Sessions for Middle School Writing Conference

Agriculture

Pitching, Not Just for Hay

Come explore agriculture from a bird’s eye view. Then pitch your own idea for a farming operation, no experience needed.

Katelyn McCoy
Instructor, Agribusiness, Agricultural Education & Communications
Missouri State University

Everyday writing

Beyond Bullets: Creative Journal Ideas

No more boring journal entries! Liven up your diary or daily planner with doodles, sketches, lists, and more.

Alison Crane
Reeds Spring

Sentence Strength Training

Are your sentences in need of a workout? Come learn a variety of sentence power exercises to bulk up your writing and study skills!

Jana Loge
Professional Learning Community Project Coordinator, Agency for Teaching, Leading & Learning
Missouri State University

Voice & Choice

Great at telling stories but struggle to put them on paper? Come learn tips and tricks to ensure the words you write express just as much - if not more than - the words you speak.

Rachel Kramer
Republic

Fiction

Double Take

Want to breathe new life into your writing? Experiment with telling old stories from new perspectives.

Joseph Wolf
Hollister

Tried & True

Discover how truisms can help you focus your fiction and keep your readers' interest.

April Smith
Monett

Graphic novels

Comic Book Writing 101

Learn the basics of comic book writing, then create your own one-page comic with the guidance of a professional artist!

Paige Harp
Coordinator of Infant through Grade 12 Resources, Meyer Library
Missouri State University

Stories Gone Graphic

With great power comes great writing! Learn how to develop an idea into a short story and try your hand at creating your own comic.

Michael Frizell
Director of Student Learning Services
Missouri State University

Image-inspired writing

Bust Through the Block

Suffering from writer’s block? Learn how images can help you conquer the blank page.

Tanya Hannaford
Mt. Vernon

Stories Worth Seeing

Bring photos (prints or digital) of your favorite person, place, thing, or experience. Free the memories frozen in your snapshots through writing an essay with meaning and momentum.

Lisa Reeves
Retired Teacher
Dallas County R-1

Letters

Dear Basketball: A Nod to the Thing You Love

What do you love? What person, place, animal, or thing brings you happiness? Using basketball legend Kobe Bryant's poem and Oscar-winning film, “Dear Basketball,” as a model, we will write to the things that are important to us.

Casey Daugherty
Republic

History: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Curious about the past? Come explore how letters provide windows into history, then preserve your story in a letter of your own.

Kim McCully-Mobley
Aurora

Looking Back, Writing Forward.

Think writing letters is a thing of the past? Learn how to compose a powerful letter to communicate and effect change.

Audra VanHooser
Bolivar

Place writing

Paragraph Paradise

You don’t have to be an architect to construct your favorite place. Create a map of your ideal neighborhood, real or imagined, then explore why it’s the one for you.

Sofie Kondro
Reeds Spring

Travel to Write, Write to Travel

Discover where writing can take you. Learn different ways to write about the world around you and abroad!

Amy Sampson
Monett

Poetry

The Art of Spanglish

Express your artistic side using both languages and cultures, Spanish and English.

Judith Martinez
Assistant Professor, World Languages and Cultures
Missouri State University

#InstaPoet

Introducing Instapoetry, poems paired with (or found in) artistic photos or illustrations. Come create your own Instapoem to showcase on social media.

David Norman
Galena

More Than Cornbread & Chicken

Creating “Where I'm from” poems has been a pass-it-on-phenomenon from the get-go. Experience the power of poetry and place, and connect with the voice inside you that longs to be heard.

Tammi R. Davis
Assistant Professor, School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences
Missouri State University

Picture This: A Poetry Party

Draw inspiration from art and chance as you craft one poem with a little help from your friends and another all on your own!

Kate Baird
Museum Educator
Springfield Art Museum

Satire

No More “Fake News”

Learn the difference between “fake news” and satire, larger than life stories that call attention to real issues. Then write your own!

Julie Thomas
Buffalo

Science

Nature, Magnified

Look closely at nature and see its splendor. Train your eyes to see better and notice more through writing and sketching exercises inspired by the natural world.

