For Teachers and Librarians

...I have never worked a day in a school without getting excited about some of the things kids wrote. Jack Collom

What do young writers have in common with adults who write?  Do you have to write in order to teach writing?  What's "process" got to do with it?  The National Writing Project offers a philosophy, strategies, and a writing community for teachers who want to grow their own writing, and establish sustained and sustainable writing classrooms.

Artwork courtesy Karen Hall's kindergarten class, Esperanza Elementary, Farmington NM


Downloadable brochure about Uma's workshops
Grants for School Visits : list of resources to help you meet the costs of inviting an author or illustrator to your school
Writers who Teach: Lessons From Margaret Wise Brown .  Professional writing, 4 Corners Summer Writing Project Institute, 2003

Read what librarians and teachers have to say about the newest multicultural children's mag on the block. Kahani showcases stories, articles, contests and more, with a South Asian twist.

Bio Books For Teachers South Asian links For Writers Young Writers FAQs Contact

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Image: handmade book

Student work: handmade book courtesy Aztec Ruins National Monument  

 

 

In the Aztec Ruins Children's Writing Project , students learn to see this ancestral Pueblo site the way writers would.  They tour the Monument, create original stories or poems, and share their work with the community in a public reading.

River of Words offers students a way to study their local watershed and express their sense of it in poetry and art.  

In addition to sharing her books with students during school visits, Uma offers demonstration workshops in which students write, share their work, and ponder writing with her.  She also offers virtual residencies to schools through e-mail or Internet bulletin-boards, as well as realtime week-long residencies in classrooms.  On occasion she's even been invited to be resident writer on a field trip to a museum or park.

If you're in San Juan County, New Mexico, and you're interested in booking Uma for a school visit or workshop, write to her at uma@umakrishnaswami.com

For inquiries regarding bookings for your conference, Young Authors' Fair, National Children's Book Week event, or classroom presentation, contact:
Jean Dayton, Dayton Bookings E-mail: jean@daytonbookings.com
 

 

Desert Ice

Icy cold
Ice lies there quietly
In the shade
Slippery, slidy, ice
In the shade

Fast River

Chocolate river
Running deep
Fast over rocks
Ducks swimming
Chasing each other
Crunchy leaves
On shady path
Children writing
On the bridge

Student poems courtesy of Lake Valley School, Lake Valley NM,
and McCoy Elementary School, Aztec NM

Students in Esperanza Elementary, Farmington NM wrote poetry and made Pinwheels for Peace.

 

Vito Perrone (A Letter to Teachers, 1991) wrote: Teachers who are encouraging active writing programs make clear that serious writing takes thought and time. It is not unsituated, far removed from personal experience or interest, unconnected to an individual's way of interpreting the world.

Perrone advocates school settings that offer a full, rich, range of experience to young people, where:

  1. teachers read a lot to students
  2. authorship and personal style are valued
  3. books are plentiful
  4. active learning is promoted
  5. the world outside the school is engaged

so that writing is not seen as something apart from the world but a way to make sense of it.

Additional resources

For conferences, Young Authors' Fairs, celebrations of children's literature, author talks and more, children's author Toni Buzzeo's website features a list of authors and illustrators who visit schools .

BookVisits
Links to professional, published children's book authors and illustrators who visit schools and other organizations.

Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources
Writer Cynthia Leitich Smith offers a treasure trove of resources, links and information for teachers, librarians, and writers.  Interviews, book lists, quarterly newsletter, Native American and Asian American resources, and much, much more.

River of Words
International K-12 poetry and art competition aimed at getting young people to learn about their local watershed systems. Sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

Teachers & Writers Collaborative
NYC based, with a presence on the Net.  Listserv, catalog, resources, more.  Connect with teachers who write, and writers who teach.

Jennifer Ward, author of children's books, offers teaching guides, links for teachers and kids on her dragonfly-filled web site. Note: might take a few minutes to load if you don't have a high-speed connection.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Professional association of English and Language Arts teachers.  Links to resources, annual conference, listserv, anti-censorship link, and more.

Aztec Ruins Young Authors Program
Information on the model demonstration project for 3rd through 5th grade groups--integrating writing into curriculum at Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Fred Bortz
Fred Bortz, AKA Dr. Fred, is a children's science writer who offers a Q & A column, books, school programs, science project consultation, & links. On the list of AAAS approved Science Education Sites.

Planet Esmé
From the author of Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year, a funny, touching, personal, practical account of the author's first year teaching in an inner-city school. Esmé's website offers continents of books, links, and teacher resources related to children's literature.

Tales From the Story Bag Storyteller
Storyteller Harlynne Geisler's gateway to a whole story bag of websites on the fine art of spinning a tale. Subscription newsletter, book reviews, news about storytelling conferences and workshops, resources, contacts, links.

©2005 Uma Krishnaswami