Literature & Composition 401: Independent Study

The customized Independent Study course is designed personally for each student to create a course of study that will meet the educational needs of an individually created class. Independent Studies can be designed to meet the requirements of a language arts credit and an elective credit at the same time.

$825.00

The customized Independent Study course is designed personally for each student to create a course of study that will meet the educational needs of an individually created class.

Independent Studies can be designed to meet the requirements of a language arts credit and an elective credit at the same time.

Or we can work with the student to create any number of options for high school credit.

Examples of classes students have created are:

Russian History & Literature
History of the Modern World with compositions
Creating a book & study guide for daughters of divorce
Writing a first draft of a novel
Indian History research project
Music Appreciation with composition
Theology & Philosophy with composition
Government & Economics with composition

This class can meet honors diploma requirements depending on the design. Please be sure to discuss this with Ms. Rice when you are creating your course.

Details

Requirements

Sample Syllabus

Time Expectation:

Classes have daily assignments. Some assignments span several days to give flexibility. Assignments are intended to take approximately 1½ hours a day to complete.

Class Objectives:

Determined in collaboration with parent, student and coach

Class Features:

Customized and personalized coaching

Class Requirements:

Independent Study is only available for students who have previously taken at least one annual class with Write from the Heart. This class can be taken at any time and can be taken multiple times.

Required Class Materials:

Write from the ting with Heart: A Resource Guide to Engage Writers—available in our online store Additional materials are possible, based on the project of study

Example Project Ideas: A customized independent study is a program that is designed by the student for the student. The instructor will guide the creation of the project and help structure it into units of study. The first four weeks of the year will be devoted to the student and instructor designing the project together. The student and their parents will be responsible to provide the instructor with all diploma requirements for the second course of study. There are thousands of different ways that this class could be designed. The second course of study is completely up to you. It could be a course needed to meet a specific diploma requirement (such as a history class) or it could be a specialized course of study of interest to the student, which would be counted as an elective credit. Below are a few models of what a customized independent study might look like. Example #1 "I want to take an art class. My favorite painting is Starry Night" Unit ideas: Focus on impressionism

Research Impressionism and write about how it has influenced culture today. Read a biography about Vincent Van Gogh and write a review. Create your own piece of Impressionist art. Compare Van Gogh to Monet. Shadow a local artist and write about the experience. Other examples of studies in art: women artists, Cubism, ancient art, any type of art history.

Example #2 "I love international politics and I want to learn more about it."

Unit ideas: Focus on the Middle East Research and evaluate how we got into the current state in the Middle East. Read The Kite Runner or similar book and evaluate its accuracy. Interview an immigrant from the Middle East. Investigate the same event reported through different media. Compare the arguments regarding the founding of the state of Israel. Other examples of studies in politics/government: Communism, Constitutional Law, the Supreme Court, Socialism, universal healthcare.

Example #3 "I love taking pictures and would like to be able to list a photography class on my transcript."

Unit ideas: Focus on photography Research and explain the development of the art of photography. Read a biography of Ansel Adams and write about his influence on the art form. Evaluate the visual rhetoric of political photographs. Compare Matthew Brady's war photos to current photos from Afghanistan. Create a photography collection. Other examples of studies in fine arts: graphic design, sculpture, fibers, architecture.