This is a class for tweens who love to write and want to work together with friends--new or old ones--to create a really cool narrative. 

Collaborative writing has many benefits. It encourages teamwork and helps students navigate group dynamics. It also creates social opportunities for kids who are looking for connections with others. Finally, collaborative writing allows students to combine their creative energies and come up with stories that are compelling and fun to write and to read. 

In this class, students will work together to come up with a story, outline the chapters/sections, divide the work load and assign responsibilities, and write a complete story. At the end of the class, students will share their work with the whole class and get feedback that can be used to either revise or take the next steps in their writing. 

Because this is a workshop, students can take this class as many times as they want! 

Week-by-Week Breakdown:

Week 1: Introductions & Main Assignment Instructions; Divide Into Groups 
Week 2: Brainstorming Day
Week 3: Brainstorming Homework Due; Outlining Day
Week 4: Outline Due; Share Outlines with the Class & Work Together with Guidance from the Teacher
Week 5: No Work Due; Work Together on Project with Guidance from the Teacher
Week 6: Final Project Due; Story Sharing Day!

These topics will be covered, too: How to work collaboratively; how to solve conflicts and disagreements; different roles in the writing/revising process; and giving/receiving quality feedback in a workshop setting. 

Students will be able to work in any genre and create a story of any length. The only real limit placed on the students is that the content needs to be limited to a PG level, even if the individual students are comfortable with more mature content. This is because students share their stories with the whole class, and not everyone is comfortable with the same thing. 

During class time, students will participate in activities and discussions with the whole class and spend time in breakout rooms with their groups to work together. I will be involved as an instructor, mentor, and problem solver. I will check in with students in their breakout rooms to see how they are doing and offer advice and insight. As a professional writer and an English professor, I have years of experience with both crafting narratives and helping students write them. 

Because of the collaborative nature of this course, here are a few class guidelines: 
1) Students need to be comfortable joining the class via video and audio, because they will need to work together. 
2) Students will need to collaborate together outside of class. This will be done via Google Docs, which I will have access to throughout the course. 
3) Students who enroll with a friend will get to work together, and students who enroll independently will be grouped with new friends to work with. Depending on who enrolls, it is also possible that students who sign up together will end up writing with a new friend, too. 
4) Per Outschool's policy, all students must enroll individually in order to participate. You can share one device, but each learner must be enrolled in the course. 
5) Because this is a collaborative course, I will need at least 2 enrollments to make the class work. If just one student is enrolled 24 hours before the class starts, parents will have the option to withdraw for a full refund or transfer to another section. 
5) If your child is outside of the recommended age range for this course, please check with me before enrolling them. Thank you!