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K SHOPWWRITER’S

STEP -BY-

STEP

Maggie Hogan & J.B. Hogan

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Writer’s Workshop: Step-by-Step By Maggie Hogan and JB Hogan

Published by Bright Ideas Press P.O. Box 333 Cheswold, DE 19936

www.BrightIdeasPress.com 877.492.8081

Cover and interior design by Kristen Seda

ISBN-10: 1-892427-41-9

©2007 by Bright Ideas Press.

Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a public retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other - except for brief quotations in printed reviews without the prior written permission of Bright Ideas Press. Making copies of this book, for any purpose other than stipulated, is a violation of the United States copy-right laws.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 5

What is a Writer’s Workshop? 6

Purpose 8

How to have a Successful Writer’s Workshop 9

Details 10

Mini Lessons 17 Mini Lessons (1-26) Lesson 1: Favorite Author 18

Lesson 2: Caldecott and Newbery Award Winners 19

Lesson 3: Webbing 21

Lesson 4: Character Sketches 23

Lesson 5: Plot 24

Lesson 6: Synonyms and Antonyms 26

Lesson 7: Observation 27

Lesson 8: Commonly Misused Words 28

Lesson 9: Collecting and Using Interesting Words 30

Lesson 10: Greek and Latin Roots 31

Lesson 11: Using a Thesaurus 32

Lesson 12: Proofreading 33

Lesson 13: Illustration 34

Lesson 14: Book Binding Techniques 35

Lesson 15: Genres 37

Lesson 16: Poetry 38

Lesson 17: Similes and Metaphors 41

Lesson 18: Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance and Onomatopoeia 43

Lesson 19: Tall Tales and Fairy Tales 44

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Lesson 20: Humor in Writing 45

Lesson 21: Journal Writing 47

Lesson 22: Letter Writing 48

Lesson 23: Clichés 52

Lesson 24: Sequencing 53

Lesson 25: Quotation Marks 54

Lesson 26: Dialogue 56

Mini Lessons (Field Trips) 58 Lesson 27: Tour Your Local Newspaper 59

Lesson 28: Using the Library Effectively 60

Appendices 61 Appendix A: Glossary 62 Appendix B: Forms 64 Appendix C: Directions for a Hand-Made Book 68 Appendix D: Book Binding Illustrations 69

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I remember the summer just before Tyler turned 14. We had gone over his schedule and had chosen most of our curriculum and were just finalizing a few things. Knowing that both of us had a heavy schedule that fall I announced I would not be hav-ing a Writer’s Workshop. He was stunned! I tried to explain how difficult it would be to work it into our week, and he said, “Mom, I’ll drop anything else you want but please may we have Writer’s Workshop?”

Well, what could I say to that? I was the one who had begun dragging my kids to WW when Tyler was but 3 or 4. At first he was too shy to partici-pate, although he eagerly dictated stories to me at home. As the years went by and he grew in both self-confidence and writing skills, WW became more and more important to him. I just hadn’t realized how important! So how could I say no? We juggled things around and managed to fit in a shortened version of WW that fall. I didn’t know at the time it would be our last one, and I am grateful that Tyler convinced me to carry on. WW that year was a poignant ending to a decade of weekly writ-ing classes. What made it so special, and why was it worth the effort? Read on!

John 1:1 “In the beginning was

the Word, and the Word was with

God, and the Word was God.”

Introduction

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Writer’s Workshop is a time and place where children can come together to learn about, participate in, and get excited about writing! Here you can find children of all ages gathered together, enthusiastically sharing their stories and poetry, in an atmosphere of mutual trust and support. In our homeschool Writer’s Workshop we had children ranging from preschoolers to high schoolers. The

important aspect was not the age, but the support.

Students participating in a Writer’s Workshop should expect to receive:

• Motivation • Encouragement • Instruction • Constructive Criticism • Validation • Attention

Let’s look at each of these more closely. My own children were motivated to attend Writer’s Workshop for several reasons. The first reason, especially in the early years, was because it was a chance to be with other kids doing something different and interesting. They felt encouraged to write because the parents and the other children were always eager to hear their work. As each mom took her turn to teach, she instructed students in a wide variety of writing skills. During “Author’s Chair,” each reader was given an opportunity to hear constructive criticism from their peers. This was, of course, accompanied by words of approval as well. Book-binding days and “Authors’ Teas” provided validation that each student was, indeed, a writer. Moms worked closely with the children each week in workshop time, ensuring that every one of them had their time to be heard. This attention to their writing continued to motivate the students to keep working at their craft.

We were involved in Writer’s Workshop groups for at least 10 years. It does take time and preparation; sometimes it’s even inconvenient. Why did I keep at it? Because I could see

What is Writer’s Workshop?

parent Janice Baker:

“Our family looked forward to Writer’s Workshop probably more

than any other single home- education class. It was a time for

the kids to really connect with oth-ers of different ages and learn to

give and take in a respectful, encouraging manner. They

WORKED on their stories with enthusiasm! They didn’t need

reminding because they knew the next class was coming right up,

and they would have their moment in the limelight. It was a fantastic

confidence booster for them.”

“As a parent and facilitator, I loved it. It is so much fun to teach and

learn together with a bunch of eager children. Of course, Author’s

Tea was the Grande Finale to which we all looked forward. These

were big events! Young authors’ eyes sparkled as they displayed and read their wonderful projects for an

admiring crowd that included parents, teachers, brothers &

sisters, and a grandparent or two.”

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the tremendous growth in my sons’ writing and because they wouldn’t let me quit!

However, a group that works well together and provides motivation doesn’t just happen by chance. Someone needs to organize it and to have a vision and a plan. By reading and following these guidelines you, too, can have a successful and dynamic Writer’s Workshop.

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What is the ultimate purpose of your Writer’s Workshop? This is important to think through right from the beginning. Writer’s Workshop is about motivating students to write while improving their writing skills along the way. For some adults though, it becomes easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the end re-sult alone, rather than the process. For example, if students are told what they should write and how it should be written, it becomes just another school assignment; not necessarily a piece that interests them or, rather, one that moti-vates them to work hard.

If you are more concerned with the finished piece than with the student, you may get a few nicely written works, but your child may have learned little about writing. Try not to focus on the length of the written works, especially at first. It’s the process that is important. Ideally, the younger children will have several if not five or six pieces published during the first semester. Older students may prefer to concentrate on one or two longer works.

You have to write whichever book it is that wants to be written. And then, if it’s

going to be too difficult for grown-ups, you write it for children.

-Madeleine L’Engle

Everything has a beginning

-Jules Verne “the Mysterious Island” [public domain]

Purpose

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There are probably as many ways to run a Writer’s Workshop as there are parents. Each group will take on a distinctive flavor of its own, and it should! The groups in which we participated each had their own ‘personality.’ Here’s an example of how I might run a workshop:

I invited a group of like-minded families to join our workshop. I knew that a range of ages works quite well. The children don’t all need to be friends, or even to know each other. (Although it’s helpful to avoid obvious personality conflicts.) How many children? I’ve had between five and 14. Consider your leadership skills, patience, and space when making these decisions.

My organizational meeting looks something like this:

How to Have a Successful Writer’s Workshop

1. Everyone gathers around; the kids are on the floor, the toddlers are everywhere. I carefully explain what Writer’s Workshop is and how it works. (I work from a bulleted list on a white board so I stick to the point, and moms can easily follow along.)

2. I give the children new folders I’ve prepared with their name, year, and “Writer’s Workshop” already on them. We pass out markers and they spend a few minutes decorating their folders.

3. Kids are then free to play nearby while the moms plan.

4. We go over the year’s calendar and decide on days and times to meet unless I am hosting it and have already chosen what will work for me.

5. We choose a location. Sometimes we rotate homes; sometimes we use one home or church all year.

6. We brainstorm topics we’d like to see addressed. All topic ideas go on the white board. I usually have a list of suggestions available in case we run short.

7. Using this list, we decide who is teaching what, on which date. We discuss a babysitting and snack rotation, if necessary.

8. We end our meeting by encouraging the children to come to the first Writer’s Workshop with a small piece of written work to share.

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Time Management

Plan to meet for one and a half to two hours per week. In the beginning the workshops will run shorter because the students will normally not have much written to share. Start on time from the beginning, or else each week people will arrive later and later. As the students’ work increases in length and the com-ment times become more lively, the workshop will tend to run longer and longer. Someone needs to be conscious of the time and capable of keeping things moving.

Mini-Lessons

We begin each workshop with a Mini-Lesson. These are brief, helpful writing tips, summed up in five-to-seven minutes. Each lesson should be something children can put to use right away. The mom giving the mini-lesson needs to come prepared, energetic, and excited about the material. Remember, enthusiasm is contagious.

Some Mini-Lessons lend themselves well to a short and snappy assignment to be done right on the spot. Try to make it fun. For example, if the lesson is about edit-ing marks, prepare a few short humorous paragraphs, which need editing. Pass one to each child and give them a couple of minutes to see if they can find the errors on the paper. Then use proper editing marks to correct the original. There is a list of Mini-Lesson ideas beginning on page 17.

Details

Two Keys to Successful Mini-Lessons

1. Short and snappy lessons. 2. Topics relevant to the kids’ ages and abilities.

The first Mini-Lesson might be on the workshop itself and how it works. Discuss their roles as authors and listeners. Talk about procedures and expectations. What may they write about? (Our rule has always been that the children are allowed to write about whatever they wish, except no gory or offensive story-lines.) Each group needs to set its own standards and make them clear.

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Timed Writing

Next is Timed Writing, which takes about 10 minutes. The teacher for that day’s lesson presents a short assignment for the kids and parents to write about on the spot. Set a buzzer, which provides both structure and motivation to get to work quickly. It’s surprising how this quick and intense period of writing can often produce high-quality work. The children can then choose to share their work with the group or to use it at home as the foundation for their next story. (Non-writers and slower writers may dictate their work to any available mom.)

Author’s Chair

Author’s Chair, perhaps the most important element of Writer’s Workshop, comes next. The “Author’s Chair” is a chair different from the rest in the room. Perhaps it’s the biggest or the most comfy. Only the author who is currently reading uses this chair.

Ask how many children are going to read their work today. (Encourage, but don’t force, reluctant authors to share. Some writers are so shy they will never share on their own, but may be willing to sit in the lap of their parent or older sibling who reads aloud for them.) Write down a number for each reader. Fold the papers and have the children select a piece, which determines the order in which they read.

Ground Rules

Rules are important here but keep them simple; problems can be addressed as they arise. These are the four rules I always use:

1. The author sits in the Author’s Chair and reads aloud. (Non-readers may sit there with an adult as the adult reads aloud for them.)

participant Megan Baker:

As someone that was in Writer’s Workshop I can say that I enjoyed

it very much; it was something I looked forward to all week. I loved

being able to share my imagined stories with my peers; in a sense it made them seem more real. It was

always fun to listen to the other kids’ stories too because it, in a way,

helped you learn more about them and what they liked. Sitting in front of the other kids could be intimidat-

ing, but after a while it was more fun than anything. Another thing

that was very beneficial for me was learning to take criticism. It helped me realize at a young age

that criticism isn’t a personal attack but rather helpful advice. I think

that Writer’s Workshop also helped me learn that every time you write

something you should be thinking about the people who are going to

read it and, if you don’t think it will interest them, then you’re in trouble!

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

-Jack London

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2. Other children listen quietly.

3. When the author is finished, he/she asks for comments. Children raise their hands and wait to be called on by the author.

4. No unkind comments tolerated. This needs to be a SAFE place to read work, knowing only positive and helpful remarks will be made. (It’s a good practice to first tell the student what you liked about the story before offering constructive criticism. That lessens the “feel” of a personal attack.)

Comments need to be helpful or encouraging. Listeners can ask a question to clear up some confusion. The author listens politely and responds. The author can choose to incorporate these comments into his work or not. Suggestions for helpful sharing at this time include remarks regarding content. What do the kids like about the work? Go for specifics when possible. For example, “Katie, I really liked your dialogue. It sounded so real.” In the beginning one or two adults may need to model this behavior until the younger listeners catch on.

Conferencing

Occasionally after Author’s Chair, we have an Author’s Conference. This is a quick tool designed to keep children moving forward in their story. Allow each student to choose an adult with whom to conference. (There are usually more students than moms, so some will have to wait.) Actions are important here. For example, when conferencing with a child, be on the same level and make eye contact with them. Also:

• Don’t take away or mark on their paper. • Don’t put your thoughts into their heads. • Don’t patronize them.

When you conference with a child, meet the child at their current stage of writing. Are they staring at a blank piece of paper, looking for ideas? Are they struggling with the plot? Are they ready to edit?

When the student is feeling “stuck,” questions like “What is the most important thing you are trying to say here?” or “What do you think should come next?” may be helpful. After you talk about it with them, suggest they now write out on paper what they just said.

The difference

between the right and

the nearly right word

is the same as that

between lightning and

the lightning bug.

-Mark Twain

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Summary of the Four Writer’s Workshop Steps

1. Mini-Lesson

2. Timed Writing

3. Author’s Chair

4. Adult Conferencing - optional

The most important time is Author’s Chair. Find out how many children are planning to share at the outset of each workshop in order to ensure each child has time to read his piece. Obviously, the length of each workshop is going to be dependent upon sev-eral factors. Two hours, once a week, for a group of approximately 12 students works well. Some days you may have to spend more time on Author’s Chair and forego something else. Be flexible.

What are the mothers doing while the Workshop is in progress? Participating! This is not the place for social hour. Set the tone for fun, but realize there is real writing going on here. Moms need to take their turns teaching Mini-Lessons and Timed Writing. They also need to be available for conferences and dictation with younger authors.

Parents’ Responsibilities at Home

1. Provide at least 15 - 20 minutes of quiet time per day for writing without telling them what to write.

2. Ensure your children come prepared for Writer’s Workshop.

3. Provide them with encouragement and help them with the writing process, as needed.

4. Encourage them to read their work aloud to you as practice before Author’s Chair. This will help them gain confidence in reading aloud during workshop time.

participant Laura Reisinger:

Writer’s Workshop definitely had a strong influence on

my developed love of writing and my willingness to speak

in front of others. It was my favorite class because it taught

me how to be creative and how to confidently write for a real, live audience. I really

felt that both the students and the teacher cared about what I wrote and saw potential in

everyone. I think this class influenced me even more than my high school English classes

because of all the excellent input (positive and negative)

and encouragement I was able to receive from everyone.

The waste basket is the writer’s best friend.

-Issac Bashevis Singer

Writing is easy: all you

do is sit staring at the

blank sheet of paper until

the drops of blood form on

your forehead.

-Gene Fowler

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parent Linda Shipman:

Every writer needs a critic, an audience, and a purpose for writing.

Participation in a Writer’s Workshop provided these outlets for my daughter. She attended a workshop as part of a learning co-op when being schooled at home in the 5th & 6th grades.

She enjoyed the fellowship of other budding authors and was stimulated to improve her own writing. She wanted her works to be as good as or better than theirs! She was appreciative of what others were writing and would often give me weekly updates on their on-going works.

Both she and many of the other students began writing chapter books, learning to develop a theme and characters. I am not sure she ever finished one of her books, but she certainly learned how to draw in her audience, write meaningful & successive paragraphs, and to cope with the many issues that come from trying to develop characters and a believable plot.

Being in the Author’s Chair and receiving positive criticism of her work built her confidence. She always enjoyed expressing herself in writing, but now she really took off. She wrote for fun. She created books of poetry & fiction as gifts. She attempted to illustrate her work. With parental help, she learned different methods of reproduc-ing and binding her books.

When she went out to school in the 7th grade, her English teacher took me aside and expressed her appreciation of Susanna’s ease and skill in writing. I knew this was a direct result of her two years in the work-shop, where each week she was taught a writing skill and permitted to express herself in a positive and confidence building atmosphere.

Editing and Publishing At Home

We ask the moms to give the children at least 15 minutes per day of uninter-rupted writing time at home. They may write about anything they desire, within the limits of your family standards, of course. How much writing they actually accomplish varies greatly. An older, confident writer may finish two-to-three pages in a day. A younger writer would be doing well to finish a few sen-tences. For example, a 1st grader’s entire story is likely to be just 8-10 sentences, with lots of illustrations. This may take an entire week to finish. If they choose not to write one week they’ll have nothing to share during Author’s Chair, and

Less is more.

-Robert Browning

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that’s all right. I have found in the past that students rarely go more than a few weeks without writing because they don’t want to miss the chance to sit in the Author’s Chair.

Be available during the week for a “Writer’s Conference.” Calling it a “Conference” puts both parent and child in the frame of mind to treat the work with proper consideration. Although parents will especially be needed during the editing and publishing process, this is not the time to be critical or nit-picky! Treat your children and their work with respect. Let the child (as much as possible) make their own corrections after discussing them with you. Value their opinion. Lose the red pen.

Here are a few quick guidelines for prompt and efficient editing.

1. First Draft: Is it clear? Which parts are strong and why? Which parts are weak? What can be done to improve them? Is there a beginning, middle, and end?

2. Second Draft: Does the plot make sense? Begin work on spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Invented spelling is fine for the first draft, but traditional spelling is necessary for other people to read their work.

3. Final Edit: Are you pleased with the story? Are the spelling, punctuation, and grammar correct? Is the final copy neat and clean?

Once the story has undergone the final edit, your student is ready to publish. Let the student decide what to include and how the book will look. Provide a variety of materials for illustrations and binding it unless the entire group is doing this together at some point.

