2011 yww catalog 1 25 - scarsdale public schools · 2011. 1. 25. ·...

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: http://youngwritersworkshop.eventbrite.com

PROGRAMMING GUIDE 2011

Welcome to the 2011 Young Writers’ Workshop programming guide. To register: •Please choose 5 workshops that interest you, then go to the event website at http://youngwritersworkshop.eventbrite.com and select their numbers and titles in your order of preference. •Although you will be assigned to 2 workshops, you still must list 5 so that we can process your registration. We will try to honor your requests, but cannot always do so. •Registration will run from January 28 th through February 17 th. Registration after February 17 th will be charged a $10 late fee and is subject to workshop availability. (Note: Late registrations will not be accepted after March 4 th.) All fees are nonrefundable. We look forward to seeing you on March 26th!

MASTER WORKSHOPS WITH GAIL CARSON LEVINE Award-‐winning author Gail Carson Levine will teach two Master Workshops—one for fifth graders and one for third and fourth graders. Please make sure you sign up for the right one for your grade. 1. Master Workshop for 5th Graders: Abracadabra! A Story! Get ready to write and get ready to share. Gail Carson Levine will supply ideas to help you start your story. They'll surprise you and then you'll surprise yourself. Maybe your characters will discover a new universe or find a lost diamond or participate in a science experiment or enter the mind of your favorite animal. Writing is magical. Anything can happen.

2. Master Workshop for 3rd & 4th Graders: Abracadabra! A Story Get ready to write and get ready to share! Gail Carson Levine will supply ideas to help you start your story. They'll surprise you and then you'll surprise yourself. Maybe your characters will discover a new universe or find a lost diamond or participate in a science experiment or enter the mind of your favorite animal. Writing is magical. Anything can happen. Gail Carson Levine is the author of Ella Enchanted (a Newbery Honor Book). She also wrote Dave at Night (an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults), and Writing Magic: Creating Books That Fly, a wisdom-‐packed guide for aspiring young writers. Check out her website at

www.gailcarsonlevine.com and her blog at http://www.gailcarsonlevine.blogspot.com.


MYSTERY & ADVENTURE 3. Adventures in History—Be a Sleuth An old photograph, a fascinating document. These can become the defining moments of a historical story. How do you know what to look for? What to ask? How do you dig for those

moments? Students will put on their spectacles and become history detectives to uncover important information in telling great stories. Examine classified materials and use

your detective skills to interview and write your tale. Jonathan Lewis is the author of two books on the history of the CIA for Yale University Press. 4. Choose Your Own Adventure! What do all great adventure stories have in common? Heroes! Quests! And problems! Lots of problems. In this workshop, you’ll get to conjure up a hero or heroine of your own, imagine a quest for them, and find obstacles to throw their way. Whether it’s a flood, a fire-‐breathing dragon, or a car running out of gas, we’ll discuss ways to move our stories along, deepen characters, and bring our heroes home. Sheela Chari is a children’s author and Scarsdale resident. Her mystery-‐adventure novel, Vanished, will be released by Disney Hyperion this August. Visit her online at www.sheelachari.com. 5. Where’s The Drama? Write Your Own Super-‐Suspenseful Mystery

Discover the twists, trickery and nitty-‐gritty of mystery books by writing your own super-‐suspenseful story. We’ll create an original tale, mastering the key elements of mystery writing as we go. By the end of this workshop, you’ll

have the tools to design your own astonishing thriller from scratch. Leslie Margolis is the author of Girl’s Best Friend, the first book in her new series, The Maggie Brooklyn Mysteries. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a neighborhood filled with dogs, and mysteries and even some mysterious dogs. Visit her online at www.lesliemargolis.com.

CREATIVE WRITING 6. Writopia Lab presents: Write a Short Short Story (On Your Own) Develop and write a short, short story in under an hour! You will learn the crucial elements– characters, plots, resolutions, and unexpected twists. Then complete a compelling short story on the spot. Pei-‐Ling Lue is a Writopia creative writing teacher and editor of the award-‐winning literary magazine One Story. 7. Writopia Lab presents: Write a Short Short Story (Together) Learn the elements of a very short story and write an exciting tale with a beginning, middle, and end. Students will brainstorm characters, plots, resolutions, and twists to create a surprisingly short piece with a fascinating twist! Each writer will contribute a short chapter – all culminating in a complete story. Rebecca Wallace-‐Segall is the founder and executive director of Writopia Lab, an award-‐winning nonprofit organization whose mission it is to bring community, inspiration, and instruction to young writers in New York City and beyond. 8. Dear Diary, I Really Want To Be A Famous Writer! Positive thinking does work! And there's no better way to get focused on good thoughts than through writing in a journal. Come learn about how journaling can unleash your inner author and get you into great shape for writing. The workshop includes journaling exercises to help you set goals and meet them. Annabel Monaghan is the author of Click! The Girls Guide to Knowing What You Want and Making it Happen, a handbook of positive thinking for girls. Her first novel for young adults, Digit, is coming out in early 2012. She lives in Rye, NY.


