Spot To Write

Mrs. P

If you have spent any time in my classroom, 

you know that writing and contests happen. 

OMS Students have entered many contests and even won quite a few.

One of the more fun contests has been 
Mrs. P's Magic Library Be-A-Famous Writer

Mrs. P has shared her Magic Library, love of reading and writing and her elves with us over Skype, Twitter and the web for many years. 

2013 Skype with Mrs. P

Can you imagine my excitement when Mrs. P asked if I could be a judge this year?

YES! Was my answer.

The contest is new and improved. 
The downside for OMS is that we are now to old to enter. 

"Entrants must be kindergarten, first, second, third or fourth 

grade teachers on behalf of their classroom"

The upside is that I will be able to read all the stories! 

This means I will be sharing all kinds of information and fun tidbits about the contest and Mrs. P. here and in the classroom.  Maybe I will get a chance to interview her...anything you want to know about Mrs. P ?

...I really want to know more about the bowling alley inside the Magic Library... 

NaNoWriMo Means What?

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This will be the first year I have OMS 6th graders participate. I plan on giving the students every opportunity to create a story that they can be proud to share with others. This means that during the WHOLE month of November,  ALL that we will be doing during English class will be writing and sharing about writing. We will have a few published authors Skype in and talk about their writing process and of course, continue learning new words through our spelling/vocabulary study. If you have ever experienced NaNoWriMo please let me know about your writing. If you are one of my students this year, blog about your experience- if you can find the time…

Mrs. P's Magic Library Writing Contest

Our 1st Skype this year will be with Mrs. P in her Magic Library!

She will share information about her writing contest and a few laughs.

Here is some information  from her web site:

http://www.contest.mrsp.com/

Did you ever read a story and think, “I could do that!” Well, now’s your chance to prove it. Enter Mrs. P’s 3rd Annual “Be-A-Famous-Writer” Contest. Write a story, submit it to MrsP.com – and Mrs. P herself might read your story on her website!

ENTRY DATES September 1st to October 15, 2011

For Writers ages 4 to 13 years of age

Mrs P invites children to write a story on any topic, no less than 250 words and not to exceed 1,000 words. It may be fiction or non-fiction. All participants must be between the ages of 4 and 13 years old. There are two age competition categories: 4 to 8 years of age, and 9 to 13 years of age.

The two (2) Grand Prize winners’ stories will be read by Mrs P and original illustrations will be created. The lucky child will receive an actual copy of the story in addition to having it posted on the web site (www.mrsp.com) for viewers to watch and enjoy. MrsP Enterprises, LLC pays all costs of producing the winning book and video. Additionally, all 10 finalists in the contest receive prizes from the contest sponsors. Powell’s Books, the largest independent bookseller in the world, who has been a sponsor since the first year of the contest and our new sponsor, Sakura of America, an innovator in writing and artistic tools, believes in the Power to Express® - the idea that EVERYONE has ideas and thoughts worthy of expression. Sakura’s advocacy of individual self-expression makes them a perfect new sponsor of Mrs. P’s writing contest.

Old Creamery Theatre 6th Grade Winner !!! Performance Update: 4/20/11

UPDATE:  OMS 6th Graders had a morning performance of music, laughs and lessons  when the troop of actors visited the Williams Center today. The best part was when our own Madison M. was called on stage and was recognized as a brilliant writer and given her certificate for her 2nd place story she wrote. Madison and  others met with the actors and enjoyed a lunch sharing writing, acting and life adventures.

Congratulations once again, Madison!     

The title of our 2011 Theatre for Young Audiences touring show is...

What a Difference a Play Makes,

and is all about characters that make a difference in some way!

Oelwein will be a stop on their tour sharing stories written by  2nd-6th graders.

18 Signatures and 1 Hobo written by Madison M. Grade 6 at Oelwein Middle School won a 2nd place award in the Old Creamery Theatre 2011Writing Contest. Great writing, Madison!

MrsP.com honors Oelwein

Old Creamery Writing Contest

2011 Writing Contest : The Old Creamery Theatre Company

“You can make a difference” is a phrase that we hear all the time, but what does it mean? We want to know what it means to you!

There are lots of ways you can make a difference in the world.
You can make a difference by doing bigger things, like raising money for the needy or helping clean up a city park, or smaller things, like showing your teachers respect or helping a friend with their homework.

Students often make a difference when they follow the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

For this year’s writing contest The Old Creamery Theatre is looking for stories about characters that make a difference!

Use your imagination to write a story about a character or characters that make a difference in some way.

How do you make a difference?

Write a story where your characters really make a difference.
Maybe a character doesn’t care about making a difference and another character shows them how important it is.
Maybe a character wants to make a difference but doesn’t know how.
Maybe a character doesn’t understand why everyone needs to pitch in to make a difference and has to be shown.
You can be inspired from own imaginations or even our own experiences.

The sky’s the limit!

