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Writing Coaches
Shu-Hsien & Royd
Winter 2024 Classes
✍ Welcome!
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 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 5th
- 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.
Ages 7 to 9
THURS 8:30am • Colorful Characters
An Online Story Writing & Character Workshop
Ages 7-9 • 3rd-4th Graders
Taught by Writing Coach Royd Hatta
Thursdays 8:30am - 9:30am Pacific Time
January 11 - March 14, 2024
9 lessons • via Zoom • No Class Feb 22
Minimum 3 students
Maximum 8 students
Tuition:
3 students: $425 per student
4-8 students: $395 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, and detailed feedback on written assignments.)
Characters = Story.
The better your characters are written, the more we as readers CARE for our heroes and sidekicks! We want to hear about their adventures, and we cheer them on as they face their harrowing trials.
We'll practice ways to make our characters feel alive by adding small details, imagining their clothes and gear, and thinking about how their backstories pull them backward and push them forward.
We'll play story games, draw our characters, experiment with some fun vocabulary, and even think about the little things that make our heroes shake in their shoes - like having to eat Dad's tuna fish spaghetti casseroles with jello on top.
As always, we'll walk through all the steps in the creative process:
- understanding the structure of a great story
- 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 Royd at: [email protected]
Victoria Rain from pexels.com
Ages 9 to 12
TUES 1:30pm • Jump into Our Roaring Time Machine
An In-Person Story Writing Workshop
Ages 9-12
Taught by Writing Coach Shu-Hsien Ho
Palo Alto CA: Hosted by Parent Roberta P.
Jan. 9 - Mar. 12, 2024
Tuesdays 1:30pm-2:30pm
9 lessons • No class Feb. 20
Minimum 5 students
Maximum 10 students
Tuition:
4-5 Students: $425 per student
6-10 students: $375 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 through 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 & 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
Each student will be invited to present a reading on the last day of class.
To register, please contact Royd at: [email protected]
Ages 11-14
WED 8:30AM • Independent Research Projects: A Deep Dive into Curiosity
An Online Workshop
Ages 11-13 • Grades 6-7-8
Taught by Writing Coach Royd Hatta
Wednesdays 8:30am-9:30am PST
January 10 – March 13, 2024
9 lessons • via Zoom • No class Feb 21
Minimum 6 students
Maximum 9 students
Tuition:
6 Students: $405 per student
7-9 Students: $365 per student
Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, and detailed feedback on written assignments.
Have you ever wondered what a voyage to Mars would really be like?
Or what caused the origin of "blue for boys" and "pink for girls"?
Or what it would be like to live as a child in Paris during the French Revolution?
This Independent Project 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 science behind cryptocurrency, how to save endangered California sea otters, and the problem of ocean mining for valuable minerals for electric vehicles.
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 the following skills: planning, doing research, interviewing, thinking critically, problem-solving, writing & revising
To register, please contact Royd at: [email protected]
Photo by SpaceX
WED 2 PM • The Shape-Shifting Powers of Amoeba & Stars
An In-Person Science Writing Workshop
Ages 12-14 • Grades 8-9
Taught by Writing Coach Shu-Hsien Ho
Mountain View: Hosted by Parent Jenny A.
Wednesdays 2 pm - 3 pm
January 10 – March 13, 2024
9 lessons • No class Feb 21
Minimum 3 students
Maximum 8 students
Tuition:
3-4 Students: $435 per student
5-8 Students: $375 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments & travel fee.)
Imagine an amoeba that can shape-shift from bizarre gooey yellow slime, grow a tail to propel itself in water, retract its tail on land, and later fuse with other amoeba, OR grow into a sponge-like creature on a forest floor.
Scientists have discovered that these amoeba can solve mazes, form patterns, and track time! The life cycle of this slime is just as real and amazing as the cosmic birth of stars and galaxies in our vast universe.
These two topics, found in a recent collection of articles, will serve as the inspiration for our new workshop. Students will have an opportunity to dive into their own science research project as part of this course.
We invite students to:
- read and discuss a variety of essays from The 2022 Best American Science & Nature Writing, edited by Dr. Ayana E. Johnson
- discover and share other science articles with the class
- dive into individual exploratory experiments based on personal topics of interest
- introduce the Scientific Method: hypothesis, materials, methods, procedures, findings, conclusions, future research
- write as a vehicle for explaining, for finding patterns, and for deeper investigations of chosen research topics
- present their independent science papers on the last day of class.
To register, please contact Royd at: [email protected]
Photo by Picturepest
THURS 11AM • Slime, Black Bears & Galaxies
An In-Person Science Writing Workshop
Ages 11-13 • Grades 6-7-8
Taught by Writing Coaches Shu-Hsien Ho & Royd Hatta
Thursdays 11am-12pm
January 11 – March 14, 2024
9 Lessons • No class Feb 22
Sunnyvale CA:
Hosted by Parent Danielle R. in her backyard
Minimum 5 students
Maximum 10 students
Tuition:
5 Students: $435 per student
6-10 Students: $375 per student
Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments, and travel fee.
Imagine an amoeba that can shape-shift from bizarre gooey yellow slime, grow a tail to propel itself in water, retract its tail on land, and later fuse with other amoeba, or grow into a sponge-like creature on a forest floor.
Scientists have discovered that these amoeba can solve mazes, form patterns, and track time! The life cycle of this slime is just as real and amazing as the cosmic birth of stars and galaxies in our vast universe.
These two topics, found in a recent collection of articles, will serve as the inspiration for our new workshop. Students will have an opportunity to dive into their own science research project as part of this course.
We invite students to:
- read and discuss a variety of essays from The 2022 Best American Science & Nature Writing, edited by Dr. Ayana E. Johnson
- discover and share other science articles with the class
- dive into individual exploratory experiments based on personal topics of interest
- introduce the Scientific Method: hypothesis, materials, methods, procedures, findings, conclusions, future research
- write as a vehicle for explaining, for finding patterns, and for deeper investigations of chosen research topics
- present their independent science papers on the last day of class.
To register, please contact Royd at: [email protected]
Photo by Michael Myers on Unsplash
Ages 13+
WED 10AM • Independent Research Project for High School
An Online Research & Writing Course
Ages 13-18 • Grades 9-12
Taught by Writing Coach Royd Hatta
January 10 – March 13, 2024
Wednesdays, 10am-11am PST via Zoom
9 lessons • via Zoom • No class Feb 21
Minimum 4 students
Maximum 9 students
Tuition:
4 Students: $545 per student
5-9 Students: $475 per student
(Includes lesson prep, 1:1 sessions, detailed feedback on written assignments.)
Ever wonder where a $1M T-Rex Skull could be found?
Or what transitional prehistoric animal was the missing link to birds' flight?
And given the great need for sustainable energy, could nuclear power plants be operated in a safe and viable way?
This Independent Project course guides students to explore a specific question or topic that intrigues them.
They'll learn concrete steps for digging into the research to create an eye-opening research paper that is sure to capture the attention of readers.
Past projects have included the life of a falconer, marketing tools for selling a game app, and the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans.
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 the following skills: researching, interviewing, critical thinking, problem solving, writing & revising
To register, please contact Royd at: [email protected]
Photo by Markus Spiske at Unsplash
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen at Unsplash