National Day on Writing Tweet-Up October 20th!!

It's time to #WriteMyCommunity. Celebrate NCTE's sixth annual National Day on Writing today! "NCTE, the National Writing Project, and the New York Times Learning Network invite you and your students to celebrate writing it all its forms: through photos, film, and graphics; with pens, pencils, and computers; in graphs, etching, and murals; on sidewalks, screens, and paper." This year the writing focus is on your community in any way you see it. Post your writing today during the National Day on Writing Tweet-Up with the hashtag #WriteMyCommunity. Writers are also invited to tweet links to their writing. Find out more at http://ncte.org/dayonwriting.

Calling All Artists & Writers!

Looking for ways to motivate your writing students? How about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards with $10 million in scholarships! The contest is open to students in grades 7 through 12 and winners are published in the Best Teen Writing anthology series. The categories range from poetry to sculpture to video game design. Last year, students submitted over 250,000 works of art and writing to the Awards. More than 68,000 were recognized at the regional level and celebrated in local exhibitions and ceremonies. The top 2,000 works in the country earned National Medals and were honored at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Seniors earning National Medals are eligible to receive scholarships through partnerships with colleges and universities. Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol, and Robert Redford are all past recipients of these prestigious awards. Check out the deadlines in your area and get your students entered in the competition! Their claim to fame is waiting.

Plagiarism Detector at mirrorsandwindows.com

Have you ever read a student's paper that sounded a little too good? Plagiarism Detector is an online plagiarism checker that is user-friendly and uncomplicated. This easy-to-use software will save you time and alleviate any questions about the originality of student papers. You will get an instant plagiarism report in seconds by simply uploading the document. Plagiarism Detector, which was created by an experienced team of software developers, automatically scans your document and extracts information, compares it with millions of other authentic sources available on the Internet, and detects even the smallest examples of plagiarism. It is a handy tool for both teachers and students to check their work. A link to Plagiarism Detector is provided for each grade level on the Mirrors & Windows website at www.mirrorsandwindows.com.