NCTE Donald H. Graves Writing Award

Overview
Established in 2001 by Donald H. Graves, this award annually recognizes teachers in grades 1-6 who demonstrate an understanding of student improvement in the teaching of writing.  The award is administered by the NCTE Elementary Section Steering Committee, which selects an award recipient from the portfolios and essays submitted during the year.  If the Committee feels that no significant portfolios or essays have been submitted, the award may be postponed until the next year.  The award is presented at the Elementary Section Get-Together during the NCTE Annual Convention.  The winner is briefly recognized and given a cash award of $2,000 U.S. funds.

Submission Process
Applicants for the award should submit the following: 

• Reflective Essay:  An introductory essay of 2,000 words addressing your thoughts about writing and teaching writing, as well as discussing what you see as significant improvements in the children's texts and insight into the reasons for those improvements.
  
• Three portfolios of student writing each of which contain three to five selections showing change from earlier to later in the year. Take care that each required item in the application is included and clearly labeled. Papers are to be dated, the names of the children removed, and each coded as child A, B, and C. Where possible, the three students' work should represent a broad range of ability.

For each student, include a 250 word commentary on the specific growth you see in this student's work over time, predictions of where this student might go from here as a writer, and what further instruction you could provide.

• Information Sheet including contact information (home/school address, phone numbers, email, etc.)

Application Review Criteria

Reflective Essay.  We are looking for your views on the purposes for writing, beliefs about writing, and how a teacher develops it.  As you work with student writers, how do you think about both life long learning and short-term goals? We will consider your own writing in this application, looking for a sense of your voice and an awareness of the audience who might want to read this essay—teachers and others who would want to know about what you believe about writing and how you go about supporting student growth in writing.

1. Student Samples and Commentary.  We are looking for multiple samples from three students of varying writing abilities, for evidence of a variety of writing topics among the three writers, and evidence of diversity in the kinds of writing the children are doing. Commentary should address each student's growth as a writer, how the child changed and how you think that growth took place. More than describing the pieces of writing, please analyze or show what you see in each piece.
2. Evidence of writing strategy instruction in samples or teacher commentary.  What is your perspective on developing student writing ability? How do you respond to student work so the quality we see develops? How do you organize for instruction so that it actually transfers to the students' writing?
3. Evidence that instruction, beliefs, and qualities in writing are consistent.  A teacher's theoretical beliefs guide instruction and improvement in student writing. Help us see your theory-based instruction through the essay, in the writing samples, and in the commentary on the writing samples.