Topic > The At Home At School and Thristy Thinkers programs

Learning to write or becoming a better writer can be difficult for many children. There are some children who sit and look at a blank page and get frustrated as time goes by because they aren't sure how to start writing. In Children's Struggles with the Writing Process: Exploring Storytelling, Visual Arts, and Keyboarding to Promote Narrative Story Writing the authors, Michael W. Dunn and Susan Finley, explore ways to help children write narrative stories. Michael Dunn is a former special education consultant teacher and also an assistant professor of special education and literacy. Susan Finley is also a professor and founder of the At Home At School (AHAS) program in Washington State. “At Home At School is an integrated curriculum/arts-based literacy program that provided the opportunity to use my alternative strategy idea with elementary-aged students who found writing challenging.” (Dunn & Finley, p. 33, 2010) The At Home At School program is designed to help eliminate obstacles that many student writers face in creating drafts, drafts, editing, and final copies of pieces of writing. Students who participated in this workshop were provided with art materials and computer software to help them visualize their stories. At Home At School started in homeless shelters and was eventually offered in Washington school districts. The students participated in a four-week program where they learned more about writing through drama, media activities and visual media. Another workshop created was Thirsty Thinkers to help students improve and strengthen their writing styles. It is this program that is the main focus of the program. Thirst…half of the article…as we prepare essays with thematic and paper-based questions in practice for the New York State Regents exam. I also have my students read a piece of historical literature and do several activities while reading. I can use what the At Home At School and Thirsty Thinkers programs do by including more ways for students to use imagery in their writing and the Ask, Reflect, Write strategy as a step in preparing the final essay of the project. The Ask, Reflect, Write strategy could also be adapted to be used for review in social studies as students learn about many different people and events. Works CitedDunn, M.W., & Finley, S. (2010). Children's struggles with the writing process: Exploring storytelling, visual arts, and keyboarding to promote narrative story writing. Multicultural Education, 18(1), 33-42. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.