Writing Workshop: Writing Amazing Stories One Skill at a Time

In this 8 week live course, students will learn skills to improve their writing, practice those skills in class, and  use new skills to produce works at home to share with classmates. We will look at great works of writing and discuss what makes them so enjoyable. We'll work together to create writing that is fun to read. Students will independently write short pieces in class and look at what is great about it and what can be added to take it up a notch. Finally, students will apply new skills they have learned in class to writing at home. They will bring their works to class to share with classmates. Each week we will explore a new craft (skill to make writing better). Students will need a notebook, either a spiral or a composition book, to keep their writing in. 

Week 1: Students will learn where to look for ideas for their writing. We will record these in their notebooks. After class, students will look for ideas to add to their notebooks.
Week 2: Students will learn why writers write. We will explore different purposes for writing, including to inform, to entertain, and to persuade. After class, students will write 2 short pieces with different purposes.
Week 3: Students will learn how adding strong descriptive words, adjectives and adverbs, can improve writing. We will practice jazzing sentences up together. After class, students will create a new work using strong descriptive words.
Week 4: Students will learn how transitions can make a story flow nicely. We will explore how writers use transitions and how students can use these transitions in their writing. After class, students will write a story using transitions.
Week 5: Students will learn how writers use imagery to make the story come to life. We will use the five senses to help us write sentences that make the reader picture our writing. After class, students will create a story using imagery.
Week 6: Students will learn how using onomatopoeias, sound words, can bring life to a story. We will practice using onomatopoeias in our writing. After class, students will write a story using onomatopoeias.
Week 7: Students will learn how dialogue can add interest in writing. Together we will use dialogue to improve our writing. After class, students will use dialogue in their writing. They can write a new piece or choose an existing work they've created in this class to prepare to share with the class.
Week 8: Students will share their works with classmates. They will be encouraged to read their own works. We will discuss how students have used the crafts we've learned in this class.