SCOPE OF WORK FOR PRODUCTION OF INDIVIDUAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT BOOK
Overall
objectives:
• To encourage teen talent and their love for reading and writing
• To improve their knowledge of the English language, grammar and syntax
• To learn how to critically review books
• To learn the process of publishing a book and to learn about proper layout,
editing, format, rewriting, and cover creation
• To create an experience which garners life-long skills and the opportunity
of becoming a new generation of published teenagers, who may, one day, become
published adults
• To publish a book that includes the best-written works of the students
participating in the Writers Guild, and making it available on Barnes and Noble,
Amazon, and other venues.
Benchmarks: Reading, Research & Writing 9-12 Benchmarks
• Standard: Reading - Apply effective reading strategies to comprehend,
organize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate texts to construct meaning.
• Standard: Writing - Plan, draft, revise, and publish writing using correct
grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and effective vocabulary,
appropriate to the purpose, context, and audience.
• Standard: Literature - Listen to, read, recognize, and respond to literature
as a record of human experience that provides individual perspective, promotes
understanding of multiple writing styles
Assessment
as individuals
• Read
a variety of pieces: poetry, journals, autobiographies, diaries,
memoirs, fiction and non-fiction.
• Develop a personal anthology of favorite poems, short stories, illustrations,
and quotations, and justify choices.
• Write with controlled and/or subtle organization and with command of
the stylistic aspects of composition
• Revise writing to improve style, word choice, sentence variety and subtlety
of meaning after rethinking how questions of purpose, audience and genre have
been addressed.
Assessments
as a group:
Meet with peers to give and receive feedback and revise written work to clarify
the meaning and make it more effective in communicating the intended message
to the intended audience by:
• Adding and deleting details, explanations and clarifying difficult passages
• Rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning
• Rethinking or rewriting the piece for different audiences and purposes.
• Edit written work for standard English spelling and usage, evidenced
by pieces that show and contain:
* No significant errors in the use of pronouns, nouns,
adjectival and adverbial forms, and coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions
* No significant errors in the spelling of frequently used
words and the correct use of commonly confused terms and
few significant errors in the
spelling of commonly misspelled and rare words, the less
common capitalization conventions, the colon, semicolon,
hyphen, dash, apostrophe, quotations marks,
italics, marginal notes, and footnotes.
* No significant errors in the common conventions of capitalization
and ending punctuation marks and common uses of the comma.
Technology:
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Publisher or Adobe Photoshop for book layout and book cover.
• Internet research
• Email for communication between author and students.
Evaluation:
• Critical reading and sharing among peers.
• Constructive criticism among peers to find the right voice.
• From author through shared reading with group and individually through
email
• Final product
• Proof reading Galleys
• Published book!!!
Bibliography:
Coelho,
Paul. The
Alchemist
An Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago travels from his homeland
in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried
in the Pyramids. Somewhere along the way Santiago meets a Gypsy
woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom
point him in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the
treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles
along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly
goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. The
story of Santiago and his "search" is an eternal testament
to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening
to our hearts.
Dickens,
Charles. A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (Published 1843) is one of the best loved and most quoted
of all English language stories. The best stories are always about good versus
evil. In this book students easily see the good and evil are all within one
character, and that anyone can turn their life around that anything is possible.
(a good message) Dickens flair for characters has also left us with two who
have gone past the story and entered into the English speaking culture --
Scrooge and Tiny Tim.
The
Freedom Writers with Gruwell,
Erin. The Freedom Writers Diary
Students will relate to the powerful entries from The Freedom Writers
own diaries. This book is a truly remarkable example of how hard work, courage,
and the spirit of determination can change lives - forever.
Kristen,
Judith. The Purple Hat Gang
The Purple Hat Gang is a coming of age story about five best
girlfriends back in 1961. It is a joyful trip to a softer time
in America that everyone
lovingly called Camelot. The Purple Hat Gang is about the strength one derives
from good, healthy friendships. It’s also about heartache, teen angst,
first love, parental difficulties, abuse, adoption, loyalty, compassion and
kindness. As one High School Junior said, “It’s a true to life
story about the power of friendship and the importance of having someone
to talk to and lend you a hand when the rest of the world tunes you out.
In twenty years time, this book will be called an American Classic.
Kristen,
Judith. Olivia Twist, a quest for the glass half-full
Olivia Twist is a story of a young girl abandoned by both birth
parents, left to be raised in the loving care of her paternal
grandmother, a situation
that many children are familiar with these days. Their relationship is a
glorious one: happy, loving, kind, and caring until her Mom dies the day
before Olivia’s 11th birthday. She is then forced to move in with her
biological father and his already established second family. Trials and tribulations
abound and, three years later, the young girl decides to emancipate herself
from her ugly home life.
This story is also about a child who learns to empower herself, because she
knows that there IS a better life out there, and, it’s a heartbreaker
and an eye-opener to watch her continuing and tenacious search to find it. The
main character also finds great solace and joy in keeping a daily journal.
The child’s entries are captivating, teaching, and inspiring.
NeuBaur, Bonnie. The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises
to Liberate Your Writing.
