Summer Writing Camps at Penn State Lehigh Valley

2009-08-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

2009

SUMMER YOUTH WRITING CAMPS

WRITE FOR FUN AT OUR MORNING AND AFTERNOON CAMPS!

For more information, call 610-285-5231 or visit our Web site

New curriculum and programming every year!

Day 9 of Writing Camps -- Bethlehem, 8-13-09

2009-08-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

THURSDAY

Enjoy the sun-kissed orange posts below for today's highlights!

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

We are busily preparing for tomorrow's play! We had another dress rehearsal and finished creating our props. Also, we did some publicity writing.

Thank you for lending us items from home. We now have everything we need to shine tomorrow. Be prepared for DAZZLE!

Digital Storytelling -- Bethlehem

2009-08-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today campers continued putting the finishing touches on their digital creations. They are really looking forward to sharing their work with their guests on Friday!

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-13T10:29:00.001-07:00

In preparation of tomorrow's end-of-camp celebration (!), we entered the computer lab early today to finalize our pieces. We are looking forward to presenting to our guests tomorrow. We are ready!

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-13T08:39:00.001-07:00

Today we finished our shape poems using alliteration. We went into the computer lab where we typed two stories for our camp's anthology. If I could fly... was our writing warmup for the day. Jared (who helped write this post) wrote that he would go to space for one hour, then the White House for two hours. The rest of the time, Jared could go anywhere he wants!

8th Day of Writing Camps -- Bethlehem, 8-12-09

2009-08-12T13:58:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

WEDNESDAY

Please read the groovy green posts below for today's highlights!

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T13:55:00.001-07:00

Our writing topic today was No Electricity. Campers discussed and wrote about life without today's conveniences--

I wouldn't have a Wii anymore! -- Jolade

We also practiced alliteration to use with our shape poems tomorrow.

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today we explored sound and seasons. Before it got too hot, we went outside. We also listened to music. Why? To delve into characterization, of course! Kayla created a character named Derek, who snowboards in winter, skateboards in the fall, and bicycles in summer. That's one active, inspirational character!

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today we enjoyed designing our invitations for Friday's play, "Sleeping Ugly." Our second rehearsal was performed. Derek has an incredible bird mask, but that's just one of many props/costumes that our group has brought in. Our instructor says that we "have certainly gone above and beyond in preparing for Friday's event!"

Digital Storytelling -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

We continued using Movie Maker. Today we finished our second (or third) movies and saved our creations to our flash drives. We worked on finding the right balance -- voice, music, and timing -- oh, my!

7th Day of Writing Camps -- Bethlehem, 8-11-09

2009-08-12T04:46:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day

TUESDAY

Today was our seventh day of writing camps! Please check out the blazing posts below for today's highlights!

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T04:44:00.001-07:00

Today we had our first rehearsal! Some of us even brought in costumes and props. We also continued writing in the computer lab.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we can write and rehearse again.

Digital Storytelling -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T04:41:00.000-07:00

Today some of us started a new story, while others were putting the final touches on their first story. We looked at other digital stories and critiqued their choice of pictures, picture composition, choice of music or sounds and the volume.

Don't forget to RSVP for our film festival on Friday at 3 p.m. See you then!

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

Today we explored the diamante poem, which is a poem in the shape of a diamond. We considered opposites when writing these:

Stephen compared Mom and Dad

Derek compared girls and boys

Jared compared soccer and baseball

We also explored a toolbox and started writing about how to use strange tools.

6th Day of Writing Camps -- Bethlehem, 8-10-09

2009-08-10T11:51:00.001-07:00

Picture of the day

MONDAY

Enjoy today's panther pink posts below for today's highlights!

Digital Stories -- Bethlehem

2009-08-10T11:49:00.001-07:00

Today we continued writing our stories -- some of us are recording, adding sound effects, and finalizing our creations. Some of us also enjoyed searching to find the longest words in the dictionary -- and then trying to say it!

Look for an invitation to come home today for family and friends to attend our film festival showcasing our digital stories this Friday.

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today we explored characterization and performed various characterization activities. This was done in preparation of campers becoming their characters. We are so excited to learn that Sleeping Ugly is our play for Friday -- and to receive our parts. We had our first read-through today. Tomorrow we will do our first rehearsal.

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

Today we explored pictures and how they could be used to write a story. We also drew detailed pictures and wrote stories to match them.

