MAKING THE MOST OF LITERATURE THROUGH ENRICHMENT PROJECTS

Enrichment Projects

When studying a novel, we often find some tidbit of information we would like to study further. Perhaps there is an interesting location in the story. Maybe it is even the author that fascinates. Have you ever wanted to follow a rabbit trail in education? Cue the enrichment project!

Throughout our many years of teaching classes, students anticipate the end-of -semester enrichment assignments in classes. These enrichment projects (EPs) are designed to allow students to explore an area of interest from the novel. In medieval studies, students explore crests, castles, occupations, and they even build large scale models. Other EPs provide opportunities for students to rewrite the ending of a story, write a prologue to a story, or write their own story with similar themes or literary elements. Still other projects allow for research of historical figures, events, people groups, or geographical settings. Whatever the project, EPs offer wonderful educational opportunities. In The Write Journey classes, EPs include three components: a written assignment, a visual aid or project, and an oral presentation. Typically, the EP allows all students to explore their creative talents and interests through creative writing, artistic projects, and engaging oral presentations.

The written portion:

While the EP is designed to explore new and different types of writing (moving beyond the academic essay), students use skills learned in class to create the written portion of the project. In addition, instructors may introduce story writing skills to help students tackle their own stories. They may also teach skills such as letter writing, poetry, or even research writing. Depending upon the book, instructors will help students learn about writing in a style that differs from formal academic response writing, even as they continue to remind students about the importance of applying the skills they have learned through their essay writing instruction and practice. Even creative writing includes engaging ideas, logical organization, quality sentence structure, and proper grammar.

The visual aid:

This portion of the enrichment project allows students to flex their creative muscles! Many homemade costumes, food items, dioramas, poster boards, online slideshows, videos, and models have been shown over the years. We believe this is one of the best parts of homeschooling; the freedom to think outside the box and create gives students a refreshing break from the day-in and day-out assignments and tasks. Some students are by nature more creative than others, but ALL students have creative ideas and will benefit from exploring their interests in relation to the book they are studying.

The oral presentation:

While this portion of the EP allows performers a chance to shine, it may intimidate other students. However, time and again, we watch our students blossom and grow in exciting ways on presentation days. Some classes begin practicing oral presentations weeks before the big day with show-and-tell, or learning to share a personal anecdote. Through class discussions, students also sense the class comradery that enables them to present in front of a crowd. Students, instructors, and parents all give warm encouragement to the presenter. Since we know that students will need to continue presenting later in life, such as in educational and career pursuits, these oral presentations give our students the exposure and practice they will need to succeed.

Presentation Week, 2021
This semester, our presentations will take place in class during the week of November 16th -18th, 2021. Students will decide what they will need to complete for their EPs, and they will begin working on the assignments related to the project a few weeks prior to their presentation day. With the mystery genre this semester, we know there will be some wonderful projects related to the detective culture. We expect students from different class levels to find creative ways to interact with and help one another. As always, parents are encouraged to join in the Zoom class to watch the presentations. Class instructors will share the needed information to allow you to participate. May the planning and projects bring a sense of wonder and intrigue into your homes!

Written by: Julie Snyder Educational Director & Instructor

We hear many questions, but some we get often! Questions such as:

Why do you read only one book per class? or

Doesn’t reading analytically create a dislike for reading? Shouldn’t reading just be fun?

or even
Why do students write shorter compositions than many other students their age?

Many more questions are answered in the FAQ section of our “ABOUT” tab. Check it out to see if your question may be addressed on the list of frequently asked questions. If it is not addressed there, feel free to reach out by email or phone! 916-696-1759

Calendar of Events for 2021-2022

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2021-2022

Classes:

NOTE: All class with a date of “Week of” indicates that the specific day of class is yet TBD. Classes will begin during the stated week, but the specific day of the week that the class will meet is still to be determined.

Aug 30-Sept 3 - All Literature-based classes begin this week. (Lit-based classes include: Pre-K/K, First Writers, Intro to Writing, Beginning Writing, Intermediate Writing, Advanced Writing, College Prep, and Adult Certification classes, plus Basic Writing Level 4)

Sept 1st Basic Writing Level 1 (4 weeks)

Oct 5th- Basic Writing Level 1 (4 weeks) Oct 6th- Basic Writing Level 2 (4 weeks)

Nov 2nd- Basic Writing Level 2: 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, no class Nov 23, 11/30
Nov 3rd- Basic Writing Level 3: 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, no class Nov 24, 12/1.
Nov 12, registration opens for spring semester
Week of Nov 15-19 Last week of Fall semester Lit-based classes (Presentation Week!)

Jan 17-21- First week of spring semester classes

Week of Feb 1-5 Basic Writing Level 1 (4 weeks)

Week of Mar 1-5 Basic Writing Level 1 (4 weeks)
Week of Mar 1-5 Basic Writing Level 2 (4 weeks)
Week of Mar 28-Apr 1 Basic Writing Level 2: (4 weeks) Week of Mar 28-Apr 1 Basic Writing Level 3: (4 weeks)

Week of April 25-29 Basic Writing Level 3: (4 weeks) Week of April 4-8 Last week of Spring classes
Week of April 11- 15 NO CLASSES Week of April 18-22 (5 weeks) Spring Break Enrichment classes begin

Week of May 16-20 Final week of enrichment classes

MEET A MEMBER OF OUR TEAM

Hello Everyone! My name is Emily Allen and I am the media manager for The Write Journey. I am honored to be part of this fantastic group of women that make up The Write Journey Team.

