Basic Mechanics A allows students to strengthen their foundation writing skills. The course teaches the fundamentals of writing such as: sentences vs. fragments, subjects and predicates, subject-verb agreement, and capitalization.

How do I know which course to choose?
First, you'll want to zero in on the appropriate grade range. Knowing that our international visitors may be using a different naming system for the grade levels, we'll lay them out for you below.
- 3rd-5th grade students (7-10yr olds) will generally use elementary courses.
- 6th-8th grade students(11-13 yrs olds) will generally use middle school courses
- 9th-12th grade students (14-19 yr olds) will generally use high school courses.
Next you'll want to decide on what you hope to get from the course.
Students needing help with sentence structure and sentence mechanics will want to use:
- ES: Sensational Sentences (elementary)
- MS: Basic Mechanics (middle)
Students interested in gaining skills in paragraph writing will want to use:
- ES2: Perfect Paragraphs (elementary)
- MS1: Powerful Paragraphs (middle)
Students looking to better their essay writing skills can choose from:
- ES1: Intro to Essay Writing (elementary)
- MS2: Welcome to the Essay (middle)
- HS1: Essay Writing (high)
Students with interest in writing for specific uses can choose from:
- MS3: Writing Today (middle)
- HS2: Writing for Standardized Tests (high)
- HS3: Writing for Research Papers(high)
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Course Objectives by week (units):
Week 1: The Sentence, The Fragment, and The Run-on
By the end of the first week, the students will be able to differentiate among the complete sentence, the fragment, and the run-on and write their own proper sentences.
Week 2: Nouns, Nouns, and More Nouns!
By the end of the second week, the students will be able to form the plural and possessive forms of nouns.
Week 3: Subjects of a Sentence
By the end of the third week, the students will be able to identify and use the simple and complete subjects of a sentence.
Week 4: Predicates of a Sentence
By the end of the fourth week, the students will be able to identify the simple and complete predicates of a sentence.
Week 5: Subject - Verb Agreement in a Sentence
By the end of the fifth week, the students will be able to make common subjects and verbs agree.
Week 6: "Tricky" Subject - Verb Agreement
By the end of the sixth week, the students will be able to make tricky subjects and verbs agree.
Week 7: Capitalization
By the end of the seventh week, the students will be able to correctly capitalize words both individually and within sentences.
Week 8: Sum it ALL UP!
By the end of the eighth week, the students will be able to demonstrate mastery of writing proper sentences, making subjects and verbs agree, and using correct capitalization rules. The students will also proofread their own writing to check for and correct any errors in these areas.