EIU Writing Project

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Eastern Illinois Writing Project

Lessons to Share  

 

 

2011 Summer Institute Lessons and Creative Works

 

1. Demonstration Anthology pdf

2. Creative Writing Anthology pdf

 

2008-2010 Summer Institutes Lessons and Creative Works

 

1. Content Anthology pdf

2. Creative Writing Anthology pdf

3. Lesson Anthology pdf

4. Activity Anthology pdf

5. Activity 2 pdf

6. Miscellaneous Anthology pdf

 

 

 

Eastern Illinois Writing Project

May/June 2012 Newsletter

Link Here

  

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project
http://www.eiu.edu/~easternwp

  

Summer 2012 Invitational Institute

 

After initial phone interviews in May, our Invitational Summer Institute will begin with a luncheon with fellows and coaches on June 2 where they will complete interviews to determine research focus possibilities and receive their fellow handbooks and copies of two of the texts for the class, Because Writing Matters and Content Area Writing: Every Teachers Guide. Fellows will be divided into groups according to their initial interviews and matched with coaches who shared their interests. After the luncheon, they can begin going over the fellow handbook and planning reading assignments for the first week. Each group will be responsible for leading discussion on a set of chapters in each work during the first two weeks of ISI.

 On June 14, we will come together for a pre-institute day, during which we model a day in the ISI and go through the handbook in more detail as a group. The day will include Sacred Writing time, a chronology (our log of the previous day’s work), a model demonstration and feedback (stars and wishes), time for reading in their research area (and introduction to the EIWP library), and a mini-writing crawl.

 During the four weeks of the regular ISI, we will concentrate more on the reading/writing connection with our focus on group discussion leading. Groups also will facilitate discussion and provided example applications for our third book, Digital Writing Matters.

 We will also include more time for writing and peer writing groups, more authors’ chair opportunities, and more opportunities for creative writing to be included in our creative anthology. The ISI also will highlight technology through our technology luncheons geared toward teachers’ preferences and needs, as well.

 Our goals include honing teaching demonstrations with a strong feedback loop that included commentary from coaches and peers, building strong group professional development research proposals that could be molded into grant proposals, drafting and revising effective op-ed pieces individually that drew on fellows’ research interests, and finding time to write for themselves and their peers during sacred writing, writing crawls, and writing workshop time throughout the ISI.

 

Working with Other NWP Sites in Illinois

We have established relationships with the University of Illinois Writing Project and the Illinois State Writing Project. The director of the University of Illinois WP and EIWP exchanged ideas while visiting each other’s summer institutes in 2011. EIWP and UIWP have begun coordinating their conferences and inviting TCs to exchange ideas. We also discussed different approaches to the summer institute, including integration of technology and writing marathons. We plan to strengthen our relationship with the UIWP by visiting each other’s summer institutes and coordinating some professional development events. 

The Illinois State Writing Project also houses the NCTE affiliate, the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, so all the sites in Illinois contribute to the IATE Newsletter and/or Illinois English Bulletin. They serve as the flagship NWP site for Illinois and have obtained grant money to coordinate with other sites in the state.

We are building a “workshop bureau” page into our website to highlight the expertise of our TCs and would willingly share this approach with other sites in the state. We are applying for a Lumpkin Family Fund grant to support in-service workshops that will grow out of this bureau, as well as an annual Institute Day. We would gladly open up the Institute Day to accommodate other site TCs and teachers and would also be pleased to participate in other sites’ conferences.

As Amber Laquet explains:

“I feel that the spring NWP meetings join our state sites together, however, I would hope to plan more events together throughout the year, if only online conferencing. Quarterly meetings greatly help our individual site, and I would like to be updated on the other sites’ successes in raising funds for their projects as well as any creative community service ideas. Our site has discussed a state-to-state site visit in which we might sit in on other sites during SI or other workshops. I think it would be great to experience what other teachers are doing to make a difference and to be able to show off the great things our own site is doing.”

 

The EIWP at the 2012 NWP Spring Meeting

 

 

One of Teacher Leaders, Carol Smith, was able to attend the Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. this year. Her report on the meeting follows:

 “Spirits ran high at the NWP Spring Meeting in Washington. The group had just learned it had received a grant of over $11 million to fund the national projects for this fiscal year. Three grants were awarded from the more than 62 groups who had applied. The NWP received the largest sum. This reinforces the high regard which the NWP has earned over the years.

Funding for fiscal year 2013 is still a concern. All NWP supporters should contact their senators and representatives to ask them to set aside a percentage of the money designated for education to fund certain national education programs while they are funding state programs. Because of budget constraints, I was the only Illinois representative at the spring meeting.

 I met with Senator Durbin just long enough to thank him for his support of the NWP as I was having my picture taken with him. I met with his aide, John Neuteuther, for almost an hour. We talked about the history, goals and successes of the NWP. He asked that we send him samples of some of our students' writings with the stories behind them. His email address is John_Neureuther@durbin.senate.gov. Please send him one or two examples as soon as possible.

 I also met with Jeannette Windon, Senator Kirk's education aide, and Anna Vetter, Representative Johnson's education aide. Both listened attentively. Anna also talked with me about help in writing for grants to help fund EIWP in the future.

 One of the points I stressed to all three aides is that the NWP is based on the principal of teachers teaching teachers to teach writing. I explained that as fellows in the project we strive to learn to be better teachers, doing research, sharing lessons, and honing our own writing skills. We also learn new technology and study the latest such developments as Common Core standards. We then share these with our students and other educators.

Meeting with these people in Washington D.C., who help decide the future of the NWP, can be daunting, but because I firmly believe in the program, I tended to lose my jitters quickly.

The time from Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning was packed with meetings to discuss the latest legislation and strategies with other fellows, then the meeting with the congressmen and their aides, followed by sharing successes and planning for the next year.

Another benefit of attending the spring meeting is visiting with fellows from other states and sharing ideas and experiences with them.

 Let me put in another plug for contacting our senators and representative. They really do pay attention to the emails and letters they receive. We don't want to be known as a squeaky wheel, but rather as an entire vehicle for helping students - one that deserves the attention it receives.”

 Thank you, Carol, for you wonderful job representing Illinois and the EIWP!

 

 

Books Worth Reading

 

Nora Banister, The Secret Holocaust Diaries

Mary St. Clair recommends this book saying:

“I have just finished a book on my kindle that was a free download, and I loved it.  It is called The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nona Banister.  It is fascinating non-fiction, about a Russian girl that goes from the times of Czar Nicholas through the German invasion to the end of the war.  It talks of Russians communism and the Bolsheviks and what it was like for the people.  My ancestors came from Russia around this time and this book helped me better understand what they were going through before they immigrated to America.  

Everyone needs to read this book.  It is very informative, but not quite as graphic as say Night for instance.  It would be great for junior high or early high school.”

 

Book Recommendations from Rebecca Lawson:

Brent Crawford, Carter Finally Gets it

Join Carter is entering his freshman year, where he’ll search for sex, love, and acceptance anywhere he can find it. In the process, he’ll almost kill a trombone player, face off with his greatest nemesis, suffer a lot of blood loss, narrowly escape death, run from the cops (not once, but twice), get caught up in a messy love triangle, meet his match in the form of a curvy drill teamer, and surprise the hell out of everyone, including himself.

Gail Giles, Shattering Glass

Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a nerd, a loser who occupies the lowest rung on the high school social ladder. Everyone picks on him -- until Rob Haynes shows up. Rob, a transfer student with charisma to spare, immediately becomes the undisputed leader of the senior class. And he has plans for Simon.

