ELA 9: Narrative and Creative Writing

Narrative and Creative Writing uses a workshop model to teach students a range of skills as writers, readers, and editors. Similar to other courses at Wahtonka, all language arts courses are content driven and standards based. Content driven means that it will incorporate things you learn in your other classes (math, science, social studies) because in life we do not separate subjects, they are all blended together in everything you do! Standards based means it will follow the national common core standards (this means we are following the learning goals of our nation). Career ready skills will also be practiced during your time in language arts in order to prepare you for life and finding your way along a career path.

Course FAQs

What are my technology needs?

You will login to Google Classroom and utilize this platform for work submission. You will also need to be proficient in the use of Google Drive and GoogleDocs. Other programs we use include WeVideo.

What are the prerequisites I need in order to take this class?

None.

Why should I take this course/What are the benefits?

There are 6 specific reasons you should have a class in narrative and creative writing:

1. Writers learn by writing: In this course you will learn to become a writer through practicing the art of writing.  You will generate a lot of writing in this class, in non fiction, fiction, descriptive, and review writing. We will create a safe environment for you to practice creativity and curiosity within your writing. Each week we’ll introduce a new prompt for you to try, but ultimately you will decide what to focus on.

2. Writers engage in feedback: You will learn to engage in the same process that all of our great writers use to grow and improve in their craft.  Through creating, revising, getting feedback, editing, and publishing, your writing will grow at each step of the process and through each published piece.  Feedback will be tailored to where you are in your writing and delivered with care and compassion. 

3. Building resilience: Great writers don’t publish their first drafts. It is only through trying, struggling, trying again, and again that a piece of writing becomes great and we as writers grow resilient.  This can and will happen with your writing.  In ELA we will create a safe space for you to go through this process with care and support to guide you along the way. In doing so you will learn to become more resilient in all areas of your life when you face challenges.

4. Encourages Teamwork: We all learn through experimentation and collaboration. In ELA you will learn how to give supportive and constructive feedback to your peers, how to receive feedback and how to collaborate on ideas together. In every line of work teamwork is what makes us most successful. 

5. Sharing your work: We all learn through sharing our work.  Sharing your work with others encourages you to define an audience, take in feedback, and practice the craft of improvement. It is also a way to celebrate your work and accomplishments within the real world. For that reason, all of our writing is geared towards publication.  Not all writing will be published (though every student will have a piece published) but each piece will be created as though it were.

What standards does this course cover?

Here is the Common Core Standards that apply to English Language Arts
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.A Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.B Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.C Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.D Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.E Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades 9-10 here.)

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.ELA 9 Standards

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.5 Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

How do you grade my work in this class?

Wahtonka Community School uses a proficiency based grading system. Your grade is based upon rubrics with specific standards and requirements. In order to gain credit for this class you must meet these standards at the proficient or mastery level. 

Course grades are usually broken down as follows: