Well, I did not keep up with blogging each night and tomorrow is the last day of our Young Author’s Writing Camp. It’s been a great week! I’m busy making tie-dyed cupcakes for our writing celebration. The kids will spend the first part of the afternoon getting their displays ready, creating before and after posters, and writing some thank you notes. Working with 7 other teachers who love literacy has been wonderful. We each come with different backgrounds from high school to early elementary, public school and private school, but we’ve found that it’s been very seamless to integrate our ideas. And each writer, no matter the age has found something to write about each prompt.
So here’s the recap…Writing journey maps, Who am I as a writer?, “Arti” fiction, 3 kinds of journeys, Nested Meditations (more on this later…I’m intrigued with it), Newspaper blackout poetry (more on this too), J. Patrick Lewis, trip to Franklin Park Conservatory to take photographs and write about inspirations, guest teacher Lisa Sieberling shared ideas on how to integrate writing and photography, Renga (another type of poetry), Inksheds, and Photo Story…with a little glitch…it’s important to save as you go. 
I’m anxious to see the kids’ before and after posters. June shared this idea based on Cardboard Testimonies, which you can see here. Our campers will complete one side of their poster with what kind of writer they were before camp and on the flip side, what kind of writer they are now.
I am so thankful that I was able to work with such gifted teachers for the last 2 weeks and such brilliant young writers!
Today, J. Patrick Lewis visited our writing camp to share his experiences. I couldn’t help but think about how lucky our young writers were to get to listen to him in such an intimate setting. Most impressive is that he treated our campers with the respect given to real writers. It was as if he was speaking to them as writer to writer. He sure got me thinking about myself both as a writer and a writing teacher. I ended up taking 4 pages of notes. Here are just a few of my thoughts on what he said:
In order to be a writer, you need to be a reader. Check. I wholeheartedly believe that to be true.
You have to love words. The library is the hospital to the mind. I love this analogy…the library being the hospital to the mind. I believe that it is my job to immerse my students in words; to help them become curious about, oberservers of, and playful with language. My goal is to take time to gather these gems in my own notebook. I don’t know how many times I tell myself that I need to remember the certain way an author says something and it’s gone the next day. Or the times when I’m at a loss for words and I wish my vocabulary was a little broader.
Make the dictionary and thesaurus your best friend. What better way to learn more words? And no, I don’t mean copying definitions out of the dictionary. When was the last time you did that in your real life? We need to teach our students in an authentic manner how to use, when to use, and why to use these references. There are also many options available on the web that give the same information as the dictionary and a thesaurus. I think it’s important that we introduce our students to the myriad of possibilities.
Show, don’t tell. Capture the moment in words, not pictures. I have a filing cabinet of ideas on ways to teach this to my students. I have example after example of “showing, not telling” in other authors’ published work; however, I’m not very good at it in my own writing. So, one of my goals this summer will be to work on painting a picture with my words when I am writing for myself.
Write every day. Just like those in sports practice every day, so should writers. Jane Yolen calls it the BIC method (Butt in Chair). Pat writes from 6:00 a.m. until 4 or 5:00 in the afternoon every day. There is a dichotomy between what I teach and what I practice (and yes, I just used dictionary.com to make sure I used the word dichotomy correctly). My students write every day because Writing Workshop time is sacred in my room. I know that in order for them to become better writers, they need time to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from other writers. I do not afford myself the same opportunities. Life starts speeding by and before I know it, a chunk of time has gone by and I have not put pen to paper. This summer gives me the chance to slow down a bit and focus on my writing. I am going to make it a priority to have some BIC time each and every day.
These are just a sampling of my notes…I will continue with more of Pat’s thinking tomorrow. You can learn more about Pat here.
This week is our first week of the Young Authors Writing Project. There are 8 teachers, all of whom participated in the Columbus Area Writing Project, working together to create a wonderful experience for 28 kids ranging in age from 4th grade to 11th grade. I think we are all in heaven working with a group of students who want to be at camp because they love to write. The teachers have partnered up and each duo takes one day to present a lesson. What I love about this is that we are all sharing our ideas with each other and we can adapt them for our own particular grade level. Both the kids and teachers are from around the Columbus area and the teachers have experience at different levels (from early elementary to high school).
On Day 1, Debbie and Sarah launched our summer camp. We read an excerpt from The House on Mango Street and then wrote about our names. After sharing with a partner, we introduced our partner to the rest of the group. It was a great ice breaker. Next, Sarah shared some metaphors about being a writer. Wow! The creativity was flowing after that. Here are some snippets from what the kids wrote…As a writer, I am…
- I am a train fueled by ideas.
- I am an explorer roaming through different worlds. Sometimes I escape, sometimes I am reborn.
- I am a flute, quietly following the director’s baton. I want people to appreciate my tune.
- I am a wholesome meal simmering in the crockpot. Writing ideas warm up in my mind. There are no artificial colors or flavorings. The ordinariness of my words is precisely the point.
- I am a fancy restaurant waitress who serves you the best.
Aren’t these great? I was trying to scribble these gems furiously as the kids were sharing.
Deb closed with another way to illustrate who we are as writers. She shared her Writing Journey Map with orange barrels (showing the detours) and all. As you can see in the pictures below, the kids spread out and went to town. It was amazing to walk from space to space and just listen to the conversations that were happening. Everyone depicted in one way or another, the hesitancy in beginning a new piece of writing, the dips and turns that occur throughout the process, and finally, the light at the end of the tunnel.
We end each session with a read around (sometimes large groups, other times small groups) and then ask the kids to write a little note about their experience for that day. We compile their notes and copy them all together for everyone to read the next day. It’s what we lovingly call the “Inkshed” in CAWP.
I will be writing more about this amazing experience. I am in awe each and every day!
Do you know any students going into grades 4 through 11 that like to write? Do they live close to Columbus, Ohio? If so, I know the perfect opportunity for them! The Columbus Area Writing Project will be hosting Columbus Young Author’s Summer Writing Camp June 21st to July 2nd. Teacher consultants from CAWP will be teaching this unique summer camp. We will be focusing on helping students “find their voices” in writing as they write about a variety of topics in several different genres. Just as in the writing project, we will be having a daily read around where students can share their work and get feedback from their peers. In addition, we will be having an author visit and a field trip.
Last year was the first year CAWP held the summer writing camp. I was not able to participate, but I’m looking forward to teaching this summer. We had our first planning meeting earlier this week. There is something extremely powerful about being in the same room with a group of teachers who share the same passion for writing and are working toward the same goals. We come from a variety of school districts and grade level experiences, so it’s sure to be a great experience for everyone…teachers and students alike!
Have someone in mind who would love this opportunity? Click here for the flyer and application. I’d love to hear from you if you pass this information on!
Well, I did not keep up with blogging each night and tomorrow is the last day of our Young Author’s Writing Camp. It’s been a great week! I’m busy making tie-dyed cupcakes for our writing celebration. The kids will spend the first part of the afternoon getting their displays ready, creating before and after posters, and writing some thank you notes. Working with 7 other teachers who love literacy has been wonderful. We each come with different backgrounds from high school to early elementary, public school and private school, but we’ve found that it’s been very seamless to integrate our ideas. And each writer, no matter the age has found something to write about each prompt. 
