Matt de la Peña is the first author to make his second appearance on The Write Time! Matt is a #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author. He has penned six critically acclaimed YA novels, including Mexican WhiteBoy and The Living, which was a Pura Belpré Author Honor Book. Matt’s picture book Love was a #1 New York Times bestseller, and Last Stop on Market Street was awarded a Newbery Medal. Matt lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aeriale Johnson is a Reggio-inspired, abolitionist teacher of third graders at Washington Elementary School, a school bursting with the energy of multiculturalism and multilingualism in downtown San Jose, CA. Aeriale is dedicated to antiracism and works every day of her life to disrupt oppressive systems and promote a more just and equitable world wherein all folx can thrive.

The Write Time with Author Matt de la Peña and Educator Aeriale N. Johnson

For National Poetry Month, NWP Radio has launched a special limited series called “The Story of a Poem” where we interviewed poets from the NWP Writers Council about their poems, their composing processes, and writers’ craft. This episode features poet and educator George Ella Lyon.

The Story of a Poem with George Ella Lyon

Abdi Nor Iftin has been featured on various radio and TV stations sharing his life story of growing up in a country torn by civial war and immigrating to the United States in 2014. His new book Call Me American was released in 2018 and is a finalist for New England's Bookseller's Association book awards.

Abdi is interviewed by author and educator Kate Kennedy. Kate taught writing at Portland High School, was the director of the Southern Maine Writing Project, and is the author of Skin, A Memoir and End Over End.

The Write Time with Author Abdi Nor Iftin & Educator/Author Kate Kennedy

Join the National Writing Project’s The Write Time with New York Times Best Selling author and illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky. Rachel will be interviewed by Soñia Galaviz a 5th grade teacher and leader with the Boise State Writing Project.

See the entire series at https://educatorinnovator.org/campaigns/the-write-time/

The Write Time with Author Rachel Ignotofsky & Educator Soñia Galaviz

Gilly Segal grew up in Florida, and graduated from Hebrew University, and finally decided to call Decatur, Georgia home. By day, she’s the chief legal officer of an advertising agency. By night, she is a caped crusader! No, just kidding (she wishes). Her real not-so-secret identity is author. She’s been writing in one form or another since she wrote her first young adult novel–a Sunfire YA romance fanfic–typed out on an electric typewriter. Although she will confess it was titled CLAUDIA, she will neither confirm nor deny that any copies still exist. Whatever you do, don’t ask her mom if it’s in those boxes stored in the closet of her childhood room.

Kimberly Jones is an American author and filmmaker, known for the New York Times bestselling young adult novel, I’m Not Dying With You Tonight and for the viral video “How Can We Win” published during the George Floyd protest. The book, co-authored with Gilly Segal, was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award in 2020. That same year, a seven-minute video featuring Kim using a Monopoly analogy to explain the history of racism and its impact on Black Americans went viral, being shared by Trevor Noah, LeBron James, Madonna, and more.

Charline Barger has taught middle and high school English for ten years and transitioned from a brick and mortar to a virtual setting two years ago. This year, she has had the pleasure of teaching creative writing for the first time. Charline has been a National Writing Project teacher-consultant for four years. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and picture books for as long as she can remember and aspires to write YA literature. She lives in Pace, FL with her boyfriend, three children, and a host of animals. When she is not teaching, Charline spends her time watching movies with her kids, reading the latest young adult novels, and chipping away at piles of manuscript drafts.

The Write Time with Authors Gilly Segal, Kimberly Jones, and Educator Charline Barger

Rose Brock, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University, is a veteran educator and advocate for using audiobooks as a tool for literacy and is the cofounder of the national literacy initiative Guys Listen, a part of the Guys Read literacy national program. Dr. Brock was awarded the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Youth by the Texas Library Association and is cofounder of NTTBF, the North Texas Teen Book Festival. She is the editor of Hope Wins, Hope Nation: Young Adult Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration, and author of Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide.

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle-grade book series: City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 spy team; the Edgar Award-winning FRAMED! Series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida.

