THIS IS A TWO-SEMESTER COURSE.

In the third level of the MCT language arts curriculum, Michael Clay Thompson takes students on a voyage around the world in Essay Voyage. It is at once a strong and creative introduction to how to write an essay and also an exploration of the geography of the world. Michael enriches that theme and shows students more of the world in A World of Poetry. Grammar Voyage keeps the students aboard ship as the grammar gets ever more sophisticated and challenging. The vocabulary text is Caesar’s English II, which offers fifty Latin stems that students will learn are the foundation of hundreds of words in the English language, thus providing a base that will extend far beyond the lessons themselves. During the second semester, Michael will add the Search Trilogy of literary novels to the curriculum.

Class Meetings: Mondays at 8:00 p.m. OR Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (Students can choose which time works best for them. Students unable to attend either class meeting can watch a recording of the classes.)
Fall Semester: August 19/21 – December 16/18, 2024
Spring Semester: January 13/15 – May 12/14, 2025

There will not be a class meeting every week. The core of the course is the assignments and the extensive feedback given by Michael, with the class meeting being a voluntary enrichment for students who are able to attend. Students’ attendance of the class meetings has no effect on their grades. Students unable to attend a class meeting will be able to access a recording of the class.

Student Expectations: Students must be able to do assignments using a keyboard (no handwritten assignments).

Student Support: Michael is available via email.

Feedback/Assessment: Michael may reply to students’ answers with comments or questions, and he will want them to answer those emails.

Materials/Supplies: Students will need the Level 3 texts: Grammar Voyage, Practice Voyage, Caesar’s English II CEE, Essay Voyage, and A World of Poetry, as well as the Search Trilogy novels: Treasure Island, The Call of the Wild, and The Invisible Man.

PURCHASE THESE BOOKS AS A PACKAGE HERE.

NOTE: There is an audit and grading option available for this course. Students who choose this option will not be able to join the weekly class meetings, nor will they be able to ask Michael Clay Thompson any questions. Instead, on Friday of each week, there will be a video recording posted on the course website (to which they will have access) of that week’s class meeting with Michael that the students can watch. In addition, students who do the homework can have it graded by an experienced instructor of Michael’s choosing.