Sample Syllabus, Grades 3-5

Each class includes sections on grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. 15 minutes of each class is dedicated to reviewing home work assignments, which will be e-mailed weekly to the parents. 20 minutes is dedicated to free writing.

Week 1
Structure of a narrative. Exercise: Tell a story. Write a story. Reading material: 'How the First Letter Was Written' from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

Week 2
Myths and their role in the history of the world literature. Writing a creation myth. Reading material: Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World by Barbara C. Sproul.

Week 3
Greek mythology. Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d´Aulaire and Edgar d´Aulaire.

Week 4
The concept of a hero in Greek mythology. Pereus, Theseus, and Odysseus. Reading material: The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Week 5
Norse mythology. Compare and contrast Norse and Greek deities. Reading material: Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d´Aulaire.

Week 6
Myths, legends and folk tales. Differences and similarities. The structure of a folk tale. The significance of numbers in folk tales. Reading material: Cinderella. French, German and Chinese versions.

Week 7
Folk Tales from the students´ native countries. The moral of a folk tale. Reading material: selection from Wisdom Tales from Around the World (World Storytelling) by Heather Forest.

Week 8
Fairy tales. The origin of fairy tales. The authorship of fairy tales. Compare and contrast a folk tale and a fairy tale. Reading material: selection from The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris and Richard Chase.

Week 9
Realistic fiction. Plot development. Writing the first and the last paragraph of a short story. Team work on writing a short story. Reading material: 'A Day´s Wait' by Ernest Hemingway.

Week 10
Realistic fiction. Character development. Reading material: excerpt from 'Cosette' from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

Week 11
Fiction and non-fiction. Nonfictional and fictional text on the same topic. Writing a nonfiction piece on a topic of choice. Reading material: Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, and an excerpt from White Fang by Jack London.

Week 12
Non-fiction. Print and electronic sources of information. Independent research project on a subject of choice.

Week 13
Presentation of the research projects in a variety of formats. Parents and friends are invited.

Sample Syllabus, Grades 6-8

Each class includes sections on grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. 15 minutes of each class is dedicated to revising home work assignments, which will be e-mailed weekly to the parents. 20 minutes is dedicated to free writing.

Week 1
The origins of writing. The history of alphabets in different cultures. Reading material: selection from The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind by Ellis Minns and David Diringer.

Week 2
The history of English. Etymology and its significance for the development of writing skills. Reading material: The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg.

Week 3
Introduction to the literary history. Literary text as an art form rather than a vessel for information. Discussion of the personal writing experience. Reading material: the evocation of the muse from The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer.

Week 4
Myth and epic poetry. Reading materials: excerpts from the Ramayana and Mahabharata

Week 5.
Epic poetry. Reading materials: An excerpt from 'The Song of Hiawatha' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Week 6
Writers on writing. Writing methods and devices. Reading material: Selection from Master Class in Fiction Writing: Techniques from Austen, Hemingway, and Other Greats by Adam Sexton.

Week 7
Genres of literature: prose, poetry, drama. Historical context. Reading material: Sonnet 66 by Shakespeare and an excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Week 8
Fiction and nonfiction. Writing fictional and nonfictional accounts of an event of choice. Reading material: the short story 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' by David Sedaris.

Week 9
The nature of an essay. The purpose and the structure of an essay. Writing a review of a short documentary (NOVA: Secret of the Wild Child).

Week 10
Who is your reader? Characteristics of a particular reading audience. Reading material: an excerpt from Through the Children's Gate: A Home in New York by Adam Gopnik.

Week 11
Poetry. Rhyme, rhythm and meter. Reading material: poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Wislawa Szymborska, and Billy Collins.

Week 12
Similes and metaphors. The narrative as a metaphor. Reading material: "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Week 13
Literature and other arts. Analysis of the classical painting 'The Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts' by W.H. Auden Reading material: poetry of W.H. Auden.

About Creative Writing

The Creative Writing class gives students the opportunity to explore their own talents as writers of fiction and non-fiction,as poets, and as journalists. Students are introduced to a variety of writing techniques, genres, and styles. In this class we view writing not as a routine chores, but as an exercise in self-expression and making art.

We offer classes for students in grades 3-5 and 6-9.