Writing a Greek Myth

Write your own myth! #

Are your children fascinated by the Greek gods and goddesses? Have they retold stories of how Jason stole the Golden Fleece, Pandora opened her box, and Perseus defeated Medusa more times than you can count? Kids who love reading myths will enjoy trying their hand at writing an original one of their own!

The Greek Myths course is perfect for children 9-14 years old. This class is designed for students to work directly with a Brave Writer® instructor (parental involvement not required). Students will read selected myths from D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (purchase or borrow your own copy) and then will be guided to identify the key literary elements common to these compelling stories. Once your kids have explored the essential themes in a traditional Greek myth, they’ll have a chance to create their own. The story-writing process is fully supported with opportunities to ask questions and get feedback along the way.

Each week, we'll explore a theme related to Greek myths.

Week 1—Myths Explain How Our World Works. We crave explanations to help us understand the world around us. While modern scientists can tell us why the stars shine, science doesn't prevent us from enjoying the creativity of a mythological explanation. Students will uncover the structure of the explanation myth, using those "bones" to create explanation tales of their own.

Week 2—Myths Show Gods Who Are Like Us, Only "Bigger." The quirky personalities of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus are closely examined this week. The character profiles inform students' writing as they place the gods into new situations in a believable way.

Week 3—Myths Have Heroes. Many of our favorite myths are not about the gods, but about their children. These descendants are often heroes who undergo trials and tribulations in a quest for a certain reward. Students will uncover the essential parts of the hero's quest and decide how they might twist the traditional story.

Week 4—Myths Belong to All of Us. For our final week, we'll join the new generation of authors who have been inspired by the Greek myths to write new stories. Your students may choose to retell a myth from a new character's point of view, take an existing myth and change the ending, create a modern god who rules over today's world, or something entirely different! The story-writing process is fully supported with opportunities to ask questions and get feedback along the way.

This class is ideal for young writers who are new to our online classes or who have already completed Brave Writer® 101: Guided Writing Process (though not a pre-requisite). Parents can take a back seat as children post directly to the classroom and receive feedback from the instructor. Brave Writer® techniques such as list-making, freewriting, revision strategies, and editing are all used in this new context of story-writing.

We hope you’ll join us for this fiction-writing class!

Important Note: In Brave Writer®, we read a wide range of essays and literature that address a wide variety of perspectives and that include time-bound references. Please be aware that you may experience strong reactions to what you read. By using literature as a teaching tool to foster understanding and growth, we have the opportunity to discuss these evolving ideologies.

We encourage you to pre-read books and essays to determine their appropriateness for your family and to prepare to have discussions on these topics with your students as they participate in the class.

For more information about how the classes are run, please read about online classes.

To explore our Brave Writer® classroom, click here to access a sample class.

Materials Used in This Course:

Brave Writer® online classes are specially designed with the busy homeschooling parent in mind.

Class Structure Overview #

Class is held in a private discussion board with 20-25 other participants.
Class is asynchronous—you log in when it is convenient for you each day of the week at no specific time of day.
It is text-based—no video.
Student writing assignments are posted in a text box, published to the classroom, and all students are able to read student writing.
Class is a writing workshop format, with all coaching feedback available to be read by all families.
Class work, student writing, and coaching feedback can be downloaded and saved in a PDF format.

Class Length and Time #

Classes last anywhere from three to six weeks. We offer courses that address a specific writing need so that you can take the ones that suit your family throughout the school year. Short class sessions enable you to work around family vacations, out-of-town swim meets, recovering from wisdom teeth removal, and visits from grandparents. We operate on the quarter system, including a summer session. Our most popular classes repeat each quarter, while others are seasonal.

We operate "asynchronously" (which means that the discussion is not live, but that posted information remains available to you in your time zone at your convenience). Instructors check the classroom throughout the day to answer questions and give feedback on writing. Writing is done at home and then typed into the classroom, and shared with both the instructor and other classmates. You're not required to be online at any specific time of the day. We have students from all over the world participating in our classes so "live" discussion is impossible. Instead, the online classroom enables the instructor to post information and assignments when it is convenient to the instructor. Then, when it is convenient for you, you come to the classroom and read the latest postings.

Private Classroom Space #

Our classes meet in a customized online classroom, designed specifically to meet the needs of Brave Writer®. Only registered students and the instructor have access to the classroom to ensure your privacy. Assignments and reading materials are posted by Brave Writer® instructors each week (no additional supply fees necessary, unless otherwise indicated). Either you (homeschooling parent) or your child (homeschooling student) will visit the classroom daily at your convenience to read helpful information about the current topic or to find the writing assignment.

Instructor feedback to student writing is offered for all participants to read. Writing questions are welcomed and encouraged! That's the point of class. We aim to give you immediate support as you face writing obstacles.

Safe Community #

Brave Writer® takes seriously the need for encouragement and emotional safety in writing. No student is ever at risk of being humiliated or mistreated. All online dialogue is respectful and supportive of your child's process. This is the core of Brave Writer® philosophy. You can read about Brave Writer® values here.

What makes our program especially unique in the world of online education is that we value a corporate experience. Rather than teaching your child in a tutorial format, we prefer students to have the opportunity to both publish their work for an audience (other students) and also to have the chance to read other student writing. In no other setting is this possible. Schools-in-buildings rarely have students read each other's work. Homeschooled children are rarely in a classroom environment to begin with, so the opportunity to read peer-writing is nil.

Our classes provide an utterly unique experience in the world of writing instruction. Since most writers grow through emulation of good writing, it is a real advantage to Brave Writer® kids to get the chance to read the writing of their fellow home-educated peers. They love it! They get to examine and internalize other ways of writing, analyzing and expressing ideas similar to their own. They have the chance to validate and cheer on their peers. And of course, the best part of all is that they receive the praise and affirmation of kids just like them.

Not only that, all instructor feedback is posted to the classroom for all students to read. That means your kids get the benefit of instructor comments on many papers, not just their own. We've noted that this style of instruction is especially effective and hope you'll agree!