Posts from the ‘PAWLP’ Category

Creating Confident Writers By Mark Overmeyer

If you want to build confidence in your writers, try using samples from their writing as mentor texts. I use professional mentor texts to motivate writers to compose and revise, but I notice writers respond more positively to the use of mentor texts when their own work is included in the mix.

Here are a few ways you might use student writing as a motivational and instructional tool:

Excerpt student texts that align with your teaching points. Since I know I will be focusing on specific craft moves during a genre study, I look for students using specific writing crafts during early drafting stages. For example, in a personal narrative unit, I might look for effective use of dialogue, setting descriptions, strong leads, and character development. I excerpt two or more examples of a craft move to include more student writing and to avoid the mistaken impression that there is only one way to develop character or describe a setting. During my mini lessons, I incorporate these student samples by saying something ike this: “We have been looking at a lot of published writers’ work during our unit, but I noticed that a lot you are already using many of the craft moves we will be studying. Let’s look at a few examples of how you are doing this work so that we can learn from each other.”

Excerpt student texts to highlight multiple writerly moves. Early in the school year, I excerpt one or two sentences of student writing from each student and identify the craft or writing move the writer is using. This bank of 20 to 30 excerpts can become a tool for all the writers in the room as they search for ways to revise and improve their own writing. Using student excerpts can be a powerful teaching tool, especially if you include a wide range of writing that moves beyond just description. For example, if I excerpt one student’s writing because it effectively uses a simile, the next excerpt might include strong verbs, and the next a few specific, proper nouns. Make sure to excerpt at least one sentence from every writer in your class if you use this strategy. Your message should be loud and clear: we are all part of the writing community, and we can learn from each other.

Excerpt student texts and ask your writers what they notice. Excerpt one or two sentences from student writing and then ask your writers what they notice. I often group the students and ask them to jot notes about what they notice about the first four excerpts, while another group of students works on the next set of excerpts, and so on. This way, more student voices can be heard while they engage in conversations about what they notice about each other’s writing. Because I want to frame the noticing around the purpose of mentor texts, I might cue the students by saying something like: “Look at these sentences from our writing. In small groups, I am going to ask you to identify what makes this writing work. Think about what strategies and crafts you can borrow as you read these excerpts. Do the sentences work because they describe? Or is it because of the verbs? Or nouns? You decide what makes them effective and then you will have a chance to share your thoughts with the group.”

Cue students to notice what they can borrow from other writers in the room. Once students can comfortably identify how to use mentor texts, you can ask them to read each other’s work for something they might borrow. One way to organize this type of work is to ask every student to leave one page of the writing on their desk. Then, ask students to filter around the room, reading at least four or five pieces with the goal of identifying one or more craft moves they might use in their own writing. After about 10 or 15 minutes, pause and ask students to share their thoughts, including the name of the writer who inspired them. A student might share something like this: “I noticed that Susan used the verb “trudging” when she described how hard it was to walk her dog in the snow. Susan inspired me to look at my verbs to see if I can change any of them to be more active.”

Professional mentor texts are an essential part of a writing workshop classroom. But remember that we have student writing mentors right in front of us every day, and their work can become an integral part of our writing routines.

Mark Overmeyer Author of When Writing Workshop Isn’t Working, 2^nd Edition.

Culturally Responsive Writing Instruction: A Summer Writing Opportunity By Dr. Aileen Hower

One of the most rewarding experiences as a teacher educator and professional development coordinator has been coordinating and facilitating Summer Writing Institutes for Millersville University of Pennsylvania, one of the ten PASSHE Universities, alongside West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Since the summer of 2018, I have been planning these one-week intensive Writing Institutes, partially due to feeling so passionate about supporting teachers in their teaching of writing to their students, but also due to the strong feedback from graduate students about their interest in learning more about how to teach writing more effectively.

