Sydney Hoff is a graduate of Emory University. She scored 780/800 on the writing section of the SATs and has years of experience tutoring university-level students to foster their writing abilities. Sydney performs copywriting and copyediting work for various organizations. She currently runs a business based in New York offering writing services for students from elementary through higher education.
Would you like your child to build fundamental communication skills this summer before the academic year begins?
Overview
This is a small group class of elementary students ages 7-9 that will meet weekly throughout the summer to develop speaking and writing skills.
The children will memorize and recite poetry to learn high quality language patterns, sophisticated vocabulary, and fundamental public speaking skills that will prepare them for speech and debate later in their academic careers.
I will also teach the children how to write following the Institute for Excellence in Writing’s unique methodology, called Structure and Style. The children will learn to reconstruct existing text passages through creating key word outlines. They will also learn stylistic techniques including dress-ups, sentence openers, and banned words.
Because this is a small group setting of approximately five students, I will tailor the pace of the class to match the children’s needs and abilities.
Course Curriculum
- Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization
Children will learn high quality language patterns through child-friendly poetry and will learn introductory public speaking techniques through reciting poems. - Text Reconstruction
Children will learn to create key word outlines of a passage according to the IEW methodology. Then, they will use these key word outlines to reconstruct the passage in their own words. This isolates the technical work of writing from the creative work of idea generation. - Stylistic Writing Techniques
Children will learn dress-ups and banned words, which are tools that they can use to improve the style of their writing. - Vocabulary, Spelling, and Grammar
Vocabulary will be learned in relation to the texts that the children read in this class. For example, we will review advanced vocabulary words in our poetry book and in the texts that we read. Grammar rules will be taught at the point of need when they become relevant to improving the children’s writing.
Class Details
- Offered online via Zoom and using Google Classroom
- Meets weekly on Wednesdays from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
- 8-week course from July 8-26, 2020
- $275 enrollment fee, which includes access to learning materials and personalized feedback on written assignments
Enrollment Information
Questions?
Email info@tutoringbysydney.com.
In 2013, Ms. Lauren Bridgeford graduated with a BA in Languages, Literature, and Criticism from Hunter College. She has also obtained her DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification from Cambridge University. Currently, Ms. Bridgeford is a Registered Instructor accredited by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and she is pursuing her master’s degree in Secondary Education.
Deanna Heikkinen has been privately teaching writing as well as history, literature, and art history to students grades 2-12 for over six years. Prior to that, she was a tenured professor of humanities at Los Angeles Valley College with a focus on teaching the Great Books of Western Civilization. Additionally, she taught world history, western civilization, Native American history, and anthropology at the college level. Whether teaching elementary, middle, or high schoolers for Rose Writing Center, Deanna's diverse background allows her to serve as our test prep, academic support, and custom lesson specialist.
