WiER classes have many purposes for participating in the program—from developing skills in writing and critical discussion, to learning more about the vibrant writing community in our country, and the literature they create—in addition to exploring their own creative works with others.
We have learned that many classes extend this experience into other areas of curricular life in schools, often well beyond their own direct participation in the program, and so we have developed a variety of points of entry into this extended experience, while also bringing a sense of closure to the skills, insights and ideas developed over the WiER term.
One of these engages students in what we call "closing activities," which are offered to all classes involved in WiER each term. Normally, WiER keeps accounts active for two weeks or so following the last day of a term so that those who would like to participate in these activities may do so.
An overview of our more common closing activities follows:
1. WHY HAVE A CLOSING ACTIVITY?
We have designed the closing activity with a few key points in mind:
- to bring a sense of closure to students' experience of WiER;
- to emphasize the influence of WiER (i.e., on future thinking about composition more than, say, as a form of “publication”);
- to provide evidence of the value of student writing; and especially,
- to provide evidence that involvement in WiER's community of writing has merit.
2. WHO, WHEN & WHERE
- Open to all WiER classes each term;
- normally runs for two weeks following this term’s end (school accounts are kept open for it); and,
- all work is posted here in a special "Closing Activities conference folder.
3. THE ACTIVITIES
Select up to 5 pieces from your salon group that were most influential in your experience of WiER this year.
For example, these may be pieces or exchanges that:
- fostered classroom discussion;
- encouraged or affected student writing in class; and/or,
- generated an interest in reading others' work (including the professional authors' works, of course!)
It would be great to know why your class selected the pieces they did.
Alternative Activity
Formulate a class response that focuses on what the students learned:
- from the writers;
- from their own compositions; and,
- from the responses they received to their own work, and created in response to the work of others.
4. AUDIO FILES & PODCASTS
We would like to feature some students reading their works at WiER's web site. We invite your class to make a computer audio recording or Podcast of a few pieces from your class (up to 5).
And are you creating Podcasts at your school? If so, WiER would love to know of any work under way in this area that features your experience with WiER.
