English Grammar and Composition is a comprehensive, one-year (two semester) English course for 8^th through 12^th graders. All 8^th grade and high school-level students, from proficient writers to those who have never taken an English course before, can use practice in grammar, punctuation, sentence writing, and paragraph building.

The course will start with the book The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage, working through a chapter a week. The book begins with a comprehensive lesson on parts of speech and how different word types (nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.) work together to form a complete, correct sentence. After the sentence basics, we will be moving on to punctuation and word usage so that students are writing clear, correct, complete, informative sentences. These lessons will be supplemented with “vocabulary building” exercises and a thorough work-through approach to each concept as we progress, with test and quizzes at regular intervals to keep students on-task. Once the book is finished, students will be introduced to the skillset for turning their perfect new sentences into well-formed paragraphs and eventually into great essays, with an emphasis on the importance of the outline-topic sentence-thesis combination approach.

Grades will be based on participation (chiefly through in class games and activities), short answer homework assignments, and 4 exams plus a 5 paragraph essay.

Moderator: Kara Heyne

Moderator Email: karaheyne@gmail.com

Course Time:  Wednesdays at 8AM PST

Required Text: Main Course Text: The McGraw-Hill Handbook of English Grammar and Usage by Mark Lester and Larry Beason

Syllabus: English Grammar and Composition Syllabus