Publishing Party or Author’s Tea

Children can be authors. This is the very essence of Writer’s Workshop. Anyone who writes an original work is an author. A publishing party or Author’s Tea is a fine way to help this fact to sink in. Once each semester our group held an Author’s Tea in order to:

1. motivate students to complete their works-in-progress;

2. display the many different pieces finished for others to see; and

3. reward everyone for their hard work all semester.

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Writer’s Workshop introduced me to the fun and art of story-telling. While I didn’t know it at the time, the skills - both in crafting interesting plots and characters, and politely giving and taking feedback - would serve me through

the rest of my life. I love writing, I love seeing my own and other people’s creativity come to life, I love the atmosphere and the feeling of accomplishment when you finally take your finished work and

bind it for the world to read. It’s a simple program yet one that provides a lifetime of benefits.

Schedule an editing Mini-Lesson and perhaps a book-making lesson before the party, in order to help everyone prepare. Ingredients that will make your Author’s Tea a smash hit:

1. Prepare the children so that each has something bound and illustrated to share.

2. Solicit their opinions about the party; they will enjoy it more.

3. Have a brief Author’s Chair, where they can show their final work.

4. Keep everything a bit more formal than normal, including the food.

5. Have a display table with everyone’s work on it.

You will never regret giving your children this wonderful experience. Here’s what my youngest son, Tyler, now 20 and in college, says about his

many years in Writer’s Workshop:

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Mini Lessons

Mini Lessons (1-26)

Lesson 1: Favorite Author 18

Lesson 2: Caldecott and Newbery Award Winners 19

Lesson 3: Webbing 21

Lesson 4: Character Sketches 23

Lesson 5: Plot 24

Lesson 6: Synonyms and Antonyms 26

Lesson 7: Observation 27

Lesson 8: Commonly Misused Words 28

Lesson 9: Collecting and Using Interesting Words 30

Lesson 10: Greek and Latin Roots 31

Lesson 11: Using a Thesaurus 32

Lesson 12: Proofreading 33

Lesson 13: Illustration 34

Lesson 14: Book Binding Techniques 35

Lesson 15: Genres 37

Lesson 16: Poetry 38

Lesson 17: Similes and Metaphors 41

Lesson 18: Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance and Onomatopoeia 43

Lesson 19: Tall Tales and Fairy Tales 44

Lesson 20: Humor in Writing 45

Lesson 21: Journal Writing 47

Lesson 22: Letter Writing 48

Lesson 23: Clichés 52

Lesson 24: Sequencing 53

Lesson 25: Quotation Marks 54

Lesson 26: Dialogue 56

Mini Lessons (Field Trips) 58 Lesson 27: Tour Your Local Newspaper 59 Lesson 28: Using the Library Effectively 60

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Lesson 1

Favorite Author

A great way to learn about writing is to read other talented and successful au-thors’ works. The week prior to this lesson tell the kids (and the parents!) to bring in a book by their favorite author, or one they happen to be reading and enjoying right now. Bookmark an especially funny, exciting, descriptive, or even sad passage to share with the rest of the class. (Individual family standards will combine to shape the group’s standards; outline at the beginning any title or style of book that won’t be permitted.)

Depending on the size of the class this lesson may take longer than usual. Since you don’t want to take time away from Author’s Chair, if needed you can forego timed writing. Have each of the students briefly explain why they enjoy the author whose work they brought. Then they can read (non-readers can get help) their passage to the class.

Timed Writing

Have the students write in the style of one of the authors they just heard and enjoyed. It can be the same scene rewritten as they see fit, or it can be something wholly different in detail, but mimicking that author’s voice and style.

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What are the Newbery and Caldecott awards? Books bearing these awards have historically been a sign to parents that the material within is of a high quality. Today, many homeschooling parents will object to the subject matter in the more modern winners. However, the list of winners from the 1920s to somewhere in the 1960s will consist mainly of books homeschooling families will find acceptable. Understanding what the criteria is for choosing winners, as well as being familiar with the names of the books on these lists, is still of value. (You also cannot depend upon the American Library Association for guidance on acceptable books for your children. ALA books for young adults include sexual innuendo and graphic profanity, along with drug and alcohol use and violence. Libraries and librarians are not bound by the Christian’s moral code. Therefore, parents need be aware of what their children are reading.)

Newbery

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It’s awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the “. . . author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

This website contains information about not just the current winner, but provides lists of winners and honors books from 1922 to the present.

Newbery Medal Home Page

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymed-al/newberymedal.htm

Caldecott

The Caldecott Medal “. . . shall be awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year. The award shall go to the artist, who must be a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not he be the author of the text. . .”

Lesson 2

Caldecott and Newbery Award Winners

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The Englishman, Randolph Caldecott, was an influential children’s illustrator during the Victorian period. His illustrations for children were unique to their time in both their humor and their style. He suffered all his life from poor health and died at age 39, internationally famous.

The illustration on the Caldecott Medal, which was taken from Caldecott’s illustrations for the poem “The Diverting History of John Gilpin,” is a perfect example of his work. It depicts John Gilpin astride a runaway horse, accompanied by squawking geese, braying dogs, and startled onlookers.

Caldecott Medal Home Page

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm

Ideas for Discussion

1. Print out a list of winners. Highlight your favorites. (If you have some, bring them in to share – pointing out the award seals on the books.) Read through the names of the books with the class. Which books have they heard of or have they read?

2. What do your students think makes a book worthy of an award?

3. How should a Christian judge reading material? Does the Bible give us any direction?

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Lesson 3

Webbing

Webbing is a technique that is most useful in writing reports, essays and other pieces of non-fiction, although it could also be used for fiction. To show budding authors how to web a project, you’ll need a large sheet of paper for each child and a whiteboard for yourself. In the center of the web you’ll want to put the central idea, or theme of the piece. Let’s say you were writing a report on pollution. Write the word “Pollution” in the center of the whiteboard and draw a circle around it.

Next, we want to create our first subcategories. Draw a line from the middle circle and create a new circle at the end of it. Inside of the circle write a more specific topic that needs to be discussed in the report. How about “Effect on humans”? Repeat the same process for “Effect on the environment” and “Effect on animals.”

More sub-categories will, in turn, branch off these new categories. Create some additional webs off the “humans” category with ideas like “health effects” and “quality of life,” and branch off the “environment” category with specific topics like “plant life” and “water system.”

You should have a pretty large web by now. This web will give you a general idea of subject matter you’ll want to include in your report. It’s not an outline, and it isn’t in any particular order, but it’s a great visual aid to help keep a writer’s focus, and to prevent you from forgetting something important! It’s also open ended; if another topic occurs to you, just add it in! For example, later you may decide that you need to tackle why there is pollution. Create a new bubble branching off from the central theme and go with it. That bubble can then have its own sub categories like “positive effects of pollution” which could branch further into “industrial employment opportunities” and “manufactured goods and quality of life.”

The beauty of the web is it is unstructured and open ended, unlike an outline which is sequenced and more difficult to add new content. Once you’ve webbed out all the ideas you want to cover, then you can arrange them in your preferred order into an outline.

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Timed Writing

For timed writing have the students web out their current writing project. It can be a report or an essay for another class, or it can be their current Writer’s Workshop project. If it’s a work of fiction have them web a character and let the sub-categories be conflicts or actions they want the character to do or experience, or students can use a plot summary for the center of the web and branch off with ideas they think will help enrich the story .

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Lesson 4

Character Sketches

There are two particularly helpful techniques for writing character sketches that your young authors will find useful. The first is creating a dossier of the character. The character’s dossier should be straightforward, like a police dossier. It should cover the basics: height, weight, hair color, and other physical descriptions. It should list occupation, known associates, and a residence history. There should be a section for personality traits: Is the character aggressive? How about talkative? Then add an “Additional Notes” section. This is where the author can throw in other key attributes like “runs like a duck” or “owns a submarine.” Creating dossiers for all the main characters can help the author keep these actors clear in their mind. If your author is also artistic suggest they include a sketch of the character in the dossier as well.

While a dossier helps greatly with the outward appearance and activities of a character, a “character wheel” helps the author get inside a character’s head. To create a character wheel, draw a circle in the middle of the board. Write a character’s name in the middle of the circle. Take a character from a well-known work, or let the children volunteer one of their own characters. It helps if this character is from a work from Author’s Chair so that the other students are familiar with him or her. Characters from ongoing works are best.

Draw a series of lines from this wheel like spokes. On the lines, have your char-acter help you get inside his or her head by answering such questions as: What is my favorite thing to do on a Saturday? What are my favorite possessions, hob-bies? Where would I like to visit? How would I get there? What do I want most? Dislike most? Hide in the back of my closet? What is my favorite animal, my favorite daydream, my favorite memory? Have the students help you fill in the short answers and descriptions to all these topics.

Timed Writing

For timed writing have the authors create dossiers and character wheels for one of their own characters.

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Lesson 5

Plot

A plot is the problem to be solved in a story, what lead up to it, and how the problem was resolved.

The typical pattern of a plot:

Beginning: tells a little about the characters, setting, and background information readers need in order to understand the plot.