 Rob enlists the help of his crew -- wealthy, intellectual Young, ladies' man Bob, and sweet, athletic Coop -- in a mission: Turn sniveling Simon from total freak to would-be prom king. But as Simon rises to the top of the social ranks, he shows a new confidence and a devious side that power-hungry Rob did not anticipate. And when Simon uncovers a dangerous secret, events darken. The result is disquieting, bone-chilling...and brutal.

Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

 Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

Other Recommendations: 

Linda Hogan, Power

When sixteen-year-old Omishto, a member of the Taiga Tribe, witnesses her Aunt Ama kill a panther-an animal considered to be a sacred ancestor of the Taiga people-she is suddenly torn between her loyalties to her Westernized mother, who wants her to reject the ways of the tribe, and to Ama and her traditional people, for whom the killing of the panther takes on grave importance. 

 

Movies Worth Watching

 

Suzi Yoonessi, Iranian American Director. Dear Lemon Lima (2009)

Lovelorn and lonely, 13-year-old Vanessa Lemor (Savanah Wiltfong) plots to win back her popular ex-boyfriend Philip (Shayne Topp) by winning a minority scholarship to the private academy he attends, but finds her plan backfiring when she's immediately lumped in with the unpopular kids. Vanessa is a Yup'ik (Western Eskimo) with a major crush on Philip. Though they were dating for a while, Philip cut things off in order to spend the summer in Paris. Heartbroken, Vanessa pours her heart out to her imaginary friend, Lemon Lima. Then, just when it seems that all hope is lost, Vanessa hatches a brilliant plan to enroll in the same school as Philip and win back his heart. Upon arriving at her posh new school, however, the smitten student receives the brush-off from her former boyfriend and winds up in the company of the misfits known as the FUBARs. Later, when it's announced that the students will be participating in the annual Snowstorm Survivor competition, the unpopular new arrival rallies her reject friends in a concerted effort to take first place, and impress Philip in the process. But as the event gets under way and the competition heats up, Vanessa begins to reevaluate her priorities and question her devotion to the boy who rejects her at every opportunity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

 

 

 

EIWP Spring 2012

Workshop Series

 

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project
http://www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp

 

 

Spring 2012 Workshop Series

The Common Core Standards
and You!

 

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project (EIWP) is holding its third Workshop Series, Creative Teaching That Meets the Standards: Integrating Reading and Writing Throughout the Curriculum, during Spring 2012. Sessions are being held on Thursday, February 2, 2012, Thursday, March 1, 2012, and Thursday, April 5, 2012 at Arland D. Williams, Jr., Elementary School in Mattoon, Illinois. This series will show creative ways to integrate reading and writing throughout the curriculum—and still meet the new Illinois Common Core Standards. Come try out a variety of assignments you can use with your students! Each session will include demonstrations of strategies, participant writing, and time to brainstorm applications to various content areas/topics. All sessions will be conducted by practicing teachers who have taken part in previous EIWP Summer Institutes. Any interested teachers can register online at www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp. The following outlines our session topics:

On Thursday, February 2, 2012, high school English and special education teacher Kristin Runyon will lead a session entitled, "`Treasures in the Attic’: Researching Historical Documents, Works of Art, and Literature.” The session will explore the Common Core Standards’ requirement that teachers integrate knowledge and ideas through the use of various “artistic mediums,” “seminal U.S. documents,” and “foundational U.S. documents.” This presentation explores resources for locating these works, demonstrates writing assignments that analyze art and historical documents in terms of literary themes, and brainstorms pairings.

On Thursday, March 1, 2012, high school and community college instructor, Misty Mapes will lead a session entitled, “Using Moodle to Meet Common Core Standards for Reading, Writing & Technology.” According to Illinois’ new Common Core Standards, educators in every discipline and every grade level must implement more technology into the way they assess reading and writing. This session will introduce an effective tool for this process: Moodle, a free, secure web-application program. Using Moodle, students engage in written discussion, peer writing critiques, questionnaires, quizzes, and more. Moodle can change the way you teach!

On Thursday, April 5, 2012, elementary art teacher Mary St. Clair will lead a session entitled, “Marrying History, Literature, Writing, and Art: A Cross-Curricular Unit That Meets Core Standards.” Cross-curricular units can deepen understanding of history, literature, writing, and art, as befits the new Core Standards. In this session, we will look at one such unit. We will view the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, make origami cranes like those in the book, and write haiku. We will also see examples of related student art and writing.

 

EIWP Day of Renewal 2012 (canceled)

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project is also preparing for its fourth annual Day of Renewal on March 17, 2012. Modeled on a typical day in the Summer Institute, the day will begin Sacred Writing, giving teachers a few minutes just to write. After sharing any thoughts, teachers will swap a lesson plans, sharing teaching ideas that have worked well for them during the past year. After a catered lunch, we will enjoy a creative writing workshop led by Dr. Letitia Moffitt. The official business for the day will end with a discussion about EIWP’s involvement in future community and school projects. After official business, all are welcome to join a “friendly” trivia competition. Prizes will be awarded for the winning trivia team. Start brushing up on some “useless knowledge.”

 

The EIWP at the 2012 NWP Spring Meeting

One of our Teacher Leaders will attend the Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.: Carol Smith. The meeting gives Writing Project teachers and leaders an opportunity to share their classroom successes with members of Congress and with each other. The focus of the Friday meeting this year will be on sustaining and supporting your site.

Thursday, March 29

The day begins with a morning kickoff meeting, where attendees can hear from NWP's key supporters and prepare for the day's meetings. Participants who did not pick up materials at Wednesday's planning session can get materials here.

From 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., participants will make their personal visits to congressional offices to talk about the work of the Writing Project and the impact it has on teachers and students.

If participants have questions for NWP staff during this time, they can visit the participant support office at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill or call a dedicated phone number that will be announced at the meeting.

Essential Information for Capitol Hill Visits

Participants should make their appointments with House and Senate offices well in advance. Please schedule intervals of 45 minutes to one hour between appointments to allow for travel. The resources below provide guidance for making appointments.

Senate visits must be coordinated with other participants from your state. Please communicate with other sites in your state to schedule a single

Friday, March 30

The meeting continues on Friday, March 30, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Following is a schedule for the day and preliminary information about the program. A continental breakfast will be served beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Schedule for the Day

8:00 a.m.         Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.         Opening Plenary Session

--Hearing from the network

—Thursday's visits on Capitol Hill

--Opening remarks

--Interactive Session

--Writing Project Sites at Work:

Strategies and Approaches to Accessing Federal, State and Local Funds

This whole-group session with Writing Project Site leaders and Washington Partners will invite all of us to explore a wide-range of information about funding available for K-university programs.

10:30 a.m.       Break

11:00 a.m.       Workshops

Choose among workshops that focus on the needs and interests of teachers and schools as well as supporting your site in planning strategically for the future. Topics will include a look at the impact of the Common Core State Standards, new opportunities for inservice, accessing grant opportunities, and developing your web presence in NWP Connect. Look for titles and descriptions of workshops coming soon.

1:00 p.m.         Meeting Adjourns

 

EIWP 2012 Summer Institute 

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project will host its annual Summer Institute on June 4 and June 11 – July 12, 2012. Summer Institute provides K-16 teachers across the curriculum with opportunities to improve student writing and learning; extend uses of writing in all disciplines; provide schools with an effective in-service model; identify, celebrate, and enhance the professional role of successful classroom teachers; and apply a teacher-centered model to implement these goals. Teachers can apply online at www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp.

