Powell created a gallery to highlight students' creations with Bitstrips.

Shannon Powell, CRWP 2009, and teacher at Central Montcalm Middle School has found a way to breathe new life into classroom projects using a creative technology called Bitstrips for Schools.  The online software acts as an innovative and user-friendly program that allows students to develop and publish their own unique webcomics.

For Powell, Bitstrips offers students the attraction of playing while working.  Many of her most reluctant writers found an opportunity for success using the creative medium of the webcomic.

“My students are addicted to this program,” confesses Powell.  “I could hardly keep them off it, and they were happy to have new assignments and complete them so they could share with the rest of the classes.  Having a purpose in playing really kept them interested in what they were doing.”

Powell’s success with the program was featured in a recent article on Bitstrips for School’s own blog.  Excited by the work her students produced for such projects as a Favorite Books gallery, she encouraged colleagues to try webcomics in their own classrooms, many of whom soon had their own success stories to share.

Tyler's webcomic uses humor to tell about his favorite book by Rick Riordan.

Powell notes the interdisciplinary aspect Bitstrips has to offer when she recalls, “One of our social studies teachers wanted to use the program to make brochures for other countries her students were studying, and math or science concepts could easily be explained through comics as well.”

Formed in 2008, Bitstrips has formed a partnership with the National Writing Project, and is currently available for free download through August 31st to NWP teachers.

Rose Daum shares a draft with Erin Busch-Grabmeyer.

Friday, July 9th, 2010 marked the completion of another successful Summer Institute for the Chippewa River Writing Project, including its sixteen newest teacher consultants.  For four weeks beginning June 14th, participants and leadership team members met daily for writing and responding, reading and research, fun and collegiality.

Both as teachers and writers, the experience was a period of hard work and intense growth, as well as a chance to forge new friendships with colleagues from all over the state.  The entire month made up, as teacher participant Janis Germain observes, “an enlightening and fast-moving class.”

Participants experienced such opportunities as meeting with friends and family in an annual Writing Marathon and collaborating with third through fifth grade writers during CRWP’s first annual Youth Writing Camp.

Andrea Palmer and Linda Patton exchange ideas.

“The Chippewa River Writing Project has changed my perspective on writing instruction,” notes teacher participant Kelly Murphy.  “I’ve become very reflective about my current practices, and it’s challenged my thinking.  I’m ready to employ new strategies from a new, refreshed mindset.”

Rosie Nedry and Jill Wilson consult over a piece of writing.

Fellow participant Jodi Mata echoes Murphy’s feelings as she reflects upon the experience:”The Summer Institute has challenged me to write outside of my comfort zone.”

Participants honed their skills as educators through the development of lesson plans, creative writing prompts, and innovative projects utilizing such technologies as podcasting, wikis, a print anthology, and digital storytelling.

The institute culminated with the creation of portfolios presenting multigenre snapshots of participants’ roles as writers, as well as a celebratory dinner and reading.

CRWP 2010 teachers celebrate their final day of the summer institute!

As the Summer Institute drew to a close, participants looked back with fond memories, exhilarated for the school year to come.  Teacher participant Rosie Nedry sums up her time as a member of the SI with a playful grin:  “It was da bomb!”

CRWP now prepares for its school year professional development and continuity programs, including the opportunity to host the state network retreat for the National Writing Projects of Michigan and its own Advanced Institute for Professional Development in August, as well as additional programs throughout the 2010-11 school year.

Teachers interested in applying for the 2011 summer institute are invited to visit our Summer Institute page later this fall to find out how to begin the application process.

Congratulations, 2010 CRWP Teacher Consultants!

Amanda Smoker presents "Teaching Revision: What Really Works?"

It was a time for looking back and looking forward as the Chippewa River Writing Project team met with friends both old and new for its 2010 Spring Showcase event on Wednesday, April 21st.  Members gathered at CMU’s Anspach Hall for food, fun, and reflection, as well as the opportunity to welcome in our sixteen new teacher participants for the upcoming Summer Institute beginning this June.

Past SI graduates Deborah Meister, Ashley Patton, and Amanda Smoker highlighted the event with presentations on such diverse discussion topics as optimizing the peer editing experience and using fun, creative prompts to inject new life into student writing.

Debbi Meister discusses the three-student peer editing workshop

First, Smoker presented her project, “Teaching Revision: What Really Works?” In her middle school language arts classroom, she integrated peer revision, conferencing, and self-revision strategies to see how her students responded to each and revised their work.

Next, Meister presented her work with students to help them be more thorough and thoughtful when peer editing. Based on her experience, she found that three-person groups of students worked best to allow the two responders to offer specific feedback to the author in the group.

Finally, Patton presented “Letting Them Eat Cake: Applying a Child’s Perspective of Engagement to Shape Instruction,” highlighting writing activities that she had used with her own students in preparation for designing the Chippewa River Writing Camp for this summer.

