Summer Camp Preview: EMWP's Inkstains Writing Camp

by Kimberly Pavlock, TC’92

Inkstains applications started coming in weeks ago, and, as always, we’re thrilled to see registrations from returning campers as well as new campers!  Young writers tell us why they value their week of writing time at EMU so much.  As one high school camper explained, “Inkstains offers opportunities that you wouldn't normally do on your own like listen to a song and use that as inspiration for your writing.  It pushes you to try new things, and you become a better writer because of it.  The adults in charge were more like older friends than instructors and I felt comfortable taking risks and sharing my writing.  My ideas and overall quality of my writing are better now.”

We still have spots available in both the middle and high school sessions of Inkstains.  The middle school session (for incoming grades 6-8) runs July 11–15, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The high school session (for incoming grades 9-12) runs July 18-22, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Students interested in applying should complete the following steps:

•        Fill out the application form included in the Inkstains 2016 brochure.  The brochure is available on the EMWP website.
•        Include a short piece of polished writing (1-4 pages in length).
•        Submit one letter of recommendation from a current or former teacher.  (Emails of support from teachers are also welcome.  Please email Kim Pavlock at kpavlock@emich.edu.)
•      Enclose a check for $225 for camp tuition made payable to the Eastern Michigan Writing Project. ($200 for each additional sibling). The tuition rate increases to $245 for applications postmarked after June 20.

·         Send completed application to

Eastern Michigan Writing Project

c/o Inkstains Writer’s Camp

612 Pray-Harrold

Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, MI 48197

We hope all EMWP TCs will share this opportunity with their students.  If you have any questions, please contact Kim Pavlock at kpavlock@emich.edu.

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Welcome to the Winter 2016 EMWP Edition!

 Opportunities Unfolding &  Experiences Shared: 

EMWP Still Going Strong!

EMWP Summer Institute: Initiatives in Writing...July 11-22 

EMWP Summer Institute: Telling Our Stories... July 26-28 

Literacy Coaching Institutes  (Introductory & Advanced ) 

EdCamp 2015: A Camp Collage 

Digital Conferencing During the Writing Process 

Read more!

EdCamp 2015: A Collage

Registration

The Big Choice

EdCamp--EMWP 101

Getting the pitch: This will be awesome!

Gathering Freebees

Morning Session

Peddling Literacy

EdCamp Perpetrators

Read more!

Telling Our Stories/Raising Our Voices:

From Anecdote to Action

An Eastern Michigan Writing Project Summer Institute

                       July 26-28, 2016          9am – 3pm each day

McKenny Hall, Alumni and Tower Rooms, EMU Campus

Sadly, the ongoing conversation about school reform too often leaves out the voices of teachers—those who are most intimately acquainted with the day-to-day issues that impact students and their learning. We believe that these voices are essential ones for policy makers to hear, but we recognize as well the pressures on teachers to remain silent.

How can teachers safely enter the conversation?  In this workshop, we’ll help you become part of that conversation as you learn how to develop your personal stories into a more public narrative, starting from anecdotes and building toward an action plan.  By the end of day 3, you should have an action plan to take back to your classroom and school.

The workshop is facilitated by Dr. Cathy Fleischer, EMWP co-director and author of Teachers Organizing for Change.

Who can apply? To apply, please feel out the accompanying form by May 1, 2016.  If more than 25 apply, teachers will be selected based on three criteria: (1) commitment to the topic; (2) school and subject area representation (i.e., diversity in grade level; school location; school size, etc.); and (3) connection to the NWP network.

Is there a cost?  The Institute costs $75 for the three days and is limited to 25 participants.

Access the Registration Form

Read more!

In Medias Res: Meeting the Students Where & When They Need It

How to support young writers while they draft outside of class? A collaborative googledoc and chat stream can offer reassurance, immediate feedback, and collective empowerment. 

So what does it look like?  The first night students are assigned to draft,  advertise evening on-line hours and identify the Googledoc students should access. Across the top of the page will be an icon for each student as they access the page.  Once there, they can ask questions in the sidebar chat or post samples of their work on the page to workshop together. 

The "editing suggestion" button marks the teacher's suggestions in green while retaining the students' original phrasing. For others, you may choose to highlight a phrase and use the "comment" button which places the suggestions to the side of the document.

Anyone can quickly post links to specific resources or screencastify videos. You can even invite different students to share their thoughts on one student's question allowing you to not be the sage on the stage but just one of several "writers" in the group.

The first night tutoring session I was pleased to find 15-20 students checking in during the time period. What I hadn't anticipated was that multiple Google chats would spring up. Having the resources accessible online allowed for the students from different classes to bump into each other and strike up authentic talk about the directions, their topics, and craft.

