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MWP Summer Institute

MWP Newsletter Volume 2, Spring 2011

Table of Contents

Summer Institutes p1 Event Highlights p 2-5 Voices from TCs p6-8 Research Corner p9 Publication Opportunity p9 MWP welcomes p10 The new babies

MWP Summer Institute

In The Editors:

Lynn Chih-Ning Chang

Dr. Amy Lannin

Dear Missouri Writing Project Friends:

We hope you are having an excellent school year. This newsletter

is to let you know the successes and the exciting upcoming events.

Below is the list of the summer institutes for teachers. We also are

planning summer youth programs. All information can be

accessed at the website: http://mwp.missouri.edu. Contact Amy

at lannina@missouri.edu if questions. Thank you!

Invitational Institute – June 29, 30, July 6-28, Mondays – Thursdays Facilitators: Dr. Amy Lannin, Juanita Willingham Special Topic Institute “Writing as Social Study” – July 18-28 This institute is for K-12 teachers new or returning to MWP Facilitators: Nick Kremer, Dr. Lenny Sanchanz Special Topic Institute “Lassie in the Classroom: Using Human-Animal Interactions to Teach Literacy” - July 18-29 This institute is for K-12 teachers new or returning to MWP. Facilitator: Dr. Roy Fox Tech Coach: Lynn Chih-Ning Chang

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Highlights of Event November 2010-March 2011

MWP went to Orlando, FL for the 33rd NWP,

Annual Meeting and NCTE Convention. MWP

members gathered together with all other sites’

teachers and leaders across the nation. We were

engaged in writing, thinking, and conversation.

That was an amazing congregation of interactive

workshops, information sessions, and lively

discussion.

TCs Professional Presentations in Orlando, FL

Many MWP TCs presented at the NWP Annual convention and NCTE convention Juanita Willingham Dr. Amy Lannin Julie Sheerman Nick Kremer Dr. Carol Gilles Dr. Sharon Cuff

Lynn Chih-Ning Chang Nilufer Guler Tuan Troung Youssif Omar Emily Powell Dr. Keri Franklin

MWP in Orlando, FL November 18-21, 2010

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MWP at Write to Learn

Conference March 3-5, 2011

TCs Professional Presentations at Write to Learn

Missouri Writing Region students have received prestigious national awards for their outstanding writing

through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Congratulations to the winners!

View pictures from the 2011 Awards Ceremony at Write to Learn Conference, March 4, 2011

• Silver Key: Mingu Kim - West Junior High School , Teacher: Randy Swift • Silver Key: Anna McMurry - Hickman High School, Teacher: Dean Stover • Honorable Mention- Jacob Andreasen - Oakland Junior High School, Teacher: Nicholas Kremer • Honorable Mention- Riley Wilson- West Junior High School, Teacher: Randy Swift

Many MWP TCs presented at Write to Learn, Lake of the Ozarks, MO Featured Speaker: Barri L. Bumgarner Presenters: Amy Lannin Jayme Pingrey

Nick Kremer Sandy Sanders Heather Erickson Juanita Willingham

Nick Kremer and his student, Jacob Andreasen Award Ceremony in Tan-Tar-a

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Melissa Mudd Heather Statz

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Elementary Writing Conference Feb 18, 2011

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MWP started holding elementary writing conferences on days when Columbia Public School children were not in session. On February 18, we held our second conference. Almost 40 students, grades 2-6, attended this day-long event, attending workshops to generate writing, go on mini-field trips around campus, eat lunch together, and share writing at the end of the day for families and fellow writing friends. This event was featured on the NWP website and covered in the Columbia Daily Tribune http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/feb/19/kids-stretch-imaginations/

Watch the slideshow : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weELFOg7e30

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Once again, MWP hosted an outstanding Middle School Writing Conference. Youth Programs Director, Danielle Johnson, coordinated the full day of events that included almost 520 students and a host of pre-service teachers and MWP Teacher-Consultants. Students wrote a variety of genre on a variety of topics under the theme: The Art of Literacy.

This event also took a record number of pizzas to feed students lunch!

Wow!

