Suggested Age

13-15 years

Prerequisites

ENGLISH 2, or consent of the instructor based on student’s writing sample

Purpose

After reviewing the benchmarks of ENGLISH 2, this class goes a step further by introducing:
• Advanced style techniques for mature word choice and sentence structure
• Nine most common types of paragraph and how to write them effectively
• Transition techniques to make paragraphs seamless

Process

The first semester emphasizes:
• Three-paragraph compositions
• Creative writing with structure
• Note-taking from class lectures

The second semester covers:
• Literary analysis, covering classic short stories and an in-depth unit on the Old Testament’s book of Esther
• Original narratives inspired by the short stories read aloud in class

We continue our fascinating study of vocabulary through common English roots. Students learn to recognize the roots not only in these new sets of words, but also in any other words they come across. While this practice is highly recommended by PSAT and SAT to improve performance on their exams, our prime objective is to raise the caliber of word choice in their own writing. The vocabulary program features:

• Another 165 common English roots (330 total, between ENGLISH 2 and ENGLISH 3)
• Charts to be filled out on each list, involving definitions, roots, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, and antonyms
• The students’ own original, descriptive sentences using their new words
• Spelling tests administered by the parent-teacher
• An end-of-the-year English Roots competition done Jeopardy-style

Curriculum & Texts, all available at www.pahlowsenglish.com

• English 3 Course Workbook, by Debra Pahlow
• Jensen’s Punctuation, by Frode Jensen
• A Writer’s Guide to Transitional Words & Expressions, by Victor C. Pelligrino
• A paperback copy of Roget’s Thesaurus, to bring to class