2008 Thirteenth Annual NWPCTELA Writing Awards Contest For Students in Grades 1-12
Sponsored By:
Northwest Pennsylvania Council Of Teachers of English and Language Arts
Coordinated By:
Open to all member teachers and their grade 1 through 12 students Contest Dates: October 1st 2007 – March 31st 2008
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September 30, 2007 Dear Educator, On behalf of The Northwestern Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, The Edinboro Student chapter of NCTE invites you and your grade 1 through 12 students to participate in our annual writing contest for the 2007-2008 school year. This contest allows you to give your students an opportunity to gauge their writing ability with students from school districts throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania. Since the beginning of this contest, teachers have expressed appreciation for this opportunity to engage students in the writing process. In addition, a number of you have stated your students have appreciated earning public recognition for their outstanding abilities. This year we are breaking with tradition. In addition to our established categories (grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12) we are now opening up a category for teachers to submit their own entries for first, second, and third prizes. By adding this feature, we want to show our students (and administrators) that writing is for everyone! We encourage all to participate in this year’s contest. As with other years, each student is evaluated against his or her peers. By including you as faculty in the contest, we hope that this becomes an experience that is rewarding for everyone. We will post all our winning entries from each category on our website (www.eupncte.org) so that teachers and students can enjoy the responses and gauge the progress that people are making through the grades. Our website will allow for submissions from October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, which will allow you time to work this contest into your curriculum schedule at your convenience. We will notify winners by the end of April so that there will be time to prepare for the end of the year award ceremonies. We will holistically score all essays using the PA Writing Assessment Rubric. We welcome your participation in this effort to encourage student writing.
Dr. Barabara Rahal NWPCTELA President Contest Coordinators: Dr. Robert W. Holderer Edinboro University Student NCTE Co-Advisor rholderer@edinboro.edu Dr. Mary Jo Melvin Edinboro University Student NCTE Co-Advisor mmelvin@edinboro.edu Pamela S. Durnell Edinboro University Student NCTE President p216275d@edinboro.edu
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2008 NWPCTELA Writing Contest for students in grades 1-12
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Rules and Procedures
Eligibility: All NWPCTELA member teachers and their students are eligible to enter the contest (membership in the NWPCTELA is required for entry in the contest. A membership application is enclosed. The annual individual dues are $7.00). What: Participants will write an essay from the provided prompts using the steps of the writing process. A detailed explanation may be found at http://www.eupncte.org. When: The contest runs from October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008. Entries must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2008. Entries: A cover sheet for entries can be obtained at http://www.eupncte.org. Entries may be submitted either electronically or by paper. Judging: All entries must be original work. The assessment will use the “Pennsylvania Writing Assessment Domain Scoring Guide.” The decision of the writing assessment team is final. Prizes: We will send prizes to the winning participants by the end of April 2008. The prizes will be sent to the teachers for distribution. All original writing will be returned. All participants agree by their entrance to this contest (unless notified otherwise) to have their name and/or writing published on our website and in the Erie Times Newspaper in May or June 2008.
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2008 Writing Prompts
Students must choose one of the following prompts from their grade level, and they are welcome to choose a prompt from the next grade level if they want an additional challenge. Teachers have the freedom to choose any prompt from the various grade levels. Grades 1-5 Writing Prompts: • Prompt #1 – “Alone At Last”: Your parents just left on a weeklong vacation – leaving you, in charge of the house. What would you do? • Prompt #2 – “A Funny Thing Happened”: Most of us are familiar with the T.V. show “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and have seen or been part of funny events that would have made good entries on the show. Tell us about a particular event that you think could win first prize. • Prompt #3 – “If I Were President…”: You have just been elected President of the United States of America. What would you do? • Prompt #4 – “What Makes a Good Teacher”: All of us have had teachers whom we thought were wonderful. Identify a teacher that you think was wonderful and explain what made that teacher such a wonderful person.