Watch the slide show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Oa-xbd9m8

Middle School Writing Conference March 11, 2011

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Teachers Regroup to Share Research

By Juanita Willingham

Several teachers met on Friday, March 11, after the Middle School Writing Conference, for the spring regroup meeting of the invitational summer institute. We ate a potluck, wrote to a warm-up, and shared research projects. Barri Bumgarner started us off with the writing prompt of "What's on your Bucket List?" She played a bit of Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying" (lyrics here) and gave us three minutes to write a list of things we wanted to accomplish before dying. At the end of the three minutes, she asked us to adjust our list as if we had only one week to live. It was interesting how focused we became when asked to choose the most important activities in that last week. My list shrunk from traveling to the upper west coast, hiking the Appalachian Trail (I hear your disbelief on this one!), and finishing my degree, to spending time - in the woods? lying on a beach? - talking with my daughters, watching my grandson find deer and raccoon tracks or pull in a 10 lb. catfish or body surf on rolling waves ... and just holding Gary's hand. Try writing to this prompt. What are the most important things in your life? Several teachers shared the progress they made on their research projects. During the summer institute, Barri and I worked the research project differently than from summers past. Instead of asking participants to complete a research project on top of the writing and reading and digital compositions required during the four-week institute, we asked the participants to hand in a research proposal before the institute's end and to be prepared to share the results of that research at either the fall or spring regroup meeting. At our first regroup meeting in the fall, Youssif Omar had shared his research on the academic writing struggles of international students when taking the GRE/IBT, wondering if the deficiencies in scores were due to the student, the teachers of that student, the technical skills needed for the online test, and/or the time pressure of online testing. Also at the fall meeting, Vicki Miller shared the responses she received from students in classrooms she substitute-taught. She used the same read-aloud in the different primary classrooms, Rylant's Night in the Country, asked students to close their eyes and listen, and then led a discussion on the visuals students "saw" in their minds. One first grader said the activity was "like dreaming." At the spring regroup meeting, Jen Crosswhite shared a Powerpoint of the research she had gathered on the topic of suicide. She had originally thought she would work with student writing for signs of suicidal thoughts, but when she was unable to find any references to depression and/or suicide (thank goodness!), she asked teachers what they might need. From those discussions she created a Powerpoint where she listed signs to look for and the programs available for suicide prevention. She intends to share the Powerpoint during a staff meeting at her school. Tami Ensor shared a project she collaborated with a fourth grade teacher on where they looked at talk during communication arts time. She said the research shifted from students as research subjects to teacher-watching. When listening to the recorded conversations, she found

Voices from TCs

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herself saying, "Dang, Tami, shut up!" realizing that sometimes we teachers talk too much. She has shared this research with grade level teachers and other assistant principals in the district, and is in the process of writing an article regarding it.

Heather Erickson reported on frustrations with technology problems with the mobile computer lab recently acquired by her school (gotta love technology, hmm?), and then shared the technology activities her students are involved in now that the tech kinks are worked out. Her junior high students are creating book trailers using a movie-making application. Her students also created another movie combining a portion of a famous speech (a primary source) with a commentary about the speech (a secondary source) along with photographs and music. A short discussion followed Heather's report on just how do we "grade" a digital composition. Nikki Gibson and Heather had both recently attended a workshop session on this subject at the Write to Learn Conference led by Gary Ryan (Gary is from Gateway Writing Project at University of Missouri-St. Louis). They offered Gary's website for thinking about assessment of digital comps. Kim Linhardt hoped to try different conferencing strategies with her fifth graders, but found writing time diminished this year due to a new literature textbook program implemented by her district. She felt she had less connection this year with students due to the less writing time. Nikki explored talk through writer's workshop conferencing. She is in the process of writing an article to describe the literacy centers she put in place in her classroom (research, writing, Smartboard, reading, conferencing) and the writing club she started for her students where she encourages students to compete in writing contests and publishing opportunities with Scholastic and Teen Ink. (Note: Both Nikki and Tami are taking Dr. Carol Gilles' "Talk in the Curriculum" this semester.) Elise Bellefontaine reported on her experience leading a session at the Middle School Writing Conference. She borrowed Maggie McDermott's idea for persuasive writing, "Roadkill & Vampires." Students debated whether roadkill should be used for feeding the poor and whether vampires should have the right to vote. The student work was a hit at the sharing celebration at the conference's end. We missed several of our institute participants who have been unable to join us for the regroup meetings, and continue to wish them well on their personal and professional writing endeavors. At the meeting we also distributed the printed anthologies from last summer, asked the teachers to nominate other teachers for the upcoming summer institutes, shared personal news - Jen, Kim and Tolga are all engaged to be married! - and departed with hugs. Just your typical writing project get-together: eating, writing, sharing, hugs!

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Juanita Willingham is the co-director of the Missouri Writing Project. Juanita and Barri Bumgarner facilitated the 2010 summer invitational institute.

