Writers Circle – Developing a Writing Community

I host Writer’s Circle at lunchtimes once a week during the Winter months at school.  I am a Year 3 teacher with a literary bent and this is open to all students in Years 3 to 6 who just love writing.

It does mean commitment as we all miss out on one lunch break a week, but what a bonus as I watch aspirant writers:

• struggle with unusual genres
• wrestle with words and plot lines
• sit contemplatively considering new approaches
• light up as inspiration strikes
• beam with pride as they share on “Author’s Chair”, and then
• publish and give each other feedback on a digital sharing platform!

We’re into week 4 and we’ve written list poems and songs and are now working on developing stories which will allow students to extend their plots and allow for reflective editing.  An interesting idea from a colleague before beginning narratives was to start from a different viewpoint from the usual.  If we start our planning the usual way where often we develop a complication and then work outwards from there, the resolution is often predictive.  So – we are exploring developing characters first in isolation, using lists and characteristics borrowed from real people we know… and now I am interested to see where this takes us and if any stories begin to “ask to be written” using these characters….?  

This is only my second season offering Writer’s Circle and I’d love to hear your experiences or ideas for where we should go next….?  I’m particularly interested in how you “Writers Workshop” educators might view this or what you would suggest. (btw – I’ve got Stacey’s “Craft Moves” as a great mentor text myself….)

Dawn