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Grades 6-8 Writing Prompts: • Prompt #1 – “Alone At Last”: Your parents just left on a weeklong vacation – leaving you, in charge of the house. What would you do? • Prompt #2 – “What Makes a Good Teacher”: All of us have had teachers whom we thought were wonderful. Identify a teacher that you think was wonderful and explain what made that teacher such a wonderful person. • Prompt #3 – “Are You Being Served”: You have been asked to design a new restaurant with a special theme. This restaurant should be designed around one of your hobbies or special interests. Remember, people who come to your restaurant should enjoy it! • Prompt #4 – “If I Were Ahab”: You have probably read books from a wide variety of genres – fairy tales, science fiction, romance, mysteries. If you could live the life of any character in fiction, whom would you choose and why? Grades 9-12 Writing Prompts: • Prompt #1 – “What Makes a Good Teacher”: All of us have had teachers whom we thought were wonderful. Identify a teacher that you think was wonderful and explain what made that teacher such a wonderful person. • Prompt #2 – “If I Were Ahab”: You have probably read books from a wide variety of genres – fairy tales, science fiction, romance, mysteries. If you could live the life of any character in fiction, whom would you choose and why? • Prompt #3 – “Arranged Marriage”: In some cultures, marriages are arranged. The parents, sometimes with the aid of a matchmaker, choose mates for their children. If your parents had to choose a mate for you, whom do you think they would choose for you and why? • Prompt #4 – “Theme Park”: You have been asked to design a new thrill park around a science fiction theme. What rides and attractions would you include in your park? How would your park be laid out? You have unlimited funding for your park.
Final Draft Guidelines
Final drafts must be legible if hand written and submitted with a cover sheet provided (see our website http://www.eupncte.org).
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Preparation of Writing for Mailing
EACH entry must be stapled in a packet that includes the cover sheet and final draft. The teacher must complete the "Writing Contest Enrollment" form and the $7.00 membership fee if he/she is not a current member of NWPCTELA. This membership will be in effect until spring, 2009. Mail entries to: Dr. Robert W. Holderer 234 Centennial Hall Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Edinboro, PA 16444
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2008 Thirteenth Annual NWPCTELA Writing Awards Contest “Writing Contest Enrollment Form”
Teacher: School: School Address: (Street) School Telephone: E-Mail Address: First time entering contest (City) FAX: Entered contest in previous years (State) (Zip Code)
Please list all of the entries for the contest. The names provided will be used for the certificates. Please print neatly and feel free to attach an additional sheet if needed. Participant Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. We are always looking for ways to improve this contest in the future, and we welcome your comments and suggestions for improvement. Thank You ☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ NWPCTELA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Name: Home Address: (Street) Home Telephone: School Affiliation: Grade Levels Taught / Subjects: (City) FAX: (State) (Zip) Grade
_____ YES!! I want to be a member of NWPCTELA. I have enclosed a check payable to "NWPCTELA" for the $7.00 annual dues. Your dues include the NWPCTELA Newsletter, the sponsorship of a Fall and Spring Conference, Certificates of Merit Program and professional contact with your colleagues.
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12th Annual NWPCTELA Writing Contest Coordinated by: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Student NCTE 2007 2007 Winners List
Grades 1-2
1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Alyssa Van Slyke – 1st Grade – St. James School – Kathleen Schaaf – Teacher Kelly Huff – 1st Grade – St. James School – Kathleen Schaaf – Teacher Aaron McBride – 1st Grade – St. James School – Christina L. Kilgallon – Teacher
Grades 3-4
Caitlin Strasser – 3rd Grade – St. James School – Melissa Keinath – Teacher Mark Gorski – 3rd Grade – St. James School – Melissa Keinath – Teacher Damien Dobson – 4th Grade – St. James School – Linda Strohmeyer – Teacher
Grades 5-6
David Solberg – 6th Grade – James W. Parker Middle School – Martha Knuth – Teacher Christina Murzynski – 5th Grade – JoAnna Connell Elementary School – Laurie A. Hogan – Teacher Emily Frye – 6th Grade – James W. Parker Middle School – Martha Knuth – Teacher
Grades 7-8
Julia Conroe – 7th Grade – St. James School – Sr. Marianne Perrone CDS – Teacher Gabrielle Kennelly – 7th Grade – St. Boniface School – Sarah Edwards – Teacher Julia Yurkovic – 8th Grade – St. James School – Sr. Marianne Perrone CDS – Teacher
Grades 9-10
No Entries Received No Entries Received No Entries Received
Grades 11-12
Kyle Pfeffer – 12th Grade – Harborcreek High School – Shana Haid – Teacher Chad Douglass – 11th Grade – Union City Middle High School – Janet Rifenberick – Teacher Megan Preston – 11th Grade – Union City Middle High School – Janet Rifenberick – Teacher
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