Fall Semester Explorations in Literature & Creative Writing 

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! Throughout each semester we will work together to publish a multimedia literary magazine featuring our literary writing, literary criticism, photo essays, film, and podcast recordings. Our quarterly magazine showcases our literary work along with our process and reflections, and it serves as a catalyst for authentic intellectual discourse in our school community and beyond.

We will begin by building habits that you can also practice outside of the classroom:

• Journal Writing can be liberating and empowering. Try to write in your journal for 15-30 minutes each day. Practice using literary techniques, and check out the writing prompts page for more brainstorming ideas and writing exercises. To improve word choice, try using a thesaurus while writing.

• Reading outside of class has many benefits. Here are just a few: improves motivation and concentration, improves literacy, increases knowledge, improves relaxation and sleep, reduces stress.

• Vocabulary study is not just an in-class assignment. Continue to learn new words by writing down words you don't know in your journal or on an index card. Use a mobile dictionary app to look up the definitions of words on your phone while you are reading. Practice using a few of your new words in your journal writing.

• Discussions inspired by literary practice explore three types of questions:

  • Questions about craft

  • Questions about ideas/meaning

  • Questions about making connections → personal (text-self), other texts/intertextual (text-text), world (text-world)

Ms. Ntoso's Literary Explorations

I enjoy reading and creative writing during my free time. Currently I am reading:

• Night by Ennio Moltedo, translated by Marguerite Feitlowitz

• The City, Our City by Wayne Miller

• Land of Numbers by Te-Ping Chen

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