Santee Wateree Writing Project

Developing Successful Writers Through the Use of Mentor Text

2011-03-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

On January 13, 2011, Sumter School District Two held its annual writing workshop for all 5th and 8th grade ELA teachers. The purpose of the workshop was to analyze data to identify weak areas and to present strategies/lessons to empower the teachers to implement the strategies in their classrooms. This year’s 5th grade workshop was presented by Mrs. Gail China and Mrs. Ureka Hilton.

Mrs. China started the workshop by presenting data from last year’s PASS test. She identified voice as an area of weakness across the district. Next, she guided the teachers in a word building activity found at http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/concord/teacherlinks/sixtraits/wordactivity.htm. Teachers were tasked with replacing general vocabulary with “Million Dollar” words. Then Mrs. China led the teachers into a discussion about Mentor Text (what they are and how they can be used to springboard writing instruction). Finally she modeled a lesson using The Important Book by Margret Wise.

Mrs. Hilton also modeled an Idea Development lesson using Enemy Pie by Derek Munson. She started the lesson by asking the teachers three questions. Have you ever had a disagreement with someone? Did you think about getting revenge on that person? If so, what? Mrs. Hilton allowed time for sharing. Next, she introduced the book and tasked teacher groups of three to write their recipe for Enemy Pie. After a brief sharing time, Mrs. Hilton read the book. The teachers were then guided back to the initial three questions. Using a graphic organizer found at http://www.writingfix.com/Picture_Book_Prompts/EnemyPie1.htm, teachers began brainstorming their scheme for revenge. Due to timing, Mrs. Hilton brought the session to an end by sharing the next steps involved in the lesson. She then shared writing strategies and resources she uses in her classroom. Teachers were then prompted to complete a feedback form as presenters for the next session started setting up for their presentations.

-Submitted by Ureka Hilton

Second Annual Poetry Contest

2011-03-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

During the month of October, students from Districts 2 and 17 submitted poetry to the Santee Wateree Writing Project’s Fall Poetry Contest. The contest was an initiative of the Santee Wateree Writing Project in cooperation with the University of South Carolina, Sumter School District 2 and Sumter School District 17. As a part of the poetry contest, students were placed into categories (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Each student was able to submit a reflective piece of poetry that expressed their concerns, inspirations, hopes, dreams, passions, and fears. Students could write the poems in any format; however they were asked that the poem be reflective and less than 20 lines.
On December 2, 2010, over 70 people joined at the University of South Carolina to share in the celebration to honor the students. The following is a list of all of the poems that placed in the 2010 Santee Wateree Writing Project’s Fall Poetry Contest:

The following is a list of all of the poems that placed in the 2010 Santee Wateree Writing Project’s Fall Poetry Contest:

Grades K-2

My Contractions ~ Traycer Winn (Oakland Primary) Ms. Alberta Barrett Johnson
Me ~ Errin Reed (Shaw Heights) Ms. Mudd
Pronouns All About Me~ Samantha Smith (Oakland Primary) Ms. Alberta Barrett Johnson

Grades 3-5

My Great Baseball Life ~ Cody Welch (Pocalla Springs Elementary) Mrs. Gandy
I Am Me ~ Kadielynn McDonald (Pocalla Springs) Mrs. Gandy
All About Me ~ Jade McCoy (Pocalla Springs) Ms. Ward

Grades 6-8

Here I Am ~ Kijana Prescott (Furman Middle School) Ms. Pollard
I Am From ~ Casey Welch (Furman Middle School) Ms. Pollard
Where I’m From ~ Destini Nichols (Furman Middle School) Ms. Pollard

Grades 9-12

The One ~ Julian Holland (Crestwood High School) Mrs. Gwynette Waters
Lunar Rose ~ Emily West Wallace (Sumter High School) Mrs. Amanda O’Neal
What is Color ~ Ka’osha White (Lakewood High School) Mrs. Delawese Fulton

-Submitted by Ureka Hilton

New Books in our Library!!

2010-09-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here are the new books in our Professional Library housed at USC-Sumter.

Summer Writing Institute

2010-07-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you put three elementary school teachers, a middle school English teacher, a middle school Math teacher, and a high school special ed teacher together for three weeks in the summer? The 2010 Santee-Wateree Summer Writing Institute. Together we spent time defining, creating, and shaping our personal writing styles. We exploded moments, played with punctuation, moved beyond the five paragraph essay, painted with adjectives and adverbs, and found poetry. Demonstration lessons allowed us to pack our toolboxes with ideas to bring back to our classrooms in the Fall. Overall, these experiences connected us, challenged us, and made us better teachers and writers.
-written by Shanitra Singleton

Pictures to come later!!

