Leading Young Writers, Part I

Despite the heat this time of year, SELI spent a breezy day on the 5th talking about Young Writers clubs with teachers from six primary schools in the Waterloo area, Samuel Town, Joe Town and Kent. Our gracious hosts were Heaven Homes in Joe Town and we were very glad for their hospitality and accommodation.

Because of the tight schedule schools are on as they make up time during this post-Ebola period, we have had to break up our Leading Young Writers training into single-day sessions, and Saturday was the introduction. This is the first time we are working with primary schools under the Seli River Writing Project, although personally I have had the delightful experience of conducting many writing workshops with primary-level ESL classes.

Here you see teachers asking questions in a content conferencing group, and one of the teachers doing author sharing. It is a gradual thing: developing an appreciation for taking part in a supportive writing workshop, and then taking the leap to understanding that that same room for learning growth is what children feel in the club—in a child-centered setting.

Our thoughts will be with our teachers as they begin their clubs in the coming weeks, and we look forward to visiting them to lend our support.