That’s a wrap! 826LA’s Write On! Summer Camp (formerly ELL Camp) has come to a close. Over the past four weeks, our students were introduced to weekly themes where they were inspired by arts and culture, awed by nature, intrigued by S.T.E.A.M. technologies, and fascinated by the future.
To get the creative juices flowing, Write On! Summer Camp opened with Arts and Culture week, showing students how culture and other arts breathe inspiration into ideas all around us. Just as a combination of cultural dance and music from halfway around the world can seep into the hip-hop hits in America, students learned to look closer at what they see and hear and let it move their ideas and writing. In addition, they were able to program “sandwich robots” to test out their instructions on PB&J cuisine.
Nature week followed with students looking at how small changes can make a big impact on the environment. Students discussed global warming and pollution as they exercised persuasive power in their writing to promote Green Living and the Three R’s of Recycling: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. They spoke about both Echo Park and the famous Joshua Tree. They also created their own Wisdom Tree! They ended the week looking at some of the most spectacular places, including the Seven Wonders of the World!
[ezcol_1half][acx_slideshow name=”Nickelodeon x Write On 2018″][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]Our Echo Park students were excited to visit Nickelodeon Studios where they went on a studio tour and got to meet with Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Spongebob Squarepants. Students also got a crash course in comics! Thanks to instruction from celebrated cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, who worked on Pixar’s Coco, our students drafted action-packed strips to take home.
Rolling into week three, students stepped out of literature studies and investigated S.T.E.A.M. applications, exploring the concepts of engineering on a walk through the park to see what engineering brought their neighborhood. [/ezcol_1half_end]
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Early in the week, the young adventurers sought to write wilderness survival guides. By the end of the week, they progressed to crafting paper airplanes and trying their hands at technical writing, focusing on properly detailing directions.
Our Mar Vista crew visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where they toured three awesome exhibits. They got to test out “3D Vision,” explore “50 Kitchens,” and venture through “Metropolis II.” Our students were able to create their own optical illusions and work together to build tables from newspaper!
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Finishing off our Write On! Summer Camp, our time travelers blasted into the future. “Future Week” took off with students exploring what their perfect, most peaceful world would be. After talking about what makes good leaders to cause changes, they practiced their persuasive writing and speech making. (And let me tell you, they’re well on their way to changing the world for better.)
This summer was certainly filled with creativity, learning, and adventure. We are so excited to have so much enthusiasm from our students and volunteers. As sad as it is for Write On! Summer Camp to end, we look forward to the adventures that await next summer!
Check out more photos from this year’s Write On! Summer Camp here.
Thank you to the students, volunteers, and families who participated in Write On! Summer Camp 2018, and an extra big thank you to our Summer Associates for making all of this happen!
By 826LA Development Intern Ryan Rightley.
Interested in helping our students shake off those back-to-school jitters? Sign up to volunteer this fall on our projects calendar or become a volunteer today!