Teacher+Writers

=The Teacher-as-Writer= Eastern Michigan Writing Project Summer Institute 2010

====The most important thing I gained from the summer institute is the understanding of what my students go through as they struggle to write and share their writing. There is a vulnerability that is not present when you're fairly confident you're the best writer in the room, like I feel in my own classroom. I believe this understanding will help me be a better teacher of writing. ====

====I think the most important thing I learned through the institute is the connection between narrative writing and analytical writing. I have struggled to find a balance between these two types of writing in my curriculum. Through demonstration lessons and research, as well as interactions with my colleagues, I am able to see that these do not need to be two separate types of writing; good writing incorporates elements of both, and the styles are not mutually exclusive. Connecting these types of writing and providing opportunities for students to practice both types of writing is valuable and necessary. ====

(NWP Institute - Site Level Report - Reponses to Open-end Question on Institute Survey )
The Prodigious Prose of the Eastern Michigan Writing Project

Author(s): Rebecca Bowers Sipe
=== As teachers, we live in a world of standards. From local administration to national education policy, standards permeate every aspect of our teaching lives. In Adolescent Literacy at Risk? The Impact of Standards, Rebecca Sipe offers an in-depth look at the world of standards. ===

Author(s): John A. Staunton
=== Staunton offers case studies and aims to unsettle traditional perspectives on research, practice, and curriculum, arguing that the way teachers are prepared in English education and English programs in college does not match the realities of teachers' experiences in real classrooms. ===

Author(s): Cathy Fleischer
=== Teachers Organizing for Change: Making Literacy Learning Everybody’s Business offers teachers and teacher educators a practical, hands-on guide to effecting positive change in their own learning communities and in the larger social community. By drawing on the experience of teachers who have found their own ways to reach out and by adapting the wisdom of community organizers, Fleischer provides teachers with a realistic, step-by-step model for doing what community activists do so well: offering a new mindset to people—about curriculum, about teachers, and about what we know works in the classroom. The book features numerous real-life examples, scenarios, and adaptable materials from community activists and teachers. ===

Cathy Fleischer, Sarah Andrew-Vaughan
=== This work is an important contribution to the field of writing instruction, but it is also a great read. The advice is practical, the resources helpful, and the discussion thought provoking. Fleischer and Andrew-Vaughan are wonderful guides on the journey through the Unfamiliar Genre Project… ===

Rebecca Sipe, Tracy Rosewarne
=== The strains on high school writing classrooms are endless—externally imposed curriculum requirements, ever—increasing expectations, high-stakes accountability assessments, and looming pressures for studying genres ranging from college-entrance essays to workplace English. ===

Rebecca Sipe, Karen Reed-Nordwall ,Tracy Rosewarne, Dawn Putnam , Jennifer Walsh
=== [These teachers] provide an encouraging, supportive, practical, and downright inspiring resource. . . . Educators will recognize their own struggles with spelling instruction as they become aware of how motivating and perhaps enjoyable spelling can be-- ===

**Implementing Strategies Based on 20 Top Scholars and Their Ideas,**
Susan Nelson Wood, Sharilyn Steadman, John S Simmons, pp. 40-43.