Course Overview

This course provides structured lessons on composition, vocabulary, grammar, usage, and mechanics. Through emphasis on spelling, students learn relationships between sounds and spellings in words and affixes. Lessons are designed to develop comprehension, build vocabulary, and help students become more independent and thoughtful readers.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Composition—Students practice writing, from planning to proofreading, as they write a memoir, an editorial, a research paper, a business letter, and more
• Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics—Students learn about parts of speech, punctuation, and research skills. They continue sentence analysis and diagramming
• Vocabulary—The Vocabulary Workshop helps students enrich their vocabulary, develop word analysis skills, and prepare for standardized tests
• Spelling—Students learn sound-symbol relationships and spelling patterns, identify affixes and how they affect the meaning of words, and recognize base words and roots in related words

LITERATURE

Students analyze, compare, and creatively respond to a variety of works. The emphasis is on classic works, including tales of Robin Hood and St. George; selections from Don Quixote and Shakespeare's The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream; "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"; and Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Students read works of nonfiction, as well as four novels (selected from a long list of such classics as Pippi Longstocking, Call It Courage, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).