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Semester courseEarly yearsReading aloudTranscript hours

First Chapter Books

Read together, out loud · Ages 7–9

The bridge between being read to and reading alone. Three short novels, a few pages aloud each week, and a teacher who will not let a hard word go by.

Imani Bell

Instructor

Ms. Imani Bell

Literature, Rhetoric & the Great Books

New this term. Reviews from students and parents appear here once families have taken it.

Overview

Every student reads aloud in every meeting. That is the whole design. Ms. Bell keeps the group small enough that no child waits long for a turn, and confidence is built by being heard rather than by being tested.

Families buy three inexpensive paperbacks. Everything else is supplied.

Ages & grades
Ages 7–9 · Grades 2–4
Live meetings
7 × 45 min
Cadence
Once a week · 7 weeks
Grading
Narrative · transcript

This one runs in order

This course accumulates. The class reads the same pages at the same pace and each meeting picks up the argument where the last one left it, so joining halfway means joining an argument already in progress.

Because there is a whole body of work at the end of it, this one is graded (narrative) and can be carried to a transcript. Enroll before the second meeting.

What students will be able to do

  • Read aloud with expression and accuracy
  • Follow a plot across several weeks
  • Predict what a character will do, and say why
  • Finish three whole books

Syllabus

  1. Weeks 1–5

    Charlotte’s Web

    Friendship, and a first encounter with loss.

  2. Weeks 6–10

    The Courage of Sarah Noble

    A young girl on the frontier.

  3. Weeks 11–14

    Detectives in Togas

    A mystery, in ancient Rome.

Books & materials

  • Charlotte's Web

    E. B. White

    Any edition. Widely available used.

  • The Courage of Sarah Noble

    Alice Dalgliesh

    Any edition.

  • Detectives in Togas

    Henry Winterfeld

    Any edition.

Prerequisites

None. Any student in the age range can enroll.

How this course handles its perspective

Craft and comprehension. Books are chosen for quality of sentence, not for message.

Read our academic philosophy

Recording policy

Meetings are recorded and released to enrolled families for fourteen days. Recordings capture the instructor and shared materials; student video is not published.

Cancellation & refunds

Full refund up to seven days before the first meeting; inside seven days, everything paid is credited to your Lyceum balance. No refunds or credits once the class has begun. Cancel any section from your parent account.

Learner support

  • ADHD-aware instruction
  • Gifted & accelerated

These describe how this instructor has been trained, reviewed with educators and accessibility specialists. They are not a diagnosis and not a marketing claim.

Ratings & reviews

Students and parents review separately, on different questions, and the two aggregates are never blended. Every review is verified and moderated.

    No parent reviews for this class yet.

    Reviews from students are published as “Student, age 13”, never with a full name. Photo and short video reviews are supported and moderated before they appear.

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