Writing with a Purpose

My Students

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul." stated Joyce Carol Oates. This project will allow my students a variety of authors' voices and perspectives to draw from and draw from or their personal writings.

My students are highly self-motivated 7th and 8th graders that live to write.

They are expressive and they are eager to share their voice with the world. This project is designed to expose them to a wide range of authors and those authors' perspectives depicting the world they live in. By reading the words and ideas of other authors, I hope to guide students towards sharpening and refining their own voices and ideas. Barbara Kingsilver shared, "Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." However, students need to know how other individuals described their journeys through life to masterfully describe their own. Short stories are an excellent vehicle to expose middle school students to a multitude of possibilities in a brief amount of time and still allow for in-depth reflection and study. This is important due to the fact that we only meet as an elective class every other day.

My Project

I have chosen a collection of short stories written by a wide range of authors with varied backgrounds in an attempt to ensure that at least one story will resonate with my students and spark their own ideas. I believe that short stories are one of the areas that is lacking as a focus in middle schools yet has the capability of yielding the greatest insight for students in this age group. Exposure to a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds will allow students glimpses into the thoughts and feelings of other cultures as well as to identify commonalities. I believe the insight into these varied cultures and backgrounds will show students how individuals are able to find their inner fortitude and persevere when it seems that there are few or no options available. Yet, these authors were still able to find their voice and share it with the world in a meaningful manner. And, the Avi short stories are a prerequisite for a Skype visit with the author we have scheduled for February.

The short story anthologies are important components of our focus this year as writers.

It is difficult at times in small, rural communities to effectively convey to students the magnitude of the world beyond their town. Literature and writing are powerful ways to share human triumphs and struggles with one another. Exposure to varied voices provides a more complete picture of the world we share instead of the limited views of our daily lives thus further developing our personal voices.