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today we worked on poetry and explored tall tales before writing our own. Ms. Walker told her own tall tale and most campers believed every word of it! Actually, she stretched her true story a bit to turn it into a tall tale. Ruby did the same when she wrote her tall tale. It was about breaking her finger during a slumber party and how it resulted in a 30-day hospital stay.

We also wrote concrete poetry, putting our word strings into shapes according to what the poem was about.

5th Day of Writing Camps -- Bethlehem

2009-08-07T13:33:00.001-07:00

Picture of the day

FRIDAY

Please read the ruby red posts below for today's highlights!

Enjoy the weekend!

Digital Stories -- Bethlehem

2009-08-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Campers worked on finding copyright-free music and sound effects for their stories. They viewed digital stories created by the Fogelsville campers in order to examine what they wanted to include within their own stories. Campers are finding that digital stories, like all good things, take time.

Reader's Theatre

2009-08-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today we performed paper bag dramas and wrote scripts with a partner! We are really looking forward to Monday when we will be presented with our script and our parts!

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-07T10:11:00.002-07:00

Campers got their creative juices flowing when looking at The Earth From Above by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. They used this great book to ponder photographs that could inspire their writing. For instance, campers described one particular photograph in the following ways:
• “it looks like green emeralds” -- Simon
• “it looks like big green splots you see when you’re up in the airplane" --Ruby

Wondering what it really was? A photograph, "Terraced Rice Fields in Indonesia.” Campers learned that the numerous lines within the photograph are actually irrigation systems that transport water within a field of the most important crop in Asia -- rice!

We also explored poetry with a focus on saying more with fewer words.

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

Campers explored limericks and brainstormed rhyming words to help one another complete ending lines – not necessarily an easy task when you’re trying to find words to rhyme with words like monster or hockey. :)

Campers also wrote about “the biggest footprints I had ever seen…” Ahna’s story was about a flying horse that made a giant footprint. It flew up into the clouds and was never seen again!"

Great job, campers!

Drama Writers -- Southern Lehigh

2009-08-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

Our writing camp began on a great note with all campers introducing themselves in the most creative ways...scrapbooks, poems, and even songs! Campers continue to practice their group skits from Aesop's Fables. What an improvement in only a few days! Theater games, improv, and script writing our fractured fairy tales will continue to take us into our second week of camp.

4th Day of Writing Camps, 8/6 -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

THURSDAY

Check out the grassy green posts below for today's highlights!

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

We created animals using Play-Doh and our imagination. We also wrote articles on our new animals to describe how they look, where they live, what they look eat, etc. Anna's animal was Pip, while Jared's was a platypus.

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today we explored mystery. Each of us was given a mystery bag. We really enjoyed emptying the bags to see what was inside. Then, we wrote a mystery surrounding the objects, so our stories included things like bananas, popsicle sticks, a money clip, and more!

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today we explored action dramas. In Jack and the Beanstalk, Brian acted as the giant, saying "Fee Fi Fo Fum!" Everyone had fun playing a part! We also enjoyed tongue twisters. Some of us made up our own.

Digital Storytelling -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T13:25:00.001-07:00

Today we went onto the Internet and continued finding pictures. We also finished writing our stories. We went onto Movie Maker and inserted the pictures into our movies. We even worked with special effects and the Audacity program to record our voices.

3rd Day of Writing Camps, 8/5 -- Bethlehem

2009-08-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day

WEDNESDAY

Please check out the popping purple posts below for today's highlights!

Author Adventures --Bethlehem

2009-08-05T13:34:00.001-07:00

We wrote about an important event or activitiy. Sean wrote about visiting Japan. We enjoyed a creative writing activity -- "What I saw out my bedroom window this morning." Graeme saw "it was raining pennies and I collected a trillion of them in a huge pot...but it was imaginary." Way to go, campers!

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed going outside and taking the perspective of something small, such as a bird, ant, or flower. Kaitlyn was an ant, quite tiny against people and water falling. We also played charades, took guesses at what was being acted out, and then wrote about that. Great work, writers!

2nd Day of Writing Camps, 8/4 -- Bethlehem

2009-08-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

TUESDAY

Campers enjoyed many activities at our second day of writing camps. Read the tangerine-tinted posts for today's tantalizing highlights!

