Writer's Workshop - Explorers

Complete the following in your draft book.

Writer's Workshop - The Woods

Complete the following in your draft book.

Writer's Workshop - Reshaping The World

Reshaping The World

Snip..Snip…Snip…The scissors began to tear the countryside apart. Towns, fields, rivers and oceans. Forests, valleys, mountains and lakes. The world began to unravel piece by piece, strand by strand.

This was to be a new beginning. What would this new world look like?

Question Time

Who is controlling the scissors?

Why do you think the World is being re-shaped?

If you could change the World what would you change?

What would you keep the same?

Sentence Challenge

Can you use adverbs in your writing to describe how something is done?

Can you use adverbs before nouns?

Can you use adverbs after nouns?

e.g. Viciously, the scissors snipped their way through the endless fields.

The scissors methodically snipped their way through the abandoned countryside.

Sick sentences

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help? Could you add an adverb?

The scissors cut. The ground started to move. A man was cycling on the road. He was scared.

Writer's Workshop - Nature Is Speaking (Taking Action)

Task: You are to craft, re-craft and present your own text (video) as a means of 'Taking Action'

Choose:

- Which force are you going to write about? 

- Think about perspective! You are that force of nature! What characteristics does it have?

- Which language features will you choose to use?

- How can you make your text more powerful?

- Does your text suit the purpose? How can you be sure?

An example - Nature Is Speaking – Julia Roberts is Mother Nature

Some call me nature

Others' call me "Mother Nature"

I've been here for over 4.5 billion years

22,500 times longer than you

I don't really need people

But people need me

Yes, your future depends on me

When I thrive, you thrive

When I falter, you falter

Or worse, 

But I've been here for eons

I have fed species greater than you

And I have starved species greater than you

My oceans

My soil

My flowing streams

My forests

They all can take you

Or leave you

How you chose to live each day

Whether you regard or disregard me,

Doesn't really matter to me

One way

Or the other

Your actions will determine your fate

Not mine

I am nature

I will go on

I am prepared to evolve

Are you?

End Title: Nature doesn't need people... people need nature

Task: Use the storyboard below to plan out your video! Remember this is only an outline - things will change.

Things to include:
Title slide
Mixture of still images & video (excellence) - sketch these at this point - they don't need to be precise (you may change them in the end)
Voice over (with expression)
Thanks to Conservation International
Credits

Hint: Re-watch some of the videos to help you (look at transitions etc.)

Act: 

- Use iMovie to create your very own 'Nature is speaking' video

- Where are you going to source your images and sound? (Make connections here to the #16stubc focus for this week)

- How are you going to ensure that your voice is recorded clearly and no background noise is distracting?

- Share your completed video with Mr Cameron

Reflect:

- Use the following to complete a detailed reflection about your 'Action'

Writer's Workshop - Nature is Speaking (Taking Action)

Task: You are to craft, re-craft and present your own text (video) as a means of 'Taking Action'

Choose:

- Which force are you going to write about? 

- Think about perspective! You are that force of nature! What characteristics does it have?

- Which language features will you choose to use?

- How can you make your text more powerful?

- Does your text suit the purpose? How can you be sure?

An example - Nature Is Speaking – Julia Roberts is Mother Nature

Some call me nature

Others' call me "Mother Nature"

I've been here for over 4.5 billion years

22,500 times longer than you

I don't really need people

But people need me

Yes, your future depends on me

When I thrive, you thrive

When I falter, you falter

Or worse, 

But I've been here for eons

I have fed species greater than you

And I have starved species greater than you

My oceans

My soil

My flowing streams

My forests

They all can take you

Or leave you

How you chose to live each day

Whether you regard or disregard me,

Doesn't really matter to me

One way

Or the other

Your actions will determine your fate

Not mine

I am nature

I will go on

I am prepared to evolve

Are you?

End Title: Nature doesn't need people... people need nature

Act: 

- Use iMovie to create your very own 'Nature is speaking' video

- Where are you going to source your images and sound? (Make connections here to the #16stubc focus for this week)

- How are you going to ensure that your voice is recorded clearly and no background noise is distracting?

- Share your completed video with Mr Cameron

Reflect:

- Use the following to complete a detailed reflection about your 'Action'

Writer's Workshop - Nature Is Speaking (Going Further / Making Conclusions)

Go behind the scenes

Writer's Workshop - Nature Is Speaking (Finding Out / Sorting Out)

Conservation International believe strongly in the power of visual storytelling to educate, inspire and affect change. CI's filmmakers traverse the globe, spotlighting the people, challenges and successful projects that our programs are pioneering.

Task: Watch the following videos. Consider the following as you watch:

What do they have in common?
What language features do they share?
What sentence structures do they use?

