Description
Stories exist all around us. They help us share our hopes and our fears. They show our beliefs in how things are around us, and our dreams for how they could be. In this course, we act as authors and read the work of other authors, and we walk in the footsteps of writers by writing. Each week, we will work with one grammar skill, experience one reading selection and discuss it with peers, and work on one piece of our own writing. This is a learn-by-doing course, so be prepared to take chances, and stretch your writing muscles.
Prerequisites
None
Course Objectives
- To try numerous approaches to writing, and to generate abundant written material
- To study techniques used in published work and to develop methods of shaping and crafting our own.
- To learn to REVISE, re-see our work as we learn more about what makes poems and stories good.
- To get and give useful feedback on our own writing and on classmates' writing in an on-line forum
- To search the Web for information about and interviews with writers.
- To learn more about the elusive aspects of writing such as inspiration, motivation, habits, getting ideas, and ways of plunging in.
Over the semester, students develop and polish a portfolio of fiction, poetry, and analyses of published work. The final days of the semester will include reading about and discussion of the market for imaginative writing, approaches to getting published, and jobs for which writing skill is useful.
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Details
Discipline:
Language Arts
Level:
Middle School
Program:
Middle School
Grade:
6, 7, 8
When Offered:
Duration:
weeks
Lab Kit Purchase Required:
No
Accredited:
Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges
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