Digital Storytelling -- Bethlehem

2009-08-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today we continued to write our own stories. We printed them out to look at the order of the story and how it unfolded for the reader. Some of us began searching for images that are labeled for reuse. Also, we each journaled about a trip that we have taken or a place that we would like to go.

Reader's Theatre -- Bethlehem

2009-08-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

We explored alliteration as a way to warm up our vocal chords --
Dede devoured dozens of delicious donuts.

We also performed a vocalization puzzle -- Docked Hearse Whose (Say that a few times. Do you hear it?).

There were plenty of other theatre games to play today, such as Good Gossip and Shake-up. We also enjoyed working in the computer lab, continuing our monologues and beginning scripts!

Creative Composers -- Bethlehem

2009-08-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today we continued writing stories about "shoes" and it was a lot of fun! We went outside to list things we saw, such as car, flowers, trees, and rocks. We added describing words, such as

red
little
tiny
"perfect size for me"

and many more. These kind of words strengthen our writing. Then, we did even more writing!

Author Adventures -- Bethlehem

2009-08-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Today we wrote a letter using someone that we included in our journal. In the computer lab, we performed a quick write using a fairytale of our choice, such as Jack and the Beanstalk or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In our free writing time, we chose what we would write about. Devin created a superhero called "Masterhand." We are looking forward to tomorrow when we can write more!

First Day of Writing Camps, 8/3 -- Bethlehem

2009-08-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

MONDAY

Today we enjoyed the first day of camps at Bethlehem! Please read the groovy green posts below for today's highlights!

Creative Composers--Bethlehem

2009-08-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

On our first day, we got to know one another. We wrote a story -- the character had someone's first name and someone else's last name and then we added a hobby and a place. It was fun mixing up the names! Later, we picked a shoe to write how the shoe feels, smells, looks, etc. It was funny how everyone reacted differently to their shoe! It was also really fun talking and coming up with ideas and learning people's names.

This post was written with help from campers, Haley and Eric.

Author Adventures--Bethlehem

2009-08-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today we explored bio-poems! We wrote one together about Spongebob before writing our own. Derek enjoyed writing a biopoem about his mom. Devin and Roshan wrote biopoems about themselves. We are looking forward to writing more tomorrow!

Reader's Theatre--Bethlehem

2009-08-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

Today we enjoyed learning about one another. We each wrote a one-minute monologue about ourselves and created puppets to look like us. We then shared our monologues in front of our "puppet theatre," which you can see in our room. It was also fun playing theatre games!

Great job sharing your interests, most embarrassing moments, things you are most proud of, and more (like Haley's stage accents and Devin's breakdancing moves)!

Digital Storytelling-Bethlehem

2009-08-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today we began writing stories! We discussed organization and what makes a good story and storyteller. We're looking forward to tomorrow when we may bring in pictures to match our stories.

Final Day of Writing Camps, Fogelsville, 7/31

2009-08-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 2 weeks at Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Camps! Our teachers were wonderful and some of us are planning on coming again next year in Center Valley. Everyone that was at Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Camps has turned into a young author!

This post was written and posted by me, fellow reader's theatre camper, Lindsey I.

Write on, Lindsey! You and the rest of the campers have brought a great amount of joy to our campus each day! Enjoy the rest of your summer and keep writing! Of course, for those of you who are headed to our Bethlehem camps, we'll see you on Monday!

College-Bound

2009-08-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we say good-bye to a great group of high school kids. They really rock! Great writers, one and all. We had fun these past two weeks with good discussions and good food provided by our personal bakers – Gab and Neha.

Have a great rest of the summer and an enjoyable school year, everyone!

2009-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

2009

SUMMER YOUTH WRITING CAMPS

WRITE FOR FUN AT OUR MORNING AND AFTERNOON CAMPS!

For more information, call 610-285-5231or visit our Web site

New curriculum and programming every year!

9th Day of Writing Camps, 7/30

2009-07-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day

THURSDAY

Check out the groovy green posts below to catch today's highlights!

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today we enjoyed preparing for Friday's play by having a dress rehearsal! See the slideshow for a sneak preview of all of us in costume!

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

We spent the day polishing our writing and getting ready to publish . We printed our final copies and practiced reading our stories and poems.

8th Day of Writing Camps, 7/29

2009-07-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day...

