Class Overview
Made With You in Mind
This is a writing discovery class! One of the reasons we read is to learn from the greats. We use reading to grow teens as writers by putting strong "writerly skills" into their toolbox.
In this class, students will:
- Internalize the Mechanics: Through copywork and dictation of selected passages, students absorb the sophisticated grammar, punctuation, and syntactical patterns used by master authors.
- Master Literary Analysis: Using our signature Think Piece Questions, students investigate subtext, theme, and character motivation.
- Connect with Ideas: Students dive into cultural and historical context in order to share what was impactful for them and "connect the dots" as they analyze the book through a modern lens.
Feb 15 - Mar 19, 2027
Book Choice:
- American Wings: Chicago's Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky by Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein
In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?
American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield south of Chicago. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.
Featuring rare historical photographs, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.
Reading Schedule: To stay in sync with the class, students should have read at least the first third of the novel by the end of Week One.
A Note on Content: At Brave Writer, we select a wide range of literature that addresses a variety of perspectives. We use these works as teaching tools to foster understanding and growth. Please be aware that you may experience strong reactions to challenging content; we encourage parents to pre-read and prepare for these important discussions!
How does a reader response course work?
This course will follow a four-week schedule where students read and write on their own. The instructor comes in to provide thorough feedback on the final post.
Students can expect:
- Freedom to read, write, and post on their schedule (within the confines of the course dates).
- Limited instructor response. Students move through material on their own until the final week. At that point, they'll receive detailed reader feedback from a trained writing coach.
We've scaffolding the learning so a student flies mostly solo, with that instructor support right when students need it—at the end!
Spin and Spiral
This class includes information from the Boomerang manual written to accompany this novel. Each manual visits and revisits terms and skills related to writing mechanics and literary analysis. Here is an overview from the book under study. We will address some or all of these topics in class. Families can download a PDF of the complete manual (provided in class) to work through topics not covered in class.
