Student writing and analyzing literature during the MyFunScience English IV Mastery homeschool class

English IV: Mastery

Teacher: Jana Bontrager

Monday 11:00AM – 12:30PM (ET)

$680.00 Full

Want an extra discount? Join the MFS Coupon Club
SKU: BONTRAGER-ENG4 Category: Tags: , ,

Description

English IV: Mastery Course Overview

This class is approved by the NCAA.

This class is part of the MyFunScience online homeschool classes, which offer live instruction for middle school and high school students.

English IV: Mastery is the final level of the comprehensive homeschool English program at MyFunScience and serves as the continuation of English III. As the culminating course in the four-year English sequence, it focuses on advanced grammar mastery, literary analysis, vocabulary development, and research-based academic writing.

This course is more challenging than English III, requiring students to learn larger sets of vocabulary each week and write more cohesive, structured essays that incorporate research, citation, and clear argumentation. Mrs. Bontrager provides guidance and instruction to help students succeed, but students should be prepared to take on a greater workload and higher expectations as they refine their essay writing, grammar precision, and analytical reading skills.

Students engage deeply with classic literature, poetry, and formal literary discussion while strengthening their ability to analyze texts and communicate ideas through well-structured academic essays. The course is designed to prepare students for high school and college-level English, emphasizing strong writing habits, clear thinking, and confident communication.

Students are ready for this class if they can do the following:

  • Label most or all eight parts of speech
  • Identify the subject and verb in a sentence
  • Recognize compound and complex sentences
  • Find and label phrases (prepositional, infinitive, gerund, participial, and appositive)
  • Write a basic five-paragraph essay
  • Memorize 25 new vocabulary words each week
  • Read at least at an 8th-grade reading level

Course Overview

  • High School Credit: 1 credit
  • Recommended Grade Level: Grades 7–12
  • Prerequisites: Completion of English III recommended
  • Format: Weekly live online class with writing assignments and discussion
  • Estimated Workload: Approximately 5 hours per week

English IV Course Outline

Who Is Ready for English IV?

Students entering this course should be able to:

  • Identify all eight parts of speech
  • Locate subject and verb accurately
  • Recognize compound and complex sentence structures
  • Identify and label phrases (prepositional, infinitive, gerund, participial, appositive)
  • Write a basic five-paragraph essay independently
  • Memorize approximately 25 vocabulary words per week
  • Read at least at an 8th-grade level

Completion of English III is recommended but not required.

What Students Will Study

  • Advanced four-level grammar analysis
  • Academic essay structure and research-based writing
  • Vocabulary study through classical roots and word analysis
  • Poetry analysis including meter, stanza forms, and figures of speech
  • Literary study across classic novels, drama, and nonfiction

Major works may include Treasure Island, Wild Boy, A Christmas Carol, The Hobbit, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jurassic Park, and Pygmalion.

Watch a Sample Live Online Class Session

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a live online English class?

Yes. Students attend a weekly live online class where the instructor teaches advanced grammar, literature, vocabulary, and essay writing while guiding students through discussion and assignments.

Is this class designed for homeschool students?

Yes. This course is designed specifically for homeschool students who want structured instruction in literature, grammar, vocabulary, and academic writing.

What topics are covered in English IV: Mastery?

Students study advanced grammar, research-based essay writing, vocabulary development through classical roots, poetry analysis, and literature study using classic novels and drama.

Does this course prepare students for college-level writing?

Yes. Students practice structured essays, research writing, and literary analysis that help prepare them for high school and college English expectations.

Curriculum

  • Michael Clay Thompson materials from Royal Fireworks Press, including Magic Lens I, Word Within the Word I, and 4Practice
  • Classic novels, drama, and literature spanning multiple genres

What Families Are Saying

If only people could see how your class works and how my child loves his virtual classroom. He is far more focused without public school distractions.
-Christel

This year Sarah completed dual enrollment English at the college level. Her courses were rigorous and she excelled in both. She was even encouraged to pursue advanced writing opportunities. Thank you for preparing her so well.
-Martha

The instructors at Big River helped him grow as a writer and challenged him to think beyond the text. Because of this instruction, he was ready for high school literature at a deep level.

Estimated Workload

Approximately 5 hours per week of reading, studying, vocabulary, and essay writing.

Jana Bontrager

Jana Bontrager - Teacher - MyFunScience.com

Online Classes:

Jana Bontrager has teaching in her blood. Her father, grandmother, grandfather, and great-grandfather before her fostered a love of the classroom. Jana's background in teaching began in the public school system, but when the opportunity arose in 2014 to join the ranks of online homeschool educators, she found a wonderful balance of being an at-home mom and wife while fulfilling her drive to teach.

Jana Bontrager earned her bachelor's degree in English Education from Florida State University, and later earned her master's from Concordia University as an online student. Her master's experience helped her to empathize with the journey of her online students. She wrote her master's thesis on Online Education which developed a deeper understanding of her methods of teaching.

Jana's enthusiasm for all things English has been called "infectious". A professed word nerd, she finds classic literature and origins of words to be fascinating. Even the study of linguistics makes its way into her poetry teachings. In her classes, students get a wide scope of the language we speak.

When away from her computer, Jana enjoys the outdoors in her home in Idaho. She loves spending time with her husband, kids, grandkids, and animals. She also loves the stage anytime she gets the chance to be involved in her local community theater.

Her faith in God and Jesus Christ have sustained and fueled her through her whole life. One of the best things about her job is being able to weave elements of her faith into the subject she loves.

Testimonials

"This year Sarah completed dual enrollment English at the college level. Her courses were rigorous and she excelled in both. She was even encouraged to pursue advanced writing opportunities. Thank you for preparing her so well."
Christel
"If only people could see how your class works and how my child loves his virtual classroom. He is far more focused without public school distractions."
Parent

"Sarah took English III and IV and later completed dual enrollment English at college level. Her professor encouraged her to pursue advanced writing and even an internship in the Writing Center.

She is more than prepared — and we are so thankful for what you poured into her."

Parent
"Madison just completed NWEA MAP testing and scored in the 92nd and 94th percentile in Reading and Language. Three years ago her scores were half that. Thank you for your quality English classes!"
Christel
"Virtual learning has gotten such a bad reputation because of how public schools handled it. I am constantly defending my choice to use virtual learning — because it absolutely works here."
Student

"I never really enjoyed English very much, but being in your class this year made it enjoyable… There are no words to express how grateful I am to have had a teacher as dedicated as you.

If I heard English I would run,
All I wanted was to be done,
Then I came to this class
And with every task
English suddenly became fun"

Christel
"He was so determined to catch you in a mistake and earn five more points that he was glued to everything you posted — and when he missed the chance, you would have thought his team lost the Super Bowl!"
Parent
"My daughter loved your class. I am especially impressed with the improvements I see in her vocabulary and writing this year because of your class. I love that your vocabulary focused on prefixes, suffixes, and roots. That will help her so much on the SAT."
Parent
"Hello Mrs. Bontrager, I wish so much that you could watch Eli during your class. He has his headphones on across the room and is just so into your class… At one point today he was shouting and jumping up and down because he finally got a mystery question. He had his own little party about it."
Parent

Contact Teacher

Contact Us - Jana

Related Courses