LITeracy 8 Grammar, Usage, & Mechanics

This course focuses on reinforcing writing fundamentals, in preparation for the high school level, including sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, paragraph structure, self-editing, and proofreading. Middle School Mechanics allows the learner to strengthen their foundational writing skills at a level that recognizes their maturity. The course teaches the basic building blocks of Grammar in writing: the parts and different types of sentences as well as the structure of a paragraph. Students need to master before moving on to paragraphs and then essays.

• Correctly identifying the parts of a sentence
• Understanding complex sentences
• Learning subject-verb agreement
• Differentiating between plural and possessive nouns
• Using pronouns, adjectives and adverbs in sentences
• Identifying and spelling words that often confuse writers
• Correctly using commas, semicolons, and other punctuation
• Proofreading their writing for errors

Students will engage with stories and literature, as well as more complex texts that provide facts and background knowledge in areas such as science and social studies. Students will be challenged and asked questions that push them to refer back to what they’ve read. This stresses critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills that are required for success in college, career, and life.