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The Harmony Team English class follows the Nancy Atwell model for Writers’
Workshop. For more information on this teaching method, please read any
or all of In the Middle by Nancy Atwell. The model relies heavily
on a creative atmosphere, empowerment of the student, and multiple drafts
of writing to arrive at a final product. The five basic components of
the writing process are used in this method: prewriting, drafting, revising,
editing and publishing.
Students begin by prewriting to get ideas for their stories. They listen to musical prompts while letting their minds wander and develop a picture in their heads, or look at works of art silently and let their imaginations run. Once the students have their ideas, they begin drafting as quickly as possible to get the idea down on paper before forgetting it. Technical aspects of writing are not stressed in this step; the idea is the most important thing at this time.
After the first draft is finished, students review the draft and begin revising it. Putting their stories in paragraphs using proper dialogue, good description and details is stressed. Students revise again and again until their writing is clear and engaging.
During the final revision(s), students pay particular attention to punctuation, spelling and grammar problems that they did not correct earlier. After this step, stories should be ready for publication, either by reading them for the class, submitting them to a contest or publication, or displaying them for visitors.
The timeline for completing a final draft of a story ranges from 3-5 weeks. There is a lot of learning that goes on during the process. The students are awarded 100 pts for getting their first draft turned in on time, and 200 pts for finishing their final draft by the due date. Points are taken off for turning in final drafts late.
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