Course Details:

The teacher will provide all materials. Students will need to use Google Docs.

This, That, & the Other: Historical Research

$350.00

In this class, students learn to research a historical event or scientific discovery, thinking like a historian or scientist. Then they write an argumentative research essay, which can serve as a cumulative term paper.

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Description

What in the world is an argumentative research paper?!

An argumentative research paper is harder than researching a topic and presenting findings. In this class, students learn to research an event and then come up with their own argument about the significance of that event, based on the facts. They learn to follow the facts and to present their findings in an argumentative research essay. Students begin by learning the steps of research: how to get organized, ask research questions, search smart to find resources online, read informational texts, and take notes so that they avoid plagiarism. Then they learn to synthesize it all together into a research essay with an annotated bibliography page. This class includes workshop time, which we have found increases student success in writing the paper.

High Expectations in a Supportive Community:

In this class, the instructor works to build respectful relationships with each student and to build an online community. We establish a supportive and encouraging environment. This class has a high level of student interaction–students will answer questions and use the chatbox regularly. If we don’t hear from a student, we ask them if everything is okay. We push students to improve their writing, both for function and style. Further, we pull up their essays as they write and give feedback on the spot. Since our goal is to keep their minds engaged, to keep them writing, and to learn new skills, we encourage students (but don’t force them) to keep cameras on. Quieter students will do fine because they engage with their teacher in the chatbox. We want to honor the investment parents make in this class and the time students spend. The goal is to build skills and learn! That means students are working, thinking, and writing.

The Way We Roll:

Student Motivation & Accountability–Learners participate in interactive lessons during their homework time, which includes competitive quizzes. This class utilizes competition in the first couple of weeks, which is highly motivating for many. For those that don’t enjoy competition, they can sit back and watch. It’s all okay! We use “workshop time” in class so students will write while the teacher “visits” them on their Google Document. Once we started using this method, we saw nearly a 100% completion rate in student essays!

Homework–Students can expect to have homework after each live class. They will work 15-45 minutes, depending on the assignment and how quickly they work. Students receive authentic and constructive feedback from the instructor that helps students correct their mistakes and fine-tune their skills. We integrate grammar in all aspects of instruction, and we hold students to a high standard of academic writing. We achieve this through daily mini-lessons and practice with sentence writing and using various sentence starters.

Graphic Organizers–Students need graphic organizers to help them see the structure of a paragraph or essay and the writing process. This is how they learn to develop coherent ideas. They don’t figure out how to do this magically; the graphic organizers and the intentional, explicit teaching help them learn the skills!

Student Mastery--Each class includes explicit, direct instruction with teacher modeling. Students are guided toward mastery of multiple writing skills and understandings so that they grasp the concepts and become independent. Students are held to a high standard of academic writing, including the use of grammar and the construction of sophisticated sentences.

Teacher Feedback–The back-and-forth work between a student and teacher significantly benefits a student if it is done well. We follow best practices in this area with how we design class time, assignments, and routines. According to Pennington Publishing, • effective writing feedback (or grading) is:
• Specific, not general
• Immediate, not postponed
• Routine with a revision / feedback cycle
• Explanatory
• The right amount
• Targeted to the most critical issues
• Varied (written, audio, and video comments)
• Holding students accountable

CLASS SYLLABUS:

Day 1: AN INTRO TO HISTORICAL RESEARCH–Students will learn how to get organized for historical research. Students will learn the difference between primary/secondary/tertiary sources. Teachers give students a list of topics, and they can choose what they want to study. They can come up with their own ideas as well, but their teacher must approve their topic, so they will have success and be able to finish their essay without weeks of research. This is an introduction to historical research so that they learn the process. We start with an informational text to build some background knowledge. After reading their first article, they start to ask research questions that guide their efforts.