 

Rebecca Lawson Grant Funded Sullivan High School

School/Community Writing Program: Heroes Among Us, “This I Believe…” 

“When teachers and students jointly connect writing education to their immediate community…then writing education becomes motivated, active, creative and effective.” (Robert E. Brooke)

Proposal Summary: Through a multi-grade project, students in the school district will explore the importance of heroes and heroes in their lives. Students will learn interviewing, technology, writing, photography, and organizational skills. Community members will be involved, and the project will be shared with the public online and/or through a community event. It is hoped that the project will become a reoccurring event.

Rationale: There are heroes around us everywhere. They take care of children, they grow crops, they serve in the military, they clean buildings, etc. They are ordinary people doing things in extraordinary ways. They have survived Cancer, donated kidneys, saved pets, inspired people, and wiped away tears. Students today often see people who have done bad things all over the media, and those who do good often get little coverage. In the hope of having students think about making positive choices and learn about people in their lives who have done great things, this project has been created. Not only will students learn about heroes, but they will also connect their writing to a real audience. In the end, this project will hopefully connect kids to community members in a lasting and engaging snapshot of our society. It will also provide community members with the opportunity to share their thoughts through two writing opportunities. As Robert Brooke said in Rural Voices, “To write well - to want to write well - writers of any age must feel “located” in a particular community and must feel that their writing contributes.”

Educational Standards Met (Common Core Standards)

Speaking/Listening Standards K-5

 

   Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

2. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

 

Speaking and Listening Standards 6-12  

Comprehension and Collaboration:

1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

2. Analyze the main idea and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or other issue under study.

   Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

4. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptors, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentation to clarify information.

 

Writing Standards K-5

   Production and Distribution of Writing:

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single setting.

   Research to Build and Present Knowledge:

7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

 

Writing Standards 6-12 

   Text Types and Purposes

3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. 

   Production and Distribution of Writing

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

   Research to Build and Present Knowledge

8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. 

   Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical

            Subjects 6-12. 

   Text Types and Purposes

1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
Production and Distribution of Writing: 
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or typing a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Procedure for Implementing the Proposed Program:

Students will define and discuss what a hero is. Students will select their initial hero and create a plan of action. As a class, students will discuss various questioning techniques (open-ended, closed-ended, and probing) and create descriptions for the “This I Believe” and “Life Advice” writing opportunities for their heroes to write. Within small groups, they will create a list of questions to ask the hero and determine interview/filming format. Students will set up an interview with their hero (or students will restart the process if their hero is not available). Students will check out equipment and receive training, if needed. Students will interview their hero with various questions about their lives. The students will record the interview and quickly download it to the server. If possible, students will have their hero write a “This I Believe” or “Life Advice” statement during the interview. Students will use information gained in the interview to write a 500-700 word biography about their hero. In addition to the biography, students will write one of the following: poem, first person narrative story, or illustrated story book. Students will create a display with the hero biography, visuals related to their hero, and their other writing piece (optional) to inform the public about their hero. Students will transfer their products into an individual wiki page. A community wide assembly will be held to recognize the heroes. If possible, one hero will be selected to speak or a different kind of program will be given. Refreshments will be served afterwards so that the community can mingle and observe the students’ displays.

 

 

 

 

 

EIWP Spring 2012

Workshop Series

 

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project
http://www.eiu.edu/~easternwp

 

Spring 2012 Workshop Series

The Common Core Standards
and You!

 

The Language Arts: Reading,
Writing, Listening, & Speaking
(All Grade Levels)

 

The EIWP workshop series provides teachers the opportunity to read professionally, participate in small and whole group discussions, and help teachers employ student reading, writing, listening and speaking to meet the Common Core Standards.

 

Cost: $25.00 (includes snacks,
professional book, and materials)

Participants will receive CPDUs
(two per session – six per semester)

 

Location:

3170 Coleman Hall (EIU campus)

 

Maximum 30 participants
(first come first served)

 

How do the Common Core

Standards impact you?

           K-12 teachers must soon design their instruction to meet the new Common Core Standards. To learn how to incorporate these standards into your teaching, join us for the Fall 2011 EIWP workshop series!

 

Dates
February 2, 2012
March 1, 2012
April 5, 2012

 

Workshop Format

5:00 – 5:15 Snacks & Announcements
5:15 – 5:30 Sharing & Book Discussions
5:45 – 7:00 Breakout Sessions

Each session will include demonstrations of strategies, participant writing, and time to brainstorm applications to various grade levels/content areas/topics.

All sessions will be conducted by practicing teachers who have taken part in the EIWP summer institutes.

For more information, contact

Denise Reid dereid@eiu.edu
Audrey Edwards atedwards@eiu.edu
Robin Murray rlmurray@eiu.edu

 

See Schedule Below:

 

Thursday, February 2, 2012
"Treasures in the Attic": Researching Historical Documents, Works of Art, and Literature

Kristin Runyon

The Common Core Standards require teachers to integrate knowledge and ideas through the use of various “artistic mediums,” “seminal U.S. documents,” and “foundational U.S. documents.” This presentation explores resources for locating these works, demonstrates writing assignments that analyze art and historical documents in terms of literary themes, and brainstorms pairings.

Thursday, March 1, 2012
Using Moodle to Meet Common Core
Standards for Reading, Writing & Technology

Misty Mapes

According to Illinois’ new Common Core Standards, educators in every discipline and every grade level must implement more technology into the way they assess reading and writing. An effective tool for this process is Moodle, a free, secure web-application program. Using Moodle, students engage in written discussion, peer writing critiques, questionnaires, quizzes, and more. Moodle can change the way you teach!

Thursday, April 5, 2012
  Marrying History, Literature, Writing, and Art: A Cross-Crricular Unit That Meets Core Standards

Mary St. Clair

Cross-curricular units can deepen understanding of history, literature, writing, and art, as befits the new Core Standards. In this session, we will look at one such unit. We will view the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, make origami cranes like those in the book, and write haiku. We will also see examples of related student art and writing.

 

 

Spring 2012 Registration

The Common Core Standards
and You!

 

Name: _______________________

School: ______________________

District: _____________________

Grade Level: __________________

E-mail Address: _______________

Phone Number: _______________

 

Mail completed form and payment to

 

Robin Murray, EIWP Director
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920

 

 

National Writing Project Annual Meeting 2012

 

The Morning Plenary Session

 

After the Chicago Writing Projects provided a Chicago trivia quiz, Big Ideas Teams for the Future of NWP shared their ideas. The first team explored how sites might sustain existing relationships and continue to build new ones in service to commonly held principles. The second team noted what might happen when the ISI, as the heart of the NWP program changed, perhaps from a six to three credit course or from four to two weeks. This same question broadened for other groups who explored ways to stay true to NWP core values when reinventing ourselves both locally and globally and shifting the perspective of the ISI and of continuity and professional development programs. All fourteen of the teams agreed that the most important element of each site were the teaching consultants. They also suggested that responses to embrace local and current pedagogical changes, such as the implementation of the Common Core language arts Standards. The last team provided the most hopeful vision for the future of NWP: “We need to create new ways to strategically develop programs and partnerships that best meet the needs of our service area without compromising NWP principles.” For all the teams, “the needs are great, but the sources are out there,” so we should focus on what we have rather than what we’ve lost or don’t have.