Jill Stedronsky is a teacher, professionally, and personally. She teaches 8th graders at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, NJ for the past sixteen years. She is a teacher-consultant for the Drew Writing Project, an adjunct for Drew University, and a researcher. Her focus is intrinsic motivation. She strives to create an authentic environment for her students, and hopefully all students around the world, by motivating her students to read and write for real purposes! She co-authored a chapter with Dr. Kristen Hawley Turner, for the publication of her practice in “Inquiry Ignites! Pushing Back Against Traditional Literacy Instruction.” She hopes to help change curriculum worldwide.

The Write Time with Educators Rose Brock, Jill Stedronsky, and Author James Ponti

All of us in education can find opportunities to interrupt the status quo that allows inequities to go unchallenged. In Teaching for Racial Equity: Becoming Interrupters, authors Tonya Perry, Steven Zemelman, and Katy Smith show us the way. In this episode of The Write Time, listen to the authors talk about the making and use of this professional text.

Tonya B. Perry is the director of the Red Mountain Writing Project in Birmingham, Alabama. She also is the vice provost of Miles College, a Historically Black College, and a co-author of Teaching for Racial Equity: Becoming Interrupters. She is the vice-president of NCTE. Her favorite pastime is writing and spending time with family and friends.

Katy Smith is the Chair of the Department of Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She began her association with the Illinois Writing Project (IWP) as a teacher-consultant while she was teaching high school students, and now directs IWP with Steve Zemelman.

Steve Zemelman is a visiting scholar at Northeastern Illinois University and a founding director of the Illinois Writing Project. He promotes student civic engagement and restorative justice in Chicago schools. His books on teaching writing and reading have long been widely appreciated, including Best Practice: Bringing Standards to Life in America’s Classrooms (with Harvey Daniels and Arthur Hyde), and From Inquiry to Action: Civic Engagement with Project-Based Learning.

The Write Time with Educator-Authors Tonya Perry, Katy Smith, and Steve Zemelman

"Make Learning Relevant" is a podcast series full of interviews with leading minds from the Connected Learning Alliance and the field of Digital Media and Learning. Subscribe to this Podcast using iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/connected-learning/id869635683) or your favorite Feed Reader (http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:32859553/sounds.rss)

In this episode, Howard Rheingold - author, virtual community pioneer, and self-described "online instigator & expert learner" - chats with us about the need for an education system "upgrade," and the importance of teachers being "co-learners" with their students. You are welcome to connect with him on Twitter via @hrheingold.

To check out the full "Make Learning Relevant" campaign, visit http://clalliance.org

"Make Learning Relevant" - Howard Rheingold

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

http://connectedlearning.tv/connected-k-6-educators-supporting-openly-networked-learning
What does "Connected Learning" look like with younger learners? What are the benefits of inter-classroom collaboration, and what are some strategies to make 'breaking down the classroom walls' a manageable reality?

CLTV - Connected K-6 Educators: Supporting Openly Networked Learning - Oct. 7, 2014

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

http://connectedlearning.tv/connected-administrators-fostering-learning-leads-opportunities
Innovative practitioners need to feel it's 'safe' to promote digital media-heavy, production-centered learning. What can learning environment admins do to better support these efforts?

CLTV - Connected Administrators: Fostering Learning That Leads To Opportunities - Oct. 21, 2014

Rob Rokicki is an NYC-based artist and educator. He wrote the music, lyrics, and co-orchestrated the Broadway show, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (book by Joe Tracz); nominated for a Lortel, Off-Broadway Alliance, and three Drama Desk Awards. His graphic novel/musical, Monstersongs (National Alliance for Musical Theatre official selection), is played internationally and is being developed as a VR game. He’s a two-time Larson Award finalist, an alum of the BMI Workshop, and a graduate of the University of Michigan. As an actor, Rob has performed in Broadway national tours and at Carnegie Hall.

Rob is interviewed by Kevin Hodgson, a sixth-grade teacher and musician in Southampton, Massachusetts, and a teacher-consultant with the Western Massachusetts Writing Project.

The Write Time with Songwriter/Storyteller Rob Rokicki and Educator Kevin Hodgson

Today we visit with Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, author of Experiments in Reflection. Leticia is a developmental biologist turned design educator, who has been a part of Stanford University’s d.school since 2006. She co-founded and co-directs the University Innovation Fellows program, impacting students and educators worldwide. Leticia’s work integrates emerging technologies in creative methods to foster self-directed and responsible future shapers.

