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Mosaic Minutes

Fun with Prompts!

12/21/2013

 
with Angela Harris
Our last NaNoWriMo class on December 16 was spent sharing and discussing our partner's feedback on the first two pages of our novels. Since most students are still working on their novels, we just addressed the first two pages so that we could practice revising for content, and later proofread and edit for punctuation, spelling, and grammar. We then took a break and enjoyed finishing a fun Christmas writing prompt which our New Jersey students may remember from their 2011-12 Creative Writing class. They were so cleverly written, I offered to publish them here for all to read. We hope you like them!

Merry Christmas from the Mosaic Texas students and families!

Saving Santa...

Prompt: The alert came over the radio -- "Emergency! Santa Claus trapped in chimney. Christmas will likely be canceled." As soon as I heard it, I knew I would have to do something -- and do it fast. I quickly gathered my gear and headed out the door...
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I frantically looked around the neighborhood -- where could Santa be? He was nowhere I could see. I looked to the right and saw the outline of police lights. "He must be there!" I happily thought, "Now that I found him, I can save Christmas!" I ran towards the house that was surrounded by police cars, it was easy to get past the cops, they didn't even try to stop me. They must have known that I was on a quest to save Christmas! I ran to the ladder in front of me and quickly climbed to the top.  There I saw Santa feet-up in the chimney! ''No worries Santa!'' I said to him as I thought of a way to get him out. I couldn't pull him out, he was really stuck. I snapped my fingers as a plan formed. ''I got it! Santa's reindeer!'' I said excitedly. Then I whistled as loud as I could. At first all I heard were the crickets chirping, then out of nowhere I saw Santa's reindeer flying towards me. I took out my handy lasso and lassoed Santa's feet, then as Santa's reindeer landed on the roof I tied the other end of the lasso to the closest reindeer. ''Fly!'' I told them, and with a jump they flew into the air. Santa popped out of the roof, then the reindeer lightly plopped him down, and he jumped up. ''Ho-ho-ho, I'm late! Thank you very much,'' he said as he jumped in the sleigh and flew off. Another Christmas saved! --- Alex C.


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I look up at my chimney, he's not there. I look around frantically. I can't seem to find Santa on any of my neighbors' roofs. I grab my bike out of the garage and ride down my street. Off in the distance, I see the outline of a sleigh on Steve Harden's house. I also see dozens of police lights. I ride up to the police lines and show them my badge. "Santa Rescue League, step aside please," I say. The policemen part and I make my way to the ladder that leads up to the roof. I see Santa face down in the chimney, his legs sticking up in the air. I tie my rope around his legs and tie the other end to a hover rocket. I push the button and the rocket slowly goes up and up, pulling Santa Claus with it. Santa gets tugged out and set down on the shingles, face first. "Thank you so much, what would I do without the SRL?" Santa asks. "Mr. Claus, I saw that you went down head first, you know that is not proper protocol," I say. "I know, I was just getting bored, it won't happen again." "Well, make sure it doesn't!" I wave goodbye as he climbs into his sleigh and shoots off. Another job well done for Ethan Harris, Santa Detective, and the SRL. --- Ethan H.

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Running as fast I could, I quickly remembered to grab my fat-free cookies for Santa. I knew I would need a bigger backpack for all of those cookies. I ran into my house to get a bigger backpack and went onto my laptop to track Santa on the NORAD tracker. I found the house I had to go to. Very conveniently, Santa was at my house! "Don't worry Santa, I'll save you!" I climbed the roof and pulled out my fat-free cookies. I reached down the chimney and handed him the cookies. Santa ate two of them and his stomach instantly shrunk. As he fell through the chimney, Santa thanked me. I hope this takes me off the naughty list. --- Aidan H.


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I went to the Internet for more information. MSN said that he was stuck in California. "Oh no," I thought, "I live in Arkansas. I'll never reach him in time." Then I remembered a web-site I had heard about. It was a Facebook page for reindeer. I typed as quickly as I could -- Reinbook.com. The muscles in my hands burned. "Cupid!" I typed. Cupid had to stay home because he had too many salt licks. "I need your help, Cupid! Santa's stuck in a chimney!" When I posted it, a voice bubble popped up with a "bloop!" "Ok, I'll risk the fine for flying dehydrated! Let's save Santa!" Cupid replied. I heard jingles on the roof -- "He's here!" I thought. I went outside and whistled. Cupid flew down. I jumped on his back and yelled, "To California!" He leapt off the ground and before I knew it, we were standing beside Santa who was pulling on his boots. He tumbled over onto the shingles of the roof. "Oh, thank you!" he said in a hearty voice. "Here -- for your courage and intervention." Santa handed me a wrapped box. I ripped off the paper and opened it. It was a NaNoWriMo certificate -- exactly what I wanted! 
--- Katie K.

