Literacy-Related Event

Celebrate the National Day on Writing®!

Date
October 20
Calendar Activity Type
Literacy-Related Event

Event Description

To draw attention to the remarkable variety of writing Americans engage in and to help make writers from all walks of life aware of their craft, the National Council of Teachers of English has established October 20 as the National Day on Writing®. It's important for everyone to share their knowledge about writing, organize participating groups in our schools and/or communities, and transform the public's understanding of writing and the role it plays in society today.

Classroom Activity

Encourage your students to uncover all of the different kinds of writing they do on a daily basis by asking them to keep a list of everything they write, from text messages to school assignments, e-mails to diary entries, in a single day.

After students make a list of everything they wrote in a day, help them see the variety in their writing, both individually and as a class. Post colorful chart paper with age-appropriate questions about purpose, audience, genre or type, and technology around the room. Ask students to brainstorm different categories for each poster based on the writing they did. Write these categories on the posters and then have students contribute examples from their personal lists. Facilitate a gallery walk of the posters once students have contributed to all of them.

Encourage students to view and reflect on all kinds of writing - no matter the purpose, audience, type, or technology.

 

Websites

Here you will find information about the National Day on Writing® initiative, as well as links to a variety of NCTE writing resources and tips for writing.

 

Keep these tips from NCTE in mind as you think about your writing.

 

This collection of position statements includes the "NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing" and "Writing Now: A Policy Research Brief."

 

This is the online home of the NWP, a professional development network with the mission of improving student achievement by improving the teaching of writing and improving learning in the nation's schools.

 

The Learning Network provides teaching and learning materials and ideas based on New York Times content.

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