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Intersections Institute

by Heather Erickson The embedded Intersections Institute for rural educators, hosted by North Callaway and sponsored by MWP and an NWP mini-grant, is winding to an end. We’ve met two Saturday mornings each month since last August, working with small groups and writing across the curriculum. We’ve read fluently as second graders, written from the perspective of Neolithic man; conducted crime scene investigation using physics; written obituaries for King Henry’s wives; wrote about our monsters, our literacy timelines, our homes, and more. As this institute was the first of its kind, Madalyn Maddox and I entered the experience with high hopes and more than a little trepidation. Would many people be willing to give up a Saturday morning twice a week? Would we be able to keep everyone coming over the course of a long year? As budget cuts and MAP testing loom large, would we finish strong? In reading portfolios of our participants over the past few days, it’s clear that we had little to fear. According to one participant, a 33-year veteran of teaching but first-timer with MWP, “I have renewed my love of journaling. I had forgotten what a wonderful release it was to let the thoughts flow across the page…It is wonderful to have a group to get together with, talk with, laugh with.” Another long-term teacher who had her first MWP experience with MWP said, “I think it has been a major influence in healing me. Camaraderie and writing, what more can you ask for?” Another 30+ year classroom veteran (one who helped inspire this institute) wrote, “My goals were to enjoy and learn more about the process of writing. That has certainly happened…I have gained new ideas which helped inspire me in my personal writing plus my classroom teaching. I have been much more enthusiastic as a teacher teaching writing. I love sharing my stories and encouraging my students to talk on paper.”

One Intersections participant was no stranger to MWP. You may know Claire Wickell from her former SI and AI experiences. She wrote, “The goal I had for this experience was to continue to sit on the other side of the desk. I find I think more carefully about what I ask my students to do because I reflect on what I would think if asked to do the same thing…I signed up for this session to continue to grow as a writer. I feel I have grown and progress towards this goal. This has kept me writing and improved some things I have written in the past. I feel I write more freely and share more willingly because of these Saturday meetings. It has

been worth the time and effort for this opportunity.” Even though we joke about being teachers from our little cornfield-surrounded schools, the teachers of the Intersections Institute have branched out beyond our district. Another MWP alum joined us from Van-Far, helping bring a fresh approach to writing and the teaching of writing. Juanita Willingham, a frequent visitor, talked with TCs from around the nation during an RSN (Rural Sites Network) poster session last November. Jeanie Frey’s Fluency Walk demonstration lesson was shared as a part of the MPW/MATE reception at Write to Learn in March. Dr. Lannin and Barri Bumgarner also joined the Institute to write with us and present guest demonstrations. Due to the exposure to MWP that occurred during the Institute, many participants will be making the trip to Columbia for the variety of Institutes being offered this summer. In short, the experience has exceeded all of our expectations, making us very grateful to have received an NWP mini-grant in support of rural educators. Watch the video Heather Ericson made: http://animoto.com/play/Z0oOD0P5XQufP2V1V3hFFg

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Heather Erickson is the co-director of the Missouri Writing Project. Heather and Madalyn Maddox facilitated the embedded institute from August 2010-April 2011.

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Poetry as Research: What Happens When Graduate Students Participate in a Poetry Class By Lynn Chih-Ning Chang

“Two or three things I know for sure,” by Dorothy Allison, is one of my favorite books. One paragraph from her book struck me: “ Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that to go on living, I have to tell stories, that stories are one sure way I know to touch the heart and change the world”(p. 72). I relate to this quote, so perhaps this is why I enjoy doing research. I hope to tell stories through my research and raise people’s awareness in the world to make education sound. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and analyze how the graduate course “Writing, Reading and Teaching Poetry” influenced students’ writing, thinking, response to poetry, digital poetry, teaching beliefs and language learning. The class was offered in fall, 2010 and I worked with Dr. Roy Fox in teaching it. The participants were eight graduate students enrolled in the class. My story was based on my observations in class, interviews, and students’ artifacts.

I am currently writing the section of research results. Some tentative findings are (1) attitudes of poetry/digital poetry go from negative to positive, (2) poetry can be therapeutic, (3) poetry enhances language learning, and (4) digital poetry enhances language learning. The story telling is getting more fascinating. I am composing a poem for each focused participant; I am composing poems to describe the case; I am writing poems to analyze students’ poetry journey. Poetry as research: Who says writing a dissertation is boring?

Research Corner

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PUBLICATION  OPPORTUNITY    ecv : engaging cultures and voices the journal of learning English through media is an international, interdisciplinary, blind, peer-reviewed online journal. The editor, also the director of the MWP, Dr. Roy Fox, is pleased to announce the publication of the first issue. Please follow the link below to enjoy an intriguing selection of articles and book reviews, which focus on that place where media, technology, language, and culture meet. http://ecv.missouri.edu All Writing Project friends are invited to submit proposals.

VOLUME 2

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Kerry Townsend had a baby boy in Feb 2011 Justine Rogers had a baby boy in Feb 2011

MWP Welcomes New Babies Congratulations!

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