Middle: Two opposing sides struggle over something. There is a conflict or a problem to be solved.

Climax: The point of greatest tension. What happens next?!Conclusion (Ending): The solution to the problem. Characters’ reactions to the

solution. A satisfying ending is both believable and positive.

For older students you may wish to continue the lesson with:

“All plots have a problem to be solved – also called a ‘conflict’.”

Major types of conflict:

Man against man – hero versus the neighborhood bully.Man against society – hero wants to change a bad law or right an injustice.Man against himself – hero struggles with keeping a secret that his friend is

doing something dangerous, or betraying his friend by telling the secret.Man against nature – hero tries to save his family during a tornado.

Plot a story quickly on the board by eliciting answers to these questions:

Who is the hero? (name and “occupation”) What is the problem? (hero is lost in the woods and night is falling) What is the climax? (we hear a “bear” growling nearby) Conclusion? (he remembers his Boy Scout training and . . .)

Obviously you can only accept one or two answers for each question. Some

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children shout Josh and others shout Amy – have two heroes. Pick the problem that seems likely and might be easy to work with. A monster in the closet? Sure. Be prepared: with older teens you may get some real-life tricky problems. Think this possibility through ahead of time. Try to keep it light and fun for the Mini-Lesson. The point is to learn the concept of “plot.”

Timed Writing

Students can work alone or in pairs in this exercise. Set the timer for seven min-utes. Have them fill out a chart like this:

Hero (name & description):

Problem/Conflict:

Climax:

Conclusion:

If there is time (don’t lose track of Author’s Chair!), some may wish to share what they developed. Encourage them to use a simple chart like this when beginning any new story. This in-workshop writing assignment may spur their imaginations, and it may become the basis for a story they write at home.

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Lesson 6

Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms are pairs or groups of words that share the same meaning. Antonyms are pairs or groups of words that are opposites.

Example of synonyms are: •big and large •small and tiny •filthy and dirty •fast and swift

Examples of antonyms are: •ugly and pretty •mean and nice •tall and short •sharp and dull

Children usually quickly grasp the idea behind synonyms and antonyms; however, the trouble lies in confusing which word means what. Keeping that in mind, a good way to practice telling the two apart is to write in big letters the words ‘Synonym’ and ‘Antonym’ on the board. Then above these write a word such as big or angry. Ask the kids to call out another word that means the same or opposite and then which column it belongs in, either synonym or antonym. After going through several words the students should have a strong understanding of the difference between synonyms and antonyms.

Timed Writing

Write a short story about two people who are either synonyms or antonyms of each other. Antonyms could be two children: one who is messy and one who is neat; synonyms could be two race car drivers who always tie in their races with one another. Have the kids use lots of adjectives that are synonyms or antonyms to describe the characters.

Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon the earth- a

fluffy feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good-natured, but abso-

lutely centred (sic) upon his own silly self.

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Lost World [public domain]

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Lesson 7

Observation

Details make writing come to life. How observant are you? Observation is a key skill for any writer. A writer must note the world around him if he is to describe it in a believable way. You can read a passage from any book containing a detailed or fascinating description. What writers do you enjoy who are especially good with details? Share an excerpt or two with the group.

There are many exercises that can be used to “train the eye.” One only requires a tray full of small objects. These can include a playing card, action figures, jacks, a thimble, fruit or candy- mix it up and make it interesting! Cover the tray with a towel and then expose the objects to the group for 60 seconds. Re-cover and challenge all to recall as many items as possible. A variation of this is to take the tray away, remove one object and have students figure out what is missing.

Another way to teach observation requires a little set-up before hand. Put several out-of-place objects subtly around the room where you normally meet for WW. Some examples might be: a doll or action figure sitting at the computer, a gardening implement leaning against a corner, or a toothbrush on the table. Give the children a piece of paper and about five minutes to look around and spot as many of the objects as they can. They should write down every object that they spot. After five minutes, point out the objects so your fledgling writers can see how many they noticed.

Timed Writing

Write a very short story about how and why these objects have come to be in these unusual locations. Make sure students include some description of the room while explaining the origin of these objects.

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Lesson 8

Commonly Misused Words

Certain word pairs are misused so often that many people have lost track of which is correct and which isn’t. When we see “it’s” used as a possessive instead of a contraction we may think the writer has been poorly educated. Or when someone says “Can I go?” instead of “May I go?,” we may wonder if they know the difference between “can” and “may.”

Help your students understand the difference between these commonly misused words and to learn to use them correctly. Write examples on the board and ask them if you have chosen the right word for the job. Ask them to think of examples, as well. Practice saying the correct sentences aloud.

There/Their There – not here, but there: The basketball rolled way over there. Their – possessive: The boys left their ball at my house.

Its/It’s Its – possessive, as in: “what is its (the car’s) color?” It’s – contraction of it and is

Which/That Which – Use to introduce a parenthetical clause: The pond, which floods every year, is at a record high level. That – Use to introduce a restrictive clause (one that is essential to the meaning): The pond that is near our house is at a record high level.

Which/Who Which – when referring to things Who – when referring to a person

Who/Whom The simplest way to remember when to use “who” and when to use “whom” is to substitute a personal pronoun in place of the word; if he, she or they would fit, use who; if him, her, or them would fit, use whom.

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Can/May Can means you’re capable of doing somethingMay means permission to do it

Your/You’re Your is possessive: your pen, your cat, etc. as in belonging to you You’re is a contraction of “you are,” as in: “you’re a writer”

Timed Writing Exercise

Spend two minutes observing the room around you, taking notes on what you see. Now use your observations to describe a room as opposite from the one you are in as possible. Be creative and descriptive! Spend no more than five minutes on this task.

Bonus challenge: see how many of the word pairs (above) you can include correctly.

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Lesson 9

Collecting and Using Interesting Words

This lesson is relatively short (more Author’s Chair time!), so it’s a good one to have when you’re expecting some longer pieces to be read by the students during Author’s Chair or if other outside factors are affecting your Writer’s Workshop time.

Print out some handouts containing the following hyperlinks and descriptions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_English_words This is a list of words that are unusual in their composition, such as length, alternation of vowels and consonants, double and triple letter pairs etc.

http://phrontistery.info/ A massive list of unusual words by categories (“Ism’s,” Latin Roots, Phobias etc.)

http://www.davidfisco.com/?q=node/27 This site groups five obscure words together then has the user attempt to match them to the correct sentence. It’s a great way to learn words from context!

All of these websites are useful for authors trying to find just the right word to add a little color to their work. On the board write two dozen or so words that you found especially amusing or interesting. Have students pair up or gather in larger groups as needed, and provide each group with a dictionary. You can have other moms bring in some dictionaries if you don’t have enough. (We’ve got way more dictionaries than people at our house - is that weird?)

Timed Writing

Assign the groups ten of the words to define and then use in a sentence, paragraph or short story. The groups can collaborate on the writing, or simply help each other look up the words and write their own sentences/stories. This is a great lesson in which moms can participate.

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Lesson 10

Greek and Latin Roots

One year during Writer’s Workshop we spent 10-to-15 minutes each week learning Greek and Latin roots during the time allotted for Mini-Lessons. I based lessons on English from the Roots Up by Joegil Lundquist, which was easy-to-use and well-liked by the entire group. Someone else might prefer to design their own lessons but, since I had no grounding in Latin or Greek, I was delighted to have such a teacher-friendly book to help me. This is a great vocabulary builder and is well worth including.

This is what I did:

• Prepared by reading the teacher instructions and learning the difference between a definition and derivative.

• Chose which pre-fixes and suffixes we would study for the semester.

• Chose two-to-three words per workshop to introduce.

• Encouraged the students to think of English words they already knew based on the word we were learning. (For example, “photos” is Greek for “light.” What words can you think of that use “photos”? Photograph, tele-photo, photosynthesis, etc. Then, as we also learned what “graph,” “tele,” “syn,” and “thesis” meant, the students could easily see the connections.)

• Students made an index card for each new word learned, along with the simple definition and other words drawn from the new word.

• Used the “Teaching Notes” on each word to give my very short presenta-tion.

• Reviewed older words each week.

• Often had a little quiz, game, or contest.

• Occasionally challenged them to use the day’s words in their next writing for Author’s Chair.

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Lesson 11

Using a Thesaurus

A thesaurus is an excellent tool for a writer. Often when rereading or editing a piece you’ll notice that you’ve repeated the same word several times in just a few sentences. This is distracting and sometimes even confusing for readers . . . not to mention boring! Instead of rewriting the whole paragraph sometimes it’s simpler and just as effective to plug in synonyms from a thesaurus.

If you don’t have a thesaurus at home you can access one online: http://thesau-rus.reference.com/ This is the online version of Roget’s Thesaurus of English words and phrases. For today’s lesson put the following paragraph on the board:

“The zoo was packed full of people. It was a very exciting place to be. There were monkeys packed into cages playing exciting games. For lunch we had sandwiches we’d packed into coolers the day before. Everyone had enough to eat until they were full. By the end of the day I had had enough excitement and was ready to go home. We packed ourselves into the car and went home. It was a long, full day.”

