| Writer in Residence Program Marwayne Jubilee School October 29 - November 5, 2004 Resident Author: Lyle Weis Marwayne Jubilee School hosted a writers workshop with Mr. Lyle Weis from October 29, 2004 to November 5, 2004. The workshop was for students from Kindergarten to grade 9.There were approximately 200 students and nine teachers involved in the workshop. Mr. Weis shared some terrific stories with the younger students. By using personal experiences in his story telling he has shown how stories can be created from real life happenings. In kindergarten the writing process, beginning with the generating of ideas and then discovering the parts of a story, was covered in the author visits. The main reactions of the students were "excitement at meeting a "real" author of "real" books, active attention to his dynamic stories and personal involvement through drawing pictures." Eileen Hines -- Kindergarten teacher His focus in grades I and 2 was to have the children recognize the 3 basic parts and of a story and build them into an adventure. They used illustrations and a basic written description of the picture to begin the story writing process. Grade ones produced storyboards and grade twos extended that to include some writing. " Mr. Weis' unique ability to tell a story mesmerized the children and they were sitting on the edge of their seats! In three sessions he taught the Grade I's the three parts of a story and how to express them by making a storyboard. The children were enthused to illustrate each part. How excited they were with the finished product! Lyle Weis makes writing stories fun! Linda Huber -- Grade I teacher The class was totally enthralled in the personal stories told and responded well with their own ideas for story building. Mr. Weis related very well with the children's personal ideas and was able to give them some easy tools for developing the three main parts of a story." Elaine Bills -- Grade 2 teacher Grade 3 and 4 added a "what if"' component to their writing and so bringing a nonfiction story to fiction. Grade fours wrote a multipage story. In grade 5 and 6 the students added the element of mystery and the process of crime, clues and solutions to their writing. " I found Lyle's workshops to be informative and entertaining. The students were quite motivated. It fit seamlessly with my curriculum and unit plans." Mr. Dave Schmitt -- Grade 6 teacher Mr. Weis helped the grade 7 class build crime and mystery stories with a focus on plot and character. The grade 8 class began with journal entries and this led into a poetry focus. They also worked with fiction categories such as mystery, thriller and romance. In grade 9 the students worked on fiction creating dialogue scenes and generating suspense in a story. " Some of the reactions to the author from the Grade 8's "very cool voice, very nice guy, he made us want to learn new things, good reader with the change of his voice." As a teacher I thought it was a great experience. Lyle captivated his audience, had them working and thinking beyond their comfort zone." Mrs. Dolores Nohnychuk -- Grade 8 teacher It was a pleasure having Lyle Weis work with our Junior High classes. His easy going manner made him approachable. I have heard many positive comments about his presentations and he was able to establish a strong rapport in a very short time. This has been a very positive educational experience for everyone, including me." Mr. Harley Jones -- Grade 7 & 9 teacher The goals, objectives and expected benefits that our school set for this workshop have been met. The students have an increased awareness of writing techniques, an enhanced appreciation of literature and it's development and an increased interest in and awareness of the stages and process of writing. This has been a terrific experience for our students! To rub shoulders with a published author and learn some of the techniques of successful writing has been very positive for our students and for our school. The students were able to come away with a finished project. As teachers the workshop has given us a unified approach to the instruction of story writing. Cc: Mr. Lyle Weis |