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| Nneka McGee's students used NEOs to write a novel in one month. |
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Everyone has an "Inner Editor"—that nagging little guy who sits on your shoulder, dissecting every plot, every written word; telling you to hit spell-check (just do it…you know you want to); trying to convince you that you can't write.
On the first day of November, Nneka McGee, English teacher at Dallas Environmental Science Academy (DESA) in Dallas, Texas, gave her eighth graders permission to hit the "Inner Editor Containment Button," thereby vacuuming the creativity-draining beast for the entire month. Unrestrained, students embarked on a month-long adventure of novel writing using NEO laptops—no editing allowed.
Each November, the National Novel Writing Month—or NaNoWriMo for short—challenges writers of all abilities to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. "I've known about NaNoWriMo for several years," McGee said. "I thought it would be a great way for our students to learn about writing."
Sponsored by The Office of Letters and Light, NaNoWriMo Young Writers' Program lends NEO laptops, donated by Renaissance Learning, to encourage student participation—particularly in schools where lack of technology might hinder those budding novelists from reaching their word goals.
"Unfortunately, we don't have a computer lab at DESA, so in the interest of fairness, last year my eighth-grade students wrote their NaNoWriMo projects in spiral bound notebooks," McGee said. "Students were excited about the project at first, but in the end, many complained about writing by hand. When I read about the opportunity to borrow NEOs for NaNoWriMo, I knew I had to take a chance for my students. They really appreciated it."
Students could hardly contain their enthusiasm, once they found out that their class would be using the NEOs. "Everyday, I heard, 'Are they here yet?' When the NEOs arrived, the students cheered—we were all very happy," she said.
Using the NaNoWriMo's Young Novelists' Workbook for middle schoolers—a comical, no-nonsense how-to guide to novel writing—McGee's students developed in-depth plot outlines, characters, conflict, and resolution for their novels before the contest began.
"Once the students began writing their stories, they were very motivated," McGee admitted. "Some days, all I would hear is the tapping of fingers on the NEO keyboards. On other days, students would talk about their stories. Each moment was a productive one as we went through the writing process."
McGee reduced the word goals to 10,000 words for the month, as students were not required to work on their novels at home. Though most students wrote between 6,000 and 7,000 words, two students reached their goals. "The student that won our classroom challenge surprised me," McGee said. "During the beginning of the school year, he struggled in my class, but he became really engaged in the project. He would sit by himself and write furiously everyday. He actually reached his goal 18 days after we began NaNoWriMo."
After NaNoWriMo, McGee transferred the stories onto flash drives so students could take them home. "During NaNoWriMo, many students kept using spell check and trying to edit their work as they wrote—I had to convince them that we would edit later. Some students decided to keep writing because they wanted to complete their stories," McGee said. "The great thing about this project has been watching my students read, edit, and share their stories with others."
McGee said the project was a smashing success, and has plans to include the program into her class in the future. "I will definitely participate in NaNoWriMo again," she said. "My students LOVED the NEOs—we miss working with them. I think it's a great way to introduce basic literary concepts to students in a way that will keep them engaged."
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