Writing institute set for July 9-13

The Arkansas Delta Writing Project will present a weeklong institute for kindergarten-12th-grade teachers and college-level instructors and faculty members.

They will learn how to improve their strategies for teaching writing.

The institute, scheduled from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 9-13, will be held at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Participants will write, be part of demonstration lessons and discuss professional readings related to literacy practices, according to a news release. They will also learn more about how to use technology and visual media.

Thirty hours of Arkansas Department of Education-approved professional development credit is available for participants who complete the weeklong institute.

The Arkansas Delta Writing Project Fellows will be part of a national network of more than 200 National Writing Project sites on college campuses in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

They can then participate in state and national conferences, where fellows share their knowledge and expertise. The idea, organizers say, is for participants to continue to become better teachers of writing by writing themselves.

Potential institute fellows can contact Karen Kleppe Graham, an ASU assistant professor of teacher education, at kgraham@AState.edu for the application and for more information.

Facilitators will include Margaret Robbins, a middle school English language arts teacher at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta, and Debbie West, a Nettleton School District technology coach who has been involved with the Arkansas Delta Writing Project for several years.