Created on (insert date) (insert time)

(Name)

 

PIECES

 

Format for pieces:

 

Title in Underlined Italics (was: old title[s])  (generic description)

Date                 draft #             information about draft/conference described: what was the focus, what issues are you having, what was discussed, etc.  

 

Poem about dad

Aug 26           1                        1st draft; discussed metaphor problem in the second stanza with kt

Sep 26             2                        revised metaphor; re-examined first stanza imagery

                                                      C with Bob: he said I should be careful not to overuse clichés in my description

 

Evening Star (was: Brilliant Light)  (poem about night sky)

Sep 5               1                        first draft at home, revised twice; shared with parents, who like it

Sep 6               1                        kt discussed poor rhythms (esp. lines 4 and 7) and stilted word choices

Sep 9               2                        altered phrasing throughout poem

                                                      C with Bill and Jan: Bill says I still have a lot of cliché word choices (like “omniscient soul”); Jan thinks they are fine

Sep 25             3                        scrapped earlier work in favor of a new focus; changed format to sonnet and added element about relationships

 

The Midas Touch  (was: Papi) (was: When I Was a Blade of Grass) (short story about my grandfather)

Aug 28           j                         started as journal entry

Sep 1               0                        discussed outline for story with kt and Jenny

Sep 2               1                        started first draft; trouble with description of grandpa’s house

Sep 15             1                        continued working on first draft; Jenny says description of hallway works

Sep 24             1                        finally finished first draft; awaiting feedback from kt

 

Blue  (Sonnet about school)

Sep 19             1                        tried and abandoned; couldn’t make it anything but trite

 

Lynx  (poem about my cat)

Sep 19             1                        first draft finished, but it really stinks; C with kt about rhythm; she gave me ideas for revision of lines that don’t work

Sep 20             1.1                    C with Brian and Sandi; they said my changes in line 3 don’t help, but suggested that I make it comic

Sep 21            2                        comic version works better, I think, but the ending needs tons of help

Sep 22             2.1                    feedback on the boards from several classmates suggests that I was right, but it isn’t just the ending; the whole section about the fire escape needs tweaking…maybe lynx should confront another cat?

 

Michael (character sketch about a mentally retarded child)

Sep 13             0                        got idea watching my brother; brainstormed thoughts

Sep 14             1                        finished first draft

Sep 15            1                        C with Brian and Bill; they suggest I focus more on adding to the character of Michael’s sister

Sep 17             2                        fleshed out Michael’s sister by giving her a scene alone watching him

Sep 20            2.1                    small changes in wording

                                                     C with kt: suggested POV change to reflect changes in D2

                                                      C with Brian and Bill: they basically agreed with kt; I’ll try it from her POV

 

JOURNAL
 
(Please note that this section is actually in three columns.  It will not appear that way online.  Your Word versions, though, should be formatted using the column function.  See end notes.) 
 
Aug 26-Sep 1

Hello, Journal

Passion

What I think about aardvarks

dad at dinner

 

Sep 2-9

Random jottings

Dyslexic penguins

Little boy blue and other perverts

 

Sep 10-17

Random jottings 2

Walter and the Tin Box

Silly sonnet

 

Sep 18-23

Creatures who live under my bed

Puff the Magic Dragon

Why?

 

Sep 24-30

A Thousand Uses For a Broken Brick

Brian in the cafeteria

Chocoholic

Warthogs and Other Fine Pets

 

 

 

JOURNAL SUMMARY

 

Entries

 

Locations

 

Styles

 

Total this wk

#

in class

#

Style 1

#

Total overall

#

Place 2

#

Style 2

#

 

 

Place 3

#

Style 3

#

 

 

Place 4

#

Style 4

#

 

 

BRIEF NOTES:

(COMMENTS/IRREGULARITIES/INTEGRATIONS/CELEBRATIONS)

 

Sep 3             I tried the “threading revision” exercise with Evening Star and liked how it turned out 

Sep 3             My grandfather passed away so I am missing 2 entries: I’ll make them up     next week 

Sep 10          I got really good feedback from Scott on the ending of my poem

Sep 17          I tried the Rita Dove exercise on my own and came up with a draft for a poem

Sept 24        I am having trouble finding a good peer conference partner for my story about Michael.  Might need some help.