WEDNESDAY

Enjoy the panther pink posts below for today's highlights!

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 7/28/08
Today, we examined how to write to a picture prompt. Using the five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) help us to give the necessary content and create movies in our readers’/listeners’ minds. And, once again, we continued to work on our digital stories by using the Audacity and Windows Movie Maker programs. Some have already completed their projects and are moving on to a second one—impressive!

For Tuesday, 7/27/09
Today we learned about the importance of style in our writing. We learned that the words we choose to use, how long our sentences are, and our writing voices make us own our writing and make it unique. Looking at each other’s shoes helped us understand that each person has his or her own style in just about everything we do, and writing is no exception! We also continued to put all of the many elements of our projects together, with everyone helping our classmates all the way through.

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

Wanna-Be Writers wrote poetry from music. We also prepared our writing for publication. Each writer shared something from his or her writing.

We practiced reading loudly, slowly, and clearly.

7th day of Writing Camps, 7/28

2009-07-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day...

TUESDAY

It is hard to believe we are already in our 7th day of camp! Check out the popping purple posts below for a glimpse into today's activities!

College-Bound

2009-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Revising, editing...groan...all the pieces the kids have written got a fresh look. New intros and new conclusions have been adapted.

Newspaper poetry -- wow! Some great pieces with pizazz!

More SAT prompts -- getting better with practice. Practice makes perfect!

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-28T14:06:00.001-07:00

Today we discovered that adjectives are like chocolate chip cookies. We wrote limericks and a short story. We used 5 random words from the dictionary.

We also worked on revision and revised one piece, discussing

what we liked,
any questions we had,
and what we wanted to know more about.

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-28T14:00:00.001-07:00

Wanna-Be Writers shared some of their favorite poems and wrote some of their own. They continued writing their stories with a focus on concrete nouns and description.

6th day of Writing Camp

2009-07-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day!

Monday

Read the ruby red posts below for today's camp highlights!

Author Adventures

2009-07-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Today we wrote stories about pictures that were handed out, Then, we read them aloud. My pictures -- I had three of them -- were like this:

One picture was about a little boy who got an aquarium.
Another showed him putting the aquarium together with his mom.
The third picture showed the boy watching the fish with his mom.

My story was about a little boy who was very happy he got 5 fish!

This post was written by Author Adventure Camper, Elyse.

Great work Elyse and fellow campers!

College-Bound

2009-07-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

First SAT Prompt today! Yes, the college-bound students were off and writing their first SAT prompt today. They first looked at what made a 6 essay, and then brainstormed ideas. Most of the students did a good job on their first one, although they did not like the time constraints.

The kids took time out from heavy duty work to send some Messages in Bottles. Fun replies!

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today was Monster Monday! We each drew a monster and used words to describe it. We checked the accuracy of our chosen describing words by asking another camper to draw the monster that we described. This was a blast! Each monster had two different pictures -- did they look alike?

Check out the photo of the day to see how we did!

But that's not all. We also wrote fairy tales and worked in the computer lab. Awesome!

Creative Composers - 2

2009-07-27T14:06:00.001-07:00

We explored sentence combining to improve writing style. We also looked at Pennsylvania's scoring guide for the 5 writing domains. Anushka and Sneha are making great progress with their third chapter of their story. Terrific job, campers!

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today, Hansel and Gretel helped us examine the importance of organization in our writing. We created new beginnings for tired, old fairy tales. During writer's workshop, some of us continued to write and revise our digital stories; other continued laying down a voice track. We were also introduced to Windows Movie Maker, the program we are going to use to put together our digital stories.

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Today we began by creating personal crowns and performed Royal Simon Says. We enjoyed playing charades. In the computer lab, we revised last week's writing.

The following is written by Reader's Theatre camper, Lindsey:

We did a play called The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. We each got a script to read. We looked at theatrical language. We made invitations to our play of Cinderella Big Foot.

Before we left, we wrote a reflection of the day --

what was challenging
what was fun
something I learned

Bravo, Lindsey and fellow campers!

Science Writers

2009-07-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured out to the lawn to tie-dye our Penn State youth camp shirts (we liked being able to use these!). We chose from different patterns -- bulls-eye, diagonals, spirals, and stripes -- and enjoyed predicting what each of ours will look like. Claire and Lauren wrote books about tie-dye. Lauren's book was an informational book on tie-dye while Claire's was a story.

