Writer's Workshop by Roper: Anyone using it?

[titianmom]

Hi all,

 

I'm interested in the subj book and was wondering if anyone has used or is using it successfully with kids (i.e., they are getting a lot out of it, for ex.)

 

Thanks for your input,

Kim

[Kareni]

I've no personal experience with this book but do recall hearing it favorably discussed here. Here's a link to a previous thread:

 

Writer's Workshop by Roper..

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Michelle in AL]

I've used the first two exercises in a lit class. You can see the link to my blog for the book in my signature line. The assignment from "confessions" is a spin off I did from the book. The lessons do get more difficult quickly, but they are stimulating and effective.

 

For a similar technique, but one thats lessons are less difficult, you may want to check out "Write with the Best," by Dixon.

[titianmom]

Keep them coming. I might consider the Dixon book since my c is a middler.

 

Kim

[HollyinNNV]

I teach WW at the co-op I organize. The students I teach complete the exercises in WW and complete other research writing assignments that I assign.

 

I have found the book to be pretty self-explanatory. The instructions are concise and helpful. The lessons are well-paced (so far) and written to the student. My students have found that as they practiced the skills from the book, each writing assignment has been a little easier.

 

I haven't found any students to dislike the book in general. Some like certain assignments better than others. It was interesting to see that those who generally don't like creative writing, did like imitating creative writing. I think they were happy with what they were able to produce.

 

I have taught most of these students (gr 9-12) for the last five/six years. So, these are kids that have studied writing with me for quite awhile. I don't know that this book would work so well if the students weren't pretty competent writers.

 

One of the unexpected benefits of WW is that it is helpful in reading comprehension and makes students closely examine a short piece of literature. It is nice to slow down and analyze a tiny gem.

 

I did expect to spend a year using WW. After the first 10 weeks though, I think it will take more like 2 years. We are going much, much slower than I expected. However, since I am so pleased with the results and student reactions, I am very content to move slowly.

 

I am going to post a few of my dd's writing assignments. She's in 9th grade. The first description is of her brother. Then the next descriptions are also of her brother, but imitating the style of other writers.

 

You will never be bored in the company of Kevin! Kevin is an eight-year-old boy. His appearance is that of a sweet youthful boy, but once you get to know him, Kevin has an explosive personality! His eccentric tendencies make him an exciting person to be around.

 

Kevin’s hair is sandy brown, often rumpled up, sticking out in all different directions. Occasionally, he will style his hair with water or gel and part his hair in the middle. Kevin’s face enables those around him to read his mood with ease. His eyebrows pull together, smooth out and crease in hundreds of different ways. This makes his face incredibly expressive. His large bright eyes are a warm shade of light brown. Unmistakably, Kevin also has a beauty mark above his upper lip. Kevin enjoys wearing mismatched clothing and superhero costumes. Because of his age, Kevin is still short, thin and slight. He makes up for this with his personality!

 

Kevin is tremendously strong-willed. No matter how eccentric, idiotic or obviously wrong his ideas are, he is unyieldingly convinced that he is correct in his beliefs. He tends to be cautious rather than adventurous. For instance, he still sleeps with dozens of stuffed animals, will scream at the sight of an insect and will cry if he is stuck outside while there are strong winds. Despite these factors, he still enjoys flipping from an armchair onto a beanbag, and jumping off stair banisters. Kevin can be sweet, caring and funny if he wants to be. However, most of the time, he is obnoxious. He is practiced at the art of finding something that will drive you crazy!

 

Kevin needs a constant companion during hours of leisure. He loves interacting with other people. Playing by himself isn’t nearly as enjoyable as playing with another person. Therefore he usually plays with his sister, or with the next-door-neighbor girls. He enjoys playing outdoor ball games. When unable to find a companion, Kevin plays video games and loves to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants.

 

Kevin is unpredictable, and you can never be sure of what he’ll do next. Despite his irritating nature, he is a great little brother!

 

 

 

 

In the style of Vinsauf:

Let him wear a perfectly shaped midnight-blue baseball cap; let the cap be angled lopsidedly, and the remains of his last meal be smeared across his face, enhancing his boyish features. Let God fabricate a perfect sphere for his head; let his sandy hair be rumpled and sticking out in all directions in the perfect way, like a sea anemone. Let his caramel-colored eyebrows be able to pull together, smooth out and crease in hundreds of different ways, alerting those around him of his emotions. Let his nose be small and rounded like a grape on a vine—not too big, not too small. Let his eyes—those small gleaming amber spheres—shine brightly and emanate with childish joy. Let his face radiate with boyish charm: not evil and yet not innocent—but show impending mischief. Let his mouth always crave ice cream and sweets and let it never stop chattering—as if every thought he happens to think must be expressed. Let there be a beauty mark above his lip like a permanent chocolate drop. Let his smile be filled with holes where baby teeth have fallen out and not been replaced by gleaming white choppers. Let his breath smell of hamburgers and sugary sweets. Let his chin be small, rounded and still not yet matured. Let his neck be seamless and smooth, not taking away from his boyish charm—God, so mighty a sculptor. Let his shoulders be perfectly proportioned and tensed with the anticipation of another adventure. Let his arms be small, thin and slight while they excitedly swing at his side. Let his waist be thin, and his hips be non-existent. Let his legs be short, energetic and ready to play. Let his miniscule feet blunder around in undying energy.

