Writing Workshop 2 | Lesson

Children's Literacy Initiative

10 Oct 201808:02

Summary

TLDRIn this lesson, the teacher helps young writers brainstorm story ideas by focusing on emotions. Drawing inspiration from author Kevin Henkes, the teacher shows how feelings, such as pride or loneliness, can inspire entire stories. Using examples like a Thanksgiving dinner or a child's dance recital, the teacher models how to recall personal memories tied to emotions. Students are then guided to choose a feeling, think of related memories, and share with partners before writing their own stories. The lesson emphasizes the power of emotions in storytelling and encourages creativity in a supportive environment.

Takeaways

✍️ The speaker is excited to start a writing session with the students, focusing on finding ideas for stories.
📊 A chart was created to help students generate story ideas, such as writing about important experiences or emotions.
📚 The class has been studying Kevin Henkes, who writes stories based on emotions, like feeling lonely or miserable.
😊 The students are encouraged to choose an emotion and build a story around it, just like Kevin Henkes did.
🗂️ The speaker selects the feeling of 'proud' and shares several personal memories that evoke that feeling, like cooking Thanksgiving dinner and watching her son's dance recital.
📝 The exercise encourages the students to think of a feeling, recall personal memories linked to it, and use those memories to generate a story.
🤔 The speaker guides the students to choose an emotion and reflect on related experiences, helping to build a list of potential story ideas.
👥 The students share their emotions and story ideas with their partners, such as feeling frustrated or happy.
✍️ The task for the day is to write down the chosen feeling and list possible stories associated with that feeling, eventually starting a full story if they feel ready.
🎨 The activity aims to help students creatively express their emotions through storytelling, using their personal experiences as inspiration.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the session in the script?
-The main purpose of the session is to help young writers generate ideas for their stories by focusing on feelings and personal experiences.
What specific strategy does the speaker introduce to help writers come up with story ideas?
-The speaker introduces the strategy of choosing a feeling (like proud, sad, or lonely) and then recalling memories or stories associated with that feeling to generate ideas for writing.
Which author does the speaker use as an example, and why?
-The speaker uses Kevin Henkes as an example because he often writes stories centered around specific feelings, like loneliness or sadness, which is a technique the speaker is teaching the writers.
What feeling does the speaker choose to illustrate the strategy of using feelings to generate story ideas?
-The speaker chooses the feeling of being proud to illustrate how to use feelings to generate story ideas.
Can you name some of the feelings listed on the chart that the writers can choose from?
-Some of the feelings listed on the chart include lonely, proud, worried, surprised, sad, and brave.
What are some examples of memories that the speaker recalls when thinking about the feeling of pride?
-The speaker recalls several memories associated with feeling proud: cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people, her son learning to ride a bike, and her other son's dance recital.
How does the speaker encourage the young writers to find their own story ideas?
-The speaker encourages the young writers to first choose a feeling and then think about memories or experiences connected to that feeling. They can then make a list of possible stories to write about based on those memories.
What is the speaker's next step after selecting a feeling and recalling memories?
-The speaker starts writing the story based on one of the memories, in this case, the son's dance recital, which evoked strong emotions of pride.
What is the significance of the students sharing their feelings and memories with a partner during the session?
-The sharing exercise helps students verbalize their feelings and story ideas, which can make the writing process easier and more collaborative by discussing their thoughts with a peer.
What are the students expected to do after they have brainstormed their feelings and stories?
-After brainstorming their feelings and stories, the students are expected to either begin writing their story or continue brainstorming and listing possible ideas for future stories.

Outlines

00:00

✍️ Excited to Start Writing and Finding Ideas

The speaker begins by expressing excitement about the writing session. They address the common challenge writers face in coming up with ideas and introduce a chart that offers strategies for finding inspiration. These strategies include writing from the heart, revisiting old journal entries, and looking to favorite authors for ideas. The speaker also introduces a new method for generating story ideas, inspired by the author Kevin Henkes, who writes stories centered around emotions.

05:03

📚 Learning from Kevin Henkes: Writing with Feelings

The speaker explains that Kevin Henkes often uses emotions as the basis for his stories, such as 'miserable' in *Chrysanthemum* and 'lonely' in *Jessica*. They emphasize how Henkes turns specific feelings into entire stories, showing how characters respond to emotions like loneliness and create solutions, such as the character in *Jessica* inventing an imaginary friend to cope with her loneliness. The speaker encourages the writers to try the same approach in their own writing, focusing on feelings as the central theme.

🧠 Choosing a Feeling and Generating Story Ideas

The speaker demonstrates how to choose a feeling from the 'feelings chart' to inspire story ideas. They select 'proud' as their feeling and share personal memories associated with it, including cooking Thanksgiving dinner, teaching their son to ride a bike, and watching another son’s dance recital. The speaker shows how reflecting on memories related to a specific feeling can quickly generate several story ideas, modeling how the writers can approach this task.