9. Writing Your Life: Tell Me Your Story! Fiction is great, but the truth—your true story—can be even better. In this workshop, you’ll learn about the different kinds of memoir (including how you can draw as well as write them!); how finding the goal of your memoir helps people connect with your story; and why telling your story is so important. At the end of this

workshop, you’ll see how your own personal stories can be even better than the stuff other people make up. Suzan Colón has written about

celebrities (Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lopez), comic book characters (Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Clark Kent), and, most recently, her family in the memoir Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times. Francesco Clark is the author of the memoir Walking Papers: The Accident That Changed My Life, and the Business that Got Me Back on My Feet. He is the president of Clark’s Botanicals skin care line and a National Ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. 10. Pitch It! Got an idea for a book? Learn why some ideas get picked out of piles of submissions to become books—and others don’t. Literary agents help make writers’ book ideas come to life. Become a literary agent for the morning as you learn how to pitch your book project to an editor of a publishing house. Fun, interactive exercises will give you real-‐life experience of the day-‐to-‐day business of literary agents and editors. Scott Waxman, Waxman Literary Agency 11. Playing with Words Anyone can Create acrostic Riddles by writing the letters Of a word vertically, then Starting each line of The poem In this way, like a Crossword Puzzle – Have fun with words by creating acrostic poems, magic squares, and Haikus. Steven Schnur, prize-‐winning author

12. Poetic Justice How would you write about an ordinary object and turn into something extraordinary—a snowflake, a car, a shirt? Some of the most memorable, funny and poignant poetry is about ordinary things told in a poetic and surprising way. Brainstorm, learn tips, and create your own extraordinary poetry. David Besancon, Fox Meadow teacher

NEWSPAPERS 13. A Passion for Fashion Calling all fashionistas! The spring style shows are on, and you’ve got a front row seat. As a fashion reporter, you’ll learn how to best describe clothing trends and write a fun fashion story that will keep all your readers on the “best dressed” list. A miniature fashion show will be your inspiration; and the end result will be an original magazine piece that’s as fabulous as you are! Traci Dutton Ludwig is a staff writer for The Scarsdale Inquirer and a freelance contributor to Westchester-‐based publications. Some of her favorite topics include women’s fashion and style trends. 14. Breaking News News is breaking, and it’s your beat! Learn how to make observations at the scene, interview eyewitnesses and police, get comments from the mayor or the school principal, and dig up all the facts you need to write a local news story that all your neighbors will want to read. Linda Leavitt, Editor, The Scarsdale Inquirer 15. Write About People Making News Nearby Sometimes local news is of interest only to people in the area—but sometimes the stories, though local, have universal themes that give them widespread appeal. In this workshop, we will talk about what makes a local news story fascinating, how to find them, and how to craft them. Susan Dominus is a staff writer at the Sunday New York Times Magazine. Prior to that, she wrote the twice-‐weekly “Big City” column for the Times.


MAGAZINES 16. The Art of the Interview Everybody knows how to ask questions, but what kind of questions guarantee interesting answers? We’ll review good and bad interviews and practice asking questions in a simulated press conference in order to write short articles.

Once you learn to think like an interviewer, you will never be at a loss when meeting someone new! Yishane Lee regularly interviews famous chefs—among them Bobby Flay and Rocco DiSpirito—for

Runner’s World magazine. The author of a cookbook, she has interviewed Broadway stars, Olympic athletes, and others for the New York Times Styles section. 17. Gifts! Gifts! Gifts! Ever wonder what to get someone for his or her birthday or a holiday? A perfect place to start looking is in a magazine’s gift guide. In this hands-‐on class, you’ll put together a gift guide of your own by looking at a variety of items and

testing them out, then deciding which ones readers would like best. Next, you’ll write about the gifts, letting the audience know why the items are fantastic. Ellen Breslau is the executive editor at

Woman’s Day magazine, and the former editor-‐in-‐chief of For Me. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two kids. 18. Let’s Hear It for the Toys Toys are more than just fun and games – they’re hot topics in parenting magazines. In this workshop, you’ll pretend you are a magazine writer in charge of reporting on some brand new

toys. You’ll get to see and (yes!) play with some new toys, and compose write-‐ups about them to help readers decide which are best for kids. Deborah Skolnik is a Senior

Editor at Parenting Magazine, and previously worked as an editor at Parents, The NY Daily News, American Baby, McCalls, and Woman’s Day.