 

P2P CONFERENCES:

 

1    Sep 2      Colleen                   “Midget Glances” d1

2    Sep 6      Marianne               “On the Wall” d1

3    Sep 13    Robert                    “Incendiary Bananas” d1

4    Sep 15    Alaina                      “Musings From a Teenage Philosopher” d1.1

5    Sep 26    Marianne               “On the Wall” d2 

READING WORKSHOP

 

In this section, simply list books read.  For current quarter only, keep track of ongoing page numbers and dates of reading.  You may delete this information (and only this information) after the next quarter begins.

 

 

 

 

Making a Workshop Summary

 

Each student in WW must, once a week, turn in a revised and updated Workshop Summary (WS) in which you outline specifically which pieces you worked with that week and what you did with them.  The purpose is twofold: a record for you of your accomplishments and a quick review for me of your effort for the week.  Although it may not always be returned to you, this is a class assignment and should be treated as such.  It will help your grade if you do it correctly and on time. The Workshop Summary is simple to make if you follow this format:  Format the file exactly as I have done in this model!

 

  1. On any computer, open a file and name it your initials followed by the word “summary.”  Example:  ktsummary.doc

 

  1. Insert the date in the heading when you create the file (I can show you how to do this during class). This way you will always have the correct date on your WS.

 

  1. Create Pieces Section with an entry for each piece you start:  these pieces should each be listed separately by title. 
    1. Please make up a working title for pieces that have no permanent title
    2. After the title, provide each piece with a generic description, as in “poem about dad” or “story about fishing.”
    3. Then, for any date on which you work on the piece, there should be an entry that shows the date and the work you have done.
    4. In order to make this chart, do one of two things: either

                                                                      i.       Copy and paste the formatting from this page, or

                                                                   ii.       Carefully format using tabs and a hanging indent.  Do not simply space forward.

    1. Please get the formatting exactly right.  Italics, underlines, etc. should be used where they are used in the example.  Bold is used only as an option for highlighting new material.

 

  1. Create a Journaling Section. 
    1. List each journal entry separately by title or description.
    2. For each journal entry, include the date.
    3. As to how to format for columns: copy the sample entries into your WS.  Now click before the first sample journal entry (but after the title of the section).  Then locate the button for adding a Section Break.  Its location will vary depending on your word processor and its version.  Click it.  If a window comes up asking whether you want it to be “continuous” or to go to the “next page,” click “continuous.”  (If nothing much appears to have happened, that’s probably good.  If everything suddenly shifts over a page, you’ll need another step, and that’s more complicated.  You’ve got to make that break continuous.)  Now go to the place after the final sample entry and select “Section Break” again, and again “continuous.”  You will now have a small self-contained journal section within your document.  Find the “columns” button and, with your cursor anywhere in the journal section, adjust it to 3 columns.  This should change the column number in this one section only.  If you can’t figure it out, I will help you in class.

 

  1. Create a Journal Summary.
    1. Insert a table with six columns and 10 or so rows.
    2. Copy and paste the text from the summary above into the top rows of your table. 
    3. Your own locations and styles will vary.
    4. Styles are self-defined and may include obvious things such as “poems” or “dialogue” or “rants” or “story starters,” but also might include things that you invent, such as “life drawings” (word pictures from a scene you’ve witnessed) or “sense memory” (detailed metaphoric descriptions of senses) or “emotional portraits” (inventive metaphoric descriptions evoking specific emotions).
    5. NOTE: This is the one section of the WS that must be specifically updated each time.

 

  1. Create a Brief Notes Section
    1. Note struggles, comments, things to celebrate, or various integrations you have tried    (An “integration” is when you take some aspect of a lesson done in class and apply it/experiment with it on your own, outside of any assignment given in class). Integrations are essential to your success in the class.

 

  1. Create a P2P Conferences Section to record the conferences you give to peers on their work.
    1. This is not the place to record conferences on your own pieces.  You have done that in the main section of the WS.  This is your record of the time you’ve spent helping others.
    2. You do not need to write down what is said in these conferences; that is the job of the owner of the piece.  You merely need to record that you had a conference.

 

  1. Before sending the summary to me, put the current week’s work in bold or in color or highlighted.
    1. Please note the word “sending.”  It is a complete waste of paper to print these things out, as they can easily grow to several pages long very, very easily.  Whenever you have a scheduled conference, email the WS to me along with your conference draft.

 

 In order to do this, either drag the mouse over what you have typed that day and select Bold or a color or a highlight from the ruler, or just type everything new in the style you desire.  Either way, after sending me the Summary via e-mail, select ALL and deselect your style before saving; otherwise, you’ll already have highlighted work when you start typing the next week.

 

Acknowledgment: In this updated version of the WS, I have incorporated some ideas from Amy Zimmermann.

This page copyright Karen Topham 2009.