to put pen to paper to write with enthusiasm and express their ideas in written form.  Journal writing is done during class time, and journal expectations can be varied to adapt to different learning levels and abilities.

REGISTRATION: Beginning May 1, 2019 visit the registration page at WeSparkLearning.com.  Open Enrollment continues until classes are full.

Questions? Call (626)482-8963 or email WeSparkLearning@yahoo.com

 ARMCHAIR ADVENTURES

ARMCHAIR ADVENTURES Literature Classes 

Exploring the world through great authors!

ARMCHAIR ADVENTURES is predominantly a literature discussion class, but your child/teen will also be doing worksheets on literary devices, character development, vocabulary and literature analysis.

Recommended for 7-10 year olds. The books will be approximately 100-150 pages long and appropriate for 2nd-4th graders.  

WHY HAVE YOUR CHILD PARTICIPATE IN A DISCUSSION LITERATURE CLASS?

TALKING ADVENTURES

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself . . . . . and Public Speaking!!!

IEW BASED CLASSES

Class begins September 9, 2019

In this Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons Themed course, students will survey the civilizations of Sumer, Egypt, Israel, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Asia Minor, and Asia—the people’s ideas, traditions, systems of government, feats, and skills. IEW’s structural units and elements of style are introduced gradually.

 During the course, students will take notes, summarize narrative stories, write from pictures, compose creative essays, and more. Additionally, with the activities, games, and parties, there will be enough silliness and fun to keep the atmosphere light while students learn.

 The goal of the course is NOT to receive a good grade or compare one student to another. The goal is to develop a love for and interest in writing. We are looking for progress. With realistic expectations, progress is determined by comparing a child’s writing in September to his/her own writing in January and in June.

COST: $200.00 per semester ($225 if a charter student) plus books, etc.  Plus, a one-time non-refundable registration fee of $25, which is waived for students whose paid tuition and registration are postmarked before August 1.

TEXT BOOK REQUIRED Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons [Student Book only]

By Lori Verstegen

ISBN: 978-1-62341-295-1

Edition/Printing: Fifth Edition, January 2018

Copyright Date: 2008, 2014, 2018

 CONTACT: Lilli Witczak (626) 232-7932 or email at: lilli.witczak@gmail.com

In this Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons Themed course, students will read and write about topics such as the Knights, Vikings, kings, and famous men of the Middle Ages.

From the Anglo-Saxons to the Renaissance, from chivalrous knights to Genghis Khan, students will learn about medieval times while learning to write using IEWs structure and stylistic techniques.

Top of Form

During the course, students will take notes, summarize narrative stories, write from pictures, compose creative essays, and more. Additionally, with the activities, games, and parties, there will be enough silliness and fun to keep the atmosphere light while students learn.

The goal of the course is NOT to receive a good grade or compare one student to another. The goal is to develop a love for and interest in writing. We are looking for progress. With realistic expectations, progress is determined by comparing a child’s writing in September to his/her own writing in January and in June.

 COST: $200.00 per semester ($225 if a charter student) plus books, etc.  Plus, a one-time non-refundable registration fee of $25, which is waived for students whose paid tuition and registration are postmarked before August 1.

TEXT BOOK REQUIRED Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons [Student Book only]

By Lori Verstegen

ISBN: 978-1-62341-311-8

Edition/Printing: Fifth Edition, January 2019

Copyright Date: 2007, 2019

CONTACT: Lilli Witczak (626) 232-7932 or email at: lilli.witczak@gmail.com

BRITISH LITERATURE

Recommended grade levels – 8th through 12th

CLASS BEGINS:  September 9, 2019

COURSE DURATION:  1 school year, from September 9 through June 8.

We will be undertaking a college-preparatory course of study designed to introduce students to great literature from the British literary tradition, to teach students to read with discernment, to provide students with tools to strengthen their writing skills, and more. Of course, this includes Miss Lilli’s favorite part – exploring literary devices! Students will benefit from the classroom setting, because they will be able to discuss the books and writing assignments. Plus….we will have a couple of amazing themed tea parties that will be the envy of all!

Books Required:

Daniel Pool: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England (Paperback); 1994 Edition

• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
• The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

This above book list is a minimum goal.

 Fees: $200.00 per semester ($225 if a charter student) plus books.
Plus a one time non-refundable registration fee of $25 which is waived for students whose paid tuition and registration are postmarked before August 1.

CONTACT: Lilli Witczak (626)232-7932 or email at: lilli.witczak@gmail.com

THE ULTIMATE COLLEGE PREP WRITING CLASS

Online classroom is always open. 
Open enrollment during semester.

COST: 

• $350 per semester for Charter students.
• $300 for non charter school students.
  
  This class is offered online as well as in a classroom setting. 

This course covers advanced English communications for students of any age who can handle college preparatory material and is designed to prepare students for university studies and for SAT, ACT and TOEFL exams. Emphasis is placed upon innate language acquisition through immersion and emulation as well as an understanding of grammatical principles.

Writing and speaking skills and techniques are covered and works of the masters of spoken and written English arestudied. The list is flexible depending upon class enthusiasm but has in the past included Shakespeare, Swift, Dickens, Austen, J.S. Mill, Wilde, Shaw, Grahame, Wodehouse, Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, Lincoln, Twain, Fitzgerald, Churchill, King, Buckley, Baldwin and many other surpassingly brilliant but less well known writers and orators. (It is worth noting that one finds among these greats a disproportionately large percentage of homeschoolers.) All works are provided or linked to in the online classroom. College prep skills practiced will include note-taking, research and report writing, advanced vocabulary, language usage, comprehension and grammar. Students will write college admission essays, persuasive essays, SAT essays and reports and will prepare and deliver lectures and persuasive speeches. The class uses the one-room schoolhouse paradigm (See Advantages of the one-room schoolhouse approach to teaching). Please see our Writing Skills Playsheets for a taste of class content and style. Course includes personal instructor attention, traditional classroom/online video sessions, online text, extensive resources, graded compositions, moderated discussion forums and chatrooms.

Online text: SAT, ACT, TOEFL, College Prep English Practice by K. Titchenell.
Many text, audio, and video recording resources will be used and provided free of charge.

CONTACT: K. Titchenell (323) 432-7128
or email: eieclass@abacus-es.com

COST:  

• $250.00 per semester. 
• $200.00 for non charter school students per semester.
  

Advanced studies in the use of language as a tool to influence,  enlighten, persuade, inspire and deceive.  Students will study the art of the  brilliant writer and orator as well as recognize and detect those of the seasoned huckster and spin artist.

A democratic study of historical examples and original efforts to overcome challenges, change  minds and move mountains, The Mighty Pen will respond to student 
interest in exploring, composing and refining effective prose, poetry and song.

CONTACT:

K. Titchenell (323) 432-7128
or email: eieclass@abacus-es.com