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Posts from the ‘PAWLP’ Category

Apr 29

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A Trio of Poetry

As National Poetry Month draws to its close, we thought we’d share a small trio of poems, written by two of our own here at PAWLP, Lynne Dorfman and Kathy Barham. As you can see, Lynne’s “Country Inn: Imagining a Different Life” draws on rich sensory detail—the “fireplaces crickles and crackles” and “pageantry of brilliant color.” Meanwhile, Kathy’s “Spring” brings the reader up close and personal to Nature in an encounter with a cardinal in springtime, while “Hard to be a Cod” takes playful inspiration from, of all things, a typo.  Read more

Apr 26

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Celebrating 35 Years of Teachers Teaching Teachers

On a beautiful spring Saturday, more than 75 educators, teachers, and friends gathered together to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the PA Writing and Literature Project. The luncheon, held at the West Chester Alumni Center, was hosted by Fellow and master of ceremonies, Bruce Perlman, and featured musical entertainment by Pat Bove, Gaetan Pappalardo, and Rob Levitt. Guests enjoyed a trip down memory lane with a photo slideshow as well as a poetry reading from PAWLP poet-in-residence Don LaBranche. PAWLP also raised money for its scholarship fund through a silent auction during the event. Many past and current PAWLP coordinators shared their thoughts, including PAWLP founder, Bob Weiss, who had a vision 35 years ago of a professional community of teachers and writers, a vision helped to make PAWLP what it is today. Remembering those early days, Bob shared:  Read more

Apr 8

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Celebrating Poetry with Fig Trees and Cake | Guest Post by Janet Wong

By Janet Wong 

UPDATE 4/15/15: And we have a winner! Jo Anne Johns – you are the lucky recipient of a copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations! Please email us at triciambe@gmail.com so that we can put you in touch with Janet. Thanks so much to everyone who participated and left wonderful comments and ideas below. 

UPDATE 4/11/15: We’re so happy to announce a GIVEAWAY! Janet Wong has graciously offered to give away a copy of the Teacher / Librarian Edition of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. To enter, simply post a brief comment below and share one of your favorite poetry activities to do with students or how you plan to celebrate poetry this month! Please post your comment by Tuesday, 4/14, at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be randomly selected and announced on Wednesday morning.

I agree with Janice Ewing: I too “have mixed feelings about special months designated for things that should be embedded into our teaching and celebrated all through the year.” Poetry is so easy to incorporate into your teaching day; most poems take less than a minute to read. Poetry is so useful, too, especially in teaching other content areas (science, math, social studies, the arts, and P.E. or sports). Saving it just for April would be like saving cake just for birthdays.

But there are some designated months that are still very necessary. Read more

Nov 27

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Story as the Landscape of Knowing: Reflections on NCTE

NCTE 1This past weekend, several PAWLPers had the opportunity to attend the 2014 NCTE Annual Convention in Washington DC. Below are a handful of reflections from what was a truly amazing experience. Read more

Sep 9

Literacy Rocks!

ILD poster Eileen

Created by 5th grade students this summer in the Young Writers/Young Readers Program.

Sep 6

About WCWP

Welcome to the blog site of the PA Writing and Literature Project (PAWLP), one of the oldest and largest sites of the National Writing Project (NWP). Together with our network of teachers, local and nationwide, we work to improve the teaching of writing and learning in schools.

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