Free On-Line Writing Curriculum for Homeschool
Using National Novel Writing Month to Teach Writing
Homeschool parents are always looking for a good deal on curriculum and the National Novel Writing Month’s Young Authors Program can’t be beat for price. Homeschoolers will find three levels of workbooks which teach novel writing to elementary students, middle school students and high school students, all of which are free to download. These are available on the NaNoWriMo Young Authors website
Teaching Beginning Writing
Young novel writers use pictures, writing, and dictation if needed to write their novels. Before the novel writing challenge starts students spend time evaluating what makes a good book and what makes a “gross book.” They develop characters, supporting characters, and villains. Step by step, they outline their plot and develop their setting. Using comic strips they learn how to write good dialogue. Once they have laid the foundation for their story, the focus shifts to reaching a preset word count goal. Finally after 30 days of creative writing, authors go back and use their editing skills to polish up their literary work.
Teaching Writing to Middle School Students
Middle school students learn all the same great writing skills as the younger authors, but they go into more detail with their writing. Setting higher word count goals, preteens learn to create sub-plots, create conflict and take sensory information to a whole new level as they focus on using details to increase their novel word count.
Students may choose to participate in Word Wars which are competitions to determine who can write the most words in a given period of time or get involved in group writing projects on the message boards. Professional and student help is available on-line if a plot starts to fall apart or a story begins to unravel.
High School Writing Program
The high school workbook contains all the same elements as the younger students’ workbooks as well as perspective, point of view, book talk, physical or abstract antagonist, external and internal conflict, and using settings to influence mood.
Authors 13 years and older may choose to stay on the Young Authors website or move to the NaNoWriMo website where they will be writing with adults participating in the novel writing competition. Moving to the grown up website automatically means a word count goal of 50,000 words in 30 days.
Writing Resources
There are a number of resources available on the NaNoWriMo Young Authors' website. The Teacher’s Lounge section of the website provides free lesson plans which can be used at home or in a co-op setting. Lesson plans are broken down into K-2 grade writing activities, 3-5 grade writing activities, middle school writing activities and high school writing activities. For those keeping score, the first workbook covers both K-2 and 3-5.
Other resources available on the Young Authors website include: published children’s authors who provide writing tips and words of encouragement in the Writers Block section of the website, the Dare Machine which is always generating new plot ideas to introduce into the story, and the message boards which provide a place for home school students to connect with other homeschoolers who are also taking the novel writing challenge.
Teaching Beginning Writing
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