New Additions to the RRVWP Library!

We have recently added some new titles to the RRVWP library that may be of interest to you! If any of these titles stand out to you, feel free to stop by the office in 318 Minard at NDSU and check them out.

Teacher Feature - Kristine Gruenberg

This week's featured teacher is East Grand Forks's Kristine Gruenberg, who has been involved with the Red River Valley Writing Project since 2006. 

Where and what do you currently teach?  

I am at East Grand Forks Senior High where I teach primarily English 9, but also college in the high school Introduction to Literature and Composition I to seniors. I really enjoy working with freshman. These

Teacher Feature - Angela Hase

This week’s featured teacher is Angela Hase. She currently teaches AP Language and Composition at Moorhead High School in Moorhead, Minnesota. She completed the RRVWP’s Summer Institute in 2012, and last month she co-facilitated the Writing Project’s Winter Writing Retreat at Maplelag Resort.

What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading several books. I'm always reading several because each type takes such a varied amount of time to complete. I am about halfway through The Courage To Teach by

Tuesday's Teacher Feature: Pam Fisher

This week’s Featured Teacher is Pam Fisher, a current Co-Director and former In-Service/Outreach and Continuity Coordinator for the RRVWP. In the past, Pam has also co-facilitated the Summer Institute. She first attended a Summer Institute in 2003 and was a returning fellow in the 2004 and 2006 Summer Institutes and the 2011 Fall Institute. Not only does Pam currently co-direct RRVWP, but she also facilitates the book club meetings. She teaches both Spanish and English in Grand Forks and strives to promote her love for writing and reading within both of her subjects.

On top of her numerous responsibilities, Pam writes her own poetry and short narratives outside of the classroom. She believes that poetry can be an accessible genre to anyone, which she tries to impart upon both her English and Spanish students. She even assigns her students to read and write poetry so that they can become more comfortable and familiar with the genre.

In addition to writing, Pam reads a variety of genres as well; she says that she reads to learn, understand experiences outside of her own, and enjoy authors’ craft. This is clear from her own reading list, as it is a mix of several fiction and non-fiction genres: Mindset by Carol Dweck, Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, Foreign Language Teacher's Guide to Active Learning by Deborah Blaz, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Aside from her own reading, Pam provides opportunities for her students to experience reading for craft and knowledge through many genres. To encourage reading outside the classroom, she offers her students with Scholastic book order forms to peruse and even lists her own recommendations for books.

Pam is clearly inspiring, through her ability to juggle numerous responsibilities both in the classroom and through RRVWP. However, she stresses that there are so many teachers and students who inspire her to improve her own teaching. In her own words, Pam explains, “I am always energized by the dedicated teachers I meet, but most of all I am inspired by my students, whose commitment and enthusiasm drive me to provide them the best learning situations I can.”

Call for Comments: Who/what inspires you as a teacher?
Remember: You can comment on any October blogpost through October 31st to be entered in the drawing to win a signed copy of Winger by Andrew Smith!

Teacher Feature: Olivia Edwardson

Olivia Edwardson is an eighth grade language arts teacher at Cheney Middle school who truly considers herself to be a writer outside of the classroom. She pursues a variety of writing genres, including journaling, blogging, nonfiction writing, and journalism. She is currently working on a few nonfiction book projects and hopes to someday publish them. Moreover, she even contributes pieces to GenTwenty, an online publication that describes itself as “The Twenty-Something’s Guide to Life.” Olivia particularly enjoys writing lifestyle and career pieces for GenTwenty. She clearly has experience writing in a variety of genres.

Olivia’s passion for writing flows into her teaching, as she uses her own writing as mentor texts in the classroom. She not only shows her students her work but also demonstrates how she revised these pieces over time so the students can understand revision processes. Through this modeling, she instills in them an understanding that writing can never be perfect the first time and that revision is essential to become a stronger writer. Olivia also believes that writers must write daily to become better writers, which is why she provides opportunities for her students to journal every day on various topics.

Much of what fuels Olivia’s strengths in writing and teaching is what she spends her time reading outside of school. She says that she reads primarily to stay informed and foster imaginative ideas. Her desire to learn about the world is what inspired her to read about a variety of topics and begin her nonfiction writing. Above all, she considers reading “an opportunity... to broaden [her] horizons and grow as an individual.”

Olivia’s desire for individual growth is apparent from the book she is currently reading, Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith. The book provides an in-depth discussion about the American education system as well as strategies for better preparing students for the future. Olivia began reading this book after seeing the documentary based on the book at the Fargo Theater a couple weeks ago. After learning about these revolutionary teaching strategies through the film, she decided that she needed to learn more to better her own knowledge and teaching. Thus, Olivia’s reading significantly fuels her aims to learn about the world and strengthen her writing instruction.

Maplelag...

We're pleased to announce our Winter Writing Retreat, January 25-27, 2013, at Maplelag Resort near Calloway, Minnesota (north of Detroit Lakes on Hwy. 59).

It's almost here.