Find out more here: Lee Pace is Mountain

Find out more here: Reese Witherspoon is Home

Find out more here: Liam Neeson is Ice

Find out more here: Harrison Ford is The Ocean

Find out more here: Edward Norton is The Soil

Find out more here: Robert Redford is The Redwood

Find out more here: Kevin Spacey is The Rainforest

Find out more here: Penelope Cruz is Water

Find out more here: Ian Somerhalder is Coral Reef

Find out more here: Lupita Nyong'o is Flower

Writer's Workshop - Nature Is Speaking (Tuning In)

Nature Is Speaking is Conservation International’s invitation to the human race to listen to nature.

Nature is essential to every aspect of human life and well-being — we want to make sure it’s included in the conversation. People are taking more from nature than it has to give, and as a result, we’re putting our own lives on the line.

Nature’s message to humanity is simple: Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature.

Human beings are part of nature. Nature is not dependent on human beins to exist. Human beings, on the other hand. are totally dependent on nature to exist. The growing number of people on the planet and how we live here is going to determine the future of nature. And the future of us.

Nature will go on, no matter what. It will evolve.The question is, will it be with us or without us?

If nature could talk, it would probably say it doesn’t much matter weither way. We must understand there are aspects of how our planet evolves that are totally out of our control.

But there are things that we can manage, control and do responsible that will allow us and the planet to evolve together. This is simply about all of us coming together to do what needs to be done.

Because if we don’t, nature will continue to evolve. Without us. Here’s to the future. With humans.

Task 1: What force of nature are you?

Mother Nature is calling. Take this quiz (click start) and find out what she thinks about you​.

Watch the video that is suggests!

How does this force relate to you? Is it a true reflection of 'who you are'?
What 'sparked' your interest?
What made this video effective?
Pair / Share with your neighbour - What similarities / differences do you share?

Writer's Workshop - Half Life

WALT: Craft powerful sentences

It had been a time of great change. The humans were to blame.

Their world was disappearing inch by precious inch: a lush, sun-drenched land full of colour and life becoming a barren, ruinous, grey wasteland.

What would become of them all? Was there even a future?

Question time!

- How are the two sides of the picture different?
- Why do you think they are different?
- Is there anything like this happening in our world?
- What do you think it would feel like to be in either place?
- How might the two cities be different?
- What will the people in both cities be like?
- Are there any similarities between the two sides?
- Would it be possible for the grey side to become like the colourful side again?
- What might the different animals be thinking?

Sentence Challenge!

Can you write a sentence that uses an apostrophe for omission?

can not = can’t 

I have = I’ve 

he will= he’ll 

she is= she’s 

we have= we’ve

will not = won’t

Can you write a sentence that uses an apostrophe for possession?

E..g. The tree’s leaves.

Sick Sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?

The leaves had come of the tree. The grass had gone grey. The sky was grey. Plants had died.

Writer's Workshop - Powerful Openers

WALT: Identify, evaluate and craft powerful opening sentences

Last weekend I went to the beach. We had a lot of fun.

I woke up and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day. When I went downstairs, I said to my wife, ‘Let’s go to the beach today!’

It was only 6:45 am and already the temperature was over 25 degrees. I couldn’t take another day of swimming in my own sweat! There was only one solution. I hollered up the stairs: ‘Hey! Do you fancy going to the beach today?!’

Which was the most effective? Why was it more successful than the others?

Did you know one of the most important things you can do for your story is to write a really strong first line(s) (aka powerful opener)? Think about it. The first line is the very first taste your reader will have of your story. You want to grab the reader’s attention from the very start and make them want to read more.

We hear this over and over! “I don’t know how to get started!” 

Today you will explore various ways authors get their stories off and running.

You will notice that you will practice writing your own terrific first lines by using mentor texts as a guide. (Mentor texts are books or stories that can be used as good examples for your own writing.) This is a great way to grow as a writer and to try out different styles.

What did you notice? What did you find interesting?

See how I used the first line from the book, The Young Elites, as inspiration to create our own? It’s a subtle, but really important difference. Copying another author’s lines is not okay (that’s called plagiarism) but being inspired by great writers—and learning from great books—is how every author masters his or her craft.

Time to give it a go!

- Write a ‘powerful opener’ using 3 of the examples
- Extension - Try all 6 =)
- How will you know you are successful?

Here is an example from last year!

1. They're going to kill me, they're really going to kill me.
2. I am Elodie. I am 6 years old. I am an assassin.
3. I'm only going to say this once, so focus.
4. The late fall evening sun fell below the horizon, beyond the ruffled shrubs, which lay silent as the wind tore its leaves and threw them towards the woods, where the most peculiar things lurk in its shadows.
5. Clairvoyance is seeing the future. Many had it, like Abraham Lincoln.
6. "Where are my parents?" I demanded, thinking about the cell trapping me in the damp stone room.

Let's re-craft!

