Hungry Minds Article

This article made me want to go help out a local shelter. This article was inspiring. Ian Frazier donates his time and effort to the local soup kitchen in his community. He helps out in a way unlike any other; he is a teacher for the writers' workshop. Reading the background information on the soup kitchen helped put in perspective the types of people Frazier works with. The article states, "It serves an average of about twelve hundred meals a day, though the number often spikes higher" (Frazier). Fraizer considers the soup kitchen a "work of art" and wants to give back to the members of the kitchen.

I like how Fraizer doesn't thrust the idea of a Writers' Workshop to the people who come in the soup kitchen, but rather lets them know it's a place for them to go. Just like students need another place to release their thoughts, the members of the soup kitchen need the same thing. I admire Fraizer because although many people just stop by the table, not many show up to the workshop. Fraizer still continues to sit and greet the members of the kitchen weekly with flyers. He is always there to try, and his face shows the people he cares about them.

This article reminded me of the lesson Lauren taught about writing. She posted an example of poor writing and asked if the student could become a famous writer. The writer was Thoreau. The members of the soup kitchen may not be the best writers, but they could become famous and inspire the world with their writing. I really enjoyed this article because students could be struggling writers, but want to get their thoughts across. I like how the members of the writers' workshop from the soup kitchen shared their pieces aloud with everyone. Students can become more comfortable with peer feedback, especially feedback that is positive. Students could also feel proud of their writing and want to share it to the class. I feel a lot of classrooms are not sharing writing anymore. I would like to try a coffee shop writing activity where students share their piece of writing with the class after we have finished it in class. Students can bring in coffee, tea, or any school appropriate beverage and the sharing would be like an open mic night. Students could provide feedback to help others enhance their writing. This could be a different twist on writers' workshop. Students could add background music for an effect.