Virginia Young Writers Click Link for the VSRA Website for more information about Virginia Young Writers Program Virginia Young Writers Web Resources National Writing Project http://www.writingproject.org/ The National Writing Project (NWP), based at the U. of California-Berkeley, is a network of 150 sites, each representing a school/university partnership. The site has a wealth of professional development resources for teachers of writing at all levels, primary through college, including online discussion lists (Urban and Rural, also Teacher Inquiry), author-led seminars, and a regularly updated "NWP Interactive." Professional Development PBS TeacherSource: Arts and Literature http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/arts_lit.htm PBS TeacherSource provides searchable access to the various lesson plans, teaching resources, and student activities on the PBS website. The collection can by sorted by grade level and curricular areas (books, reading skills, and so forth). Instructional Resources, Reference Library, Student Resources PoetryTeachers.com http://www.poetryteachers.com/ The site provides ideas for poetry lessons, contests, and activities. It also links to Giggle Poetry (http://www.gigglepoetry.com/), a fun site for students reading, rating, and writing poems. Instructional Resources, Student Resources Publishing with Students http://www.publishingstudents.com/ This website gives practical advice to teachers interested in helping students publish their writing. The site includes links to websites that focus on student writing and publishing, a page for teachers to exchange ideas, and a list of award programs and writing competitions for students. Instructional Resources SmartWriters.com http://www.SmartWriters.com/ Educators and students can make use of several SmartWriters.com features, including interviews with children’s writers, writing contest links for young writers, classroom resources for teachers and librarians, and a directory of children’s authors and illustrators who are available for school visits. Instructional Resources, Student Resources Textmapping Project http://www.textmapping.org/ Textmapping is a graphic organizer technique used to teach reading comprehension and writing skills, study skills, and course content. Instructional Resources, Professional Development The Poetry Forge http://www.poetryforge.org/ The Poetry Forge offers teacher tools such as poetry generators, lesson plans, and discussion groups for teachers attempting to implement these activities. Students have access to many of the same tools, and they have their own forum to discuss and publish their work. Instructional Resources, Professional Development, Student Resources The Write Site http://writesite.org/ The Write Site provides resources on journalism, from generating leads, gathering facts, and writing stories. Instructional Resources, Student Resources Treasures@Sea: Exploring the Ocean through Literature http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow8/dec98/main.html Treasures@Sea has ocean-themed activities for students, including word searches, crosswords, and quizzes. For teachers, there are mini-lessons centered around art, writing, and book activities, all bringing into the classroom a lively understanding of our treasures at sea. Instructional Resources, Student Resources