Grades 2 - 3 and Grades 4 - 5
Web-based
5th Grade and above
Middle School and above
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Session Dates and Application Deadlines
10 weeks (Fall, Early Spring, Mid Spring), 12 weeks 12 weeks (Early Summer), or 5 weeks (Intensive Mid summer)
 Get swept away by a good book. In these popular courses designed to enhance critical reading skills, instructors work closely with each student, and students have many opportunities to interact with one another in virtual communities of lively, articulate, and very verbal learners.
Young Readers' courses are for students who enjoy reading, pondering, and sharing their thoughts with gifted peers from around the world. There are separate themes for grades 2 and 3 students reading at a 5th grade level and above and for grades 4 and 5 students reading at a middle school level and above. Vocabulary and literary terms are included, and discussions emphasize critical thinking about themes and ideas. Students also participate in polls, wikis, and online games.
In the Young Readers' Series, students:
- read three thematically connected, age-appropriate books of increasing difficulty
- participate in online discussions with gifted classmates from Boston to Beijing
- post book related writing assignments
- learn sophisticated vocabulary words and literary devices with the help of online games and quizzes
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 review the books in each series before deciding on the theme that would be most interesting and appropriate for their child. For more details about a particular theme, visit the individual course description linked below.
Greek Myths Revisited
In Search Of
Magical Life Lessons
On Our Own
Quest and Challenges The Right Stuff- Nonfiction about 3 hours weekly for 10 week or 12 week sessions (Fall, Early Spring, Mid Spring, Early Summer ) about 6 hours weekly during 5 week session (Intensive Mid summer)
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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