Mrs. P's Magic Library travels to OMS

Mrs. P used a bit of her magic and landed in our classroom to share secrets about her magic library and her love of stories. Students asked questions and received answers that surprised, enlightened, and even made many laugh.
"What is your favorite color?"
"Hot pink with a black head band, red, purple, and well, every color in the rainbow plus black and white."
"What is your favorite book?"
"Right now, Jack & the Beanstalk" then the list continued to change from fantasy to poetry to To Kill a Mockingbird in a blink of an eye. Magic and reading are amazing things indeed!
"What do you think makes a good story?"
"A great story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It has adventure and suspense."
Mrs. P shared how important reading and writing are to her and how her magic library helps her share this with children and adults 24/7.
We learned about Mrs. P's library and how it has a "katrillion" rooms and that the leaves on the trees change colors about every two minutes. She even has elves, knows someone related to the Tooth Fairy and has given a dog to Santa Clause. This is a library I will have to visit during my next vacation!

Students are writing stories that they can enter in Mrs. P's 2nd annual writing contest.
For more information go to www.MrsP.com and experience the magic library for yourself!
A big thank you to Mrs. P and her elves-the visit was magical!

MrsP.com 2nd Annual Writing Contest

Start writing TODAY! Mrs. P. will be in our classroom September 14th (via Skype) sharing stories and laughs.

Write a Story-Have A Published Book Made!

Be a Famous Writer! Mrs. P from Mrs. P's Library is sponsoring a great creative writing contest. Follow the link to see what you need to do to become a famous writer.
http://www.contest.mrsp.com/Rules.aspx

Stories may cover any topic, fiction or nonfiction, and should be between 250 and 1,000 words.

Two grand prize winners (one from each age group) will have their stories read by Mrs. P herself and an artist will create original illustrations to accompany the story. Each winner will receive a bound copy of the illustrated story, as well as having it posted on MrsP.com. Both grand prize winners and up to eight runners-up will each receive a $25 gift certificate to Powell’s Books.

The judges this year include best-selling author Meg Cabot, Garfield creator Jim Davis, and Danny Kallis, producer and creator of Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.”

Spilling Ink Contest Winners

Who can resist a chance to win a gift certificate to a book store, a book, and a guest author blog post by a published author? Oelwein 6th graders jumped at this chance. Clara Gillow Clark, author Hill Hawk Hattie and other childrens historical fiction sponsored this unique contest to celebrate the release of Spilling Ink. Written by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer, Spilling Ink is an amazing "how to" book for all young writers. This is a must have for all middle school students and teachers. Spilling Ink is full of writing prompts, ideas, and help.

The contest was posted on-line and OMS sixth graders wrote with power! Marissa S. was awarded with first place and Sam M. received third place. You can see their stories and author guest blogs at http://claragillowclark.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

Thank you to all the authors and students involved in this writing opportunity.

Old Creamery Theater Visits Oelwein

Once again, the great performers from the Old Creamery Theater entertained students from Oelwein with their skits centered around this year's theme: The Right Stuff. All the skits are written by students and then molded into a show that teaches important life lessons.

Oelwein 6th graders had two peers that had the right stuff to earn recognition in the writing contest-

Third Place went to Be A Brave Bug by Natalie B. and Special Recognition and performed on stage was Doing the Right Thing by Andrew P.

Congratulations!!!

The actors had lunch with the winners and students from E2 sharing information about acting, writing, and enjoying life.

What is The Right Stuff?

Your next writing project will be sponsored by the Old Creamery Theater. You can start this project as soon as you want. We will be editing after break.

Last year, one of the stories performed at the spring production was written by a 6th grader at OMS. Will it be your story this year?

The following information is from the Old Creamery Theater website:
We are all faced with difficult choices every day. Should I cheat or follow the rules?
Should I take something that I want if it doesn’t belong to me? Should I follow the
crowd even if I don’t agree with them? Sometimes it’s hard to have the courage to do
the right thing. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what the right thing to do is!

That is what The Right Stuff is all about. We are looking for stories about characters who are faced with a tough decision and who choose to do the right thing, even if it’s not the easiest choice to make. So have fun using your imagination and tell us a story about someone or something that has “the right stuff”!

All entries must:
• Be an original work from the imagination of students in grades 1 - 6.
• Be in the form of a story, poem, or song.
• Be kept to a maximum of five typewritten pages.
• Have a character or characters resolve a conflict or problem by making a choice to
do the right thing, whatever that may be in their given situation.

STORY WRITING TIPS
A good story:
• Has a beginning, middle and end.
• Is creative (and comes solely from the student’s imagination).
• Has interesting characters that can be people, animals, objects – anything!
• Tells the reader where the story takes place.
• Deals with a conflict (or problem) that is resolved within the story.
• Teaches a lesson or has a moral.
• Explains how the characters have changed or been affected by events in the story.
Be creative with your story’s conflict and resolution.

Maybe your character doesn’t do the right thing at first but later has a change of heart.
Maybe your character thinks they are doing the right thing but later realizes they were in the wrong and they must make amends.
Maybe your character needs to be shown by another character how to do the right thing. The possibilities are endless!