Advanced Creative Writing

Course Instructor: Jason Fritz

Welcome to Advanced Creative Writing. Please scroll down in order to access information related to the course. If you have any questions, simply click on the button at the bottom of the page to e-mail the instructor.

"Education is important to ya life, no matter what you say Upward Bound is here to help you in that special way." " -Kyle Quick, Graduate, TRIO Upward Bound at UPenn, Class of '06

Introduction

This course is designed to gauge and improve high school writing deficiencies through a six-week-intesive expository, persuasive and creative writing experience. Students will work individually and collaboratively on projects designed to prepare, challenge and guide them as critical readers, writers, and thinkers.

2007 Theme: Heroes

All courses are centered around the theme of heroes.
  • "We human beings are entrusted with a very special place in creation; a place that calls us to embrace and live by certain values including kindness, generosity, forgiveness, joy and peace. Heroes help us define, develop and live by those values. The ancient Greeks said, "Tell me who you admire and I'll tell you who you are." According to this logic, choosing heroes is important because who you choose often determines the character of a person and a people. The greatest conquerors in history understood this truth. Replace the Czar and icons of the Russian Orthodox Church with Lenin and you have the Soviet Union. To deprive people of a hero or the opportunity to choose one is the ultimate form of conquest. We are in need of heroes more than ever. Collectively and individually we continue to be a people in search of sages; anxious and eager to find people worthy of our love and loyalty." ~Source Unknown

    • The My Hero Project

    Advanced Creative Writing Course Documents

  • 2007 Advanced Creative Writing Writing Course Syllabus
  • 2007 Advanced Creative Writing Course Schedule
  • 2007 Advanced Creative Writing Course Curriculum

    • Advanced Creative Writing Poems & Prompts

  • Journal Entry #1: Question On Marianne Moore's "I May, I Might, I Must"
  • Journal Entry #2: Question On Langston Hughes's "Motto"
  • Journal Entry #3: Question On Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real Cool"
  • Journal Entry #4: Question On Martin Espada's "Jorge the Janitor Finally Quits"
  • Journal Entry #5: Question On Tupac Shakur's "The Rose that Grew From Concrete"

    • Advanced Creative Writing Journal Entries

  • Journal Entry #1: Tribute Poem
  • Journal Entry #2: Persuasive Piece & Interview
  • Journal Entry #3: Community Service Project
  • Journal Entry #4: Goal-Setting & College Essay
  • Journal Entry #5: Celebrating Our Accomplishments

    • Advanced Creative Writing Week 1: Heroes of History

  • "The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds." ~Abraham Lincoln

    • Project #1
  • "Dear Teachers" By Sonya Sones "From Dear Teachers: Letters to Another Hero."Voices from the Middle 9.2(December 2001): 38-39. Copyright 2001 National Council of Teachers of English. All Rights Reserved.
  • Book & Films About Inspirational TeachersCopyright 2004 NCTE/IRA. All rights reserved.
  • Life Lessons from Tuesdays With Morrie (Doubleday, 1997)Copyright 2004 NCTE/IRA. All rights reserved.
  • "Poetry in a Cup: Hurricane Katrina" Copyright 2001-2007 August Unicorn Productions. All Rights Reserved.
  • "Our Sad September Snow" By UnknownCopyright 2007, poemsinthedark.com. All Rights Reserved.
  • "Thirteen Ways of Looking at The Collected Poems of Edgar Allen Poe" By Upward Bound Critical Writing Class of 2005
  • "Twelve Ways of Looking at the Static on a Television Set" By Upward Bound Critical Writing Class of 2006
  • "Twenty-Five Ways of Looking at a Wreath" By A Group Of Senior Students From Northeast High School In 2003
  • "What is Poetry?" As Answered By A Group Of Senior Students From Northeast High School In 2003
  • Sample Cover Letter to TeenSpeak
  • Sample "I am From"
  • "I am What you See" by Edwin DeLeon

    • Advanced Creative Writing Week 2: Unsung Heroes

  • "One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade." ~Chinese Proverb

    • Project #2
  • “Guide for Interviewing Family Members” Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • about.com’s “How to Interview a Relative” Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • about.com’s “Fifty Question for Family History Interviews” Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Storytelling in the Classroom: Collecting Family Stories” Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over. ©2000 Story Arts, all rights reserved.
  • The Victims of the Virginia Tech Tragedy

    • Advanced Creative Writing Week 3: Everyday Heroes

  • "The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt." ~Frederick Buechner

    • Project #3
  • "The Importance of Volunteering" by Kelly V. from TeenInk.com Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Corporation for National and Community Service: Stories of Service-Archive Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • CommunityService.org Volunteer Experience Search Engine Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Wiki Entry On "Community Service" Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.

    • Advanced Creative Writing Week 4: First-Generation Heroes

  • "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can." ~George Bernard Shaw

    • Project #4
  • Check Out College Essays At Teen Ink(c) 2006! Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Choosing A College Essay Topic Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Essays That Worked Do not download or copy this piece!
  • Fifteen Tips From The Readers Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • www.firstinthefamily.org Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.

    • Advanced Creative Writing Week 5: Future Heroes

    Project #5
  • "Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us."
  • Cultural Diversity: Towards A Whole Society Do not download or copy this piece! Simply look it over.
  • Favorite Poem Project: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life"

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