New Report—Words Have No Borders: Student Voices on Immigration, Language and Culture

Words Have No Borders: Student Voices on Immigration, Language and Culture is the second of a three-part series celebrating the power of writing. It contains personal letters and reflections from high school students on language learning and immigrant experiences, with a special focus on how learning to write and learning to write in English opens up new worlds for the country’s growing population of non-native speakers. Representing more than a dozen different countries, the students describe the challenges they face as they learn to navigate a new culture and their dreams for the future. The report also features a foreword by celebrated Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat.

Download the report: Words Have No Borders (.pdf/2.4M).
Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (latest version recommended).

Letters to the President: Students' Voices

Letters to the President: Students' Voices is the first of a three-part series celebrating the power of writing. In these challenging times, this report brings with it an important message of hope for the future: the voices of our young people. The letters from middle and high school students were selected from the more than 6,600 letters published as part of the Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future project (www.letters2president.org), an online writing and publishing project for students, ages 13 - 18, co-sponsored by Google and the National Writing Project. For the remainder of the year we will continue to celebrate student voices, presenting students' views on how writing influences their lives and on the important issues of immigration and second-language learning.

Download the report: Letters to the President: Students' Voices (.pdf/2.1M).

Writing, Technology and Teens

Created in partnership with the Pew Internet and American Life Project, this report talks to teens to see what they have to say about technology and the state of writing in their lives. The report looks at teens' basic definition of writing, explores the various kinds of writing they do, seeks their assessment about what impact e-communication has on their writing, and probes for their guidance about how writing instruction might be improved.

Download the report: Writing, Technology and Teens (.pdf/566K).

College Board President Gaston Caperton said of Writing, Technology and Teens:
"The ability to write well is unquestionably a skill necessary for 21st-century success in college and the workplace. As this report demonstrates, parents and teens are well aware of the importance of strong writing skills for success in college and beyond. As we at the College Board have said many times, strong writing skills are essential. They are not an option for today's students.

Because of the dramatic changes in writing that have resulted since the advent of the Internet and mobile devices, we thought it was worthwhile to partner with Pew on this research project so that we—and the nation—would have a better understanding of how teens and their parents view writing."

The College Board Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing

Eight teachers have been awarded the third annual College Board Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing. The grants recognize exceptional teachers for using innovative methods to inspire their students to write. The award was created to support teachers and to thank Bob Costas, the Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, for his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing.

Learn more about the winners, read tips from teachers, and see examples of student work.

New English/Spanish Activity Book: Our Book By Us!/Nuestro Libro ¡Hecho Por Nosotros!

Produced in collaboration with the National Writing Project (NWP) and Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), this new activity book is designed to promote early literacy by encouraging caregivers to read, write, and talk with their preschool-aged children. Our Book By Us!/Nuestro Libro ¡Hecho Por Nosotros! has 28 colorful pages illustrated by award-winning author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. The first 50,000 copies are being distributed without charge to children in Head Start and other early learning programs served by RIF, as well as through NWP sites around the country.

Download Our Book By Us!/Nuestro Libro ¡Hecho Por Nosotros!

Encourage Writing

For resources on helping children learn to write, supporting the teaching of writing, and more, visit these sites with expert tips for parents and students:

	The National Writing Project at www.writingproject.org
	The National Council of Teachers of English at: www.ncte.org
	The College Board's Boost Your Skills

About the National Commission on Writing

The National Commission on Writing was founded by the College Board in an effort to focus national attention on the teaching and learning of writing. Bob Kerrey, president of the New School, serves as chair. The Commission believes we must improve the quality of writing in our schools if students are to succeed in college and in life. Its first report to Congress, The Neglected "R", called for a writing revolution to return writing to its proper place in the American classroom. Its second report, Writing: A Ticket to Work...Or a Ticket Out, A Survey of Business Leaders, was published in September 2004.