Writing well begins with writing about what you enjoy! This class will help students understand how to organize their thoughts and think logically while writing about a fun (or not-so-fun) trip they took. It’s up to the students to choose the trip but they are welcome to make up an imaginary story; perhaps a recent trip to the Minecraft world? Or the islands of One Piece? This fun and engaging course will help students see the joy of writing while exercising their creativity muscle. 

We will spend time brainstorming and looking at how to structure an essay. Then, we will use Mr. Beck’s famous ‘cheat sheet’ to start writing. Then comes the editing process… it will get messy, and students will learn the importance of cutting out the ‘fluff’. We will also explore essential elements of critical thinking in order to make an essay that is exciting for the reader. Additionally, grammar, punctuation, and spelling will be reviewed. At the end of this course, students will be proud to show off their 5-paragraph essay about an interesting event in their life.

Schedule
Week 1
Class 1 - Planning
We will begin with short introductions and a discussion about writing. We will review the elements of an essay and then begin to understand how an essay is structured. Essay examples will be provided and studied. We will start to brainstorm and plan the essay.

Class 2 - Brainstorm
Students will think about what they want to write about; the only criteria is it must be a trip they took. We will have fun thinking of different bizarre scenarios and fun things to include in the essay.

Week 2
Class 1 - Write write write
Students will get to write an unhinged version of their essay without adhering to any strict rules, and then we will start to look at the proper format needed and make adjustments. 

Class 2 - Structure
We will work through our writing and start making it more logical and organized; students will start to build an outline and use a cheat sheet to help them with the structure. 

Week 3 
Class 1 - Outline 
Students will complete an outline of their essay and fix any issues with the structure. This class will focus on writing a rough draft and discussing the essay. Students will talk about their essays and share ideas for the final draft.

Class 2 - Edit
Students will cut out all the things they don’t need, and we will chisel away and make the essay clearer and more concise. 

Week 4
Class 1 - Final edits and final draft
Students will finish editing and start on the final draft. The whole essay must be written on paper by hand.

Class 2 - Finish
The final draft will be finished, and students may present it to the class. All essays will be written by hand. We will discuss what we learned and review the core concepts. 


**Students will need pencil and paper.**