bluebonnetgirl Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Any recommendations for a good solid basic online English class for a 9th grade boy? Looking more for literature, but with a bit of writing as well. My son had a heavy writing year in 8th, but has run out of things to write about, so I see he needs more exposure to content. I would say his biggest need is concept exposure/understanding how the world works. Nothing too classical or intense. Just a good well rounded course with age appropriate (not AP) literature. I would like to outsource this, and a great lively teacher would be a big plus! He has his sights set on an art or film career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 With a caveat that I haven't used any of these yet. . . How about a Lit/Comp course from CLRC? Their Intro to Lit & Comp doesn't look too intense. Their Great Books classes might be "too classical" for you. Or, Blue Tent Online has an intro to lit & comp for "advanced 8th graders" or their Honors English 1. Their classes fill up quickly. Just about any 9th grade course should be appropriate. HSLDA has a 9th grade English course. These are just some examples. There are others out there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I used Center for Lit (discussion only) for the literature component. We did two 6 week Brave Writer courses and otherwise did our own writing. Very happy with these choices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Excelsior: English 1 w/ Jess Woods http://excelsiorclasses.com/english/ They also have Screenwriting courses if you scroll down on the same page. He could take alongside a year of Center for Lit. (Discussion only). Also, English courses at Bright Ideas Press Academy: http://academy.brightideaspress.com/classes/live-classes/high-school-english-2/ Big River Academy. I believe the English courses use Micheal C. Thompson materials? Not absolutely positive, but I honk the teachers/courses came from Landry? http://www.bigriveracademy.com/course-catalog Edited March 10, 2017 by historymatters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Rootann, Thank you for your suggestions. The CLRC Intro to Lit and Comp looks promising and not too intense. I see it is divided into 2 semesters. Do you know if it is possible to take just the first semester? The Blue Tent online course is asynchronous, IE no live interaction. My son needs and wants live interaction and to be able to see the teacher. The HSLDA course looks good, but more intense. Also it says 5-10 hours of homework per week and I think a lot more writing. Five hours of homework per week is doable, ten is a lot for 1 credit of English. Anyone here have experience with this course? Thank you! Edited March 12, 2017 by bluebonnetgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Julie, Thank you. I'll have to look into these 2 options, though I'd prefer 1 integrative course. Which Bravewriter program did you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Nm Edited March 10, 2017 by bluebonnetgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Rootann, Thank you for your suggestions. The CLRC Intro to Lit and Comp looks promising and not too intense. I see it is divided into 2 semesters. Do you know if it is possible to take just the first semester? The Blue Tent online course is asynchronous, IE no live interaction. My son needs and wants live interaction and to be able to see the teacher. The HSLDA course looks good, but intense, with nearly double the books as the CLRC class. Also it says 5-10 hours of homework per week. 5 is doable, 10 is a lot for 1 credit of English. Anyone here have experience with this course? Thank you! I believe you can sign up for one semester at a time at CLRC. My eldest has the same need for live classes, so I understand. There is another thread on here that has a review of the HSLDA English classes. Check the titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Thanks. Do you think the CLRC Intro to Literature class attracts mostly junior high students? My son will be in 9th and 15, and not be happy being in a class with 11 and 12 year olds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Thanks. Do you think the CLRC Intro to Literature class attracts mostly junior high students? My son will be in 9th and 15, and not be happy being in a class with 11 and 12 year olds. There are other classes at CLRC where there is less likelihood of having 11 and 12 year olds in there. :coolgleamA: However, you have already expressed some concern about workload. You will find that a really comprehensive class at the high school level will often take at least an hour per day to complete - and sometimes more - especially when it includes reading. If you look at the recommended grades for the Intro to Lit / Comp course, you will see that 9th is at the very top. Requirements will increase as the level of the class increases. You will have to weigh that in your decision. Edited to add: I have had these same concerns (workload, being among the oldest kids in a class with middle schoolers) with my dd#1. I pick the class that is best for her level of output and let her deal with the maturity or lack thereof. If she's willing to put in the hours and work for a higher level class, I'll bump her up when she gets there. In her case, her writing level wasn't high enough for many of the usual grade-level classes. We are finally to where she CAN write with her age peers. Her classes for next year can be chosen with that in mind. However, we still have a time-workload concern. You can see my concerns on that for her in a thread I posted on here about a month ago about choosing an English class for next year. She'll be in 11th, but while she might be ready for AP level English work, I don't see her wanting to or having the time for 10-15 hours of work per week for one class, especially an English class. I just want to let you know I understand & have had to make decisions weighing these factors in the past. Edited March 10, 2017 by RootAnn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Excelsior: English 1 w/ Jess Woods http://excelsiorclasses.com/english/ They also have Screenwriting courses if you scroll down on the same page. He could take alongside a year of Center for Lit. (Discussion only). Also, English courses at Bright Ideas Press Academy: http://academy.brightideaspress.com/classes/live-classes/high-school-english-2/ Big River Academy. I believe the English courses use Micheal C. Thompson materials? Not absolutely positive, but I honk the teachers/courses came from Landry? http://www.bigriveracademy.com/course-catalog Definitely look into these. Big River suggests English 3 or 4, Intermediate Composition, Introduction to Literary Analysis, or Medieval through Romantic Literature, among others, as English courses appropriate for a 9th grader. (English 3 would have younger