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Writer’s
Companion™ was developed with the goal of mimicking,
on computer, how we teacher process writing in the classroom.
We have found that using the program as an instructional tool
engages students in the process of writing, allowing them
to explore information from an entirely new perspective. Most
of ideas in this section originated from the explorations
of teachers and students—from first graders to seniors
in high school—using Writer’s Companion™ at
our beta-test sites.
One reason
we believe that so many interesting ideas cropped up is that
Writer’s Companion™ is especially well suited
for students who have grown up in a world in which many of
their experiences occurred within multimedia environments.
Writer’s Companion™ is a natural extension
of those experiences, allowing students to create stories
that not only print out, but also can actually become animated
movies that can be shared over the Internet.
In the
end, you too will probably get your best ideas from using
Writer’s Companion™ with your students, in
a large group context if possible. We as adults, have built
up preconceived notions of what communication is. Hopefully,
the examples below will help you break free and create.
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Instructional
Posters
The Poster Size Printout feature of Writer’s Companion™
is perfect for creating instructional posters for your classroom.
This is a great way to display student writing and create
a print-rich environment in your classroom. You can use poster-size
printouts in any of the formats in Writer’s Companion™
Using
Poster Sized Graphic Organizers
Printing out the a cluster, venn diagram or timeline as a
poster can be use two ways: in group editing to help and individual
reorganize their story or essay; or as an instructional tool
to teach how to use various types of graphic organizers.
Poster
Size Story Starters
Shared
Writing using Email
Use the email feature of Writer’s Companion™
to create a truly unique shared writing process in your classroom.
Have your students create the first page or paragraph of a
story and then email it to other students in your classroom,
across the country or even around the world.
Organizing
Off the Computer
Print your ideas poster sized or regular size. Cutout the
ideas as individual cards and arrange them off the computer.
You can even create a template for the graphic organizers
by creating a blank one on the computer and printing it out
poster size.
Using
the Thesaurus to Add Depth to Student Writing
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