wmwp spring 2013 newsletter

Connections W e s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s W r i t i n g P r o j e c t V o l u m e 2 0 , n u m b e r 2 , F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3

English Department • College of Humanities and Fine Arts • University of Massachusetts Amherst

Newsletter of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project

Dawn Fontaine receives Pat Hunter Award

In-Service programs expand in 2012-2013

- Continued on page 10

At our fall Best Practices Conference at UMass Amherst, the Western Massachusetts Writing Project honored Dawn Fontaine with the Patricia Hunter Award for Outstand-ing Teacher Leadership. Dawn is a history teacher and Instructional Lead-ership Specialist at the High School of Com-merce in Springfield. The award, which is given annually, honors one of the founding directors of the Writing Project who died in 1999. A teacher and professional development leader in the Springfield schools, Pat was an outstanding teacher and teacher leader. The award recognizes “a member of the WMWP community who has contrib-uted substantially to the work of WMWP and who

best exemplifies the values that Pat embodied in her work with teachers and writers.” Dawn’s contributions to WMWP have been many since she participated in the 2002 Summer

Institute. She served as a Co-Facilitator of the Summer Institute for two years. She also serves on the Executive Board as a liaison to the Springfield Public Schools and last spring, with Anne Marie Bettencourt, co-taught a course offered to Spring-field teachers, “Deepen-ing Content Learning by Improving Content Literacy,” a course Dawn will offer again this com-ing Spring. She is now

chairing a key WMWP Task Force to examine the new MA Educator Evaluation System to advise us as

by Janie Baer-Leighton

by Anne Herrington


During the first half of the 2012-2013 academic school year, the WMWP professional develop-ment program has been actively involved with 10 school districts and professional organizations. The programs have included individual workshops and mentoring for teachers, as well as three-credit graduate courses, which have been facilitated by 15 WMWP teacher- consultants. A grant from NWP currently continues last year’s

literacy partnership with the Donahue School in Holyoke. Once again, WMWP offered a literacy-in-the-content-areas course in Springfield. Programs that focus on the Common Core, Understanding by Design (UbD), and Writing in the Content-Areas have been developed for Amherst, Belchertown, Ludlow, Northampton, and Westfield. This spring, the Department of Youth Services has contracted with WMWP to revise their Eng-

W e s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s W r i t i n g P r o j e c t V o l u m e 1 8 , n u m b e r 1 , S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 0 W e s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s W r i t i n g P r o j e c t V o l u m e 2 0 , n u m b e r 2 , F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3

-Fontaine receives Pat Hunter Award- Continued from page 1to ways WMWP might help teachers be active agents

when they are evaluated under this new system. Dawn’s most significant work for WMWP has been through her leadership of Project Outreach, 2006-2009. WMWP was one of the sites selected to participate in this NWP funded initiative to examine how our site might better serve teachers in schools where students are affected by poverty. Guided by the key concepts of Access, Relevance, and Diversity, the goal of Project Outreach at each site was to inquire into our service area and our site, rigorously self-examine our work, and develop a plan to better achieve Project Outreach goals. Dawn was an outstanding leader of this project, working with a strong team that included Karen Sumaryono, Momodou Sarr, Susan Biggs, Bon-nie Tipaldi, and Sherril Willis. An important product of Project Outreach is our WMWP Mission Statement, a statement that is a living document articulating our values and guiding our work. Other programmatic outcomes from Project Outreach include our Youth Writing summer program with the YMCA of Greater

Springfield, our two year program of helping teachers prepare for MTEL exams, and changes in the Summer Institute to include more focused attention to issues of language, race, class and culture, and how these are linked to teaching and learning. Dawn says she is proud to be the first Springfield public school teacher to receive this award: “I was so excited and really humbled. Pat Hunter had an incredible legacy in our district. I knew about her before the Writing Project as someone who really developed good professional development for teach-ers.” The same could be said of Dawn. Through her work and her values, she perpetuates the legacy of Pat Hunter. As Dawn explains, “The purpose of the Writing Project is to give teachers a professional home where they can reflect, inquire amongst teachers, and help teachers become leaders in their own schools by developing workshops in their schools.” She said, “All of our work is through reflection and inquiry. When you take that stance, you can’t help but to get better.”

