Welcome

Since 1986, the Philadelphia Writing Project’s Invitational Summer Institute (ISI) on Writing and Literacy has supported teachers in developing an inquiry stance on teaching practice. Building on successes from last year's ISI, we continued to integrate sources and strategies from the Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources program and other partner organizations to spark and support writing, inquiry, reflection, and justice-oriented action across disciplines.

The Philadelphia Writing Project is a site of the National Writing Project (NWP) at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (PennGSE).

Trey Smith (2019 ISI co-facilitator) and Diana Ryan (2019 ISI participant) reflect on the ways that partners have been central to the 2018 and 2019 ISIs.

This presentation was given at the June 2020 TPS Eastern Region Conference.

2019 Summer Institute Schedule

Monday through Friday, July 15, through July 26, 2018, from 9:00am to 3:30pm

Daily agendas are posted on this site.

Additionally, we hosted two follow-up meetings in the fall:

Celebration of Writing and Literacy, Saturday, October 12, 2019
Journalism Resources and the Philly School Media Network, Saturday, November 9, 2019

Facilitation Team and Guest Educators

Latricia Whitfield, PennGSE Doctoral Student and PhilWP Scholar

Trey Smith, 2015-16 Library of Congress Teacher in Residence; PhilWP TC

Beth Patten, Kutztown Area School District Middle School Social Studies Teacher; PhilWP TC and 2018 ISI Participant

Diane Waff, Ed.D., PennGSE Practice Professor; PhilWP Director; Former PhilWP Scholar

Sarah Beverly, Lea School Seventh Grade English Teacher; PhilWP TC

Shirley Brown, College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) Facilitator; Retired SDP Teacher; Former PhilWP Scholar; PhilWP TC

Jenn Freed, Springfield High School English Teacher; PhilWP TC and 2018 ISI Participant

Becky Horner, ESOL Teacher; Poetry Inside Out Facilitator; PhilWP TC

Bob Jobin, National Writing Project Program Associate

Lois McGee, Poetry Inside Out Facilitator; Kid Writing Coordinator; PhilWP TC

Michael Mannix, PennGSE Doctoral Candidate; College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) Facilitator; Former PhilWP Scholar

Fareed Mostoufi, Pultizer Center Senior Education Manager

Dina Portnoy, Ed.D., Philly School Media Network Coordinator; Retired SDP English Teacher; Former PhilWP Scholar; PhilWP TC

Emily Plummer, Philly School Media Network Facilitator; PennGSE Doctoral Student

Sara Primo, Germantown Friends School English Teacher; PhilWP TC and 2018 ISI Participant

John Puckett, Ph.D., PennGSE Professor; West Philadelphia Collaborative History Center Director

Alonda Rosales, Olney Elementary Teacher; PhilWP TC and 2018 ISI Participant

Donna Sharer, Ed.D., SDP Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs Specialist; Former PhilWP Scholar; PhilWP TC

Howard Stevenson, Ph.D., PennGSE Professor; Racial Empowerment Collaborative Executive Director

Lynne Streib, Descriptive Review Facilitator; Retired SDP Elementary Teacher; PhilWP TC

Ebony Thomas, Ph.D., PennGSE Professor

Lorraine Ustaris, Our Democracy; PhilWP TC

Lisa Yau, Kirkbride Elementary Teacher; Poetry Inside Out Facilitator; PhilWP TC

Goals for Building an Inquiry Community & Leadership for Teaching with Primary Sources

Deepen knowledge of teaching with and understanding of texts, including primary sources, and the ability to support students’ critical thinking and the co-construction of knowledge;
Use Library of Congress tools and other thinking routines to analyze primary sources in multiple formats from multiple perspectives;
Access teaching tools, primary sources, and primary source sets from the Library of Congress, loc.gov/teachers, Chronicling America, World Digital Library, and local institutions such as the West Philadelphia Collaborative History Project;
Broaden repertoire of resources and tools to spur writing, reflection, and inquiry within and across disciplines;
Create units of study/lessons for the classroom that incorporate primary sources and promising practices from the ISI; and
Design and get feedback on an implementation plan to disseminate the use of primary sources in their schools.

Core Values

The Philadelphia Writing Project is committed to:

Centering writing and literacy in all learning
Teaching writing as a path to educational equity and social justice
Ensuring diversity in all communities of practice
Respecting the culture and linguistic resources of all students and all teachers
Enhancing student learning through inquiry into teaching practices
Serving as leaders in education and as teachers of other teachers
Collaborating and supporting collegiality among educators
Learning across a professional career span