Writing as Journalists: A Hands-on Literacy Course
An 8-week experience learning to read and write as an investigative journalist! Learn about the world and how to critique it while increasing your research, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills.
What's included
8 live meetings
6 in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. 3-6 throughout the classAssignments
7 or more throughout the classProjects
1-2 throughout the classProgress Report
1 after class completionClass Experience
US Grade 5 - 7
Intermediate Level
Let's learn how to use our critical thinking skills to share our thoughts clearly and accurately. We'll do this by learning reading and writing through journalism, a skill that helps us understand how to research, fact-check, and use the appropriate tone for the message we're sharing. We'll also cover the basics of grammar, sentence structure, genres, and point-of-view, since this will help us understand what people are telling us and decide what we want to say in response. Get ready to read about people, places and topics from around the world, and tell exciting stories about what you've learned!
Learning Goals
WritingResearching
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created CurriculumStandards
Aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
On Grammar
Parts of Speech
Diction & Writing Style 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Syntax and Semantics
Analogies and Sentence Structure 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Reading Comprehension
Point of View
Author's Purpose 45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Syntax (Advanced)
Writing for Clarity & Quality 45 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Learning Needs
The lesson worksheets and assignments have accommodations for neurodivergent and multilingual students.
Parental Guidance
Media content and any reading materials used in this course will be age-appropriate. Since we are learning to read and write through the eyes of journalists, topics dealing with equity and diversity in society may be covered.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Sources for materials include newspapers (e.g. New York Times, New York Post, etc.), television news programs (e.g. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC), and teen-targeted magazines (e.g. Teen Vogue).
Joined September, 2023
Teacher expertise and credentials
I'm a journalist and a former ELA teacher! So this experience is very relevant to what I've lived and done during my career. I also have a book being published on this curriculum in 2025 with Routledge Eye on Education, and I can share more information on this soon! Lastly, during my time as a teacher and private tutor, I had 96% of my students pass state ELA exams.Reviews
Live Group Course
$7
weekly or $50 for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
45 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
1-9 learners per class
