Creative Writing for Middle School Students

This yearlong course is designed for aspiring writers in grades 7-9 who want to read, interpret, enjoy, and interact with beautiful prose and poetry. The hope is to help develop students’ creative writing skills while inspiring them to write and delight in their own short stories, plays, and poems. We will use the first two books in a beautiful series, The Creative Writer, as a foundational class guide that gives students a tangible resource to look at, read, and write in both inside and outside the classroom. We will complete one book per semester, with each book divided into two sections: fiction and poetry. Students will grow in their story and poetry ideation through engaging chapter writing and reflection exercises while studying both story and poetic elements as supported by a thoughtful framework of virtue reflection. Our goal will be to foster a love of reading, writing, and sharing while delighting in these resources and related supplemental activities.

In addition to writing in these books throughout the year, students will keep journals to take notes on key terms and devices, along with commonplace books to record favorite poems, stories, plays, and contemplations. While adding to these keepsakes, the class will offer a comforting, fun, and collaborative space for experiencing the expansive reach of poetry and prose together. These rich, thoughtful, and faithful in-class discussions, along with a Canvas "Cares & Shares" board, fun collaborations, inspiring readings, "open mic" shares, and other formative exercises, should serve to give students a beautiful, holistic approach to studying prose and poetry while being inspired by the truth, goodness, and beauty of God’s world!

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

The Creative Writer, Level One: Five Finger Exercises by Boris Fishman (1st semester)
The Creative Writer, Level Two: Essential Ingredients by Boris Fishman (2nd Semester)
Writing journal and commonplace book (any notebooks will work)
Supplemental shorts stories, plays, and poems (to be provided by the instructor)

Mrs. Alison Johansen

[email protected]

Alison Grace Johansen is a Scholé Academy instructor, tutor, and host of our poetry club. While tutoring in grammar and writing, she is teaching Upper-School American Literature and History, Classic Literature VII, and Art of Poetry. Alison earned her Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pa., and her Bachelor of Arts in political science with a French minor from the University of Richmond. She worked as a legal journalist in Washington, D.C., for over 13 years before freelancing as a writer and editor in all forms of media: legal and academic publishers, startups and larger companies, magazines, newsletters, websites, books, and social media platforms. She hopes to inspire her students to discover the many ways in which they can use their own words to express themselves with truth, goodness, and beauty. Alison lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. Her dedication to her faith and family influences every part of her life, from teaching Sunday school and writing a children’s picture book about food allergies, to exploring the beauty of God’s world with her family. If they aren’t enjoying a walk outside with their Goldendoodle named Nugget, you might find them reading together or playing the piano, flute, guitar, ukulele, and drums!

Quarter 1

The Creative Writer, Level 1: Fiction

Plot: ideation, situation, plot points
Character Development & Description: imaginary, historical, and literary; heroes and villains
Dialogue: listening, creating, using voice
Description and Setting: observation of an object, person, nature, process, scene
Point of View: first person versus third person narration, motive, mood
Short Story Workshop: ideation and writing

Quarter 2

The Creative Writer, Level 1: Poetry

Introduction: differences between fiction and poetry
Description: comparisons through metaphor and simile; abstract versus concrete imagery
Words: synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms; connotation; composition; cliché; concision
Sound: rhyme; repetition; assonance, consonance, and alliteration; meaning
Shape: line breaks, spacing, stanza
Poetry Workshop: ideation and writing

Quarter 3

The Creative Writer, Level 2: Fiction

Plot: plot points, suspense, situation, conflict, quest, climax, resolution
Story Ideation: story planning, detail, specificity, conflict, climax
Character: protagonist versus antagonist, traits, quest, internal/external conflict, description
Dialogue: sound, tags, descriptors, diction, rewriting, modernizing
Setting: atmosphere, mood, description, modifiers, place
Point of View: first versus third person narration, perspective, motive
Scene-writing: invention, five story elements, place, narrator, changing variable
Short Story Workshop: ideation and writing

Quarter 4

The Creative Writer, Level 2: Poetry

Introduction: famous poems, interpretation, creation, subject matter, style
Poetry writing and reading about the ordinary and extraordinary
Abstractions: translating into concrete situations, personalities
Words: five-sense association, substitution, meaning, tone, kenning
Form and Sound: rhyme scheme, repetition, line breaks, meter, sound personalities
Poetry Inspiration: dreams, anti-comparisons, ekphrasis, objects, feelings, translation
Poetry Workshop: ideation and writing

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

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