With the support of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Education & Human Services, and the College of Graduate Studies as well as an external grant from the National Writing Project, the Chippewa River Writing Project began its first invitational summer institute today.

Maureen Baker from Crossroads Writing Project leads us in a guest teaching demonstration.

CRWP leaders — Troy Hicks, Elizabeth Brockman, and Penny Lew — welcomed fifteen teachers from mid-Michigan to CMU’s Writing Center to begin an intensive four-week institute focusing on the teaching of writing. Our institute kicked off with a guest teaching demonstration from Maureen Baker of Ferris State University’s Crossroads Writing Project entitled “Let Them Go: Persuasive Writing.”

Throughout the day, participants worked in writing groups, discussed professional readings, and enjoyed getting to know one another as writers and colleagues.

As the summer institute continues, participants will engage in their own personal writing, respond to the writing of their peers, read and discuss current literature about the teaching of writing, and prepare their own teaching demonstrations. Follow along with our ever-emerging agenda as the summer continues.

From the the News @ CMU Website:

Thursday, May 14, 2009

CMU becomes site for National Writing Project

New site to bring technology to schools in central and northeastern Michigan

Michigan teachers will benefit from professional development in writing and technology through a new site of the National Writing Project at Central Michigan University. The establishment of the Chippewa River Writing Project makes Michigan the third largest network of National Writing Project locations in the nation… More

Podcast

Announcing the Chippewa River Writing Project’s 2009 Invitational Summer Institute Participants

On Monday, May 11, 2009, sixteen teachers — representing local elementary, middle, and high schools as well as a Mid Michigan Community College and CMU — met at Park Library to kick off the first ever Chippewa River Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute. As a site of the National Writing Project, participants for the institute are selected through a competitive application process and bring a variety of classroom experiences to this first cohort of future teacher leaders.

Participants in this summer’s invitational include:

• Alicia Ciaramitaro, Collins Elementary, Houghton Lake Community Schools
• Lucia Elden, Mid Michigan Community College
• Richard Forest, Central Michigan University
• Louis “Bud” Kanyo, Mount Pleasant High School
• Megan Kowalski, Central Michigan University
• Kathy Kurtze, Carson City-Crystal Middle 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
• Jodi Roed, West Intermediate, Mount Pleasant Schools
• Peter Roed, West Intermediate, Mount Pleasant Schools
• Amanda Smoker, Meridian Junior High School
• Chanda Wekwert, Hillman Jr. and Sr. High School

Members of the CRWP Leadership Team participating in the summer institute include:

• Elizabeth Brockman, Central Michigan University
• Penny Lew, Farwell Middle School
• Troy Hicks, Central Michigan University

Participants will meet from June 22nd through July 16th at the CMU Writing Center. You can follow their work as it unfolds this summer on the CRWP wiki: http://chippewariverwp.wikispaces.com

Working with local K-12 educators and university officials, five faculty members in the English Department at Central Michigan University submitted a grant proposal in September of 2008 for a site of the National Writing Project (NWP), the Chippewa River Writing Project (CRWP).

Awarded funding from NWP in November of 2008, and supplied with matching funds from CMU, the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Education and Human Services, CRWP will host its inaugural summer institute in the summer of 2009.

Application materials for the 2009 summer institute will be made available on this website in the first weeks of February 2009.

For more information, please visit the “About” page or contact CRWP Director, Troy Hicks, at troy.hicks@cmich.edu or 989-774-3236.