Sharon McGuinness Teacher Librarian, Thirroul PS Jane Pretty Teacher Librarian, Waniora PS.

Sharon McGuinnessTeacher Librarian, Thirroul PS

Jane PrettyTeacher Librarian, Waniora PS

Text Types and Creative Writing: The Why of the Project Specific text types are taught at specific times within the

school year.Less time for students to immerse themselves regularly in

creative writing for its own sake. Using an author gave credibility to the project. Sandy Fussell,

who led 3 workshops is a ‘real’ writer!Collaborating on a project allowed students at both schools

to participate in workshop – costs are also halvedBeing passionate about a subject is contagiousAllowing the students to choose their writing topic was

empowering for the students

Connected Classrooms, Technology and Web 2.0Access to video conferencing & keen to utilise this by

‘sharing’ author Sandy Fussell via 3 workshops conducted via VC. (Connected Classrooms)

One goal enabled students to ‘publish’ their writing via a website, allowing others to view their work. This motivated students to produce their best work.

Used a blog as a reflection tool for students which provided valuable feedback

Students increased their ICT skills presenting their writing as an ‘e-book’ allowing for easy publishing on a website. A combination of MS PowerPoint and MS Movie Maker was used.

TLs and AuthorsWaniora PS is fortunate to have as one of its parents,

local author Sandy Fussell who is passionate about writing and sharing this with students.

Grant funding was secured for the project from ‘ National Literacy & Numeracy Week’ which financed three workshops led by Sandy and her time in which to read the e-books and provide feedback to the students.

The What and HowWorkshop One – Waniora PSWhere do ideas come from? Hemingway said: ‘You write

about what you know, what you love and what you hate.’Students had to develop the best excuse for forgetting their

homework in one sentence.Character development. Authors often use pictures as a

starting point. Students selected a character picture and ‘interviewed’ their character. Then listed physical characteristics, positive and negative attributes of character.

Sample Characters

The What and the HowEmphasis was on ‘showing’ , not telling. Using description

to show the reader the character. Eg ‘ As he walked, his head poked forward so that he looked like a great bird of prey.’

Students understood how this technique gives a character more ‘body’. Discussion that not all characters may have positive traits!

The What and theHowWorkshop 2 – Thirroul PS: SettingsStudents selected a picture setting and were told to close

their eyes and imagine they were there. Used senses to help describe their setting and writing a paragraph about what they felt, smelled, heard, saw etc

Using who, where and when to build a plot. Students selected an object and imagined they were in their setting with their character. Wrote about what was happening. Who else was present? How and why?

EndingsResolving issues. Different endings – funny, sad,

cliffhanger.‘ Three people are climbing up a mountain. They haven’t

told anyone where they are going. One man falls and breaks his leg and stuck on the mountain, he becomes dangerously ill.’

Students had to write an ending.

Writing BeginsAfter the 2nd workshop, students began to write their stories

during their library sessions. Could select character and setting pictures provided by Sandy

to kick start or use their own ideas.Focus was on ‘showing’ not telling and using dialogue for a

purpose. Students were inclined to overuse dialogue!Students often visited the library during lunch to continue

their writing and editing. Committed to producing their bestStudents at Waniora worked in pairs, those at Thirroul worked

individually

Making the ebookUsing MS PowerPoint, students wrote their stories on

slides, inserting pictures as needed.Saved each slide as a jpeg file and uploaded into MS

MovieMaker, adding a page turn transition to give the impression of a book.

Sandy wrote posts on the blog and students commentedEvery student at each school completed the project.

Wrap Up WorkshopThe final workshop at Waniora was led by Sandy giving

her feedback on stories she had read so far. Focussed on a positive aspect in each storyAt the end of the project, students were invited to

comment on their experience via the blog.

Teacher and TL ReflectionsWhile teachers felt the VC was impersonal at times, the

students enjoyed the novelty of participating and sharing ideas with another school

One hour sessions were often not long enough. The project allowed students to improve their writing. All

students completed the task, some repeated the process at home.

The project was very engaging for the studentsICT skills increased through manipulation of 2 pieces of

software

Teacher and TL ReflectionsAll felt the project was successful as it achieved its

objectives.Rather than an isolated task, the strategies Sandy

introduced can be reinforced within the classroomStudents were keen to create additional e-books and

enjoyed follow up writing with a web 2 tool ‘Storybird’ (TPS)

Student Comments‘Those ebooks took a long time to write but when we watched

them they were so so cool’ Mali, TPS‘Sandy Fussell was a big help. It was fun doing it with Waniora

public school. I loved it so much that I’ve done one at home.IT WAS LOTS OF FUN!’ Sandon, TPS

‘I learnt alot of things about doing ebooks. Ive learnt how to be a better writer with all the punctuation.I think i could be a writer when i grow up.’ Noah, TPS

‘I had a great time making the e-book with my best friend Cassidy. My book was Tega the Ninja Cat. It is an exciting adventure action packed story, so read it and join in the “Kapow” action.’ Shane, WPS

ExamplesBlog LinkWPS and TPS Student E-BooksE-Book Instructional videoWeb 2.0 e-book tools:MixbookMeegenius (books to read and personalise)StorybirdTarheel Reader