Curriculum Talking Points – 1st, Elementary and Middle School

1st Grade

  • Our first grade program is designed to develop foundational writing skills.
  • Over the course of the two-weeks, campers will write a story, together as a class, and publish it as an eBook at the end of camp.
  • Each day of camp we will focus on a different trait or skill of writing.  Because campers are writing an eBook, our curriculum follows the writing process with the first few days of camp covering brainstorming and organizing, followed by writing and revising, then finally publishing.
  • Often camper’s favorite part of the camp-day is music, where we’ve taken the writing lesson of the day and turned it into a song with dance moves.  Music is a powerful way to get lessons to “stick” and campers simply enjoy the rhythm and motion!
  • Because not all 1st graders come in writing, we have built the curriculum so that those who can write, have opportunities to write, and those who are not yet writing can draw and/or dictate to an adult.
  • Our maximum class size is 15 campers to one credentialed teacher.  The teacher will be supported by one or two college students who serve as teaching assistants.
  • The first grade program incorporates daily crafts that relate to the writing trait of the day.  For example, on a day when we are focused on word-choice, we might ask campers to make “super-word” necklaces.  This kind of activity builds vocabulary and fine-motor skills at the same time.
  • The first grade curriculum also incorporates a Daily DIY activity, where campers are able to choose between writing-related activities such as paper book-making, imaginative play, gross motor (i.e. playdough letters), etc.  Campers make a plan for daily DIY, then write about what they did afterward.
  • Our 1st grade campers join the Elementary campers at the beginning and end of the day for the all-camp assembly.  Throughout the day we stagger their breaks so that they have exclusive access to the playground equipment. 

Elementary

  • At a high-level, Adventures in Writing camp exists to help campers fall in love with writing.
  • We tell our teachers that this is summer-camp, NOT summer school.
  • While everything we do is rooted in great writing-pedagogy, we recognize that campers having fun at camp, especially a writing camp, goes a long way.
  • The backbone of the camp is that each camper will write, illustrate, and publish their own eBook.
  • This allows us to write a curriculum that follows the writing process. The first few days of camp will cover brainstorming and organizing, followed by writing and revising, then finally publishing.
  • Parents often ask if this is a camp for kids who already like to write, or those who don’t like to write.  The answer is both.  If your child already loves to write, they will love being at writing camp.  For those who don’t yet realize they like to write, we’ve formatted the day to be active and fun.  Much of our instruction is done with music and movement, and campers are given the freedom to choose what they want to write about.
  • The day begins with a 25 minute all-camp assembly, where we introduce the writing theme of the day and start the day with enthusiasm.
  • Next, campers will head outside for 30 minutes of Troop Time.  Campers are grouped by grade-level and will play organized camp games.  This is designed to wake campers up and help them get the wiggles out.
  • We then divide the “academic” portion of the day into four 50-minute blocks– two before lunch and two after lunch.
  • Campers start by going to a writing rotation where they will work with a credentialed teacher to review the trait of the day.  This rotation is great for our “traditional” learners who thrive in a classroom environment.
  • Next campers go to Music, where they will learn the same trait of the day, but this time the lesson is delivered as a song.  Campers will sing, and dance, to the song of the day.  They will also learn the basics of rap-writing, which focus on rhyme, meter, and sentence fluency.  To “campify” things a bit, toward the end of the second week, camps will begin to challenge each other to “rap battles” and our teachers will film campers as they write and perform a rap, then send it to a nearby camp.  Kids really get into the good-spirited competition.
  • Next campers break for a 50 minute lunch where they eat and play.
  • When they return, they will spend two back-to-back blocks in eBook, where they will go through the entire writing process of brainstorming, writing, revising and publishing their story.
  • At the end of the day campers come back together for an all-camp assembly, where they will review what was learned, sing the song of the day, and generally celebrate what they accomplished at camp.
  • We often hear from parents that this is the one camp that their child wants to come back to, which is great, especially because we’re a writing camp!

Middle

  • Our middle school program is designed to develop writing skills as well as camper’s spoken skills.
  • Each year, we rotate the curriculum between blogging, podcasting, and short-story with an animatic-making.  
  • Campers will be grouped in a mixed-age class of 6th-8th graders, and the maximum class-size is 25.
  • The class will be led by a credentialed teacher and/or professional writer, and the teacher is supported by one or two college students who serve as teaching assistants.
  • In the middle school program, we want to continue to develop campers’ writing skills, but we also recognize that at this age, most campers want to become the next “YouTube star,” which is why we look for ways for them to turn their writing into some other form (i.e. blog/podcast/animatic).
  • This year, we will be creating podcasts. We will review popular podcasts and ask campers to think about questions like, “why does this work?” and “What “craft-moves” did the author use to hook you as a reader?”  Then, once campers understand why something works, and how it was created, then we ask campers to apply it to their own story.
  • At the end of camp, they will have created a blog/podcast/animatic.  These will be made available to parents.