 

Judy Buchanan shared information about what’s new in federal funding for NWP, as well. The NWP has submitted proposals for the Supporting Effective Education Development (SEED) Grant Program, competing with other education programs for a percentage of the education budget “set aside” for literacy programs. As of December 17, SEED set-aside moneys account for 1.5% of the education budget. Grants will be announced in January 2012. The NWP is also submitting grant proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation. ESEA reauthorization is also in progress. State funds are also available for competition. Even though NWP did not receive an I-3 grant for rural professional development, they are hopeful they will receive SEED grant funds. Sites were asked to come to the spring meeting to advocate for NWP in April.

 

Linda Friederich then talked about what’s new in NWP Research and Evaluation, noting that after eight years of Local Site Research Initiative (LSRI) studies, there is a solid base of evidence that NWP programs work. The most recent research brief clarifies this study. They have also developed high quality writing assessments based on the six-traits plus one model that have 91% inter-rater reliability. With increased emphases on experimental studies in guiding federal discretionary spending, NWP has acquired ample evidence that NWP works.

 

Susan Freundlich then explained what’s new in NWP Fundraising, highlighting reasons why foundations give and where sites can go to make their own plan. Ultimately organizations give because sites meet their needs and inspire them so they believe in the group’s ideas and people. Sites, however, first need to ask and can explore private, family, corporate, and community foundations as well as individuals for information. The fundraising information is available on NWP Connect: http://connect.nwp.org/nwp-site-leaders/dashboard/custom-section-7992.

The talk ended with a focus on the NWP’s new e-campaign, since individuals are the largest source of giving: http://connect.nwp.org/nwp-site-leaders/promo/8005/nwp-e-fundraising-campaign

 

The message of the plenary continued with an explanation of how “shift happens” toward opportunity rather than away from change. The shift may be toward voluntary association, with each writing project site taking on both control and responsibility, toward a flexible opportunity structure with each site applying for funds for particular requests and with sites determining what they do or do not wish to pursue, or toward a “linked” local model in which opportunities may be linked with state or project networks, rather than only locally-based. EIWP, then, should explore foundation funding and collaborate with other Illinois sites once we as a group determine the direction we wish to go, perhaps with the Common Core Standards as part of a joint-program design.

 

Luncheon and Afternoon Plenary Sessions

 

Deborah Meier, the lunchtime plenary speaker, advocated for educational change and argued that teachers should move beyond private resistance to a collective approach to change.

 

Linda Friedrich led the afternoon plenary, which provided an historical overview of the National Writing Project’s points of change. From NWP’s beginning in 1974 as the Bay Area Writing Project to its 1977 inclusion with the NCTE Conference, NWP always had a philosophy of “teachers teaching teachers” at its core. It wasn’t until 1991 that NWP attained federal funding, but buy 2002, NWP had sites in all 50 states. Research gained from Inverness demonstrates the strength of NWP programs, strengths that have convinced foundations such as MacArthur, Carnegie, Bill Gates, and Wallace to increase funds for the writing project. The conference maintained a hopeful tone, perhaps because it was funded by the Isabel Allende Foundation, which provided a moving quotation EIWP now shares on its website:

 

"It is absurd to imagine that any child will be able to earn a living, let alone contribute to   resolving our world's complex problems, without knowing how to read and write. My foundation supports the National Writing Project, so that teachers can be more effective in their efforts to improve literacy to all students" (Isabel Allende).

 

Digital Is: Supporting Teacher and Site Development

(See the Digital Is Website at http://digitalis.nwp.org/)

 

The common themes included:

1. Summer Institute

• used as an institute text
• used as a resource dig
• a potential place to publish

1. Continuity

• opportunity to view and contribute resources across a national network
• opportunity to network with others who are innovating
• opportunity to envision and work with others in developing resource collections
• opportunity to publish our experience and the results of teacher research
• The opportunity to contribute to Digital Is helps to keep us aware of digital literacy and sharing work.

1. Site work

• contributes to how a Writing Project positions itself in a larger world (San Diego)
• leveraging Digital Is work empowers local, district, and state work in education
• makes our work public and offers a way for other stakeholders to view our work more broadly

1. Leadership development

• Contributing local work to national forum creates opportunities for TCs to see themselves and their work as significant in a wider context.
• Connects TCs to a larger educational network that provides support for innovation. 

1. Examples:
2. 1.  UConn Foundation

• Foundation Account, web presence, donation button on website
• 30th Reunion and Fundraiser
• $25K goal to set up a new Endowment
• Targeted mailings
• work with Alumni Center

2.  Alumni Center

• Collaborate with Foundation
• Use of facilities
• Web Presence
• Identification of Alumni
• Tie in to Alumni Weekend

3.  College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Tie in with Outreach efforts
• Web presence, podcast on home page promoting Reunion
• Collaborate with other programs, such as Wallace Stevens (50th anniversary next year) or Children's Book Fair (20th anniversary this year).

4.  English Department

• Collaboration with other Writing Programs, such as Freshman English (Early College Experience course), Writing Center (Secondary Writing Centers Conference), and Creative Writing (Wallace Stevens Program—course and curriculum for Hartford high schools, contest).
• Aetna Chair of Composition, Committee for Undergraduate Writing and Instruction
• Writing Interns
• Graduate Assistants

5.  Neag School of Education

• Dual degree, undergraduate advising, coursework
• Supervision of Graduate Internships
• Teachers for a New Era Fellowship (TNE Committee, web presence, INTD course for non-residential Learning Community of English Pre-Teaching majors, terminal MA for teachers, undergraduate Concentration in Teaching English, Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Illinois Writing Project

Fall 2011 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Illinois WP Summer 2011 Newsletter

 

 Summer Institute 2011

More than 3,000 kindergarten through college teachers across the country dedicated four weeks of their summer break to learning new strategies to improve their students' writing skills. These teachers studied the latest research and effective classroom practices in summer institutes at more than 200 National Writing Project (NWP) sites on college campuses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

This summer, the Eastern Illinois Writing Project hosted our fourth Summer Institute for teachers in Central Illinois, a Summer Institute based in teacher-driven principles, since, “The best teachers of writing are writers themselves, and the best teachers of teachers are other teachers.” These fourteen committed teachers from across the curriculum and grade level of teaching participated in this year’s Summer Institute, joining us for an intense workshop focused on writing and the teaching of writing.

• ·       Paul Baumann: Lovington High School, Lovington, IL
• ·       Debbie Bower: Dieterich High School, Dieterich, IL
• ·       Megan Davis: Sullivan High School, Sullivan, IL

• ·       Kathy Habing: Neoga Middle School, Neoga, IL
• ·       Ashton Harwood: Sullivan High School, Sullivan, IL
• ·       Robbie Kline: Kansas Elementary School, Kansas, IL
• ·       Sarah Klingler: Teutopolis High School, Teutopolis, IL
• ·       Rebecca Lawson: Sullivan High School, Sullivan, IL
• ·       Mark Learnard: Danville High School, Danville, IL
• ·       Misty Mapes: Teutopolis High School, Teutopolis, IL
• ·       Andrea Stack: Eastern Illinois University MA Candidate
• ·       Betsy Wells: Paris Cooperative High School, Paris, IL
• ·       Melinda White: Neoga Middle School, Neoga, IL

 

Strong Arguments for Summer Institute 

The majority of Americans view good writing skills as essential to success in college and the workplace, according to a recent national public opinion survey, by the research firm Belden Russonello & Stewart. However, they fear that our public schools and our children are falling behind. Just 17 percent believe that when students graduate from high school they have the writing skills they need for college, and 75 percent say that our K-12 education system should put more emphasis on the teaching of writing. According to Sharon J. Washington, NWP Executive Director, "Teachers who attend NWP summer institutes return to their classrooms with new strategies for teaching writing and with experience using digital tools."

