Writers Workshop News

Mr. Anton Banfield, the director of Teasley's After School Program, has issued a challenge to us all. He wants our program to be a model for others and he's asking us all to find ways to make that happen.

The Writers' Workshop is accepting by giving students a chance to learn more about the ways computers can enrich their lives and prepare them for the future.

Here's just a partial list of the things we'll be exploring until school is out:

1) Word processing, including file management.

2) Spreadsheets, including the development of simple formulas designed to encourage math skills.

3) Digital photography, including the preparation of slide shows.

4) Video production, including camera use and basic editing.

5) Research methods. We'll use the internet to explore interesting subjects and our knowledge of word processing and spreadsheets to construct databases. Then we'll explore ways to employ that information to practice effective writing.

6) Creative writing. We'll use popular films and books to study the way others have created characters and plots, and try our hand at developing our own. Some we will do independently. Others we will develop as collaborations in a classroom setting.

7) Exposition. We will learn the basic ingredients of all expositive writing and techniques for using them to effectively argue different points.

7) Presentation programs, including PowerPoint and Keynote, as tools for reinforcing the skills learned above and as organizing structures to help create projects as varied as short stories, plays and information programs.

We encourage parental involvement in all our activities. Each grade has its own blog page, and we welcome comments and questions about our efforts.

Mr. Bearfield

Teasley Writers Workshop