students. English 4 would have a mix of ages where yours might be in the middle or one of the olders. The recommended grades are listed on the registration page.) You would have to email them to see what books they cover for each of these courses and what the time commitment is. The class is only once per week for 90 minutes. (I noticed that Big River & Bright Ideas Press have at least one English teacher in common.) Excelsior is set up similar (once per week for 90 minutes), but they spell out what books they are using next year. I am not familiar with Bright Ideas Press's classes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Great. Thank you. I will look into these. What about Memorial Press's The Short Story? https://www.memoriapressacademy.com/catalog?pagename=english-i-ii-short-story Or The Novel: https://www.memoriapressacademy.com/catalog?pagename=english-i-ii-short-novel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 My 9th grade son is really enjoying English IV with Big River Academy. The literature picks have been great and have been great discussion for all of us around the kitchen table. We really like Mrs. Bontrager and love the online interaction with other students. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Speedmom, Thank you for mentioning Big River Academy. I cannot seem to find the literature books for English IV. What would you say the average grade level is for the class? Edited March 11, 2017 by bluebonnetgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 historymatters, Thank you for letting me know about the Excelsior classes. Too bad the English I: Introduction to Literary Analysis and Composition does not work for our schedule. Excelsior's Screenwriting I class looks great and does work for our schedule. I am hoping it will count as a half credit English class. It sounds like it would be right up my son's alley! Now to find a spring semeseter class that focuses on literature or maybe story boarding literature (son is an artist) bluebonnetgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 I am having a little trouble finding much on Bright Ideas Academy's high school English class. I did email them. I also emailed Big River Academy regarding what literature they use for their English III and IV class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Need to repost later... Edited March 10, 2017 by historymatters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 (edited) historymatters, rootann, and speedmom4, Thank you for suggesting Big River Academy. I really like what I see there. It looks like English IV would be a good for for my soon to be 9th grade son. The instructor Jana Bontrager has already written me back and given me the list of novels for the course: Treasure Island A Christmas Carol The Hobbit To Kill a Mockingbird The Time Machine Pygmalion She also said "I am currently looking to add a nonfiction work, but I have not made a definite choice yet. We also cover lots of poetry and a few short stories which I provide" This seems like a nice selection of novels and not too many either. I also like the days and times for the course and the price is lower than others at $350 for the year. I really appreciate this find. This forum is amazing! bluebonetgirl Edited March 11, 2017 by bluebonnetgirl 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 (edited) By the way, I did hear back from CLRC about the ages of the kids in the Intro to Literature and Composition, and this is what I learned: "I just did a quick check on the ages in the Introduction to Literature and Composition class. There are very few 11 year olds this year — most are 12-14, and there are a few 15 and 16 year old students. So, based on the ages in the class this year I would not expect that to be a problem for him." She also mentioned that he could be ready for the Intermediate Literature and Composition, but that would likely require more info on his previous courses and a writing sample. Thanks again everyone. Edited March 11, 2017 by bluebonnetgirl 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 historymatters, rootann, and speedmom4, Thank you for suggesting Big River Academy. I really like what I see there. It looks like English IV would be a good for for my soon to be 9th grade son. The instructor Jana Bontrager has already written me back and given me the list of novels for the course: Treasure Island A Christmas Carol The Hobbit To Kill a Mockingbird The Time Machine Pygmalion She also said "I am currently looking to add a nonfiction work, but I have not made a definite choice yet. We also cover lots of poetry and a few short stories which I provide" This seems like a nice selection of novels and not too many either. I also like the days and times for the course and the price is lower than others at $350 for the year. I really appreciate this find. This forum is amazing! bluebonetgirl Mrs. Bontrager is a fantastic teacher as well! My boys have really enjoyed it. I'm glad it seems like a good fit for your son! You definitely cannot beat that price for an online class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebonnetgirl Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 speedmom, Are your sons reading the same novels? Treasure IslandA Christmas CarolThe HobbitTo Kill a MockingbirdThe Time MachinePygmalion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymatters Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 historymatters, rootann, and speedmom4, Thank you for suggesting Big River Academy. I really like what I see there. It looks like English IV would be a good for for my soon to be 9th grade son. The instructor Jana Bontrager has already written me back and given me the list of novels for the course: Treasure Island A Christmas Carol The Hobbit To Kill a Mockingbird The Time Machine Pygmalion She also said "I am currently looking to add a nonfiction work, but I have not made a definite choice yet. We also cover lots of poetry and a few short stories which I provide" This seems like a nice selection of novels and not too many either. I also like the days and times for the course and the price is lower than others at $350 for the year. I really appreciate this find. This forum is amazing! bluebonetgirl I'm so glad you've found a good fit this year. It's always such a feeling of relief. My son takes Latin 1A with E. Thomas, formerly with Landry, at BRA now. They were most helpful and understanding during that stressful transitional time period. Sort-of unrelated: My Fun Science and Big River A. both have former Landry teacher Heather Barrieau teaching science. She's in high regards at the Landry and Jeremiah FB pages, as is Melissa Lopez, also former LA, who's at Bright Ideas Press A. All at very reasonable prices and payment options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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