National research studies confirm significant gains in writing performance among students whose teachers participate in NWP programs. These dedicated teachers will continue that upward trend. For more information, contact Robin Murray at rlmurray@eiu.edu or visit the EIWP website at www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp and the NWP website at www.nwp.org.

The Summer Institute provides opportunities for teachers to celebrate writing and reading across the curriculum! The Eastern Illinois Writing Project Summer Institute provides K-16 teachers across the curriculum with opportunities to improve student writing and learning; extend uses of writing in all disciplines; provide schools with an effective in-service model; identify, celebrate, and enhance the professional role of successful classroom teachers; and apply a teacher-centered model to implement these goals.

 

A Day in the Life of the SI 2011

 

Sacred Writing

Chronology

Teaching Demonstrations with Stars and Wishes

 

Lunch

 

Research Read [R] and Discussion

Mini-Writing Crawl [W]

Writers’ Groups

Author’s Chair

 

EIWP/NWP Principles

The best teachers of teachers are other teachers.

 

The best teachers of writing are writers themselves.

--NWP Principles

 

 

Thanks to SI 2009, “I have rediscovered the motivation I thought I lost somewhere along my short teaching journey.” (Cassie McMillan, SI 2009).

 

“We write to discover what we think.”

--Joan Didion

 

“You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can’t, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world. . . . The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way . . . people look at reality, then you can change it.”

--James Baldwin 

The National Writing Project (NWP) is a nationwide network of educators working together to improve the teaching of writing in the nation’s schools and in other settings. NWP provides high-quality professional development programs to teachers in a variety of disciplines and at all levels, from early childhood through university. Through its network of more than 200 university-based sites, the National Writing Project develops the leadership, programs, and research needed for teachers to help students become successful writers and learners.

 

Writing Crawls 2011

 

Greenup and Cameo Vineyard

Doudna Fine Arts Center

  Library and Secret Garden  

 

Lincoln Log Cabin

 

   July 28, 2011 EIWP 

 

Celebration Luncheon

 

11:30 Welcome and Introductions

 

11:45 Buffet Lunch catered by What’s Cooking

 

11:45: EIWP Summer Institute Movie (Co-Director and Technology Liaison, Sue Fuller)

 

12:30: Author’s Chair (Teachers

from the 2011 EIWP SI)

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project is a National Writing Project Site. The National Writing Project (NWP) is a professional development network that serves teachers of writing at all grade levels across the curriculum. The Summer Institute is the core of the NWP’s model of “teachers teaching teachers.”

 

The mission of the Eastern Illinois Writing Project is to improve student achievement by advancing the teaching of writing and reading and enhancing learning in the nation’s schools.

 

Eastern Illinois Writing Project Presents:

The 4^th Annual Back-to-School Conference

September 24^th, 2011

 

Only $30 per teacher including lunch and CPDUs!

 

• ·      Creative Writing
• ·      Writing in the Social Sciences
• ·      Writers Workshop
• ·      Evaluating Writing Across the Curriculum
• ·      Common Core Language Arts Standards

 

• ·      & much more!

 

 

About the Presenters:

 

Our Breakout Sessions are all presented by teaching consultants who have completed the EIWP Summer Institute.

  General Session Presenters:

 

 

 

Ms. Jennifer Garrison is Superintendent of Sandoval CUSD 501 and a member of the ISBE Common Core Standards in the Language Arts Planning Committee

 

Dr. Letitia Moffitt teaches creative writing, twentieth-century literature, multicultural literature, and composition. She writes short fiction, as well as creative nonfiction, poetry, and literary criticism. She also has been published in various journals including Black Warrior Review, Fairfield Review, The MacGuffin, Dos Passos Review, Aux Arc Review, and Critique.

 

General Information:

 

 

 

For Further Information:

Please call (217) 581-549-0199 or

e-mail Robin Murray at rlmurray@eiu.edu

 

 

To Register:

 

Complete the following form:

 

Name: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________

 

School: _____________________

 

District: _____________________

 

Grade Level: _________________

 

E-mail Address: _______________

 

Phone Number: ________________

 

Mail Completed form and payment of $30 per person to

Robin Murray, EIWP Director

Eastern Illinois University

600 Lincoln Avenue

Charleston, IL 61920

 

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project
http://www.eiu.edu/~easternwp

 

Fall 2011 Workshop Series

The Common Core Standards
and You!

The Language Arts: Reading,
Writing, Listening, & Speaking
(All Grade Levels)

 

The EIWP workshop series provides teachers the opportunity to read professionally, participate in small and whole group discussions, and help teachers employ student writing to meet the Common Core Standards.

“We write to discover what we think.”
Joan Didion

 

 

How do the Common Core

Standards impact you?

 

           K-12 teachers must soon design their instruction to meet the new Common Core Standards. To learn how to incorporate these standards into your teaching, join us for the Fall 2011 EIWP workshop series!

 

Topics of Study

  

Common Core Standards:
What Are They?

Integrating Reading & Writing

Becoming Critical Readers,
Writers, & Listeners

Presenting an Argument

Teaching Grammar Through Writing

 

 

 

Dates

September 8, 2011
October 6, 2011
November 3, 2011

 

Workshop Format

5:00 – 5:15 Snacks & Announcements
5:15 – 5:30 Sharing & Book Discussions
5:45 – 7:00 Breakout Sessions

Each session will include demonstrations of strategies, participant writing, and time to brainstorm applications to various grade levels/content areas/topics.

All sessions will be conducted by practicing teachers who have taken part in the EIWP 2010 or 2011 Summer Institutes.

 

 

 

For more information, contact

Denise Reid dereid@eiu.edu
Audrey Edwards atedwards@eiu.edu
Robin Murray rlmurray@eiu.edu

The Eastern Illinois
Writing Project

Fall 2011 Workshop Series

The Common Core Standards
and You!

The Language Arts: Reading,
Writing, Listening, & Speaking
(All Grade Levels)

 

Cost: $25.00 (includes snacks,
professional book, and materials)

 

Participants will receive CPDUs
(two per session – six per semester)

 

Location: EIASE Building
5837 Park Dr. (off Route 16)
between Charleston & Mattoon

 

Maximum 30 participants
(first come first served)
Registration form available on back.

 

Mark Your Calendar for the

Spring 2012 Workshop Series

 

The Common Core Standards:
Using Writing to Support Literacy
in Social Studies, Science,
and Technology
(All Grade Levels)

 

Topics of Study

Common Core Standards: What Are They?

Research and Writing

Writing to Inform

Choosing Reading Material
to Meet the Standards

Technology and Writing

 

 

Dates

 

February 2, 2012

March 2, 2012

April 5, 2012

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

 

 

Fall 2011 Registration

The Common Core Standards
and You! Registration

 

Name: _______________________

 

School: ______________________

 

District: _____________________

 

Grade Level: __________________

 

E-mail Address: _______________

 

Phone Number: _______________

 

Mail completed form and payment to

Robin Murray, EIWP Director
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920

 

 

Spring Newsletter 2011

 

(pdf) (doc)

About the Eastern Illinois Writing Project

The Eastern Illinois Writing Project seeks to provide K-16 teachers across the curriculum with opportunities to improve student writing in all disciplines; provide schools with an effective in-service model; identify, celebrate, and enhance the professional role of successful classroom teachers, and apply a teacher-centered model to implement these goals. To facilitate teaching and learning in all of our pro-grams, we follow National Writing Project principles and believe “The best teachers of teachers are other teachers” and “The best teachers of writing are writers themselves.”

 

Apply for the EIWP Summer Institute 2011!

