5th grade Writers
The stories on this site are the products of a four month-long writing workshop in which each author began by writing a short story. While students in our classes have many opportunities to write stories, these stories were different because they underwent the scrutiny and discerning eyes of their classmates and some hearty and invaluable volunteers. These volunteers—Ms. Adler, Ms. Emoto, and Mrs. Swanson—spent hours of their time reading and revising stories and leading discussion groups. These volunteers intrepidly return year after year and lend their enthusiasm, insight, and good nature to the Writers’ Workshop process. We are inestimably grateful for their help in this process. And speaking of the process, it began with each student writing one story that was then read and discussed among a small group of the author’s classmates. Group members commented on elements of the story from the hook to the character development to the logic of the plot to the strength of the conclusion. Following these initial discussions, the authors revised their stories and resubmitted them for critique to another group of peers. After receiving additional feedback from this second group, the authors revised their stories for a second time based on the suggestions offered. The stories on this site are the results of this process.
The writers’ workshop process was both enjoyable and eye-opening and, at times, perhaps a little uncomfortable. It is difficult to listen to others critique a story you’ve worked hard to perfect, but the suggestions were generously and gracefully offered in the spirit of collaboration, and authors were open-minded in listening to them. In the end, the process helped the authors grow as writers and recognize the elements that contribute to the creation of strong short stories. While the stories each have one author’s name on them, each story was influenced by the groups the authors were part of and represents a true collaborative writing endeavor. We hope you will enjoy the results of our labors.
Ms. Chinn and Ms. Wagner
The writers’ workshop process was both enjoyable and eye-opening and, at times, perhaps a little uncomfortable. It is difficult to listen to others critique a story you’ve worked hard to perfect, but the suggestions were generously and gracefully offered in the spirit of collaboration, and authors were open-minded in listening to them. In the end, the process helped the authors grow as writers and recognize the elements that contribute to the creation of strong short stories. While the stories each have one author’s name on them, each story was influenced by the groups the authors were part of and represents a true collaborative writing endeavor. We hope you will enjoy the results of our labors.
Ms. Chinn and Ms. Wagner