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- Classroom teachers lead and support all institute learning activities: Dr. Bobby Cummings, English Department CWU; Cec Carmack, Selah School District; Susan Johnson, CERSD.
- Each participant will present an effective writing strategy or a writing-in-the-content-area lesson that has been successful for his or her students. Or participants can develop new lessons and teaching strategies to present. Each participant works closely with teacher leaders and peers in small groups to prepare and rehearse the presentation.
- Participants share these teaching strategies with colleagues during the school year. (We ask that you provide 10 hours of inservice to the schools. We encourage participants to work in teams for this inservice; the teacher leaders provide copious mentoring and support!!!) Participants may choose to present to a small group of colleagues or to teachers in another school.
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Each participant writes and revises in small peer groups. Participants are not discouraged by the writing activities! We provide writing prompts that elicit personal narratives; participants write about what they know, about their personal experiences. Teacher leaders of the institute write also. Participants who have not written anything in years, leave the institute with renewed confidence in
their writing and with a portfolio of wonderful pieces of writing. As a matter of fact, last summer's participants, many of them content teachers, decided to hold a public reading at a local restaurant!!!
- Participants work in small groups to investigate teacher-generated questions and issues impacting student learning. For example, a group of participants might develop a series of writing prompts to prepare their students for the WASL or develop a plan for implementing reading / writing workshop.
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Each participant will design a year-long project he or she can implement in the classroom. For example, one high school history teacher is examining how journal writing affects his students' learning of content. For this part of the institute, we will meet online and one Saturday on campus during the school year. We set these dates together prior to leaving the institute. During our school year
meetings, we share progress and resources, collaborate on ideas, revise drafts, and just encourage each other. These meetings are always energizing for participants!!
- Each participant has the opportunity to work online with other K-12 teachers participating in 169 National Writing Project institutes across the country. Participants do not need any specialized computer skills to participate in these conversations.
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