Help your middle school student learn how to skillfully use the specific and powerful parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and complete phrases), transitions, linear writing, and more in this must-have foundational writing course that goes beyond “normal” writing courses with practical writing using critical thinking (no workbooks). Take the 6/7-1 course with this course to gain a full semester’s credit for writing.

Total Classes: 6

Class Dates and Starting Times:

Thursdays, October 31 to Dec. 12, 2024. No class Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving).

10:00 AM Eastern (9:00 Central; 8:00 Mountain; 7:00 Pacific)

Duration: 50 minutes per class

Prerequisite: Each course in the 6/7 series builds upon the next. Registration in the Writing Essentials 1: Punctuation & Grammar I (MS 6/7-1) course is required so your student has all of the tools and knowledge necessary to succeed in this course. You may take the prerequisite course LIVE or in Unlimited Access (recording) before or during this course.

Suggested Grade Level: 7th or accelerated 6th grade

Suggested Credit: One-half (½) of a semester's credit for Writing or English. Precede with 6/7-1 for a full semester credit. To make a full and complete year of middle school writing, sign up for the 6/7-3 and 6/7-4 courses that follow this course.

Instructor:

Bonnie Donlon, BA

Course Description: This is an essential writing course for all middle school students, to make sure that your student has strong middle school writing foundations in place. Students will learn how to create well-crafted sentences and paragraphs, including absolute "must-have" knowledge and practice of the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, and compound sentence structures. Students will also cover capitalization, end punctuation, and the use of quoted material. Even if your student has learned the composition of a sentence and paragraph in elementary materials, this course uses higher-level vocabulary and structures for writing in middle school and can help your student finally master the details that are holding him or her back from writing well.

Course Outline:

• Class 1: Nouns, verbs, and capitalization in sentences

• Class 2: Adjectives, adverbs, and end punctuation in sentences

• Class 3: Prepositions, prepositional phrases, and compound sentence structures

• Class 4: Using quotes in dialogue and academic writing

• Class 5: Transitions and connectives in sentences

• Class 6: Putting it all together: Transitions and linear sentences in paragraph writing

Course Materials: Course materials are provided free of charge. Microsoft Word or the ability to convert a document to a Word-compatible document is required. If you do not own Microsoft Word, you can use a system such as Google Docs and convert to Word documents FREE.

Homework: This course uses an estimated one to three hours per week for homework outside of class time, depending on the student's abilities entering the course. Homework includes readings, activities, and writing assignments that get your student thinking critically and using the content learned. All writing assignments are graded by the instructor.

Note: All student work needs to be 100% the student's own work and the student's own writing. Nothing can be copied from anywhere else unless a source for the text is given on the assignment. Any students who copy work from elsewhere will receive a zero on the assignment. Repeated copying will result in failure of the course.

Technical Help: If you have any technical trouble or questions about course content, please email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com.