Have your authors-in-training use a thesaurus (other moms may need to bring some in) and rewrite this paragraph replacing the overused words (packed, exciting, and full) with more interesting adjectives.

Another use of the thesaurus is to find similar words with different connota-tions. The connotation of a word is its “slant” or “attitude.” For example, if you looked up “deep,” you’d find both “profound” which has a positive connotation, and “unfathomable” which has a slightly negative connotation.

For the next exercise have the children use a thesaurus to give the following sentences a different meaning by replacing the italicized word with a new word that has a different connotation.

1. The professor was full of deep things to say. 2. I found the book perplexing. 3. He really is a very silly person. 4. The whole situation had me quite anxious.

Timed Writing

Allow the students time to look at their piece for Author’s Chair and see if they want to make any changes using a thesaurus before it’s time to share.

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Lesson 12

Proofreading

What is proofreading? It’s reading carefully over your manuscript, looking for errors and for a better way of saying what you want to say. A good writer proofreads at least twice. The first time is at the end of the rough draft in order to correct and improve it. The second time is after the corrections have been made to double-check it, as well as to make sure no new errors were introduced with the corrections.

Proofread slowly to be effective. Reading your work out loud – to yourself or another person – will especially help track down places where you’ve left out a word.

Proofread this: “If you want somthing done write, you must do it yourself”.

Answer key: There are 3 errors in the sentence above: • something • right • .”

Here is a checklist to help you proofread carefully: • Who is my audience? • Will this interest them? • Are all the words spelled correctly? • Is my grammar correct? • Have I punctuated each sentence and paragraph properly? • Double check:

▪ Quotation marks ▪ Commas ▪ Periods ▪ Indentations ▪ Capitals

• Did I use a logical sequence of events? • Did I provide colorful details? • Did I use an interesting variety of words? • Are my verbs active or passive? • Does the ending make sense and leave the reader satisfied? • Is my final copy neat and clean?

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Lesson 13

Illustration

(This lesson combines Timed Writing with the Mini-Lesson.)

Sometimes writing is augmented by, or even subsidiary to, pictures. Many forms of writing center around the illustration: children’s books, comic strips, graphic novels and comic books, and some forms of technical writing require illustrations to complete the writing.

To illustrate how words and pictures interact, pick out a half dozen comics strips from a Sunday paper. Look for ones with particularly interesting drawings and decent amounts of dialogue; don’t worry about whether you find the original strip funny. Photocopy enough for each student to have one copy of each strip, but either use whiteout or scraps of paper to cover the original dialogue. Let the kids fill in their own words- you’ll be amazed at how different each strip will be! Children who have difficulty writing small enough for the bubbles can get help from an adult.

Go through the comic strips one by one and let your authors share their new creations.

You can also show the students the original strips. They may find some of their own creations much funnier than the original author’s work; others may be impressed at how the professionals used both word and picture to their advantage.

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Lesson 14

Book Binding Techniques

See pages 68 and 69 for directions and ideas for book binding. There are also many other options for making or binding books, including (but not limited to):

• *Lapbooks™; • Folderbooks; • Spiral binding; • Velobinding®; • Wire binding; • Comb binding; • Coil binding; and• There is a wonderful kit now available that includes a booklet, video or

DVD on book binding, and a tool that allows you to bind books the old-fashioned way. Check out: www.BindingBooksBeautifully.com. I wish I’d had this kit years ago!

The reason to have a Mini-Lesson on book binding techniques is two-fold:

1. Having a set date for book binding will motivate students to finish their project.

2. Working as a group on a book binding day allows for a generous sharing of creativity and supplies, benefiting everyone.

Note: Our “Book Binding Days” rarely allowed time for Author’s Chair. This is because each family brought in a variety of materials, and children and adults alike worked together to get all the books finished. It normally took at least two hours to accomplish this.

We set up tables ahead of time, made sure we had plenty of art supplies, and

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several binding options available. I always collected old sample wall-paper books to use for the inside papers, and I brought in dental floss to do the stitching. Someone else might bring poster board for an over-sized book, and yet another person might purchase a Velobind™ machine to have on hand. Over the years we had many book binding days, and no two were just alike. As you gain experience and as the personality of your group develops, your book binding days will become more and more successful!

*See The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook by Tammy Duby and Cyndy Regeling.

This book is filled with examples of creative ways to organize students’ work in a variety of attractive and fun projects. Available from Bright Ideas Press.

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Lesson 15

Genres

Genre (pronounced JZON-ruh) describes a story’s style or type of writing. Some of the most popular genres are mystery, fantasy, biography, and humor. Un-derstanding genre makes it easier for a reader to find other, similar books they might also like, and it helps writers make it easier for readers to know what to expect between the covers of an author’s work.

Give the children these aforementioned basic categories and let them come up with a few more, e.g. fairy tale, historical fiction, religious, autobiographical, or science fiction. Talk about what classifies a book into one these categories. Then have the students call out some of their favorite books and work together to determine into which category they fit. Once the budding authors have an understanding of what makes one genre different from other genres, you can move on to Timed Writing.

Timed Writing

On slips of paper write common, easily mimicked genres. Have each student draw a slip of paper out of a hat. Give them fifteen minutes to write a short story in the style of their given genre.

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Lesson 16

Poetry

Teaching poetry in just one Mini-Lesson is similar to teaching the Revolutionary War in just one lesson! However, one has to start somewhere. I hope this Mini-Lesson encourages you to continue teaching poetry all the way through high school. This neglected subject area is important for many reasons, including:

• Cultural literacy - recognizing quotes from poems in other readings - knowing why that quote is appropriate

• Enjoyment and appreciation of language; • Self-expression; • Exposure to a variety of thoughts and feelings; • Developing critical thinking skills; and • The Bible is filled with poetry!

Some say that children should first be exposed to short, humorous, modern-day poems. Others say that we don’t give children enough credit – that they are able to appreciate poems of all different types, including classic poetry. My experience has been that it works well to draw students in with the humorous first and then introduce meatier material next. I also highly recommend reading poetry aloud in the home daily or as often as possible. A snippet here and a short piece there begins to attune our ears to the language, the rhythm, the variety, and the beauty of poetry!

Useful websites:

www.Poets.org (see tab marked “Educators”)

www.ReadWriteThink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=354

Poetry: the best words in the best order.

-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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My favorite books of poetry for the home include:

• Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems• Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman – A Hogan family

favorite for many years. Perfect with any insect study as well! These poems are complex, riveting, and designed to be read aloud by two people. A must!

• When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne• Now We are Six by A. A. Milne• A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children by Caroline Kennedy• A Child’s Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic

Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry by Michael Driscoll

• The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Caroline Kennedy• Poetry Speaks to Children (Book & CD)

Lastly, please consider purchasing any well-illustrated anthology of classic children’s poetry. There are many out there; every home deserves one good poetry anthology. Perhaps you might read one short poem at the start of each Writer’s Workshop.

Mini Lesson

What do you think a poem is? (Write some of the students’ answers on the board.) Do poems have to be: long? serious? rhyming? (no, no, no)

Read aloud a fun poem or two. Possibilities include:

• “The Adventures of Isabel” by Ogden Nash (very long) • “Arithmetic” by Carl Sandburg • “Brother” by May Ann Hoberman (my boys’ favorite!) • “Eletelephony” by Laura E. Richards • “The Spaghetti Nut” by Jack Prelutsky

Read a deeper poem or two.

• “Poem” by Langston Hughes (very short) • “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost • A favorite Psalm

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Cinquain

The origin of this form dates back to medieval French poetry.

At its most basic level, a cinquain (pronounced “cin-kain”) is a poem composed of five lines. Here is one variation.

Line 1 - a one word title

Line 2 - two words that describe the title subject

Line 3 - a three word phrase (or action words) that describes your subject

Line 4 - a four (or six) word phrase that further describes your topic

Line 5 – one or two words that rename what the poem is about (a synonym)

Timed Writing

Directions for writing a cinquain:

1. Choose a person, place, or thing to write your cinquain about.

2. Brainstorm words and phrases that describe your subject.

3. Look over your words/phrases.

4. Try to fit them into the format of the cinquain.

Post this example on the board:

Appaloosa mottled, spirited cantering, neighing, jumping an animal of beauty - my horse!

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Lesson 17

Similes and Metaphors

Metaphor n. 1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “all the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare). 2. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven” (Neal Gabler).

metaphor. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved February 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/

metaphor

Simile n. A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as, as in “How like the winter hath my absence been” or “So are you to my thoughts as food to life” (Shakespeare).

simile. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved

February 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/simile

As you can see from these definitions from The American Heritage Dictionary, both similes and metaphors are descriptive phrases used to compare two normally unassociated things. The key difference is similes almost always use “like” or “as” to make the comparison while a metaphor may simply suggest the comparison is being made.

