![]() He stunned the class by adding he revised We Were Here nearly 30 times before it was finally published. ![]() “I revise my work over and over and over again because I know it will exist forever between two covers.” “My favorite part of the writing process is revision,” Matt explained at the beginning of the lesson. Today, Matt returned to the classroom to teach a lesson on revision we were all excited to see how the student’s tales had evolved from their two-word-seeds. Shifting to workshop mode, he asked the students to come up with their own two word descriptions which later became the basis for a short story. On his first visit, Matt read the students a short story where a man describes his life in just two words: car wreck. Written as a series of court-ordered diary entries, the story contemplates self-discovery and self-worth as the narrator, Miguel, tries to sort through his experiences at Juvi, his complicated family relationships, and what life means. Miguel’s frank, unapologetic voice inspired a couple of students to declare Matt “the best author” ever and, with his fantastic ear for character, it’s not hard to see why they think so. ![]() One of our coolest ongoing programs is with the three 10th grade classes at the Community Health Academy of the Heights (CHAH) ( check out our other programs at CHAH) where students have been reading Matt de la Pena’s novel We Were Here.
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