For more information about our 2011 Invitational Summer Institute, please see the pamphlet at the following link: 2011 pamphlet-1

To Apply for admission to the 2010 Summer Institute:

Apply online at the following URL:  www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp

Or send us a snail mail letter to:

Robin L. Murray

EIWP Director

Eastern Illinois University

600 Lincoln Avenue

Charleston, IL 61920

 

In the letter, address the following:

 

1. Describe your teaching level, discipline, and years of experience.

2. Address your role as an active classroom teacher.

3. Talk a little about your writing experiences.

4. Tell us why you would enjoy participating in a Summer Institute.

 

If you have any questions, contact Robin Murray at rlmurray@eiu.edu.

The Summer Institute provides opportunities for these teachers to celebrate writing and reading across the curriculum at all grade levels, while helping teachers build a community of peers as they design and develop writing and reading programs to meet their and their colleagues' needs. The Summer Institute provides opportunities for these teachers to celebrate writing and reading across the curriculum at all grade levels, while helping teaching build a community of peers, design and develop writing and reading programs to meet their and their colleagues’ needs. Activities include formal and in-formal writing work-shops, teaching demonstrations, reading and research, small and large group discussions, coaching sessions with directors and teaching consult-ants, and celebrating reading and writing for all of the power and potential they possess.

The 2011 Summer Institute will run from July 5-28, with a pre-institute day on June 27 to prepare for the month and a post-institute luncheon in October.

Educators from all disciplines in grades K-16 are invited to attend our EIWP Summer Institute. If you would enjoy participating in our Summer Institute, complete the application process described below and contact Robin Murray (rlmurray@eiu.edu). Please provide her with your name, teaching position and e-mail address.

Benefits for Teachers

1. 6 hours of graduate tuition waived (fees not included)

2. $500.00 stipend for SI and continued growth as a teacher leader

3. Becoming part of a professional community of teachers

Lunch will be provided on June 28 during our pre-institute day!

The post-institute day will be during our Back-to-School Conference for a fun celebration and get-together!

For more information contact:

Robin L. Murray 217-549-0199

rlmurray@eiu.edu

 

Writing Workshop Series

Spring 2011 Workshop Series

Writing to Learn

When exploring any topic, writing helps students to see what they are thinking—to gather their thoughts before a discussion, to summarize and react to what they have read, to compare notes with others.

This series will show how writing in the content areas aids student learning. Come try out a variety of assignments you can use with your students!

February 3: Using Informal Writing to Gain Insight into Student Progress

Heather Lindenmeyer and Jennifer Young

Writing assignments do not always need to be rigorously graded assessments. Teachers of all disciplines can benefit from using informal writing to gauge student progress. Assignments like open-ended or student-centered journals can help students gain insight into new concepts, discover what they already know about a given topic, or help them discern what they do not know.

March 3: The Four C’s of Writing Across the Curriculum—Compare, Contrast, Classify, and Connect

Kristin Runyon

Robert Marzano has stated that identifying similarities and differences is basic to all thought and may be the core of learning. Creating writing assignments that prompt students to compare and contrast will not only require students to demonstrate their content knowledge but will also strengthen this necessary life skill. To create interesting compare/contrast assignments, teachers may connect their contents to other content areas, current news events, and/or cultural allusions.

April 7: They Wrote It--Now What Do We Do?

Sue Fuller and Vicki Pierce

Writing to learn is so important; yet grading student writing can be overwhelming. Does all writing need to be graded? When we do grade, what should we look for beyond grammar and spelling? This session seeks to take the scary out of assigning student writing and provides ideas for appropriate feedback.

Spring 2011 Registration

Writing to Learn Series

(Please register by January 27, 2011.)

Name: _______________________

School: ______________________

District: _____________________

Grade Level: __________________

E-mail Address: _______________

Phone Number: _______________

Mail completed form and payment to:

 

Robin Murray, EIWP Director

Eastern Illinois University

600 Lincoln Avenue

Charleston, IL 61920

 

Ten Teachers Attended the 2010 National Writing Project Annual Meeting

 

Al Church learned something at the National Writing Project

Annual Meeting  

 

Orlando (AC) - Al Church attended the National Writing Project annual Meeting in Orlando Florida. Even though Mickey Mouse was waiting to distract many five-year-old children and forty-three year old adults, Church was diligent with learning all he could from the many sessions available after helping presenters with a session on gaming and critical thinking. Church was heard saying, “This is one of the most informational and beneficial conferences I have ever attended. There was a lot of energy at the conference and that energy will flow into the classroom.

 

Play Fair— “Fair Use” in Us Copy-right act and Education

Session A (AC) - “The law is on our [educator’s] side!” said Al Church when asked about important information learned in this NWP session.

 

The purpose of copyright, Church learned, is perfect for education. “To pro-mote creativity, innovation, and knowledge” is the magical phrase that legitimizes “Fair Use.”

 

A media company has never taken an educator or educational institution to court because of a breach in fair use. Teachers need not fear lawsuits if they want to use copyrighted works in the classroom if they consider these four items:

 

—the purpose and character of the use —the nature of the copyrighted work (fictional or factual, the degree of creativity); —the portion of the original work used; and —the effect of the use upon the market (or potential market) for the original work.

 

Game Theory and Design useful in education

Sessions B—D (AC) Looking for ways to motivate “low level” learners who need motivation to get interested in schoolwork, Al Church went to several session dealing with gaming and game design. Church worked with leaders from New York “Global Kids” and Alan Gershenfeld, once CEO of Activision and founder of E-Line Media.

 

“It is one thing to just have fun, but to have fun while taking ownership in your own learning is something that can be useful in the classroom.” The methods of game design fit in well with the national core standards that will soon be required of all students. The use of gaming is perfect for systems thinking, digital media literacy, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

 

Student Awards for Writing and Art

Session E (AC) The deadlines for the Teen Scholastic Arts and Writing awards are approaching in January. There is a possibility of a local chapter for judging starting in this area in the near future.  

 

Inquiry into Action:

How Site Self-study Results in Increased Access, Relevance, and Diversity

 

Vicki Pierce

In this session, presenters shared the revitalizing effects a self-study of the Project Outreach tenets of Access, Relevance, and Diversity had on their sites. Session participants read a book excerpt emphasizing the need to embrace our own ignorance and use the Writing Project as a medium through which to learn. By admitting that site practices were not meeting the needs of their service area, the sites were able to make adjustments:

 

• alternative SI and meeting locations--large geographic region;
• great diversity of needs within service area: wealthy and impoverished school districts;
• regional "mini-sites" to facilitate access to site resources for entire service area;
• leadership team involvement in decisions;
• leadership training--skills and methods (stipend included);
• inquiry into needs of schools in the service areas--surveys of administrators and teachers;
• utilization of union (and I will add ROE) resources for distribution of information, as some school districts were not informing their teachers of WP opportunities;
• facilitation of vertical and horizontal grade-level conversations to provide greater focus on age-appropriate skills and activities;
• focused Saturday Sessions, Back-to-School Seminars, and workshops to address various aspects of specific needs (examples: an entire seminar on assessment methods, grade/development-level focuses);
• advanced institutes to meet needs of returning fellows;
• simplification of application process;
• continuation of self-evaluation--Ask the good questions: what are our needs; how do we meet them?

