Week 6: Writing is fundamental

This week’s reading focused on the role that storytelling and writing can have on a child. It’s so important to consider how and why someone wants to tell a story–sometimes it’s just a matter of giving a person the right tools in order to create a master storyteller.

That might be a robot toy like Sam for early literacy learners or it could be an open forum for recreating a favorite world. Fan Fiction is often dismissed as silly (see Twilight) but it’s also serious business (unfortunately, see Twilight.) Sharing interpretive work, whether it is about The Hunger Games or The Sims, is an important life skill. Teachers can help students grow research and editing abilities through content that is interesting to the individual student. Incorporating these online worlds could help students build and understand audience–a vital part of effective writing.

Jessie, Shelley and I are thinking about ways we can frame writing prompts for teenage girls into our final project for this class. These readings helped me contextualize the importance of free and creative storytelling for children of all ages.