COURSE DESCRIPTION
To grow as writers, students need more than curriculum. Yes, they need to be taught, but they also need to be coached and to be held accountable. Many homeschooling parents have a knack for writing and the skills required: They just need help knowing what to teach, how to coach, and how best to hold their students accountable. This course teaches parents how to assign and grade high school papers in the humanities courses in a way that enables students to have clear, consistent expectations and track their progress toward specific goals. It also advises parents on the general progress they should expect at the high school level, so that if they do choose to outsource, they have a strategy for their purchasing decisions and curriculum or course selections. This class can be purchased as part of the "Level Up Your Writing for High School" bundle, which comes with two student writing courses.
The first two lectures in this course are free.
COURSE DETAILS
Course Duration:
- Total video time is 3.25 hours
Components:
- 6 videos
- high school writing "map"
- two rubrics
- two sample papers
Additional Services Available:
- Ms. Finnigan is available through her Paper Check-Up and Writing Coaching services if you need extra support
- She loves to hear from former students, and that would now include you! So you can always email her with occasional questions.
Questions? Email
Curriculum Preview: Try before you buy!
The first two lectures were designed to act as professional development for homeschooling parents and to provide a little inspiration on your journey.
This Course Answers The Following FAQ's...
Is my high school student "on track" with writing?
What kinds of essays should my student be writing?
Should we be writing essays or something else?
Should we be doing grammar or composition?
Do I need to outsource? (This is very expensive.)
We've done "all the writing things" but my student's work is just -- meh.
My student says she "doesn't know what to write."
They hate it when I grade their writing!
I hate grading their writing!
Are grades even necessary when it comes to writing?
Should I let them revise for a better grade?
Am I training them to lose their voice and be formulaic?
When do they break free of the five-paragraph essay?
What about plagiarism, cheating, and AI?
Do they have to do a research paper?
Do they have to know MLA, APA, Chicago style?
How do I critique their work without sucking their will to live?
How do I get involved with grading their work without sucking MY will to live?!
I want them to be ready for college. Will they be?
My child is not going to college: How important is writing?
My child is a great writer already. How do I help him or her to keep growing?
Where are we? Where do we need to be? And are we there yet?
Hi, I'm Ms. Finnigan
For ten years I taught high school literature at classical schools. My colleagues who taught upperclassmen told me that they could easily identify which students had been through my 9th grade literature class because they were the best writers, and my literature students often thanked me for teaching them how to write. One administrator told me that I was the best writing instructor their school had ever seen!
Funny thing was: I taught composition courses too, and I never received this same kind of praise about those classes. Why?
I believe the recipe for my students' success depended 60% on what I taught them about writing, 30% on what I assigned them and how I graded them, and 10% on, well -- that's my secret ingredient! I'll reveal that at the end!
I loved setting up my students for success in high school and beyond. By sharing my methods and approach with you, I believe I can help you to do the same for yours!
TESTIMONIAL
"Ms. Finnigan’s Level Up for High School course bundle was the best investment I have made for my daughter’s Language Arts instruction! We started homeschooling when she was in 6th grade, and I was concerned to find that she had not learned many of the things I considered to be 'the basics' of writing when in elementary school. As a confident writer myself, I was surprised that I was not at all confident in my ability to teach her to write or to assess her writing. As my daughter started 9th grade, I knew we needed some help to reach our goal - that she would become a competent and confident writer. I’m so grateful to have found Ms. Finnigan’s Level Up course! Her friendly and engaging manner quickly put my daughter and I at ease. This step-by-step approach to essays and textual support is easy to understand, and it has given me the tools I need to help my daughter improve her writing. Since taking the course, I have found myself referring my daughter back to her notes from Level Up, and she is becoming more confident and independent in applying the concepts to her writing. Ms. Finnigan’s How to Assign and Grade portion of the course for parents encouraged me and gave me confidence to evaluate essays for improvement and growth. Don’t try to go it alone; add Level Up into your homeschool Language Arts instruction and discover the joy of writing! Thanks, Ms.Finnigan!" -- Vanessa Fleisher, January 2024
Testimonial
Dear Ms. Finnigan,
I hope that you had a wonderful summer! I have been at Franciscan University for a few weeks now, and I am having a wonderful time! I wanted to let you know that earlier this week, I had the first draft of my English paper displayed on the large classroom screen for peer editing (and extra credit!), and as I was reading through it, my English teacher kept pausing me to point out to my classmates all the things that she loved about the paper. She did have some minor edits, but she was very impressed by the draft. Anyway, it made my day, and I figured I'd let you know about it because I know that I can trace a lot of the techniques that I used in that paper back to what you taught me in your class! Thank you for preparing me for the writing I've been doing here at college!
Sincerely, Rebecca
Email received September 2022
Purchase this course in the "Level Up Your Writing for High School" bundle and get $25 off the total cost!
The bundle includes two student courses: The 5-Day Essay and 6 Steps to Textual Support.
