Current Classes
These courses are available for individual tutoring or small group classes, online or in-person. Times and dates for Fall 2022 classes will be posted soon. See Tutoring Services for cost of individual tutoring.
Courses for Ages 14+
Courses for Ages 9-13
Course Description:
"All great writers are great readers."
Literature feeds our minds and imaginations, and it gives us the opportunity to experience masterful writing from the greatest authors in human history.
The Great Books class is all about reading and discussing literature. We read, narrate, discuss open-ended questions, and collect passages that resonate with us in our Commonplace notebooks.
Early Modern Era Great Books List
(Fall 2021 - Spring 2022)
1. Henry V, William Shakespeare (1602), Oxford School
2. Gulliver’s Travels,Jonathan Swift, (1726)Wordsworth Classics
3. The American Reader, 2nd Rev. Ed. Diane Ravitch, ed.(2000)
TheMayflower Compact (1620)
A Demand to Limit Search and Seizure, James Otis (1761)
Liberty and Knowledge, John Adams (1765)
Poor Richard's Almanac,Benjamin Franklin (1771)
Common Sense, The American Crisis,Thomas Paine (1776)
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
Farewell Address, George Washington, (1796)
4. Pride and Prejudice,Jane Austen, (1813)
5. Poetry: Early Modern Era Book List (see below)
6. Commonplace notebook (What is a Commonplace Book?)
7. A history encyclopedia (Kingfisher History Encyclopedia) and/or history timeline book
Poetry: Early Modern Era
Book List:
100 Best-Loved Poems. Philip Steele, ed. Dover Thrift edition. 100 BLP
The Holy Bible,King James Version
The American Reader, 2nd Rev. Edition, Diane Ravitch, ed. TAR
Poetry Foundation website for some class handouts.
Readings:
1 Isaiah 40, John 1, Psalm 23, I Corinthians 13,The Holy Bible, King James Version (1611)
2. “Death be not proud”, “Batter My Heart”, John Donne (1609) 100 BLP
3. Essay on Man,Alexander Pope(1734)Poetry Foundation
4. Phyllis Wheatley, “On Virtue”, (1766), “To His Excellency General Washington” (1775)
5. Robert Burns, “A Red, Red Rose”, “To a Mouse” (1794) 100 BLP
6. William Wordsworth, “The World is Too Much with Us” (1802) 100 BLP
7. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan” (1797/1816), 100 BLP; “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798/1834) Poetry Foundation
8. Francis Scott Key, “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814). TAR
9. John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (1819) 100 BLP
Course Details:
In-Home or Online
Suggested Age 14+
Example Great Books Year Overview
Book list for Fall 2022 - Spring 2023 TBD!
Students are welcome to join mid-semester!
Registration
Great Books: Reading and Discussing the Great Authors
Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Cost: $220 per semester or $60 per month
Required Materials not included
To Register, fill out and sign the form below and send it to racheli@rachelteaches.com
Course Description:
The Lost Tools of Writing is a classical composition course that teaches the basic elements of a persuasive essay. While its name is the Lost Tools of Writing, the real mission of the course is to teach students the Lost Tools of Thinking. No student can write if they have nothing to say, and Lost Tools helps students to overcome that obstacle by teaching them principals of classical rhetoric.
In each essay, students will learn practical tools that train them in the classical Canons of Invention, Arrangement, and Elocution. In Invention, they choose compelling issues from books and generate ideas on what they will write about. During Arrangement, they strategically organize and connect their ideas. Lastly, Elocution is where they edit their own writing and imitate great writers by implementing figures of speech. This approach cultivates their confidence and ability to write anything, not just in a persuasive essay.
The Lost Tools of Writing: Level One is typically taught with nine essays, but I teach all the same material with seven essays. This means students will write a complete essay every four weeks. This modification allows students to have time to think and write better and not feel overloaded by too much homework from an outside class.
This course is paired with a literature component to feed student's minds with good ideas and good writing. A full year typically includes reading five or six books.
Lost Tools is excellent for high school students who understand how to write basic sentences and paragraphs, but need more formal training on how to come up with ideas, arrange them, and express them well.
Course Details:
2-semester course
In-Home or Online
Dates and Times for LTW classes 2022-2023 are TBD
Suggested Age: 14+
This course is for students who have some writing experience and can write basic sentences and paragraphs.
Cost (not including required materials): $600.00 for full year or $300.00 per semester
Required Materials:
The Lost Tools of Writing: Level One Student Book
Device with reliable Wifi, video camera, and microphone (for online classes)
Book list for 2022-2023 is TBD
Student Conduct and Virtue:
In all our classes we will conduct ourselves according to the biblical principal in Mathew 7:12, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)
We will practice the Student Virtues: Love, Humility, Patience, Constancy, Perseverance, and Temperance. As a class, we will pursue Truth, Goodness, and Beauty with kindness and respect towards each other.
Registration
The Lost Tools of Writing: Level One
Class or Individual Tutoring Fall 2022 - Spring 2023
Cost: $600.00 per year or $300.00 per semester
Required Materials not included
To Register, fill out and sign the form below and send it to racheli@rachelteaches.com
Course Description:
What are the Classical Language Arts? In the Language Arts we cultivate our ability to discover and share ideas through language. The word “Classical” has different meanings in different contexts, but here “Classical” means we are using methods and resources that have proven to be effective, reliable, and enduring. In Classical Language Arts we use books, poems, speeches, and songs from all ages and places to broaden our students’ minds with worthy and interesting ideas.
Classical Language Arts Activities:
Reading
Narration
Memory Work and Recitation
Copy Work
Dictation
Course Details:
In-Home or Online
Group or Individual Tutoring
Suggested Age 9-13
Student Conduct and Virtue:
In all our classes we will conduct ourselves according to the biblical principal in Mathew 7:12, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)
We will practice the Student Virtues: Love, Humility, Patience, Constancy, Perseverance, and Temperance. As a class, we will pursue Truth, Goodness, and Beauty with kindness and respect towards each other.
Registration
Classical Language Arts
See Tutoring Services for hourly rates
To Register, fill out and sign the form below and send it to racheli@rachelteaches.com
The Student Virtues
Love Humility Patience Constancy Perseverance Temperance