Join teacher-author Lucile Burt and other teacher writers during this one week workshop that builds on the premise that teachers of writing benefit most from working on their own writing and identity as writers. It will be offered Monday-Friday, July 29-August 2, at UMass Amherst. As many of you know, Lucile has led the course a number of years and we are fortunate she is avail-able again this coming summer. Recently, she was honored by the Providence Athenaeum with the 2012 Philbrick Poetry Project Prize for her collec-tion, Neither Created Nor Destroyed. Lucile has also written a poem to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of WMWP, and it will be read at our May 16th cel-ebration, “WMWP at 20: Opening Doors and Re-Inventing Teaching Practices.” As Lucile explains the 2013 Teachers as Writers workshop, “we will explore ways to generate new material, to complete unfinished work, to develop writing habits, and to foster support for writing through ongoing groups. Although we will ex-

plore various model texts and different genres, par-ticipants are welcome to use the week to continue work they have already begun.” The group will write together in the morning, take private writing time midday, and share and respond in the afternoon. The workshop is open to new participants as well as alumni from previous Teachers as Writers work-shops. Here’s what past participants have said about the workshop and Lucile: “Excellent! Dedicated writ-ers, insightful response, thoughtful and generous leadership, lots of flexibility and inspiration.” “I really enjoy the challenge of writing in different genres. What’s best? Having the time to write and share for response.” “The daily writing exercises were a terrific catalyst! Lots of new ideas each day made the writing fresh and easier to begin.” To register, go to the WMWP website at http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/. The registration fee is $150, and 30 pdps are available for completing the workshop.

Teachers as Writers returns for Summer 2013by Anne Herrington

W e s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s W r i t i n g P r o j e c t V o l u m e 1 8 , n u m b e r 1 , S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 0

WMWP Spring/Summer PlannerWMWP Spring Inquiry Meeting on Student Voices in Digital Spaces: A Hackathon, Exploring Hacking and Remixing of Content on the Web March 11, 4:15 to 6:00. Place TBA. Open to all TCs. Join us for a fun exploration of participatory literacy practices outside of the typi-cal scope of things, but with definite relevance to education. The related, brief reading will be Rafi Santo, “Hacker Literacies: Synthesizing Critical and Participatory Media Literacy Frameworks.” He examines the use of participatory practices, using Twitter and any other social media platform, as used in civic uprisings and also as pedagogical approaches that can position students as “makers, tinkerers, and, most important, remixers of tech-nology.” Reading and location of meeting will be posted on the WMWP listserv by late February.

Symposium on the New MA Teacher Evaluation System Saturday, April 27, 9:00 to 2:00. Place TBA. For WMWP TCs. Come to learn more about it, hear how districts are preparing for it, and get advice on how you can use your teacher inquiry skills to prepare your materials in order to be an agent for yourself in this process. 5 pdps. Mark your calendar now and stay tuned for more details.

WMWP’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, “WMWP at 20: Opening Doors and Re-Inventing Teaching Practices.” Thursday, May 16, 4:30 to 6:30, Marriott Room, UMass Amherst Campus Center. Come help us celebrate our community and our accomplishments and launch our next 20 years. We’re honored to have Sharon Washington, Executive Director of the National Writing Project, joining us. We’ll have a digital collage, lots of WMWP artifacts and photos, a Lucile Burt poem in honor of the occasion, and food and drink. So, TCs, mark your calendars and prepare for a party!

Invitational Summer Institute on Writing July 8-26 (Monday through Friday); 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. daily.At this time of so much educational change, join a collab-orative inquiry community: reading current theory and research, engaging in classroom-based action research, and presenting a professional workshop. Participants become teacher-consultants in the WMWP network. An intensive program that includes time for personal writing and response, individual research, and shar-ing of best practices. Teachers in all subjects, grades K-12, are eligible to apply. Teams of teachers from the same school or district are encouraged to apply. Space is limited, so apply early. 112 pdps. 6 credit option at $645. $400 stipend. Apply at http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/resources/summerinstitute.html.

Teachers as WritersMonday-Friday, July 29-August 2, UMass Amherst.Join teacher-author Lucile Burt and other teacher writers during this one week workshop that builds on the premise that teachers of writing benefit most from working on their own writing and identity as writers. We will explore ways to generate new material, to com-plete unfinished work, to develop writing habits, and to foster support for writing through ongoing groups. Although we will explore various model texts and differ-ent genres, participants are welcome to use the week to continue work they have already begun. Open to new participants as well as alumni from previous Teachers as Writers workshops. Registration fee: $150. 30 pdps. One graduate credit available through Continuing and Professional Education for $100 per credit plus $45 CPE registration fee. Limit 20. Register online.