For example, “My family is crazy over the holidays; you’d think you were at the monkey cage at the zoo!” is a metaphor. The sentence is asking you to make the comparison between ‘my house’ and ‘the monkey house’ without explicitly stating it. A simile might say, “My crazy family acts just like a bunch of monkeys during the holidays!” As you can see, here the comparison is explicitly stated.

Have the students write down a few similes and metaphors of their own and share them with the class. Discuss what makes them similes or metaphors.

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Timed Writing

Give the writers this scenario: “On a bright summer day I was standing with great excitement as I waited for the biggest boat I’d ever seen to come into the dock.”

“The summer day,” “how excited I am,” and “the boat” could all use metaphors to strengthen the description. Allow students to explore what happens after the boat comes into the dock and to enrich their writing with similes or metaphors.

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Lesson 18

Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance and Onomatopoeia

Alliteration is, simply put, the repetition of the first letter in a series of words. Some would define ‘alliteration’ as the repetition of a consonant sound at the begin-ning, but the repetition of vowel sounds is loosely considered alliteration as well.

A common tongue twister is a fine example of this literary tool: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Equal in tongue-tying lore is the famous “she” who “sold sea shells by the sea shore.” Children will love practicing with these rhyming bits of alliteration. Besides, our language is ripe with this literary, handyman’s delight, even if we don’t always recognize it: baby boomer, the more the merrier, The Prince and the Pauper, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Fred Flintstone, and even www – the World Wide Web.

Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds; however, unlike alliteration, it is not constrained to the beginning of a word. Read this excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” out loud:

“And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain…”

Listen to the “S” and “soft C” sounds that are repeated throughout the passage.

Assonance is similar to consonance but it involves the repetition of vowel sounds. That same passage also has an example of assonance. The “u” sound is repeated four times in the same phrase.

Lastly, we have Onomatopoeia (pronounced ON-uh-MAT-uh-PEE-uh). This is, simply put, a word that sounds like what it is describing. It can be as straightforward as the word “splat” or more subtle like “whirlwind.”

After explaining what these different terms mean, have your writers try to figure out what they all have in common. Encourage guesses. The ultimate answer is that they are all stylistic devices. A stylistic device is used in both poetry and prose to increase the beauty of the passage sonically, to emphasize key events, to highlight passages the author feels should be memorable, or sometimes just for laughs.

Timed Writing

For timed writing have students use all four of these stylistic devices. They can write a single story, several poems, or even just a few sentences containing alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, and consonance.

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Lesson 19

Tall Tales and Fairy Tales

Tall tales are a form of storytelling involving exaggeration, humor, and larger-than-life characters. A tall tale is in many ways America’s hereditary form of mythology. Characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, who are fictional, and some real people like John Chapman (also known as Johnny Appleseed), Davy Crockett, and Daniel Boone have many tall tales and fables written about them. Go to your local library and look for a book of tall tales or American fables. Many of these books contain several short stories, which you can read aloud to give the children an idea of the feel of a tall tale.

Fairy tales tend to be older. Many of them originated in Europe. A fairy tale will often have mythical or imaginary creatures, such as (of course) fairies, unicorns, witches, and talking animals. The kids are probably familiar with “Little Red Riding Rood,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and other fairy tales.

In many ways the themes of these stories are similar to Greek mythology, Arthurian Legend, and other ethnic fables. They center around heroes who have the power to do outlandish and super-human feats. In tall tales the heroes are usually not local; they are itinerant travelers, which gave the story-teller the opportunity to claim that they are real people and he saw them himself if only briefly, but making it impossible to actually track them down.

If there is time remaining after reading a couple of the stories and explaining the dynamics of a tall tale, open the floor to discussion for the rest of the Mini- Lesson. Have the children discuss how they felt about the tall tale or why they think such a story came into existence.

Timed Writing

For timed writing have the authors write a tall tale or fairy tale of their own. They can use an established character like Buffalo Bill or Calamity Jane, or make up a new American hero. If they are more interested in fairy tales they can continue a classic, for example, asking what happens when the townspeople find out that Hansel and Gretel are pushing people into ovens, or they may prefer to create a brand new story.

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Lesson 20

Humor in Writing

Are you writing a mystery? Or perhaps you’re working on an animal story, science fiction, or a realistic story about your best friend. Whatever it is that you are writing, it might help to add humor. Sometimes a little bit of humor can add relief to a suspenseful moment, or a little fun to a rather long description. Here are four types of humor you might like to try.

Humor through Quirky Characters

Think of your favorite book characters. What are they like? Do you like characters with interesting personalities and/or funny habits? Anne, in Anne of Green Gables, is an unforgettable character. Even when the storyline becomes serious, Anne always makes us laugh. She has the habit of speaking quickly, and she often uses unusual words. Or how about Pippi Longstocking? She’s funny and so are her pets. Sometimes a character can be funny by always taking things literally. For instance, both Star Trek’s Mr. Spock and Amelia Bedelia have that trait in common. Try adding a peculiar habit to one of your characters.

Humor through Illustrations

Some of my favorite stories are told more with pictures than with words, or perhaps the illustrations are what make the words so funny. Books like this include: If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Dry Humor or Humor through Understatement

This is a little harder to explain. Humor through understatement means saying something is far less than what it is really is. For example, acting as if a situation is under control when it really isn’t. I always think of James Stevenson and his “Willy and Wainey” books. Willy is always saying things very matter-of-factly, when actually things are always much more exaggerated than he says. Then

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there’s the Biblical example of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1Kings 18. Elijah taunts the prophets, telling them to scream a little louder to attract the attention of their false god, all the while knowing the false god cannot answer.

Silly Humor

It you like the Three Stooges, you probably like silly humor. This is “pie in your face” kind of stuff. Books like Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing fall into this category. A little bit of this kind of humor goes a long way.

Timed Writing Exercise

Think of something funny that has happened to you in the past. Recount it in writing; add details or exaggerations to enhance the humor.

OR

Choose a sentence below to start a short story:

• A clown walks into a fish market . . .

• You wouldn’t think that many people could fit into a closet . . .

• When ice skating, you should always remember there is a big difference between “frozen over” and “frozen through”

• “I’ve never seen a cat weigh this much before,” said the vet. “What do you feed her?”

• A single wombat is not normally hostile, but in large numbers, well, that’s a different story!

• Josh didn’t mean to blow up the toilet but . . .

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Lesson 21

Journal Writing

There are several benefits of keeping a journal. First, it encourages writers to practice every day. Writing is a perishable skill and without practice a writer can lose his edge. A journal also can become a great tool for tracking your writing progress. You’ll be amazed to see the differences in writing when you look back at entries from a year, or even a month ago. Journal writing is also a fantastic way to track your spiritual maturity, helping you remember your fledgling steps with God and His faithfulness along your life’s journey. Also a journal lets a writer develop his own unique voice. Since there is no intended audience the writer can write in his or her own style at its purest. This unique voice is what distinguishes one writer from another, so developing it is key to good writing.

The beauty of teaching journal writing is there is little to teach! There is no recommended style, no rules, just the writer writing to himself. The best thing you can do as a teacher is encourage WW students to keep a journal. You could prepare ahead of time by keeping a journal yourself for the week prior. Make it funny and interesting, and also keep the entries short so the kids don’t feel like they have to compare their writing skills to an adult’s. You might also find historical journals to share with children, like those from pioneers and explorers.

Timed Writing

Instruct the children to make a journal entry for what they did today. (If your class is earlier in the day, have them write an entry for yesterday. I know nothing exciting happens to me before 10 o’clock in the morning!)

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Lesson 22

Letter Writing

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

-Samuel Johnson

Writing letters is as old as dirt. Literally. As long ago as 3500 BC, Sumerians wrote letters on cuneiform (clay) tablets and sent them tucked into clay envelopes. A very long “letter” you may have read is also the best selling book in history. Can you guess? It’s the Bible! The Bible is God’s letter to you!

Letter writing takes on different styles as you progress through history, and some practices may seem strange to us today. About 2600 BC, Egyptians wrote letters to the dead. About 15 such letters are in museums today. During the Victorian-era, young ladies were told they should never write to strangers. It was considered an immodest and improper thing to do.

Sometimes boys may think letter writing is for girls. Not so! Consider reading this from a famous (or infamous) king:

My Mistress and Friend,

I and my heart put ourselves in your hands, begging you to recommend usto your good grace and not to let absence lessen your affection...For myself the pang of absence is already to great, and when I think ofthe increase of what I must needs suffer it would be well nighintolerable but for my firm hope of your unchangeable affection . . .

Henry VIII (to Anne Boleyn, 1528)

Okay, okay. That may be a bit mushy. How about reading the students a letter to a famous American Revolutionary War hero:

My Dear, By Doctor Church I send a hundred & twenty five pounds and beg you will take the best care of yourself and not attempt coming in to this town again and if I have an opportunity of coming or sending out anything or any of the

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Children I shall do it pray **** keep up your spirits and trust your self and us in the hands of a good God who will take care of us tis all my Dependence for vain is the help of man.

