Wiggling/Weaving

As I was sifting through the materials I found in the library using IUCAT and going through our textbook material, I came across a point that I thought was really interesting in Curriculum Connections Through the Library by Barbara K. Stripling,"But inquiry is much more than simply following a process. It is an essance of teaching and learning that places students at the heart of learning by empowering them to follow their sense of wonder into new discoveries and insights about the way the world works" (2003).

This project has really been a process of discovery. Even though I found a little information on creative writing and a couple of sites before I started this project, it still has been a journey--a seemingly incomplete journey since I didn't find the diversity of sources I'd hoped to find, to get to this point in the project.

I found a document on Purdue University's website for evaluating book sources; it is similar to the way in which we evaluate web resources. One must look at the author's authority, reliability, and credibility. Also one should look at the perspective of the author--does the author express a particular point of view? Does the source appear to be biased? Is it directed toward a particular audience? Also, one must look at the purpose of the piece. Is the piece meant to inform, persuade, or explain?

Similarly, this is how a creative writing workshop is run and how students evaluate and respond to their classmates work.

Because I had several book sources to sort though, I could only skim through them briefly. I pulled out some key points and put them into a powerpoint slide. I will be discussing publication possibilities with my family since I plan to try to publish a story or two that I've been working on. My main question was what steps were needed in order to publish. These sources were helpful in pointing that out. I learned that going through a big name publishing company may not always be the best way to go, particularly for first time authors.