Special Projects -- Overview

The Young Writers Project runs several special projects AND special opportunities for interested students each year. Here's a listing of some of the best of what we've done in the past.

Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival Blog. An energetic team of young writers attends and writes about the festival -- poems or stories or imaginings triggered by the music; observations; essays; interviews; collaborations. The festival, held at Elley-Long Music Center, began in 2009 and is led by the brilliant violinist Soovin Kim, and features some of the world's finest musicians.

Vermont's Future. This was a special prompt done in partnership with the Council on Vermont’s Future. Thirteen essays were selected for cash awards and special presentation and publication. Students wrote 500-750 word essays that answered any, some or all of these questions:

1. What does it mean to be a Vermonter?
2. What is the one thing you would change about Vermont?
3. If you could live here in 10 years, would you? Why or why not?
4. What is the most important thing to you about life in Vermont?
5. How has growing up in Vermont affected your life/your outlook?

Essays could be narrative or persuasive, and students were encouraged to write from their your experiences and observations. To read the winning essays, click here.

Quadricentennial Project. YWP partnered with Burlington City Arts and Champlain College to focus student writing and other activities around the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's arrival at the lake that now bears his name. For some historical perspective, click here. The prompts, Discovery, First Encounter and Border Crossings, were due throughout the year.

Six Pieces in Six Words in Six Minutes. This was an exciting partnership with Vermont Symphony Orchestra: Six students had their six-word short stories chosen; those pieces were given to a young composer who wrote one-minute pieces of music for each. In two concerts held in early December, 2008, students read their pieces and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra played one-minute musical interpretations of each.

The China Project: The Young Writers Project led this multimedia project that involved several dozen students in the Vermont Youth Orchestra who went on a performing tour of China in the summer of 2007. Students participated in workshops, a multimedia blog and had their work published in newspapers, on Vermont Public Radio and Vermont Public Television and on stage at First Night/Burlington. Click here to read more, see a multimedia collage about the project and find links to news articles about it. This project gives you an idea of the power and potential of doing a project on the Web.

Ongoing projects and programs:

DIGITAL WRITING CLASSROOMS. Does your writing club, school, class or nonprofit organization want a special Web site for writing? YWP 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. To find out more, go to ywpschools.net where you can read more about it and can watch a video of student reaction. To find out about getting a Digital Writing Classroom for your classroom or afterschool group email or call (802.324.9539) YWP Director Geoffrey Gevalt.

MASTER'S COURSE YWP offers a 3-credit, Master's-level course accredited through St. Michael's College for teachers; the course includes a Digital Writing Classroom Web site to be used in the teacher's classroom during the year. For more: email or call (802.324-9539) YWP Director Geoffrey Gevalt.

PODCASTING. We 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 or phone (802.324-9539) YWP Director Geoffrey Gevalt. In the meantime, if you want to try your hand at podcasting, feel free to do so on this site.

“MY LIFE” radio commentaries. YWP is partnering with Vermont Public Radio for an ongoing series for radio broadcast. We are looking for conversational stories or commentary on events or moments in your lives. Focus on one topic that engages you, where you feel you have something to say in which others would be interested. VPR will record, produce and air the selected writer reading his or her piece for the morning news shows! If you are interested, email Geoffrey Gevalt, YWP director. For more information and guidelines, click here.

STUDENT JUDGING. Help 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.
Student judges will be asked to judge only a few times during the year. If you're interested, e-mail Lee McIsaac, the YWP content coordinator, or call 802.324-9539.

COLLEGE MENTORS. Top students from St. Michael’s College, the University of Vermont, Castleton State College and Middlebury College provide feedback on student entries submitted to the Newspaper Series. If you are a college student and are interested, contact Lee McIsaac, YWP Mentoring Program Coordinator. For more, click here.