NWP Writing Strand at NCTE

The NWP Annual Meeting is held in conjunction with the NCTE Annual Convention, which features a writing strand—Writing and Reading in the Content Areas—offered by NWP.

The strand will be held on Saturday at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club in Cape Cod Hall, Room D. We encourage you to register for the NCTE Convention and attend the NWP Writing Strand.

Coaching Disciplinary Reading for Improved Disciplinary Learning: Expository Reading Interventions

Saturday 8:00am - 9:15am
Collaboratively, university researchers and teachers in a large Michigan school district are providing in-class reading interventions for struggling readers in multiple content areas. Designed to move students to grade-level quickly, this intervention is proving successful with students struggling to read expository texts in general education, special education, and ELL classes. Come to this session to view a video of the actual reading interventions and to explore student work samples drawn from several content area classrooms.
Presenter(s):
Laura Schiller, Oakland Writing Project

Chair: Nancy B. Loughlin
Recorder: Eugenia "Gina" Lewis-Sheard

Using Visual Historical Evidence to Learn History and Academic Language

Saturday 9:30am - 10:45am
How can we turn students’ exploratory and informal language into the academic language of history? During this session, we will explore and analyze visual historical evidence; use low-stakes, informal writing strategies that scaffold students’ learning and maximize student engagement; and use academic protocols that build students’ academic literacy. We’ll look at students’ work samples throughout this process to elicit participants’ questions and shared expertise.
Presenter(s):
Debra Schneider, Great Valley Writing Project

Chair: Kym Sheehan
Recorder: Margaret Jan Graham

Inward and Outward, Alone and Together: Writing About the Holocaust and What Follows

Saturday 1:15pm - 2:30pm
This session will share and explore experiences, strategies, and evidence of student learning presented by a teacher who connected his high school students with students in middle school and college to write, talk, and think together about the Holocaust, cultural understanding, and social justice. Participants will leave the session with prompts and models for writing, thinking, and discussion in the classroom that get at these critical issues that can be so difficult to teach.
Presenter(s):
Corey Harbaugh, Third Coast Writing Project

Chair: Betty Herzhauser
Recorder: Kathryn Martin Spradlin

Composing at the Crossroads: Where Text and Video Converge

Saturday 2:45pm - 4:00pm
High school English teacher Joel Malley, a technology liaison from the Western New York Writing Project, will discuss two narrative video composition units from a digital writing workshop elective with his senior classes. The student pieces resulted from an inquiry into the impact that reimagining and redesign through digital composition has on meaning and voice. Session participants will have an opportunity to discuss resources used to develop the units and examine student work examples.
Presenter(s):
Joel Malley, Western New York Writing Project

Chair: Holly Atkins
Recorder: Janeen Fredrika Larson

Three Genres Teachers Should Know More About: Graphic Novels, Machinima, Fanfiction

Saturday 4:15pm - 5:30pm
What motivates learners to grapple with texts and communicate their ideas to a larger audience? Broadening our definition of text and audience, modeling effective communicative techniques for use in the real world, and experimenting with alternative realities are ways to connect with students through shared and active learning experiences (teacher and student) that foster enthusiasm and engagement. Two teachers will discuss ways of using graphic novels, machinima, and fanfiction in the classroom to motivate students to think, read, and write critically; foster classroom collaboration; and inspire civic engagement.
Presenter(s):
Katherine Frank, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Chuck Jurich, High Desert Writing Project

Chair: Marines Uscategui
Recorder: Anna Bowe