We're looking forward to doing some typing and more writing in the computer lab tomorrow.

Great job, Science Writers!

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Wanna-Be Writers read and wrote some poetry. We took a walk outside, made notes of what saw, and wrote about that. We also wrote more on our stories. Tomorrow we will bring in poems that we like.

5th Day of Writing Camps, 7/24

2009-07-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day!

Friday

Check out the Penn State Blue posts below for today's camp highlights!

College-Bound

2009-07-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

The day started off with the daily discussion about a quote by Beatrix Potter and continued with the college essay revisions. Break time was enjoyable thanks to the Munchkins and the Quadruple Chocolate Chip cookies that Gabriella C. brought in to share with the rest of the group. After the break, we got the chance to use our creativity to compose pieces of writing inspired by the interesting display of “show and tell” items. With plenty of time to work, input from the other students and a relaxed atmosphere, we were able to have a great time and be productive! --- Neha A.

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a fantastic, fabulous Friday. We wrote a poem about what bugged us, like bugs, siblings, and some friends. As a special treat we took a field trip to the vending machines.

In stations, we –
• made magnetic poems
• finished (or tried to finish) our fractured fairy tales

We played word games, including Scrabble, Upword, Bananagrams, and Scrabble Up.
We also revised our poetry.

In the computer lab, we –
• wrote
• enjoyed font Friday
• inserted clipart

And…WE WROTE THIS POST!

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-26T10:03:00.001-07:00

We continued to revise our pieces by having our peers and Mr. Horn help us out. We went to Magnatunes.com to pick our perfect music for our stories. We then began laying down our vocal tracks. Finally, we learned how to organize our different files to prevent them from being messy like Mr. Horn’s!

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about fairy tales and made puppets. We also created character resumes based on our personal favorite fairy tale characters. On Monday, we will continue to work on our written pieces, as well as a short reader’s theatre, where we can look forward to bringing our puppets from page to stage. This is a nice preparation for Tuesday, when our play for the end of the week will be introduced.

Science Writers

2009-07-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today, our science writers made ice cream! They wrote stories, letters, and poems about ice cream.

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Wanna-Be Writers wrote about seasons, developed similes and metaphors comparing themselves to pine trees, limes, the color teal, and foxes, among other things. They created a list of cool sounding words (ravishing, narcissistic, portabella mushroom burgers). We also continued to expand their stories.

4th Day of Writing Camps, 7/23

2009-07-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day...

THURSDAY

Check out the glowing posts below for today's camp highlights!

Author Adventures

2009-07-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

Today we explored acrostic poems. We wrote four of these and illustrated the last one. In fact, the last one was quite special. It was inspired by the Nittany Lion statue that visited our room this morning!

College-Bound

2009-07-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

Eleven students all in a row...writing essays on thoughts they know.

"Oh, wow! We are so cool! Our writing really does rule!"

Friday is almost here...party, new friends, weekend near.

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

Today we began working with fractured fairy tales. We are beginning to use words that classmates chose in magnetic poetry! Each of us created a meal for someone they love -- revenge meals were allowed, too -- which spiced things up a bit!

Creative Composers - 2

2009-07-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today we explored the Famous Mystery Box. We described what we felt inside and then each of us drew our perceptions of the mystery object inside. This was no easy task. For example, after feeling one mystery object, we could determine it was hard and not soft and squishy. We described it as having a capital C on one end, being long and straight in the middle, and having the letter O shape at the other end.

Did you guess what the mystery object was?

A wrench!

Today we also continued our writing in the computer lab, strengthening our stories. We are looking forward to tomorrow!

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

Today we chose which types of digital stories to do for our projects. Some campers are making commercials, some are putting together personal narratives. Still, some campers are taking their own pictures, while some using their own drawings!

We wrote and wrote and then began revising. We also investigated some websites for music and sound effects to use.

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Campers enjoyed another action-packed day! Each acted in a tableau, maintaining a pose from a story, while the audience guessed which story. They also acted in and videotaped their infomercials! What a blast!

Science Writers

2009-07-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

Campers demonstrated Newton's Third Law by making balloon rockets. They also tested bottled water and identified the unknown water sample.

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

Today we wrote from pictures. Students developed interesting stories based on photographs they selected. Afterwards, we conferred on stories students were writing and discussed "signal" or "changing" events that we could write about.