New Course--Advanced Institute

2010-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Having just finished taking this new course offered for Summer 2010 entitled, SWWP Advance Institute, I am excited to blog about its content and professors! With nine days packed with various activities and lessons, we explored several current famous authors and writing workshops with which we could incorporate strategies within our own classroom environments in the fall.

After undergoing my first SWWP in the summer of 2004, I discovered that I truly do have a desire to write and enjoy it in my spare time. I learned a few strategies that I incorporated within my fine-arts focused classroom and I discovered that my middle school age students really enjoyed when I varied my lessons with creative writing without losing the focus of the content unit and standards.

This second institute taught by Ms. Suzanne Koty and Ms. Lynette Creech has renewed my passion for writing and teaching its invaluable fundamentals within my own content area. Stephen King has always been a favorite author of mine and to be able to study his feelings concerning the professional writing process has been a true pleasure this summer. The in-depth study of the professional books and the unique writing workshops taught by Ms. Koty and Ms. Creech have given me a plethora of ideas to use in my own writing as well as within my classroom.

My love of writing has been renewed and I will truly miss the immediate sharing and positive feedback. My hat is off to these two instructors on a job well done with this new summer 2010 course and I hope for other TC's, who have not had the privilege to take it, that this Advance Institute will be the first of many to come!

-written by Janelle Saulsgiver

New Books Added into the Library

2010-05-05T12:08:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the new books the National Writing Project sent us for our library:

Teacher of the Year

2010-04-07T12:05:00.001-07:00

Spring 2010 Melissa Pollard, a Santee Wateree Writing Project Teacher Consultant, was voted Teacher of the Year at Furman Middle School!

Congratulations Melissa!!

New Books In Our Library

2010-03-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Check out the new titles that are in our library!!!

Writing a Life: Teaching Memoir to Sharpen Insight, Shape Meaning--and Triumph Over Tests.
by Katherine Bomer

Hidden Gems: Naming and Teaching From the Brilliance in Every Student's Writing
by Katherine Bomer

Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School
by Georgia Heard

No More "I'm Done!": Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades
by Jennifer Jacobson

Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8
by Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi

Teaching Adolescent Writers
by Kelly Gallagher

Talking, Drawing, and Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers
by Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe

About the Authors: Writing Workshop with our Youngest Writers
by Katie Wood Ray with Lisa B. Cleaveland

Engaging Young Writers: Preschool-Grade 1
by Matt Glover

Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten
by Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover

Lessons that Change Writers
by Nancie Atwell

We also have 3 of Sara Holbrook's books. Sara will be our guest speaker at the 2010 Summer Institute. Here are the following books we have of Sara's in our SWWP Library:

Wham! It's a Poetry Jam: Discovering Performance Poetry

Practical Poetry: A Nonstandard Approach to Meeting Content-Area Standards

Outspoken! How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills Through Poetry Performance

Reading and Writing Mini Conference

2010-03-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

On February 6, 2010, over 70 teachers, librarians, administrators and student teachers from Sumter School Districts 2, 17, University of South Carolina, and surrounding private schools gathered at Pocalla Springs Elementary to attend the first (possibly annual) reading and writing mini conference. The primary objective of the conference was to provide elementary school teachers with model lessons and/or strategies that can immediately be implemented in the classroom. Local teachers conducted breakout sessions that focused on research-based instructional strategies for building and strengthening reading-writing connections within specific genres.

Peggy Bing-O'banner was the keynote speaker. She engaged the teachers with a keynote about the essential elements and issues surrounding reading and writing connections.

With knowledge gained from the Reading and Writing Mini Conference, teachers are tasked with facilitating projects that will further engage students in meaningful writing activities and sharing their knowledge in professional development settings.
-Submitted by Ureka Hilton

National Writing Project Conference in Philadelphia

2010-02-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

The National Writing Project Annual Meeting, held in Philadelphia, PA, November 18-21, 2009, offered seven members of the Santee Wateree Writing Project opportunities to engage in rich discussions with members of other writing projects from across the United States as well as time to reflect on our own progress and plans for our local site here in the Tri-County area. Our representatives attended various sessions devoted to timely topics such as the burgeoning uses of technology in the classroom, tapping into students’ creativity, clarifying copyright laws, organizing writing retreats, dealing with rural poverty, and building reflective practice. We also benefited from a visioning session with Tom Fox who helped us to clarify our present role and to cast a vision for what we would like our Santee Wateree Writing Project to do in the future. Some of us came home with satchels loaded down with protocols for looking at student work, ideas for diving into digital storytelling, possibilities for pod-casting, hopes for embedding professional development at our sites, as well as tons of ready-to-use materials to support our teaching of writing and to share with others.

