The Nebraska Writing Project is interested in your stories. Please consider the following list for ideas to start your own posts:
What can I write about?
Teacher Practices:
NeWP is interested in hearing what it looks like to teach reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening in the classroom – ELA or content areas. Posts can include teaching tips, EQuIPs, research and methodology, or tutorials (videos are great, too!). Teacher Practices focuses on posts that reveal what it looks like to do the hard work of teaching. Since “you can’t be what you can’t see”, Teacher Practices seeks to include resources for teaching along with the stories of teachers who use these resources. It’s the “teacher as mentor” spot of this site.
NeWP Writes
At NeWP, we are convinced that “The best teachers of writers are writers themselves.” We therefore encourage teachers to submit pieces of personal writing in any genre. This could include work you’re doing alongside your students; short, philosophical essays; poetry and other creative writing; or pieces created for Summer Institutes, Advanced Institutes or Writing Marathons.
C3WP
For the past several years, NeWP has been involved in a national study on the teaching of argument writing with the College, Career and Community Writers Program (C3WP). If you’ve experienced this professional development and integrated C3WP in your classroom, we’d love to hear your experiences. Stories can include “aha!” moments, classroom conversations, professional impact, etc.
Your NeWP Beginnings
How has NeWP impacted your teaching? Where did it all begin? NeWP encourages teachers to write about their initial experiences with the Writing Project – be it Summer Institute, Marathon, Embedded Institute, C3WP, Husker Writers, etc. Consider what your teaching looks like now, and how your time with NeWP has been a catalyst for change.
Current Considerations: Technology in the Post-Pandemic Classroom
As the 2020-2021 school year wraps up, many teachers are hoping the next school year looks more “normal.” The pandemic has pushed teachers to develop new strategies and modes of instruction as they facilitate learning. It’s important as we move forward to consider what we can take with us, especially as education seems (dedicated?) to the pursuit of integrating technology in the classroom. Consider writing about the best practices you worked to implement during the pandemic, how your approach to teaching has changed, the tech tips you will continue to use to facilitate learning, etc.
How does Submission Work?
Contacting the Editor
Whether you have a full draft, a piece in the works, or merely an idea, we’d like to hear about it and support you in your writing process. Email managing editor Rachel Jank at rachelmmol@gmail.com to inquire about publishing your work on the NeWP blog.
Submitting a draft
After completing a clean, full draft, submit your work to Rachel Jank at rachelmmol@gmail.com. She will help you along the process towards publication (which might take a few months).
Collaboration on Draft
NeWP is committed to practicing the process of writing. Most journals include a peer review post-submission. NeWP’s version of this is collaborative writing groups. Writing Workshops will be offered periodically for those who have submitted or who wish to submit. Some writers may already have a group and feedback system in place. NeWP wants to provide workshop opportunities to teachers who would like to work towards publishing their writing.
Consider the “Tips for Formatting a Blog Post” as you write.
Blog posts are a genre of possibilities. While there is no one “right” way to write a blog post, there are some suggested ways to improve your reader’s experience. Consider these tips as you write, or during the revision process.
Final Feedback and editing
As with any piece of writing, the final step is editing. In this step, writers receive feedback about the “readability” of their piece, usually focusing on small structural elements, conventions, and formatting. Once this polishing is complete, the writing is ready to publish.
Including additional Resources:
Does the writing mention any classroom resources? Would a short video tutorial bring the lesson mentioned to life? Send handouts, videos, links and lesson overviews to rachelmmol@gmail.com so they can get linked to the post.