Debbie Wallace
Buffalo

Writing Rediscovered

Observe exciting experiments and learn how to capture movement and momentum in your writing.

David Cornelison
Professor, Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science
Missouri State University

Writing marathon

Write, Reflect, Repeat!

Adventure across Missouri State’s beautiful campus in a writing marathon – no running required!

Annette Tankersley
Branson

Ashlea Gray
Bolivar

2019 Sessions

Opening Session: World champion surfer and author Shaun Tomson

Shaun Tomson is a South African world champion surfer and author of the bestselling Surfer's Code - 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life and the #1 Amazon teen bestseller: The Code - The Power of I Will.

Flash Fiction. A "flash" of a story in 100 words or less. Learn how to tell a story in as few words as possible; every word and detail matters.

Amanda Hadlock, MSU

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Teenage Life. What would a Wikipedia page say about you? Write your life story through a series of encyclopedia entries.

Sofie Kondro, Reeds Spring High School

Writing Marathon. What inspires you to write? Do your surroundings provide inspiration? We will walk out onto the campus and write in a couple different locations where your creativity can flourish.

Betsy McQueen and Annette Tankersley, Buchanan Intermediate

Patterns in Science and Writing. While observing the natural world, our senses tell a story. The patterns we "see", in both time and space, communicate the tentative answers to our questions. When we write, we use similar patterns to pass on to others what we know and love. Combining these two ideas, we will experiment, observe, and write.

David Cornelison, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, MSU

The Art of Writing. It's great to use gifted authors as models for your own writing. Explore different types of writing and try their style on for size.

Jana Loge, MSU

Postcards from Home. What if we reverse write or take away instead of adding? In this postcard activity we will use memories, personal stories, and free verse to create blackout poetry.

Kim McCully-Mobley, Aurora

Wake Up the Sleeping Poems: Headline Poetry. "...poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes, they are sleeping. They are the shadows drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up." Follow Poet Naomi Shihab Nye's advice and find poetry in the language we see and hear every day. Assemble innovative, spontaneous poetry that will stir your heart and change the way you see the world.

Marilyn Yung, Kirbyville

Become a Published Book Reviewer! Want to be published? Have a strong opinion about what you read? Writing a snappy, high-quality book review is easy once you know the basic format and tight writing style.

Cheri Jones and Marklyn Cotter, MSU

Wordplay 4.0. Words are emotion. Play up on literary devices and speak your poetry with a spoken word poet and university student.

Alexis Creamer, MSU

Hero Quest: Writing a Hero's Journey. Every story has a hero, and every hero goes on a quest, but not all hero stories have knights, princesses, and dragons. Every story is a hero story (if you look at it the right way). Learn how to make your stories epic!

Zak Hamby, Ava

Seeing is Believing. Scientists study phenomena using sharp observational skills to predict, explain, and communicate. Use phenomenon to inspire your own writing about the natural world.

Debbie Wallace, Buffalo Prairie Middle

Closing In- Enlarge Life by Looking at Detail. Watercolor MSU! Write visually with watercolor paint. Photographs, memoirs, and more can all inspire art and writing.

Casey Daughtery, Republic

Using the Write Words. Impressive writing can be sparked by short phrases. We'll look at awesome examples and learn how to use those ideas to form our own original writing.

David Norman, Eldon

Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? Big names in business have considered this question and taken a stand. Sharpen your debate skills consider topics from silly to serious.

Colleen Appel, MSU

Beyond Bullets: Creative Journal Ideas. Journal to jump start your writing. Not sure where to begin? We will explore a variety of creative journaling prompts that will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to write!

Alison Crane, Reeds Spring

Zines: DIY Writing. Tap into your DIY self and get your hands dirty. Zines are self-published magazines and excellent tools for writers to get their work out into the world. Create your own zine filled with writing from prompts.

Megan Rogers, MSU

We R Who We R- Expressing Yourself Through Song. Have you been described as "dancing to the beat of your own drum" like Ke$ha sang in We R Who We R? We will take a look at some of our favorite songs and the impact they have on our lives.

