SJAWP has JUST opened up a 5/6 combination class for Young Writers. The class size will be limited to 15 or fewer students. So, if you have a 6th grader who would like to join us, register today!
Answer: Class instructors are experienced writing teachers previously selected for—and who have earned—teaching fellowships at San José State University through a five–week summer institute on best practices for teaching writing. After attending the institute, these teachers have qualified as Teacher Consultants and presented workshops and conferences on effective teaching strategies to other teachers in the Bay Area. All our Teacher Consultants will be teaching the same grade level at our summer camp that they customarily teach during the school year.
Answer: Each day, students will engage in several of the following activities:
Specifics about the times and type of instruction may vary based on the instructor, grade level, and students performance. If you have more questions, email them to Pam Cheng at pcheng@sjawp.org.
Answer: Young Authors and students who "publish" their own works outside of school are excellent candidates for our camp! Our writing teachers are the same teachers whose students participate in events like Santa Clara County Reading Council's Young Author's Fair. They'll be using picture–book models and aim to publish a book project by end of camp. The extra experience is designed to boost your child's confidence. Moreover, your child will get individualized attention from a teacher with experience in writing and working with students your child's age.
Answer: The methods of teaching writing used at the camp draw on the student interests and experiences as well as their interest in picture books by real authors. For this reason, we recommend the camp both for aspiring authors and for those who struggle with writing. It's often easier to motivate student writing by putting them with students who really love writing and sharing their stories. Hearing others' stories often sparks memories of one's own stories. Students will also have the chance to voluntarily share what they write with others; peer feedback can be very motivating. So, if your child likes sharing stories, making new friends, and is willing to try new things—especially with other children—this may be a chance to change his or her perspective on writing. Meanwhile, the additional teacher attention and our smaller class sizes will provide individualized attention to your child's specific areas of need.
Answer: Since this is our first year running the program, we've started small and made it a priority to attract the best teachers. We've weighed our costs against available, and we regret that we currently can't offer any full scholarships or sibling discounts. We do hope, however, to revisit this issue as our program grows. As a non–profit organization, our goal is to impact the highest number of students as effectively as possible. We want to offer our services to more students in the future. Meanwhile, look forward to welcoming your children this summer and your feedback about our program. Please email Pam Cheng at pcheng@sjawp.org for updates and more information about partial scholarships.
Answer: It is not too late to register. We are getting a steady stream of registrations, but we still have a few spaces left in each grade level! For more up–to–date information, please email Pam Cheng at pcheng@sjawp.org.