Is self-defense a reasonable claim when a shipwreck victim kills and eats a fellow unlucky passenger? Is a burrito a sandwich? Do you have to disclose that your home is haunted before you sell it?
These are some of the many bizarre legal cases we'll look at while reading selections from How Would You Rule? by Daniel Park.
Along the way, we'll practice foundational composition skills by writing four multi-draft essays in a variety of forms and topics.
At the same time, we'll be discussing ethics, logic, and the law.
Gain Key Academic Writing Foundations
Students will learn foundational academic writing skills including brainstorming, organization, revision, formatting, and proofreading.
Guided Class Flexibility
This is a guided class, which means there are no live meetings, but there is student-teacher interaction and weekly due dates for assignments. This format works well for students who don’t enjoy live, on-camera sessions or who have unpredictable weekly schedules.
Students can interact with the instructor and each other via our class Discord channel.
Practice Writing as a Process
Most importantly, students will compose four multi-draft papers with individual video feedback on rough drafts and the opportunity to revise a final draft.
Class Details
Age Range: 13-18
Class Size: 3 - 10 learners
Dates: August 26-November 24 with No Live Meetings
Fall Break is the week of October 7
Supplies
- A copy of How Would You Rule? by Daniel Park (Either publisher version is fine!) (used copies are fine; borrowed/library copies are acceptable but it’s preferable for learners to have their own copy so they can take notes in it)
- PDF Reader
- Learners will submit work through Google Drive (a Google (Gmail) account can be acquired for free)
Supplies
To participate successfully in class, learners will need the following:
- A copy of How Would You Rule? by Daniel Park (ISBN 978-0-520-29058-7 or 979-8676867294) (Please note: There are two editions of this book from different publishers. Either one is fine for this class.) (used copies are fine; borrowed/library copies are acceptable but it’s preferable for learners to have their own copy so they can take notes in it)
- Internet access
- Headphones/speakers
- PDF Reader
- Zoom (free account)
- Learners will submit work through Google Drive (a Google (Gmail) account can be acquired for free)
Meet Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason
Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason is the founder of Dayla Learning. She has a PhD in rhetoric and composition, a passion for helping students find their writing voice, and two homeschooling children of her own.
Michelle has taught in a wide variety of settings including six years as a full-time college professor. She has been teaching virtual and in-person homeschool writing and humanities classes for more than five years.
Michelle believes in meeting students where they are and — as any of her previous students will tell you — believes deeply that there is no such thing as a bad rough draft!
Is this the right fit for your learner?
This is an intermediate High School Writing class (Level 2). Learners will be most successful if they already have the following skills:
- Ability to write 3-4 double-spaced pages on a single topic
- Understanding of how to separate paragraphs and write introductions and conclusions
- Experience and confidence in reading nonfiction texts with a 1200L Lexile level
- Familiarity with basics of using quoted material in writing
Skills Gained
The class is set up so that students choose which writing prompts they’d like to complete for both of the two primary assignments. This means that students of varying ability levels and familiarity with academic writing conventions can find an assignment appropriate for their level.
Students will learn about the following:
- Developing reading comprehension and note-taking strategies
- Finding their own writing process
- Working on a complete draft in stages that focus on revision
- Reflecting on what works to build strong writing habits
- Development of a personal writing process
- Familiarity with strategies for the higher order concerns of writing (main idea, organization, development, and comprehension)
- Familiarity with strategies for the lower order concerns of writing (formatting, style, and mechanics)
- Synthesizing ideas from multiple sources and mediums
Records and Reporting
Upon successful completion of class, instructor provides detailed exit letter suitable for inclusion in portfolio. Families may request numerical grade at beginning of class for a detailed course grade summary, but it is optional.
Individual Support
All students will receive individualized video feedback on all rough drafts that specifically addresses their rough draft submissions.
My teaching philosophy very much focuses on starting with students’ strengths to build confidence and using them to work on improvements over time.
Feedback is tailored to each student’s individual needs and goals. I also encourage a lot of self-reflection and provide opportunities for students to directly communicate their challenges so that facing them with strategies becomes a normal part of the writing process.
Content Note
This book is a collection of chapters on legal cases, which includes crimes. There are no graphic descriptions as the work is more about the legal response than the crimes themselves, but the cases we look at include a case of cannibalism (after a shipwreck), murder, and a potentially haunted house. The book's tone is light, but more sensitive learners may want a heads up about these topics. There are also some chapters in the book (which we are not reading in class) that include legal debates over pornography.
Families are encouraged to preview the text if they have any concerns.