Course Description
In this year-long elective course, students will play with a
variety of creative writing processes as they learn to produce their own works
in the genres of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. As a class,
they will publish their best pieces in an anthology. Great writers have two
essential habits: they read a lot and they write a lot. Likewise, this class
will include readings from a range of inspiring authors and extensive writing.
Students will learn to play with words—with the sounds of Ss slithering through
the dry grass, with the images of dimples and scars reflected in a toothpaste
spattered mirror, and with the echoes of ideas glinting like gemstones or cat
eyes in the caverns of the heart and imagination. Students will learn
first-hand the resources of the English language and that perhaps creative
writing is simply good communication. Students with any level of experience are
welcome.
Learning Objectives: What
1.
Students will explore creative processes:
·
coming to ones senses
·
cultivating play and dream states
·
suspending disbelief
·
inviting divine inspiration
·
mining sources
·
honing and summoning craft
·
distilling and extrapolating experience
·
persisting in practice
·
forging order
2.
Through word play, students will delight in the
gift and resources of the English language:
·
sound and silence
·
rhythm
·
diction
·
images
·
literary devices
·
syntax
·
pacing
·
organization
·
genre conventions
3.
Students will grow compelling, truthful
narratives organically from characters, problems, and settings.
4.
Students will understand what makes some
narratives true and helpful:
a.
a worldview wherein good and evil have true consequences,
wherein the natural man wrestles with the “better angels of our nature,”
wherein the love of God and the love of neighbor are the foundation of liberty,
and wherein charity never faileth
b.
an author who respects the agency of her readers
and trusts the power of truth to be self-verifying
5.
Students will use creative writing approaches to
non-fiction subjects in a way that increases the potency, connectedness, and
truthfulness of their communications.
6.
Students will collaborate to select, edit, sequence,
and publish an anthology of student writing and individual portfolios
highlighting their creative writing products across genres.
Learning Objectives: Why?
The decay of the English language in America is one of the
new fronts in America’s fight for liberty. The state of our use of language
reflects the quality of our thinking as a nation. Words are the filter through
which we perceive the world. We typically cannot perceive something until we
have a word to name it. For this reason, a narrowing of the English language
spectrum American’s have at-hand is a weighty consideration. After all, Tyranny
has long used the medium of language, the mists of darkness of propaganda and
rhetoric, to blind and captivate. On the other hand, Truth, or rightly
perceiving things as they really are, were, and will be, will always make free.
This creative writing course will bolster students’ access
to and appreciation for quality literature in a time when popular trends in
education minimize literature to make way for non-literary readings. As
students read and write in this course, they will hone their language skills so
they will be better prepared to discern truth from error and build the kingdom
of God with their perspicuity:
PERSPICU'ITY, n.
Clearness to mental vision;
easiness to be understood; freedom from obscurity or ambiguity; that quality of
writing or language which readily presents to the mind of another the precise
ideas of the author. Perspicuity is the first excellence of writing or
speaking. (Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)
Although the objectives of this creative writing course are
deeply important, these weighty considerations should not overshadow another
reason for this course: sheer joy. As students engage in creative writing, they
develop and enjoy their God-given creative impulse. Creation is a delightful
experience and certainly helps us fulfill the measure of our creation:
[R]emember that you are spirit [children]
of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that
your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally
compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created
with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We
were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness
of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to
seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by
creating things. (President Dieter F. Uchdorf. “Happiness, Your Heritage.” Oct.
2008.)
Furthermore, creative writing can be an internship in
seeking the Spirit:
The more you trust and rely upon
the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in
this life and your destiny in the life to come. [Brothers and] Sisters, trust
and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life
and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world
around you but also the world within you. (Ibid.)
Assessment and Grading
Because Creative Writing is an art and class is a workshop,
you will be graded on both your products and your process.
Product
Portfolio
You will compile and submit a portfolio of your creative
writing pieces each term. Each piece will be evaluated on a “personal best”
criterion.
Portfolio due dates:
Oct. 13
Dec. 15
March 2
May 18
Contest Submissions
Each term you are required to select at least one piece to
submit to a writing competition. You must do a final edit with Mr. Dye before
submitting the piece. Please attach a photocopy of your completed submission
form to the piece and include it in your portfolio.
