Teaching Ideas
This is the same info on the contest page, plus there is an extra activity at the top.
Below is some information to help educators help their students. Feel free to duplicate, please credit: Stefanie Tatalias and Write Young AK
Ghosts, Legends, Myths, Oh My!
Round Robin / Build-a-Story Group (Activity):
First sentence names the hero and where he or she is (place and time period).
Second sentence: state what the hero wants to get or avoid.
Third sentence: Action of villain stopping them
Forth Sentence: Hero overcomes villain
Fifth sentence: Hero returns “home” (start of story) wiser and maybe richer.
What’s in a Myth?
The main characters are usually gods, supernatural heroes, and humans
Regarded as a true account of the remote past (in the society in which it is told)
Linked to religion or spirituality
Explain how the world or humankind came to be
What’s in a Legend?
Story of distant past; tied to a historical event
Believable, though not necessarily believed
Teaches morals and ethics or the “right” way to do things
How about a Fairy Tale, Fable or Folklore?
Not believed to be true
Teach morals and ethics or the right way to behave
Bothers Grimm’s observation, "The fairy tale is poetic, legend, historic."
What is a Ghost Story?
Maybe a legend, usually a fairytale, fable, or folklore…
…and nowadays just a great, scary, story
But if you can combine any of the above ideas, your story will have more impact.
Basics for a Ghost Story or Legend (Activity)
Pick your hero
Pick your villain...ghost story=ghost or someone to scare
...Legend=someone doing something mean or wrong
Pick your location and time
Pick your moral, ethic, or lesson
...what will the hero learn?
… What will someone listening to the story learn that might change the way they do something in the future or help them make a good decision?
Pick how they are going to learn or show that...what obstacle will the villain put in front of the hero? This is your story. Write a summary.
Spring '12 Workshops
Update: we served over 800 students last year through these and other workshops!!!
Using fun and creative activities, professional writers will teach the writing process from a practitioner’s perspective. The audience for each workshop will be six classes of students. Each class will be at a different grade level (grades one through six). The same students will participate each day. Teachers will be invited to observe, and the regular classroom teachers will remain for the lessons.
Feb 21-24 Turnagain: Shifting Perspective: Tools for Imaginative Writing
with Carol Loftfield
Doodlers welcome! In this workshop, students will learn to shift perspective and step into their imaginations, using visual images to free creativity and inspire words. Activities will include visual Illusions, shifting perspectives, line and movement, brainstorming, creative problem-solving, cooperative art, cooperative associative webs, cooperative prewriting, and building positive learning communities. The right brain will be primed to stimulate imaginative, enriched writing.
Feb 21-24 Rogers Park: Flash Fiction for Fun
with Stefanie Tatalias
Can you tell your story in 400 words or less? What about exactly 55 words? Nanofiction, short short, and drabble: sometimes less is more. And in today's media-rich world, every word counts. A variety of prompts will guide students in the exploration of short fiction forms as they learn to stuff strong words into sentences that flow or careen into a tight story.
March 18-22 Susitna: The Magic Pencil: Bringing Your Imagination to Life
with Megan Applegate
A creative workshop aimed at strengthening a student’s love and understanding of the world of fiction, The Magic Pencil examines the art of storytelling, encouraging kids to stretch their creative muscles and let their imaginations run free. This workshop will feature a basic, fundamental understanding of fiction—where it is, what it does, and how it’s crafted. Using art supplies and journals, students will draw, write, and create their way to their very own stories in personalized notebooks that capture their future masterpieces and creations.
March 18-22 Sand Lake: Write to be Heard
with Deb Vanasse
Get those words off the page and into eager ears! Using fun, interactive activities, well-published children’s author Deb Vanasse will help students discover how visualization and language bring stories to life. Student will create their own illustrated books for young readers, meant to be read aloud. The workshop will include all stages of the writing process, from prewriting through revision to publication.