Creative Writing, v1

.5 Carnegie Unit

Instructor: Mr. Curtis Minton

Instructor Information:

My name is Curt Minton. I am a teacher at Oxford Middle School. For the past 8 years, I have taught sixth grade English but will begin teaching seventh and eighth grade Social Studies (ancient World History and U.S. History from colonization through the beginnings of Reconstruction, respectively).

I graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in Political Science. I am lifelong resident of Oxford, and I am married to a seventh grade science teacher. We have three cats and two dogs at home.

In my spare time, I love to read, watch movies, and play golf and video games (huge fan of the Uncharted series). If I wasn't a teacher, I would love to have my own show on the Food Network.

Contact Information:

If you have questions concerning the content of the course, you may contact the instructor directly using the email link in the "Communications & Tools" tab. NOTE: Whenever sending an email, please be sure to indicate your Course title and number in the subject line (ie, AP Art History).

For lesson or test administration issues, please contact the HS department:
The University of Mississippi High School P. O. Box 7959 University, MS 38677-0729	Phone: 662-915-1296 Fax: (662) 915-5138 E-mail: UMHS@olemiss.edu

Course Description:

(from the Mississippi Department of Education's Language Arts Framework)

"The Creative Writing course will provide the student practices in the processes of composing poems, personal descriptive and narrative essays, and short fiction...The course affords an opportunity for self-expression, promotes critical thinking, expands the imagination, and develops the use of figurative and literal language. The student will pursue an independent project in creative writing. The student will become a critical reader and editor of his/her own work and of the work of his/her classmates..."

Required Textbook:

There is no required textbook, but be sure to read all the texts included in the course.

Course Objectives:

The student will produce, analyze, and evaluate effective creative communication to include poems, autobiographies (memoirs), short stories, and essays.
The student will use Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure to communicate.

Course Outline:

Units

Lesson area

Weeks

Due for Grades

Memoir

Week 1 - What is a memoir?
Week 2 - Researching & Drafting Memoirs
Week 3 - Revisions & Final Draft of Memoirs