Adieu my Love

from your affectionate *R. Revere

(Rachel Revere to her husband, Paul Revere, after his “ride” 1775) *By the way, Dr. Church was a spy!

Letter writing today falls into two categories: friendly (“very” friendly if you’re like King Henry!) and business. Your letter-writing career includes everything from a letter to your congressman about an event that impassions you to the “thank you” note you sent to Grandma for your birthday present.

Business Letters

Business letters should sound professional and more formal than friendly letters. You should avoid slang and e-mail shorthand (lol, brb, btw), be courteous, and get quickly to the point of the letter. Use one side of your plain, white, 8-1/2 by 11” paper, and make sure the letter is neat in appearance. Here are its six parts that you can list on your dry-erase board:

A. Heading – complete address of writer and date letter is written

B. Inside Address – name and address of the person/company to whom/which you’re writing

C. Salutation – greeting, followed by a colon

D. Body – this is what you have to say, the whole reason you’re writing in the first place

E. Closing – followed by a comma; examples: Truly yours, Yours truly, Sin-cerely, Regards

F. Signature – your full name; if the letter is typed or printed off of a com-puter, you should leave space to write your signature above your printed name.

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You might write out this sample letter, mixing up the order, and have the chil-dren figure out the correct order.

2792 Apache Road

Austin, Texas 78756

April 11, 1963

Acme Toy Company

#1 Action Figure Drive

Looney Town, Texas 77777

Dear Personnel Director:

I am writing to submit my application as cartoon stunt lady for your upcoming feature-length animated movie, “Who Ate Mommy’s Cookies?” Besides being one who loves to eat cookies, I know how to bake them, too. Please send me the audition packet by return mail.

Sincerely yours,

Miss Rose Budd

Friendly Letters

Friendly letters are informal, like a “chat” with a friend. They can accomplish or “say” many things: I’m sorry, thank you, I miss you, I’m sad, I had a great day, and so on. Your WW authors could also write King David-like psalms, which were letters to the Lord. Here are a friendly letter’s five parts to put on the board:

C.

D.

E.

A.

B.

F.

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A. Heading – same as business letter

B. Salutation – less formal: Dear God, Hi Aunt Debbie

C. Body – your message: interesting, informative, courteous

D. Closing – Your friend, Your loving daughter, Your affectionate son, With warm regard, (or you can adopt King Henry’s vernacular!)

E. Signature – your handwritten name (printing is fine for a younger child)

1212 Bank Street

De Ridder, LA 70646

August 24, 2007

Dear Uncle Ricky,

Thank you so much for taking me hunting last weekend. I had such a great time! I never knew there was so much to know about deer. I promise to do all of the “homework” you assigned me before we go again.

Your hunting buddy,

Jake

Timed Writing

A business letter may be difficult to write in class with no prior notice; that makes a good homework assignment. In class, however, every child has someone they know to whom they can write a friendly letter: an aunt who’s been kind to them, the Grandfather who lent them a movie, a sibling who’s about to have a birthday, or a thank-you note to Daddy for Father’s Day. Then these authors can read their letter masterpieces to each other from the Author’s Chair.

C.

D.

E.

A.

B.

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Lesson 23

Clichés

Clichés are phrases and expressions that are used so commonly that they have become meaningless or are overlooked by readers because of their ubiquity. Clichés weaken writing and should be avoided. Some common clichés are “Mad as a hornet,” “If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” “A pain in the neck,” and “Free as a bird.”

See if your WW students can come up with a few more commonly used phrases that are so prevalent that they have become clichés. For the timed writing exercise list these sentences/phrases on the board and then have the children rewrite them in a more exciting, descriptive style.

• It was raining cats and dogs.

• It’s now or never!

• He had a face only a mother could love.

• Your guess is as good as mine.

• He moved like a thief in the night.

After they are finished they can take any of the sentences that inspired them and write a short story starting with it.

My friend introduces the concept of “dead words” to her writing class. She has her students make a tombstone and they write “R.I.P.” across the top. Then, they make a list of “dead words” that are rampant in our culture: awesome, dude, cool, sweet, like-uh-ya’-know, etc. These words may have real meanings, but we insist upon using them any old way. A chapter in a David Quine book that states we (cultural plural) like these words because they’re ambiguous in meaning, and our culture thrives on “situational” ethics and shuns absolutes – even in word meanings.

If you can’t write short stuff, you probably won’t

be able to write long stuff.

-Marjorie Frank If You’re Trying to Teach Kids

How to Write… You’ve Gotta Have This Book!

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Lesson 24

Sequencing

Sequencing is, at its core, the order in which things occur. Good sequencing often goes completely unnoticed- after all, it just makes sense! Even God used sequencing: ever notice the days of creation? However, bad sequencing jumps out immediately and can ruin an otherwise well written passage. Write the following mixed-up passage on the board:

1) A man comes home from work. 2) You’ll do just about anything, when you’re hungry. 3) Someone forgot all about it and it burned! 4) He takes off his jacket. 5) It smells really bad. 6) Then he ate it. 7) There’s something cooking in the kitchen. 8) He made a terrible face.

Read the passage aloud to the WW group, without saying the numbers. Ask them what’s wrong with the passage, then have them figure out in what order the sentences belong. Once they’ve come up with the right order of numbers (1, 4, 7, 5, 3, 8, 6, 2), re-read the passage out loud in that order and see if it makes more sense.

Timed Writing

For timed writing, have students tell a story where one event leads to another. Focus on logical conclusions that result from the actions in the story. Encourage kids to think about cause and effect in their writing. Younger students may need to focus on the order of a task, for example, putting on their socks and shoes. (Isn’t it funny that we call it “shoes and socks,” when that’s not the order we put them on?!)

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Lesson 25

Quotation Marks

Quotations are important punctuation marks. They are used primarily:

• for direct quotations She said, “I’m home.”

• to indicate a title of component parts of whole publications, as in chapters of a book, articles, songs, etc. Chapter One, “The Red Tide” was my favorite.

• to designate a special meaning for a word Some “antiques” might really be called trash.

• to enclose a word or phrase that is defined The word “hola” means “hello” in Spanish.

Take a few minutes to write examples of correctly used quotation marks on the board. Then provide your students with sample sentences and ask them to insert the quotation marks and other punctuation correctly. Use the information below.

Punctuation with Quotation Marks

Place commas and the final period inside the quotation marks:

• “Susanna, your story was quite funny,” said Sarah.

• “Danny,” said Joel, “do you collect baseball cards, too?”

• “I wish I knew where I was,” sighed Mrs. Hogan. “I’m lost again.”

• Scales answer the question, “how heavy,” measuring cups answer the question “how much,” and rulers answer the question, “how long.”

Other punctuation marks are placed outside the quotation marks unless they are part of the material being quoted:

• Do you want to watch “Treasure Island”?

• She hollered, “Go away!”

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Timed Writing Exercise

Finish this conversation using proper punctuation, especially quotation marks:

Tyler, said his mom, what’s this creepy brown stuff in the fridge?

Tyler grinned. It was probably one of JB’s strange science experiments. He was always putting weird concoctions in the refrigerator. Mom said if he did it again, he was going to have to eat it. Tyler couldn’t wait to see what happened next!

I don’t know Mom, he answered. Why don’t you ask JB?

JB! yelled mom, come here . . .

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader- not the fact that it is

raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.

- E.L. Doctorow

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Lesson 26

Dialogue

Dialogue can be the most important part of your prose. Most works of fiction employ large amounts of dialogue and the quality of the dialogue can be a deciding factor in whether the work is memorable or not. Here are some techniques to improve dialogue:

1. When writing dialogue, say the words out loud and see if they sound natural. For long conversations have someone else read the lines of supporting characters and see if it sounds like a conversation, or a recital.

2. Don’t end every line of dialogue with “said so-and-so.” Have your characters emote some of the lines: use words like shouted, exclaimed, mumbled, breathed, uttered, or sighed. Get creative, just about any adjective or verb can be hijacked into a dialogue descriptor. How about grumpy? “I don’t want to go to school,” grumped Michael. If it’s clear who is speaking, sometimes it’s best to leave off any kind of dialogue tagline.

3. Accents are fun! If a character has a strong accent, write it so that it’s clear. Here you can be creative with spelling! “I don’t want to go in the cart,” becomes “Ah dunnae want tae go inna cart!” to give something a Scottish feel.

4. Break up sentences where the speaker has a natural pause, or would pause for additional effect. Read the following sentences and hear the difference: “Why would you even consider doing such a thing?” asked Arthur. “Why,” asked Arthur, “would you even consider doing such a thing?” Can you hear the exasperation in Arthur’s voice on the “Why”?

5. Group conversations can be tricky. If you have more than three characters exchanging dialogue consider rewriting the whole scene or get creative with the dialogue tags, they need to clear up confusion about who is speaking without becoming repetitive, thus taking the reader out of the moment.