"Thank Goodness It's Over!" {Party}

12/2/2013

 
with Angela Harris

NaNoWriMo Ends!

On Saturday, November 30, National Novel Writing Month came to a close! Kudos to the Mosaic Texas students for their great work! Over the course of 30 days, six students wrote a total of 49,382 words!!! All novelists are still working on their stories and will be writing even more in the days and weeks ahead. Amazing job, everyone!

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Today we started class by finishing up our NaNo TV interviews. We then announced the winner of the Sequence and Structure Challenge using the Langston Hugh's short story, "Thank You, Ma'am." The boys, Team WriMo, took home the victory as their re-arrangement of the story still maintained its original meaning. Nice work, boys.

Without further ado, we updated our in-class progress chart for the final time and started our novel-sharing. Each student read aloud the first two pages of his/her novel. I was so impressed with every story! I told the students my expectations were very high going into September, but they managed to surpass them! I am truly proud of these talented young people!

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For the last 30-minutes of class, we broke into two workshop groups. Students traded novels and made constructive notes and comments on the first two pages of their partners' novels. 

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We then did what all good novelists do -- we celebrated with food and drink!
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Homework

For homework, students should finish writing comments on their partners' drafts if they did not finish in class (see workbook page 87 for an example). Also, all students should fill out workbook pages 88-89, "Reader Review Worksheet."

Lastly, here's what students should bring next week. We will be continuing our work on editing for our last class. 

Re-type your first two pages. This time you should incorporate any changes your partner suggested (if they finished in class, otherwise, make no changes). Pages should be double-spaced, not single spaced, and Times New Roman, 12 pt. Please let me know if there are any questions about the homework!

Thank you and see you next week!

Mosaic - Texas NaNoWriMo Class Summary 11/18/13

11/19/2013

 
with Angela Harris

Progress Update

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All writers are now at the 30% or more completion mark on their word count goals. Great work -- now the big push to the end begins!

After up-dating our word counts on our in-class progress chart, we played a quick game of "Simile or Metaphor?" to reinforce our discussion from last class. Teams took turns identifying whether a statement was a simile or metaphor and then for extra points, had to turn the correctly identified statement into the opposite form. Congratulations to the girls -- Team "NaNo" -- for stealing a question and squeaking by with the win.

Experimenting with Sequence and Structure

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We then began a hands-on project to demonstrate that a piece of literature can be re-arranged into a different order, but still tell the same story. After briefly defining chronological order, we discussed techniques such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and foreshadowing. One student is even using flashbacks in her novel! 

Using the same teams from the morning, students were challenged to divide the delightful short story, "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes, into six different sections. They might use six equal sections or they might divide the story into a beginning, an ending, and four internal sections. The only rules were that the story could not be in the original (chronological) order and that they try to be as creative as possible while still maintaing the story's original meaning. They were allowed to make small edits and/or add orienting or transitional words or phrases. After the teams cut and pasted the story into a new order, we examined both versions for similarities and differences. I will be taking a look at them this week and will declare a "winner" next class!

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NaNo TV

For our last activity, students made a list of five things their protagonists might have in their closets! I loved hearing all the different items, as it gave great insight into what type of characters our writers are creating.

After answering another five questions on a questionnaire sheet, we then started our NaNo TV interviews -- students were asked to take on the personae of their protagonists while I interviewed them. We did not have time to finish, so we will pick this up next time. If they would like, students can also fill out the interview questions for their supporting characters and antagonists. They may also bring a prop to wear or hold during the interview that personifies the characters they are portraying.

Very Important Reminders!

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Here are a few critical things to remember as we cruise into month-end:
  • If you are changing your word count goal, you MUST do so on the Young Writers Program web-site by November 24, or you will cause a big problem for yourself. A couple people indicated they were going to change their word count goals, so I recommend you log in today and get it done!
  • Starting on November 24, students may begin "winning" NaNoWriMo with the last possible day being November 30. What does this mean? You must log in to the web-site and validate your word count under the "Edit My Novel" link in the sidebar. In order to validate your final word count, you must simply copy and paste the text from your document into the validator window. If anyone has trouble with this, please let me know as soon as possible -- once November 30 passes, I won't be able to do anything about it, unfortunately.
  • In early December, NaNoWriMo will release the coupon codes for the five free novel copies to those that have validated their word counts and met their goals by November 30. I will be providing more details and assistance during the publishing phase -- so, no worries there.
  • On December 2, we will be having our "Thank Goodness It's Over Party" to celebrate reaching our writing goals. I am asking all students to read excerpts from their novels to the class (or I am happy to read it for them!). Please bring the first two pages of your novel (typed) to next class -- it does not have to be edited. We will have a few snacks and spend some time talking about our noveling adventure!

