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Aug 26

WCWP Summer Camp!

What an incredible summer we had at Young Writers Young Readers! Our campers filled the weeks with creativity, imagination, and unforgettable memories, making this one of our most successful summer camps yet.

One of the biggest highlights was our Camp Carnival, where campers enjoyed exciting games, laughter, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate all of their hard work throughout the summer. We also loved seeing everyone’s creativity shine during Tie-Dye Day, as campers designed colorful shirts that captured the fun and spirit of camp.

We were also thrilled to welcome Looker Books, giving families the opportunity to browse and purchase fantastic books to inspire young readers and writers long after camp ended. It was wonderful to see campers leave with new stories to enjoy at home.

Thank you to all of our campers, families, staff, and supporters who made this summer such a tremendous success. Your enthusiasm, creativity, and love of storytelling are what make our camp so special!

Looking Ahead: Summer Camp 2026–2027

The excitement doesn’t stop here! We’re already preparing for our 2026–2027 Summer Camp, and we can’t wait to reveal our brand-new theme: Broadway!

Get ready for a summer filled with show-stopping stories, dramatic adventures, creative writing, theater-inspired activities, and plenty of opportunities to let your imagination take center stage.

Before summer arrives, be sure to join us for our first event of the 2026–2027 year:

Camp Reunion: Sea Adventure

Reconnect with your camp friends as we set sail on an unforgettable adventure featuring a unique blend of:

  • Dungeons & Dragons-inspired roleplaying
  • Choose Your Own Adventure storytelling
  • Creative writing
  • Hands-on crafts

It’s the perfect way to kick off another exciting year of imagination, creativity, and fun!

Be sure to follow @WCWP_YWYR on social media to stay up to date on camp announcements, upcoming events, registration information, and all the exciting adventures we have planned. We can’t wait to see familiar faces and welcome new campers for another unforgettable year!

Bobby Rea is an ESL teacher at Penn’s Grove Middle School in the Oxford Area School District. He is also the Youth Director for the West Chester Writing Project.

Aug 19

Demo Lesson – Using Museums to Compare Nonfiction Texts

As we gear up for a new school year and classrooms begin to buzz with the energy of back-to-school in-service days, I’m excited to share the final lesson demo from this summer’s West Chester Writing Project Summer Institute. This lesson, created by Abby Boquist, invites students to use museum exhibits and artifacts as nonfiction texts, encouraging them to compare perspectives, analyze multimodal sources, and think critically about how information is presented. It’s the perfect reminder that meaningful literacy experiences can extend far beyond the pages of a book—and a timely dose of inspiration as we begin imagining the possibilities for the year ahead.

And stay tuned to the West Chester Writing Project for an exciting opportunity this year! Through a Library of Congress grant, teachers will have the chance to visit local museums and develop primary source-based lessons to bring back to their classrooms. More details coming soon!

Demo Lesson Slides – BoquistDownload

Abby Boquist is an 8th-grade English teacher at Charles F. Patton Middle School in Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. She is also pursuing her Masters in English on the Writing, Teaching, & Criticism track at West Chester University. If she’s not visiting a museum, she is probably writing about a museum, talking about a museum, or figuring out how to incorporate museums into her teaching.

Aug 12

Demo Lesson – Reading and Writing Memoirs

This second lesson demo builds on the spirit of the first by inviting students to explore the stories that shape who they are. Colin Kirk’s presentation on reading and writing memoirs highlights the power of personal narrative as a tool for reflection, connection, and growth. Through mentor texts, thoughtful prewriting strategies, and opportunities for authentic writing, students are encouraged to uncover meaningful moments in their lives and transform them into compelling memoirs. It’s a wonderful reminder that every student has a story worth telling—and that memoir writing can help foster both strong writers and a supportive classroom community.

CKirk Reading and Writing MemoirsDownload

Colin Kirk currently teaches 6th grade ELA at Charles F. Patton Middle School in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. He earned his B.S.Ed, M.Ed, Reading Specialist Certification, and Educational Technology Certificate through West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Aug 5

Demo Lesson: Teaching With Primary Sources

As we count down the final weeks of summer and prepare for a new school year, I’m excited to share a series of lesson demonstrations created by participants in the West Chester Writing Project Summer Institute. Over the next three weeks, I’ll feature one lesson each week that showcases engaging, classroom-ready strategies developed and presented by teacher participants.

The West Chester Writing Project Summer Institute is a three-week professional learning experience focused on the teaching of writing. Participants earn six graduate credits through West Chester University while collaborating with experienced educators to examine classroom practices, explore current research, and strengthen their teaching through the Project’s teachers-teaching-teachers model. Teachers who complete the Institute are also eligible to participate in WCWP’s youth programs and provide professional development opportunities in local schools.

Our first featured lesson, Teaching with Primary Sources by Subarna Basu, demonstrates how primary sources can be used to promote inquiry, critical thinking, and writing. The lesson introduces strategies such as guided questions, the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), and the Zoom-In strategy to help students closely observe, question, and reflect on what they see. We hope these lessons inspire ideas you can bring into your own classroom this school year.

Summer Institute Demo Lesson SBasu.pptxDownload

Subarna is an aspiring scholar and an Adjunct Professor in Early Childhood Education. She recently graduated with her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from West Chester University. Her research examines kindergarten teachers’ perceptions on implementing purposeful play for children’s academic and developmental learning. Subarna also earned her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from West Chester University. She has been a preschool and pre-K teacher and an ECE lecturer in the UK and the US. She has also been a Graduate Assistant for the West Chester Writing Project for 3 years and a co-investigator for the Library of Congress Grant on Teaching with Primary Sources. Subarna loves traveling, crafting, and cooking and lives with her husband Raj and their son Tim.