Teen’s Writer’s Group

Library Type

Public

Cost and Funding:

$0

Partnership:

Schools

Description:

Monthly Teen Writers Group. Join teacher librarian Sue Monroe at the public library to write from new prompts and talk about the process of writing – reading aloud not required! Held the second Thursday of each month at 6pm. The instructor has a different set of prompts that she hands out to the teens each month. The teens pick a particular prompt that they find interesting from the list, and then write for ten to 15 minutes. Afterwards, they may read out loud, or the instructor reads it, or they do not need to share. The process is repeated as often as they can fit in during the time they are in the lecture room, usually an hour and a half. At times the subject is discussed. For example, what makes a villain or antagonist in a piece of writing? Story lines in movies, books, and television programs are discussed when relevant. The teacher librarian always has teens who share and receive commentary from their peers about the pieces. Teens can take the sheets home, and also any other handouts. For example, the instructor has a series of websites for random name generators when they do Naming Conventions, or a list of interesting place names and their meanings. For May, there was a martial artist who came in and demonstrated how to use swords and effectively choreograph a fight scene within a story line. This writing program adds value to the core curriculum of language arts for grades 6-12. This group also helps middle and high school students with character development, basic storyline, and basic story conversation using dialect. Writing prompts help students try out related skills in a “low stakes” way. While school may offer creative writing classes, this group allows students to practice monthly for many years to hone their craft. From January to September 2022, there were 45 teens who participated in this program. Names of Districts and School: East Penn School District County of Districts and Schools: Lehigh