Process
Writer’s Notebook
You will keep a writer’s notebook
every day in class. It should be a composition notebook (9.75”X7.5”). Although
this is a workspace, it should be clean and orderly. Each day’s entry should
begin on a new page with the date at the top. Your notebook will be evaluated
on orderliness, quantity, and quality.
Source Book
You will keep a source book with
annotated readings. These will include poems, short stories, and essays that we
read together in class. These readings will help us notice how other authors
conduct their craft and generate ideas for our own writing. You may also
include in this source book anything else you find that inspires your writing:
photos, doodles, poems, blogs, etc.
The source book will be evaluated on how you use it to enhance and inspire your
writing.
Reading Circles
We will regularly gather as a class
in a reading circle to read and evaluate our own writing. This is one of the
most important parts of our writing process. Your participation both as a
reader as a commenter will be graded.
Devotionals
W
e will have a devotional each
morning to begin class. Students will sign up for days/topics. Giving
devotionals will be part of your grade.
Grade Breakdown
Please note, I expect most students
to receive a good grade. If you work hard, participate fully, and produce your
personal best work, you will do well. This is an elective class where what we
do is far more important than the grades.
|
Portfolio
|
30%
|
|
Contest Submission
|
10%
|
|
Writer’s Notebook
|
35%
|
|
Source Book
|
10%
|
|
Reading Circles
|
10%
|
|
Devotionals
|
5%
|
General Policies and Procedures
Submission of Assignments
All
final drafts, unless otherwise specified, must be typed. They should be in MLA format with Times New
Roman font size 12. Although this is a creative writing class, it is not a
graphics design class. Please do not use colored ink or cutsy fonts. Let your
words speak for themselves. If your printer is broken, please plan to pay to
print your assignment at the school library. Assignments should be submitted to
the appropriate paper tray in the back of the classroom.
Electronics in Class
Laptops
may be used in class for appropriate educational purposes. Misuse of
electronics will result in loss of privileges and a parent conference on integrity.
Appropriate
use of laptops is a matter of personal integrity—will you keep your commitment
even when the teacher is not looking?
Absences
Students
are responsible for getting work from the teacher in advance if they know they
will be absent. In the case of an
unexpected absence, students should contact a classmate to find out about class
assignments. They should also speak with
the teacher after school or during lunch the day immediately following the
absence.
Tardy/Hall Passes
Please
plan to arrive at school early so you can be to class when we start (when the
bell rings). We will begin class each day with a devotional. Please respect the
student who is giving the devotional by not interrupting. Please also respect
our shared need to set the tone for the day.
You will
receive 2 tardy/hall passes per term. Each pass may be used to excuse a tardy
or a quick visit to the bathroom/locker. Tardies and leaving the classroom
distracts from learning, so please be considerate as you come and go. Quietly
fill out the pass and leave it on Mr. Dye’s desk. Please do not visit in the
hallways or distract other classes. Unused tardy/hall passes may be redeemed at
the end of term for extra credit. If you run out of passes, you will be
required to come after school to visit with Mr. Dye the day of the incident.
Uniforms
Students
who wear the uniform correctly will be admitted to class. Proper wearing of the
uniform shows respect for self, classmates, teachers, and education. The
uniform is an outward reflection of an inward commitment to unity, modesty,
neatness, and dignity.
Classroom Stewardship
Our
building, worth millions of dollars, was gifted to us by generous donors who frequently
visit our school. Please help us show respect for this gift by doing three
things:
1)
Clean
up after yourself each day in the classroom. Please store personal items
(including jackets, notebooks, and backpacks) in your locker and not in the
classroom.
2)
Don’t
lean back in chairs and avoid banging the walls.
3)
Eat
food in the classroom only during approved class celebrations. Please eat lunch
and snacks in approved areas of the building.
At the
end of each class period, students should get in the habit of always cleaning
up around themselves (i.e., pushing in your chair, cleaning up bits of paper on
the ground).
Emergency Drills
Although
emergency drills are routine, we must take care to practice them as if they
were the real thing. During building evacuation drills students must line up in
a straight line with the teacher at the head. Students must not wander to visit
with friends. Timely accounting for each student and orderly conduct are
essential in a real emergency.
Communication with Parents
I welcome
feedback from parents. The best way to reach me is by email or in person.
Whereas this is an elective class with a limited number of graded assignments,
there will not be weekly updates to Edline. The best measure of your student’s
progress is by visiting with him or her about in-class participation and the
progress they are making on their writing.