Any questions, please ask! Good luck and see you on December 2!

It's National Novel Writing Month!

11/5/2013

 
with Angela Harris

Mosaic Texas - Creative Writing Class

We thought everyone might like to know what we've been up to in Texas this fall! We have a great group of writers participating in National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Mosaic New Jersey students will remember their novel writing adventures from 2011 -- please join me in cheering on the Texas students as they face this amazing challenge all November-long!

September

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We kicked off our first class on September 9th by defining what makes a novel and filled out our "What Makes a Novel a Novel" worksheet in preparation for our in-class "book talks." We discussed the meaning of conflict within the context of a novel, perspective, and point of view (first person vs. third person).

We discussed what a workshop partner is and how to provide constructive critique. Remember the "feedback sandwich"? (Compliment/Suggestion for Improvement/Compliment) and we started working on our characters for our novel. 

At our second class, we wrapped up our discussion of what makes a character interesting and what clues authors use to let us know which characters are the protagonist, antagonist, and supporting character(s). We want to remember these "tricks" authors use to portray them and keep them in mind as we write our own novels. 

We wrapped up our day by describing the first three elements of plot: set-up, inciting incident and rising action. We discussed that a good plot is a lot like a good roller coaster and read through a sample story that gave us good examples of these first three elements. 

I've really enjoyed getting to know all the children. On our first day together, I had them write down their answers to the question, "What does it mean to be creative?" We shared some of our answers, among which were some great insights such as, "...to be creative is to have a great imagination and energy released in any form of art." and, "...being creative means thinking outside the box, or something out of the ordinary." 


October

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By October, we started to get to know one another a little better and are now feeling more comfortable sharing our writing and creative processes.

We finished discussing our "plot outlines" and then moved on to "Setting and Mood" which proved a little tricky in the end, but also prompted a lot of great discussion and examples of moods that we might convey through our novels. The difficulty comes in communicating these moods through a description of a setting. 

By our last October class I could really sense the excitement and confidence building!

We practiced using setting to re-inforce characters. Everyone selected a character or characters to describe using setting details, and I think did a wonderful job overall! We talked about things we did right and things we could have done a little differently to make our writing more effective.  

We then moved on to define dialogue and talked about what makes dialogue interesting vs. boring. The kids stretched their acting muscles and enjoyed reading a few scenes which demonstrated the three functions of dialogue.  

Lastly, everyone set their word count goals, signed their writing contracts, and we filled out our in-class poster which will keep track of our progress in November.


Monday, November 4

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This week we began class by updating our in-class progress chart. 

NaNoWriMo has just begun, but students already have a great start! Two students were at the 10% completion mark and all others were close behind. All writers should be at approximately the 50% mark when next we meet on November 18. You can validate your word count now and then on the Young Writers Program web-site. You can do this under the Edit Novel Info tab and also check out your NaNo Stats under My NaNoWriMo to make sure you're on track to reach your word count goal! You can also update your word count by simply entering the number of words you've written in the Word Count box at the top of the NaNoWriMo web-page.

Thank you to those students who turned in dialogue scenes for critique, I will have feedback to you on those at our next class.

We spent the rest of class covering many topics, such as, different beginnings for novels (ask your student what it means to begin a novel "in medias res"!) and using our five senses to describe different random objects.

We then tried to describe our classroom using all five senses and quickly discovered that some students like to be very literal, while others can describe things more abstractly. Both are good skills, and I encouraged the literal thinkers to take some risks and try to "think outside the box."

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If we can get in touch with our senses while writing our novels they will be more interesting to read, AND the added detail will BOOST OUR WORD COUNTS!

We also briefly defined similes and metaphors and spent some time trying to create sensory detail for rather abstract ideas using both. For instance, how do you describe how Happiness "tastes" using a simile or a metaphor? These exercises proved very difficult, but I thought we still got some great ideas on paper. Next class, the students would like to play a game to get more practice identifying similes vs. metaphors, so we'll spend a bit more time on this.

We closed class by reading aloud the lovely short story, "Thank you, M'am," by Langston Hughes. Next time, we will break into two teams and engage in a hands-on project using this short story that will allow us to experiment with sequence and structure.

The only homework is to write, write, write!

Please come to next class with your copy of "Thank you, M'am", your binders, something to write with AND your word count through November 17, so we can up-date our chart. See you then!

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