PowerHouse Writing Intermediate

Dive deeper into the concepts taught in PowerHouse Writing: Grades 4-8. PowerHouse Writing Intermediate is intended for students in grades 8-10 and prepares them for our more rigorous college-prep writing course: PowerHouse Writing: High School. The intermediate course can be taken with or without prior exposure to other PowerHouse courses and enables students to earn a .5 credit on a high school transcript.


In PowerHouse Writing Intermediate, students will:

  • Analyze and edit grammar for more powerful word choices
  • Identify similes and metaphors in context
  • Discern the difference between persuasive and expository statements
  • Label graphic organizers to visually represent essay ideas
  • Implement a simple and effective formula for writing introductions and conclusions
  • Incorporate evidence appropriately for supporting points
  • Format essays into MLA
  • Utilize a three-step essay-writing process
  • Self-edit using an essay checklist
  • Assess their essays using a rubric (for students and teachers)
  • Create an expository essay with evidence backed by in-text citations
  • Craft a persuasive essay using all the writing tools they’ve acquired
  • Dive into the fundamentals of literary analysis and write an essay based on a book they’ve read


Your Instructor


Lisa Dettinger
Lisa Dettinger

Lisa resides in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin with her husband Travis. Married since 1993, they have three adult children who have all graduated from "Dettinger Academy" and are now blazing their own beautiful paths in life. Lisa has a degree in education that spans PK-12, and has taught professionally in California and Wisconsin at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels. After teaching writing classes to about a thousand students locally for eight years, Lisa created e-courses for grades 4-12. Her work has been published for university classes, teaching journals, virtual charter schools, and homeschools. Currently, she is the lead teacher and administrator for a private Christian school she started in the fall of 2020 for grades 5-12. In addition to her education journey, Lisa is also a professional Christian Life Coach with additional certifications in Spiritual Formation, Clarity and Momentum, and the Color Code (re: core motives). Her book "Fully Whelmed: Shifting from Overwhelm to Overflow" was published in early 2020. In addition to her work at PowerHouse Christian School, life-coaching, and being active in her local church, Lisa loves speaking and exhibiting at homeschool conventions across the country. She is fully whelmed and loving it.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

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