Story Lines is a competitive, reading-intensive summer program presented by Wonderworks for high school students of special promise and ability, held at the University of Houston for five weeks each summer. Students explore classic and contemporary fiction across genres and literary movements, from the Renaissance through postmodernism, while examining narrative films based on literary works. The program combines morning seminars on assigned readings with afternoon film screenings and creative writing prompts designed to inspire original work. Open to students in grades 10 through 12 (and recent graduates), Story Lines offers an intellectually rigorous experience for young readers and writers ready to engage seriously with literature.
Evaluating information carefully before drawing a conclusion or making a decision.
Crafting original stories, poems, or scripts that express ideas and imagination.
Creating drawings, paintings, or other visual work to express ideas and observations.
Gathering and evaluating information systematically to answer a question.
Fully focusing on and understanding what someone else is communicating.
Students read widely across literary movements and genres, then complete creative writing prompts inspired by course texts and discussions.
Students watch thematically-paired narrative films daily and discuss them critically, learning how stories translate across media.
The program's seminar format and close textual analysis develop skills central to teaching literature and critical reading comprehension.
Close reading, critical analysis of narrative and argument, and discussion-based learning build foundational journalism research and writing skills.
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