Ashley Patton on "Letting Them Eat Cake: Applying a Child's Perspective of Engagement to Shape Instruction"

After introductions, team members and participants shared tips and stories from our past Summer Institute that inspired and enlivened us for the year to come.  The event closed with the CRWP leadership team meeting to plan for our upcoming SI orientation on May 10th, which will take place at our brand-new location in the Educational Services building at CMU.

As one of three featured guests on the February 11, 2010, episode of the National Writing Project’s periodic web-based radio show, BlogTalkRadio, CRWP Director Troy Hicks talked about the ways in which writing project sites choose readings for their summer institute participants.

NWP BlogTalkRadio (2-11-10)

Hicks focused his attention on how the CRWP Leadership Team invites participants to read selections that encompass five broad themes:

• To get an overview of the NWP, as well as its principles and practices;
• To be inspired as a writer;
• To begin thinking about teacher research;
• To better understand digital writing; and
• To engage in one’s own personal inquiry about the teaching of writing.

Moreover, he discussed the ways in which CRWP teachers use the discussion forum features of their wiki to carry on professional conversations about the texts that they read, as well as the ways in which participants last summer created podcasts as a response to a text about digital writing.

As the CRWP Leadership Team continues to plan for the 2010 Summer Institute, they will continue to build on these themes to find books, articles, and online readings that will enhance participants’ experiences over the four week invitational.

As a way to begin that conversation, we wonder… what professional texts do you think would be worth considering for this summer?

Penny Lew, left, and Troy Hicks discuss plans for CRWP professional development at the NWP's New Site Leadership Institute

Over the MLK holiday weekend, Troy and I spent four packed-full days with the NWP New-Site Leadership Institute at the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains. The NSLI is an annual invitational retreat bringing together leaders from new sites to explore the work of the NWP beyond the Summer Institute. While there, Troy and I gathered ideas for recruiting potential TCs, discovered different angles from which to look at continuity, considered the yearly budget, and began developing a vision for the CRWP.

One idea that stood out for both of us involved the CRWPs role in teacher professional development.  After reading the Rhode Island Monograph, we began discussing the possibilities of combining continuity with the development of  TCs presentation skills.  By using a regularly scheduled gathering time, a TC will have the opportunity to present a teaching demo, conference session, or professional development seminar to the group.  The group then uses a protocol similar to that used in writing groups to help the presenter revise his or her session.  This may prove to be a great way to keep TCs connected, spread the name of the CRWP, and to promote promising practice throughout the profession.

The work at the NSLI was GRUELING, and opportunities to enjoy the gorgeous, sunny, 75 degree days were limited to a few stolen minutes here and there, but it was a greatly focusing weekend that left me excited and invigorated for the year to come!

Tuesday, December 8^th, 2009 marked the Chippewa River Writing Project’s first annual Holiday Party, coordinated by co-director Kathy Kurtze.  Members of the CRWP team reunited once again at the Anspach Hall Writing Center to celebrate friends and fellowship during the holiday season, and anticipate the future of the CRWP as it moves into the New Year.

The evening featured delicious homemade snacks, a gift exchange full of surprises, and time for journaling, as members of the team recalled and shared their favorite holiday memories.

While the holidays offer a moment to relax with friends and family, they are also a time that reminds members of the CRWP of the teamwork and camaraderie that has carried them through their first, exciting year as a NWP site.  Now, with January upon us, the leadership team turns once more to the work ahead of them as they plan for growth and development into 2010, beginning with Troy Hicks and Penny Lew attending the National Writing Project’s New Site Leadership Retreat over MLK weekend.

Sara Beauchamp-Hicks, CRWP Technology Liaison, presents to an audience of NWP teachers at the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

The Chippewa River Writing Project ended its first year with a new beginning. Members of the CRWP leadership team attended the National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting this past month, their first visit as an official NWP site.

The three-day event took place at Philadelphia’s Downtown Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center from November 19^th to the 21^st, and was held in conjunction with the NCTE’s annual convention.  Participants were able to attend a variety of interactive learning sessions, as well as socialize and meet other members of NWP sites from around the country.

Kathy Kurtze, one of CRWP’s K-12 co-directors, felt positive about her experience.  “I loved meeting people from all over the United States and sharing our passion for the Writing Project.  Learning from my peers, hearing their stories, and sharing in their successes was exhilarating.”

CRWP joins nine other sites from around the nation in being newly welcomed into the NWP for the year of 2009.  This makes CRWP the eleventh site representing the state of Michigan.  All sites were welcomed at a general session hosted by NWP Executive Director Sharon J. Washington, with a featured poetry reading from 2001-3 National Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

“For the Chippewa River Writing Project, we had an exciting end to our first official year as a National Writing Project site when we were introduced at the NWP Annual Meeting in Philadelphia,” states CRWP Director, Troy Hicks. “I am thrilled that we were able to bring nearly all of our leadership team for this first annual meeting, and look forward to sharing the great ideas that we learned there as we plan for 2010.”

