Wordsmith creative writing curriculum offers writing resources for teaching the creative writing process in the classroom or homeschool.
Teaching writing skills has never been easier than in this dynamic writing program. Wordsmith Craftsman is the 10th - 12th grade level of the highly popular Wordsmith Series, an exciting creative writing course for Grade 4 through High School. Wordsmith helps improve writing skills. Step-by-step instructions are provided that will help any writer improve his techniques.
Wordsmith Craftsman is a self-directed program designed to prepare young adults for a lifetime of writing excellence. Strong in preparing the student for college, this program allows students to take charge of their assignments and schedule. The third and last of the Wordsmith Series, Wordsmith Craftsman focuses on building, integrating, and polishing practical writing skills.
Writing is a conscious effort to organize ideas, choose the right words, uncover facts, consider alternatives, and present findings in a readable form that others can understand. At its highest level, writing is a form of thinking.
The demand for clear communication is increasing, just as the number of people able to communicate clearly seems to be decreasing. We're approaching a time when writing and thinking skills will be at a premium. The goal of this book is to help students develop competence in both.
The Structure of Wordsmith Craftsman
With diligent use of Wordsmith Craftsman your student will be able to organize and classify ideas, write letters to suit any occasion, analyze the structure and effectiveness of everyday written material, and generate, organize and express original ideas.
Wordsmith Craftsman assumes that the student has a working knowledge of grammar and mechanics. If this is not the case, I would suggest that you take a few months to work through a good English grammar program, or review the major points in a handbook.
Also, a student beginning this book should feel somewhat comfortable about writing (even if he doesn't like it). If your 10th - 12th grader is negative toward the subject, you might consider going through Wordsmith first. The exercises and assignments in that book are specifically designed to help a word-shy teenager develop confidence about the writing process. Without that confidence, Wordsmith Craftsman may be daunting.
THE WORDSMITH PHILOSOPHY
This book is the third and last of the Wordsmith series and like the other two it is written with a specific goal in mind. Wordsmith Apprentice (for 4th-6th grades), is designed to awaken children to the varieties, possibilities, and fun of creative writing. Wordsmith: A Creative Writing Course for Young People addresses youngsters at the classic age of introspection (junior high) and helps them use their own experience as material for effective self-expression. With Wordsmith Craftsman the student learns to branch out, using writing skills for communication, organization and reasoning.
This book is targeted for the age group known as "young adult", in practical terms, this means high school, although the subject matter in Part Three is applicable to college age. In fact, a student who successfully completes the course should be at the skill level of a college sophomore--or beyond!
TO THE STUDENT
These days, it’s not unusual to hear someone wondering about "the future of the written word." With so much visual imagery invading our minds (TV, video, CD-ROM, etc.), who knows if anyone will have the time or inclination to read in another fifty years?
If reading and writing disappear, we may as well go back to subsistence farming: civilization will be over. Do you imagine that the highly technical information our society requires can be communicated in pictures? Should we start practicing facial expressions, as the best way to get our feelings across? Most of all, can we pass on ideas without the use of words?
But wait (you may be thinking); no one said anything about the disappearance of the spoken word. Ideas and feelings can still be expressed, just maybe not as much on paper as in earlier times.
Of course the spoken word will not disappear. In fact, spoken words are multiplying exponentially everywhere we turn--take talk radio as a case in point. But when we take the time to listen to what is being said, we realize that most of it is hardly worth saying. I’m not talking about the ordinary conversations that make up our relationships. I’m talking about much of what passes (on TV, radio and the Internet) for ideas. It’s a fair guess that many of today’s talkers have never tried to write about their favorite issues.
Consider what writing is: a conscious effort to organize ideas, choose the right words, uncover facts, consider alternatives, and present fmdings in a readable form that others can understand. At its highest level, writing is a form of thinking.
The need for this high-level mental exercise is not going away. In fact, the demand for clear communication is increasing, just as the number of people able to communicate clearly seems to be d’reasing. We’re approaching a time when writing and thinking skills will be at a premium. The goal of this book is to help you develop competence in both.
Your responsibility is to take charge of the learning process. Your "instructor" for this course is the book in your hands. Obviously, the book can’t make you do anything. You can sit in the back row (figuratively speaking) and sleep through every class, but I would advise you not to waste your time. Pay attention, read carefully, do the work, and it will pay off.
I’m about to make an extravagant claim: Nothing you learn in your entire academic career will be more valuable to you than what you learn between these covers. I’m speaking of secular knowledge, not spiritual, but all the same I hope you’re impressed!
You will be responsible for making your assignments and seeing them through. Some assignments can be completed in half an hour; others will take weeks. You will think through your own schedule, determining how much time to allot for a task and when to move on to the next step. At any point where you’re unsure what to do, don’t hesitate to ask your teacher or parent for help. But ultimately, the responsibility is yours. That’s not so bad, you know. Most endeavors become more interesting when you take charge of them yourself.
I can promise that you won’t regret it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janie B. Cheaney became interested in creative writing at an early age. She began educating her two children at home in 1985, during which time she developed methods of writing instruction. Over the years, Janie has gained further insights while teaching various classes and workshops for home schooled children and their parents. In Janie's spare time, she has published articles, plays, and short fiction. She lives with her husband and children in Missouri. |