- Select one text that you have previously crafted (HL included)

- Using the examples you have crafted today - Write 3 different beginnings for your text.

- Read your powerful openers to a partner and have the partner pick the beginning that would make them want to read the rest of the text.

Writer's Workshop - A new way to travel

A New Way To Travel!

READ ALL ABOUT IT: Genius Inventor Discovers New Way To Travel! 

A new and innovative way to travel has this very week been invented by London based inventor, Samuel Diggle. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s the magnificent eco-friendly flying machine ‘Zepper 2016’!

For years, scientists and inventors have been striving to ‘scratch’ the current global ‘itch’ that is sustainable and eco-friendly energy. This could finally be it! Diggle’s new creation is not only cheap to construct, but relies solely upon natural energy sources! When interviewed yesterday morning on national television, Diggle delightedly spoke of his invention: “I believe I really am the most extraordinary man on the planet! My invention will change the way people travel, and change the way the world works. Sustainable energy, reduced carbon emissions and cleaner travel! I’m very proud of myself, and certainly can’t wait to see people using the Zepper2016 in their everyday lives!”

Time will tell whether Diggle’s self-proclaimed brilliance is indeed brilliant, or whether it is, in fact, a load of ‘hot air’!

Task: Can you write your own newspaper article about Samuel Diggle’s new invention? Alternatively, you could write a persuasive leaflet or poster, advertising the Zepper 2016. You could even write a balanced argument: Is the Zepper 2016 better for the World than current modes of transport?

Question Time!

Why has Samuel Diggle designed the Zepper 2016? What global problems was he trying to solve?

Do you think these problems are real? Are we addressing them?

What do you think about the Zepper 2016? Could you see something like this in our skies?

Is it better or worse than what we already have?

What do you think the positives and negatives of the Zepper 2016 are?

Sentence Challenge!

Write a rhetorical question about the Zepper beginning with each of the words below.

Why_______________________________?

What________________________________?

When? ________________________________?

Sick Sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?

The Zepper 2016 has a balloon in the middle. It has a shiny ball at the bottom. At the top it has a turbine.

Writer's Workshop - New World

New World

She had already travelled so far, yet still had so much further to go. This was just the beginning of her journey.

She began today like every other: sitting with her line in the water, hoping to catch a bite for breakfast.

It had been over three weeks since she had seen another person, three weeks since the land had disappeared…

Question time!

- Where do you think the land has gone?

- How will people survive in this ‘water-world’?

- Is there more land or water on Earth?

- Is it better to live in a place with too much water or not enough water?

- What do you think the girl had to drink when she was out at sea?

Sentence challenge!

Which ending would make this word an adverb? - slow

slowness       slowest       slower       slowly

Can you use adverbs in your writing today?

Perhaps you could use adverbs to show the possibility of something happening e.g. perhaps, surely, possibly, maybe.

Perhaps she would find other people soon.

Sick sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?

The fish swam through the water. The girl sat on the fish with her fishing rod.

Perfect picture!

Imagine that people could no longer live on land, but had to live in the sea. What would their new home look like? Draw or write down what you have imagined.

Writer's Workshop - Castle Midnight

Castle Midnight

Yesterday we 'took up the challenge' and continued the next 5 sentences in the story. The aim here was to create powerful sentences that varied in length!

Today's Focus = Setting

Establishing the location of your story is critical to engaging your readers.

"When we as writers describe the location of our character and how that setting makes her feel, the reader is immediately transported into the character’s world."

They say real estate is all about location. The houses with the best view or the most convenient distance from grocery stores, schools, and parks sell the quickest. Location isn’t only important when it comes to where you live, but it’s also super important when writing about the setting of your story. 

If you want your readers to feel like they are inside your story, experiencing what your character is experiencing, you need to tell them what you see and what you hear, even if your location is just in your imagination. Sometimes it’s even easier to write about a location that you can visit in person.

Let’s say for instance that we write about a coffee shop…

Here I sit in a coffee shop. I can hear the espresso machine churning away and the steamer makes a loud ‘Psshhhh’ as it warms the milk. People are talking near by and I can hear traffic outside and a bus hisses as it pulls up to the stop. My seat isn’t all that comfortable and I shift in it every now and again.

Can you picture me there? Do you smell the coffee? Can you relate to that feeling of trying to get comfortable on a hard chair? That is setting.

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, was famous for describing locations to excess. Tolkien went on for pages about the way the field rolled and the grass swayed in the wind. Describing what was in the distance, what was in the foreground and how the character felt being there. Some readers found it difficult to make it through The Lord of the Rings for this very reason. Other readers ate it up, as it really transported them alongside Frodo and Sam as they ventured through the Shire into the unknown.

