Special Projects -- Overview
The Young Writers Project engages students to write, helps them improve and publishes their work everywhere we can. We seek to reach as many students as possible and we believe money should never be a barrier to becoming a good writer.
For that reason we try lots of things and engage in a number of special projects to help interest students. Here is a listing of our special projects, present and past:
Present projects:
ONLINE WRITING CENTER. Does your writing club, school, class or nonprofit organization want a special Web site for writing? Young Writers Project has developed inexpensive Web site solutions that allow students to share their writing, comment on each other's work and get feedback from teachers and others. YWP is doing these on a "pilot" basis in order to confirm our early findings: The medium produces extraordinary results -- students write more, enjoy it more and create a kind of mini-community within their class. If this is something that interests you, please email YWP Editor Geoffrey Gevalt
PODCASTING. We will soon have high quality digital recorders for loan to schools, nonprofit groups or individual students for use in journalism projects and audio storytelling. If this is something that interests you, please email YWP Editor Geoffrey Gevalt
SENIOR WRITERS. We are seeking strong writers -- in any grade -- to focus on a topic, story or project. We will provide some guidance and will showcase your work on the YWP Web site. The work of Senior Writers can be viewed by clicking the links in the upper right hand corner of this page. YWP Editor Geoffrey Gevalt, a veteran of 33 years in journalism, will work with the students.If you are interested in being considered, e-mail Gevalt, the YWP Editor.
STUDENT JUDGING. Do you like writing and reading? Are you a critical thinker? Help the YWP choose the best student submissions for publication in newspapers and on the Web site. All work submitted to YWP is judged by students online under the guidance of Lee McIsaac, the YWP’s content coordinator. This year, YWP also will have Judging in the Classroom. We will come to your classroom and have students read the finalists and choose which ones should get published. Contact the YWP through its Web site if you are interested.
Student judges are being asked to judge ONLY once a month and will do so on the Web at their own schedule. If you're interested, e-mail Geoffrey Gevalt, the YWP editor or Lee McIsaac, who will be coordinating the judging this year for YWP.
COLLEGE MENTORS. Top students from St. Michael’s College, the University of Vermont, Castleton State College and Middlebury College will be providing feedback on most of the student entries submitted this year. If you are a college student and are interested, contact Geoffrey Gevalt, YWP Editor. For more, click here.
Past Projects:
The China Project: The Young Writers Project led this multi-media project that involved several dozen students in the Vermont Youth Orchestra which went on a performing tour of China in the summer of 2007. This project involved workshops, a multi-media blog and resulted in student work published in newspapers, on Vermont Public Radio and Vermont Public Television and on stage at First Night/Burlington. Link to all parts of the project.
