Young Writers Program: National Novel Writing Month One month and one website that will encourage the writers of tomorrow.

Every year, one month of writing

How does it work? Students spend one month writing a novel Together, we set up a word count. This count can be adjusted accordingly, but if the goal is meant by midnight at the end of November, each student gets five free published copies of their work. Every day, you copy and paste your word count into the website. It calculates how close you are to your goal. The website posts blogs, "plot twists" and provides discussion boards to brainstorm with fellow novel writers. Through the year, events take place. Camp NaNoWriMo in the summer. Launch parties at the end of October. Outlining your potential project leading up to the month of November (National Novel Writing Month).

Why? Creative writing motivates students to write, explore, research, and plan. Creative writing teaches all of the same standards any formal piece of writing provides. Grammar, structure, consistency, tone, and syntax are all taught in creative writing just as they are in formal. Students who enjoy creative writing will feel more comfortable with a variety of writing styles As a teacher, I can still monitor their progress as writers with creative writing in a way that doesn't put the students under high pressure to perform for a grade.  Creative writing teaches students that English isn't left at school. Our hobbies and entertainment are long-term parts of the English classroom that stick with us after we leave.

Why NaNoWriMo? The creators of National Novel Writing Month provide free classroom resources as well as providing a curriculum plan that fits into common core for educators.  They provide numerous classroom resources for teachers and students Famous authors write weekly motivating articles for students. Past speakers have included Christopher Paolini, author of "Eragon" Being online and free makes it accessible to nearly everyone. It provides a motivation to write that no essay assignment could do. Visit this link for even MORE benefits of creative writing and the NaNoWriMo organization: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Az6bfziyRPgtbhF5O9FojvwqHfWz8TJz/view

For more information: Visit https://ywp.nanowrimo.org/ If you are an interested teacher, check out the support tabs. Even if you can't work it into your curriculum, any individual student can still sign up for a free account and participate.  If you can work it into your curriculum, check out the free lesson plans.

Where does this fall on the SAMR model? I would define the NaNoWrimo process as both a modification and augmentation. Creative writing might be in place in schools, and NaNoWriMo is a different way to present the format. In the terms of creative writing and how we teach writing, this could fall under augmentation. Instead of having a traditional creative writing format, we can provide students with tools, community and support, completely online. It is a modification in schools that don't have a creative writing program. Because the creators have made sure that it can fit into the core curriculum and provide resources free, the NaNoWriMo website could alter how we motivate and teach students to write. It allows for creative writing to become a central part of the curriculum rather than an afterthought.