The Boston Globe
SOMERVILLE
When summer is vivid, so is their writing
Campers boost skills with experiences
By Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent | July 30, 2006
Before 10-year-old Brian Li enrolled in writing camp this summer, he had never rappelled off rocks or camped in the wilderness.
When he sat down to write about the experiences of dangling from a rock cliff, suspended by rope, the words just flowed.
“It just came out naturally, Brian said, ``and I didn't really have to think.”
The Writers' Express Inc., a Somerville nonprofit, operates its summer camps on the principle that experiences make for more vivid writing. Christine DiBuono, director of program development, said you don't have to trap kids in the classroom all summer to improve their writing.
“A lot of these kids don't like to write, but they keep coming back because we make writing fun.”
The 100 middle school students who enrolled in the Writers' Express summer camps at Tufts University try more than a dozen activities over two weeks, including hip-hop dance, karate, and squash. They canoe, learn Mali an mud cloth painting , and go on a scavenger hunt. Staying overnight in a teepee in the woods, though, is among the most dramatic experiences.
“It produces really amazing writing,” said Libby Mislan, a junior counselor who was a camper for four years.
Mia Gussen, 11, who lives in Somerville and Cambridge, said, “When you do something you've never done before, it gives you a lot to write about.”
One recent Thursday, the students traveled to Roxbury to a glass studio, where they watched a glass -blowing demonstration. After a quick explanation about how to fuse glass, the instructors laid out pieces of brightly colored glass on the tables and instructed students to design a small square, which would later be fired in a kiln.
The students spent 30 minutes designing their squares, debating which colors to use and considering what shapes they wanted to make. When they finished, the lead teacher, Linn Preissler, asked them to pull out their steno notebooks and write about what they had just experienced.
“It's easier to write about things that are fun than things that are not fun,” said Sheela Devadas, a 10-year-old from Lexington.
After 15 minutes, Preissler asked the students to volunteer to share. A handful read what they had written -- or some portion of it -- and then their classmates commented on what they had liked about the writing.
Counselors take the notebooks home at night and write constructive comments next to the journal entries. DiBuono said the counselors do not criticize the writing but instead offer praise for the use of complete sentences or descriptive words and active verbs.
The counselors give students feedback based on their skill level and problem areas, DiBuono said. They spend the summer helping students to strengthen their voice and to build structure in their writing.
Instead of saying that someone is tired, the counselors encourage students to show how that might look by describing the person yawning.
“They teach you how to become a more creative writer,” said Leah Nelson, a 12-year-old from Roxbury.
Thawanna Pessoa, a 14-year-old from Somerville who enrolled for the third summer, said the program has helped improve her English language skills.
“Your vocabulary increases so much,” said Thawanna, a Portuguese speaker who hopes to become a junior counselor next year. “When you go back to school, you feel more prepared.”
The two-week camp costs $1,075, but a third of the students are on full scholarship and another third have partial scholarships. They come from all over the Boston area, some referred by teachers, some hearing of it from friends.
The Writers Express also offers after-school programs and teacher training programs.
Brian Li goes to his home in Boxborough after camp talking about what a good time he had. “Every time I talk to Brian, he's happy,” said his mother, Sharon Lu. `”He has fun.”
She said when she gets to see his notebook from camp she'll have a better idea whether his writing has improved. But the way Brian describes the program is every parent's dream.
“It's basically fun and educational,” he said.
After the adventure, a few well-chosen words
Here are some of the writing produced by youngsters enrolled in summer camps run by the Writers’ Express Inc., based in Somerville:
Mia Gussen, 11, Cambridge and Somerville, on rock-climbing in Vermont.
I stretched my limbs until my joints felt like taffy. I’d tugged at them so forcefully that it was merely a loose layer of skin holding my body together.
Brian Li, 10, Boxborough, on a swimming hole in Vermont:
The green-brown water sparked with sunlight as we entered the open space of the calm, peaceful river. We could heawr the roaring f the steady water turn into rapids in the distance. In front of us was the river, dancing and wavering with light, welcoming us into the water. I longed to cool my burning body and rushed into the water.
Leah Nelson, 12, Roxbury, on playing squash:
As I threw the ball in the air that is when my heart started to race. The ball began to fall down and so I matched up the ball and the racket. My eyes were glued to the ball. I swung my racket back, then hit forward with all of my might.
Sheela Devadas, 10, Lexington, on glass blowing:
The glass stretched like elastic, shaping itself around the paddle, flattening its base. It was brought to the steel table and rolled on it. Its color surprisingly changed as it cooled. From hot blinding orange to purple and blue feather stripes. The change was so sudden I jumped in my seat.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
