Let's Get Creative! (Short Story Writing)

This fun, collaborative class will teach students how to write creatively. Students will be taught a weekly lesson, engage in activities with their classmates, and work independently on their short stories. 
Week One: Brainstorming and Short Story Basics- Students will begin class with an interactive activity. There will be two short stories to read and students will be asked to discuss the elements they enjoyed and disliked with their classmates. Students will learn the basics of short story writing and answer discussion questions. Homework this week will be filling in a brainstorming graphic organizer for their short story. This homework will be reviewed by the teacher and students will be given private feedback.
Week Two: Characters and Setting- Students will begin class with a group activity. Pictures of characters will be displayed and as a class, students must give each character an interesting backstory, likes, dislikes, and personality. Students will be able to add more depth to each character as the other students continue to build unique characteristics. Students will learn how to create the main character and a detailed setting for their story. There will be discussion questions after the lesson. Homework this week will be filling out the main character and setting chart for their story. This will be uploaded into the classroom for peer review and private teacher feedback. 
Week Three: Plot & Conflict: Students will begin this week learning the plot elements and how to create conflict. The first activity is to read a short story and identify the plot elements. The interactive activity for the week will be reading scenarios and, as a class, create conflict and tension to make the scenario more interesting. Students will work as a class to try to create the most engaging scenario. 
Homework this week will be completing a plot diagram and answering discussion questions. Students will submit their plot diagrams for private feedback.
Week Four: Description and Rough Drafts- Students will learn how to make their writing descriptive with the Show! Don't Tell! Method. As an interactive activity, the class will participate in a sentence explosion activity. There will be five sentences and students must work together to add as many adjectives as possible to make the sentence more unique. Each student will have to add at least one adjective to each sentence. The class will continue to build off of one another's sentences. Homework this week will begin writing their rough drafts using all of the graphic organizers provided throughout the course. Students will submit the entire rough draft privately to the teacher. 
Week Five: Finishing Touches- Students will be given a lesson on how to edit and enhance their stories. Students will be asked to create a cover with a picture and a title to post into the classroom. Students will comment on each other's cover for feedback. Students will share a portion of their writing to the classroom for peer and teacher feedback and suggestions. Students will have five additional days to take all of the feedback from the teacher and classmates to submit their final draft.