Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 4

Children are full of stories and bubbling over with big ideas! In this class, students will learn how to capture their creative vision into a simple story that they will write and illustrate. This quarter, our storytellers will make up the myth of a mystical mountain. Will they find lost legends and lonely labyrinths among lush landscapes and more? Students will learn how to build a Story Arc through guided, weekly activities. They will discover the key elements to composing a story such as crafting characters, posing a problem, advancing the action, constructing the climax, and writing the resolution- through brainstorming questions like, "Who is in your story?", "Where does this take place?", "What does that look like?" and "What happened after ____?" Students should be able to read, write, and spell at the second grade level or higher for this class. Psst- don't tell your child, but this class helps lay the foundation in language arts for more advanced creative writing and composition. Pair this class with Acting: Kids Theater or Writing Wonders to further encourage communication and storytelling skills. The supply fee is included in the class tuition.

Quarter(s): 3,4

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 4

Write to the Point is a comprehensive, middle school-level writing class that will prepare 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students for high school level composition. The class will practice the fundamentals of composition through weekly writing assignments that encompass a variety of writing formats. Second Semester, students will learn to "stick to the point" in their writing. They will be challenged to identify their audience, define their purpose, and back-up their topic, thesis, or moral across multiple paragraph compositions. Creative writing exercises and tools for quick and effective essay composition will be provided while the class will continue to review writing basics such as grammar, agreement, and tense. Students will also learn tips for effective revision, editing, and feedback. In this class, students will have the flexibility to choose topics relevant to their own interests as they work on essays and short stories. Part of each in-class session will be dedicated to sharing and review of writing completed at home. Sometimes, students will be paired with classmates for peer review of grammar; other times, the class will collaborate through shared GoogleDocs for review and feedback of others' writing. Students should bring a laptop and charging cord to class each week for accessing in-progress assignments. Topics in this series include: Paragraphs & Articles (Semester 1) and Essays & Short Stories (Semester 2).

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 4

Get your child to read the classics without a clash! Children will become familiar with the world's best-known authors and timeless tales through the approachable illustrated format of graphic novels. Kids will not realize they are reading literature and being introduced to literary analysis as they read these entertaining, illustrated, short-form stories. Third quarter, students will read some of the best of the Bard in abridged Shakespeare Shorts. Meet merchant Antonio, a moneylender, and their romantic interests in old Italy in The Merchant of Venice. Journey to a magical forest to learn what happens when whimsical fairies influence the fates of four young lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream , and unravel mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and mis adventures of a cast of characters in The Twelfth Night. Through colorful, dramatic graphics and an approachable conversational tone, graphic novels show kids that literature can be enthralling! Each quarter will begin with an overview of the graphic novel genre including vocabulary unique to the illustrations and format (panels, speech bubbles, etc.) by looking at several other examples of graphic novels. Each week, students will read a portion of a graphic novel at home from the Saddleback Educational Publishing Graphic, Illustrated Classics Series. In class, literary elements and character analysis will be discussed. Extension activities such as reading, listening, or watching excerpts of other tellings of the same tale will take place in class. Students will think they are talking about cool, comic-style books, but the facilitated class discussion will introduce kids to classic works of literature and perhaps interest them to later read the complete novel. Students are expected to read approximately one half of one graphic novel (25-30 pages) per week which they may read individually or read aloud with their families. These novels are generally considered at the ages 8-12 reading level. Collect all 12 (3 per quarter)! Build an illustrated classic library. Because students will need the same editions of all three graphic novels to be able to refer to the passages on the same page numbers, class sets of the graphic novels will be purchased for students. A supply fee of $48.00 will be due payable to Compass on or before the first day of class for 3 novels. Topics in this series include: The Most Extreme Adventures (Quarter 1); Best of British Books (Quarter 2); Shakespeare Shorts (Quarter 3), and Classic Adventure Quests (Quarter 4).

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 5

Word Masters is a language challenge for students who enjoy word games, building their vocabulary, and verbal adventures. Why study lists of words if you can make a game of it? The best way to learn new words is to use them! This class is inspired by the annual Word Masters Challenge (www.wordmasterschallenge.com). Each week students will tackle new vocabulary words and practice them through analogies and critical thinking challenges. Students will examine word meanings, relationships, synonyms and antonyms with in-class activities and games such as Pictionary, Scategories, Charades, and Apples-to-Apples. Word Masters will improve a student's reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, logic skills, and the ability to think analytically and metaphorically. Students can repeat Word Masters as new word lists will be introduced each quarter.