In addition to the exposure to the hot topics about writing, the Santee Wateree contingency also had time—though somewhat limited—to enjoy the beauty and culture of Philadelphia itself. Visits to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Betsy Ross’s home, spectacular in their own rights, actually paled in comparison for some of us who basked in the warmth of a visit to Edgar Allan Poe’s home. A trip to the Reading Terminal Market brought memories of travels to some who have traveled far and wide and left those of us who are not cosmopolites taking it all in with our mouths agape.

The journey—into a land rich with history—reminded us all of the rich journey into which we can invite our students as we teach them the joy of writing, equipping them with strategies for success while providing them with opportunities to explore their own interests. Who knows? Perhaps we have our very own Poe right here among us now. Without our collaborative expertise, he could be in a classroom napping; napping instead of preparing himself to wow us one day with his writing for which we will be clapping, clapping. Celebrate with us as we seek to advance the cause of the Santee Wateree Writing Project as we implement some of the ideas we gathered at the National Writing Project Annual Meeting.

-Posted by Diane Champion

Santee Wateree Writing Project’s Fall Poetry Contest

2009-11-16T12:16:00.001-08:00

On November 5, 2009, over 50 people joined at the University of South Carolina to share in the celebration to honor the students. The following is a list of all of the poems that placed in the 2009 Santee Wateree Writing Project’s Fall Poetry Contest:

Grades K-2

My Worst Fear ~ Trinity Lucas (Pocalla Springs, 1^st Place) Mrs. Hicks

Baseball Player ~ Descere Summers (Pocalla Springs, 2^nd Place) Mrs. Hicks

Grades 3-5

The Lonely Road ~ Hunter Pritchard (Wilder Elementary, 1^st Place) Ms. Black

All About Me ~ Anitra Anderson (Rafting Creek, 2^nd Place) Mrs. Harrington

Here I Am ~ Tie Wan Frierson (Wilder Elementary, 3^rd Place) Ms. Black

Where I’m From ~ Kaitlyn Hodge (Pocalla Springs, 3^rd Place) Mrs. Hilton

Where I’m From ~ Gavin Rich (Pocalla Springs, 3^rd Place) Mrs. Hilton

Grades 6-8

My Spirit ~ Brandon Wilson (Mayewood Middle School, 1^st Place) Mrs. Edwards

The Fear Hidden Inside of Me ~ Zikera Glover (Mayewood Middle School, 2^nd Place) Mrs. Edwards

The Pain ~ Ricky Scott, Jr. (Mayewood Middle School, 3^rd Place) Mrs. Edwards

Grades 9-12

My World ~ Aaron Jefferson (Sumter High School, 2^nd Place) Ms. Creech

The Idyllic Field ~ Julia Dingle (Sumter High School, 1^st Place) Ms. Tesenair

A Cluttered Girl ~ Shavondria Carter (Sumter High School, 3^rd Place) Mrs. Champion

Love Me, You Give Me Strength ~ Taylor Hill (Sumter High School, 1^st Place) Mrs. Champion

We gratefully acknowledge these sponsors of the Fall Poetry Contest and Awards Ceremony Day:

Bi-Lo Grocery Store IGA Grocery Store Food Lion

JC Penny Red Lobster Office Church Supply

Fire House Subs Chili’s Golden Corral

Sonic’s Outback Steakhouse Applebee’s

Walden Book Store Shoney’s Ward’s Bar-b-Que

The Gift Shop

-Written by Ureka Hilton

October Book Club

2009-10-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

On the afternoon of October 24, 2009, Jennifer gathered with a group of Sumter women at Baker's Sweets to discuss Beverly Tatum's book, Can We Talk About Race? And that is exactly what we did that afternoon. The women who showed up for the discussion shared their experiences, asked pointed questions, and reflected on what it meant to live and teach in a world where race is still a deciding factor. The discussion was generative and we began to look at ways to help teachers and students who are struggling to come to terms with of race in the classroom. We look forward to continuing the dialogue throughout the year and addressing these issues.

Anyone who is interested in reading the book, can find it online at Amazon.com or can check it out at our Santee Wateree Library now housed in the USC-Sumter library.

Last, we want to thank Baker's Sweets for reserving a table for us. It was a wonderful venue, that promoted rich conversation about tough issues (but then again, who wouldn't want to talk about tough issues if you can have some of those desserts with the discussion!!). :)

-writtten by Jennifer L. Wilson

Reunion Potluck

2009-09-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

On September 14th, we had a reunion potluck at USC-Sumter for all former writing project participants. The evening included wonder excellent homemade biscuits (that turned out to be very much in the theme of things that evening), fried chicken, hashbrown casserole, plus tons of drinks a dessert. After sharing the new website and some of the upcoming events (check the website to get a complete listing!), we had a wonderful presentation by Amy Mikell on "Kneading Topics for Young Writers."

