Online Writing Assessments, Classes & Programs for Kids & Teens
My customized writing assessments will quickly identify your child’s or teen’s specific writing problems, and my goal-directed online writing classes and programs, all of which can be tailored to your son’s or daughter’s individual needs, will address them, helping ensure that your child or teen will become a confident, independent, empowered writer who is well prepared for high school- and college-level writing.
WRITING ASSESSMENTS
For your son’s or daughter’s writing instruction to be worthwhile and effective, a writing assessment should be done beforehand. My writing assessments will identify your child’s or teen’s specific writing problems; they will also allow me to create a customized writing program for your son or daughter and have a targeted approach with their writing instruction.
-
Writing Assessment Details
During my meeting with your child or teen, I will assess their spelling skills (elementary and middle school students) and observe them writing a paper.
After the meeting, I will spend approximately 20 minutes reviewing their completed editing document(s) so that I can assess their understanding of grammar and level them for editing work.
The writing assessment also includes a ten-minute parent phone call the day after the student meeting so that I can discuss my observations and initial writing instruction recommendations with you.
Benefits
You will know what specific writing instruction your son or daughter needs, saving you time and money in the long run.
What’s Included
30-minute student meeting
20 minutes of writing assessment document review (completed after the student meeting)
Written initial writing instruction recommendations
10-minute parent phone call
Writing assessments start at just $59!
"As I navigate my junior year [of high school] and my AP Language class, . . . I've begun to realize how crucial a strong [writing] foundation is, . . . [and] I've grown increasingly appreciative of all of the time Christina has spent with me to refine my writing. . . . Her guidance has not only strengthened my skills as a writer but also nurtured a love for writing and a self-confidence I hadn't known before."
— Teagan N., 11th grader
★
Spelling Classes
Spelling is the foundation of writing—if your son or daughter doesn’t have strong spelling skills, they cannot have strong writing skills. My spelling course will fill in holes in that foundation, strengthening it so that it can be built upon.
-
Spelling Course Details
After I determine which high-frequency words your child or teen needs to learn, I will use those words to teach them how to spell all other English words. Phonics and word analysis will be discussed during this process.
Benefits
By the end of this Spelling course, your son or daughter will understand the importance of spelling words phonetically and looking at them analytically. They also will have mastered how to spell the 1,200 words used most frequently in writing!
What’s Included
Weekly 25-minute private goal-focused online classes
15 minutes of weekly spelling test review and document updating (completed after each class)
Individualized spelling instruction
Assessments to track your child’s or teen’s progress
Purposeful, individualized homework
10-minute parent check-in phone call with me every trimester
"We feel privileged to have Christina teaching our son. . . . We can tell he likes her classes a lot, and his spelling is improving substantially."
— Leire A. & Francesco I., parents
W
Grammar Classes
To be able to write logical and meaningful sentences consistently, your son or daughter must have a solid grammar foundation. My 7-month-long grammar course will build that foundation by establishing a comprehensive understanding of sentence structure and the following parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions.
-
Grammar Course Details
During each class, I will introduce new grammar rules to your child or teen; however, before I do, I will conduct an oral review of recently taught ones so that I can assess student understanding of them. Between classes, your child or teen will study and apply the newly learned grammar rules.
Benefits
Upon finishing this 7-month-long Grammar course, your son or daughter will be able to identify, write, and correctly punctuate simple, compound, and complex sentences; they will also be able to identify nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions in sentences and understand the roles of those words in the sentences.
What’s Included
Weekly 25-minute small group (or private) goal-focused online classes
Curricular materials
Oral and written assessments to track your child’s or teen’s progress
Purposeful homework
10-minute parent check-in phone call with me every trimester
“Christina is an expert at explaining complex grammar rules.”
— Audrey F., parent
O
EDiTing Classes
Your son or daughter must be able to properly edit their own writing so that they don’t assign that job to their readers. My editing courses will teach them how to do that using a systematic approach.
-
Editing Course Details
After I determine your child’s or teen’s editing level and get them up and running with editing, they will edit a 2-page document between classes, and their work (e.g., standard proofreading marks, capitalization and punctuation rules, etc.) will be reviewed and discussed during their upcoming class.
Benefits
Upon completing my Editing II course, your son or daughter will be able to independently make editing corrections based on rules and explain those rules to other people; they will also be able to consistently edit Editing II two-page documents with an approximately 95% accuracy rate.
What’s Included
Weekly 25-minute small group (or private) goal-focused online classes
Curricular materials
Oral and written assessments to track your child’s or teen’s progress
Purposeful homework
10-minute parent check-in phone call with me every trimester
"I like the way Christina teaches me by asking me lots of questions. . . . [Also,] she makes me laugh, and that makes learning English Language Arts with her so fun."
— E.T., 4th grader
R
ADVANCED VOCABULARY COURSE
It is important for your son or daughter to have knowledge of inspiring, powerful words and be able to use them properly. My Advanced Vocabulary course will introduce your preteen or teen to the study of words, teach them how to use new words properly in their speech and writing, and create less of a size difference between their passive vocabulary (the words they “understand”) and active vocabulary (the words they use), helping them take their writing to the next level.
-
Advanced Vocabulary Course Details
During the 1st week of each month, your preteen or teen will learn 10 words (i.e., spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, definition, usage, etc.). For the last 3 or 4 weeks of every month, they will participate in a fun, interactive activity that will help them learn the words introduced at the beginning of the month and assess their progress in learning them.
