Students at Weems Elementary School learned that writing can be fun through an all-day musical presentation Tuesday.

Writer and educator Erik Cork presented "Rap, Rhythm and Rhyme," his workshop using music, dance and slides to teach children to write well, while instilling enthusiasm for writing.

The presentation taught both the rules of writing correctly, as well as guidelines for writing well. While singing and dancing, children learned rules of grammar, as well as how to take a single thought and develop it into a story or essay. Children learned through songs and rhymes that to write well they must vary their word choice, use words correctly and follow proper sentence structure.

Cork said the technical and creative aspects of writing well are equally important.

"I teach them the beauty of writing and the business of writing," he said.

Cork said using music to teach makes it easier for children to remember what they've learned.

"The music helps them to relate what they've learned," he said. "When they're doing their home work, they're listening to music. Music is a natural setting for them."

At the end of the workshop, Cork put up a slide showing the words of a song describing tips for good writing, and asked the children to sing along.

"Just say the words as loud as you can," he said. "How many of you can be loud?"

Practically all of the children in the room raised their hands and shouted "Me!"

During one song Cork had the children recite the elements of a short story, including characters, events and a conclusion. At one point he spotted a boy referring to the booklet each kid received summarizing the workshop. Cork rushed over to the boy and pointed him out to the others.

"A brilliant, smart, intelligent person knows he doesn't have to know everything by heart," he said. "A brilliant, smart intelligent person knows how to find information."

Dismissal was scheduled for 3 p.m., but at 3:05 the workshop still was going on, and neither Cork nor the children seemed willing to let the fun

"We are already over time," Cork said. "Teachers, please don't tell me. Tell me I have another five minutes."

Cork said he rarely keeps his workshops to the allotted time.

"I always go over. There are never enough hours," he said.

The workshop ran from 9:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m., with a break for lunch. Doing a long presentation successfully requires the participation of the audience, Cork said.

"I get the energy from the kids," he said. They come in with an abundance of energy and I draw off them."

Cork also gives workshops for high school and college students, and said writing well is an essential life skill.

"Rightly or wrongly, people judge you by the words you use," he said. "Before they even meet you, they read your letter."

Many of the children said the presentation opened their eyes to the joy of writing.

"I never knew words could be so much fun," said Robert Jones, 11.

Other kids went away from the presentation with specific lessons in mind.

"I learned about adjectives," said Amanda Causer, 10.

Weems Principal Gloria Jackson said she was pleased, with the results of the workshop.

"They learned how to write correctly while having fun," Jackson said.