“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
Course Overview:
Students will explore different types of prose narratives and the art of fiction,
experiment with dialogue and point of view, and write poetry in various forms.
Various rhetorical strategies will be examined by the study of short fiction
and nonfiction models. Students will be expected to participate in
collaborative response groups and present finished work to the class.
Assignments are primarily student generated. Student work will be graded by
portfolio assessment; additional grades will come from class participation and
tests on the literature used as models.
Course Syllabus:
SHS – Mainstream – Creative Writing Syllabus – Fall 2011
SHS – Bridge Academy- Creative Writing Syllabus- Fall 2011
Required Materials:
The required materials listed below will be an important part of the course, and students are expected to bring them class daily. If you are unable to provide these materials due to financial hardship, please speak to me outside of class as the school may be able to provide them to you:
- Agenda book or similar planning device
- Binder (one inch) or sturdy 2-pocket folder
- Lined paper or dedicated course notebook (college ruled)
- Pens & Pencils (black or blue)
- USB Flash Drive (highly recommended)
Assignments:
- SHS – Course Contract – 2011-2012
- Website Scavenger Hunt
- Bridge Academy – Summer Reading (projects due by October 13th)
- Leprechaun’s Gold: Pass-a-Draft
- Fiction Unit: Elements of Fiction Presentation
- Creative Writing – Fiction Essay
- Kid Lit Unit: Project Details
- Kid Lit: Peer Review Sheet
- Graphic Novel Unit: Project Details
Journal Prompts:
- Creative Writing Journal – Prompt 01
- Creative Writing Journal – Prompt 02
- Journal Prompts – September 8-16
- Journal Prompts – September 22-26
- Journal Prompts – Second Quarter (rev. January 4, 2012)
- more to come…
Course Handouts & Other Materials:
Tears of A Tiger
My favorite book was Lolita =]
My favorite book of all time is “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”. This book shares a special bond between Harry and his godfather, Sirius Black. I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series, but this book definitely catches my eye. It’s such an amazing book! ;D
favorite book : diary of a wimpy kid
my favorite book is the fab five by Mitch Albom
My favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time
i dont have a favorite book, but a book that i like more than other is a book of selected poetry by robert frost .
My favorite book of all time is Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen.
-Abigail Meadowcroft
Block E
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My favorite book is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This is all great stuff! Keep it coming… -Mr. Smith
My favorite book is The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown
My favorite book is The Westing Game
My favorite book of all time is Savvy or Scumble.
my favorite book is called Heat because its about sports and i enjoy it
My favorite book of all time is The Hunger Games.
My favorite book of all time is “Stellaluna.”
My favorite book of all time is definitely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It has strong sentimental value with me because it was the first chapter book I ever really read and it’s reminiscent of my childhood and stuff like that. ;D
My favorite book is The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
my favorite book is what happened to goodbye by sarah dessen
Staying Fat For Sara Burnes
My favorite book of all time would have to either the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling or Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen.
The Hunger Games
My favorite book is Jackie & Me by Dan Gutman
iLearned the diffrent points of View
I learned how authors and good writers use a lot of words that describe the scene instead of just saying where they are and what they’re doing. They actually make m feel as if I was there with them right at that moment.
My favorite book of all time is Breaking Dawn.
learned the different types of conflict
I’ve learned that the pyramid in the presentation is an illuminati symbol and i also learned to develop a character the proper way.
I Learned how complex a story can really be
Please expand…
I learned the different types of characters and how they are different.
I learned about the plot line and all the elements that include with it.
-Cassie Thompson
I learned that a setting can be distinguished by a few sentences.
a round character is convincing, true to life
no your not the man
lol
I learned that the Setting is very important for the reader and also it defines the time and place of the story.
i learned about point of view.
I learned that a Static Character stays the same throughout the story.
i learned that almost ALL writing vocabulary goes into a story, (allusion, setting, etc).
Structure is the way time moves through your story, thats what i learned
I learned that the omnicient point of view is when the author is telling the story.
I learned that there can be more then one setting in a story.
I’ve learned the pyramid of a writing piece .. Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, & the conclusion
I learned about the different points of view
I learned that sometimes action is so closely related to setting that the plot can be directed by it.
i learned that panel means the same story told from different viewpoints
- Sam Mento
I didn’t know that in a short story the theme is often expressed in one sentence. I guess you learn something new everyday.
i learned what what panel means the same exact story but its being told by another character.
