Young Writers’ Project North Dakota Reading Association

“Writing Gives You a Voice” We want you... to be a part of history! Theme: 2016 Presidential Elections

Young Writers’ Project Change: The North Dakota State Reading Association Conference will not be held in the spring of 2016 but has been switched to the fall of 2016 (September 30 and October 1). Even though the date of the conference has been changed; we will still have the YWP run from November 2015 through the spring of Winners will be announced May 3, 2016 but will receive recognition during the fall conference.

A word from Kid President! Kid President's Pep Talk to Teachers and Students

Dates to Remember: *November 3, 2015: Election Day! Registration forms due to Donna Marty, YWP Chair. *January 26, 2016: Celebrate Kid Presidents Birthday! Reminder that deadlines are a month away. *February 15, 2016: Presidents Day! Judge class entries. *February 22, 2016: George Washington’s Birthday! Judge local category winners. *March 16, 2016: James Madison’s birthday! Submit category winners to local Vice President. *April 13, 2016: Thomas Jefferson’s birthday! Local winner entries due to Donna Marty. *May 3, 2016: National Teacher Day! State winners announced!

Grades K -1 Create a Presidential Campaign Button *Choose a past U.S. president and design a campaign button *Write 1-2 sentences about why you think this person was a good president. *Refer to ND Language Arts Standard W.1 (opinion) *ND Social Studies Standard 2: Important Historical Events: K.2.2, 1.2.3

*The project may be done on a full size 8.5” x 11” page with the writing portion on the reverse side of the artwork and submitted as portrait or landscape view. *Description of character trait and stating an opinion will be important in the writing portion. Example: Charlie Brown is nice. or Charlie Brown would be a good president because he cares for others and helps his friends. *Artwork is not judged but helps to enhance the writing. *The writing may be in student’s own handwriting or written digitally. Only the content and thoughts of the writer will be judged.

Grades 2 and 3 Presidential Trading Card *Choose a past U.S. President and design a trading card. *Compile a series of historical facts and present in the format found on the back of a trading card. *Artwork adds to project but only the writing will be judged. *Refer to ND Language Arts Standard W.2 (informative) *ND Social Studies Standard 2: Important Historical Events CHARLIE BROWN

*This project will be an “XXXL” Trading card... The card should be designed and submitted on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper instead of the actual trading card size. Either Portrait or Landscape view is acceptable. *Artwork is not judged but supports the writing by gaining the readers attention. *The biographic categories/format can be determined by teacher. The card at the right is just an example. *The teacher may use a template for student to refer to. The writing may be handwritten or digitally submitted. Only the content and thoughts of the writer will be judged. Birthdate: October 2, 1950 Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota Time in Office: 1950-present Best Friend: Linus Most Notable Accomplishments: Charlie Brown was monumental in directing the Christmas Pageant in 1965 and overcame being bullied. Most Interesting Character Trait: Charlie Brown is just a regular guy who has good days and some not so good days. But, no matter what... He always tries to do his very best, is giving and shows kindness to others. Charlie Brown never gives up and always has hope for a better day tomorrow.

Grades 4 and 5 Presidential Trivia *Compile a series of 6 historical questions about one or more presidents and present those facts in the format of a question and answer trivia game. *Artwork adds to project but only the writing will be judged. *Refer to ND Language Arts Standard W.7 W.8 (informative/short research project) *ND Social Studies Standard 2: Important Historical Events 5.2.4

*This project is designed to be a short research project focusing on current or past Presidents of the United States. Four question cards and four answer cards are required. *The cards should be designed and submitted on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper which should easily fit four cards on one page (two questions and their partner answer card fit on one page). Either Portrait or Landscape view is acceptable. *The answer cards must be at least 4 sentences in length, in paragraph form, acknowledge source. *The format can be determined by teacher. The cards at the right are just an example. *The teacher may use the following template for students to refer to or develop one of their own. The writing may be handwritten or digitally submitted. Only the content of the writing be judged. Which U.S. President held the office of the President the least amount of time? The U.S. President serving the shortest term in the history of our country was William Harrison. He passed away in office after have only served 32 days. He took office on March 4, 1841 and succumbed to pneumonia on April 4 that same year. He was the Nation’s ninth president and the first to die in office.

Grade 6-8 “If I Were President…” *Students will write a personal narrative about what they would do if they were President of the United States. *Things to consider are voice, descriptive language, transition words and continuity between ideas. *This narrative may be written in the form of an essay or poetry. *Artwork adds to project but only the writing will be judged. *Refer to ND Language Arts Standard W.3 (Narrative)

*This project is designed for middle school students to share their personal thoughts, ideas and vision for their country. *Consider thought provoking questions such as… What things are important to you and the global world in which you live? What changes do you think need to happen? What do you believe in? What ideas do you have that might push our country in a positive direction? What is needed for change to occur? *It is important that the voice and feelings need to be felt by the reader. *Artwork may be included but will not be used as part of the judging criteria. Artwork does however, help enhance the writing piece. *Piece may be typed or hand written. *Include a title to this writing piece.