Day 2: HISTORICAL RESEARCH & NOTE TAKING–Students learn how to choose a reliable source and how to explore their topic further, answering basic questions about their topic. This includes how to search smart and how to evaluate sources for bias and reliability. During class time, students will find two more sources. Then, they will learn reading strategies and tips on how to read their sources while taking notes. Avoiding plagiarism, they will take effective notes, cite sources, and paraphrase their information. They will work to decipher what information is important. We devoted some class time to independent reading and note-taking, so the instructor can guide students to make sure they are on track, reading well, and taking quality notes. Students also learn how to write an annotated bibliography and how to do this as they progress with their research.

Day 3: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 4: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 5: HISTORICAL CONTEXT–Students will research the important people involved with the topic, create maps, and construct a timeline. Students understand what historical context is and begin studying the historical context of their topic using accurate and appropriate references to the time period by specifying the political, economic, social, and cultural influences—events, ideas, people, places, and objects. They gain a historical perspective and begin to think about the causes and consequences of an event or the relationship of a local topic to a larger trend or event. They write a body paragraph about the historical context.

Day 6: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 7: DEEP RESEARCH— The instructor teaches the importance of doing balanced research, where they look at all sides of an issue to understand other opinions, points of view, and controversies. For example, they will ask questions such as: who suffered? Who benefited? What about women? Children? Men? People from other racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups? What about people in other geographical areas, those with different values and motivations? They will choose the strongest point of view and then write a paper countering those arguments. They will begin to answer their research questions. Students write a paragraph about what they discovered in their balanced research.

Day 8: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 9: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 10: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION–This is when students begin asking and answering “why?” and “how?” questions on their topic to think deeper and discover more. Students will explore the historical impact on a deeper level and write the rest of the essay. They will research and communicate answers to these questions: How did your event impact history over time? Why is this event important in history? Third, they will begin to develop their historical thesis statement. Students will write multiple body paragraphs that support their thesis.

Day 11: Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 12 Workshop Day so students have their instructor to guide them along in the hard work of research.

Day 13: Students learn how to write the introduction & conclusion, and they do it in class with teacher guidance and support.

Day 14: Last, they learn to create a separate annotated bibliography page and how to revise and edit their entire essay. For homework, they fine-tune their essay and turn them in for final teacher feedback.

The Lemons-Aid Way: Our Approach to Teaching & Learning is Explicit!

Explicit teaching is a method of instruction students desperately need! Instead of leaving students to magically figure out how to write an essay, we teach explicitly, which is backed by a large body of evidence, and it’s how Mrs. Lemons teaches her undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates in college to teach! We do it this way because it’s how kids learn.

Explicit instruction is “a structured, systematic, and effective methodology for teaching academic skills. It is called explicit because it is an unambiguous and direct approach to teaching that includes both instructional design and delivery procedures. Explicit instruction is characterized by a series of supports or scaffolds, whereby students are guided through the learning process with clear statements about the purpose and rationale for learning the new skill, clear explanations and demonstrations of the instructional target, and supported practice with feedback until independent mastery has been achieved.”
-Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. Hughes.

Anita Archer trained Mrs. Lemons in workshops, and it changed her teaching. All Lemons-Aid courses follow this philosophy in the form of I DO, WE DO, YOU DO. We move students forward toward mastery of skills.

High School Writing Series:

This class is part of a series that prepares students to do dual enrollment college classes or are entering college. The series gets progressively more difficult and are scheduled in order. You can still jump in whenever you’d like! Completion of all of these classes, which takes about 6 months will cover all necessary high school writing! They make up a complete high school writing plan.

Lesson Schedule

coming soon…

Class Introduction Video

Coming soon…

Taught From a Christian Perspective

Our mission is to equip learners’ minds and shepherd their hearts. We want them to have saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and then develop a biblical worldview. This means they view their world, themselves, and God in a way that aligns with what the Bible teaches. This brings great peace and understanding to the believer because we serve a good, sovereign God. This course is taught with these goals in mind. In class, we may pray, read scripture, and discuss how to view the content from a Christian perspective.

We have adopted The Master’s Seminary Doctrinal Statement.