 

 

Building Capacity for Survivance: Writing Project Sites Support Indian Education

The presenters in this session discussed the use of their Writing Project sites to promote education about American Indians. Murray discussed the five most prevalent misconceptions about American Indians:

1.   monocultural

2.   nearing extinction

3.   anachronistic attire

4.   victimization

5.   false binaries (traditional/token; assimilationist/activist; good/bad)

 

Murray also said that multicultural education must be grabbed "from the right end of the stick," emphasizing likenesses rather than differences. Rather than treating American Indians as artifacts of history, we need to use writing as a means of empowerment and discovery by and about them.

 

   Bruce discussed her work with the Montana Writing Project and its goal to advance Montana state law of Indian Education for All. The site hosts satellite seminars on Holocaust education--both Jewish and American Indian--emphasizing the use of place-based writing as a means of presencing Indian students within the classroom. (The land is nothing without the people.) She likened teaching about Indians to teaching Emerson for the first time--it is uncomfortable and sometimes messy, but we need to start and be willing to learn more each time we teach. Her emphasis was on the diversity of American Indian cultures--one Indian text is only one voice and does not speak for the entire race any more than Emerson speaks for all. The two presenters encourage session participants to integrate education about indigenous peoples in their classrooms.

 

Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing

This session examined a draft of the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing, a collaborative effort of NWP, NCTE, and CWPA, to articulate expectations of students at the end of the first-year of college composition. Participants discussed and provided feedback on content, structure, and language of the draft. The framework included Habits of Mind (curiosity, openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition) and Experiences with Writing, Reading, and Analysis. First reading of the Framework left the impression that it seems to align with Common Core Standards.

 

NWP 2010:

What Heather Learned

Heather Lindenmeyer

 

A Dilemma of Rural Students: Learning to Leave

This breakout session discussed the concept of rural students and their decisions to stay or leave the area when they graduate. The presenters gave us documents in which the documents' authors present their own views on staying or leaving home. Then we had to summarize them and talk about if our own practices as teachers encourage students to leave home after graduation or to stay in the area.

 

During a discussion, one teacher at my table described an assignment he gives in which students have to write about social issues that directly affect them and their neighbors. I teach a research paper unit in which the students write about social issues, so I am thinking of using this particular teacher's assignment to jumpstart this unit. We all discussed that it was very important for us teachers to show the importance of our geographical area and instill the value of home and its attributes in our students.

 

Reading to Inform and Inspire Writing: A High School Literacy Instructional Approach

This session featured teachers from Kentucky – two were English teachers, and one was a social studies teacher.

 

The English teachers discussed how they have gone away from reading books as a class in their district. They allow the students to choose what they want to read. They assess the students by having them write about what they've read in various styles – for example, they write a reader's response log (among other styles). This concept was intriguing to me, as we are currently restructuring how we teach literature in my school.

 

I was particularly interested in what the social studies teacher had to say. He realized when he was having students take notes on historical events that they weren't able to apply the knowledge from the notes to tasks that required higher order thinking. He began to use primary source documents as a means to teach students about historical concepts like imperialism.

 

He now sets his classroom up into triads (groups of 3), and the students are responsible for reading these documents and studying them together. One technique he used for review is what he calls silent dialogue. He has the students take out one piece of paper, then write to each other what they understood or didn't understand about the reading assignment. They cannot communicate in any way but on paper for a specified amount of time. I loved this idea. I actually used it last week as a participation grade in my Honors English IV class. In order to prepare them for a test over the last portion of Jane Eyre, I had the students use the silent dialogue to rehash the first portion of the book they had already read. I graded them based on what they brought to the "conversation," what points they brought up about the novel, etc. The students really liked it, and I plan on using it in my other classes, too.

 

 

NWP 2010: Wise Eyes--Prompts Session Wrap-up

Amber Laquet

 

Prompting for Meaningful Student Writing

 

In this breakout session of the NWP, the presenters discussed ideas for better writing prompts. The prompts ranged from ones to be used in the classroom for the teacher's own assessment purposes as well as more universal prompts for state standardized testing. We were allowed to discuss in groups the importance of a great prompt. In our discussion, we came up with many ideas that were similar to the "Wise Eyes" Prompting for Meaningful Student Writing. The handout we received had the following ideas for prompts to promote meaningful writing:

 

Is the topic potentially interesting to students?

Do students have choice within the overall topic?

Does the task challenge students' thinking appropriately?

Does the topic allow students to access prior knowledge to understand the task and frame a response?

Does the task suggest audience and purpose?

Does the topic provide cues to help writers generate content without over prompting?

To what extent is the task "authentic"?

 

Using many of these components of a great prompt, we were encouraged to determine whether state tests' prompts were authentic. We found that many of the prompts were not, but also discussed if it would be possible to make a "perfect" prompt. Ideas for more effective prompts were further discussed, as well as coming up with more creative ways for students to take ownership of more authentic writing--such as using RAFT's-- to give students a ROLE, AUDIENCE, FORMAT, and TOPIC.

 

NWP Web Presence Roundtable 2010 (Robin Murray)

During the Web Presence Roundtable, we learned about the goals of the Annual NWP Web Presence Retreat and how various participants fulfilled them in relation to their own site's goals. We began with introductions and then completed a graphic organizer that provided a window on our web presence world. EIWP has two websites, one created by our University Marketing office (www.eiu.edu/~easternnwp) and another created by EIWP through Word Press (www.eiwp.org). The Word Press site includes a blog link, a newsletter link, a link to a writing blog, and links for professional development activities and for applying for our ISI. Both sites include online application pages. The Word press site, however, is easier to change and update. The university-created site is cumbersome and difficult to update and includes several links to different newsletters rather than an ongoing newsletter page. Umac and we fail to keep other parts of this site up-to-date. We hope to work on the university site over break and update it. There is a link to our Word press site on the university site, so we should make sure that this link is emphasized. We would also like to add more interactive activities, including podcasts, to the site.

 

During the Web Presence Roundtable, we also learned of new ways to update websites. Websites around the country included elements we hope to include in our future sites: a teacher research portal, video components, social networking, online TC communities, school partnership pages, google forms for professional development activities, links for different audiences (educators, administrators, and students), and connections with a state network site and the NWP Community Site. We also learned of ways to facilitate better web design and maintenance. Writing Project sites suggested working with a designer, making sure links were not stagnant, and building a technology working group or team. Other sites suggested teacher inquiry community network connections, choosing an effective e-facilitator for ISI, hiring a webmaster and web designer, and assigning a financial manager. Another site suggested that a Technology Team could meet once a month for Tech Saturdays. Another suggested ways to emphasize social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. All suggested that the web presence is continually changing, as technology changes. A team of tech folks might help us better facilitate ways to keep up with these changes.

 

Mrs. Fuller   (12/10/10)

NWP Annual Meeting Wrap-Up

Organizing and Prioritizing the Work of State and Regional Networks

Developing a state network: What will help all of us? Why get together? Is there a need to fill? What do we need to learn together?

 

Develop mission statement

   Sharing network, inquiry network, or both? Scope should be beyond looking for funding.

 

Have a statewide conference and invite state department of education to increase visibility of NWP. Highlight good work being done, CPDUs for K-16 teachers who attend, tech lessons, and market to schools not meeting AYP. State network grants may be available.

 

Regional meetings are taking place in some areas, as are statewide meetings. A good formula seems to be that the host site would demo something they do that works, which is a good way to give TCs the big picture. Someone from NWP national usually attends.

 

Some writing projects are issuing 3 credit hours after completion of the summer institute, and an additional 3 credit hours can be earned by presenting at a workshop, writing a reflection about a classroom issue, and doing a project in the classroom. Another option discussed was requiring fellows to finish their research projects. The fellows have until June of the year following their SI to submit this documentation. If funding is an issue the writing project might consider paying for only the second set of 3 hours.

