Curriculum Sequence:

Writer’s Notebook: Ongoing frequent entries, at least one per day.

Rapid Writing Journal: Ten minutes of non-stop timed writing every day.

Nature Journal: Ongoing weekly entries.

Individual Choice Writing: Three pieces through developmental revision stage.

Focused Writing: Five completed personal essays and/or articles.

Quarter Two:

Writer’s Notebook: Ongoing frequent entries, at least one per day.

Rapid Writing Journal: Ten minutes of non-stop timed writing every day.

Nature Journal: Ongoing weekly entries.

Individual Choice Writing: Three pieces through developmental revision stage.

Focused Writing: Poetry forms, conventions and devices.

Quarter Three:

Writer’s Notebook: Ongoing frequent entries, at least one per day.

Prolific Writing Journal: Ten minutes of non-stop timed writing every day.

Nature Journal: Ongoing weekly entries.

Individual Choice Writing: Three pieces through developmental revision stage.

Focused Writing: Short stories including sub-genre conventions.

Quarter Four:

Continue with writer’s notebook and rapid writing journal.

Create final reflections section of the nature journal.

Rework and polish 10 pieces of writing.

Create cyber journal.

Submit writing to contests and publications.

Participate in an open-mike / public reading event.

Create portfolio self-evaluation.

              Read excerpts from the published notebooks of famous writers.

                    Listen, observe, contemplate and notate from personal experience

Keep ongoing entries which are personal and private, anything in any format.

Periodically share from notebook by choice.

                    Periodically cull writing starters from notebook.

          Share notebook, reflective responses and useful items with the
                teacher each quarter.

        Resources:

The Poet’s Notebook, Stephen Kuusisto, Deborah Tull and David Weiss, editors

The Writing Workshop Volume 1, Alan Ziegler

 

 

Write everyday without interruption for five to ten minutes to release thoughts and images to visible language without pausing first to organize them into rational discourse.

Share entries with teacher to verify completion; disclose writing to teacher and class by choice (individual entries may remain completely private).

 

Periodically reflect on and respond to entries.

Periodically cull writing topics and ideas from journal.

Share process and progress with the teacher every quarter.

 

Resources:

Beat Not the Poor Desk, Chapter 4, Marie Ponsot and Rosemary DeanWriting Down the Bones, pp 5 – 13, Natalie Goldberg

 

                     Choose a natural setting for repeated, ongoing close observation.

             Listen, observe, contemplate, notate and draw at the chosen location
                    for at least 20 minutes every week.

                   Learn drawing techniques and tips from a local artist.

Periodically share journal with the teacher and the class.

                    Periodically reflect on and respond to journal contents.

                    Periodically cull writing ideas from the journal.

Share journal, reflective responses and useful items with the teacher each quarter.

 

Resources:

The Alphabet of the Trees, A Guide to Nature Writing, Christian McEwen and Mark Statman, editors

The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady, Edith Holden

Nature Journaling, Clare Walker Leslie and Charles Roth

The Nature Notes Of An Edwardian Lady, Edith Holden

A Trail Through Leaves, The Journal As A Path To Place, Hannah Hinchman

 

 

Cull writing ideas from writer’s notebook, rapid writing journal and nature journal.

Participate in class activities including writing prompts and skill building exercises.

Workshop through the writing process: Pre-Writing, Exploratory Writing, Developmental Writing, External Revision and Last Look Polishing to produce writing pieces.

Classics in the Classroom, Using Great Literature to Teach Writing, Christopher Edgar and Ron Padgett

Luna, Luna, Creative Writing Ideas from Spanish, Latin American & Latino Literature, Julio Marzan, Editor

Sing The Sun Up, Creative Writing Ideas from African American Literature,

Lorenzo Thomas, Editor

        The Writing Workshop Volume 2, Alan Ziegler

Thunder and Lightening, Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft, Natalie Goldberg

Wild Mind, Living the Writer’s Life, Natalie Goldberg

Writing Without the Muse, 60 Beginning Exercises for the Creative Writer, Beth Baruch Joselow

 

 

        The student will . . .

Participate in class activities including reading models from professional writers and completing writing prompts and exercises.

Workshop through the writing process: Pre-Writing, Exploratory Writing, Developmental Writing, External Revision and Last Look Polishing to produce writing pieces as assigned each quarter

Personal Essay and Article Resources:

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
Robert Fulghum

Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits, Dave Barry

Dwellings A Spiritual History of the Living World, Linda Hogan

High Tide in Tucson, Barbara Kingsolver

How To Write Articles For Newspapers and Magazines, Dawn B. Sova, PhD.

It Was On Fire When I Laid Down On It, Robert Fulghum

The Lives of a Cell, Notes of A Biology Watcher, Lewis Thomas

Mortal Lessons, Notes on the Art of Surgery, Richard Selzer

Personal Fiction Writing, A Guide To Writing From Real LifeFor Teachers, Students, & Writers, Meredith Sue Willis

Secrets of the Universe, Essays on Family, Community, Spirit, and Place,

Scott Russell Sanders

Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard

Thinking Out Loud, On the Personal, the Political, the Public, and the Private,

Anna Quindlen

The Writer on Her Work, Janet Sternburg

Poetry Resources:

    Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms, 85 Contemporary Poets
          Select and Comment on Their Poems, David Lehman, Editor

In The Palm of Your Hand, The Poet’s Portable Workshop, Steve Kowit

Participating in the Poem, Integrating Values Across the Curriculum,

Kathleen Q. Blaine, Mary Anne Kovacs and Ronald G. Loewe

 

Short Story Resources:

Dynamic Characters, How to Create Personalities That Keep Readers Captivated, Nancy Kress

Grammar of Fantasy, An Introduction Into the Art of Inventing Stories, Gianni Rodari

How To Write Funny, John B. Kachuba, Editor

How To Write Romances, Phyllis Taylor Pianka

How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, Orson Scott Card

Making Shapely Fiction, Jerome Stern

Teaching and Writing Popular Fiction: Horror, Adventure, Mystery and Romance, Karen M. Hubert

What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers, Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter

Writing Crime & suspense Fiction, Lesly Grant-Adamson

Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, Brian Stableford

Writing the Short Story, A Hands-On Guide For Creating Captivating Short Fiction, Jack M. Bickham

You Can Write a Mystery, Gillian Roberts