19. Picture This! Magazines use striking photos, cool graphics, and bold typestyles to help make people want to stop and read a story. You’ll learn how editors and designers use pictures and other images to enhance an article, and you’ll create your own magazine pages based on how you want to tell the story. Stephanie Mehta is executive editor of Fortune, a leading business magazine. She has written and edited stories about companies such as Apple, Activision, and Facebook.

ART & WORDS 20. Famous Pop Artist Leads Collage Workshop Words and letters are everywhere! On packages, signs, and…everywhere you turn! Transform those letters and words into a picture story about yourself. With your imagination and creativity, recycled materials (such as cereal boxes, the artist's trademark materials) will be used to create a modern picture word portrait. Michael Albert, a local modern pop artist, author, and founder of the Sir Real Fruit Juice Company, will lead this workshop. Posters of his colorful collage artworks can be found all over the USA and at Cosi Restaurants in Westchester and Fairfield County. 21. Let’s Make A Book! Come and learn how to make your own unique book. We will fold, score, and glue the paper, then make a cover. The book can be used as a travel journal, a photo album, a sketchbook, or anything else you can think of. Karin Reetz is a book artist affiliated with Arts Westchester. She has her own bookmaking studio and also teaches art residencies and teacher workshops in schools all over Westchester. 22. Picture Books From A to Z Explore what makes a great picture book text—from the voice to the story to the rhythms of the words. Then learn how to create a model for a story book as we break up text and figure out how to illustrate it. For writers and artists alike. Marisabina Russo is the author/illustrator of 23 picture books and 2 young adult novels. These include The Line Up Book, Always Remember Me (ALA Notable Book), and A Very Big Bunny (Junior Library Guild Selection).


COMICS 23. You Can Create Archie Comics Too! Enter the wonderful world of Archie Comics by learning, step by step, how to draw America's

favorite teenager and his friends. Participants will also get a lesson in creating comic stories. It's fun and easy! Angelo DeCesare has been an Archie writer and storyboard

artist for 15 years. He is also the author and illustrator of Anthony the Perfect Monster and the Flip's Journal series. Mr. Angelo is often found doing author visits in schools throughout New York.

TV & RADIO 24. The Best TV Show Ever – Because It’s Yours! Every great TV show begins with an idea. But before any program hits the airwaves, a lot of work goes into developing the concept. Who is the target audience? Where will it take place?

Who will be the star or host? Become a TV programmer for a day as you answer those questions and more, and then work up a pitch to “sell” your idea to others in your

workshop. See if you can guess which ideas from the pros actually ended up on TV, and find out why some others didn’t make the grade. Sheila Sitomer is the Executive Producer of Program Development at ABC News. 25. How to Write a TV Show How do you write a TV show about any subject that interests you? Comedy? Drama? A rock ‘n roll reality show? We’ll explore what’s special about writing for television—and the difference between writing dramatic scripts and factual scripts. Finally, you’ll get a chance to write a sample “treatment” for a TV show that you create. Bruce David Klein is the President and Executive Producer of Atlas Media Corp., a leading producers of non-‐fiction TV programming for networks like A&E, The History Channel, WE, Discovery Networks, Food Network.

26. Lights, Camera, Action! Make The News! Everyone has a story, but what’s the best way to tell it? Come learn to write for TV News and practice anchoring your own broadcast. Each participant will get the opportunity to go “before the camera.” You’ll pick the stories that you think matter, then write them and put on the show! Tammy Fine is an Emmy-‐award winning broadcast news producer with almost 20 yrs experience working for NBC News in NY and Washington, DC. Tammy has also taught courses at Wharton’s MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania. 27. Talk much? Have you ever thought about what you hear on a commercial? How the words that are spoken are as important as the script to get the message across. This workshop will focus on creating amazing advertising copy for television and radio commercials. Students can then try their hand at performing their work! Kirsten Krohn, President, KiKi Productions, SAG/Aftra member 28. Who/What/Where/When—News Basics Do you want to know what it takes to be a reporter? How a TV newsroom works? What reporters do all day? Here is your chance to get a basic understanding of how to go about covering a news story and writing it up. You’ll learn the questions to ask, and how to structure the story so everyone will want to “read all about it” or tune in. Sharon Dizenhuz has been a journalist for over 20 years and was an anchor and senior reporter at NY1 News for 10 years.


