This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
With this short creative writing course, your 3rd through 6th grader will compose a short creative writing piece from a first-person perspective and continue to develop the joy of writing.
Total classes: 6
Prerequisite: Students should be able to easily compose 10 sentences when given a topic, preferably in their own handwriting. Parents can choose to take narration while the student composes the writing aloud. Basic elementary school punctuation mastery is recommended (or parents can edit with students prior to submission). The final story submission will need to be polished and typed. Note: Many students can invent language at a skill level beyond their ability to handwrite or type their work in a reasonable amount of time. This course can work for the child who struggles with handwriting and/or typing if the child’s oral language skills are ready for the class and parents are willing to write/type for the child.
Parent Involvement: Parents should expect to be heavily involved in their student’s work. Skills will be taught each week, and then students will complete homework and submit for feedback. Timeliness of submissions is crucial for students to get timely feedback and stay with the rhythm of the course. Most students will need parental guidance and accountability for class time each week and for homework.
Suggested grade level: 3rd to 6th grade
Suggested credit: ½ semester Creative Writing
Description
Learn how to write an historical fiction story! The instructor will coach students through a process for writing a story based on an historical event. Character development, setting, conflict and resolution, and grammar will be topics of instruction. Students will produce a polished story as an end project for the course. As a bonus, students will be instructed on how to self-publish their story in book form, so they can add it to the family library or gift it to someone.
Special Notes: All course materials are provided free.
This course is offered in two different time slots. Choose the day/time that works best for your family homeschool.
There are three courses in the Grade School Creative Writing series. These courses are not sequential and so you can take one, two, or all three courses. They are labeled A, B, and C. Each course uses a similar story-building format; however, each course builds toward a unique project.
Course A (Fall Semester): Focuses on the story of a saint told from a third-person perspective.
Course B (Fall Semester): Focuses on an historical event story (historical fiction) and also uses a third-person perspective.
Course C (Spring Semester): Focuses on building a story from a first-person perspective.
Outline
Week 1: Setting the Stage (characters, era, event, factual history)
Week 2: Writing the 10-sentence story skeleton
Week 3: Continuing to write; developing characters, creating realistic resolutions
Week 4: Finish writing the story; Editing Final Copy
Week 5: Preparing the story for publication; Illustration options
Week 6: Online Book Party. Students will be able to come on camera and read a selection of their book.
Materials and Homework
Course materials: All materials provided in the course.
Homework: Students will read course material, submit the assignment for each step of the course, and then submit a final project for teacher grading. Students will spend an average of 2 hours per week on homework in addition to class attendance.