3rd Day of Writing Camps, 7/22

2009-07-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day...

WEDNESDAY

Highlights of today's events rest in the ruby red posts below.

Enjoy!

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

Campers paired two animals together to create a brand new animal, which they named. They wrote about habitat and food, incorporating details into their writing.

Today we also worked on revision and ways that we can add additional details into a piece. As an example, we used the 100% Me poem. We also came up with more adjectives and adverbs to use for magnetic poetry.

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

We finished up our first (goofy!) Photo Story 3 project by adding dialogue, music, and transitions. We brainstormed our own stories to tell digitally. Last, we learned about the writing domain of content, which is, as Peter Elbow says, "creating movies in the minds of those who hear our stories."

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today we talked about writing dialogue. We learned about giving stage directions, then we worked hard together to write our first scripts!

We took advantage of the nice summer weather to do our read-aloud. Also, we put our ideas down in the computer lab!

Science Writers

2009-07-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Science Writers investigated acids and bases by using litmus paper, pH paper, and natural dye. They wrote letters describing how acids give foods a sour taste.

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

We wrote a lot about a place where we lived or went to school.

To critique for revision, we learned the ARMS:

Add
Remove
Move
Substitute

We helped Mr. Van Doren revise his writing. Also, we did a personal space/body language exercise.

2nd Day of Writing Camps, 7/21

2009-07-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Picture of the day...

TUESDAY

Today we enjoyed our second day of writing camp! Grab a hold of the groovy green posts below for a glimpse into today's activities!

Author Adventures

2009-07-22T19:20:00.002-07:00

Campers practiced illustrating with simple drawings. We met Beatrix Potter and read Peter Rabbit.

College-Bound

2009-07-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

Brainstorming! Super discussions! Writing! Today, taking ideas from two videos and the excerpt from Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, the kids began a persuasive piece written to the Secretary of Ed, school administrators, College Board, etc. Left brain/right brain assessments were completed and shared. Good to see that even the teachers have a whole brain!

Creative Composers - 1

2009-07-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today campers wrote a poem, 100% Me.

We explored magnetic poetry and parts of speech.

Also, we imagined being stranded somewhere and how we would feel.

Creative Composers - 2

2009-07-22T19:18:00.002-07:00

Today we practiced tips for style, using a cool sentence tip. We talked about similes and voice. Also, we read Lon Po Po and talked about elements of the plot.

Digital Storytelling

2009-07-22T19:18:00.001-07:00

Today we learned that writing is like a wild river: it starts out, twists and turns, and ends up in a totally different place. We learned about storyboarding and how we can rearrange images to play with time and order within a story. We searched for images online and made sure we complied with copyright laws. Finally, using Windows Photo Story 3, we began creating a digital story for a really bad story by Mr. Horn!

Reader's Theatre

2009-07-22T19:17:00.001-07:00

Today we explored the non-fiction genre by looking at the “Art of the Infomercial.” After viewing a few of the “classics,” we collaborated to develop a product we could sell! In the computer lab, we typed up our great ideas!

Word of the day — credibility

Science Writers

2009-07-22T19:16:00.001-07:00

Today campers made Silly Putty and wrote a short story about it. They also had fun making wordles, which centered around “Silly Putty.”

Wanna-Be Writers

2009-07-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today we explored the writing domains. We shared leads of our favorite writers.

Campers did a lot of writing. The instructor commented on this highly motivated group: “I was impressed. I said 10 minutes and they wrote for half an hour!”

Great job campers!

First Day of Writing Camps, 7/20

2009-07-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Monday

Welcome! We hope you enjoyed your first day of camp. Wasn't it a blast?

Check out today's highlights, brought to you in the popping purple posts below.

Author Adventures

2009-07-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

We learned about the steps in the writing process. The first step is prewriting, which is often just thinking about things. We read Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and made our own Flat Stanleys, who will be going on new adventures!

College-Bound

2009-07-22T18:59:00.001-07:00

Campers got to know each other with 2 Truths and a Lie. They wrote Where I am From or I am poems. They watched and discussed a video called “Did You Know? 2.0″ by Karl Fisch and wrote a journal response. Alisha found another video online on the same topic about the history and future of education and how students should learn. For tomorrow, they are reading an excerpt from A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Joe helped us figure out where to plug in our flashdrives!