Katonah-Lewisboro: The Recorder leads writing workshop at Meadow Pond Elementary

Melissa Whitworth and Ed Baum of The Recorder with second graders at Meadow Pond.

Meadow Pond Elementary School second graders and teachers welcomed The Recorder on Jan. 29 for a lesson on persuasive writing, the students’ current writing unit.

The Meadow Pond PTO invited The Recorder to design and lead the session as part of its ongoing enrichment program. 

The hourlong session began with a brief presentation to the full grade on community newspapers and the differences between news and opinion writing. The speakers were Ed Baum, editorial director of The Recorder, and Melissa Whitworth, a Recorder contributor and freelance journalist. 

After the introduction, the students returned to their classrooms for an exercise. Their teachers — Alexis Grosso, Deanna Lyon and Kate Hernandez — divided each class into two teams. Their assignment: to come up with reasons why the school should or should not have more recess. Students from each team presented their work to the full group. 

Points presented by the team in favor of more recess included “More time to reset our minds,” “You get to play with friends from other classes” and “You get to learn how to play different sports.” Students arguing against more recess noted “Less class time means less learning,” “Too many things during the day makes us tired” and “Some people don’t like recess now they’ll be there more.”

The Recorder designed the workshop to reinforce some of the main points the students are learning in the writing unit such as using clear reasons and relevant evidence to write an opinion about a topic or personal experience.

Following the program Hernandez told The Recorder, “Your visit provided our students with a powerful, real-world connection to this work. It allowed them to see that their thoughts and ideas truly matter and that their words have the ability to make an impact.”