Teaching High School Creative Writing

From USA Today Bestselling author and high school creative writing teacher L.A. Detwiler comes a book of effective strategies for the writing classroom. The opportunity to teach a high school creative writing class can be both thrilling and terrifying. If you're like I was in my first year of teaching the course, you may be wondering: What should you teach in a creative writing course? How should you assess students? How can you make writing fun, even for reluctant learners? Is it possible to teach students to be creative? What should the structure of your class look like? In my first year of teaching the course, I found few resources that were helpful on these subjects. Most were solely focused on fun activities or how to be a writer, not on how to structure a class and actually teach it. This book is the product of my own frustrations in my first year and the experience I've gained from trial and error over the past eight years of teaching the course. In that time frame, I also managed to develop a Creative Writing Level II course and a Novel Writing course from scratch. I also earned my USA Today Bestseller's title, which has allowed me to understand what skills are sought in the professional industry. In this book, I will share with you tried-and-true tactics for starting your own successful writing program or just infusing your English classroom with a positive outlook on creative writing. I'll cover the skills that are most in demand in the creative writing field so you can set your students up for success in high school but also beyond. This book covers: How to create a positive environment for creativity The best ways to assess students in creative writing Activities and key topics to cover in order to encourage success Tips for helping students combat writer's block Ways to enhance critique circles to actually be meaningful How your mindset as a teacher can impact the type of writing your students create And much more When done well, your creative writing class can become a safe haven not only for your students to learn how to express themselves, but for you to be the kind of teacher I think we all want to be. It might not feel like it now. You might be feeling overwhelmed and like vomiting. But I promise, if you read this book and make the ideas your own (which is the key, as we'll discuss), you'll shine. Whether you're teaching a creative writing course for the first time, writing curriculum for it, or a veteran creative writing teacher looking to enhance your writing atmosphere, this is the resource with you in mind. Written for a busy teacher, it takes my best, most practical advice and condenses it into a book that will get you inspired to open your students' eyes to the beautiful, magical world of creative writing.