Course Goals:

At the end of the course, participants should be able to say:

• I can write more frequently and confidently.
• I can heighten my awareness of the craft and conventions of writing.

Session Goals:

At the end of this session, participants should be able to say:

• I can maintain momentum by reading, writing, and seeking feedback.
• I can strengthen my craft, word choice, and mechanics by applying techniques from models and mentor texts.

Resources:

• 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know by Jeff Anderson
• Seesaw online app (Community and individual journals)

Mentor Sentences

• The goal is always the same: to break a skill into its component pieces (circuits), memorize those pieces individually, then link them together in progressively larger groupings (new, interconnected circuits) [The Talent Code]
• Salva’s younger brother, Kuol, was taking care of just one cow; like his brothers before him, he would be in charge of more cows every year. [A Long Walk to Water]

Next steps and challenges:

• Read 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know: Energy and Words, Chapters 8 and 9, starting page 171
• Share at least two Quick Write posts in Seesaw
• Read the posts of others and “like” when read and comment if appropriate
• Collect and share mentor sentences from your independent reading (at least one)

Session One Learning Progressions (Drafts):

Anderson, Jeff. 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know. Stenhouse Publishers, 2011.

Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Bantam Books, 2009.

Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story. Rock the Boat, 2018.