1. Writer’s Workshop Information - Session #2&3

2. Connection – Questions that Writers of Profiles Ask What is especially significant or compelling about the person or issue? What is his or her legacy or contribution? What is surprising about the person or issue? What story, anecdote, or scene captures the person? Issue?

3. Mini Lesson - Getting a Sense of the Whole Topic An elephant stood in the middle of a ring of three blind men. Each man reached out to feel the elephant to learn what it was they surrounded. The first man felt the trunk and said, “An elephant is like a giant snake.” The second man felt the ear of the elephant and said, “No, you are wrong. An elephant is like a huge paper fan that waves in the breeze.” And the third man felt the tip of the tail and said, “No, you both are wrong, an elephant is like a small broom to whisk the ash away from the stoop.” Why were each of their ideas flawed?

4. Active Engagement - How will you get the big picture? Talk to your writing buddy. What will you do to make sure you aren’t just studying “the trunk of an elephant”?

5. Active Writing Time Begin to/ continue to research your activist or topic. Think, “What big things might I teach others about this person or topic?” Gather evidence or specific examples to support the big ideas

6. Mid-Workshop Moment When you have a sense for the whole of your topic and feel as if you are now able to break the topic into key parts, you’re on your way to being able to teach it to someone else. Think about how you will organize your informative piece. Remember the “boxes-and-bullets” method from Tuesday’s workshop. If you feel ready to start organizing, please do so. Remember, what is important to share? What big things can you teach us about?

7. Writer’s Workshop Homework Finish research (?) Choose key points/evidence Organize using “boxes and bullets” in your writer’s workshop notebook Be prepared for our next writer’s workshop on Tuesday