✨ 🍋 ✨ Why Lemons-Aid? ✨ 🍋 ✨

EXPLICIT TEACHING: We understand the skills and concepts students need to learn and know how to teach them. Lemons-Aid’s materials are top-notch, organized, and clear for students and parents to understand. We are especially skilled at breaking down a complicated process into understandable parts. Further, explicit instruction is “a structured, systematic, and effective methodology for teaching academic skills. It is called explicit because it is an unambiguous and direct approach to teaching that includes both instructional design and delivery procedures. Explicit instruction is characterized by a series of supports or scaffolds, whereby students are guided through the learning process with clear statements about the purpose and rationale for learning the new skill, clear explanations and demonstrations of the instructional target, and supported practice with feedback until independent mastery has been achieved.”

  • Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. Hughes.

Anita Archer trained Mrs. Lemons in workshops, and it changed her teaching. Read a little more about the research behind explicit teaching here and here.


To read more about your teaching and learning methods, read Mrs. Lemons’ blog.


STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY = ACHIEVEMENT: Students master skills with us and make gains. We have a high degree of accountability. Since we make promises here and parents are paying good money, we understand you trust us to work! Students have to work too, and let’s be honest: they’re kids and don’t always want to. We push it. We teach them how to stay engaged, we cold-call on kids, we tell them to use the chatbox, and we want them to use emojis! If they are resistant, we contact the student through the teacher tab first. If that doesn’t work, we call in the big guns–Mom and Dad. We want kids to learn. We don’t want them to pass through our classes without gaining skills and doing great learning.


HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS: To balance our high expectations for their learning and behavior, we build relationships with them. We want them to know we care about and know them. We’ll ask about their play last weekend or the new trick they’re trying to master on the skateboard. We also want students to get to know each other and encourage community engagement.


DEPENDABLE: Multiple teachers are teaching this class, and we have an entire year of lessons planned and scheduled. Since we are a mission-driven organization, we protect our brand and the relationships with our families. We are accountable to our learners. When things come up for teachers, we work to get substitutes and do everything we can before canceling a class. We do not like canceling or changing, and we often teach classes at a loss to give others a chance to join. We have limits, of course, but we are not flippant or irresponsible about canceling! When things come up for students, since we have multiple sections, they can transfer from section to section. All our teachers teach the same content the same week, giving families even more flexibility!

 

The Lemons-Aid Team

Lemons-Aid teachers have a few things in common.
❤️ They love their students and value each of their unique strengths and personalities that make our classes special. Our classes can be described as fun, personal, academic, challenging, and supportive.
🤩 We work to keep learners engaged, so there is always a degree of student accountability for their attention and focus, whether that be through asking them direct questions or by using the chatbox.
💭 We know all kids can learn, but sometimes things are hard! To support students, we teach them how to develop effective thinking and learning habits that will bring them success in class and in life.
🌟 Building relationships with students so they know we care about them helps us balance the high expectations we have for them regarding their effort, work quality, and behavior. Our students are encouraged, cared for, and they achieve!

𝙆𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙉 𝙇𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙎: English Language Arts
#High-Energy #Skilled #Experienced #Relational #Fun
Karen is the Founder of Lemons-Aid. She has a bachelor’s degree in English, a minor in Education, and a master’s degree in Education Administration from Liberty University. With a teaching certificate and a principal’s license in both Washington and Colorado, she has many years of experience teaching English Language Arts and History / Social Studies at the middle school and high school levels. Additionally, she is TESOL and TEFL certified and enjoys teaching English Language Learners from all over the world. She has worked in private and public schools at every level and is currently an affiliate faculty member at Colorado Christian University, supervising teacher candidates in their undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. She is a teacher of teachers. A homeschool mom herself, she admits that teaching other people’s kids is easier than teaching her own teenage boys! She lives in the Denver, Colorado area where she cheers on the Broncos, Avs, and the Rockies, but her favorite athletes are her own kids who play hockey and baseball!
🎥 Karen’s Intro Video

 

