Guided Writing for Teens (Supported Creative Writing)
In this 8 week guided writing course, learners will write a piece of creative writing inspired by a wordless book called "The Arrival". We will follow the plot points of the book, allowing us to concentrate on our writing development.
Ms Riot: Empowering Teens Through Education
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(52)
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What's included
8 live meetings
6 in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Learners should give their work a small edit (basic spellings, grammar and punctuation should be checked after class, and any plot points started should be finished).Grading
A certificate of completion is available by requestClass Experience
US Grade 8 - 10
Intermediate Level
This is a guided-writing experience, for teen learners to develop their creative writing skills. This means that we will all be writing our story at roughly the same pace as each other, following the same action/plot points. We will be using the class text 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan, which ideally your learner will have a copy of. It is a wordless book published in 2006, that delves into the experience of being an immigrant. Through its evocative illustrations, it captures the journey and challenges faced when one arrives alone in an unfamiliar land. We will use the images to inspire our writing, as we create our own individual interpretations of the story. The story will be divided into 'plot points' which guide our own stories on their own paths. I will guide their writing, by exploring different literary devices, punctuation or grammar that we can include in our writing. Learners will use https://whiteboard.fi/ which allows them to type onto a digital whiteboard, which I can also see. This is a great way of having teacher feedback and support, whilst typing. No log in is required, and whiteboard.fi is a Kahoot company. Work created on whiteboard.fi won't save, so your learner may want to copy and paste it into a document of their own at the end of class. Whiteboard.fi is FERPA certified, a COPPA safe harbor and California Student Privacy Certified. No account is required. Learners will be encouraged to stay at the same pace as the class, adding more details to plot points, rather than moving forward. This is to help learners not to rush into action and to slow their pace through a story. Learners will be buidling a story week-on-week, and they should submit their paragraph completed in class after each lesson. This allows me to give more personalized feedback where needed. The pace of the lessons will vary with each cohort, and we will not finish writing the whole of the text's narrative. This means that learners can continue developing their story after the 8 weeks should they wish. 📎This class will not be canceled for low-enrollment. I teach all classes, even if only 1 learner is enrolled. If your learner does not like to go ahead with 1-to-1 classes, please let me know.📎
Learning Goals
Develop confidence in creative writingDevelop skills in creative writing
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
Lesson 1
We dive into chapter 1 of our class book with no words. We write our own paragraph/s where we develop our skill of showing not telling. This helps our reader have time to feel something and reduces our temptation to focus purely on action.
We will consider how we can include conjunctions in our writing.
Learners should complete their writing after class if needed, and submit it for feedback. 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Lesson 2
The pace at which we work may vary depending on the learners in each cohort. The syllabus may not directly align with each week, as we may move slower or faster.
We will consider how we can include some of the 5 senses into our writing, to further deepen the reader's experience. We will also look at varying our sentence structures by using simple, compound and complex sentences.
Learners should complete their writing after class if needed, and submit it for feedback. 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Lesson 3
The pace at which we work may vary depending on the learners in each cohort. The syllabus may not directly align with each week, as we may move slower or faster.
We will learn how a motif can be used within a narrative to direct the reader to a theme or idea. We will explore how verb choices can strengthen writing.
Learners should complete their writing after class if needed, and submit it for feedback. 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Lesson 4
The pace at which we work may vary depending on the learners in each cohort. The syllabus may not directly align with each week, as we may move slower or faster.
We will look at how writers 'show not tell' to make their writing more interesting for the reader. The more the reader has to engage with the writing - the better!
Learners should complete their writing after class if needed, and submit it for feedback. 45 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
A copy of the book The Arrival by Shaun Tan A note book or paper to jot ideas down A pen or paper Access to the class on a computer to allow for typing
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined January, 2024
5.0
52reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Non-US Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education
Bachelor's Degree in Education from University of Brighton
✨✨✨
👋 Hi there! I'm Ms. Riot, your certified and passionate educator with a flair for innovation and a heart for student growth. Hailing from London, England, I qualified as a teacher in 2007 with my Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) in Primary Education and certified with my Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Here in the UK, I am certified to teach from 5-18 years old.
🌏I have taught around the world, including at a not-for-profit summer camp in New York, volunteering in Kenya and India, and completing a teaching placement in Arizona.
🏫As a classroom teacher, I developed creative classrooms where students felt safe enough to fail. My passion for reading also allowed me to develop a new career as a high school librarian, supporting teens who had not discovered that a library could be a space for them. I have also taught students English up to the age of 16 at a prestigious online school.
🖼️More recently, I have worked within the learning department in a large museum, teaching at a range of online schools and designing curriculum for education resource companies. I also deliver lectures to trainee teachers, supporting them to develop their practice.
🖥️I have been teaching online for a year, for different schools and platforms.
✨✨Ms Riot on Outschool✨✨
🌈I am passionate about helping teens strengthen core skills to succeed. This can often mean applying the content and skills often covered in lower-grade levels, allowing teens to develop skills and confidence by meeting them where they are.
🌈I focus on building confidence and foundational skills in a nurturing and empowering environment. I help teens master core concepts, overcome academic challenges, and develop a love for learning that extends beyond the classroom.
🌈At the heart of my teaching philosophy lies a belief that learning should be an adventure, sprinkled with curiosity. We can be serious about learning without it always being too serious.
🌈I am a teacher who welcomes all students exactly as they are. I have a lot of experience with neurodivergent children and am a neurodivergent adult myself. Cameras can be turned off if preferred (after a quick hello with the camera on).
🌈I create quite low-demand classroom experiences. I encourage and welcome participation, but am very quick to adapt to learners who are unable or unwilling to partake in an obvious and active manner. This can mean only using the chat, or even only listening.Reviews
Live Group Course
$21
weekly or $168 for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
45 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-16
1-5 learners per class
