Patsy Brekke
writing teacher
A college graduate with a BS in English, Patsy Brekke, a.k.a. “Ms. B.”, has been a Licensed English Teacher since 1987. She has taught English, Social Studies, Math, Science, Reading and Study Skills in Minnesota, Oregon and California. She has extensive experience with the California Achievement Writing Project and scoring timed essays, the Achievement Via Individual Determination Program (A.V.I.D.), The Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW), Curriculum Development and Leadership Training. On two occasions, Ms. B. was nominated Site Teacher of the Year at Wilson Academy of International Studies in San Diego, California. She proudly received the A.V.I.D. Teacher of the Year award from the San Diego County Office of Education in 1993.
Ms. B. has tutored writing for 3-6th graders at various locations and for 7-12th graders at The Academy through YEAH (Youth Educated At Home) since 2001. She is the creator of Writing Foundations, Inc. and the author of the timed essay program Essays on Demand. Ms. B. also works as a curriculum writer, consultant, speaker, and editor. Ms. B. is currently a Registered Teacher with the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Her heart’s desire is to come alongside other parents and take the mystery and misery out of writing.
Ms. B. resides in Minnesota with her three children ages 9 to 15, two cats, six gerbils, two finches, and one very silly beagle.
Subjects I teach...
THE SMALL PRINT
Online Courses from Writing Foundations offer personalized tutoring at your student’s own pace via email! All you need is a working computer, an email address, a web browser, a decent grasp of MSWord (2000 and up) and using attachments, and Adobe Reader. (Note: EOD courses also require access to a scanner or fax machine.) Each online course will provide the assignments, instruction, helpful handouts, constructive editing, and encouraging feedback!
Each course is 5 to 7 stories or essays long. Each story or essay is designed to take about 2 weeks (at least 5 email lessons per each story/essay).
Writing Basics is a six story (at least 30 lessons) program that covers foundational elements of fictional writing such as creativity, outlining, narrating, drafting, style, editing, revising, as well as grammar and punctuation. The course will meet the needs of average writers as well as students who have little or no writing experience.
Writing Summaries is a six essay (at least 30 lessons) program that covers foundational skills that students will need to write strong research reports. The course includes elements such as comprehension, topic sentences, concluding sentences, outlining, narrating, drafting, style, editing, revising, as well as grammar and punctuation. The course will meet the needs of lightly experienced and average writers.
The Basic Essay is a 5 essay course (more than 30 lessons) designed to equip students with the skills to tackle any essay using a basic 5-paragraph structure. The course will include instruction in brainstorming, critical thinking, outlining, drafting, revising, writing style, grammar, and more. The course will meet the needs of experienced writers ages 12 and up.
Essays On Demand is a seven essay program (around 30 lessons total) that offers writers who have completed a Writing Summaries course or Writing Foundations I a concentrated journey through the world of timed essays. In three basic steps, EOD addresses critical thinking, thesis statements, supportive reasoning, drafting, timing and scoring. Each Level slightly increases in difficulty, taking average and experienced writers to greater levels of ability.
Go to www.writingfoundations.com for more information.
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