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Writing Activities
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The activities pages are for anybody who's interested in writing.
They're set up to be teacher-friendly and librarian-friendly, but they're for anyone. 
Sharpen your skills! Learn what our writers have to teach us.  

This is an activity buffet. Feel free to adopt or adapt any that suit your goals.             Click below on the kind of activities you want. (Small kids are level 1.)
  Add
  other arts 
   drawing, drama,  drumming, etc.
 
Coming soon!
students studying

If you'd like to use
the site for teaching 
 

Once it's introduced,

it becomes

another learning tool.

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student answering questions

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1.  Introduce the site to yourself:

  • Enjoy it! Listen to the audio programs. Explore "The Writers" tab (writer home pages) and the "Listen" tabs (writer audio pages). Decide which passages entertain you, stir you and make you proud. ​

  • Decide which writers work best for your class. Download the transcripts and tables of contents for those writers so you can take notes as you listen and mark tracks might you like to play or feature.​​

  • Scan through the activity ideas.  You'll have your own ideas too. Write them down and try them out. If they work, please share them. There's a form on the Contact page.

  • Decide which writers and/or activities are most appropriate for your students.  Look at the CCRS standards for those writers.

  • Let us know if you have questions or comments. Send them to info@voicesofwv.org. 

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2.  Introduce the site to your class:

  • Show your students one West Virginia writer after another, projected on a screen. You'll be showing them proof that West Virginia kids can and do grow up to be writers. If you never use the site again, this tour puts that idea in their minds. It helps torpedo stereotypes.

  • Let the students hear the writers' voices.  It draws them in, makes the writers real. On each writer page, there are three opportunities to play the writer's voice.​

  • Give the students a quick glimpse of each writer and a longer glimpse of a few writers.​

 

3.  After the intro: some ideas

  • ​Take a deeper dive into the recordings and activities of the writers you chose. Let them hear the writers' voices, speaking, reading and talking about their lives. Show a book by that writer if you can.

  • Maybe set a short "WV writer" time? for instance, for younger children, story time 20 minutes after lunch weekly or daily? For older students, introduce a different writer - or listen to a passage and discuss - at same time each week?  Play a track or so, sometimes with a group activity or lead into an assignment.​

  • Give students activities related to that writer, that require them to practice skills you want them to practice. â€‹

  •  Advanced or interested students: Have each student choose more than one writer they'd like to study. See the intermediate and advanced activity pages + the West Virginia history page.​

  • Explore the CCRS standards for each writer.

Did you think up an activity that worked well?
Consider passing it along to other teachers!

Describe the activity, tell which writer or writers inspired it. and give track numbers.

Thanks for submitting!

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