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Timed Writing

Instruct the students to write a few lines of dialogue. It can be one long piece containing prose, or several short practice conversations. Tell them to include at least one character with a distinctive accent. If they are having trouble coming up with accents here are some examples: US Southern, New Yorker, Irish, British, French, German, Russian, Latin American, Jamaican, Chinese, or Olde English.

Provide them with this list of scenarios, plus any you come up, to help them pick a setting for their conversations. They can use these or imagine their own!

• Mom was on the phone for ten minutes and when she gets off the phone the house is a wreck.

• The doctor wants to know how you broke your arm.

• The candidate for the mayor of your town is talking with his scriptwriter about making a few changes.

• Three friends are walking out of an amazing movie they just saw.

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A note on field trips: Since field trips require some planning, coordination, and also rely on availability of the facility, over which you may have little control, the field trip lessons are not placed in order with the other lessons. You can take the field trips whenever it is most convenient for you. They won’t interrupt the progression of the year’s work in any way.

Lessons 27 & 28

Field Trips

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Arrange with your local newspaper to take a tour of their facilities. Most newspapers are happy to assist school groups and will have someone from their PR department guide you through the newspaper. If you’re touring a smaller paper, you may even get to talk to the editor! Encourage the students to ask questions about how an article is written from start to finish and about the differences between assorted kinds of articles, such as editorials, hard news, sports, business, feature stories/human interest pieces, and investigative journalism.

Timed Writing

Option One

When you get back take a few moments for Timed Writing and have the now-journalists write an article. Have them pick out an event that happened in their home recently. It can be something simple like what they had for din-ner last night, or it can be something that they feel strongly about like a fight with a sibling. Have them write either an editorial piece, where they focus on explaining their opinions on the matter and reasons for what they think, or they can pretend they are a reporter and report “just the facts” of the event.

Option Two

Older students may prefer writing a letter to the editor of the newspaper regarding a local issue the student has an opinion on.

Option Three

You may prefer to use the Timed Writing as an opportunity to have each student write a thank you note to the appropriate person at the newspaper.

Lessons 27

Field Trip: Tour Your Local Newspaper

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Take a field trip to the local library. Give students a scavenger hunt list of a half dozen or so topics or kinds of books to find. Some examples might be: a book on pirates, a newspaper article from 1965, a book about botany, a book with a crazy cover, a Hardy Boys book, and a book by Robert Louis Stevenson. The children can ask a librarian for help, use the card catalogue, or if your library has it, use the computer to search the library. Once the literary explorers have found everything on the list, have them check the books out! There’s no better way to learn about using the library than to do it!

We’ve had great success with library field trips by asking ahead of time for guided tours or short introductions to various aspects of our library.

Lessons 28

Field Trip: Using the Library Effectively

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Appendices

Appendix A: Glossary 62

Appendix B: Forms 64

Appendix C: Directions for a Hand-Made Book 68

Appendix D: Book Binding Illustrations 69

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Appendix A

Glossary

1st Draft: The first time a student writes through an assignment.

2nd Draft: The second writing of the assignment, after editing, proofreading, corrections, and other changes. Sometimes the second draft is the final copy. Other times, the assignment may require additional drafts.

Alliteration: When a series of words begin with the same sound, usually a con-sonant.

Antagonist: The chief villain or opponent of the main character of the story.

Antonym: A word with the opposite meaning of another word. “Dark” and “light” are antonyms.

Assonance: Repeating vowel sounds in a series of words. The sound does not have to be in the beginning of the words.

Author’s Chair: The period of time where the WW students share their stories. Also, the actual special chair from which they share their stories.

Caldecott Award: The Caldecott Medal “. . . shall be awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year. The award shall go to the artist, who must be a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not he be the author of the text. . .”

Character Sketch: A brief outline of a character’s physical features, personality, and motivations.

Cliché: An overused phrase.

Climax: The point of the story with the most intense action.

Conclusion: The final moments of a story where loose threads are resolved and the ending is reached.

Consonance: Repeated consonant sounds in a series of words. The sounds do not have to be in the beginnings of the words.

Final Edit: One last “read through” of a student’s work. It’s helpful if this is done out loud to catch missing words and awkward phrases. Final corrections are then made, and the work handed in.

Genre: The type or class of a book. Common genres include mystery, fantasy, humor, fairy tales, etc.

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Illustration: Pictures or graphics that enhance the story.

Metaphor: And example using different things that helps the reader understand some truth about another thing.

Newbery Medal: It’s awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the “. . . author of the most distinguished contribution to Ameri-can literature for children.”

Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like what it is, like “splat” or “flopped.”

Plot: The central theme of the story. This is what the story is all about.

Poetry: an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response.

Proofreading: This is another word for editing, or looking for mistakes or pas-sages that can be improved.

Protagonist: The hero or central character in the story.

Publishing Party: Where authors can get together and share their finished, bound books, and celebrate their progress.

Sequencing: The act of putting things into a logical, cause-and-effect based order.

Similes: Comparisons between two things using “like” or “as.”

Synonym: A word with the same meaning as another word. “Large” and “big” are synonyms.

Thesaurus: A book of synonyms and antonyms.

Webbing: A process used to help gather your thoughts for a writing process.

Appendix A

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Appendix B

Forms

Form 1: Writer’s Workshop Schedule 65

Form 2: Writer’s Workshop Members 66

Form 3: Writer’s Workshop Certificate of Creativity and Achievement 67

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Date/Location Mini-Lesson Group Writing Snacks Babysitting

K SHOPWWRITER’S

Schedule

66

Name Children/Ages Address Phone #

K SHOPWWRITER’S

Members

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Certificate of Creativity and Achievement

Awarded to

for

Date

Signed

K SHOPWWRITER’S

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Material Needed

Glue stick and dental floss Scissors Push pin Sewing needle Ruler Large sheets of paper Wallpaper or other decorative paper Cardboard (2 pieces) Contact paper (optional) Paper cutter (optional but nice!)

Directions

1. Make guts: select a size for your book. Base it on the size of the child’s story.

2. Add 2 sheets for end papers and 2 more for inside covers.

3. Fold all papers together and cut to size.

4. Open sheets, punch holes one inch apart down the spine with push pin (use cardboard for cushion).

5. Sew the pages together using dental floss.

6. Either give your student this blank book to write and illustrate, or paste their work onto these blank pages.

7. Make cover: Get 2 pieces of cardboard 1/2” larger all around than the guts. The front cover will be a large sheet of paper (1/2” larger all around than the

two pieces of cardboard). Place the two pieces of cardboard as close together as possible without actually touching.

8. Glue cardboard to the cover paper. Cut a triangular piece off each corner.

9. Glue all straight edges of the cover paper and wrap cardboard like a gift.

9B. Optional: If you want the front covered with contact paper, treat it as the front cover paper. Repeat 7 & 8.

10. Place guts inside cover and glue the first and last page of guts to the inside cover, taking care to ensure the book can easily open and close.

11. For a finished look, cut two pieces of wallpaper, or other pretty paper, to glue to the inside front and back flaps.

Other Ideas for Binding Books:

1. Three hole punch & tie with ribbon.

2. Put story inside a manila folder, staple it & decorate the front cover.

3. Take manuscript, illustrations, & cover to a print shop. Then spiral bind or VeloBind® it.

Appendix C

Directions for a Hand-Made Book

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Alexander dictated the story of “Wilbur” to his mom, Stacey, who recorded it in a plain,

hard-bound notebook. Next, Alexander dressed up as Wilbur for a photo shoot. Last, they taped the

photos in the book as illustrations.

Appendix D

Book Binding Illustrations

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Appendix D

Stacey’s oldest son, Kyle, wrote this creative story in his hard-bound journal. He asked his mom to

take a picture of him in costume. Then he used that same photo on every two-page spread, drawing the rest of the illustration around the photo.

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Appendix D

Younger sister Natalie preferred to illustrate her book without any photos.

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Appendix D

Inside Tyler’s homemade book, Mr. Stinky, we taped the words he had

dictated to me earlier.

Important component of an author’s book:

“About the Author.”

Tyler’s drawings “before and after” a four hour art class.

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Appendix D

Simple 9” x 7" notebooks.

Colored file folders.

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Appendix D

Other Binding Options

Construction paper and yarn. Decorated file folder with story stapled inside.

Spiral Binding Velo-Binding (slightly broken after years of handling!)

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Appendix D

One young lady wrote a play for our Writer’s Workshop. She then talked

everyone into actually performing it. It was a hit!

Kids reading their work in the “Author’s Chair.”

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Appendix D

The highlight each semester is the Author’s Tea. This year, it also served as a Christmas party. We served “tea”

foods and families were invited to listen as each author shared one of

his/ or her works.

Certificates from your Writer’s Workshop add a nice touch. In this

case, I entered all of the groups’ stories in a writing competition and

we had several winners!