Writing is EssentialWriting is essential to communication, learning, and citizenship. It is the currency of the new workplace and global economy. Writing helps us convey ideas, solve problems, and understand our changing world. Writing is a bridge to the future.
Our MissionThe National Writing Project focuses the knowledge, expertise, and leadership of our nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning for all learners.
Our VisionWriting in its many forms is the signature means of communication in the 21st century. The NWP envisions a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world.
Who We AreUnique in breadth and scale, the NWP is a network of sites anchored at colleges and universities and serving teachers across disciplines and at all levels, early childhood through university. We provide professional development, develop resources, generate research, and act on knowledge to improve the teaching of writing and learning in schools and communities.
The National Writing Project believes that access to high-quality educational experiences is a basic right of all learners and a cornerstone of equity. We work in partnership with institutions, organizations, and communities to develop and sustain leadership for educational improvement. Throughout our work, we value and seek diversity—our own as well as that of our students and their communities—and recognize that practice is strengthened when we incorporate multiple ways of knowing that are informed by culture and experience.
A Network of University-Based SitesCo-directed by faculty from the local university and from K–12 schools, more than 200 local sites serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sites work in partnership with area school districts to offer high-quality professional development programs for educators. NWP continues to add new sites each year, with the goal of placing a writing project site within reach of every teacher in America. The network now includes two associated international sites.
National research studies have confirmed significant gains in writing performance among students of teachers who have participated in NWP programs.The NWP is the only federally funded program that focuses on the teaching of writing. Support for the NWP is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, foundations, corporations, universities, and K-12 schools.
NWP Core PrinciplesThe core principles at the foundation of NWP’s national program model are:
Teachers at every level—from kindergarten through college—are the agents of reform; universities and schools are ideal partners for investing in that reform through professional development.
Writing can and should be taught, not just assigned, at every grade level.
Professional development programs should provide opportunities for teachers to work together to understand the full spectrum of writing development across grades and across subject areas.
Knowledge about the teaching of writing comes from many sources: theory and research, the analysis of practice, and the experience of writing.
Effective professional development programs provide frequent and ongoing opportunities for teachers to write and to examine theory, research, and practice together systematically.
There is no single right approach to teaching writing; however, some practices prove to be more effective than others.
A reflective and informed community of practice is in the best position to design and develop comprehensive writing programs.
Teachers who are well informed and effective in their practice can be successful teachers of other teachers as well as partners in educational research, development, and implementation. Collectively, teacher-leaders are our greatest resource for educational reform.
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1. Go the National Writing Project website at
www.nwp.org2. Find the tab at the top of the site "Resources" and click on it.
3. On the right side of this page their is a list of "Resource Topics" available for you to select from.
4. Click on the one "Teaching Writing"
5. From this page select an area of interest and browse through the articles provided under that topic.
6. Choose one article, read it (they are short) and summarize it for this week's blog post.
7. Go back to the "Resources" page and select another topic (Professional Development, Teaching Reading, Research, Teacher Research/Inquiry, Standards & Assessment, Policy & Reform, Being a Writer).
8. Choose one article from this new topic area (NOT Teaching Writing), read it and summarize it for this week's blog post.
9. Final response is a critique of the NWP website itself: 1) What surprised you? 2) What challenged you?
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Example Post:
Title of Article 1:
Author(s):
Quick Summary:
Title of Article 2:
Author(s)
Quick Summary:
What surprised you?
What challenged you?