Quarter(s): 1,2,3,4

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 7

According to Aristotle, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." In this year-long course, high school students will practice strategies to improve their reading comprehension for deeper understanding through critical thinking. They will also improve their ability to argue and persuade in writing. Using texts on argumentation and rhetoric by Ward Farnsworth, students will learn how to read carefully, define terms, spot logical fallacies, and construct clear, logically compelling, persuasive arguments. The class will be introduced to terminology and techniques in the formal disciplines of logic and rhetoric. In the first semester, the class will focus on internal skills: how to understand and evaluate arguments according to logical reasoning and critical thinking. In the second semester, the group will focus on external skills: how to build and communicate arguments that are both compelling and persuasive. Class reading selections will include selections from Farnsworth's books Classical English Argument and Classical English Rhetoric, as well as selections from famous speeches. The class may draw from history, literature, law, political theory, religion, contemporary topics, and comparative worldviews. Prerequisites: Students must read at grade level for this course. Textbooks: Students should purchase or rent Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric by Ward Farnsworth (ISBN: 978-1567923858) and Farnsworth's Classical English Argument by Ward Farnsworth (ISBN: 978-1567927986) Workload: Students should expect to spend 3 hours per week outside of class. Reading assignments will not be especially long, but students will be expected to read thoroughly and carefully. Assignments: Will be posted on a Google Classroom site for students and parents to access. Assessments: Papers and assignments will be evaluated and scored which are treated as grade recommendations to parents. Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count this course as full credit in English for purposes of a high school transcript.

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 4

Reading Ready is a supplemental reading class for 5- and 6- year-old kindergartners. The class is whole language inspired with phonics games, partner reading, and self-created spelling lists for home. The group will explore habits of good readers through in-class read-alouds and extension activities inspired by the best examples of well-loved children's literature from authors such as Leo Lionni, Robert McCloskey, Eric Carle, AA Milne, Michael Bond, Janell Cannon, Mem Fox, Hans Christian Andersen, Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, and others. Other books may also be selected based on the interests and level of the enrolled children. Children may repeat this class each quarter as new books will be introduced each session, and stories will not be repeated. Note:: This class is designed for students to enjoy a fun, new dimension of reading with peers and a teacher, but this will not take the place of a comprehensive language arts curriculum and daily reading practice. Reading/Skills Readiness; Enrolling students must be able to (1) write and recognize his/her first name; (2) recognize each letter and corresponding sound of the alphabet; (3) familiar with simple blends; (4) know a few beginner sight words (such as I, am, and no); and (5) hold and use crayons and scissors correctly. Social Readiness; Students must be age five (5) by the start of the class. To be successful in this program, kindergartners must be able to do the following preschool-level skills: (1) be able to separate from parents with little discomfort; (2) be able to sit and listen to a story or stay on a task for 10 minutes; (3) be able to follow simple, age-appropriate directions from the teacher or another adult; (4) be completely self-sufficient in a public restroom (wiping, flushing, washing hands, etc.)

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 5

Wee Writers is a simple journaling class for emergent kindergarten writers ages 5 and 6. Beginning writers will use basic sight words and phonetics while writing about feelings and experiences. Students will learn basic sentence structure with noun-verb construction, initial capital letter, and ending punctuation. Beginning sentences such as, "I lik cak." or "I drnk wtr." would be typical of emergent writers. Students will illustrate their journal entries and have opportunities to share and discuss their writing with peers. Children may repeat this class each quarter as new writing activities will be introduced each session. Note:: This class is designed for students to enjoy a fun, new dimension of writing with peers and a teacher, but this will not take the place of a comprehensive language arts curriculum and regular writing practice. Writing Readiness; Enrolling students must be able to (1) recognize and write his/her first name; (2) recognize and write each letter of the alphabet and know the corresponding sounds; and (3) hold and use crayons and scissors correctly. Social Readiness; Students must be age five (5) by the start of the class. To be successful in this program, kindergartners must be able to do the following preschool-level skills: (1) be able to separate from parents with little discomfort; (2) be able to sit and stay on a task for 10 minutes; (3) be able to follow simple, age-appropriate directions from the teacher or another adult; (4) be completely self-sufficient in a public restroom (wiping, flushing, washing hands, etc.)

Quarter(s): 3

Day(s): Tue

Open Spots: 4

Writing is not only a critical skill for school and life, it gives kids a voice! In this class, third and fourth graders will gain confidence, increase writing fluency, and learn how to incorporate writing into everyday work and play. The objective of this class is for each student to progress and improve his/her own writing. This class does not have a fixed curriculum trying to achieve the same outcome and same skillset for each child, because each comes to class with different writing experience and varying needs. Instead, through personalized feedback from the instructor and peer feedback exercises, student writers will improve their writing skills from where they started. Students will learn the steps of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Key skills practiced at this level include organizing one’s thoughts, defining a purpose and audience for the paper, formulating a topic sentence or main idea, developing supporting details, using correct sentence structure (for example, initial capitalization and end punctuation). Students will always be encouraged to write about what interests them. They will write for a few minutes in class each week and will be expected to write short assignments at home and submit their work to the instructor for feedback. Each week, the instructor will share brief lessons on grammar (such as correct capitalization, agreement, tenses, parts of speech, use of adjectives/adverbs), and/or style (for example, using metaphors, adding details, building tension). Examples and exercises will be presented from a variety of styles and genres with the instructor using models from fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Students must be a minimum age 8 to take this class and should be on or near grade level for reading. Writing Wonders is offered each quarter under the same class name, but students may take it each quarter to continue to improve their writing skills.