Winter 2023 Classes
The following classes are currently available for enrollment.
Please note that we also teach small private classes that are not listed here.
If the offerings below do not fit your schedule, feel free to email us, and perhaps we can find a class for your young writer.
To register, please send an email to [email protected].
Please provide:
- The title of the course
- Your child's name
- Your child's age as of January 11
- A daytime phone number for us to reach you.
Either Writing Coach Shu-Hsien Ho or Royd Hatta will respond as soon as possible.
For the safety of all, we require masks during our in-person sessions.
Jump into Our Roaring Time Machine
- understanding the structure and the power of a compelling story
- embedding historical or scientific details and facts
- generating and organizing ideas
- writing with momentum
- revising for clarity and logic
- editing towards a final draft
Gailo from pexels.com
Digging for Facts in Our Noisy World:
An In-Person Journalism & Writing Course
for Ages 12-14 (Grades 7 -9)
Taught by Writing Coach Royd Hatta
Jan. 10 – Mar. 14, 2023 (9 lessons)
(No session Feb. 21)
Location: Redwood City - Home
Hosted by parent Bridget M. in her backyard
Minimum 5 students
Maximum 8 students
Tuition:
3 Students: $395 per student
5-8 Students: $372 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments & travel fee.)
What is the difference between fact-based news and fake news? This question has been a perpetual issue in recent years.
How do we discern what is credible and what is not? To promote discussion, we will read and analyze newspaper articles on current events to dig for clues that will filter out the noise to gain clarity.
At the same time, students will learn how to use fun story techniques to explore topics of their choice and build their own news articles through local interviews, research, personal experiences, and community connections.
If possible, we may invite some local journalists to provide insight into the current world of journalism and news writing.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Joshua Rawson Harris from unsplash
Includes lesson prep, detailed feedback on written assignments & up to 90 minutes of 1-on-1 coaching.
This literary analysis course will explore the genre of Science Fiction through reading and discussing both classic and more contemporary short stories and novels ranging from hard science to more "soft" science, but no less compelling, works.
Through the heroes in these special worlds, we will grapple with society's larger choices and the potential impacts on our future. How will we address ongoing political conflicts, changes in the planet's climate, issues of group vs. individual rights, and ethical directions for our use of technology?
We'll see that in each case, the core of science fiction is not so much the science itself, but how we as humans come to terms with it. Ultimately, science fiction serves as a mirror and amplifies the question, "What does it mean to be human?"
Readings may include works from:
- Andy Weir
- Nancy Etchemendy
- Ursula K. Le Guin
- H. G Wells
- Ted Chiang
- Nnedi Okorafor
- Mary Shelley
- Ken Liu
- and others
Assignments will include analytical essays about the major themes and symbols in various works, as well as forays into science fiction writing. Students will be invited to present a reading on the last day of class.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Creative Commons from pexels.com
Includes lesson prep, detailed feedback on written assignments, travel fee & up to 60 minutes of 1-on-1 coaching.
Have you ever wondered how archeologists discover T-Rex fossils? Or what it would be like to live in Paris during the French Revolution?
This course is a space where students can explore a specific question or topic that intrigues them and learn concrete steps for digging into the research and creating a story or essay.
Past projects have included
- the life of a falconer
- the very first video game experiments
- the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans
- Vivaldi's female orphanage orchestra
- the archaeopteryx, the first possible bird
All topics are welcome. Students will share their readings on the last day of class. We invite you to join us on this special journey!
Lessons will include:
- Highly interactive, hands-on brainstorming exercises to inspire curiosity
- Opportunities to apply newly learned skills and concepts to real world scenarios
- A step-by-step process for developing researching, interviewing, critical thinking, problem solving, writing & revising skills
- Oral presentations of final research reports on the last day of class
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
Digging for Facts in Our Noisy World:
A Journalism Workshop for Ages 10-12
In-Person
Taught by Writing Coaches
Royd Hatta & Shu-Hsien Ho
Jan. 12 – Mar. 16, 2023 (9 lessons)
(No class Feb. 23)
Location: Mountain View Home
Minimum 5 students
Maximum 8 students
Tuition:
5 Students: $360 per student
6-8 Students: $335 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments & travel fee.)
What is the difference between fact-based news and fake news? This question has been a perpetual issue in recent years.
How do we discern what is credible and what is not? To promote discussion, we will read and analyze newspaper articles on current events to dig for clues that will filter out the noise to gain clarity.
At the same time, students will learn how to use fun story techniques to explore topics of their choice and build their own news articles through local interviews, research, personal experiences, and community connections.
If possible, we may invite some local journalists to provide insight into the current world of journalism and news writing.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Joshua Rawson Harris from unsplash
Jump into our Roaring Time Machine
A Zoom After-School Story Writing Course
For 4th-5th Grade Students
Online
Taught by Writing Coach
Royd Hatta
New Start Date: Jan. 19 - Mar. 23, 2023
9 lessons
(No session on Feb. 23)
Minimum 5 students
Maximum 8 students
Tuition:
5 Students: $360 per student
6-8 Students: $335 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments & travel fee.)
Imagine meeting Cleopatra, shaking hands with Martians, and taming a T Rex. All three would be amazing, first-hand encounters if we could travel through time! For anyone who has been intrigued by our mysterious past or the potential to explore our technological future, this workshop is the perfect opportunity to discover a fantastic world. We invite students to experiment with their imagination and ideas by writing and illustrating their own adventure tales. We’ll provide a highly interactive, playful environment to inspire students to brainstorm ideas and create their own stories of time travel, historical fiction, science fiction, or anything in between. Our workshops will walk through every step of the writing process:
- understanding the structure and the power of a compelling story
- embedding historical or scientific details & facts
- generating and organizing ideas
- writing with momentum
- revising for clarity and logic
- editing toward a final draft
Each student will be invited to present a reading on the last day of class.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Andrik Langfield from unsplash
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