Grades 9-12 Presidential Acceptance Speech *Students will try to imagine what it would be like to give the acceptance speech of a lifetime after winning the U.S Presidential election. *A digital recording of this essay is required for this writing project. *Unique voice and personality in the writing, as well as the message conveyed will be a necessary consideration. *Refer to ND Language Arts Standard 3 (Narrative) and Language Arts Speaking Standards

*This project challenges students to put themselves into the shoes of the President of the United States on one of the biggest events of his/her career. *This writing must be in submitted in digital form with the writer reading the essay as if they had just gotten elected. *Use voice and descriptive language to engage the reader, as well as to convey a sense of gratitude to the country for the opportunity to serve, a commitment to the well-being of the country and hope for the future. *Be thoughtful and engaging….this might be your shining moment! *The sky is the limit! Use your imagination! *The writing may be hand written or typed and must accompany the digital performance when submitted. No word limit. *Performance of the essay enhances the essay but only the writing will be part of the judging criteria.

Video Release Form North Dakota Reading Association Young Writers’ Project This form gives permission for _________________________________, age______________ to be recorded in a digital format for the sole use of the Young Writers’ Project 2015 which is sponsored by the North Dakota Reading Association. The signing of this form grants the permission for the video to be made by the above student with supervision from the teacher and may be shown publically as part of classroom expectations and promotion of this project for the North Dakota Reading Association. Name:_________________________________ Grade:______________ School:________________________________________ Teacher:__________________________________ Home Address:___________________________________________________________________________ Phone: (Home)______________________________ (Cell)_________________________________________ Parent Signature if the above student is a minor:_________________________________________________ Parent Address:_______________________________________________ Phone______________________

*Initial Registration Forms will be available to download on the North Dakota Reading Association Website. *If you think you are interested in having your students participate in this project, you need to submit a participation form to Donna Marty, YWP Chair by November 3, If at a later time, you change your mind and won’t be doing the project, the registration will be discarded. If you do not register by this time, your students will be unable to participate. *Teachers making student submissions must be members of NDRA. Not a member? Contact A Reading Association Council Member in your building or refer to the NDRA website. *Mark the important deadlines on your calendar. We all get busy and time slips by, so set it up ahead of time. How to Register for YWP:

How to Submit Student Entries: *Copy the form on the following page and attach it to each student entry. *Submit class entries to be judged at the local level by February 15, *For blind/impartial judging ask someone else in your building to judge the entries or ask one your local council members for assistance. * Consider assigning student numbers instead of student names (with a separate master list of corresponding names and numbers for your reference after judging) or tape over the names to insure impartiality. *Double check to make sure students are in the correct grade category. *Submit Class winners to be judged for category winner by February 22, 2016 *Send School Category winners to local council Vice President by March 16, 2016

NDRA Young Writers’ Project “Writing Gives YOU a Voice!” Theme: 2016 Presidential Elections Student Name:_________________________________________________ School:______________________________________________________ Grade:____________ Teacher Name:__________________________________________________________________ Teacher __________________________________________________________________ Local Reading Council: (Circle one) Yes/No I am a member of NDRA Chautauqua North Central Valley South Central Badlands Prairie Lake Agassiz *Attach this information sheet to each student writing before submitting it to your local council for judging. * If you have questions, please contact Donna Marty at

Judging Criteria *All entries must be submitted by a member of NDRA. *All submissions must fall under the assigned grade categories. *Refer to grade level language arts standard specified for each category. Be aware of which writing standard is being targeted (opinion, narrative, persuasive). Also, keep in mind the other language arts standards and expectations which are at each grade level. *Length specifications, writing format, and topic must be followed in order to be considered for judging. *Entries will be judged on creative thinking, word choice, descriptive language, voice and Language Arts content standards specific to each project. *Entries that make it to the state level will be evaluated by a panel of people with the name/school/council of student and teacher not visible to the judges eye.

Awards/Recognition *Teachers of the winning entries will be notified by on May 3, *Each local council is encouraged to recognize their local winners in school or local newspapers. Award certificates will be sent to members who submit entries. *Each State category winner will be invited to the NDRA banquet (Fall of 2016) for recognition by the NDRA members. At this time, the winner will receive a certificate and a medal for their outstanding effort and work. *The winners will be recognized on the NDRA website.

Donna Marty’s Contact Information: Work Mail: Dunseith Elementary School PO Box 789 Dunseith, ND Work Phone: ext. 213 Home Address: PO Box 246 Rolla, ND Home Phone: Don’t bother….I’m never home! Have a great year! I’m off to join the multitudes running for president! A list of resources to help you with this project will be available by November 1, They will be posted as a link on the NDRA website. All images used are from Bing Image Search