What's included
12 live meetings
10 in-class hoursMastery Evaluation
1 hour per week. Students can continue writing after class is over and read what they wrote during the week in the next class if they like.Assessment
Students are keenly aware of their peer's reactions to their work. They know when everyone is listening breathlessly. They know when everyone is excited about their writing. Positive reinforcement for strong writing from the group encourages students to write at a more challenging level.Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Beginner - Advanced Level
Students will revel in this class of mystery and uncertainty. Choose a heroine who silently screams uncovering the hidden horrors in a decaying estate. Write about twins who discover cursed treasure. Create werewolves, ghosts, or other ghouls. We'll all revel together in the glory of writing suspenseful stories full of gothic gloom. FOR PARENTS: We will start by creating a map of our new world together so students can visualize the haunted setting that will help them dive into writing. In every workshop class we start with brainstorming exercises, creating names and characters. Then students will write their story for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Afterwards, anyone can volunteer to read their writing out loud. Everyone in the workshop will respond afterwards with what they like about the story and/or recall details they remember about the writing. The class is so much fun students won’t even realize they are learning to create sustained works of fiction at a more sophisticated level of thought, organization, and writing skill level than ever before. They will start to develop their characters, themes, and plots at lightning speed as our creepy adventures build. Many teens have so much fun they are eager to keep writing even after the workshop is over. For many students this is the first time they've written a long, sustained story. They're shocked to find that they've written many pages in just a handful of sessions. Students receive specific exercises that help them understand the structure of novels they love. These exercises and tips guide the student deep into a long story, building their focus and confidence for sustained writing.
Learning Goals
Organizing their thoughts with pre-writing exercises
Reading their work out loud
Other Details
Learning Needs
Students who are on the mild end of the spectrum. Some have mild forms of ADD. The workshop calls for students to practice focussing on one task (writing) for 20 minutes then listening to others for 20-30 minutes and providing feedback.
Pre-Requisites
Students should be able to produce paragraphs of sentences with relative ease. Students should be able to read their writing out loud, even if they occasionally stumble. (Reading is voluntary but encouraged.)
Supply List
Students should have access to writing paper and pen for each workshop class. We want to put our inner critic away--it's too easy to erase words on the computer. Tip: have a folder on hand so you can put stories from the workshop together at the end of each day.
Teacher expertise and credentials
This workshop is for teens who find fun in a creative challenge. There's so much to write about--new characters, new creatures, new adventures--your teen won't want to stop even after writing time is over. The collaborative world building element of creating their own haunted world creates a bond between students that they won't forget.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$18
weekly or $216 for 12 classes1x per week, 12 weeks
50 min
Completed by 23 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-13
3-10 learners per class