This book is excellent! It can be used as a writing workbook for every
child participating in the writing project. The benefits are tremendous!
Silverstein, Shel. "The Giving Tree"
The Giving Tree (barely 3,500 words) has sold hundreds of millions
of copies world-wide, proving that you don’t need to write a 200,000 word book
to guarantee a best seller! The Giving Tree is a soft, sweet, short book
that packs a wallop. The messages of kindness, want, and friendship are clearly
defined. Silverstein’s drawings are deceptively simple -- black-and-white
line sketches that leave plenty of white space on the page -- yet each illustration
demonstrates a subtlety of emotion and change that is as captivating as it
is basic. The Giving Tree can be read over and over again, for a child’s
understanding of its message will likely change as the child grows. A delightful
and touching story.
Stine,
R.L. (Any of his books)
Author of the Goosebumps, Fear Street series shows students what a page turner
is all about. At the end of each chapter the reader is left with such a powerful
sentence or two, they want to read more! This is what we encourage student
writers to do with their work. Make their reader WANT more!!! Stine gives
an excellent example of this over and over again!
Truss, Lynn. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance
Approach to Punctuation.
An easy to read and comprehend grammar book. Teens will enjoy reading it
for fun and even for elucidation; a lot of much needed information is packed
into this small book.
Dictionaries
Thesauruses
Calendar of Events
1st
Visit
Author/Book
Talk Session
Book
process discussion with general group of students. This first visit
is to gather information and talk about the overall details: what
each student must produce, along with necessary editing, rewriting,
layout, cover, title, bios, acknowledgments, photos, and what a
galley is, and submission of the final, corrected manuscript.
We
discuss Shel Silverstein’s book, The
Giving Tree, after reading
it that day.
They
are required to read: The Purple Hat
Gang, Olivia Twist... a quest for
the glass half-full, The Freedom Writers Diary, The Eats, Shoots,
and Leaves book
as well as The Write-Brain Workbook. These
books are
always accessible to the students throughout the writing process.
Ms. Kristen gives all
students her email address for communication about their work,
the book process, etc.
2nd
Visit
Writing/Discussion/All
Day Workshop
Second
visit is to sort out each students work. Each student will submit
five pieces of their best work. This work will be read aloud to
the group and we will choose the best three submissions (more or
fewer will be chosen according to quality of work). We will also
go over what needs to be changed, rewritten, and edited. Students
still continue emailing Ms. Kristen. The communication helps them
with their work in-between visits and answers their many questions.
3rd Visit
All
Day Workshop
The
students must submit their newly edited work. The author will go
over the submissions and check for content, punctuation, and syntax.
The students will then go over their work, (again) as well as that
of fellow Guild Members to see what corrections are still needed,
and what work will eventually be qualified for publication - and
what will not. A title for the book will also be suggested and
chosen on that day.
Email between author and students is a given throughout the rest of the
process.
4th
Visit
All
Day Workshop
The
4th author visit again is a rewriting and editing session. We also
read and discuss one of RL Stine’s books from The
Goosebumps Series.
School
Art teacher or Computer instructor will work with the children
on this day to begin cover design. Students will supply ideas,
drawings and photos. Font Style and coloring will also be discussed
and chosen. The students will learn that a book shouldn’t
be judged by its cover...but a good-looking cover is indeed a plus.
Should
a school be unable to fulfill this aspect of the book process,
the Publisher will supply a suitable cover.
5th
Visit
All
Day Workshop
Judith
Kristen arrives for bio/photo session and writing workshop. The
students will submit their bios and a black and white photo of
each student will be taken to be placed above their book bio insert.
We will also go over all work ready for submission. Those students
who have not corrected them properly, failed to follow instructions,
or failed to do so entirely, will be dropped from publication.
They learn the meaning of DEADLINE MEANS DEADLINE.
Progress
on cover design will be checked.
6th Visit
All
Day Workshop
Author
and Writers Guild read and discuss Dickens, A
Christmas Carol.
We check our work once again for errors and read it aloud for flow
and ease of reading.
7th
Visit
All
Day Workshop
Once
again we check our work for errors. Guild Members read aloud and
consult with fellow guild member about the quality of their work.
The cover must also be completed on this day. All work, bios, student
photos and cover artwork is then submitted to the publisher.
8th
Visit
All
Day Workshop- Galley revisions
The
published work will be ready to look at in galley form. The galley is the work the students have submitted in exactly the style and
layout that it will appear in the book. This is where the final
corrections are made - the last step before we see the book in
its true form. After this NO FURTHER CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE WITHOUT
SERIOUS PUBLICATION DELAYS AND HEAVY PENALTY COSTS FROM THE PUBLISHER!!!
9th
Visit
PUBLISHED
BOOK!!!
The
9th visit is party time! The book has arrived in its final form!
Every member of The Writers Guild is now officially a Published
Author!!!
Each
student and teacher involved will receive a free copy
of
their book.The book will appear on all major book vendors web-sites:
Barnes & Noble,
Amazon, Booksamillion, etc.
Judith Kristen came in September
and talked about her book, "The Purple Hat Gang" and
immediately connected with the students. There was magic in the air the
first day of the program.