THE WRITER'S TOOLBOX SERIES

The Writer's Toolbox is designed to give K-12 students the knowledge they need to successfully plan, write, and edit fiction and non-fiction at a curriculum-indexed level.

WRITING IN THE AIR

Creative Writing

Can writers write without a pencil?
Storytelling for pre-literate and emerging writers.
Writing in the Air is a workshop specifically designed for young writers from kindergarten to Grade Three
Students Will:

• Explore world building through the senses and create a scenes dictionary through the exploration of a senses bag.
• Work together to create well-rounded characters, collaborated on by students in the class.
• Use active group storytelling students to explore story structure using visual prompts, literary terminology, and physical action.
• Practice positive collaboration, listening, leading, and following.

Outcomes:
Post-presentation students can use what they learned to create a spoken word, picture-based, or written story using our story structure, character, and world-building handouts.
Curriculum Touch Points:

• Imagining, planning, and executing a story using story structure and understanding how messages and enjoyment can be shared through oral and written stories.
• Practicing listening and speaking skills, oral storytelling, collaboration - including listening, leading and following, and kind critiquing. 
• Learning literary terminology and vocabulary related to storytelling while learning the love of reading and writing through a better understanding of grammar, spelling, writing conventions, and how to respond to unfamiliar words.

This program is best taught as a single session (K-1) or half-day program (G2-3). Multiple classes can experience this workshop over a day.

Can students create a story using a simple formula?
​The Writer's Toolbox demystifies the process of planning, plotting, writing, and editing a story, while covering theme, climax, and description.
Students Will:

• Gain confidence to plan and write a creative short story, collaborative anthology, or longer work.
• Understand of literary terms.
• World build using their senses.
• Create characters, with goal, motive, conflict, and theme.
• Be introduced to plot lines, plotting, and the stages of climax.
• Learn to edit and revise, and a positive view of writing.

Outcomes:

• Students will play collaborative writing games to eliminate the fear and enjoy the creative and writing process.
• Individually they will create a senses dictionary to help them with description.
• As a class, they will explore the basic plot arc and create one to two stories (using prompts) collectively.
• They will learn to create and use character and plot planning sheets, as well as understanding Goal, Motive, and Conflict (GMC), and theme being able to show how they work to make a better story.

Curriculum Touch Points: 
Grade 3-4

• Think critically about the creative process, including why authors write, their writing processes, and their audience while exploring story structure, characters, time, point of view, and how meanings and messages are created in stories
• Explore figurative language, personal experiences, knowledge, senses, grammar, spelling and punctuation, effective dialogue, and engaging beginnings and endings.
• Understand methods of planning, drafting, and revising writing to create interesting and engaging stories.