I'm sure there may be other conferencing software out there to discover, but for now, Googledocs is where I'll be meeting to support my students when and where they need it.

For the full blog, visit 
Michelle McLemore is a 1997 EMWP TC. She currently teaches English and Social Studies at Onsted High School and recently taught online for Michigan Virtual University this fall.  Read more!

Do You Have a Budding Future as a Literacy Coach?

The Groundhog says it's going to be an early spring, and with that comes the fun in planning how the plants will grow and what summer adventures will surprise us. But there's no surprise that EMWP is running multiple cohorts of its Literacy Coaching Institutes for 2016. With the initiatives and funding allocated for training high-quality literacy coaches for Michigan's elementary (and secondary) schools, EMWP is taking its institutes center-stage to be a leader in providing coaching collaborations that center around literacy instruction and support for teachers.

1. As an introduction to understanding coaching mindsets and practices, the Basic Literacy Coaching Institutes will focus on basic knowledge of coaching to enhance learning in classrooms and in professional settings. Using research-based information and literacy-based protocols to engage participants, teachers, staff developers, school improvement teams, department chairs, coaches, and administrators will see how the features of coaching opportunities are at every corner of education. Participants will have time to practice coaching and reflective writing related to the beginning of their journey as highly-effective coach. This session is offered twice during the summer with a registration fee of $265/person, which also includes parking and morning refreshments. 

June 20 & 21 from 8:30 to 3:30 pm at McKenny Hall

August 3 & 4 from 8:30 to 3:30 pm at McKenny Hall

2. For the educator with some prior knowledge of coaching and seeking to Build a Sustainable Coaching Network at the District Level, participants can register for our new institute, which allows them to engage in a deeper understanding of adult learning, theories of change, and coaching principles that support these effective learning practices at the school level.

This institute will also address the accountability measures outlined for Michigan schools related to managing early literacy practices and assessments as well as protocols that build the longitudinal and horizontal supports for the district. Well-suited for coaches and administrators looking for collaborative insight into coaching networks that work and the multiple means of assessing professional learning, the two-day institute acknowledges the need for teachers, coaches, and administrators to be like-minded in practices and philosophies of high-quality job-embedded learning. 

Teacher leaders, administrators, coaches, and staff developers will practice coaching with other participants and engage in constructive dialogue about the positive culture, systematic approaches, and data-based outcomes that coaching offers educators and students. Time will be devoted to designing coaching plans, coaching evaluations, and coaching protocols. At $285/person, EMWP will offer reduced-rate coaching supports for the 2016-2017 academic year for schools who enroll in this institute. Parking is included as well as morning refreshments.

August 15 & 16 from 8:30 to 3:30 pm at McKenny Hall

For further information, please contact Julia Keider, Lead Instructional and Literacy Coach for the Institutes at juliakeider@gmail.com. 

Registration of the Institutes are available on the EMWP website at http://www.emichwp.org/professional-learning/coaching. 

Read more!

EMWP Summer Institute: Initiatives in Writing

Eastern Michigan University – Student Center 320;

 July 11 – 22, 2016, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Monday- Friday

We invite all teachers of writing, pre-K-college to join us for two weeks of

• Writing, as well as responding to each other’s writing

• Reading and talking about current research in the teaching of writing

·   Exploring the possible roles of literacy leadership

• Developing research questions about teaching writing (wonderings about our contexts)

To bring our questions into our classrooms, we will schedule five Continuity Meetings during the school year, including a final showcase of teacher research.

Tuition and fees: $1,987.90 for three graduate credits. Other fees may apply.

[+ One credit for Continuity].

Non-credit participation is $500; all participants receive a $400 scholarship from the National Writing Project.  50 State Clock Hours available. 

Send (attached) pre-registration to Bill Tucker, facilitator, by March 1. Billing will follow.

Spread the word!

Access the Registration Form 

Read more!

Welcome to the 2015 fall edition of eMuse!

In this edition...

• Kevin English Honored in 30 under 30! 

• Grant Recipient: Carol Sliwka! 

• A Facelift for EMWP 

• EdCamp EMWP: Total Contact Literacy 

• Please remember: Teachers do inspire their students 

• It’s That Time of the Year Again! 

• Prolific Published Writers 

Read more!

Kevin English Honored in 30 under 30!

Recently, Literacy Today released their top 30 under the age of 30. TC Kevin English was one of those honored for his research on how to use literacy assessment.

For more information, check out the article at "ILA Unveils First Class of '30 Under 30.'" Read more!

Grant Recipient: Carol Sliwka!

Congratulations to 2007 TC, Carol Sliwka! This fall she received a $100 grant from the Meemic Foundation.

