Developing Writers: Learning From Professional Writers
The Developing Writers workshops for high school teachers present practical and philosophical advice for teaching writing. In this session, noted authors Amy Tan, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, Maxine Hong Kingston, Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, and Margo Jefferson discuss their craft, answering several important questions about writing. What does it mean to read like a writer? What can the voices and the experiences of published writers teach us as we turn to our own work? All of these questions are discussed. Additionally, this session presents master teachers as they help students approach published writing in a spirit of personal inquiry, eager to discover organizational and stylistic strategies that they might experiment with in their own work.
Developing Writers: Writing in the 21st Century
How we write and how we teach writing has changed radically in the past twenty years. Word processors, email, instant messaging, websites, blogs, and 'zines, as well as digital technologies such as sampling and digital video and photography provide opportunities and challenges as we sort through useful and viable ways to incorporate them into our writing instruction. This session presents ways in which teachers have integrated these types of technologies into their classrooms, along with their successes and difficulties in the process.
In Search of the Novel: Who Owns the Novel?
This workshop probes the living nature of the novel by illustrating how each reader makes a novel his or her own. It shows that the interpretation of a novel changes, depending upon the reader's culture, class, generation, sex, and personality.
In Search of the Novel: What's the Story?
This workshop explores how an author spins a story and why it is the most important aspect of the novel. In the program, participants examine the importance of the hook, and the "why" behind the events. They also consider various ways into difficult novels.
In Search of the Novel: Are Novels Real?
Characters, their motivations, their stories, and the times and places should bear some likeness to reality. Or should they? This program explores how novels connect with the reader. In the video, teachers, students, and novelists probe the origins of stories.
In Search of the Novel: Where Do Novels Come From?
This program explores the genesis of characters, plot, themes, and interpretation from the novelist's point of view. Participants examine the relationship between the novel and the objective reality from which it may spring.
In Search of the Novel: Why Do I Have to Read This Book?
The workshop's ten novels are examined to see why they appear on recommended reading lists and why they have earned numerous awards. The program looks at the essential elements of good writing and storytelling and explores positive reasons for reading. It also examines ways in which novels are challenged by students and communities.
In Search of the Novel: What's in it for Me?
A novel can transport readers to other places and times, real or imaginary, allowing the readers to meet people and experience life in many different ways. In this program, teachers explore ways to help students respond to novels on deeply personal levels.
In Search of the Novel: Who Am I in This Story?
A reader can take on a number of roles in a novel: the protagonist, the narrator, the author, or another character. In this program, students and novelists examine the complex ways readers may identify with characters in a novel.
In Search of the Novel: Am I Getting Through?
In this summary, teachers examine their effectiveness in helping students comprehend and appreciate novels and become lifelong readers. Teachers also discuss and demonstrate strategies for evaluation.