How do I use my gallery?

[Jill Jenkins]

The Language Arts teachers have discussed having monthly writing contest at our middle school and selecting a winner from each grade level. We would post their writing on line and have an in school bulletin board displaying the winning writing and the students' pictures. Has anyone got any other ideas of promoting writing in their schools especially at the middle school level?

[Millie Davis]

Jill, the idea you and your collegues are discussing is one way to showcase writing--I particularly like the idea of posting the writing with the student's photo. However, your idea is also limiting because only one student per grade will be able to win. For my two cents, it seems you might want to think about ways to get all students interested in writing, not because one of them per grade will win a contest, but because all of them are interested in showcasing what they find to be their very best writing for others across the world to see. This is the purpose of the National Gallery of Writing Maybe your school has already formed a local gallery or maybe you'd want to think about doing so.

[Jill Jenkins]

Yes, we have created one and hope to use it with the next school year. We also have an on-line writing program that lets them access their writing at home or anywhere and share it with others. We are hoping to make writing as exciting as sports seem to be with these kids.

[Lori Bianchini]

Jill, the National Day on Writing website now includes testimonials from writers; sample pieces of writing; online tools for curators; and tips that could be shared with anyone interested in writing. I can't wait to see your school's gallery!