WiR Options and Fees

 (We can also work with you to design a program that fits the needs of your school.)

In our traditional 26-week residency, we pair a writer with three classes of your choosing. The WiR teacher conducts a one-hour workshop each week with each class, guiding students in writing projects related to poetry, fiction, and/or creative nonfiction. Using the work of published authors as a launching pad for discussions, teachers introduce students to topics such as: conflict, emotional subtext, authorial intent, word choice, linking content to form, and recognizing multiple interpretations. Through these readings and discussions, students learn how to evaluate their own writing and are encouraged to take risks in the writing assignments given each week. Students end each session by sharing their writing with their fellow students. Sharing their work allows students to appreciate the many different ways an assignment can be approached and teaches them to value a variety of perspectives on the same subject. Reading their work aloud also gears students up for the community reading, where they will have the chance to share their writing with a larger audience. As part of the WiR program, students compile an anthology of their best work, which we publish and present to the students at the end of the year. A Poetry on the Go field trip is also incorporated into the 26-week program (see description below).

Sample 26-week Schedule

In our 10-week residency, a WiR teacher again works for an hour every week with each of three classes at your school. WiR teachers collaborate with classroom teachers to design a project that will give students experience with creative writing in a specific genre: poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Our teachers adopt the same instructional approach as in the 26-week residency but narrow the focus to the selected genre. At the end of the program, the WiR teacher helps to arrange a celebratory reading at your school for friends, family, and fellow students so that young writers can showcase their work.

Sample 10-week Schedule

(options are October to December or January to March)

Poetry on the Go

The Poetry on the Go field trip is a full-day event. With the help of school staff and other volunteers, the WiR teacher takes three classes on a tour of Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University or Spokane's Museum of Art and Culture. During their visit, students are encouraged to observe and talk about the intersections among nature, architecture, and the visual arts. Students write poetic responses to their favorite pieces of art, as well as a reflective essay about something they noticed that day. This dialogue with art not only energizes the students as writers but helps them learn to weave sensory detail into their writing. The field trip is a part of the 26-week residency or it can be added on to the 10-week residency. It can also be a stand-alone event.

COSTS

Program costs are paid in part by schools and in part by sponsors and grants. The following costs are based on a three-hour per week commitment: