Welcome to the Fall 2009 Semester of Creative Writing

There will be six main themes to guide our progress as writers this trimester:

Theme One: Characterization and Writing Unit: The inner psychology of character driven plot-lines

Theme Two: Fiction Writer’s Workshop & Writing as a Way of Healing

Theme Three: A Master Class in Poetry

Theme Four: Reviews, and Writing in Moving Pictures

Theme Five: Creating a Personal Chapbook

Theme Six: Participation in The Nature of Words, Writers in the Schools Program

Ongoing activities throughout the trimester:

In-class readings

In-class writing prompts/exercises

Workshops on the elements of craft

Group Peer Revision Workshops (craft and structure vs. personal taste)

Annotation (2-3 pages typed literary review) on three books of your choice, covering multiple genres and cultural voices. (MLA format)

One music/movie review of a band/album or film of your choice. (2 pages typed)Character Analysis essay (2 pages typed)

Creative work portfolios, work-shopped through the entire writing process/ul>

GRADING POLICY

A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F below 60%

Assessment 85% (Based on Meeting or Exceeding State Standards)

Summative Assessments 50%
Final Writing Portfolios,
Executed by State Standards
Formative Assessments 35%
Application/Practice/Writing Process/Comprehension


Participation/Attendance 15% (Workplace Skills)

Daily work and skills that reinforce success on both Assessments and future workplace performance, such as: Attendance, Effort/Participation, Timeliness for Assignments and Assessments


Texts/Literature covered in this class:

On Craft:
Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott
Writing as a Way of Healing by Louise Desalvo
Gotham Writer’s Workshop-Fiction Gallery by various editors
Writing Toward Home by Georgia Heard
Best Words Best Order by Stephen Dobyns

Short Fiction:
Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie
Flash Fiction Anthology
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Poetry:
Dancing In Odessa by Ilya Kaminski
The Captain’s Verses by Pablo Neruda
At the Drive In Volcano by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Rose by Li-Young Lee
Notes from the Divided Country by Suji Kwock Kim
Hands Washing Water by Chris Abani
Various online literary journals such as Tarpaulin Sky, the Blood Orange Review, Torches n’ Pitchforks and Octopus


Notification of the Right to Object to the Use of Materials

Any resident of the district may raise objection to instructional materials used in the district’s educational program despite the fact that the individuals selecting such materials were duly qualified to make the section and followed the proper procedure and observed the criteria for selecting such material.
The first step in expressing objection is consultation with the classroom teacher or library staff and providing a brief written complaint. The staff member receiving a complaint regarding instructional materials shall try to resolve the issue informally through the discussion of the original assignment or the opportunity for an alternative assignment.
If not satisfied with the initial explanation or an alternative assignment, the person raising the questions will meet with a building administrator who, if unable to resolve the complaint, will provide a Request for Reconsideration form which will be given to the superintendent for action.