Amy brought in a wonderful poem by Freda Quenneville, "Mother's Biscuits," and walked us through a wonderful lesson that included a shared and choral reading of the poem, creating a T-chart on our noticings and response, creating a list of foods that we have emotional ties to, and then giving us time to talk, write, and share with one another.

Some of the writing we shared together included a haiku by Ureka entitled "Help:"

Help!

If you taste momma's
Jiffy cornbread dressing you'll
sho nuf hurt yourself!

And last Diane shared a piece about her experience with biscuits, entitled "Those Biscuit Holes":

Few people know the true art of drilling biscuit holes.

Warm, palm-sized biscuits,

a sticky can of Cane Patch syrup,

an index finger for a drill—

and a jeweler’s precision as he cuts into an oil well—

in reverse—

for biscuit holes come first

before the mother load of syrup fills the cache.

The slow,

slow

pouring

of the w a t e r y t h i n black nectar

is crucial for success.

The smiling syrup at the hole’s precipice

proclaims the child’s lip-licking, ephemeral victory

of a perfectly drilled

ready-to-eat

syrup biscuit.

After all this writing and talking about biscuits, I have to admit I stopped off at KFC on my way home and got a biscuit!

-Written by Jennifer L. Wilson

Leadership Retreat

2009-09-14T17:58:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know what a great time I had at the leadership retreat last week. I was disappointed about not having the summer institute at first, but we got so many important items taken care of in such a short time that it was worth it. I'm especially excited about the advanced summer institute that Suzanne Koty and I are going to do for TCs. I've already talked to several TCs who are also very excited about it. The workshop will be an advanced writing workshop for our TCs who just didn't get enough writing workshop when they did the summer institute and want to write more. Suzanne and I have been furiously planning that workshop. We'll have more information on the website in August. We will have an application on the website for those who are interested. I very much enjoyed seeing Frank Baker on Thursday, June 18th. I wish all of you could have been there, but his website is great too. Check it out! I have so many ideas from his presentation not only for my own classroom, but for our broadcast media class that the English department at Sumter High offers. I'm very excited about sharing some of the information and ideas with my department. As many of you know, I have had the SWWP library at my house for two years, and this was not only inconvenient for me, but a pain for all of you to check out books. Those books are now housed at the USC Sumter library, and I will be getting a complete list of all those books on our website. I'll have that list finished by Friday July 3rd. We will be getting all TCs cards so that they can check the books out of the library. If you need a book before then, please feel free to go to the library and ask where they're housed, and you can use them in the library. Hopefully this will be a more user-friendly way to run the library. I look forward to hearing from all of you. Let me know if you have any questions or comments about anything involving the SWWP.

-Written by Lynette Creech

Media Literacy Workshop

2009-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

"Our students are moving and advancing in today’s technological society.
This workshop allowed me to seek new avenues to
bring media into the classroom to use in teaching the standards!”

-Sheila Ragin

On June 18, 2009, we sponsored a workshop with Frank Baker at USC Sumter. The event, which was open to all TCs, focused on Media Literacy: Incorporating Film into the Writing Classroom. Frank had us sharing, watching, and discussing favorite clips from movies we loved; brainstorming our own PSAs (Public Service Announcements); gaining screenwriting skills; discussing novels made into films; viewing real artists’ storyboards; and analyzing films in small groups. Frank suggested we all Google “The Cost of Copyright Confusion” to help us better understand the ins and outs of copyright laws and see that many of the things we thought we couldn’t do in the classroom are in all actuality legal!

Frank reminded us how important it is for media literacy to go beyond talking about propaganda, but moved us into thinking of more complex understanding. He quoted Heidi Hayes Jacob when he said, “If video is how we are communicating and persuading in this new century, why aren’t more students writing screenplays as part of their schoolwork?”

We laughed, we wrote, and we learned! Candi summed it up best for us when she said, “What an enlightening Day! I will never watch a movie in the same way again! My students will think I am cooler than cool!”

For more information, news, and resources about media literacy, please visit Frank’s website The Media Literacy Clearinghouse at http://www.frankwbaker.com/.

Frank also donated a signed copy of his first children’s book, Coming Attractions: Questioning Movies, to our writing project. This is a non-fiction picture book published by Capstone Press that helps elementary students begin to question the messages in film.

His newest book, Political Campaigns and Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide, which comes out on June 30th, focuses on the role of media in politics. Check it out online at Amazon.com or at your local book store!

-Written by Jennifer L. Wilson