Julie Thomas, Buffalo Prairie Middle School

Silver and Gold... New vs. Old. Compare poetry to discover what both living things and objects can teach us.

Angelic Case and Kelly Neal, Buchanan Intermediate

Going to Grandma's House and the Last Banana: Math-Magical Stories. Use math and writing to problem solve a short story mystery. Explore your thought process as you solve riddles with words and numbers to = fun.

Patrick Sullivan, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, MSU

Sounds of Silence. What are the birds saying to each other? Learn about natural soundscapes and conservation through listening. Work with others to write a unique podcast episode and use sound as a backdrop inspiration for your writing.

Beth Bowles, MSU

Drop the Beat. Drop the Paint: Using Melodic Beats to Foster Unfiltered Drafting. Drop the beat. Drop the paint. Paint to the beat to develop your draft.

Kimberly Stormer, Assistant Professor in School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences, MSU

Dare to Play. Ariana Grande, Johnny Cash, and Taylor Swift have something in common — they are all songwriters. Write your own song with a composer and folk song enthusiast using everyday materials and technology as instruments. Start with a pattern, leave with a song.

Andrew Homburg, Associate Professor of Music, MSU

Decisions, Decisions. Persuade others and promote your brand with print and digital tools. Create ads with words, colors, layouts, and visuals.

Rob Blevins, Director of the Discovery Center

The Secret Life of Plants. Join plant scientists in their lab to write and uncover the secret life of plants.

Melissa Remley, Assistant Professor of Environmental Plant Sciences and Natural Resources, and William Mclain, Assistant Professor of Environmental Plant Sciences and Natural Resources, MSU

2018 Sessions

Want to see what kinds of sessions are offered at the Middle School Writing Conference? Browse past sessions from the 2018 conference.

Completely Made UP Stories

• Fantasy / Fairy Tales. Fairy tales aren't just for kids anymore, and not every story has a perfectly happy ending. (Jeddie Bristow and Tori Loslo)
• Flash fiction. A "flash" of a story in 100 words or less. Learn how to tell a story in as few words as possible; every word and detail matters. (Amanda Hadlock, Kiah Mott, and Shane Page)
• Choose Your Own Adventure. Captured? No, Wait! Killed? No, Wait! Finds love? What path will your character take? Reshape plotline events and character decisions to create a story. (Casey Daugherty)
• Casting Call. Create story-worthy characters you can relate to. Why does Harry Potter wear glasses? Why is Indiana Jones afraid of snakes? (Julie Thomas)

It's All True

• Sports Stories. Write about momentous events in professional sports or your own sporting career. (Sofie Kondro)
• Science and Story. Write with a scientist who loves to write. Observe the natural world and write your impressions in paragraph, poem, or song. (David Cornelison)
• Travel and Adventure. There are so many ways to get away on your dream trip! Using examples from real life, Kristy and Amy will guide you through writing ways to adventure away! (Kristy Berger and Amy Sampson)
• Memoir. Fashion your memories into an engaging story. (Kellsey Bradley)

Let Your Voice be Heard

• Who Done It? You decide and make the case. Who committed the crime? A lesson in argument writing (Laurie Buffington)
• Writing marathon. Set yourself free to write in several campus locations under the supervision of an experienced marathon leader. (Betsy McQueen)
• Rise Up! Be the change you want to be in the world. (Char Berquist and Keri Franklin)
• Write about Reading. Are you a big fan of reading? Learn how to write memorable book reviews to post on a blog or book review website. (Cherri Jones)

Immersed in Verse

• Poem Sketching. For poetry-shy writers. Anyone can write a good poem with the write bait. (Annette Tankersley)
• Poetry Out Loud. Write poems meant to be read. A performance poet is your instructor. (Alexis Creamer)
• Blackout Poetry. For writers who like to blend art with their poems. (April Smith)
• Borrowed Poems. Have you ever found a poem you loved so much you wished you were the author? Borrow a well-known poet's structure and create your own masterpiece. (Kelly Neal and Angelic Case)

Have lunch with an author

Students have the option of having lunch with Cecily Cornelius-White, author of the young adult Angel Academy series. She will help students think about publishing.