FILM & STAGE 29. The Picture House presents: Everybody's A Critic We read plenty of film reviews by critics, but we want to hear what you think. Watch movie clips and short films, share your opinions, and turn your thoughts into a strong, convincing movie review. Learn how to watch films with a critic’s eye and see what no one else sees. This course will be taught by a Picture House Teaching Artist. 30. The Picture House presents: Visualize It Are you ever able to picture a story in your head, yet when you try to put it down on paper, you don’t know where to begin? We will create storyboards to help you develop and explore your story ideas. Through the use of drawings and text, you’ll have visual maps to guide you through the writing process. It’s a tool used frequently by filmmakers. Jessica Hauben is a Picture House Teaching Artist who has spent years as a classroom teacher and art educator. 31. Creating Great Characters James Bond. Harry Potter. Ramona the Pest. Carly Shay. Each of these characters is memorable because the writers who invented them gave them lots and lots of details that

made them unique and interesting. In this workshop, you’ll have the chance to create memorable characters.

Then you’ll write a monologue for them (a monologue is a dramatic speech uttered by a single character) to share and perform for each other. Erika Radin is a drama teacher, writer, actor, and co-‐creator of the show Mom's The Word. 32. Writing for Musicals: The “I Want” Song The ‘I Want’ song can be the most important song in any musical—the one where the characters express their hopes and dreams and get the audience rooting for them. In this workshop, you’ll get the chance to write an ‘I Want’ song for a character of your choice. Not only will you write the lyrics, but you’ll decide on the kind of music that best suits your character

(dark and creepy, silly waltz, rap song). Be ready not only to write but to perform your ‘I Want’ song if you so choose! Sophie Jaff is a New York Times-‐reviewed playwright and published children’s author. Her children’s musical A Shelter in Our Car was seen by over 12,000 students and is due to be produced again in at the Off Broadway John Jay Theatre in New York. Find out more at www.sophiejaff.com.

POLITICS 33. Dear Mr. President, Senator, Assemblywoman… Feeling passionate about an issue and want to write a letter to a legislator to effect change? Learn how to present your topic so that your letter produces action. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin will discuss how to write a constituent letter that presents your issue clearly and accomplishes your goal. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin was first elected to the New York State Assembly in November 2000. Now in her 6th term, she represents the 88th Assembly District encompassing many Westchester County communities, including Scarsdale, where she currently lives. 34. Lend Me Your Ears! How To Prepare and Deliver a Great Speech Every day, thousands of people around the world stand up to speak before a group—to voters, classmates, teammates, customers, business leaders, and TV audiences. Unfortunately, too many of these speeches are boring. In this workshop, a former Presidential Speechwriter will teach you an approach to making the most of every public speaking opportunity. John Pollack, a communications consultant for ROI Communication, has worked as a foreign correspondent on Capitol Hill, and at the White House as a Special Assistant and Presidential Speechwriter. He is the author of Cork Boat: A True Story of the Unlikeliest Boat Ever Built and The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics.


HUMOR 35. The Picture House presents: Funny People Have you ever seen a funny film and thought, I want to write something like that? Well…now you can! Learn how to write hilarious dialogue and create amazing characters in minutes through the art of improvisation. Get ready to move, act, and write! You will learn about action, plot, conflict, and the art of comedic timing! Take home with

you: character biographies that you have created, a circumstance for a short film or play, and a full scene of dialogue! Beth Manspeizer is a theatre arts

and film educator, as well as an actor and director. Beth has been working in film, television, and theatre for over 15 years. 36. Let's Make A Tween Sitcom Find out how to develop a TV comedy show for kids just like you. Learn what goes into the development of a tween sitcom (such as iCarly or The Suite Life on Deck). Come up with story ideas based on an existing concept, create madcap situations, and write jokes and a scene with your friends. You’ll leave with a completed scene—and learn the tools for creating your own show ideas. Benjamin Lehmann and Wendy Marston create and develop television shows for kids and tweens. Benjamin is a producer at Sesame Street, and Wendy is a humor writer. They are married. 37. Life's Little Moments Are Funny! Don’t forget your notebook the next time you attend a family gathering! Something is bound to happen that is worth retelling. How do you retell it so it is funny and entertaining? In this workshop, you will get to use moments in your own life and learn how to expand upon them and entertain others. Julie Gerstenblatt, humor columnist for the Scarsdale Inquirer and Scarsdale10583.com, is a former English teacher at Scarsdale Middle School and writes a bimonthly column in The Inquirer titled “On the Verge”.

