About this course: This course is for curious students and aspiring authors with a passion for writing for young readers. Participate in a dynamic online community of writers as you experiment with your own writing and develop your voice. This course will guide you with a combination of video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from world-renowned children’s authors. As you work through the writing exercises, you will give and receive feedback from your peers and gain tools and techniques for improving your writing. During this course you will identify stories that matter to you, explore cultural significance and boundaries, and shape your identity as a writer; become familiar with standard elements of narrative (character, setting, plot, theme, language, dialogue, point of view); reflect on your own work and practice essential self-editing skills; see the different ways in which words and art interact, and the possibilities of longer narrative forms; come away with practical insights into publishing options; and create a plan for pursuing your enthusiasm for writing. By the end of the course, you will have ten to twelve extracts of writing that you can develop into a portfolio. Join a dynamic community of many voices from around the world. Find inspiration in your own voice, heart, and place so that you can tell the stories for young readers you’ve always wanted to tell.
Created by: Commonwealth Education Trust
Taught by: David Hill, Author
Taught by: Maria Gill, Author
Taught by: Alex Alexandrou, Dr
| Commitment | 8-15 hours |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Spanish |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Your Writing Identity
Good children’s writing commonly has a strong sense of identity. This module will give you a chance to think about and practice putting yourself into your writing. We will start by looking at how you can establish effective writing habits and how you can use y...
18 videos, 7 readings
Graded: Your Writing Identity: Life Event from a Viewpoint
WEEK 2
Genre, Form, and Audience
In this module we will give you an overview of genres and forms that are popular for young readers. We will then move on to a discussion of audience – who your readers are and how you can make your work appealing to your chosen audience. By the end of the modu...
11 videos, 2 readings
Graded: Genre, Form and Audience: Define your Audience
WEEK 3
Structure
We’ve covered qualities of writing that make it appeal to an audience – its form, its genre, and its strong personal voice. Now we’ll move on to some structural elements that are key to holding your writing together. We’ll start by looking at character and set...
13 videos, 5 readings
Graded: Elements of Structure
WEEK 4
Editing and Proofreading
In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready to be published. We’ll start by looking at structural editing, where you look at your work’s plot, structure, and themes. Then we’ll ...
10 videos, 3 readings
Graded: Editing and Proofreading
WEEK 5
Publishing
In this final module you’ll learn about different ways that you can get your work published and into the hands of young readers. We have included information about a range of different publishing methods available to you, from traditional print publishing to d...
12 videos, 3 readings
Graded: Publishing
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
Commonwealth Education Trust
The Commonwealth Education Trust invests in primary and secondary education and the professional development of teachers throughout their careers. Through education it seeks to enhance the opportunities for children from all walks of life to contribute to the sustainable development of their communities.
Ratings and Reviews
nice and best one
superb course !!
I learned a lot in this course. It was really good
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El curso, me está gustando mucho. Los vídeos y las actividades son claras y puntuales. Buena organización en el contenido.
Pienso que ya que el idioma no es excluyente, podrían hacer una división entre las actividades en español y en inglés para que a quienes escribimos en español, no nos descalifiquen por el idioma.