WMWP Leadership Team MeetingsMondays, March 11, April 8, and June 13, 4:15 to 6:00. Place TBA on the WMWP website and list-serv. WMWP Leadership Team meetings-- open to all WMWP Teacher-Consultants--are held for the purpose of review-ing ongoing programs, planning future programs, and discussing issues of importance to teachers.

W e s t e r n M a s s a c h u s e t t s W r i t i n g P r o j e c t V o l u m e 2 0 , n u m b e r 2 , F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3


at a WMWP Best Practice Conference. I’ve long believed that it’s important for me to ex-perience what I ask my stu-dents to do. This was one of the things that led me to the Western Massachu-setts Writing Project and the Summer Institute. After completing the SI, I viewed the Writing Project as a re-source to improve my class-room practice, but never considered the networking opportunities it could pres-ent. It was simply by fate or good fortune that I sat with

Beth Ann Rothermel at a keynote address following a Saturday Conference. I realized while speaking with Beth Ann that here was an opportunity to col-laborate. Fortunately for me, she was very receptive, and the College Buddy experience was born. As we discussed what our project would look like, we realized that we shared similar viewpoints about the way in which writing was taught and practiced. This project grew from our shared belief that writ-ing should be authentic, and that good writing comes from practicing the craft. The techniques the college students taught were familiar to my students, but it was their small group interactions that reinforced the concepts and helped my students to take ownership. Having an authentic audience in their college buddies allowed my students to step into the role of real writers, and it allowed them to better understand the purpose of revision. They began to look for more specific feedback, not only from their college mentor, but from their classmates as well. They were no longer simply writing for me. They were writing because

Beth Ann O’Connor is an eighth grade Language Arts teacher at North Middle School in Westfield, MA. The excitement has been building in anticipa-tion of today’s visit. This is the day our college bud-dies come in. Nametags are out, desks have been arranged for response groups, and extra chairs have been pulled in to make certain that everyone will have a place to sit. Beth Ann Rothermel and her college students have already arrived. They stand together expec-tantly, going over last minute details. Soon my class will enter and the workshop will begin. The bell rings and my students flood in, curious and expect-ant, and we begin the introductions. Ten minutes later, with icebreakers over, the buddy workshop is in full swing. Students in groups of five and six, both college and middle school, are talking about writing and brainstorming ideas for drafts. While the col-lege students have taken the lead, serving as mentors to guide their middle school groups, a community of writers is growing out of this moment, a moment whose groundwork was fashioned two years earlier

by Beth Ann O’Connor


College writing buddy exchange:Middle school teacher’s perspective


Beth Ann Rothermel is a Professor in the English Department at Westfield State University. Educational philosopher Maxine Greene de-scribes authentic classrooms as “communities in the making,” places where we experience “a connected-ness among persons, each with a sense of agency.” Although Greene is writing about classrooms, her comments capture what I have experienced as a member of the Western Massachusetts Writing Proj-ect. My interactions with members of WMWP have empowered me as a writer and a writing teacher. I have also formed connections with other teachers, such as Beth Ann O’Connor, that are dramatically changing the look of my own classroom at Westfield State University, where I teach a writing pedagogy course for pre-service English teachers. As Beth notes, this exchange grew out of a lunch-time con-versation at Best Practices. It has since blossomed, providing both my students and me with a chance to explore more fully the power of collaboration in a writing classroom. My students and I read the work of Michael Smith, who emphasizes the importance of giving students “practice in minia-ture.” That is a concept my students have often made use of in lessons they develop for their writing buddies. Yet it is a concept that also applies to their own roles in the ex-change. By working with a small group of writing bud-dies, they have a chance to develop one-on-one coach-ing skills, while also gaining practice in teaching a group. For instance, my students write alongside their bud-dies and then lead and par-ticipate in a Writing Project style response session, an

activity Beth builds into her curriculum through-out the year. My students have also sparked per-sonal writing with varied prompts about hobbies, friends, and favorite places; they have created les-sons using art and music to generate sensory detail; and they have developed activities that help their buddies craft more powerful beginnings, add dia-logue to their work, create more vivid characters, and include what Barry Lane calls “snapshots” and "thoughtshots." Beth and I have worked to scaffold the experienc-es my students have, giving them space to innovate while not having to invent an entire writing unit. Students develop their lessons in the context of our class, receiving feedback from Beth, their peers, and me. We have lively conversations after each of our visits as my students share with one another their successes, their challenges, and their questions. My students are also eager to hear feedback from their own buddies—to know whether their lessons and coaching were of use. Most instructive, though, are my students’ writ-ten reflections—words that show their growing

