School-based Residencies

During a T&W writing residency, students come to think of themselves as writers. Most T&W workshops begin with students reading and discussing the work of contemporary and classic writers. Through these activities, students learn literary elements and techniques that they are then asked to use in their own creative writing—guided by a writing prompt assigned by the T&W writer. At the end of most T&W programs, students work with the writer to revise their work, which T&W publishes in an anthology.

T&W provides writing programs for K-12 students of all ages and backgrounds, including:

• Elementary school (K-5)
• Middle school (6-8)
• High school (9-12)
• At-risk (dropout prevention)
• Gifted and talented
• English language learners (Spanish; call T&W for other languages)
• Special education (in stand-alone District 75 schools/classes and mainstreamed classrooms)
• Children with conditions on the autism spectrum

T&W programs help students develop creative and imaginative skills, increased motivation and skills in reading, and an improved ability to express their experiences and ideas in writing. Our writers-in-residence are backed by T&W’s 45 years of expertise in teaching writing. A T&W writer at your school can draw on the experience of T&W’s team of more than 50 writers who are also experienced teachers, and on the innovative, time-tested ideas in T&W’s publications and archives.

Programs are available both during regular class time and after school. Schools can select programs in a variety of genres, including:

• Poetry, fiction, and playwriting
• Literary and personal essays
• Memoir and journal writing
• Content-area writing (e.g. social studies, history, the sciences)
• Expository writing (e.g. persuasive essays, argumentative essays)
• College application essay writing
• Journalism

When you set up a T&W writing residency, your school receives the following:

1. A planning session (before the residency), in which teachers and a professional writer from T&W plan the workshops and discuss goals, expectations, and scheduling.
2. Hands-on writing workshops in the literary genre of your choice.
3. Free sample issues and a discounted subscription of Teachers & Writers Magazine, winner of 10 Educational Press Awards for Excellence.
4. A handsome anthology of student writing and art by participating students, which T&W prints and delivers to your school. (Requires a minimum of 10 workshops.)
5. A reading/celebration for students and parents, either at the school or at T&W’s Center for Imaginative Writing.

To learn more or to bring a T&W program to your school, please contact T&W at 212-691-6590 or workshops@twc.org.