NWP Radio

In this “make-with-me” episode, NAMLE’s Jaclyn Siegel and Caitlin Barry will provide examples of media literacy activities that can be implemented in History and English classrooms, grades 6-12. They will cover activities relating to news media, social media, stereotypes in the media, and video production. Viewers will receive lesson activity examples and resources to use in their own classroom!

With a small twist of fate, any hero could become a villain, and any villain, a hero. That was the premise of 2016’s Twist Fate Challenge, a month-long challenge for youth ages 13-17 that kicked off during last year’s Teen Tech Week. A collaborative partnership between DeviantArt and Wattpad with the Young Adult Library Association and the National Writing Project as part of the Connected Learning...

In this conversation, we use storytelling and discussion to explore the ways in which making can excite and empower traditionally underserved populations. We hope to show what equity-minded maker education looks like in action, and provide guidance for educators looking for ways to authentically engage all members of their community through making.

Creating and starting a makerspace is an exciting venture; you build a team and purchase new equipment. There are a lot of resources (people and articles) that describe how emergent makerspaces can get off the ground. Once your makerspace has been open for a few years, you begin to experience challenges that are distinctly different from those start-up challenges, and there are very few, if any, r...

For this conversation, we are joined by Kira Baker Doyle, author of the new book, Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, which follows civic-minded educators who are using twenty-first-century participatory practices and connected technologies to organize change from the ground up. In this 3-part series, we explore what it means to be a transformative teache...

For this conversation, we are joined by Kira Baker Doyle, author of the new book, Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, which follows civic-minded educators who are using twenty-first-century participatory practices and connected technologies to organize change from the ground up. This is the 2nd episode in a 3-part series, where we explore what it means to...

Summer is a lovely time to reflect on the past school year and (after a lengthy break) start thinking about the Fall. Making lasting changes to practice and systems is one of the toughest goals to reach. In order to tackle those challenges, questions are a lovely place to start, and inquiry is one of the best tools. Join Diana Laufenberg and friends/colleagues to discuss the questions posed by Jam...

For this conversation, we are joined by Kira Baker Doyle, author of the new book, Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, which follows civic-minded educators who are using twenty-first-century participatory practices and connected technologies to organize change from the ground up. In this 3-part series, we explore what it means to be a transformative teache...

For this conversation, we are joined by Bronwyn Clare LaMay, author of Personal Narrative, Revised: Writing Love and Agency in the High School Classroom (2016, Teachers College Press and National Writing Project). Guests explore how students and teachers can bring their whole selves to the classroom and how drawing on their personal experiences via narrative writing can lead to a richer exploratio...

Join Kim Jaxon, Tom Fox, and writing mentors, Brittany DeLacy and Geoff Bogan, as they explain, theorize, and discuss why large, epic learning spaces are not only just as good, but perhaps even better learning environments than smaller courses. We offer two examples—a large, freshman composition course and a large scale writing program—to argue the affordances of designing for epic learning enviro...

Recognizing that teacher leadership has become a hot educational topic, and that many organizations are working to grow and foster it and to put it to work to improve teaching and learning, the National Writing Project hosts this conversation with leaders from three teacher leadership development organizations in order to explore key questions about teacher leadership: what is it? How is it foster...

In today’s world, how do we best build and maintain democratic societies that are pluralistic, open, and resilient to violence? What can we learn from history to help us in this inquiry? Join staff and teachers of Facing History and Ourselves in a conversation about lessons for democracy today from a case study on the Holocaust.

Last month, in an Educator Innovator webinar titled “Growing Up American-Muslim: Challenges and Opportunities in the Classroom & Beyond,” teachers and youth convened to discuss the experiences of American-Muslim students and teachers across geographic and educational contexts. In this webinar we are joined by authors of By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (2016, NYU Press) and dive deep...

The term “fake news” has been dominating the media, but what does it mean and why does it matter for youth? In this interactive webinar, experts from The LAMP, a nationally-recognized leader in media literacy education, breaks down key terms and ideas for understanding “fake news” with basic media literacy principles. We also introduce some free tools and activities that educators can use to help...

We live in contentious and divisive times that have affected specific communities in very real ways. In particular, rampant stereotyping of Muslims in the United States today, coupled with surveillance and privacy concerns, have the power to paralyze, damage and isolate young American Muslim in classroom settings. Inadequate understanding of Islam also makes it difficult for educators to help stud...

Did you love Letters to the Next President? Are you looking for ways to keep students energized about issues that matter to them? Join us for a discussion with educators who are using the first 100 days of the new administration to continue (and start!) conversations, projects and civic action around issues important to students. The first 100 days goes through the end of April, so there’s plenty...

How can you engage teens to be Changemakers? KidsTales.org, a nonprofit founded by a kid for kids, presents their changemaking story and explores how to create, engage, and sustain teen changemakers. Kidstales.org brings creative writing workshops, taught by teen instructors, to 8 to 12 year old kids that do not have access to writing experiences outside of school. During a Kids Tales workshop, ki...

This webinar highlights strategies for representing multiple perspectives and addressing difficult topics, and discusses criteria for selecting and using primary sources in instruction, including thinking about audience, historical context, and point of view.

In this webinar, education experts model how to use visible thinking strategies to enhance the power of primary sources in your classroom. A wide variety of easy-to-use routines are modeled and discussed.

Image, Sound, and Story is a professional development program from the Jacob Burns Film Center preparing teachers in grades 5-10 to integrate viewing and creating media into their classroom culture and literacy instruction. The curriculum will eventually expand to reach Pre-K – 12. In addition to sharing excerpts of the unique and innovative approach of Image, Sound, and Story, the webinar shares...

Museum educators and teachers from Philadelphia share some of the things they have learned from designing learning for middle school youth in out-of-school time spaces at the intersections of science, literacy, gaming, and making. This webinar discusses experiences and questions that emerge from the GAME ON! Philadelphia project through which youth explore the nature of gaming alongside natural sc...

In this webinar, guests explore what the Library of Congress has for teachers, including lesson plans and primary source sets, webinars and professional development opportunities, social media channels, and more. They also share their top tips and favorite resources.

This webinar explores how writing can support students in (1) strengthening conceptual understanding of scientific phenomena, (2) engaging in practices related to thinking and communicating like scientists, and (3) moving science knowledge and practices beyond subject and school boundaries into action in local and global communities. The webinar also includes a discussion about writing in science...

How do teachers invite students to both be themselves and become a community in these times? Alan Singer has been sharing suggestions at Huffington Post for teachers during this election season, writing, "Our obligation is not to maintain some abstract form of 'balance' in the classroom, but to help students become critical thinkers who learn to listen to others, evaluate their statements carefull...

Youth’s research into civic issues that engage their interests and ignite their passions can represent powerful learning experiences. Yet the genre of the academic research paper isn’t the most effective means for engaging in civic advocacy. In this session, the National Writing Project introduced a draft of its Civically Engaged Writing Analysis Continuum (CEWAC), comprised of two interconnected...