Seminar with writing tutorial: $95 per student per month for 10 months, August 2026-through May 2027
Location: Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Grades: 5th – 8th grade strong readers; PLEASE NOTE: For 2026-27, there will be a second-year option for students who have taken Writing I in 5th grade and would like to re-take the course with the new books and slightly altered/more-advanced assignments.
Prerequisites: No prerequisite courses are required. However, students should have the following basic skills before taking this course: write complete sentences; generally use correct spelling, capitalization, and basic punctuation; be familiar with the parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb…); read intermediate-level books independently; write a basic summary of what has been read; look up words in a dictionary; follow an assignment sheet; copy notes written on the whiteboard during class; read and apply feedback given on assignments. Students will practice, improve, and expand on these skills in this course.
Description: This course provides an introduction to narrative and descriptive writing, with instruction in grammar and vocabulary from Greek and Latin roots. Writing assignments are based on Greek and Roman myths and classic tales. (Why study mythology and fantasy? See these posts from Scriptorium’s blog: Why Read Myths? An Apologia and Mythology and Fantasy Workshop Handout)
Assessment:
Students complete readings and daily-work/commonplacing as well as weekly writing assignments which are gradually developed into several substantial papers. In December and May, students present their best papers at Defense Day.
BOOK LISTS: (Hard copies are required; recommended editions/translations are listed below)
FIRST YEARS WILL NEED:
Gwynne’s Grammar – ISBN: 9781984897961 <= Needed for the first week of class
Hamilton, Mythology – ISBN: 9780446574754 <= Needed for the first week of class
Green, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table – Puffin Classics, ISBN: 9780141321011
Lewis, The Horse and His Boy, any edition, ASIN: B004Z4LYM0
Sir Orfeo, translation and notes by J.R.R. Tolkien, ISBN: 978-0358652977
Optional but highly recommended: The Top 500 Poems – ASIN: B01FMVSBIE <= Used in the first week of class
SECOND YEARS WILL NEED:
Gwynne’s Grammar – ISBN: 9781984897961 <= Needed for the first week of class
Hamilton, Mythology – ISBN: 9780446574754 <= Needed for the first week of class (re-use from First Year; different myths will be used)
Tolkien, The Hobbit, ISBN: 978-061826030
Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Dover, ISBN: 978-0486220437
Lewis, The Silver Chair, any edition, ASIN: B002MAQSX4
Sir Orfeo, translation and notes by J.R.R. Tolkien, ISBN: 978-0358652977
Optional but highly recommended: The Top 500 Poems – ASIN: B01FMVSBIE <= Used in the first week of class
