I had a great time Friday at DECATS, a Summer Enrichment program for 3rd thru 5th graders. All in all I saw about 200 students, but rather than lecture on writing, I did four half-hour workshops on storytelling.
Here's how it worked: a 50-student group would come in and I'd have 25 minutes with them, so I'd spend 5 minutes introducing myself and storytelling, then given them a scenario: you guys are writing teams. You've been asked to pitch something come Monday morning. Break up into smaller groups and take 10 minutes to plan your story. Then, each team will pitch their idea.
This was a blast. I heard story pitches about giant mutant dogs, spies who go insane, planets where the vegetables eat people, and more. Four groups of 50 students, 20 teams in all; it was a fantastic experience, plus I gave out a lot of Alex Van Helsing bookmarks.
Thanks very much, DECATS! you were really inspiring.
You were terrific, Jason. I wish I could have sat in for a full session (or, frankly, for all four sessions) rather than running around to make sure everything was working smoothly. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
ReplyDeletePatty! I'm sorry I didn't respond to this comment. I had a wonderful time visiting DECATS! If you have any pictures, I'll post them!
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