Literacy Matters Winter 2022

UpstateWriting Project at Clemson University

by Tobi Pirolla

Each summer, UWP launches a new year-long Invitational Leadership Institute for exemplary teachers who come together to examine their classroom practice of teaching writing, study the latest research about writing instruction, develop their writing skills, and network with an expanding diverse writing community. All of this takes place in a virtual community that includes opportunities to examine roles as a writer, teacher, and leader through reading, writing, and critical conversations. As a result of these activities, teachers are better prepared for their classrooms and teaching other teachers. Our Invitational Leadership Institute meets virtually and draws a diverse group of teachers from around our state and beyond. In 2021, our ILI participants shared their year-long classroom projects during the NWP in the South Conference, a virtual conference hosted by UWP and the University of Mississippi WP with over 100 attendees from around the country. Information about the 2022 conference will be posted on the UWP webpage in the spring. Teaching Tip: Building Community As we work with teachers to improve writing in the classroom, we begin by sharing strategies designed to build a writing community in each classroom. Building a trusting community allows students to feel comfortable sharing writing. It is easiest to start with short, ungraded writing to create a non-threatening atmosphere where students are encouraged to write about what they know. A place to start is to create a writing territory list , as discussed by Nancie Atwell in In the Middle or heart maps from Georgia Heard in her book Heart Maps: Helping Students Create and Craft Authentic Writing. Another idea for a narrative quickwrite is a schedule of a day , where students choose a day of the week and list the activities they complete during a typical day. These activities reveal topics of interest or help students find familiar topics to write about. They share stories about themselves and develop confidence as they write about what they know. As shared by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle in 180 Days, “Our stories and students’ stories brought us together. Sharing them established a foundation of trust we would build upon as we moved from narrative writing and into the teaching of other discourses” (p. 169). A favorite lesson to get to know our student writers is the Rambling Autobiography from Linda Reif which can be found in her book 100 Quickwrites . We have heard from teachers that students often share personal information from this writing that creates understanding among the students. As one teacher recently shared, “A student wrote about how they have a condition that causes random movements in their Rambling Autobiography. Knowing this about the student from the beginning of the year gave a heads-up to the other students, and these movements became a non-issue in the classroom.” Making space for an author’s chair encourages sharing of writing. During the author’s chair, the use of the Golden Line--sharing one favorite or special

The Upstate Writing Project (UWP), an official National Writing Project site, was founded in 2001 by our site director, Dr. Rebecca Kaminski. UWP is supported by the financial and professional resources of Clemson University and local school districts. In keeping with the National Writing Project model, UWP has the following primary goals: • To improve students’ writing abilities by improving the teaching and learning of writing in the nation’s schools,

• Provide professional development programs for classroom teachers, • Expand the professional roles of teachers.

Literacy Matters Feature Article

Since 2013, the Upstate Writing Project has been involved in federal grants working with high-need, rural school districts in South Carolina. These grants include the College-Ready Writers Program (CRWP), Scale-Up Grants, and College, Career, and Community Writing Programs (C3WP). These grants provide teachers professional development that includes resources and tools for teaching evidence-based argument writing. A goal of this professional development is to give teachers the tools to lead their students to active participation in their communities through argument writing. UWP has the most significant impact on the greatest number of teachers through its professional development programs. The National Writing Project’s policy is to offer workshops in series, not as single sessions. UWP professional development programs, led by Professional Learning Coordinator Tobi Pirolla and a core of Teaching Consultants, are designed to meet the needs of teachers and schools. A distinguishing characteristic of our program is teachers teaching teachers. We currently offer professional development customized for schools and districts to include face-to-face sessions, virtual synchronous and asynchronous sessions, model classroom lessons, and coaching. Based on our professional development model, we are currently offering an asynchronous course, “Strategies for Teaching Argument Writing,” where teachers experience high-impact instructional practices, analyze student work for the next steps in writing, and earn 45 hours of professional development credit. Our next course opens in January. We also offer youth writing camps during the summer as one-week sessions that meet three hours each day. Youth Writing Workshops are offered as weekly one-hour sessions that meet for one hour over four weeks or are offered as a one-day session. All of our writing camps and workshops are virtual to allow young writers to join us from all over the state and country. This year, our camps are also being offered throughout the fall and spring for individuals and schools as after-school programs. Check our website for YWC information: https://www.clemson.edu/ education/programs/programs/upstate-writing-project.html

Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2022 | 25 |

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS