Grades 4 and 5
Web-based
Middle School
Qualifying verbal score and reading at middle school grade level or above (View About readability and appropriateness)
Visit our textbook web page to view the titles of books that need to be purchased for this course Session Dates and Application Deadlines
10 weeks (fall and spring), 12 weeks (early summer), or 5 weeks (intensive midsummer)
In Matilda by Roald Dahl, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling, and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, three young people learn the joys and pitfalls of acquiring unexpected powers. Matilda's life is transformed when she learns to harness her powers to teach cruel Miss Trunchbull a lesson. In Harry's third year at Hogwarts, the young wizard learns how to overcome his fears and how to travel through time to right an injustice. Meggie finds out that she has the power to read characters out of books--often a dangerous activity.
This critical reading series is for students who enjoy reading, pondering, and sharing their thoughts with gifted peers from around the world. Themes such as Magical Life Lessons, Quests and Challenges, On Our Own, In Search Of, and Greek Myths Revisited entice gifted students to go beyond simple comprehension and engage in higher level thinking about issues ranging from the ethics of time travel to the dangers of subliminal advertising.
Designed for children reading at a middle-school level or above, students - read three thematically connected, age-appropriate books of increasing difficulty
- participate in online discussions with gifted classmates from Boston to Beijing
- post writing assignments such as alternate story endings and talk shows with characters as guests
- analyze the authors' writing styles and use of literary devices
- learn sophisticated vocabulary words and literary devices with the help of online games and puzzles
Instructors encourage students to read carefully and cite the text to support their points. Students become conscious of the importance of interpreting an author's inferences in understanding plot and character. Students typically read and share written responses every other day (fall, spring, and early summer sessions) or daily (midsummer intensive session). Work is posted in the virtual classrooms at the student's convenience as long as deadlines are met. It does not matter whether a student has already read one or all of the books before the course begins. The emphasis on citing the text and making accurate inferences requires careful re-reading. Parents are encouraged to consider the information contained in About readability and appropriateness, Look inside the books, and Read reviews for the books in each series before deciding on the theme that would be most interesting and appropriate for their child.
- about 3 hours weekly for 10 or 12 week sessions (fall, early spring, mid spring, early summer )
- about 6 hours weekly during 5-week intensive midsummer session
Learn more about the summer sessions The easiest method to check readability for your child is the “Five Finger Rule.” Have the child begin reading aloud any page of a book at random and raise your finger each time he or she struggles with a word. If your child reaches the end of the page before you have raised five fingers, your child should be able to read the book independently.
CTYOnline simplifies this informal assessment by linking to pages of almost every book in the Look inside the books section. Please perform this “Five Finger Rule” assessment on the last or next to last book of any course you are considering.
Parents should be aware that each theme contains books with humor, suspense, mystery, sadness, adventure, and heroism. Overall, while our courses contain advanced grade-level material, we strive to select materials appropriate to the ages of the students. Please look inside the books and read reviews to decide whether these books are appropriate for your child. If you are still uncertain whether your child is ready for a course, please contact the program office or call 410-735-6140.
Look inside the books. To assess readability level, click on the bottom two book titles and perform the Five Finger Rule.
Look inside Matilda
Look inside Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Look inside Inkheart Read reviews. Parents are urged to review for appropriate content. Reviews of Matilda
Reviews of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Reviews of Inkheart
CTY Online courses require a properly-maintained computer with Internet access and a recent-version web browser (such as Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer) with the Adobe Flash plugin. Students are expected to be familiar with standard computer operations (e.g. login, cut & paste, email attachments, etc). |
Spam blockers, parental controls, and other internet filtering software must allow email from JHU (jhu.edu & jhem.jhu.edu), and from the instructor's email address (provided at start of course). Important: Frequent changing of a student's screen name or email address is inversely proportional to success. |
If this course uses a web-based classroom for assignments and group discussion, your browser will need to allow cookies, javascript, and popup windows from the classroom web site. |
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