𝑱𝑬𝑵𝑵 𝑹𝑰𝑨𝑳𝑬: English Language Arts
#Experienced #Knowledgeable #Empowering #Patient #Rises Above the Ordinary.
As a certified English teacher, Jenn has taught in some capacity over the course of the past twenty-five years. She has taught middle school and high school English classes in both private and public school settings, tutored international ESL students online, developed and taught literature and public speaking classes for a local homeschool co-op, and homeschooled her own two children. Jenn has a bachelor’s degree in English Education. A strong believer in lifelong learning, Jenn has also taken several graduate-level courses related to teaching. Jenn enjoys spending time with her husband, Mark, and their two teenagers. She enjoys taking day trips close to where they live in upstate New York. In her spare time, Jenn enjoys singing and performing in plays. Additionally, she enjoys curling up on the sofa to read a good book. More than likely, one of her four cats will be curled up at her feet.
🎥 Jenn’s Intro Video

𝙆𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙈𝘼𝙉: Elementary
#Fun #Inspiring #LoveForLearning
Kristen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education with a minor in child psychology from Liberty University. For nearly a decade, she has worked in elementary school classrooms, as a private tutor, and as an online ELL teacher. While passionate about education in general, her favorite subjects to both study and teach are reading, grammar, and writing. She and her husband are actively involved in a church where she works as a Sunday School teacher and Children’s Ministry teacher to ages 4-6. No matter where she is teaching, Kristen tries to find ways to connect with her students and to create an exciting classroom that builds a passion for education. It is her desire to not only teach a subject but also to foster a love of learning which inspires students to want to learn more even once the class is completed. Kristen lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and their new baby boy! In her spare time, Kristen loves to create teaching content such as interactive lesson plans, worksheets, and more! She also enjoys doing family outings and crafting.
🎥 Kristen’s Intro Video

𝙈𝙍𝙎. 𝘼𝙇𝙄:
Elementary
#Engaging #Fun #Patient #Kind #Encouraging
Ali has a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and has worked with children over the last 11 years. She taught for 6 years in public school, 2 years in Kindergarten and 4 years in First Grade. She has worked as a reading tutor and ESL teacher online for the last 4 years; she has also tutored children in-person in reading, writing, and STEM. Ali believes that every child is a natural learner; she believes that an educator’s goal is to engage each child in the way that they learn best! She is passionate about creating a safe and FUN environment that teaches the whole child. Each time she enters a classroom, whether it is in-person or online, you can find her singing, playing games, and making learning fun. Ali lives in Missouri, near St. Louis with her husband and fur-child (an 80 lb. German Shepherd who doesn’t know how big he is). In her free time she loves reading, writing, crafts, hiking, working out, and spending time with my family.
🎥 Ali’s Intro Video

𝙆𝙄𝙈𝘽𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙔 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙎𝙄: English
#Energetic #Kind #Encouraging #Authentic #Enthusiastic #Guide
Kim loves life, loves people, and loves learning! She views each student as a team member with his or her own unique talents, skills and life experience to bring to the group. She loves helping students expand their knowledge and sharpen their skills to reach their greatest potential. Kim has a Bachelor’s degree from Cairn University in secondary Education with certification in English (NY and PA) and endorsement in music. Her classroom experience has focused on English, PE and Bible education, but she has tutored in a variety of areas including ESL, special ed, math, history, science and music (piano and voice). She lives in northeast PA with her wonderful family. She has homeschooled all of her seven children. The youngest five are still in school and ensure that every day is an adventure. Kim also coaches intramural and competitive sports throughout the year. She loves music, sports, reading and taking long walks up her dirt road admiring wildflowers, listening to birds and reflecting on what she is learning in life!
🎥 Kim’s Intro Video

Christian Teachers on Outschool

We want to serve you on Lemons-Aid! For first-time learners on Lemons-Aid, you can use the coupon code Newbie20 to get $20 off your first class.

However, if the schedule doesn’t work for you, we will happily teach you on Outschool, but we can’t talk about Jesus.

Use this referral code and get $20 off your first class on Outschool: LEMONSA2020

Christian Outschool Classes

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High School Writing Series

This class is part of a series that prepares students to do dual enrollment college classes or are entering college. The series gets progressively more difficult and are scheduled in order. You can still jump in whenever you’d like! Completion of all of these classes, which takes about 6 months will cover all necessary high school writing! They make up a complete high school writing plan.