The Young Writers Camp – a nonprofit program of the South Coast Writing Project at UCSB – has announced plans to continue camp services this summer through online offerings.
“We are excited to offer this set of online writing camps to help students grow their love of writing,” said Nicole Wald, Young Writers Camp director. “During this time when we can’t be together in person, our goal remains to create a sense of belonging to a community of writers and provide equitable access to the best and most inspiring writing instruction available.”
Now in its 27th year, this is the first time the camps have been offered virtually. Although Young Writers Camp will move to a virtual format, the goals of the camp remain the same; teachers seek to build confidence in a fun, engaging online environment while providing writing tools that inspire creative thinking.
A typical day at online camp this year will vary depending on the course, but generally will include an exploration of various writing styles, practice with multiple genres, and structured writing workshops with peer mentor groups. This is designed to lead to a deeper understanding of the writing process and what it means to be a part of a writing community.
The curriculum shift is based on the focus of the camp and the preference of the students and teachers. The camps are modeled on practices the teachers have engaged in themselves.
Every set of about 16 students (grouped by age) is co-taught by two teachers who have participated in the intensive month-long SCWriP Summer Institute in Composition and Critical Literacy, deepening their understanding of the art of teaching writing while also deepening their personal writing skills.
The camps offer a high-caliber level of instruction. Multiple teachers across the camps have been awarded Teacher of the Year and other distinctions in their schools or districts. Often, camps have teachers who are published authors. For more about teachers instructing each camp, visit scwripyoungwriters.wordpress.com.
“Using technology tools effectively is a 21st century skill that all students must learn,” said Kristin Jensen Dodge, a long time YWC teacher, and award-winning 31-year veteran teacher, the last 17 years of which have been at RJ Frank Academy of Marine Science and Engineering in Oxnard as an English and AVID teacher.
“Young Writers Camp is a non-threatening, nurturing environment for students to write, collaborate, revise and publish their work while learning and refining those essential tech skills,” Dodge said.
In support of families facing COVID-related challenges, there is no cost to register for Young Writers Camp Online. For families able to make a donation, contributions will go to compensate teachers for their time. Those interested in donating, can email scwripywc@gmail.com.
Registration information and online camp details are at scwripyoungwriters.wordpress.com. For more information or help with registration, contact Young Writers Camp at scwripywc@gmail.com.
The following open online programs serve students entering grades 4-12:
Exploring the College Entrance Essay — July 13-24, 11 a.m.-noon Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Grades: Students entering grades 9-12
Teacher: Brandon Janes (Conejo Valley Unified School District)
Writing exploration — July 20-31, 10-11:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday; Tuesday, Thursday open by appointment
Teachers: Kristin Jensen Dodge (Oxnard School District); Ian Foutz (Ocean View Elementary School District)
Exploring Genres: The Sprinkled Donut — July 20-31, 9-11 a.m., Monday-Friday
Grades: Students entering grades 4-6
Teachers: Randi Seligson (Los Angeles Union School District)
Writing Warriors: Writing Across Genres — July 20-30, 10 a.m.-noon, Monday-Thursday
Grades: Students entering grades 6-8
Teachers: Jan Ferrer (Santa Barbara Unified School District); Leina Ball (Ventura County Office of Education)
Multigenre Project: Two-week Session Writing Exploration Camp — July 20-31, 11-11:50 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Availability of teachers for review, feedback, sharing and development of ideas: 11 a.m.-noon Tuesday and Thursday
Grades: Students entering grades 7-9 and 10-12
Teachers: Camille Kavon (Oxnard Union High School District); Melissa Wood-Glusac (Conejo Valley Unified School District)
Advanced Writing Seminar: You Have Writing Goals You Want to Achieve — July 27-31
Availability of optional exercises/prompts at 9 a.m. on Google Classroom; teacher feedback, 10-11:30 a.m.
Grades: Students entering grades 8 and up.
Teachers: Camille Kavon (Oxnard Union High School District); Melissa Wood-Glusac (Conejo Valley Unified School District)
Before COVID, SCWriP was originally scheduled to return for a fourth summer to partner with Rio School District and Pleasant Valley School District, and was continuing to strengthen its high school offering with a new partnership with Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
Learn more at scwripyoungwriters.wordpress.com/about or at Facebook.com/SCWriPYWC.