CRWP Technology Liaison Sara Beauchamp-Hicks, who facilitated a session on integrating newer technologies into site leadership,  commented on the overall experience. “For me the annual meeting is an energizing event.  I love the feeling of playing a small part in such a monumental educational movement.  There is definitely something special about all the teachers who are involved in the NWP — and you can feel that energy when you attend the annual meeting.”

Friday morning also marked the date of the National Writing Projects of Michigan Site Leaders Annual Meeting, which five members of the CRWP Leadership Team were able to attend. Site leaders discussed future development and planned projects for Michigan sites up into the coming year, including the possibility of a summer retreat at CMU next August for the state network.

The NWP Annual Meeting wrapped up Saturday, and CRWP’s six attendees once more returned to work in Michigan, exhilarated by the experience.  CRWP K-12 Co-Director Penny Lew sums up the event: “My first NWP annual meeting was an amazing, inspiring experience, and what great timing!  November is always the month I begin to doubt myself as an educator; the newness of the school year has worn off, and the kids and I are both realizing this isn’t the honeymoon we thought it was.  NWP, however, gave me renewal—refocused my thinking, reminded me of what an important and satisfying vocation I’ve found.”

As CRWP applies for continued funding and plans for its 2010 Summer Institute, the experience that site leaders had at the annual meeting will guide their work and help them prepare for the new year. All look forward to attending NWP’s 2010 Annual Meeting next November in Orlando, Florida.

An article by Tracy Burton featuring CRWP is now up and available on the News@CMU website:

‘Teachers teaching teachers’ focus of National Writing Project site at CMU

After 29 years of teaching high school English, Kathy Kurtze returned to her classroom this fall with a set of fresh ideas and resources she gathered from her experiences with the Chippewa River Writing Project — a site of the National Writing Project now at Central Michigan University.

Kurtze was among 13 teachers representing K-12 school districts, Mid Michigan Community College and CMU, who participated in the first CRWP institute.

“The most exciting part was being introduced to new teaching approaches,” said Kurtze, who teaches at Carson City High School. “The whole aspect of bringing technology into the writing process was brand new to me. Now, I’m excited to bring it into my lessons. I want my students to do podcasts and learn about how this enhances our writing.”

Sharing resources is one of the main goals of the National Writing Project, which operates with the concept of teachers teaching teachers and a mission to improve the teaching of writing and learning among kindergarten through college students.

Kathy Kurtze, an English teacher at Carson City High School, works on a journal entry about a recent writing assignment.

Photo by Robert Barclay
CMU University Communications

Tuesday, September 29^th, 2009 marked the One Hundred Day Celebration of the Chippewa River Writing Project, as members of the Summer Institute met to celebrate the occasion at Central Michigan University.  Participants met at Anspach Hall’s Writing Center for a potluck dinner and a creative writing session, followed by an open reading.  The event was coordinated by Kathy Kurtze and headed by CRWP director Troy Hicks.

For further information, check out nationalgalleryofwriting.org.  The CRWP gallery, entitled “Chippewa River Writing Project 2009 Participants,” is open to all members and their students.  Here’s to our first one hundred days, and many more to come!

CRWP 2009 Summer Insitute Participants

Participants in this year’s inaugural Chippewa River Writing Project Summer Institute found over their four weeks together the time, energy, and support that they needed as writers and teachers of writing.

One anonymous evaluation comment summarized the feelings of many in stating, “After this summer, I feel so much more prepared to teach writing in my classroom.  I have also vowed to write with my students and to take the time each day to write for myself.”

Each day, participants in the institute gathered to write for themselves and engage in activities related to the teaching of writing. At the end of the institute, each participant produced a portfolio of personal and professional writing, many of which can be found as links to their digital portfolios on the CRWP wiki.

At the end of the institute, Kathy Kurtze, an English teacher at Carson City Crystal High School, was announced as CRWP’s second K-12 co-director. From the CHSBS News site, she states:

“This has awakened a new need for me to know my writing and make changes,” said Kathy Kurtze of Carson City who has been teaching at Carson City-Crystal Middle School for 29 years. “From being students again, we all seem to have a renewed empathy toward our own students.”

Participants who completed the summer institute and are now teacher consultants affiliated with CRWP include:

• Alicia Ciaramitaro, Collins Elementary, Houghton Lake Community Schools
• Lucia Elden, Mid Michigan Community College
• Louis “Bud” Kanyo, Mid Michigan Community College
• Megan Kowalski, Central Michigan University
• Kathy Kurtze, Carson City-Crystal High School
• Rita Maddox, Retired from Gratiot-Isabella RESD
• Gretchen Martin, Farwell Elementary School
• Deborah Meister, Fellowship Baptist Academy in Carson City
• Elizabeth Nelson, Greenville High School
• Ashley Patton, North Elementary, Ithaca Public Schools
• Shannon Powell, Central Montcalm Middle School
• Amanda Smoker, Meridian Junior High School
• Chanda Wekwert, Hillman Jr. and Sr. High School

CRWP events will continue this fall for both teacher consultants from this summer’s institute and other local educators. Plans for professional development events are underway and the CRWP leadership team will attend the National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting this November in Philadelphia.