Anything you might see on our Facebook and Instagram page is written and created by yours truly. If you know me even just a little, you will quickly see how humorous it is that I have an actual title as a social media manager. I am one of the least tech savvy people you will meet, but where my ability lacks, my determination will make up the difference!

I have been married to my husband, Daniel, for ten years and we have three daughters, ages 8, almost 7 and 5. Our family currently lives in Northern CA, but we recently sold our home, and we are embarking on a move to Arkansas very soon! Like many of you, I am a new homeschooling mom since last October, and, again like so many of you, I found myself wondering if I’m doing this whole homeschool thing right!

I first met Kris Cordell when I was attending a local MOPS group, and she was a mentor for our leadership team. All it took was a hot cup of tea in our hands, homemade scones, (you must have Kris’ homemade scones), and, while sitting in cozy chairs, we chatted for hours about life, motherhood, and leadership. I quickly realized that Kris was one of those women that had immense amounts of wisdom and life was continually providing opportunities for our paths to cross.

When we first met, I was a new mom to three little girls ranging from newborn to 3.5 years. The last thing I had on my mind was homeschooling. Although I knew Kris was a seasoned homeschool mom, it didn’t occur to me that she would later be one of my biggest cheerleaders for a journey I would embark on nearly three years later. Let’s be honest, a homemade scone and some uninterrupted sleep was all I was focused on!

Fast forward two years and at that point I was getting a bit more sleep and my eldest daughter was attending elementary school. In addition, since my passion for event planning, floral design and home design/decor cannot be squelched, I began spending some hours building my design business. No matter how much I might have on my plate, I always find myself being drawn back to these passions.

Because I am a freelance, self taught “designer”, I needed an outlet to share projects and the work that I was doing with clients, as well as the work I was doing in our own home. So, at the ripe old age of 35, I created my first Instagram account. From my personal account, I learned a lot of the ins and outs of social media, like algorithms and how to build community. This knowledge would later be very helpful to me in my future position with TWJ. Small beginnings, and the simple faith from a friend, is how I landed here!

So, here I am, and life looks very different . . . in the best of ways. I am homeschooling all three of my girls, now in third grade, first grade and kindergarten. But that’s not all: I am embarking on a huge move, building my design business slowly but surely, and I have the opportunity to work for one of the best homeschooling companies around.

I am continually amazed by the way God orchestrates our lives, bringing people and relationships that prepare us for the road ahead. Of all the things I love about working for “The Write Journey”, the relationships and community that I have gained is one of the greatest gifts of all. I know that at the end of the day, what we all need most is to know there is someone in our corner cheering us on.

We are rooting for you. You can do what is before you, and you can do it well!

Written by: Emily Allen

MAKING THE MOST OF THE MYSTERY GENRE

As we have settled into our classes this semester, each of our Lit-based classes are studying age appropriate mysteries. For the youngest kiddos, we lean on the innocent mysteries of lost or missing items. One of our classes is searching for answers to the characters’ plentiful questions about a mysterious room. Some older students are studying more nefarious plots, missing persons, or even murder. However, at the core of each and every mystery, the plot centers around the need to seek and find the truth. We long to answer the questions, “What really happened, and why?” In addition to this fun critical thinking learning opportunity, mysteries also rely on some common vocabulary terms that we as adults may take for granted: crime, suspect,
alibi, victim, clues, evidence, motive, and so on. This month’s idea is to help foster curiosity in our students, while helping them understand the process of using inference and clues to figure out the truth. An educated guess goes a long way in all fields of study, especially seeking the truth. Let’s look at some options to make the most of this genre of writing , and encourage the whole family to have fun with it!

Here are some ideas for you to expand on the mystery theme this month in your homes:

1. Mystery Dinner- what’s on the menu? Close kitchen access, and leave a few clues as to the menu. Children can even participate in the meal making process; they may chop vegetables, but not realize they will go into the marinara sauce. Or, children may help prepare a small portion of a dessert, but have few clues about the final product. Mix it up, and have students (and parents) try to figure out the menu for the meal!

2. Talk about each child’s story. Likely, they are in the very beginning of their novels, but a weekly check-in about the progress of the case might be a fun way to encourage lively discussions and guesses; just don’t allow any students privy to the story’s ending to spoil it for the reader. Repeat after me- NO SPOILERS!

3. Fingerprinting Activity- Supplies needed: Plain white paper, lead or graphite pencil, transparent tape, a magnifying glass (optional)

   1. On the paper, use the pencil to scribble a thick layer of pencil mark (make it nice and dark).

   2. Rub fingertips over the pencil mark vigorously, picking up enough graphite to coat the fingertip.

   3. Place a piece of clear sticky tape solidly across the finger tip.

   4. Lift the tape straight up and off the finger, making sure to not touch on the prints.

   5. Stick the tape to the white paper.

   6. Use a magnifying glass to closely examine the prints!

4. Mystery Box- place an item in a box, and allow students to

   try to guess at the item based on the size, weight, and sound.

5. I Spy Observation Game- On a tray, arrange multiple small items, like toys, erasers, lip balm, hair accessories, sunglasses, school supplies, and so on. Set a timer for students to observe the items without touching or moving any. Then remove one item, and ask the students to decide what item has been taken. For older students, they may have to guess more than one missing item, or they can have one minute to write down all of the items they remember seeing on the tray after it is covered or removed.

These ideas are only a few possibilities, and many parents and students have fantastic ideas of their own! The encouragement is to make the most of the mystery genre in literature. As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, this reading and writing genre is often identified as the first love for many. We encourage families to develop this love and make the most of reading with at least a couple of these activities this month!

Written by: Julie Snyder