by Beth Ann Rothermel


College writing buddy exchange:College professor’s perspective


1993: FirstSummer Institute

The WMWP Journey

NEH

Institutes

1998, 1999: Mary Ginley,

Bruce Penniman, MA Teachers of the Year

1997-2001: State Funding Provides

Mini-Grants, Student Publications

2001: FirstPat Hunter Award

1997, 2000:Writing for All

Founding Site Director

Charlie MoranTechnology and

Teachers as WritersPrograms

1999:Teacher Research

Writing in the

Content Areas

Five College Partnership Writing Group


Teacher Talk, MTEL Courses

The WMWP Journey

2013: 20 years and

counting!

2004-2005:

Reading Initiative

2006-2007: M

aking Connections

2008: Mission Statement

2008: NWP

Monograph

2006: ELL

Adv. Instit

ute

2009: Teaching the New Writing

2011: Wilma Ortiz, MA Teacher of the Year

2011-2012: End of Federal Earmark,

Start of SEED Grants

2004-2006: Get Published!

2006-2009: Project Outreach

2010-2011: Af. Am. English Series

2012: Community Foundation Grant


they wanted their ideas to be read. Over the past two years the collaboration with WSU has evolved. When we first began our part-nership, Beth Ann and I modeled it on her previous work with 9th graders. The first year our students met face-to-face only once for a poetry writing workshop run by Beth Ann’s college students. After that initial meeting, my students spent time writ-ing, and then their drafts were sent to Beth Ann’s students who sent back written responses. This year, after discussing Beth Ann’s students’ desire to see the results of their feedback, and my students’ desire for an additional visit, we revised our plan to include a face-to-face revision workshop, followed by online response groups. This change gave both of our classes a chance to engage in the writing pro-cess more fully, and it provided my students an op-portunity to receive personalized feedback: “I feel like they could relate and understand what I was working for, and they asked questions that helped me get [like] good feedback” (Lisa). While there have been many positive outcomes of this partnership, one of the greatest advantages we have had is that the collaboration and subsequent visits take place in early March. Working together later in the year has lent to the success of our col-laboration. My 8th graders have two marking terms

to practice working in response groups and taking risks as writers before the college visits happen. By the time we meet, my 8th graders feel confident ex-pressing their ideas and are open to the suggestions and comments Beth Ann’s students provide. Two years ago when I asked Beth Ann Rother-mel to collaborate, my goal was just to give my stu-dents an opportunity to work with other writers, but it has turned out to be so much more. One student commented of her college buddy, “He ac-tually acted like he cared instead of being like, oh no, you can’t do that stuff ” (Lindsey). For Lindsey, and for all of my students, it has been a powerful experience to work with prospective teachers who believe that what they have to say matters. Provid-ing my students with other perspectives and seeing the way they respond to this feedback has inspired me as well. One of the things that was necessary to make this project work was for me to move into the role of coach and learner. It has been an in-valuable learning opportunity for me to give over the reigns for one day to inspired pre-service teach-ers. Opening my classroom like this has not only given me the chance to participate in the writing process along with my students, but has refreshed my teaching too.

WMWP members recommend books for teachersNo More ‘I’m Done!”: Fostering Independent

Writers in the Primary GradesBy Jennifer Jacobson

Stenhouse Publishers, 2010Grade Recommendation: K-2

Jennifer Jacobson’s book contains tips for teachers as they set up the physical space of their classroom so that the layout of their classroom supports inde-pendent writers. Jacobson also gives pointers for mini-lessons that allow students to work success-fully in a writing workshop. The second half of the book contains an entire year of mini-lessons that teachers can use month-by-month for the writing workshop.

-- Recommendation by Karen Diaz

-college writing exchange: middle school- Continued from page 4

Bridging EnglishBy Joseph and Lucy Milner

Prentice Hall, 2003Grade Recommendation: 6-12

It is not a text strictly about writing instruction, but its poetry lessons and activities are especially helpful. The eleventh and twelfth chapters, “In-spiring Writing” and “Enabling Writing” have re-alistic approaches to writing instruction, breaking the process of writing instruction into manageable steps. There is a segment included to shed light on the writing workshop and the key elements neces-sary for a successful implementation of a writing workshop.