Experiments in Reflection: A Conversation with Leticia Britos Cavagnaro

Join us for a conversation with Cindy Urbanski, PhD, author of Getting Schooled on Resistance: An Exploration of Clashing Narratives in Urban School Reform. Urbanski has worked with writing and writers in some capacity for 30 years. Currently her projects consist of making space for stories in the world that have formerly been untold and/or underrepresented. 



Through her degree in K-12 Urban Literacy, work with the National Writing Project, her teaching at the 6-12 level as well as the undergraduate and graduate level, Urbanski has witnessed the power shift into the hands of the writer when they are encouraged and trusted to tell their stories with their words.

Related Shows
Untangling Middle School Reform: https://blubrry.com/nwpradio/30455704/untangling-urban-middle-school-reform/

Getting Schooled On Resistance: a Conversation with Cindy Urbanski

Novelly is on a mission to publish diverse teenage authors and get their books taught in classrooms, so that every student can feel seen and inspired by what they read. This episode features the founder and managing director Anna Gabriella Casalme, along with two youth authors who have had their work published through Novelly.

A Visit with Novelly

This episode of The Write Time features members of the Furious Flower Syllabus Project, an open-access curriculum for incorporating Black poetry into classrooms of all ages and levels. More about the syllabus and guests at https://teach.nwp.org/the-write-time-and-the-furious-flower-syllabus-project

The Write Time and the Furious Flower Syllabus Project

Join us for a conversation with Stephanie Vanderslice, a professor of creative writing, the co-director of the Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop at the University of Central Arkansas, and the author of Teaching Creative Writing: The Essential Guide.

Teaching Creative Writing: A Conversation with Stephanie Vanderslice

Join us for a conversation with Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy, authors of Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare.

About the Authors

Dr. Andrea Balis is not only a distinguished faculty member in the history department of John Jay College, City University of New York, specializing in twentieth-century political history, but also a versatile writer and director.

Elizabeth Levy is an award-winning author of over 100 fiction and non-fiction books for young readers. Renowned for her humorous yet meticulously researched approach, Levy brings subjects to life and inspires and entertains audiences worldwide.

Witch Hunt: A Conversation with Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy

Join us for a conversation with NWP Writers Council member Lissa Soep, author of Other People’s Words: Friendship, Loss and the Conversation that Never Ends.

“Other People’s Words shows us how we carry within us the language of loved ones who are gone, and how their words can be portals to other times and places. Language—as with love—is boundless, and Other People’s Words is an intimate, original, and profoundly generous look at its power to nurture life amid the wreckage of grief. Dialogues do not end when a friendship or person is gone; instead, they accrue new layers of meaning, showing how the conversations we share with those we love continue after them, and will continue after us.”

Exploring the Boundless Nature of Language with Lissa Soep

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

http://connectedlearning.tv/whole-community-engagement-bringing-voices-together-change
Advice and best practices on bringing students, parents, educators, and other community members together to move education forward.

CLTV - Bringing Voices Together for Change - Dec. 18, 2014

This episode of NWP Radio features a conversation with Tess Taylor, an avid gardener, the author of five acclaimed collections of poetry, and the editor of Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens and the Hands that Tend Them.

Leaning Toward Light: A Conversation with Tess Taylor

Based on the insight that "places are everywhere," this NWP Radio show explores how educators are using place to support students in having authentic opportunities to learn, grow, and connect. Join this team of teacher-editors and -authors from Place-Based Writing in Action: Opportunities for Authentic Writing in the World Beyond the Classroom to explore what is possible when you tap into this "everywhere resource" to support writing in elementary through preservice classrooms.

Our Guests and Their Chapters
Amanda Montgomery, Editor and “Making Connections to the Past: Using Place-based Writing to Bring History to Life”

Robert Montgomery, Editor and “Introduction to Place-Based Writing” (with Amanda) and “Touring the Place You Know Best: Virtual Tours as. Way to Teach Narrative, Argument, and Research Writing”

Cathie English, “Writing the Ecology of the Ozarks” 

Clarice Moran, “In the Metaverse: Using VR as a Site for Place-based Writing” 

Jeff Hudson, “The Sustainable Resource Project: Writing Towards Agency” 

Rich Novack, “Mapping through Justice, through Padlet, and through the World”

Place-Based Writing in Action: Opportunities for Authentic Writing in the World Beyond the Classroom

"Connected Learning TV" (www.connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

http://connectedlearning.tv/voto-latino-10-years-vl-innovators-and-whats-ahead
A look back at the first 10 years of Voto Latino, including the culmination of the VL Innovators Challenge: lessons learned, best practices, and future plans.