Benefits
As a result of taking this Advanced Vocabulary course, your son or daughter will understand the importance of using a dictionary—a reputable one—when writing. They also will know how to use one properly, ensuring they, in turn, use words properly. In addition, they will integrate more advanced words into their speech and writing!
What’s Included
Curricular materials
Purposeful homework
Assessments to track your preteen’s or teen’s progress
D
WRITING CRITIQUE CLASSES
My Writing Critique course will provide an invaluable opportunity for your son or daughter to write regularly. It will keep them working on one step of the writing process (i.e., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) at all times, expose them to other students’ writing ideas, and provide them with goal-directed positive and constructive feedback during the classes.
-
Writing Critique Course Details
Your preteen or teen will work on writing a nonfiction paper between classes. During the weekly classes, their work will be critiqued and discussed. They will leave each class with feedback regarding what they did well when writing and what they need to improve upon. This process will continue weekly until they are ready to start a new paper.
Benefits
After taking my Writing Critique course, your son or daughter will understand how to choose the “right” writing topic and how to progress through the different steps in the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. In addition, they will independently be able to complete a prewriting document; create and format a Google Drive document; use a polished prewriting document to draft a paper; and revise their writing, taking into account others’ feedback. They also will be able to use the Suggesting feature in Drive to critique writing.
What’s Included
55-minute small group (2–4 students) goal-focused online classes
Purposeful homework
10-minute parent check-in phone call with me every trimester
*10 minutes of weekly Writing Revision Review (detailed written feedback provided by me between classes) *(added upon request)
"[Christina's writing] instruction . . . helps students make substantial progress . . . and allows them to truly enjoy the learning process."
— Y.G., parent
S
PRIVATE PARAGRAPH & ESSAY WRITING CLASSES
My Private Paragraph and Essay Writing classes are ideal for elementary and middle school students who need one-on-one writing instruction before enrolling in a Writing Critique class or have a schedule conflict that temporarily prevents them from attending a Writing Critique class. They are also ideal for busy high school students.
-
Private Paragraph & Essay Writing Course Details
In these classes, your child or teen will learn how to choose the “right” topic to write about and how to properly structure and organize, draft, revise, and edit a paragraph and/or essay. They will meet with me privately for 25 minutes once a week to discuss their current nonfiction writing piece. During the weekly classes, I will provide them with written and verbal feedback on their homework revisions. I will also provide them with instructions for their next round of revisions. This process will continue weekly until your child or teen is ready to start a new paper.
Benefits
After taking my Private Paragraph & Essay writing course, your son or daughter will understand how to choose the “right” writing topic and how to progress through the different steps in the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. In addition, they will independently be able to complete a prewriting document; create and format a Google Drive document; use a polished prewriting document to draft a paper; and revise their writing, taking into account others’ feedback. They also will be able to use the Suggesting feature in Drive when revising their writing.
What’s Included
*Weekly 25-minute private goal-focused online classes
Purposeful homework
10-minute parent check-in phone call with me every trimester
*10 minutes of weekly Writing Revision Review (detailed written feedback provided by me between classes) *(added upon request)
"Christina has given me so much help over the past years. . . . I went from not being able to write a word correctly to writing essays!"
— Akiro U., 6th grader
★
WRITING REVISION REVIEW
Writing Revision Review is an add-on service for my Writing Critique and Private Paragraph and Essay Writing classes. It will help your son or daughter complete papers for their writing classes twice as fast because they will receive teacher feedback on their prewriting or draft revisions twice a week instead of just once a week.
-
Writing Revision Review Details
Your preteen or teen will submit their 1st round of weekly writing revisions to me by the end of Sundays. Then on Mondays, I will provide them with written feedback on those revisions so that they can complete a 2nd round of weekly revisions before their next writing class.
Benefits
Your son or daughter will understand the importance of completing multiple rounds of writing revisions, and not at the last minute.
What’s Included
10 minutes of weekly written feedback.
"I truly appreciate Christina’s teaching methods and . . . value her feedback. . . . Her thoughtful guidance and encouragement have helped my daughter gain more confidence in her English class. It is wonderful to see my daughter approaching challenges with a positive attitude."
— Yan G., parent
W
SUMMER INTENSIVE WRITING PROGRAMS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
For your son or daughter to have strong writing skills in high school, it is essential that the holes in their writing foundation be properly filled in by the end of middle school, which may mean your preteen or teen needs to devote extra time during the summer to learning how to write properly. My summer intensive writing programs will help them do that.
-
Summer Intensive Writing Program Details
I will create an individualized summer intensive writing program for your middle schooler based off of their writing assessment results and/or most recent work in classes with me. The program will consist of a combination of the following instruction depending on your preteen’s or teen’s personal needs: spelling, grammar, editing, advanced vocabulary, and/or paragraph and essay writing. Then, I will begin meeting with your preteen or teen 1–3 times a week throughout the summer (June–August) for a minimum of 75 minutes a week.
Benefits
Your son or daughter will start high school with confidence and a competitive edge.
What’s Included
75+ minutes of weekly small group and/or private goal-focused online classes
Curricular materials
Oral and written assessments to track your preteen’s or teen’s progress
Purposeful homework
*10 minutes of written writing revision feedback provided by me between classes *(if enrolled in Writing Revision Review)
A 10-minute parent check-in phone call with me
"Christina is deeply knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about [writing]. After just one summer [of working with Christina], our son's confidence soared, and he started excelling in his literature classes."
— A. F., parent