Certified language arts teacher coaches students in writing a collaborative novel online.

Methodology

I am a certified English, Language Arts, and Reading Teacher with a passion for creative writing. I was also the production editor of my college's literary magazine. I am trained to help develop writing on an individual level. My focus goes beyond teaching spelling and grammar, generating ideas, and teaching organization. I want to develop a deeper writer. I want to help my students create writing that flows well and captivates the audience from the first sentence. I also want to help my students develop a strong voice in their characters, and make the reader feel like they are part of the story. I do that by teaching all 6 traits of writing: ideas, organization, mechanics AND sentence fluency, word choice, and voice.

I teach 5 different levels of writing classes: 4th & 5th grade, 6th - 8th grade, 9th - 12th grade, and adult enrichment.

From September through May, each class is 5 weeks long, with 1 session each week. The first session will begin with a captivating story starter. Each session will focus on a different part of writing, and it will end with the students contributing their own writing for the next part of the story. They submit the writing to me, and I send back revision suggestions. When their writing is ready I submit it for anonymous peer-voting. Each subsequent session begins with a winning continuation of the story.

Here is the lay out for the class:

Week 1: Genre Introduction & Building a Story
Students will be able to define the genre of the story (realistic fiction, humor, action & adventure, or science fiction) and write a chapter of rising action that adds to the development of the story.

Week 2: Character Development & Rising Action
Students will be able to apply character development techniques in writing a chapter of rising action that adds to the development of the story.

Week 3: Word Choice & Story Climax
Students will be able to use descriptive word choices and eliminate clichés in writing a chapter of climactic action that highlights the core problem or issue of the story.

Week 4: Dialogue & Falling Action
Campers will be able to incorporate dialogue-writing techniques into their work while writing a chapter of falling action that supports transition from the story climax to the conclusion.

Week 5: Review & Resolution
Campers will be able to utilize each of the previously learned techniques in their own work while writing a chapter of resolution that concludes the story.

From June through August, I teach the same class format, but I pick up the pace. Each class is 5 days long rather than 5 weeks long.