6th-8th ELA

This year, my goal is for your child to improve in his/her reading proficiency, but more importantly, to develop a love for reading. Additionally, I'd like to see your child be able to write effectively and master effective speaking and listening skills. By the end of the school year, I hope my students learned how to manage their time, set and meet personal and academic goals, and feel confident in their academic abilities.

Since we have multi-aged classes, I will be combining California state standards at the 6th-8th grade levels but with the texts I have chosen and the curriculum I have developed myself over the years. In this class, we will focus on the four core areas: Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening. We will read a variety of novels, short stories, articles, as well as incorporate writing whether it be structured or creatively. Students will also improve their grammar and vocabulary. Our class will engage in thoughtful discussions based on what we are reading or larger thematic concepts.

*There will be two courses offered which should be based your child's academic level/ability:

• one for students who need a little more support and scaffolding (ELA A)
• one for students who are at a more advanced reading and writing level and don't need as much support (ELA B)

Meets on: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Price: $600/semester

9th ELA

This course will be closely aligned to my history course which has a heavier emphasis on the humanities and history. I utilize the California state standards but with the texts I have chosen and the curriculum I have developed myself over the years. It is very important to me that my courses align to college A-G requirements so that they are prepared for the next level. 

In this class, we will focus on the four core areas: Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening. We will read a variety of novels, short stories, articles, as well as incorporate writing whether it be structured or creatively.  Our class will engage in thoughtful discussions based on what we are reading or larger thematic concepts. 

We will study works of literature, both fictional and non-fictional, poetry, plays, and short stories. Through those stories, we will examine art, cultural and social beliefs in order for them to make connections between the historical context and writer or person’s experience.

Students will be required to read a book outside of class and complete creative/research projects during particular reading units.

Meets on: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Price: $600/semester

6th-8th Grade History (A and B)

We will be studying the conflict and growth of the United States after the Reconstruction Era until the end of the Cold War. They will make connections between the rise of industrialization and contemporary social and economic conditions, as well as the United State's involvement in major world wars and how it impacted the country back home both socially and economically. We will examine Civil Rights movements, reform movements, changes in “culture” and society, as well as the rise in inventions and industrialization.

Students will continue developing skills in:

• Examining and identifying primary and secondary sources
• Timelines and Chronological ordering
• Cause and Effect
• Reading and understanding maps
• Reading, writing, and speaking & listening

*There will be two courses offered which should be based on what you selected for your child in ELA:

• one for students who need a little more support and scaffolding (History A)
• one for students who are at a more advanced level and don't need as much support (History B)

I will be teaching the same exact content, but at different paces.Your child will not be missing out on anything if he/she needs more support. If you have any questions on how to make that determination, please do not hesitate to ask.

Meets on: Mondays and Wednesdays

Price: $600/semester

PE: Sports 101

This course will include 6-8 week units that are centered on popular sports: baseball, soccer, football, volleyball, hockey, tennis/pickleball, etc. Students will begin the course with learning about the history of the game, research and learn about famous athletes, learn the rules of the game, and then the remaining 4-8 weeks will involve playing the sport. Students may need to purchase certain equipment if they do not have it (baseball glove) if I cannot secure donations in time. Families will be notified ahead of time .

Meets on: Mondays and Wednesdays

Price: $500/semester

9th Grade History

My history courses will be aligned to my ELA courses because I believe social and historical contexts are important in understanding a writer, artist, or person's or person's experience. There will be emphasis on historical background in this course as we study a specific text in ELA.

Course requirements: 

1. There will be projects for each unit (for example: creating a topical map out of flour, research projects, art projects, etc.). 

2. There will be creative and/or structured writing assignments  

Semester 1: Humanities

*This course will be directly aligned with my 9th grade ELA course as we read texts such as The Odyssey, Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, short stories, and poetry. 

This humanities course will focus on the human experience and explore the various ways in which human beings affect and express their relationship to their physical, intellectual, social, and political environments. 

Students will examine works of literature, visual and performing arts, architecture, music, philosophy, and political and social structures within historical contexts to answer the following question: What does the specific work reveal about how an individual understands, justifies, and orders his/her own existence, role in society. Additionally, students will be able to consider: did war shape this writer or person's experience? Was this writer or person's experience shaped by his/her social status? Was this writer or person confined by political structures? 

By reading, discussing, and writing about ideas and artifacts, students will improve their ability to understand and articulate their own interests and responsibilities in the present world.

Semester 2: California History (Pre and Post War) and Geographical Impact on 

This course examines the human and environmental factors integral to achieving California's growth.

General guiding questions for the course are: 

1. How does a society's geographic location and environment shape work and living opportunities as well as relationships with people outside of that society?

2. How does war impact the economy and growth of a state (California)?

We will study: 

1. California's Geography 

2. Boom and Bust of the 1920's and 1930's during the Great Depression 

3. WWII and the Early Postwar Era in California

Meets on: Mondays and Wednesdays

Price: $600/semester