-- Recommendation by Ania Saj


confidence in the potential of using writing work-shop approaches when teaching writing. A number expressed surprise that their buddies liked to write as much as they did. Students also expressed their surprise and pleasure that their buddies found the writing prompts they had given them truly genera-tive. Anne commented, “I was thrilled to see that I could promote ideas in someone’s head which lasted over the course of a few weeks and then lat-er turned into something bigger. It’s quite inspir-ing.” After our second visit to the middle school, students described some of their other difficulties and successes. Sarah mentioned that she wanted to develop her “skill of giving feedback . . . I got ner-vous and intimidated about what they would think about what I have to say that I ended up staying safe with my advice.” But she also noted that she “saw [her buddies] become more comfortable with sharing their writing and the benefits that that can bring.” Marie described a “small victory” she felt she had had: “One student told me from the begin-ning that he had his essay almost all done except for the conclusion and that he already had a beginning. By the end of the lesson he said he was likely going to change his beginning to one of the methods we had gone over in our group. I love little moments like that . . . he has no idea that his little comment is the reassurance I need to keep going in my degree [program].” Elizabeth celebrated specific aspects of her bud-dies’ writing, noting, “In most of the students, I saw a strong sense of voice—one student went so

far as to include humor . . . and another presented her situation in her narrative in a very appropri-ately dramatic way.” She also proposed revisions to the lesson she taught her group about narrative writing, noting that if she had had more time, she would have had them “go through the list that we created together to determine what characteristics make a narrative a strong piece . . . and have them decide whether or not their own narrative includes all those elements.” Finally, Mike revealed the ex-tent to which he felt himself a member of a reading and writing community as well as a teacher when he wrote, “As a writer, I was impressed by the range of skills that they had displayed for me. As a teach-er, what I was most impressed by was their willing-ness to let me help them improve their writing.” These reflections are inspiring as we look ahead to this next year’s exchange. They also remind me that these same students are now about to begin student teaching. I hope that they will be men-tored by Writing Project teachers—teachers like Beth Ann O'Connor who foster student-centered writing communities. If they don’t encounter such teachers, I hope that the experiences they had working with their writing buddies will live in their memories as they explore ways to become power-ful writing coaches in different contexts, and I hope that when they become full-time teachers, they will themselves discover a Writing Project site, sharing their own wisdom with others. *All names have been changed

From the Desk of . . .Writing Buddy Plan of Action, Spring 2012

Week 1: WSU and North Middle students write letters to their buddies, introducing themselves and highlighting some of their strengths and difficulties as writers.Week 4: WSU students visit North Middle and lead invention workshops linked with a class writing project on narrative writing.Week 8: WSU students visit North Middle and lead revision workshops on first drafts.Week 9: North Middle students post their in-process drafts on Edmodo, and WSU students give their buddies feedback.Week 11: North Middle students post their final drafts and also give their WSU buddies some feed-back on their work.

-college writing exchange: college- Continued from page 5


-in-service

Support WMWP Teachers As We Celebrate Our Twentieth Anniversary

Many thanks to those of you who have generously contributed to WMWP in the past.

As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we invite all to join those contributors to help WMWP to continue providing quality professional development that puts teachers’ knowledge, talents, and expertise at the forefront and fosters teacher leaders.

Your gift will help us launch our next twenty years, particularly to sustain our Intensive Summer Institute. In this intensive program, 16 pre-K through college teachers from all content areas spend three weeks—with school year follow up—deeply engaged in writing, reading current research and theory, and engaging in inquiry and classroom-based action research, ultimate-ly returning to their schools to apply their new learning in their classrooms, share that learning with other teachers, and take on leadership roles. Since 1993, over 200 Institute Fellows have received this leadership training, enabling WMWP to of-fer professional development programs to over 1,000 teachers per year. It is this investment in teachers and respect for their expertise as teacher-leaders that makes WMWP unique and helps sustain good teachers. If you would like to make a contribution, you can

do so online at: http://www.umass.edu/wmwp/contribute.html or by mail at UMass Amherst Annual Fund, Development Office, Memorial Hall, 134 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003-9270 Make the check payable to the UMass Amherst Annual Fund, and be sure to earmark your con-tribution to the Western Massachusetts Writing Project, CHFA.