Edited November 15, 2008 by HollyinNNV

[HollyinNNV]

In the style of Dickens:

 

A hyper boy, in a glaring t-shirt, with a plastic toy light-saber held in the air. A boy with a lop-sided blue baseball cap, and with mud-splattered grey sneakers, and with the remains of his last meal smeared across his smirking face. A boy who had been crippled by jagged rocks, and speared with wooden splinters, and deafened by loud music, and suffered a headache from playing his iPod too loud, and was drenched in water from the neighbor’s super soaker, and had a large scrape on his leg from a scooter crash; who scampered, and screamed, and smirked, and scoffed, and whose mouth would not stop issuing complaints as he sped in tearful whiny circles, trapping me.

 

Another in the style of Dickens:

 

My brother, Kevin, was more than five years younger than I, and had established a terrible reputation with his classmates and myself because he had grown a little “too big for his britches.” Having at the time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing that Kevin had an especially big and fat head, and to be much in the habit of showing it off to both me and my father, I was comforted by the fact that those who get too big for their britches often get exposed in the end.

 

He was not a calm and mellow person, my brother; and I had the general impression that he had driven our father, Shane, to insanity by means of his big britches. Shane was a humorous man, with shiny ink-black hair parted and jelled in the middle, and with eyes of a warm brown that could widen and give you a piercing look, like you were being x-rayed. He seemed never to hear anyone talking when he was distracted with an electronic device, like his ears had husks around them, blocking out all sound. He was an intelligent, warm-hearted, quirky, comical, dear father—a Bacchus of fun and drudgery.

 

My brother, Kevin, with brown hair and eyes, had such expressive eyebrows that it seemed like they were made of ink from a cartoonist’s pen rather than small brown hairs. He was short and slight, and almost always wore his movie-inspired cowboy hat, rammed onto his head, and having a dark brown ribbon wrapped around the middle, that bore a conspicuous logo that proclaimed that it was an Indiana Jones hat. He made it a sign that he was the toughest in the family, and an enabler to antagonize Shane. Though I really see no reason why he should have worn it for any reason: or why, if he did wear it at all, he should not have taken it off, every day of his life.

Edited November 15, 2008 by HollyinNNV

[LisaNY]

In the style of Dickens:

 

Another in the style of Dickens:

 

My brother, Kevin, was more than five years younger than I, and had established a terrible reputation with his classmates and myself because he had grown a little “too big for his britches.†Having at the time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing that Kevin had an especially big and fat head, and to be much in the habit of showing it off to both me and my father, I was comforted by the fact that those who get too big for their britches often get exposed in the end.

 

He was not a calm and mellow person, my brother; and I had the general impression that he had driven our father, Shane, to insanity by means of his big britches. Shane was a humorous man, with shiny ink-black hair parted and jelled in the middle, and with eyes of a warm brown that could widen and give you a piercing look, like you were being x-rayed. He seemed never to hear anyone talking when he was distracted with an electronic device, like his ears had husks around them, blocking out all sound. He was an intelligent, warm-hearted, quirky, comical, dear father—a Bacchus of fun and drudgery.

 

My brother, Kevin, with brown hair and eyes, had such expressive eyebrows that it seemed like they were made of ink from a cartoonist’s pen rather than small brown hairs. He was short and slight, and almost always wore his movie-inspired cowboy hat, rammed onto his head, and having a dark brown ribbon wrapped around the middle, that bore a conspicuous logo that proclaimed that it was an Indiana Jones hat. He made it a sign that he was the toughest in the family, and an enabler to antagonize Shane. Though I really see no reason why he should have worn it for any reason: or why, if he did wear it at all, he should not have taken it off, every day of his life.

 

She's done a beautiful job of imitating Dickens!! Excellent!

[Michelle in AL]

Hi Holly, I love the second Dicken's imitation, she did a great job. I didn't even attempt that lesson, due to the difficulty of the the two character dynamics. Well done!

[HollyinNNV]

Michelle,

I decided to attempt the second Dickens imitation. In the end, I spread the task out between 2 weeks. The students said that they had more success when they could work on writing the imitations in short spurts with little breaks. They seemed to suggest that when they got stuck, it was better to take a break and come back to it, rather than try and force their way through. KWIM?

 

When we wrapped up the chapter, there was a general consensus that the Vinsauf was the hardest assignment. Funny, huh? I'm not sure if that was because it was the first imitation or because it was so different from any writing they've done before.

 

As a fun activity, I asked everyone to bring something to be imitated by a fellow classmate for the last week of homework. We had selections from F451, Star Wars, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ivanhoe, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers. That seemed to be a fun way to end the unit.

 

Holly

[Michelle in AL]

Hi Holly,

As a fun activity, I asked everyone to bring something to be imitated by a fellow classmate for the last week of homework. We had selections from F451, Star Wars, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ivanhoe, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers.

I love that idea.

 

I'll have to remember to do this after Christmas break. I think they'll really enjoy it because they had a part in choosing the assignment.

[HollyinNNV]

Hi Holly, I love that idea.

 

I'll have to remember to do this after Christmas break. I think they'll really enjoy it because they had a part in choosing the assignment.

 

They also like seeing what their classmates wrote with the literature selection they chose. It is a win-win assignment.

 

I've been trying to think long-term planning with the WW. I'm thinking there's no way I can do the whole thing in one year. If I go in the order the chapters are written, we'll get to the really hard stuff at the beginning of next year. If I get any new students, they'll be at a disadvantage. So, I might do every other chapter and leave the even chapters for next year. I'm still not sure.

Holly