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Middle School English: Creative Writing Short Horror Stories Flex

In this 6 week multiday course learners will acquire the skills needed for writing their own short horror stories. We will be reading and sharing our scary works of literature. I will teach you how to publish your stories too.
David Ginsberg
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(161)
Class

What's included

Homework
1-2 hours per week. Homework: Students should write independently for at least two hours per week.

Class Experience

US Grade 5 - 8
For centuries scary stories have been inspired by our greatest fears, their spooky pages have inspired generations of writers and readers, and some scary stories have been adapted into movies. 

In this six week class I will teach your child the steps to create and publish their own scary story. This will be a flex class. Flex classes occur using asynchronous messaging on the Outschool platform, and do not meet live over video. Because there will not be any live meetings all learners will be provided with prerecorded videos by myself. Participation will be both expected and required to a greater degree than in a live video class. Learners will be expected to post at least three times per week in a comments section which I will moderate. Learners will be given pre created worksheets which I have created for this class.

Throughout the class we will pick and research topics, explore the elements of short stories, think of complex characters, write drafts, submit our stories to the classroom for teacher and peer review, and publish them. This class will function with similarities to my live class Middle School English: Creative Writing Short Horror Stories Camp. 

Week 1. Introduction, getting to know each other, and researching potential horror ideas.

Throughout week one of class, we will introduce ourselves to our classmates and the instructor through discussion posts. We will discuss what scares us and how our fears can be incorporated into a scary story. Learners will also be able to research more on their selected topic. In this week learners will be given a discussion question asking for their fears. Learners will make a list of their fears and will research them. Research findings must be documented and submitted as classroom comments to discussion posts which I will create.


Week 2. Elements of short stories and outline.

Throughout week two of class, we will learn the elements of a short story and incorporate them into our own writing. We will also draft a brief outline of our story to get an idea of how the story will take place. I will assign a worksheet which I created, I will use a prerecorded a video to walk everyone through the worksheet, and learners will complete the sheet themselves. Learners will be required to upload the completed worksheet to the classroom. Learners must also comment on at least two other classmates worksheets through posts.

Week 3. Revising our stories and creating complex characters. 

Throughout week three of class, we will build upon our story elements with emphasis on our characters. We will make our characters more complex by deciding how our characters will interact with each other and if they will be good characters or bad characters. We will also make changes if needed from our previous day in class. I will assign a worksheet which I created, I will use a prerecorded a video to walk everyone through the worksheet, and learners will complete the sheet themselves. Learners will be required to upload the completed worksheet to the classroom. Learners must also comment on at least two other classmates worksheets through posts.

Week 4. Writing our drafts.

Throughout week four of class, we will write a word for word draft of our story. As an example of a completed draft, I will use a prerecorded video of myself reading aloud a story which I have published myself. Learners will be required to upload their drafts to the classroom. Learners must also comment on at least two other classmates drafts through posts. Learners will be expected to provide feedback on each other’s stories after reading them, all feedback must be respectful! I will also comment and offer feedback.


Week 5. Editing our drafts.  

Throughout week five of class, we will edit our drafts. We will draw upon the feedback we received in the fourth week by making edits to our stories. At this point our stories should not be complete yet. We will continue expanding our stories by making additions. As an example of a completed draft, I will use a prerecorded video of myself reading aloud a story which I have published myself. Learners will be required to upload their drafts to the classroom. Learners must also comment on at least two other classmates drafts through posts to provide feedback after reading them, all feedback must be respectful! I will also comment and offer feedback. 

Week 6. finalizing our drafts.  

Throughout week six of class, we will edit our drafts. We will draw upon the feedback we received in the fourth week by making edits to our stories. By the end of this week our stories should be complete. We will finalize our stories by making necessary additions. As an example of a completed draft, I will use a prerecorded video of myself reading aloud a story which I have published myself. Learners will be required to upload their drafts to the classroom. Learners must also comment on at least two other classmates drafts through posts to provide feedback after reading them, all feedback must be respectful! I will also comment and offer feedback. I will also make a prerecorded video explaining the self-publishing process for learners who wish to publish their stories, publication will be encouraged but not required.
Learning Goals
Our goals in this class are for students to build their writing skills, create, and publish their own scary stories.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Horror is not a genre everyone is comfortable with, and all learners are entitled to creativity. Some scary stories might reference monsters, demons, aliens, or violence of people against people. I will ask that students try to keep stories appropriate for class while still aligning them with the horror genre.
Supply List
I will include pre created worksheets and prerecorded videos for all learners enrolled.
 2 files available upon enrollment
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined May, 2020
4.9
161reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a published horror author, I have more than 5 years’ experience in asynchronous learning without live meetings. I have 5 + years teaching experience. I have a lifelong membership with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. At the associate’s level at Southern Maine Community College, I studied Criminal Justice and Psychology, this included learning to professionally diagnose a patient with a mental disorder. I have a bachelor's degree in Educational Studies from Grand Canyon University, and a masters degree in history also from Grand Canyon University. I also have more than 20 credits in English.

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Live Group Class
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$17

weekly or $100 for 6 weeks
6 weeks

Completed by 3 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 10-15

This class is no longer offered
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