Dakota Writing Project

The Dakota Writing Project and Prairie Winds have teamed up this year for three events: a writing workshop for teachers at the TIE Conference in Rapid City, on April 22, 2007; a conference for elementary students and teachers featuring children's author Jean Patrick, at the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls on April 28, 2007; and the Sorcerer's Apprentice Creative Writers' Camp, a one-day camp for high school students, that involves the Vermillion Literary Project as well as the Dakota Writing Project and Prairie Winds, on September 22, 2007.

Facilitating the workshop at the TIE Conference in Rapid City were DWP teacher-consultant Sue Morrell (Wagner Community Public School) and Prairie Winds representative Scott Simpson. Together, they led an in-depth session for elementary and secondary teachers in which teachers wrote, discussed their writing one-on-one with an instructor, and  shared their work with fellow participants. Presenters also discussed writing instruction strategies and resources available to teachers and students through Prairie Winds and the Dakota Writing Project. Julia Monczunski from Prairie Winds commented on "how comfortable the participants seemed with each other right away because of the atmosphere Sue and Scott created and how engaged they were in the writing activities and discussions that Sue and Scott led. It was a great afternoon."

At the conference in Sioux Falls, author Jean Patrick worked with a group of students in the morning and their teachers in the afternoon. Heather Gayken, a DWP teacher-consultant, assisted with this event at the Sertoma House. Julie Monczunski from Prairie Winds noted that this event "was wonderful also. We had six excited and attentive fifth-grade girls [in the morning] and three teachers in the afternoon, including Heather." This conference was a three-way collaboration by the Dakota Writing Project, Prairie Winds, and the South Dakota Humanities Council.

 DWP and Prairie Winds hope to repeat these events next year.

DWP and the Vermillion Literary Project will collaborate once again on the Sorcerer's Apprentice Creative Writers' Camp September 22, 2007, with Prairie Winds joining the collaboration and sending two teacher-writers to assist with a revision workshop at the camp. More information will be available at a later date.