Academy students started off National Writing Day earlier this week in preparation for the big celebration on Thursday, October 20. Overworked AHNers found the day to be a welcome relief from writing academic papers. Creativity in language arts was the theme of the day.
Mrs. Patricia Loesekann’s juniors created a patchwork quilt of personal statements in six words or less, using Randall Jarrell’s compressed poetry as an example to write their own memoir. These memoirs ranged from the humorous to the deeply philosophical, but all were unique. The challenge of the activity was to capture one’s essence in exactly six words. Like the pieces of a quilt, the colorful squares containing each student’s interpretation of their life were pieced together in one masterful work of poetry entitled “Class of 2013 in Six Words.”
Mrs. Loesekann said, “Mystudents enjoyed both the fun and the challenge it gave them. Every one is invited to see the beautiful quilted poem the juniors crafted in room E100B.”
Mrs. Beth Sawyer’s freshmen enjoyed having the opportunity to be creative on National Day on Writing, using “Jumble Stories” selections. Their characters, settings, and situations varied from “an old woman” to “a young mother” who is “in the park” or “at a funeral” trying to “make a difficult decision” or “reminiscing on how things have changed.”
“The freshmen are willing and creative writers! I am looking forward to reading their stories,” said Mrs. Sawyer.
Mrs. Nutter’s sophomores had fun creating “progressive short stories” earlier in the week and presenting them on National Writing Day. “This activity gave girls the opportunity to use their imagination to enhance eacher’s ideas, then share the fun with their class mates, ” said Mrs. Nutter. “Group photos and videos preserved the day of imaginative story writing.”
Mrs. LeBas’s Honors Brit Lit students paired up with partners to create “obsessive storytelling in verse” modeled after the theme of sin and redemption in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” College Prep students published in advance on the class wiki modern or classic epic tales in verse format in the tradition of Beowulf, along with word clouds using Wordle as their visual presentations. AP Lit girls got a day off from writing TEQs and Harkness concept maps to present a humorous or dramatic characterization monologue or dialogue from Crime and Punishment.
National Writing Day is a program sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). On Tuesday, October 18, the U.S. Senate voted to make the day a national observance each year on October 20. The bill includes 16 resolutions that justify the support of writing as significant enough to designate a day each year to celebrate writing for multiple purposes and media.