Previously, we’ve crafted Summer Writing Institutes around poetry, best practices in writing instruction, how to inspire reluctant writers, and even grammar (yes, grammar instruction). This past summer (2025), I felt called to combine the topics of Culturally Responsive Writing Instruction in light of all that is going on across the state of Pennsylvania. Millersville University, like West Chester, is located close to one of the 12 urban school districts, with most teachers across the middle of south-central Pennsylvania instructing students from a wide array of backgrounds, both culturally and socio-economically. Many teachers throughout the courses that I teach express wanting to know more about how to teach with cultural responsiveness in mind. Therefore, I felt that merging the two concepts: culturally responsive teaching and writing instruction would appeal to teachers. The response was positive!

Before we met for the one-week intensive, students in the course read Tricia Ebarvia’s Get Free: Antibias Literacy Instruction for Stronger Readers, Writers, and Thinkers (2023)text as well as Matthew Kay and Jennifer Orr’s We’re Gonna Keep On Talking: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Elementary Classroom (2023). Due to having 3 high school teachers enrolled in the course, I gave them the option to read Kay’s Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom (2020) instead. I find that the more opportunity for teachers to personalize the learning the more responsive they are to adopting some of the concepts they learn throughout the week into their teaching practices.

Being able to then hear from the speakers of the course texts was a huge benefit to the attendees. While not always possible, it is a great way to allow teachers (and presenters) to dig deeper into the concepts, as they have already prepared for the learning with the authors’ texts. Teachers also had the opportunity through the pre-Institutes writing assignments on the texts to think about how the information in the texts applied specifically to their teaching and students. They came prepared to ask in-depth questions and dig deeper than just a summary of the learning. Of course, we only had 2 hours with each speaker, but it was helpful to have the books already read before starting the conversation.

The format of the week includes time to collaborate in the room (and online in breakout rooms – the course is held multi-modally, meaning there are in-person and online students who attend. This has supported teachers’ attending in the summer and from further away. While I would still say that attending in person is the best (there are giveaways and food, as well as robust discussions and collaboration), feedback from online students has been positive as well, as sometimes the speakers are also online (helps in hearing from presenters regardless of their location (as well as budget)), which offers a more dynamic experience for the online attendees. Millersville University utilizes LiveStream technology, so when a speaker is present, we share the screen with online attendees and also have a camera on the speaker throughout their presentation. Online presenters (as well as attendees) can see and hear what’s going on in-person through the same technology.

We meet for more personalized learning each morning, learn from a keynote speaker for 2-hours in the morning, break for lunch and conversations, learn with a breakout speaker in the afternoon, and then have collaboration and work time afterwards until the end of the day. There is daily reflection built into the week, as well as the opportunity to work on an individualized final project while having access to colleagues (often from similar grade levels or districts) and the course instructor to guide this work.

One thing I greatly appreciate about all of the speakers who present during the week is how hands-on they plan their learning. For example, during Trisha Ebarvia’s presentation, teachers created a personal timeline to create a lens through which to view the information from the text and presentation. Ebarvia facilitated teachers’ reflection and also their critical view of what was present/absent in their timeline in tandem to the dominant and “more complete” narrative that texts read in school often communicate. Evarvia was also able to conduct hands-on simulations and share specific practices from the classroom, which was highly valued by the teachers who attended the Institute.

Likewise, Matthew Kay and Jennifer Orr were able to be Keynote speakers later in the week. Teachers, again, greatly appreciated simulations, in person discussions with the authors/presenters/teachers who have had first-hand experience with this work in their classrooms, as well as Jennifer’s extensive list of culturally responsive texts to use in classrooms. This especially resonated with teachers and their final project was to update a series or lessons, a unit, an instructional time of the day (such as morning meeting), to include more texts that discuss topics and characters that better align with the students in their classrooms.

The whole week is populated with Keynote authors/presenters and then breakout presentations delivered by local teacher leaders. While it is always a draw to have national/internationally acclaimed speakers/presenters, it is such a powerful opportunity, especially for networking, for local teachers, especially those who are looking to have presentation experience, or to share their personal research/work with others. This past summer, two of our most powerful presentations were delivered by a local spoken word poet/author and by a local school district administrator.

