Loree Griffin Burns, scientist, teacher and author of many nonfiction books, was at CMS May 6 and 7 to lead workshops that helped students improve their writing skills, learn new ones, and develop their own writing projects. During an assembly Monday morning, she gave a 20-minute overview of her role as a "true storyteller" to the whole school. Then, either Monday or Tuesday, every student attended a 40-minute writing workshop with Ms. Burns where she shared her research process, which focused on three main tasks:
1. "Unearthing everything" - library and internet resources - make sure they thoroughly check that sources are accurate and reliable.
2. "Getting the dirt" - talk to experts - who do the students know that knows more than they do? Start close to home but also reach out to the experts about the topic.
3. "Getting my hands dirty" - experiential learning - going out and having experiences so they can write about it authentically.
This author in residence program at CMS was made possible in part by a grant from the Chatham Education Foundation of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
