Build a Book: Writing in Rhythm & Rhyme
45 Minute Lecture/Demonstration or 3-5 Day Residency
By Susan Schurman
Download Teacher Guide
Playful drawing and writing exercises will develop skill, confidence, and joy in the young author and artist. Led by book designer and editor, sessions will focus on concepts of texture, color, pattern, shadow and shape in words and pictures, and practical book-building skills. Each participant will create, edit, revise and assemble a book of original writing and art.
Grades: 4 - 5, 6 - 8, 9 -12
Fee: $100; $75 each for 2 or more; $6 materials fee per student for residency only
Size: 30 students maximum
Availability: Limited; please inquire
Requirements: Variety of colored markers, crayons or watercolors
Addresses Standards (download standards here): 6.3, 6.4, 7.2, 15.6, 15.7
Collecting Your Wits and Other Bits: A Writing Workshop
From natural treasures to store-bought stuff, from museums to knick-knack shelves, humans find artifacts fascinating. Many students are enthusiastic collectors of sports cards, movie toys, bugs, rocks, or leaves. Tapping into these interests helps promote more engaged and focused writing. This workshop encourages students to become object detectives and artifact scribes.
Grades: 3–5
Fee: $105
Workshop Size: 30 students maximum
Availability: Limited, please inquire
Special Requirements: ***Students must bring a selection from their collections; blackboard; table.
Length: Please note this workshop is a 60 minute program
Addresses Standards (download standards here):
1.1, 6.7, 6.8
Hip Hop Poetry
By Stacy "Reach" Smith OR "The Recipe Poetry Guild"
Learn to become a hip hop poet with Stacy “Reach” Smith, winner of the Next Up contest (a national Rap talent search) sponsored by Toyota Scion. Reach will frame his lesson by introducing students to the pioneers of the art form in an audio/video presentation which explores the social conditions in which the art form was birthed and evolved. He will also perform one of his signature poems and define the elements that make a good slam poem. As students complete instructional writing and performance exercises, they will develop a fundamental knowledge of theatre arts, public speaking, and creative writing, combined into a fun and exciting display of hip-hop filled def poetry.
Grades: 6-8, 9-12
Fee:
$100; $75 each for 2 or more
Workshop Size:
30 students maximum
Availability:
Limited; please inquire
Special Requirements:
Paper pad and pen for each student
Addresses Standards (download standards here):
1.7, 1.10, 6.3, 6.7, 6.10, 6.11 & 14.3
One Dark and Stormy Night
5-Day Residency
By Susan Clymer
Susan Clymer will lead students in a week-long adventure of writing short stories. A published author of numerous books for children, Susan has developed a fail-proof method for engaging students in the discovery of their creative selves.
Grades:
4–6
Fee:
$1,600/week (4 sessions/day)
Workshop Size:
30 students maximum
Availability:
Year- round
Special Requirements:
Paid planning meeting
Addresses Standards (download standards here):
6.9, 6.10
Playwriting Workshop
By Frank Higgins, Lighton Prize Winner for Teaching Excellence and
Master Teaching Artist
Using a collection of video clips from plays and movies, and scenes from which students will read, Frank teaches the basics of dramatic structure. Older students compose their own scenes in small groups or individually; younger students adapt a folktale into a play. In a residency, the scenes are performed as staged readings.
Grades:
6–8, 9–12
Fee:
$100; $80 each for 2 or more
Workshop Size:
30 students maximum
Availability:
Monday–Friday except for Tuesday afternoons
Special Requirements:
TV and VCR in classroom
Addresses Standards (download standards here):
1.1, 1.6, 6.2, 6.5, 6.6, 7.7, 14.2, 14.4, 14.5, 14.7
Poetry Workshop
by Frank Higgins,
Lighton Prize Winner for Teaching Excellence and
Master Teaching Artist
Students will write poems with material generated from their unconscious minds. Frank improves skills in rhythm, sound, and imagery. Using age appropriate vocabulary and techniques, he emphasizes the importance of editing and rewriting and shows samples of different drafts of poems. As a residency, Frank models his own poetry, other professional poets, and poems written by his students.
Grades:
3–5, 6–8, 9–12
Fee:
$100; $80 each for 2 or more
Workshop Size:
30 students maximum
Availability:
Monday–Friday except for Tuesday afternoons
Special Requirements:
None
Addresses Standards (download standards here):
1.3, 1.8, 6.7, 6.10, 6.11, 7.4