I met Julian “Juelz” Davenport through my work with “nErD Camp PA” a few years ago. He visits school classrooms, mostly in the Harrisburg area to discuss writing and the importance of one’s story with students. I thought it would be a powerful experience for teachers to meet Juelz to hear how he has been inspiring students in central Pennsylvania to write. Juelz shared his story with teachers and got them to write about theirs. Then he transitioned to sharing ideas for how to inspire students to write. It was an inspiring and extremely authentic time of learning and vulnerability that really resonated with teachers as all of them had taught a Juelz; all of them want to inspire their students to write the way that Juelz has been able to inspire students in local schools.

Our other huge local success was inviting Dr. Danielle Miles, an Administrator in the School District of the City of York. Dr. Miles has presented previously, numerous times, at Millersville University, on CR-SE topics. On the last day of the week, I like to invite a speaker that might seem slightly off-topic (writing), that works to be inspiring to the teachers. Typically, the attendees are an incredibly inspiring group of educators to work with. They are either in a graduate program or taking a graduate course in the summer to learn in a specific area. As a teacher educator, I want to make sure that teachers know that this is admirable. I work to leave them with something that communicates my admiration for the work that they do (during the year as well as all of the other times). Dr. Miles was the key to closing out the week well. She presented on: Rest, Responsibility, and Revolution. She started by validating teachers’ experiences, took them through some powerful thought exercises, and encouraged them in the knowledge that the work they do and every time they encouraged students to tell their stories, they were doing critical work for the future. I’ve been planning this summer’s Writing Institute since last November. I learned that Mark Overmeyer published a new book on writing. I am working to build the week around the theme: When Writing Workshop Isn’t Working. It will be a wonderful Institute and teachers will grow in their confidence in teaching writing and possibly learn to enjoy teaching writing even more. But there was nothing more inspiring than learning about and with a group of educators who wanted to learn how to best engage and instruct their students.

A Review of With You or Without You by Eric Smith

By Janice Ewing

            If you’re looking for a high interest, locally based young adult novel to share with your middle or high school students, I’d like to recommend Eric Smith’s With You or Without You. Set in present day Philadelphia, this is the story of two teenagers, Jordan and Cindy, who work on rival food trucks with their families across a busy city street. Publicly, the teens are feuding as well. The twist, which is quickly shared with the reader, is that Jordan and Cindy are in fact boyfriend and girlfriend. They keep their relationship hidden from public view because the rivalry has taken on the life of its own and brings attention and business to both trucks.

            As if this wasn’t complicated enough, the producers of a reality TV show get wind of their situation and offer them the opportunity to film a pilot based on their rivalry. Reality TV is a passion of Cindy’s and she is thrilled at the opportunity. Jordan, not so much, but in spite of misgivings the two families agree to move forward with the project. At the same time, the pressure is building as both families prepare to compete in Truck Off, an end-of-summer food truck competition with large cash prizes that have the potential to impact the future of all involved.

            The stresses of this pivotal summer after high school graduation uncover old resentments and trauma within and between the families. Perhaps most importantly, Cindy and Jordan have to come to terms with the fact that they have different goals for themselves as individuals, in spite of their commitment to their relationship. Presenting the story in alternating first person points of view, Eric Smith sensitively and colorfully portrays the range of complicated emotions in navigating struggles around allegiance to others versus fulfilling one’s own dreams and facing the future with autonomy This is a highly engaging story with a wealth of themes to explore. Of note, the book has been selected as one of two titles for the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places program.

Smith, Eric (2023). With You or Without You. inkyard Press.

Janice Ewing is a 2004 fellow of the West Chester Writing Project (the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project at that time) and a current member of the advisory board. Her interests include teacher inquiry, collaboration, and mentoring. She and Dr. Mary Buckelew, are the coauthors of Action Research for English Language Arts Teachers: Invitation to Inquiry (Routledge, 2019).