Course Descriptions & Required Materials

CREATIVE WRITING 20

Instructor - Mr. M. Lysak

Description: CW20 provides students with the opportunity to expand and refine their knowledge of both the craft and art of creative writing.

Students will acquire the expertise to generate ideas, develop language precision, edit with understanding and confidently deliver a published work to an audience.

(Creative writing is public writing. Therefore, this is not a course designed to develop personal journaling or private writing.)

By reading and discussing models of professional writers, we will examine strategies used by writers to develop their ideas and present them in fresh and interesting ways to readers. Students will also be expected to write on a daily basis. Some of the writing in this course will be teacher assigned; other pieces will allow the student to select the style, the topic and the approach. Students will be required to post selected pieces to a writing discussion group for feedback by their peers. You will use all stages of the writing process, revising your work and ultimately producing a (20 page) portfolio of your best writing.

The course is an opportunity for you to actively read, think about, talk and express yourself through writing.

As Toni Morrison writes, “If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

Required Textbook:  There is no required textbook for this class.

Additional Requirements: An active email account that allows for multiple page documents to be sent and received; a reading package that will be forwarded to you at your school; daily access to a computer and the internet; access to a word processing package.

CREATIVE WRITING 30

No formal prerequisites; Students should have a strong interest in writing and are encouraged to have completed ELA 20 prior to taking this course.

Creative Writing 30 will not serve as a substitute course for the ELA 30A or ELA 30B. It may, however, be used as an option credit.

Instructor - Ms. M. Edlund

Description: The four genres of creative writing featured in this online course are poetry, short fiction, play writing, and non-fiction. Students are encouraged to practise specific writing tasks and challenge themselves to explore less familiar topics, approaches, styles and genres. The creative/productive component includes the exploration, development, and expression of ideas through writing. The student will learn how ideas can be developed and transformed through exploration and critical thinking. The critical/responsive component encourages students to reflect on and respond critically to published writing, their own writing, and their peers' writing. Students become participants in the interactive process in this online course. Students will produce writing folders and a final portfolio. Students are also encouraged to submit work for publication.

Required Textbook:  There is no required textbook for this class.

Additional Requirements: An active email account that allows for multiple page documents to be sent and received; a reading package that will be forwarded to you at your school; daily access to a computer and the internet; access to a word processing package.

JOURNALISM 20

Instructor - Ms. M. Edlund

Description:

Goals in Journalism 20 Online:

• to recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
• to recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message, recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
• to recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
• to develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.

Module one explores the components and issues of print journalism. Students learn about gathering and writing news, reporting ethically, preparing editorials, writing features, preparing photos, and evaluating magazines and advertising. Module two asks students to apply their understanding of print journalism to one of the electronic media --television, radio, or the internet. Module three gives students an opportunity to choose one aspect of journalism and explore it in more depth in a final project (Photojournalism).

Students will be given the opportunity to use a variety of subjects, forms, and styles that are common to both print and electronic media. They will write news stories, feature stories, columns, editorials, reviews, documentaries and news commentaries. The key is to learn the basic craft and art of journalism for all media.

Required Textbook:  There is no required textbook for this class.

Additional Requirements: An active email account that allows for multiple page documents to be sent and received; daily access to a computer and the internet; access to a word processing package; access to a library materials. Access to a digital camera, tape recorder, scanner, and/or video camera is recommended.