(Recorded Course) Creative Writing for Middle School, Part One (MS-CW1) with Robin Conley, MFA

Instructor Access is currently available for this course. Please see the sidebar to the right for information on how to signup.

Get creative and write with this superb introduction to the world of fiction and story for middle school students! Learn an overview of what takes to write books and stories, poetry, and screenwriting, and get a chance to write using what you’ve learned. It’s an addition to the 6/7 and 7/8 series foundational academic English and writing courses that can surely help your student excel and bring out a love for writing!

 

How to get the most out of Creative Writing for Middle School, Part One with Robin Conley, MFA:

  • Have a notebook ready and available for class notes in each class.
  • Class Time - Watch the Class Recording, or if taking the course LIVE, come to the scheduled class time.
  • After class, read any readings posted and review any resources available that week.
  • Do the assignment and any quiz posted for the week.
  • If at any time you need/want to review, watch the Class Recording again or review the Class PowerPoint as needed.
  • Repeat until all 8 weeks are completed.
  • Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.

Special Notes: This is Part One of a 2-part course. Students are expected to sign up for Part Two in the spring. This course is a wonderful elective that can increase the love and skills of writing and continues building on the content of the foundational 6/7-Series and 7/8-Series middle school writing courses that prepare your student for academic writing success. 

Total Classes: 8

Suggested Grade Level: 6th to 9th Grade

Suggested Credit: 2/3 semester English or Writing.

Prerequisite: WRITING ESSENTIALS 1: Punctuation and Grammar I (MS 6/7-1) or equivalent. Students may take the prerequisite through Unlimited Access or as a LIVE course.

Instructor: Robin Conley, MFA

Instructor Email: RConley.HSC@Gmail.com

Course Description: This middle school creative writing course is a superb introduction to the world of fiction and story, giving your student a sampling of what it takes to write within fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. Throughout the course, we will explore the beginning components of each type of writing to give students a basic understanding of creative writing, and students will be given a chance to create their own stories, screenplays, and poems using the skills learned. In the Part Two course, we'll take what is learned here and advance it to more complicated ideas, furthering students' understanding and preparing students for upper-level creative writing. This enjoyable course is perfect for learning a bit about each type of creative writing, can give your student a chance to express creatively in writing, and can prepare students to continue studying creative writing in future courses. Students who complete the Part One and Part Two courses may take the in-depth high school creative writing courses (11-Series fiction writing).

Course Outline:

  • Class 1-4 - Fiction Writing

    • Class One: Format and Genre

    • Class Two: Character and Point-of-View

    • Class Three: Plot and How to Plan Your Story

    • Class Four: Setting and Beginning Your Story

  • Class 5-6 - Screenwriting

    • Class Five: Format, Purpose, How is it Different?

    • Class Six: Strong Action and Scene Headings

  • Class 7-8 - Poetry

    • Class Seven: What is Poetry? Parts of a poem & Rhythms

    • Class Eight: Short Poem Forms - Limericks, Haikus, Couplets, Acrostics, Cinquains

Course Materials: All materials are provided free by the instructor.  If submitting homework to an instructor, students will need to be able to create .doc or .docx files using Word or another program like Google Docs (which is free).

Homework: Homework consists of a mix of automated quizzes and creative writing assignments each week. Students should expect to spend one to four hours a week on homework depending on how difficult the student finds the creative writing assignments.