Inservice Information

Writing as a Process

Teachers will experience prewriting exercises, drafts, peer response, revising for meaning, and proofreading using the context of their own writing to draw classroom applications.

Content Area Writing

Classroom practitioners will explore a variety of approaches to integrating writing into Social Studies, Science, Math and the Arts. Focuses include: learning logs, reader response, formulating key questions, journals.

Setting up a Writing Workshop

Teachers will explore and practice ways to organize a classroom so that students experience all phases of the writing process. Management issues and theory will be discussed. Participants will peer edit and conference to improve their writing pieces. Mini-lessons for mechanical and grammatical difficulties will be demonstrated. Teachers are encouraged to bring student writing samples.

Motivating Students to Love Writing

Accessing prior knowledge, capitalizing on students' interests, responding to dialogue journals, establishing publishing opportunities and using real-life writing situations are some of the strategies that teachers will learn to help increase interest in writing.

Linking the Ten Guiding Principles of the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework with a Comprehensive Writing Program

This 5 part, 10 hour series will help teachers to develop assignments that correspond to the Framework while recognizing the unique school setting where they work and the students whom they teach. Teachers will design a Writing Program for school wide use.

Leadership Development Institute

During the summer, we will work with 15-20 teachers from across schools, grade-levels and disciplines. In an intensive, two-week training session, participants will learn to facilitate workshops in the teaching of writing and plan ways to deliver their knowledge to other teachers in their schools. Monthly or bi-weekly meetings with the BWP leader will support these teacher-leaders throughout the school year.

Professional Development Work Provided by the BWP 2003-2004 School Years Series (up to 35 participants).

Mini-Institute - 3 Days (up to 25 participants).

Two BWP teacher consultants will facilitate an intensive mini-institute on the topic of your choice. Available during the summer months, school vacation weeks, or on Saturdays.

Three Credit Graduate Course - (up to 25 participants)

Two BWP facilitators will bring a UMass graduate course to your site. Please see our Certificate Program brochure for course titles and descriptions. The course can meet for two summer weeks, weekly for 3 hours after school, or for combinations of evenings, Saturdays, and school vacation.

Additional Ways the BWP Can Work with Teachers and Schools

Coaching - A BWP teacher consultant will work one-on-one with select teachers in a process whereby the teacher would identify aims and questions at an initial meeting, conduct a classroom observation, and then have a post-visit conversation providing feedback to the practitioner

After School Writing and Response Group

A chance for teachers to meet on a regular basis with a BWP facilitator to share their own writing and provide feedback to each other on writing pieces.

Teacher Research Group

Teachers use a classroom inquiry model to identify an educational concern that they want to observe in their classrooms. They meet regularly over the course of a year to write, pose questions, research and discuss.

Committee Work

A BWP consultant will work with a school's Language Arts Committee or an Ad Hoc Committee to plan, evaluate or assess as needed.

Graduate Course Provided On-Site for School Districts or Collaboratives 2003-2004 School Years

The Boston Writing Project offers on-site three-credit graduate courses for up to twenty-five teachers, support staff, and administrators from a school, district, or collaborative. Sites can opt to purchase a single course or the entire fifteen-credit Certificate in the Teaching of Writing in the Schools. Graduate credits will be awarded through the Continuing Education Department at the University of Massachusetts.

Courses currently available include:

Teaching Writing, K-12

Content Area Writing;

Teacher as Writer

Teacher Research

Teaching and Writing Poetry, K-12

See also Certificate Program for specific course information.