I learned that there are four different types of characters.
I learned more about how a character should be developed and portrayed in a story.
PPT. I have learned more about the structure of a story, the different styles and the different POV’s of writing. Personally, I prefer First Person.
~ Seanna J.
Going through the Fiction PowerPoint I learned that an omniscient point of view is when the author is telling the story.
-Anthony Baez
I didn’t learn anything new but it reminded me that I should look for those elements in my writing and helped me remember what I should incorporate into my work.
the thing i learned from the presentation is about the diffrent types of characters.
To be honest, I didn’t really learn anything new from this powerpoint because we took the exact same notes last year in my english class. But it was a good refresher.
I learned what a round character is.
I learned what symbolism means, and how to understand it.
I don’t recall on what the tab we needed to look up was…. but if it was the Fction Unit: Elements of Fiction Presentation. I learned that a panel is a story that can be told by different characters.
-Chelsea Corbett
I guess I liked the part about the structure of a story, because I’ve read plenty of peices with a circular structure in their writing, I think it really helps build up an understanding of a character or situation.
PPT Assignment: I had not known what a round character is, and now I do!
http://www.fanfiction.net/ I’ve been writing things for this site for about a year now, it’s really kinda fun too if you like this kind of stuff.,
I don’t have one yet, hopefully I’ll have one soon.
greatest book(s) ever= The Dollanganger Series by V.C Andrews.
Really. So twisted. So creative. Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.
so yeah.
My favorite book of all time is called Cinderella by Marcia Brown.
-Nicole Maria
Hey folks – I would love to have you all share a little something about each of your favorite texts with the rest of the class. Get ready to shine! – Mr. Smith
My favorite book is any book mr smith wants me to read
I will surely hang on to this post in the event you eventually disagree with my selections. – Mr. Smith
i changed my mind my favorite book is The Outsiders, this is an old fashion kind of book & i like that kind of stuff
My favorite book is Zombie Survival Guide.
Good to know that somebody is prepared for the potential onslaught of zombies in Salem. It won’t be long… – Mr. Smith
My favorite boot of all time is We Were Soldiers
channel mendez – my favorite book of all times is “pictures of hollis woods” by Patricia Reiley Giff
My favorite books of all time are the harry potter books
Great choice! A very cool series I would to know more about. – Mr. Smith
My favorite book/play is Othello by William Shakespeare
Very interesting choice… I also love this play, and am looking forward to hearing more about why you also love this play. – Mr. Smith
My favorite book of all times is called The Series of Unfortunate Events. All the series is my favorite.
My favorite book would probably be twilight, the whole series.
-Jenn Dewing
I’m very indecisive when it comes to these sorts of things. My favorite book series of all time is The Sword Of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind, and my favorite book is a tie between Lord of the Flies and The Hobbit.
Its hard to pick my favorite book of all time, I love reading books that are for the young adults, but if I must choose one it would be the novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The way it is written by first person view and that the main character, Melinda, tells the story through her thoughts is very creative to me.
I am very familiar with this book. It is worth mentioning that I also share your appreciation for YA Lit. – Mr. Smith
These are really great, folks. Possible additions to the class library? Keep ‘em coming… – Mr. Smith
My favorite book of all time is called Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume.
My favorite book of all time is Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones. I read it back in the sixth grade and I haven’t found a book that I enjoy more since then.
I would love to know what it was about this book that made you feel this way. Perhaps there are others I can point you toward that will again spark your interest. – Mr. Smith
My favorite book of all time is I heart you, you haunt me. Its a fast read but a good book.
I “heart” your book choice. Very cool! – Mr. Smith
haha good joke. and its a good book
My favorite book of all time would be , Child Called It . I enjoyed this book because i am very interested in hearing about how others live their lives.
My favorite book of all time would have to be “crank” by Ellen Hopkins.
-Anthony Baez
my favorite book of all time has to be shiloh because it is about a cute little dog that gets abused and finds a new owner. this book is like my dog rocky he was abused and i rescued him.
Would you be interested in sharing a little more about this book with the class? Let me know. – Mr. Smith
I learned how to differentiate between the points of view in a work of literature.