The Northern California Writing Project is a professional development organization whose purpose is to support teacher leadership in the teaching of writing.
The Northern California Writing Project offers programs in a wide array of forms.
- Invitational Summer Institute: The centerpiece of NCWP work with teachers, the Summer Institute develops teacher expertise and leadership in writing pedagogy
- Conferences on the Teaching of Writing, K-College: Participants in the Summer Institutes present their work and findings to the public during two annual conferences
- Inservice: Programs designed specifically tailored to schools’ particular needs and interests, and provided at the school site
- Continuity Programs: Advanced Institutes and other programs designed for NCWP Teacher-Consultants, focused on current issues in the teaching of writing.
- “First Thursdays” is an ongoing continuity program featuring rotating subjects and lively conversations
- Open Programs: Institutes and other programs offered to all local teachers, usually offered at the CSU, Chico campus or other institutes of higher education
- Programs for Students
- Young Writers’ Festival (for elementary-aged students, offered each summer)
- Writing the College Essay (for entering high school seniors, offered summers)
February 04 2009 | NCWP | Comments Off
From the Paradise Post (10/21/09):
Pine Ridge School celebrates National Writing Day
On Tuesday, Pine Ridge School celebrated the National Day on Writing, starting with a morning assembly with Principal David Burdine and Academic Coach Betsy Amis, who read a book to their audience of K-5 graders, “If You Were a Writer,” by Joan Lowery Nixon. Though the book focused on developing ideas for stories, the individual classroom lessons were not about creative writing.
Suzanne Linebarger, a third grade teacher at Pine Ridge who serves as Associate Director for the Northern California Writing Project, went classroom to classroom teaching the principles and craft of writing.
The lesson was “Exploring the Craft of Writing from Inquiry to Practice.” The “inquiry” part was to help students become active readers, increase the power of responding to literature, and demonstrate making a claim, supporting it with proof and using summarization effectively.
The “practice” part explored elements of writing such as examining text, word gathering, the author’s purpose, a writer’s craft, a summary, a claim, and proof. Students also learned about good claims (contestable, compelling, complex, and coherent) and effective conclusions (which provide new information for the reader, demonstrate the writer’s new understanding, reflect on the topic, and connect facts with opinion).
Students learned that when a writer makes a powerful claim, the purpose of the piece becomes clear both to reader and the writer. When a writer has a claim, the details become proof and the conclusion becomes a demonstration of new awareness and understanding, rather than a restatement of the obvious.
The students also learned about genre. Though it covers categories of writing like fiction, poetry, and drama, genre can also refer to everyday uses of language such as eulogies, editorials, proposals, arguments, menus, lab reports, manifestos, rules, emails, and more.
And there are a lot of purposes for writing, students discovered. Students learned about writing in response to things they have read, writing to inform, predict or persuade, writing to take notes, remember things, solve problems, writing for class sharing, reflective writing and technical writing for math and science, developing procedures, for recipes, and more.
To help organize their thinking and encourage writing, Linebarger introduced the students to Northern California Writing Project “thinkbooks,” notebooks designed to improve student’s motivation and engagement with their writing. The thinkbooks are supposed to be used throughout the day, any time writing can be used for learning—but there is no grading, no erasing, and never help with spelling.
The idea is to help students learn to compose well-written pieces. According literature from the National Writing Project (a professional development organization for teachers helping to incorporate more writing in their classes), writing is the gateway to success in school and beyond. It helps students read, solve problems, and understand concepts in every part of the curriculum. Writing is also the “currency” of the new workplace and global economy.
But it’s not a skill that can be learned on the spot. Writing is complex and challenging, even for the most accomplished writers. Now, Pine Ridge students are celebrating writing, and practicing.
October 28 2009 | NCWP | Comments Off
The Northern California Writing Project is pleased to announce the 2009 Summer Writing Festival, an exciting, week-long writing camp for Northern California children.
- When: July 27-31, 2009, 9 am to 2 pm
- Where: CSU, Chico
- Who: Students entering grades 3-7
- Cost: $200 per student (scholarships available for students in need)
Download the flyer and registration information (pdf file)
May 04 2009 | NCWP | Comments Off
The Saturday Series: Breathing Life into Literacy
This series of workshops is designed for all classroom teachers (K-College) on topics chosen to help motivate and engage teachers and students of all ages in purposeful literacy learning. Let’s put the sparkle back into teaching and learning!
