Marvel and the Avengers Teach You How to Write: Flexible Schedule
In this eight-week course, students will learn eight different writing elements to use in their own creative writing with examples from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. #creative
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:(903)
Star Educator
What's included
Homework
1-2 hours per week. Students are assigned a weekly writing assignment, a weekly Kahoot quiz, and daily writing tasks and quizzes.Assessment
The more assignments that students post and the more creative writing that they share helps me to understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing. Posting scores from the Kahoot quiz will also help me gauge their understanding of the weekly writing theme.Class Experience
US Grade 3 - 6
Each week a video introduces students to eight different story elements: place and time, setting, protagonist (main character), antagonist (villain), secondary characters, showing versus telling, active voice versus passive voice, and foreshadowing. Weekly writing activities reinforce the weekly theme. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will discuss the week's current theme and how it relates to the Avenger characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Discussion will revolve around the MCU specifically, but students can bring their comic book knowledge into the conversation anytime it applies. Weekly Breakdown: Sunday: students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet that addresses/reminds them of some of the topics discussed (it will also have room for notes and some questions to consider answering). Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's theme. Students will share their paragraphs in the classroom (so other students may view, comment, and interact as well). Students will also submit their own creative writing (which can be Marvel fan fiction, their own superhero stories or regular contemporary fiction if they prefer). I will critique submitted work based on an overall view of that week's theme and give lots of support and encouragement along the way! Monday-Friday: I will post an interactive question or riddle into the classroom. The questions will pertain to the week's theme and could be about students favorite villains, cliffhangers, or story settings. There will also be some fun "What If" and "Would You Rather" type questions. The students can check in each day to make guesses, get clues, and even post their own questions into the classroom. Saturday: The students will have access to an online Kahoot quiz that tests their knowledge of the week's theme and how it pertains to their favorite superheroes. Students will post their scores in the classroom to show how well they have comprehended the weekly theme. Weekly Learning Objectives: Week One: Place and time Week Two: Setting Week Three: Main Character Week Four: Villain Week Five: Secondary Characters Week Six: Show, don't Tell Week Seven: Active voice versus Passive Voice Week Eight: Foreshadowing
Learning Goals
Week One: Place and time tells the reader the physical location and year/era the story takes place. Although Marvel stories have fantasy and science fiction elements, most take place in a fairly realistic, contemporary world. How might these stories be different if they were set in a different country? What if they took place 50 years in the past or 50 years in the future?
Week Two: Setting is important in the MCU because each story is set in a different area, from New York City to Wakanda. Besides being descriptive, setting can help the reader feel as if they are actually with the characters in the scene. That's an important element for stories that take place on different planets and unique worlds.
Week Three: The protagonist is the main character. Stories generally only have one main character. This character has a specific want or goal that he/she works on trying to achieve throughout the novel.
Week Four: The antagonist is the main villain. The MCU is notorious for having some incredible villains! We will talk about students' favorite villains and what makes these characters so compelling.
Week Five: Secondary characters are not less important than main characters! In the MUC, often the hero or main character has a team of friends to help solve the story's main problem. How do these characters add to the story? How would the story be different without these supporting characters?
Week Six: Showing vs. telling. Students will discuss examples of both showing and telling. They will rewrite telling words and sentences to show the characters' action and emotions more clearly.
Week Seven: Passive voice. Students should write in active voice as much as possible. They will read examples of both active and passive voice. Then they will rewrite passive sentences in active voice so that the character completes the action in the sentence.
Week Eight: Foreshadowing is the art of dropping hints early in a story to warn us about upcoming events later on in the story. Students will examine some examples from the MCU (including end credit scenes!) and discuss how important these hints are to the overall story.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Although I will do my best to make sure the discussion and posts are age appropriate, most of the Marvel movies and TV shows are rated PG-13 for action/violence and may not be suitable for every student.
Supply List
Each Sunday, students will have access to a new video and a corresponding one page worksheet that addresses/reminds them of some of the topics discussed (it will also have room for notes and some questions to consider answering).
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
While earning my Master's Degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults, I had endless discussions with my screenplay writer friends about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (especially as we eagerly awaited Avengers End Game). We poured over every end credit scene and debated about what each symbol meant. The MCU is so complex that it seems impossible to know it all! The movies and characters make great conversation because the MCU constantly adds new movies and TV shows to its franchise. It is also nice to find other people (and potential friends) who share a love for Marvel, the Avengers, comics, superheroes and good storytelling. Reviews
Live Group Class
$7
weekly or $50 for 8 weeks8 weeks
Completed by 16 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 8-13
This class is no longer offered
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