In this 4 week, flexible course, students will be guided through the writing process to create a personal narrative 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 Nearpod and Kahoot. Students will utilize these websites to help each other brainstorm and share their work through the writing process. 

Week 1:
-Brainstorming Ideas and narrowing down ideas
-Subtopics and Table of Contents
-Research
-Paraphrasing/note taking 

Week 2: 
(Students will have an opportunity to work together through padlet, google docs or flipgrid for each of these lessons) 
Drafting
-Write a lead
-Topic/concluding sentences
-Word choice/adding details
-writing a conclusion

Week 3: 
-Editing 
-Revise writing sections worked on in Week 2

Week 4: 
-Begin publishing and create text features for your writing
-Finish publishing
-Share your writing! Students will create a video to share their writing piece with the class. 

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.