Creative Writing Class: Informative, Narrative and Opinion Stories & Paragraphs

Does your learner need help writing detailed paragraphs and stories? Does he or she enjoy writing about interesting and funny topics? In this writer's workshop class, we will learn about the four different types of writing: narratives, how-to, informative and opinion. We will practice these types of writing with a seasonal theme to keep writing fun and exciting! Writer's workshop is a great way to strategically teach students how to create stories and paragraph writing. 

Students will be given a creative writing prompt, and we will work together to plan it out. The students will then work on creating their own story. This class may be adapted to fit the needs of the students enrolled. Ideally, it is for students at a 2nd-4th grade reading and writing level, but due to the nature of the class, it can be adapted to older kids as well! Students can always directly copy me until they are ready to write on their own.

Each week we will practice a different type of writing that include monthly themes. The monthly theme will be based upon the holidays and seasons within the month. The four types of writing we will focus on are: how-to writing (procedural), opinion writing, creative narrative writing and informative writing. For example, in February we may write an informative writing piece about presidents throughout history. In March, we may write an opinion piece about whether or not there is gold at the end of the rainbow. Sometimes the holidays are silly and funny to add to the creative writing experience, such as National Nacho Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day etc. 

How will this class be structured?
5-10 Minutes - Welcome, introduction and go over class expectations. Learn about the type of writing we are working on. 
15-20 Minutes - Guided writing practice - We will work together to create the writing. For example, with narrative writing, we will create a strong beginning with a topic sentence, learn to add details in the middle of the text, use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation and work on creating a strong ending/conclusion. We will work on answering "W" questions (why, where, when, who) to think about new details we can add. 
5 Minutes - Students who are interested can share their writing with the group. Please keep in mind that there may be times when not every learner will have time to share due to time restraints of the class. I always offer students to send me their work for corrections and feedback, especially if they do not get to read it aloud in class. 

We will work hard to finish each essay in class. However, there may be times we do not finish the writing in class. Each class will be unique and different prompts may lend themselves to a more detailed essay and some may be shorter. After class, the students can finish their writing and turn in their final copy through the messenger system. 

What is my teaching style?
I like to keep things fun and engaging through asking the students questions and promoting discussion on the topic. I set behavior expectations while making sure students are all respected and spoken to kindly. I want students to feel like they can ask and answer questions without fear of failure or rejection. I will create the structure to the class, but it can change based upon the specific learners and learning styles represented in the classroom. 

How will my child be able to interact with others and the teacher?
Your child will be able to participate in discussion about writing topics, share ideas in the planning process, ask questions for clarification and share their writing with the class if they are comfortable. I will check in with each student throughout the writing process. We discuss how to create an introduction, write topical paragraphs and clear conclusion while learning how to add details using adjectives and adverbs! If students finish early (after they have proofread), they get to illustrate their work!

Writing topics run from Sunday EST-Saturday EST. Each Sunday EST begins the next week. of writing. What kind of writing prompts will we work on? Most prompts are based on AMERICAN SEASONS AND HOLIDAYS. We may occasionally practice writing a friendly letter if there is a 5th class in the month. 

February Writing Topics:
Week 1 (2/2-2/8) - Narrative Writing - Valentine's Day 
Week 2 (2/9-2/15) - Informative Writing - Groundhog Day
Week 3 (2/26-2/22) - Opinion Writing - Favorite book or movie
Week 4 (2/23-3/1) - How-To Writing - Make a pizza

March Writing Topics: 
Week 1 (3/2-3/8) - Narrative Writing - Pot of Gold
Week 2 (3/9-3/15) - Informative Writing - Spring Facts
Week 3 (3/16-3/22) - Opinion Writing - Favorite spring activities
Week 4 (3/23-3/29) - How-To Writing - National Snack Day

April Writing Topics: Coming Soon!
Week 1 (3/30-4/5) - Narrative Writing - Easter
Week 2 - (4/6-4/12) - Informative Writing - Arbor Day
Week 3 - (4/13-4/19) - Opinion Writing - Earth Day
Week 4 - (4/20-4/26) - How-To Writing - April Fool's Day ~ Jokes/Pranks
Week 5 - (4/27-5/3) Letter Writing - Student Choice ~ Pen Pal, Thank You, Get Well