Have you ever carried a notebook with you and jotted down notes for a story? This is a great way to capture a location you wish to use for later. For instance, does your character travel to and from school on the bus? If so, next time you’re on the bus to school jot down a few notes about what you see, hear and feel around you. Your notes could look something like this:

- Kids are yelling and laughing around me
- The bus bounces up and down as it goes from stop to stop
- The bus struggles to get up the hill to my house and is very loud
- It smells like old sandwiches and milk
- My backpack keeps falling forward when the bus stops
- It’s really hot on my arm as the sun comes through the windows
- I’m the last one to get dropped off
- My backpack is really heavy

This in and of itself doesn’t seem like a story, but let’s turn our notes into a narrative…

It was a rough day at school today. I was so happy to be going home, though the bus ride wasn’t helping my mood much. The bus seemed just as angry as I was as it bounced from stop to stop. The engine roared angrily and grunted as it made its way up the hill towards my house. I leaned my head on the hot window and the sun shone down on my arm. Closing my eyes trying to focus on something good, the sound of my classmates got louder. I overheard Emily tell Sophie about her crush and how he almost held her hand at lunch today. It’s weird that way, how your senses get stronger when you close your eyes. All of a sudden the smell of an old sandwich and sour milk fills my nose and I gag a little. Just at that moment the bus jerks to a harsh stop and my backpack falls over, again. I lean over to pick it up and spot a rotting sandwich under the seat in front of me. Gross! No wonder it stinks in here. The bus gets quieter and quieter as it drops kids off at almost every corner. Finally the bus makes its last turn and arrives at my stop. The bus is empty now and I struggle to peel myself off the vinyl seat, as if I’ve been sitting here all day. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, the weight of my homework drags me down and I stagger to the front of the bus. I jump from the top step to the ground in a triumphant finish. Finally, I’m home!

Try jotting down some notes about your location and see if you can use it to beef up your next story. Remember, you don’t have to be in your location to do this. Just go there in your mind and imagine everything you want your reader to see and feel. Then write it down in bullet form and work it into the story later.

Happy Writing!

Writer's Workshop - Castle Midnight

The Prompt

It was the dead of night.

All that could be heard was the muffled beating of the creature’s enormous wings as it soared through the inky-black sky. Behind it, at the end of a frayed length of rope, sat the coachman. Coat wrapped tightly around his broad shoulders, his mission tonight was a straightforward one: to escort the two strangers to Castle Midnight. It all seemed straightforward to him. Even if it wasn’t, he always did as the Master bade. No one ever dared to disobey the Master, especially on a night such as this…

Question time!

- Who are the two mysterious strangers?
- What happens at Castle Midnight?
- Why is the Master so formidable?
- What kind of person do you think the coachman is?
- Why does everyone fear the Master?
- Who are the two strangers in the back? Why do you think they are going to Castle Midnight?
- What kind of place do you think Castle midnight is?
- Is the owl ‘normal’ in size?
- Where/when do you think this story is set?

Sentence Challenge! - The past tense

Simple past tense: actions that took place at a specific time and have now finished. E.g. I walked to school.

Continuous past tense: actions that took place over a period of time in the past. E.g. I was walking to school.

Fill in the gaps in the sentences below, using the past progressive form of the verb in brackets.

While the creature (to fly) ______________ through the sky, the strangers (to talk) _______________ to each other in the back.

Can you identify where you have used simple past tense or continuous past tense in your writing today?

Sick Sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?

The big creature flew through the sky. A big castle was on the horizon.

Perfect Picture!

Imagine what everything in the picture would look like in the daylight. Would it still be scary? Draw/describe what you have imagined.

Writer's Workshop - Solitary Existence

The Prompt

Six months earlier, Ben had lived in the city. Life had been busy; a constant buzz of people and traffic. In some ways, living in the city had been comforting, as if he was part of an urban family, a melting pot of people of all ages and all walks of life. However, Ben had tired of that life; it was now time for a change of direction.

Standing on his porch, Ben drew breath. As the clean, cool air filled his lungs, a smile spread across his face…

Question time!

- Why do you think Ben is smiling?
- What can you deduce about Ben’s previous life in the city?
- How is his life different now?
- What does the title ‘solitary existence’ mean?
- Which of Ben’s two life experiences would you prefer?
- How does Ben travel across the lake?
- How does he spend his days?
- Where does Ben get his food from?
- What does he have inside his house?

Sentence Challenge!

Look at each of the simple sentences below. Can you add a subordinate clause to extend them? Remember, you’ll need to use a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘so’ or ‘but’.

A small wave rippled across the tranquil water.

It had been raining all morning.

Ben enjoyed living here.

He had grown tired of living in the busy city.

Sick Sentences!

These sentences are ‘sick’ and need help to get better. Can you help?

The house sat on a rock in the middle of a lake. Trees surrounded the lake. Ben dived into the water.

Perfect Picture!

Can your drawn your perfect house? Think not only about what it looks like and contains, but where it is situated.

The Writing Process - A friendly reminder