Registration Open for Northwest Arkansas Young Writers Camps

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The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project will host face-to-face Young Writers Camp events at sites in Northwest Arkansas this summer. Camps are open to students currently in second through 11th grade.

All Arkansas Department of Health, U of A and school district COVID safety guidelines in place at the time of the camps will be followed. Registration is open now.

From June 7-18, students will meet at the U of A and other NWA schools from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Vicki Collet, director of Young Writers Camp and an associate professor in the College of Education and Health Professions, said the camp includes active learning in a fun camp environment.

"Our two goals are that students have fun and that their writing improve," she said. "For example, students might participate in a scavenger hunt, looking for clues that would help them write a story."

Past Young Writers Camp participants have played guessing games to focus on using descriptive language, analyzed and written song lyrics, participated in collaborative writing contests and filled their writing notebooks. Additional information about 2021 Young Writers Camp is available here.

"We tell students that they need to exercise their writing muscles every day," Collet explained. "Just like kids attending sports camps, writing takes practice and stamina. We give kids lots of opportunities for both as they participate in individual, small group and whole-group writing experiences."

Teachers will meet after camp each day to collaborate and focus on improved writing instruction. These professional learning experiences are an important part of the project. "Not only are students learning during our Young Writers Camp, teachers are taking away strategies they will use in their classrooms," Collet said.

Camps for young writers have been sponsored by the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project for over 20 years. Northwest Arkansas Writing Project is a professional organization focused on improving writing in area schools. As one of about 200 National Writing Project sites, it provides professional development for educators and directly reaches young writers through summer camps and other activities. For more information about writing project events, contact Collet at collet@uark.edu or visit nwawp.uark.edu/.