The Keystone School · grades 6–12
English & Composition
Two skills that never stop paying: reading closely enough to understand, and writing clearly enough to be understood.
How a good paragraph is built, and how good paragraphs become an argument worth reading.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~24 hours
Unit I — The Sentence & the Paragraph
The topic sentence · Unity and coherence · Transitions · Concision and cutting
Unit II — The Thesis-Driven Essay
Crafting a thesis · Introductions and conclusions · Evidence and analysis · Organizing the body
Unit III — Revision
Revising for structure · Editing for clarity · Peer review · Proofreading and presentation
The rules that keep a sentence from tripping — and the judgment to know when to break them.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~18 hours
Unit I — Parts & Structure
Parts of speech · Phrases and clauses · Sentence types · Subject-verb agreement
Unit II — Punctuation
Commas and their jobs · Semicolons and colons · Apostrophes and possession · Quotation and dialogue
Unit III — Style
Active and passive voice · Parallel structure · Common usage errors · Editing your own prose
What a story does beneath what it says — theme, character, and the craft of close reading.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — Elements of Fiction
Plot and conflict · Character and motivation · Setting and point of view · Theme
Unit II — Craft & Language
Figurative language · Tone and mood · Symbolism and motif · Irony
Unit III — Reading Critically
Making a textual claim · Supporting a reading with evidence · Comparing texts · Writing the literary analysis
The two oldest literary forms — one made to be heard aloud, the other to be performed.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~20 hours
Unit I — Reading Poetry
Line, stanza, and form · Meter and rhythm · Sound: rhyme, alliteration, assonance · Imagery and metaphor
Unit II — Forms & Traditions
The sonnet · Free verse · The ode and the elegy · Poetry across cultures
Unit III — Drama
The structure of a play · Dialogue and stage direction · Tragedy and comedy · Reading a scene for performance
How to find sources you can trust, weigh them fairly, and cite them without stealing.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~22 hours
Unit I — Finding & Judging Sources
Framing a research question · Primary and secondary sources · Evaluating credibility · Note-taking and synthesis
Unit II — Building the Argument
Claim, reason, and evidence · Addressing counterarguments · Logical fallacies to avoid · Structuring a long paper
Unit III — Citation & Integrity
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing · MLA and APA citation · Avoiding plagiarism · The works-cited page