She plans to use the grant to purchase more books for her students. Great job, Carol!

Click here to read more about teacher grants from the Meemic Foundation. Read more!

A Facelift for EMWP

by Karen Chichester

Last spring our Advisory Board decided that it was time for our website and our brand to be reimagined. We really needed two sites, a clean, easy-to-navigate public face for EMWP and a community site. We also wanted a site that was collaborative and easy for our program leaders to edit, and why not throw in a new logo that would bring us into the digital age?

Bill Tucker, Nick Kalakailo, Kevin English, and Karen Chichester, Tech Liaison took on this redesign, drafting Shari Hales to design the new logo. After some discussion, the team decided that moving to Google Sites was our best option.

We are proud to announce that our new site is up and running on Google Sites. It can still be accessed from http://emichwp.orgor http://www.emichwp.org. Please check it out. You will find lots of information about our programs and links to upcoming events. The main updates include a clean, modern interface, increased ease of site navigation using a horizontal navigation bar, and a new logo. Community site features:

This site will feature links of interest to EMWP TCs and will host our program archives including pictures and notes. The links are active, but the archives are still in the works. The community site can be reached from the main site via the EMWP Tab or by going to http://community.emich.wp.org. Read more!

EdCamp EMWP: Total Contact Literacy

By Karen Chichester

EMWP is hosting our first ever EdCamp on October 24, 2015 in Pray-Harrold (8am-4:30pm). The theme is Total Contact Literacy and yes, there will be prizes. Registration is free to all who want to attend. Breakfast will be provided.

What is an EdCamp?

EdCamps embody the NWP principle “Teachers, Teaching Teachers.” Edcamps are innovative, participant-driven professional learning opportunities. No two are the same. The learning that stems from the EdCamp format provides opportunities for every attendee to share ideas or questions. Everyone, whether a teacher, parent, or student is encouraged to participate by leading a conversation, asking a question, or sharing an idea. Time is built into the schedule for continuing discussions over lunch and between sessions.

What’s special about EdCamp EMWP?

Are you presenting at MCTE or NCTE and want to give your presentation and dry run? EdCamp EMWP is the place. Additionally, there will be one room set aside for Sacred Writing Time.

If you want more information and to register (so we know many bagels to order), please visit: http://edcampemwp.blogspot.com. Read more!

Please remember: Teachers do inspire their students

by Jim Schaefer

    In the hustle and bustle of everyday school life, it is easy to lose track of a very important truth: Teachers can and do inspire their students.
    In his latest book, David Maraniss (2015) noted how Martha Reeves, the famous Detroit singer, was started on the path to fame and glory by Emily Wagstaff, her music teacher at Russell Elementary School. Reeves said that “beautiful, little German lady” chose Reeves to be a soloist and instructed her on ways to fill out [her] greatness” (p. 101).
    Later, at Northwestern High, another music teacher, Abraham Silver, taught Reeves and the other students to earn freedom through discipline, so they could move freely into various of music, including jazz, pop, rhythm and blues. Reeves said that Silver also taught her not only how to sing but to read music correctly.
    Of course it was up to Reeves to pursue her career, which she did and was able to participate the “creativity, chaos, and freedom that made Motown possible” (p. 102).

References

Maraniss, D. (20150. Once in a great city: A Detroit      story. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Read more!

It’s That Time of the Year Again!

By Shari Hales

The air feels electric as I make preparations for another set of 200 seventh and eighth grade students to walk into my life--- and take over. As I plan, I’m struck by how my teaching focus has changed since taking part in the Summer Institute at Eastern. (For emphasis, I’m going to underline all of the best practices I have gleaned from my time with colleagues at EMWP.) My focus is still on building a learning community, but now my lessons engage students through writing and sharing their writing.

For the first few weeks, we build our writing territories through different activities, like heart maps, neighborhood maps, and lists of pet peeves. I write with my students now, always. It’s one of the ways that they can see it’s important. They can see my struggles and my triumphs. They can see the work and energy that goes into writing, and the great reward writers feel when we produce something worthwhile. As the year continues, we write every day in my classroom, for different purposes and different audiences. We may answer a prompt, write a poem, make a zine, write on a given topic, or have writer’s choice time.

And now I know I don’t have to grade all of their writing! Some of their writing is just for thought, just to get their ideas out onto a page. Other times, their drafts show the evolution of their work, but don’t need to be graded. I don’t have to check every paper for every error. In fact, it’s detrimental to them as writers if I do! This is freeing as a teacher. They can create more because of this realization.

Writing is a great way to make connections with my students and their families. With the support of EMWP’s Family Literacy Initiative, I now invite my students’ parents to come to the school and learn some ways to help their children with their writing. We share with one another about our cultures and life stories through our writing. We even have a Celebration of Student Writing at the end of the year.

