It's Monday afternnoon of a brand-new week and I must admit I'm a wee bit sad that I just finished the last of a series of writing workshops with Miss Julie's Grade 2 classes at Roslyn Elementary School. First, I need to tell you (again!) that Miss Julie was MY student when I taught at Marianopolis College and I'm super proud of the work she's doing with her kids!
Today, we talked about FOILS -- this is a term for when authors use characters who are opposites. A student named Amedeo "got" what I was talking about because he came up with a great idea of foils he could use in a story: "A person who believes in God and one who doesn't." I have to admit I was blown away to hear that idea come from a student in Grade 2!!
Afterwards I told the students the story of the monkey man charm I wear around my neck. (It inspired my picture book The Brass Charm.) The charm, in case you don't know the story, was given to my mum during World Wat 2 when she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. The students had loads of great questions. Norah asked, "How did your mother get out of the prison?" (The answer is she was liberated by the Russian army.) Asar asked, "How did the woman get the charm into the camp?" (The answer is the charm is made of brass, so because it had no value, she would have been allowed to bring it into the prison with her.) And Nyla wanted to know, "Where is your mum now?" (The answer is that my mum died in 2017 at the age of 87, but she was lucky to have survived and to have lived a good life -- and also she's the one who taught me everything I know about stories!!)
But I was mainly back in Miss Julie's classroom today to have a look at the stories the students have been working on. You will see from the following excerpts that there's lots of talent at Roslyn School! Mila made me laugh with the start to her story: "I went to Mexicold. That's not a typo!" Mila also added later on that, "my teeth chattered." I just love strong verbs and chattering is the perfect word for what you are describing, Mila.
Nolan also had a fun start to his story: "One time, I had three playdates in one day!" And as it turns out, Nolan's mum joined in the fun on one of those playdates!
Chloe's story had great TROUBLE in it. (We had discussed on my last visit that stories need trouble the way that cars need electricity or gasoline.) Chloe wrote about going to see a performance of the Nutcracker: "one of the ballet dancers fell into my seat.... She pretended it was part of the show." Great trouble, Chloe, and also great imagination! I suggested that maybe Chloe could SLOW DOWN the trouble. What did it feel like when the ballerina fell into the narrator's lap? Did one of the ballerina's slippers fall off? Did the narrator laugh or did she call out for help? How did the people sitting nearby react?
It's usually a good idea for authors to slow down when they get to the trouble!
One of my friends, kids' book author Rina Singh, knew I'd be hanging around with Grade Two's today. Rina asked me to do her a favour: "Ask them what they wonder about!" The kids had several good suggestions including Minecraft, how to make people smarter, and sticky roll bracelets. But my favourite answer came from Eva D and Eva K. They called out at the exact same time: "We wonder when you're coming back!"
My visits to Roslyn are done for this winter. But Miss Julie and I are already planning a return visit for next year! And kids, if you're reading this blog entry, look for me in the mornings on your way to school. I jog past the Westmount Library -- and I go there at least once a week to find or return books!
Thanks to Miss Julie for the invite, and for all the work you've done with the kids on their writing. And thanks to the KIDS. You were smart and fun and creative company. NO WONDER I ALREADY MISS YOU!!