- Location: CSU, Chico Campus
- Registration: follow the registration links below the workshop descriptions, or call 898-5322
- 1 unit of continuing education credit available to teachers completing 3 or more workshops ($60 fee)
- Email ncwp@csuchico.edu or call 898-5322 for more information
October 17 2008 | College and Content Literacy and Elementary and Intermediate and Literacy and Open Programs and Saturday Workshops and Secondary and Technology and Writing | Comments Off
What: Technology Saturday–Blogging
When: Saturday, September 20, 10 am – 3 pm
Where: CSU, Chico’s English Department Computer Lab (Taylor Hall 205)
Cost: $25 ($10 for NCWP Teacher-Consultants; $10 Students)
Please join us for a day focused on blogs and blogging. We will explore blogging as a genre by reading some different bloggers’ work, examine possible ways of using blogs in educational settings, and then get our hands dirty by creating and using blogs of our own.
Please email ncwp@csuchico.edu with questions! continue reading »
August 29 2008 | College and Elementary and Intermediate and Secondary and Technology and Writing | Comments Off
Four teacher-consultants from the NCWP were accepted into the 2008 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education in New York City. Only 20 participants, among the nearly 200 National Writing Project affiliate sites, were accepted. The seminar’s dates are July 7-19, 2008. The four TCs from NCWP accepted into the program are Pam Bodnar, Hank Marsh Junior High (Chico), Debbie Durham and Deanna King (Gridley High School, Gridley), and Wendie Marks (Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts). They each will receive a $1,000 stipend for participation, as well as food, housing, and travel costs. Congratulations to all!
August 29 2008 | Content Literacy and Intermediate and Reading and Secondary and Writing | Comments Off
The Northern California Writing Project is pleased to announce the 2008 Summer Writing Festival, an exciting, week-long writing camp for Northern California children.
- When: July 28-August 1, 2008, 9 am to 2 pm
- Where: CSU, Chico
- Who: Students entering grades 3-7
- Cost: $200 per student (scholarships available for students in need)
Download the flyer and registration information (pdf file)
August 29 2008 | Elementary and Literacy and Writing | Comments Off
Update:
- The day was a success! Participants learned about online applications, communications systems, digital storytelling, and productivity mechanisms.
- If interested in hosting a similar workshop at your school site, please contact us!
- Agenda
- When: March 29, 2008, 9 am-3 pm
- Where: CSU, Chico Campus
- Who: K-college teachers
- Cost: $25
Technology and Academic Literacy is a one-day workshop focusing on current communication technologies and the ways they intersect with academic literacy. Topics include:
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- Weblogs
- Wikis
- Social networks
- Twitter, IM, SMS
- Digital stories
The workshop will be held in a computer lab for hands-on experience with the variety of technologies. Overviews will be offered during the morning session, with focused breakouts during the afternoon.
Registration is limited to 25. Please fill out the application form, and mail it to the NCWP with your payment by March 15, 2008.
August 29 2008 | NCWP | Comments Off
What:
- The Northern California Writing Project, funded by the California State University, is hosting a Reading Institute for Academic Preparation (RIAP). This institute will work closely with content area teachers to support the teaching of academic reading and writing. Our facilitators will focus on helping content area teachers develop reading and writing practices that are relevant to their discipline and engaging to students. Additionally, teachers will be informed about new CSU testing and teaching opportunities such as the Early Assessment Program and the 12th Grade Expository Reading and Writing course.
- The Institute will be led by Dr. Judith Rodby, who is currently project director for the Carnegie-funded National Reading Initiative, and author of three books and many articles on reading, academic writing, grammar, and ESL literacy. She will be joined by two experienced Northern California teachers, Deana Jacoby and Sara Pape.
When:
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- May 19, 2007 (9 am-2 pm, Ayers 120)
- July 30-August 3 (9 am-3 pm, Taylor 210)
- 3 Saturdays in Fall (dates and locations TBD)
Who: All Secondary Content-Area Teachers
Upon completion, teachers receive a stipend of $750, and may pay for up to 5 university credits @ $55.00/unit. Each participating teacher will be asked to compile a student case study that demonstrates the acquisition of critical reading and writing practices.
Apply:
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- To apply, download and read the application form
- Complete and submit the application as specified in the application form. You may submit the application via mail, fax, or online.
Interested teachers should contact Professor Judith Rodby for more information.
August 29 2008 | College and Literacy and Reading and Secondary | Comments Off
