Valerie Ormond's Thoughts On …

Writing Tips from Valerie Ormond

Tag: education

  • Write Your Story

    Military, Veterans, Family Members, and Caregivers

    The Workhouse Arts Center will present its first “Write Your Story” course for writers and soon-to-be-writers during the Winter Quarter 2023, as part of the Military in the Arts Initiative.

    The course will be held in person from Jan 10 – Feb. 14, 2023, on Tuesday evenings, 7:00 – 9:00 pm. The location is the Workhouse Arts Center, W16, McGuire Woods Gallery, 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA 22079. Here is the direct link to register: Write Your Story | Workhouse Arts Center.

    Take the next step in getting your story out and making your voice heard. The goal is for participants to walk away with a written product reflecting their work.

    Terese Schlachter and I are both members of Military Writers Society of America (MWSA), and this is an extension of MWSA’s “Write Your Story” programs held since 2014 across the country. This is the first MWSA workshop held in the Washington, DC area in this particular format. We look forward to seeing writers of all skill levels there! 

  • Actively Learn with “Believing In Horses, Too”

    Educators from Actively Learn discovered Believing In Horses after the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test featured an excerpt of the book in its 2015 annual test. Following discussions, Actively Learn decided to feature two excerpts from Believing In Horses, Too in their creative curriculum. Actively Lean uses a new approach to learning by providing free English Language Arts (ELA) and other content embedded with standards-aligned assignments to help students learn.

    Tessa Polizzi, Actively Learn’s Senior Manager of Product & Content, identified the following assignment from Believing In Horses, Too, which thrilled me because it was one of my favorite chapters. She said:

    “I started reading Believing in Horses, Too thinking that I’d look for an excerpt connected to Sadie and her dad, but then I came across the chapter “New Kid on the Block.” I love this one. It stands alone as a story pretty well on its own, connects to an experience that kids are familiar with (making a new friend), and touches on some of the hard situations that kids face in their lives.”

    See the “New Kid on the Block” assignment to engage your learners!

    Tessa also asked if she could develop a curriculum based on an excerpt for the “Bullies Don’t Rule” chapter, another one of my favorites. I think they did a great job on this lesson, too!

    I hope these might be additional help to those homeschooling or to introduce young readers to a new and fun way of learning. And thank you to Actively Learning and Tessa for bringing these stories to more readers.