IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

As I have shared in previous posts, our class has been exploring many different materials in the last few months.  Since about March, our friends have been using many different materials to tell stories.  The use of materials during Writer’s Workshop is something I actually observed when I was in Portland, Oregon, at the Opal School.  They integrate the arts into Writer’s Workshop and call it Story Workshop.  Kids are allowed to use paints, clay, blocks, and even more to help them tell their stories.  As a class, we have been doing this too for the last few months during Writer’s Workshop.  To show an example of the power of materials, I thought I would share the story of Maxwell and Olivia.

Last week, Maxwell and Olivia were working together to write a story about their first few days of school.  They were using the story people (smaller pictures of each of the students in the classroom) to tell their story.  They were using the story people almost like action figures moving them around and acting out the different parts.  On Thursday, Maxwell and Olivia shared their story.  The rest of the class gave suggestions and asked questions that would help guide Maxwell and Olivia.

Maxwell and Olivia were using the story people to create a story about the beginning of school.

Today, Maxwell and Olivia came back to this story…only this time with a different material.  Today the chose to start writing a book about the same story.  For the entire Writer’s Workshop, the two worked together to add details and different parts to their story.  While we have not had a chance to come back as a class and talk about it, I know that when we do, the story will have even more in it!  Check back later this week to find out about how their story developed with the second material of a blank book!

Maxwell and Olivia, today, working together on their story in a book.

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