Do the WRITE Thing

Each session folded fun and surprises into the work of writing

Watching real footage of Derek Jeter’s last home game at Yankee Stadium was exciting for students who signed up for “More Than Just the Score” led by Richard Finn. Then he surprised them by pretending to be Jeter and giving them real quotes from the Hall of Famer.   

Students in Elizabeth Harris’ session, “Journalism and the Practice of Finding Great Stories” used their detective skills by asking a guest twenty questions. Not only did they quickly discover that he was Joe Russo, a retired Secret Service agent, they surprised themselves by seeing how many different ways they could write the story. 

 “What do you notice?” asked Brian Marschhauser after passing out copies of The Katonah-Lewisboro Times in his session about local news. “I see my sister!” “That’s my school!” students said, surprised to see people and places they knew. A discussion of reader interests led to the “Five Ws” of newswriting: who, what, where, when, and why.

Writers Workshop at Katonah Elementary School Is Full of Surprises

One more surprise: Pauline Chiou Guariento, one of the parent-chairs of Do the WRITE Thing, knew that this writers workshop was something special. She covered the story for Channel 12, where she is assistant news director!

“The range of writers—journalists, novelists, sportswriters, and more—showed the students the variety of careers that depend on good writing,” said Suzanne Yeager, one of the parent chairs of the workshop. “The leaders also emphasized that everyone is a writer—it just takes time and practice."

as seen on Channel 12!