Nonfiction Projects | Brave Writer

Raise your hand if your middle grader

Procrastinates
Lacks organization in their thoughts
Struggles to follow steps
Wants to write about super broad topics like “Music”
Doesn’t want to write at all

The good news? These are common traits of middle-grade children. Truly!

You might wonder how your middler is ever going to make it to competent essay writing. But we’ve got a class that helps you get there!

Projects are the perfect stepping stone on the path to academic writing for a middle grader.

Class Overview

Made With You in Mind

Middle School Writing: Nonfiction Projects helps your kids navigate an entire writing project from start to finish on the nonfiction topic of their choice.

Students get to pick the nonfiction writing project that suits them and the instructor walks your child through the writing process for that project. You will be in the background to offer support only when it’s needed!

Some of the benefits of this class include:

Personal achievement. Help your child take a step toward writing independence!
Exemplary feedback: We encourage writing growth without crushing anyone’s confidence.
Go beyond the textbook: Students can tap into books, movies, recipes, crafts, personal experiences, and more.
Manageable writing goals: Our guidelines allow for the successful completion of projects to boost kids' confidence in writing.

Perfect for the child who

Wants to make their own decisions
Needs an introduction to structure in writing
Has interests they want to explore
Could use the support/accountability a class offers
Likes a tangible product (Us too! So satisfying!)

What about formats?

Do we want middlers to start navigating formats? Yes! Are they ready for essays? No.

We start with smaller, more accessible formats first. We want them to understand that a format in writing acts as a container for the original thoughts that the writer brings to the topic.

In Middle School Writing: Nonfiction Projects, they’ll get to try formats out!

We offer students five format options for their project:

Fact Book
How-to Report
Newspaper Article
One Page Narration
PowerPoint Presentation

The ones they don’t choose? Print out the guidelines from the classroom and do the rest at your leisure! Next month’s writing curriculum--check!

Audio Tracks Available!

You've been asking for a way to support your struggling readers, and we heard you loud and clear! You have the option to add on audio tracks of all class readings for $49. Your child can now listen as they read, strengthening those developing reading skills and deepening understanding!

Week by Week

Week One

Project Selection and Research. Class begins with a discussion of project choices, where to look for ideas, and how to narrow down a topic choice.

Week Two

Freewriting and Drafting. Students research to investigate a myriad of sources. Freewriting activities help to get the raw writing on the page. Once initial writing is in place, students expand their research to fill in gaps in their knowledge.

Week Three

Narrowing and Expanding. Students devote this week to revision as they reorganize, streamline, and add more vivid detail. The goal: Create a piece of writing that's clear and interesting to readers.

Week Four

Publishing and Finding Readers. The week when all the hard work pays off. Students put a final polish on the writing and talk about different ways to publish and find an appropriate audience for their work!

Registration Details

Join Us!

Tuition:: $199.00 per student
Recommended Ages:: 9 - 14
Class Size:: 25 students
Class Length:: 4 weeks
Class Type:: Middle School

Upper Elementary
Class Schedule:: Asynchronous—log in when convenient to you!

Select from the available class dates below to register for that session:

Sep 16–Oct 11, 2024	Regina Verow	Session Full
Nov 04–Dec 03, 2024	Jen Jackson-Ellery	Register

Word on the Street

My understanding of how to collect research, use quotes to improve a statement, and new ways to organize my work for better reader experience when reading my work. All of these things have improved my understanding of non-fiction writing.
Laurel, 12

I thought before that I was only good at writing chapter books, but now I see that I can write lots of other things, too.
Felicia, 11

I used to think that a big writing project like this was something I couldn't do. It seemed so hard. It is, but it's good to try new things, and this showed me I can get through big projects, and feel really satisfied at the end.
Clare, 11

Nonfiction is super new to me, but I loved getting to branch out and I learned so much! I love all the feedback you gave, it was super helpful!
Peter, 12

More Information

Sample class login

Want to see how our classroom works? Test drive a sample class complete with real class readings, assignments, and instructor comments!

Follow these instructions:

Navigate to class.bravewriter.com. If you are a current student, you’ll need to log out in the upper right corner before proceeding.
Log in using these credentials:
Username: [email protected]
Password: Brave1
Next, you will land on our Family Dashboard. You'll find a Parent icon and a Student icon to represent classes where the parent or the student is the primary participant. Click on Parent to view parent participation classes. To find classes with direct student-instructor interaction, click on Student.
Click on the class name of interest and start reading posts!

How Our Classes Work Download a class summary

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