Reading like a writer stuff
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Academics
Creative writing clubs can enrich students' academic skills. These skills can help students practice general academic tasks, meet language arts standards, and/or engage with the discipline of creative writing.
General Academic Skills
To start, creative writing clubs can provide space for students to practice general academic skills such as goal-setting, time-management, and listening to others. As students recover from more than two years of interrupted learning, these skills are especially important to practice.
Robust scholarship supports that clubs boost school-skills. Studies indicate that students who participate in school clubs tend to attain higher levels of education than students who do not (Eccles et al., 2003 & Philips et al., 2003). One reason for this could be that extracurriculars strengthen students’ connections to school through contact with peers and positive adult mentors (Eccles et al., 2003).
As potentially low-cost, low-commitment extracurriculars, creative writing clubs are particularly positioned to build on this potential. The facilitator of the creative writing club can provide positive mentorship for the students in the club, while encouraging them to engage in light academic tasks. Since the club environment removes stressors such as compulsory attendance and grades, it may provide a space for students to grow in ways they would not in the general classroom.
Language Arts Skills
Creative writing clubs offer many opportunities to build on Integrated Language Arts skills. Again, these clubs can build on students' interrupted foundational knowledge. These clubs can also stimulate interest in Language Arts for students who feel both alienated and unchallenged in the general classroom.
While the link between language arts and creative writing may be obvious, scholars affirm that creative writing can improve students' more traditional language arts skills, such as reading comprehension (Broekkamp et al., 2011). Additionally, students are, indeed, more likely to write when they enjoy writing (Graham et al., 2007). This finding is especially significant for students with writing apprehension brought on by excessive correction (Jury, 2011).
There are numerous ways that creative writing clubs can build on students' language arts skills. Mainly, they allow students to apply knowledge of literature and language in personally meaningful ways. Two examples of this are the study of mentor texts and group stories.
Creative Writing Skills
Creative writing clubs offer many opportunities to enter into the discipline of creative writing. If students are seriously interested in creative writing, these clubs can prepare them to enter collegiate programs and/or publish their work.
Creative writing is gaining esteem as a discipline, and enrollment in creative writing courses is increasing (Clifton, 2022). Clifton (2022) explains how the discipline continues to dispel the myth that creative writing cannot be taught. By combining creativity with critical thinking and research, the discipline trains creative writers to meaningfully contribute to the worlds around them (Clifton, 2022).
Some students may benefit from creative writing clubs that prepare them to enter the discipline of creative writing. Two practices that might be useful for these students are publishing and workshoping.