📝 Writers’ Turn: Choosing Your Feeling and Story

The speaker prompts the writers to close their eyes and think about a feeling they want to write about, either from the chart or one of their own choosing. After selecting a feeling, they are instructed to recall memories associated with that feeling and share them with a partner. This step helps them brainstorm potential stories before starting their writing.

🎤 Sharing Ideas and Starting to Write

The speaker encourages students to share their ideas with the group. Rosalyn shares a story about feeling frustrated with her mother, and Noah talks about the happiness he felt when he got his first bike. The speaker praises these ideas and gives further instructions: writers should return to their seats, write down their chosen feeling, and list possible stories related to it. Some students, like Noah, may be ready to start writing immediately, while others may continue brainstorming.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Writing

Writing is the central activity discussed in the video, where the speaker encourages children to explore and express themselves through stories. It refers to the process of creating narratives, and the speaker provides different methods to help the students overcome writer’s block, such as drawing inspiration from feelings or memories.

💡Feelings

Feelings are described as a key tool for generating story ideas. The speaker teaches the children how emotions like loneliness, pride, or happiness can inspire rich narratives. For example, Kevin Henkes, an author mentioned in the script, builds stories around emotions, like loneliness in his book 'Jessica'.

💡Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes is used as an example of an author who incorporates feelings into his stories. He wrote books like 'Chrysanthemum' and 'Jessica', which are based on emotional experiences such as misery and loneliness. The speaker highlights how Henkes' use of emotions can serve as a model for young writers to emulate.

💡Pride

Pride is a specific feeling the speaker chooses to model how to brainstorm stories. The speaker talks about feeling proud during personal moments, like when her son learned to ride a bike or performed in a dance recital. This emotion serves as a springboard for generating personal stories, encouraging students to reflect on similar experiences.

💡Loneliness

Loneliness is another emotion discussed in the video. The speaker references the book 'Jessica' by Kevin Henkes, where the character feels lonely until she creates an imaginary friend. This example helps students see how personal emotions can fuel story development, and invites them to think of their own stories based on feeling alone or isolated.

💡Brainstorming

Brainstorming refers to the process of generating ideas for writing. The speaker encourages students to take time to think about feelings, past experiences, or memories that can be turned into stories. It involves listing out potential stories and ideas before starting to write, which is a technique used to combat writer's block.

💡Memory

Memory is used as a method for finding story ideas. The speaker tells students to reflect on their past experiences, like journal entries or significant events, to inspire their writing. For example, the speaker uses her memory of a family Thanksgiving dinner to illustrate how memories can be turned into narratives.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the act of sharing personal experiences, emotions, or ideas in a structured narrative. The speaker guides the students through the steps of turning their emotions or memories into stories, using examples from her own life and referencing authors who excel at storytelling, like Kevin Henkes.

💡Journal Entries

Journal entries are mentioned as a resource for story ideas. The speaker encourages students to look back at their past journal writings as a way to recall memories and find inspiration. This reinforces the idea that personal history and everyday experiences can be fertile ground for storytelling.

💡List-making

List-making is a technique suggested by the speaker for organizing potential story ideas. After selecting a feeling, the speaker advises students to create a list of memories or events associated with that emotion. For example, the speaker lists moments where she felt proud, such as her son’s dance recital and learning to ride a bike.

Highlights

The speaker expresses excitement about writing and emphasizes the joy of storytelling.

The session focuses on how to generate story ideas when writers struggle with finding inspiration.

The speaker introduces a chart with various ways to find writing ideas, including drawing from important memories or past journal entries.

The speaker highlights how studying an author, like Kevin Henkes, can help writers understand how to use feelings to inspire stories.

Kevin Henkes uses emotions like 'miserable' and 'lonely' in his stories, teaching writers to draw from personal feelings for narrative development.

The speaker models how to brainstorm by choosing a feeling, such as 'proud,' and thinking of personal stories tied to that emotion.

Examples of personal stories include the speaker feeling proud after cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people.

Another example provided is the speaker's pride when their son learned how to ride a bike.

The speaker recalls feeling proud and emotional during their son's dance recital, showing the depth of personal feelings in storytelling.

Writers are encouraged to choose a feeling and think of associated memories to generate potential story ideas.

The exercise involves listing out possible stories related to a chosen feeling, with students being given time to reflect and brainstorm.

Students share their feelings and related stories with partners, allowing them to build ideas collaboratively.

An example from a student includes frustration when a mother repeatedly asked them to shower, despite already doing so.

Another student shares a story about feeling happy when they received their first bike, demonstrating how emotions drive narrative ideas.

Students are given the option to either brainstorm story ideas or begin writing, with encouragement to proceed at their own pace.