So, as you can see, the experiences I’ve had working with and for EMWP have shaped me as a teacher (and a writer, but that’s different article). Another year begins, and as my contact with the exceptional teachers at the Writing Project continues, I know that my teaching will only improve and my students will be the ones who gain the most from my professional development of choice. Read more!

Prolific Published Writers

By Bill Tucker

When we started gathering publications and presentations for the new website, we were astonished by the low-profile productivity of our colleagues. A writing revolution was afoot right under our noses! Here is a sampling of known publications and presentations of recent years. If we missed yours, send us the citation. We want to brag about you here and on our website.

PUBLICATIONS

Dunbar, Mitra and Baker, W. Douglas (2014) "Teaching as Emotional Labor: Preparing to Interact with All Students," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 30: Iss. 1, Article 8. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2040

Fleischer, Cathy; Daniel, Ellen; Eddy, Lisa; Gedeon, Kris; DeYoung Kander, Jessica; Kangas, David; and Guinot Varty, Nicole (2014) "Teacher Researchers as Local Agents of Change: Exploding the Myth of the Bad Teacher," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 29: Iss. 2, Article 8. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2012

Kander, J. (2015). “Letting Students See Behind the Curtain: Becoming more transparent about my role as a teacher learner” In Heather Lattimer and Stacey Caillier [Eds] Surviving and Thriving with Teacher Action Research: Reflections and Advice from the Field. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing

Kander, J. (2012). Handbook of Research on Children’s and Young Adult Literature Review. Children’s Literature in Education, 43:2 (June).

Keider, Julia, "Why National Writing Projects Matter," Linked-In https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-national-writing-projects-matter-julia-keider?trk=hp- feed-article-title-publish

Knight, Angela K. (2008) "Finding the Center of Gravity: Unexpected Benefits of Non-graded Writing," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 24: Iss. 1, Article 4. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.1099

Kogel Gedeon, Kristin (2009) "All I Did Was Ask: Communicating With Students about Their Writing," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 25: Iss. 1, Article 10. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.1090

Lonsdale, Chelsea (2015) "Engaging the "Othered": Using Zines to Support Student Identities," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 30: Iss. 2, Article 4. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2066

McCombs, Pam (2013) "Making and Understanding Comics, Three Panels at a Time,"Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 29: Iss. 1, Article 6. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.1979

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Anderson, T., E. Daniels, L. Eddy, C. Fleischer, K. Gedeon, K. Hoffman, J. Kander, D. Kangas, P. McCombs, S. Primeau. “The Port in Our Storm: Why Teacher Research? Why Now?” National Council for Teachers of English, Washington D.C. (November 2014)

Briggs, S., C. Guillean, J. Kander, P. McCombs, S. Primeau. “Analyzing From the Inside Out: Strategies for Analytical Writing.” Reading and Writing in a Decade of Standards: Implementing the Common Core State Standards in K-14 Classrooms, Eastern Michigan Writing Project, Ypsilanti, MI (November 2012)

Daniels, E., L. Eddy, C. Fleischer, K. Gedeon, J. Kander, D. Kangas. “Raising Our Voices: A Teacher Research Group Goes Public.” National Council for Teachers of English, Las Vegas, NV (November 2012)

Briggs, S., C. Guillean, J. Kander, S. Primeau. “Bridging High School and University: Analytical Reading and Writing.” Reading and Writing in a Decade of Standards: Implementing the Common Core State Standards in K-14 Classrooms, Eastern Michigan Writing Project, Ypsilanti, MI (January 2012)

Kander, J. “Bringing High School English Out of the Closet: LGBT Literature in the High School English Curriculum.” National Council for Teachers of English, Chicago, IL (November 2011)

Kander, J. “Writing in the Cloud: Using Google Docs to Support Asynchronous Collaborative Writing and Thinking” Eastern Michigan Writing Project, Ypsilanti, MI (July 2011)

Knight, Angela. "NaNoWriMo: Novel Writing, At Work and Play." http://www.amazon.com/Killing- Blues-Optimism-Anthology-Narratives/dp/B001CMXT8U/ref=sr_1?s=books&ie=UTF8& qid=1438734150&sr=1-1&keywords=killing+the+blues+teacher+narratives

"Creative Inklings: Creative Writing in the Classroom and Beyond." NCTE presentation, Orlando, FL. 2010.

Shaum, Beth Students CAN Write (presented at MCTE 2014, NCTE 2014, MRA 2015, and nErDcampMI 2015) - Originality, Emulation, and Theft (Presented at MRA 2015) Read more!