Calendar

Course Description
This course is designed for students who want to write creatively and are interested in exploring varying styles of poetry, short stories, and novel components. The organization of the class focuses on literary elements including genre and theme as well as the aesthetic impact of word choice. Read from a variety of classic and modern writers of poetry, short stories, and novels often of your own choosing. Write in each of the explored genres and develop an anthology that showcases your best work from the class through drafts and revisions. Share your favorite writings and readings building your comfort with partners, small groups, and the class as a whole. Students of this class have the option to participate in state and national writing competitions while developing their own writing style to remember, “You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” ​​

Anthology

Throughout the course of the year, students will be reading and writing a wide variety of stories and poems as well as other genres of literature.  As we do so, students are recording their rough drafts and reactions to what we read in their notebook.  This notebook will become their anthology and is their final for both semesters.  Students began this work in the first week of the year, and will work on it weekly to create a product they are proud of and would like to keep as a representation of our work together.  Some students may elect to make their anthology into a website.  

MAP Testing & Independent Reading

In order to grow as writers, we must also continue our reading journey.  To help students select the best independent reading for growth, the MAP test will be given throughout the year.  Along with their Lexile number, students will also see whether they are on-track for success on the ACT or SAT.  This is valuable information that can help them feel more confident about mapping the road to college no matter their career interests.  For our purposes, we will utilize the information to find books that are both engaging and challenging.  Please ask your student about what they are reading!  If you would like more information about your student's score, please join me for parent-teacher conferences.  

Creative Writing Interventions & Extensions

Interventions:  As students delve more deeply into the course, there may be need for intervention or extension.  All of our intervention activities will be in response to the learning that is being missed. Students will be provided opportunity to (re)learn what was missed then apply that knowledge in a new way.  All of these will be provided in Google Classroom and linked to their Assessment Tracker which will be shared with parents at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  If your student is struggling, please go with them to Google Classroom and review the Interventions provided.  Then, email me and let me know which access time your student would like to attend.
Extensions:  Some students may find themselves with extra time on our Writer's Workshops which occur on Thursdays throughout the course.  This time is provided to work on the anthology with specific assignments, but students who complete what is assigned in a timely manner may use any extra time to select a Creative Writing Extension.  These are not extra credit assignments but optional assignments which will be scored with the  rubric attached in the pdf.  These assignments should not be completed instead of what is assigned, but are aligned to the essential standards addressed in class to deepen students' learning in their area of interest.  

For Teachers

Thank you for your interest in my course!  If you would like to provide your students with these opportunities visit LitwithLeo on TPT.  In particular, you may be interested the Creative Writing High School Semester Curriculum.  Happy Teaching!