“I think the Writing Project is one of the best professional development providers in the area.” Diana Roy, Director of Curriculum, Ludlow Public Schools

“WMWP is a life raft for young teachers.” Anne Marie Bettencourt, Grade 9 English and Drama Teacher, Central High School, Springfield Public Schools

lish Language Arts Curriculum and Instructional Guides to reflect the new Common Core Literacy Framework, and planning is also underway to de-velop a series of workshops for the Ware Public Schools and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School as part of a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Literacy Partner-ship Grant. This year, DESE will expand its summer offering of WMWP’s Teaching Informative and

Persuasive Writing course to both the Pioneer Val-ley and Central Region. A two-day summer work-shop series, in collaboration with the Shrewsbury Public School District, will highlight writing in the content-areas and connections to the Common Core State Standards. Additionally, WMWP will continue working with the Boston Writing Project on summer courses that will be offered for teachers in the North Middlesex Regional School District.

- Continued from page 1


WMWP offers Literacy Design workshop to Ludlow Public Schoolsby Diana Roy When I first took over as Director of Curricu-lum for the Ludlow Public Schools in the summer of 2011, I began surveying the staff and examin-ing test data to determine district needs. Like all districts in Massachusetts, the staff in Ludlow had many pressing areas for professional development. Teachers were being exposed to the Common Core, but we were just at the beginning stages. To make the kind of wholesale change required by the new frameworks, we needed to be immersed in it. In addition, curriculum mapping was happening in all disciplines, but the teachers in Ludlow had not received any district-wide training in the Under-standing by Design model being used for DESE’s model curriculum units. And although literacy was the instructional focus for the district, the empha-sis had been on reading. Test data, teacher surveys, and my own experience told me what we needed in Ludlow—more training in the teaching of writing. Could we combine these professional develop-ment needs? Instead of the kind of piecemeal pro-fessional development that happens as we attack every new initiative, I wanted to merge the areas of common core, writing, and UbD. As an alumnus of the WMWP Summer Institute in 2002, I knew just where to turn—the Western Mass Writing Project. Could they really help me with all of this in one course? Oh, did I mention that I wanted to address the needs of all teachers, Kindergarten through grade 12? Bruce Penniman and Janie Baer-Leighton quick-ly got to work and designed a course for Ludlow entitled Principles and Practices of Effective Lit-eracy Design. Using the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy along with Wiggins and McTighe’s The Under-standing by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Content-Area Writing by Daniels, et.al., twenty-three teachers met weekly from 3:30-6:30 in the computer lab at Paul R. Baird Middle School. Facilitated by Anne Marie Bettencourt, Karen

Diaz, Heather Hay, and Jane Baer-Leighton, the course used the WMWP format that molds teach-ers who are also writers. We always began with Writing into the Day and ended with Looking For-ward. In the middle was time for research, writing, feedback, and reflection. The facilitators also brought in guest presenters who were experts in other areas of curriculum design—Bruce Penniman in Understanding by Design, Momoudou Sarr in Universal Design for Learning, Stephanie Joyce in Narrative Structure, Maria Cahillane in ELL strategies, and Tom Fan-ning in Technology. Teachers worked collaboratively to create units that followed the UbD template used in the Massa-chusetts DESE Model Curriculum Units. Whether the unit was for a grade one reading class or grade 12 British Literature class, the lessons reflected the shifts in common core literacy and provided for di-verse learners. The last class featured presentations of the units and, of course, a celebration. In their course reflections, the participants said their favorite take-aways were the low stakes writ-ing strategies, the UbD template, and the focus on authentic assessment. According to one teacher, “The program has helped me to alter the way I think about teaching, moving to facilitator and let-ting go of control.” Another commented, “It has definitely had a pos-itive impact on my teaching and lesson/unit design principles.” Research, writing, reflection, and collaboration. That’s the writing project model, and it definitely worked in Ludlow.

Check out the WMWP website for up-to-date information and upcoming programs. http://www.umass.edu/wmwp

Western Massachusetts Writing Project258 Bartlett HallUniversity of Massachusetts130 Hicks WayAmherst, MA 01003-9269

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PAIDAmherst MAPermit No. 2

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, WMWP looks back on the past 20 years and forward to the next!

2012 Best Practices of Teaching WritingThe 2012 Best Practices of Teach-ing Writing conference, “Teaching to Change, Changing to Teach,” provided teachers across Western Massachusetts with an opportu-nity to learn from fellow teach-ers about new ways to approach writing instruction in their class-rooms. Workshops offered ranged from digital storytelling and using digital tools in the classroom to the Common Core. Those who at-tended the conference were treated to keynote speaker Kevin Hodg-son’s presentation on digital litera-cies, where he explored ways to make connections between digital literacies and learning.

wmwp spring 2013 newsletter

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