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. Learn about the process.

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 form 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 Les misérables: Cosette by Victor Hugo.

Week 11
Fiction and non-fiction. Nonfictional and fictional text on the same topic. Writing a nonfiction piece on the topic of a 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.

All reading materials are provided by Masha Kantarovsky.

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. Learn about the process.

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 that 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
Epic poetry. Myth and epic poetry. Reading materials: excerpts from 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 the excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Week 8
Fiction and nonfiction. Writing fictional and nonfictional account of an event of choice. Reading material: a 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: Elizabeth Bishop, Wislawa Szymborska, and Billy Collins.

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

Week 13
Literature and other arts. Analysis of the classical paintings ("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.

All reading materials are provided by Masha Kantarovsky.

About Creative Writing

The Creative Writing class gives students the opportunity to explore their own talents as writers of fiction and non-fiction, poets, and journalists. Students are introduced to a variety of writing techniques, genres and styles. In this class we view writing as an exercise in self-expression and making art, rather than a necessary evil of everyday routine.

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