Forget that monotonous pattern “CD, CM, CM, transition word” learned in traditional language arts classes. 5th Hour Creative Writing breaks the mold when it comes to the written word.

Creative Writing students are encouraged to think outside the literary box, employing unorthodox methods of story telling very unlike typical essay writing.

“The core objective to many assignments is much different than that of a regular language arts class. In here, we write with different styles and different perspectives. In other classes, that just isn’t necessary,” Creative Writing teacher Tracy Gladden said.

Each day, students write a five-minute journal entry on a different prompt, provided by Gladden, ranging from “10 reasons not to shower,” to “What was Jimi Hendrix protesting at Woodstock?” to “Memories from Kindergarten.”

“I actually enjoy reading the stories I get back,” Gladden said. “It’s a break from the other language arts classes. I get to interact with the upperclassmen, many of whom I had as freshmen.”

One fair weathered day, the class traveled outdoors and wrote poems featuring unique objects they found on the track, including an birthday candle, a plastic fork, a plant and a piece of an old baseball.

“This isn’t a normal language arts class,” Gladden said. “It’s all about learning the rules, and then breaking them.”