Letter to Parents (Creative Writing)
Dear Parents, September 1, 2011
I am very excited to be working with your children this year in the middle school Creative Writing course at KEYS.
This course is designed to enhance the students’ writing ability in a variety of contexts. It will include both instruction in the process of writing and practice in the various forms of writing. Students will improve their writing skills in the areas of personal writing (including journal writing), descriptive writing, creative writing (including stories and poems), and academic writing (including instruction in basic essay form).
Students will also begin to learn about literary analysis as they have opportunity to read and respond to certain literary works. Copious reading of high quality literature is a significant contributor to enhanced writing skill in the student and is therefore mandated; students will be required to read a certain amount of quality literature each month and to keep a reading log.
Although I am assuming that each student has had basic elementary language arts instruction in the home setting before taking this course, I would strongly suggest that this study continue at home while the student is enrolled in this class. While we will be reviewing basic grammar as needed—based on the errors I observe that the students are making in class and in their writing—we will not be engaged in a systematic study of grammar in this course. Nor will the scope of this course cover in-depth study of works of literature. Specific suggestions for materials to use to supplement this course at home can be found on the website (link below).
There is no one textbook that we will be using for this course, but I will be drawing from many different sources throughout the year. There will be a “library fee” of $20 for the year, to cover the cost of duplication and/or purchase of these materials. Your child is expected to exercise care in preserving and returning all materials used by him throughout the course, to avoid incurring further fees. There will be an additional “book rental fee” of $5 for the Writers Inc book*, if your family does not already own it. Please make your check payable to Laurie Sitterding, in the amount of either $20 or $25.
If you have any questions or concerns at any time throughout the year concerning your child’s progress for the course work itself, feel free to email me or call me at home before 9 p.m.
I thank you for the privilege of working with your children this year, and I am very much looking forward to helping them become better writers!
Sincerely,
Laurie Sitterding 481-3164 (home) 289-8636 (cell) ParksidePedagogy@gmail.com
Class website for students and parents: http://sites.google.com/site/ParksidePedagogy/CreativeWriting
* Writers Inc, A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning (Sebranek, Kemper, and Meyer) ISBN # 0-669-47186-0