In this 4 week, flexible course, students will be guided through the writing process to create an opinion writing piece. 

Each week will have 3-5 pre-recorded videos to help students complete their assignment for the week. Mrs. Terlau will give parents a sample schedule to follow for the week, to ensure their student is taking their time and getting the most out of the class. 

The first day of each new week, Mrs. Terlau will send out the live, one on one, meeting sign up sheet. Parents can sign their student up EACH week for a 10 minute time slot. The 10 minutes will be used for asking questions and getting feedback on their work. The live meeting each week is an optional part of the course. 

Students will also be able to interact with each other through Padlet and Flipgrid. Students will utilize these websites to help each other brainstorm and share their work through the writing process. 


Week 1: 
-Brainstorming opinion ideas
-Writing strong opinions 
-Supporting your opinion with reasons
-Writing a lead
-Who is your audience? Who would oppose you? 

Week 2: 
-Support reasons with examples
-Paragraphs
-Topic and Concluding sentences
-Word choice
-Conclusion

Week 3: 
-Revise lead
-Revise your reasons
-Support your reasons with examples
-Revise topic and concluding sentences
-Revise the Conclusion

Week 4:
-Editing
-Publishing
-Share your hard work! 

Students and parents will be given feedback each week during this writing course. 

My philosophy for teaching writing: 
In order for students to become better writers, they need to write for an authentic purpose that interests them! This is why I do not create prompts for my students. I facilitate my students through the writing process, so they take ownership of their topic and their writing. During the revising and editing stage, I will offer advice and feedback on ways to improve their writing. I do not believe in correcting every single error, as students only learn by understanding their mistakes. I believe the errors in a student’s writing also show where they are developmentally. Focusing on one or two skills during each writing piece will help them improve their skills, rather than just correcting their mistakes for them.