Teaching Seventh Graders About Writing in Stillman Valley

I taught seven sections of 7th grade English today at Meridian Junior High in Stillman Valley. I cannot imagine a more beautiful group of young people. They were engaged, enthusiastic, and they even laughed at some of my jokes. We had a great time.

Here is how their teacher, Mrs. Hurt, summarized our time together:

Seventh grade English hosted a guest speaker today. Rev Dr Chris Brauns; community pastor, photographer and published author, spoke on the writing process with students.The students made connections with their narrative essays to his visual of the “big idea engine and supporting idea cars.”

Rev. Brauns modeled the writing process of generating an idea with example topics from his experience as a community events photographer.

Students then generated and created story concepts. Our creative students produced ideas ranging from swimming inside Lambeau field, a tickle competition, to a runaway elephant named Tootsie.

Students enjoyed asking Rev Brauns questions about the publishing process and his insights on writing to publish.

The students are now equipped with inspiration and motivation to begin writing their personal narratives about a challenging experience in their lives. Mrs. Hurt and the 7th grade students would like to thank Rev Brauns for visiting and sharing his experiences and ideas on the writing process.