WEB & TECH 38. App Happy From Angry Birds to Scoops, have you ever thought about what makes a great App for an iTouch, iPad, or Smart Phone? You’ll learn wwhy some Apps are just good and others simply amazing! Then discover the basics for creating your own App and getting it noticed. Gail Horwood was a founder of Epicurious.com and has led digital innovation for leading brands including In Style, Martha Stewart, and Johnson & Johnson. 39. Blog It If you're an aspiring writer, photographer, or videographer who is interested in learning how you can share your passion online, then here’s the perfect class for you. Class participants will work together to start a blog— choosing a name and home page design. Then you will write posts, add photos, artwork, videos, and more. By the end of the workshop, classmates will be able to contribute and communicate via their own community blog. Beth Feldman is the founder of RoleMommy.com, an online community dedicated to inspiring parents to pursue their passion. She recently launched ProjectYouMagazine.com, an e-‐zine featuring the writing of the nation's most talented parenting, finance, health, and lifestyle blogs. 40. Step Into The Future Do you ever wonder what the world of the future will look like? Use your imagination to predict the future of computers, games – even school! Learn how writers, filmmakers, and software designers use that creativity to invent the world of tomorrow. Next, come up with a plan for the future. Jerry Crisci—Director of Technology, Scarsdale Schools—is a former contributing editor to Electronic Learning magazine, a columnist for Kids and Computers magazine, and an author.


TRAVEL 41. Sharing the Memories Back from the beach? Home from the slopes? Your vacation was filled with magical sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings. What's the best way to tell everyone about it? Learn how various types of media can help you share your

travel memories. Decide which form of writing suits your style and produce a sample podcast script or blog entry about your travel stories. Erin Foster is

a regular contributor to websites, podcasts, and publications covering travel to Walt Disney World. 42. Turn Your Travels Into Tales Good trips make for good stories. But bad trips (you know, that drive to Florida when your little sister watched a 25-‐episode Dora marathon) make for good stories, too. Here, you'll explore various ways to write both kinds, whether you want to share your travel experiences with just your friends and family, or an entire national magazine audience. Abbie Kozolchyk divides her time between New York and most recently, the Philippines, Paraguay, and Peru. She has written for National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

SPORTS 43. How To Tell a Great Sports Story The world of sports has given us some truly amazing stories. But it takes a clever writer to get people to read them. We’ll study examples of great storytelling and discuss what the writer did to make them so interesting. Then use what you learned to write stories of your own. Chris Raymond is a freelance writer. He used to edit stories for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Books. 44. Write About The Most Exciting Sports Event in History Maybe you weren’t at the ballpark when the Yankees won the 2009 World Series—but you can write about it like you were! Watch video clips of the most exciting and surprising events in sports history—baseball, football, basketball, and more. Then recount what you saw, just as a

sports journalist would, by telling about some of the amazing plays. Jordan Goodman, Scarsdale resident and professional journalist, author and broadcaster, is the owner of JG Financial Communications. 45. It’s Time to Sell The Game The sports that everybody loves are also big business … and writers help sell the games, the products, and the sponsors that attach their brands to the world of sports. We’ll look at sports advertising through time and then create ideas of our own. The games are great, but the ads help make them unforgettable. Douglas Spitzer is the Chief Creative Officer of Catch New York. His clients include the NBA and Quiksilver. He previously worked at the National Football League and with Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, Nike, and Adidas.

MORE FUN 46. Ha, Ha, Very Punny Where do cartoon ideas come from? What makes something funny? Learn how to develop a joke using images and plays-‐on-‐words, puns, double meanings, and irony. Scott Bookner, M.D., is a pediatrician and author of Curv Your Dog and Other Hilarious Cartoons. 47. Use Your Talents To Make People Laugh Learn how to write funny stories, pitch them to your favorite magazine, website, or newspaper—and make a lot of people chuckle. This course will explore the different sides of humor writing, from ideas to execution, with a special emphasis on the best strategies for capturing your audience’s attention. Randy Siegel is President of Local Digital Strategy for Advance Publications. He was publisher of Parade, the largest magazine in the United States. He published his first children’s book, Grandma’s Smile, this year and has a second one coming out next winter.

2011 yww catalog 1 25 - scarsdale public schools · 2011. 1. 25. ·...

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