 

One site said that they offer their technology lessons the week following SI; teachers sign up and CPDUs are given. Saturday tech sessions are also an option. It seems to me by the time SI is over; people are ready to enjoy what's left of their summer.

 

Website ideas – look at Connecticut's for a model, put director's blog on home page, have online program registration (interactive), and prepare a course wiki for SI where teachers build portfolios including podcast of demo, required writings

 

Have EIWP presence on EIU's English webpage, explain program.

 

Special Focus Networks Minigrants

The common thread in successful mini-grant applications seems to be developing leadership. Grants are strictly for professional development. The idea must be sustainable, with an impact beyond the grant. Grants are to individual sites but site may draw resources from state network.

Grant proposal topic should mesh with your site proposal. Grants are typically $5000.

 

Find grant applications at nwp.org, National Programs, Special Focus Networks, sidebar on left. Retreats with a focus on professional development, books for PD, etc. will be considered, keep the criteria above in mind. There is stiff competition for mini-grants so if your proposal is not funded one year please resubmit it.

 

Building Capacity for Survivence: Writing Project Sites Support Indian Education

This session focused on the Montana and Dakota Writing Projects emphasis on Indian education. Indian education for all is the law in Montana, because Montana's history didn't begin when the Europeans arrived. The goal is for reconciliation and redemption through education.

 

Suggested books:

   Rethinking Columbus

   Idiots Guide to Native American History

   Black Aunts and Buddhists

   Coming to Light

   1491

But remember, one voice doesn't speak for all Indians

 

E-mail Michael Thompson of the New Mexico Writing Project for a bibliography of Native American authors by region: mikkotbhs@hotmail.com

 

University of South Dakota has a library of oral narratives

 

It is difficult to get Native Americans to write, because writing was considered a part of Imperialism by elder tribesmen: so how do you teach?

 

Multicultural Education is best done when you start with likenesses, move to differences, circle back to likenesses. It's messy, but not blame-placing. We hear things that aren't comfortable but we can't dialog about the unspoken.

 

Reflection

It occurs to me that the Eastern Illinois Writing Project, as well as others throughout the country, can be a top-notch source for professional development to teach writing as required by the core standards. We could develop workshops and other PD activities to train teachers in how to teach and grade writing, using the core standards as a framework and as a means to get teachers' and administrators' attention.

 

Kristin Runyon  

 

Improving Analytical Writing and Holocaust/Star Writing

 

To improve students' analytical writing, the California Writing Project has focused on the University of California Analytical Writing Placement Exam as the basis for improving high school writing. The 5 presenters have created an extensive continuum tool that consists of 7 categories with 18 strands in those categories. Because of the extensive nature of the continuum and the 11 professional sessions needed, the presenters shared 2 activities to work on the category of "Understanding and Use of the Text" and the 2 strands within that category "Understanding the Text" and "Summarizing and Recapitulating."

 

Rochelle Ramsey from the Northern CA WP adapted a 2-sided four-square graphic organizer that had been created by the Kennesaw Mountain WP. The first side of the graphic organizer is completed by each student while reading an essay; the second side is identical to the first, but it is completed in small groups as students share the information from the front side. The students are being taught how to analytically read an essay and how to look for the supporting details in an essay.

 

Brooke Nicholls created a serious of writing prompts that she modified from the work of R. Probst. The 6 writing prompts focus on making connections to a text. These are the usual making connections and literature circle prompts; however, the students are only given one prompt to complete while reading an essay. After writing the response, then students meet in groups so that each prompt is represented (and shared) within in each group. Nicholls also shared that she eventually gives the entire list of prompts to the students to keep all year and then assigns prompts by number.

 

While both of these activities are intended to teach understanding the text, the extension activity is for students to learn to understand the text and make connections so that they then include these observations in their essays.

 

Gwinn High School--Holocaust Writing/The Star Project

 

These two presenters are teachers who participated in the Writing Project as preservice teachers and then attended the Holocaust summer workshop. They created The Star Project and brought in a Holocaust survivor.

 

The writing assignment that they presented was based on the idea that students don't have a true self-identity, so it is difficult for them to understand/empathize the loss of self-identity suffered by the victims of the Holocaust.

 

To teach self-identity, we were asked to read the first person essay "Little Boxes" (available at www.facinghistory.org/little-boxes); the author points out his difficulty checking just one box under Ethnic Groups. The Facing History website has a handful of activities to complete using this essay. The presenters gave us the writing prompt: "Write about a time when you were categorized or labeled, OR, imagine that you could tell people 'If you really knew me. . ." what would you say to them?" I have posted my writing from that workshop on the EIWP blog.

 

The presenters also suggested using George Ella Lyon's poem "Where I'm From" as the reading and then have the students rewrite it for their own lives. The poem and a template are available at http://kisdwebs.katyisd.org/campuses/MRHS/teacherweb/benken/Teacher%20Documents/Where%20I%20am%20From.pdf

 

As a teacher, I greatly appreciated receiving activities/strategies that fit into my curriculum rather than ones that make me feel as though I need to completely restructure my teaching. All three of these will be added to the writing portfolio that I created as my personal research during SI.

 

Patti Murphy  

NWP Annual Meeting

sessions recap

 

The first session I attended was one of the best. It was about hosting Summer Writing Camp for students. The presenters began by sharing the things they have to consider prior to implementation of their writing camp. These considerations include: 1) Who is the audience/client base - who is being targeted for the camp? 2) Who will run the camp and take the lead? 3)What is the timeframe for the camp? 4) Where will it be held? 5) What will the expenses and income consist of? 6) Equity/Access - who is included and recruited? 7) Benefits/issues - What do camps do for the WP?

 

They discussed recruiting by placing ads in the paper, summer camp brochures, school flyers, etc. The presenters recommended viewing the San Joaquin Valley website writing project for additional ideas.

 

Other recommendations for structure of writing clubs besides writing camps included before and after school clubs. Some structure their meetings as follows:

10 minutes free write, 30 minutes of writing around a theme, and 10 minutes of wrap up. Some have local poets and/or writers come present to their clubs during specific months. Another suggested having an opening ritual, a prewriting activity to get them excited to write, a focused writing activity on which they write for 15 minutes, sharing by everyone, and a closing ritual. Opening and closing rituals may include "If you really knew me you'd know” or 25 things you might not know about me, or having one person write a statement, fold it over, pass it to the next person who writes a statement, folds it over, etc. The last writer reads it. Some recommend hosting family scrapbook night and provides the camera and picture development so students have things to write about with their families, having writing crawls, and compiling anthologies. There were many good ideas shared for writing club implementation during this session.

 

The second session I went to dealt with racial microaggression. While it was a new concept for me and one that is important to educators and counselors, I wasn't sure how it connected to the NWP other than exploring the issue and creating awareness using writing tasks. Racial microaggression is the use of verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that are negative, hostile, or derogatory toward people of color, either intentionally or unintentionally. This session was aimed primarily at counselors.

 

The third session I attended dealt with cliques, bullying, and racism and using literature and writing to develop empathy, understanding, and tolerance in middle and high school students. They recommend the use of poetry such as a "where I'm from" poem to develop a sense of community in the classroom, encourage individual identity and empathy. This sense of belonging within a classroom community is necessary for fighting bullying. They then shared many literature titles recommended for specific types of topics such as bi-racial identity, cliques, cyberbullying, and stories of bullying victims in general. This session was very good for developing a curriculum that attempts to address this very real crisis of bullying by use of thought-provoking literature.