Voto Latino- 10 years, VL Innovators, and what's ahead - March 10, 2015

"Connected Learning TV" (connectedlearning.tv) is a webinar series with organizations, projects, and individuals who align with the Connected Learning vision.

What does it take to launch, moderate, and grow a learning community on a Minecraft server?

http://connectedlearning.tv/building-learning-community-minecraft-server

CLTV - Building A Learning Community On A Minecraft Server - Nov 3, 2015

In recent years, a wave of new research focused upon the interplay between participatory culture, learning, and politics has emerged from the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative and in particular, from two related research networks, The Youth and Participatory Politics Network and the Connected Learning Network. This scholarship has often focused on such core concepts as “voice” or “civic agency” and a core debate around how we help ensure that young people’s voices are not simply heard but acted upon. This webinar brought together the scholars and practitioners who contributed to the forthcoming “From Voice to Influence” special issue of the Journal of Digital Media and Literacy to ask how in- and out-of-school experiences can help young people learn to use their voices to influence social change.

This hangout was produced in support of Letters to the Next President 2.0, a project engaging youth in civic participation on issues and topics that matter to them in the US Presidential Election. It was also co-streamed at connectedlearning.tv.

http://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/from-voice-to-influence-media-learning-and-participatory-politics

From Voice To Influence- Media, Learning And Participatory Politics

In this “make-with-me” episode, NAMLE’s Jaclyn Siegel and Caitlin Barry will provide examples of media literacy activities that can be implemented in History and English classrooms, grades 6-12. They will cover activities relating to news media, social media, stereotypes in the media, and video production. Viewers will receive lesson activity examples and resources to use in their own classroom!

Media Literacy Rocks - Activities For Your Classroom

National Writing Project

Rural Voices Radio, Vol. 2: Maine Preview

Rural Voices Radio, Volume 1: Writing About the Places We Call Home

Rural Voices Radio: Arizona - Intro to Cottonwood

Rural Voices Radio, Volume 2: Writing About the Places We Call Home

Rural Voices Radio: Hawai'i - Haka

Rural Voices Radio: Maine - My Home is the Ocean, As Soon As I See the Water

Rural Voices Radio: Washington - The Man Who Got His Truck Stuck in His Darn Driveway

Rural Voices Radio: Pennsylvania - Mining, Outro

Writing Can Change Everything: Middle Level Kids Writing Themselves Into the World, edited by Shelbie Witte, is the latest from NCTE’s Principles In Practice series. Offering concrete illustrations of effective classroom practices based on NCTE research briefs and policy statements, books in this series demonstrate how principles come alive in practice. Listen to this episode of NWP Radio with Shelbie, Sarah Bonner, Tracei Willis, and Joe Pizzo as they talk about their classrooms and the power of writing to build community, support inquiry, and convey sympathy.

Writing Can Change Everything

Celebrate powerful student argument writing in this NWP Radio CoLab featuring contest-winning student arguments. Katherine Schulten—a former a high school English teacher, New York City Writing Project teacher-leader, and the editor of the New York Times Learning Network— collected one hundred essays that were winners or runners up in the New York Times Learning Network’s argument writing contest. They are published in Student Voice. Katherine talks with Tom Fox about her work at the New York Times Learning Network, the origins of the essays, and how they were selected for the book. Best of all, she reads selections that show students’ passion, reason, and style.

This CoLab is the first of a two-part series. The second CoLab features Katherine talking with four NWP teachers.

Student Argument Writing from the New York Times Learning Network

NWP Radio is a podcast of the National Writing Project that features a wide array of guests discussing education-related topics like teaching writing, Connected Learning, Writing Project site development, out-of-school education, science and writing, maker ed, and more.

NWP Radio

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