𝗔 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

*𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴-- 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬-𝘵𝘰-𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬!*

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:

⭐ 5 minutes: Introductions, hellos

⭐ 10 minutes: Story recipes and ingredients.
We'll begin each class (approximately ten minutes) by coming up with a character and a problem-- these are the two absolutely essential ingredients for every story. I'll guide the class with specific, ever-changing themes each week-- for example, we may come up with a fantasy-themed character/problem one week, but an animal-themed one the next, and a sports-themed one the week after that. We'll then discuss the different parts of a story, touching on the purpose of a beginning, middle, climax, and end.

⭐ 20 minutes: Writing time.
We'll spend at least twenty minutes quietly working on our individual stories! While students can ask me questions during this time, we'll try to keep quiet so everyone can focus on their work. Everyone will be writing a story about the same character and problem, but everyone will have a different idea of how the story itself should go!

⭐ 15 minutes: Sharing/read aloud.
Each student will be invited-- though 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥-- to read their work aloud for the class and show any illustrations they've made. Students who are shy can opt out of reading if they'd like, but I'll gently ask them to summarize their story for us (which typically leads to them wanting to share the whole she-bang!). Each student will receive positive feedback from me (experienced students may receive some gentle constructive criticism), and I'll encourage classmates to respond with Zoom emojis about one another's stories.

If your student is hesitant to read out loud, please know that I keep the tone light, encouraging, and low-pressure. If they choose not to read, there is no shaming or pleading on my part-- I tell them that's perfectly okay, ask them what the story is about, and move along. I have taught many children who are shy about reading aloud over the years, and pride myself on creating a space so supportive that eventually, they all end up proudly reading their work aloud!

Above all, students will be encouraged to have fun and treat writing as a form of play. This is a great, gentle class to introduce younger students to the concept of creative writing--  or to remind reluctant writers that not all writing has to be scary, perfect, or boring.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.