After-School Writing Lab
Mondays through Thursdays can be rough thanks to all the homework that comes with the daily academic grind. From 3:30-6:00 PM, though…POOF! The work gets done during our two-hour Monday-Thursday volunteer-supported homework help sessions, complete with a half-hour of creative writing.
If you’re interested in having your student write with us, fill out the form below and we’ll email you when a spot opens up!
Note: After-School Writing Lab is currently only accepting applications from DC-based families whose students receive free or reduced lunch or self-identify as English Language Learners.
Field Trips
DC students and their teachers join us in the 826DC writing center for an unforgettable morning or afternoon. If you are interested in booking a field trip with 826DC, please fill out our Field Trip Interest Form!
Storytelling & Bookmaking
Grades 1-4
A dynamic group storytelling activity where students write collaboratively before they complete the narrative on their own.
Writing Workshops
Know a young writer just bursting with ideas? Want to give the reluctant reader a way into new worlds? Join us for any one of our wonderful Saturday or Evening Writing Workshops where, in two hours, young writers will explore a new topic and leave with a piece of writing of which they can be proud.
Upcoming Workshops:
CHANGE THE ENDING, TAKE BACK YOUR POWER (grades 8-12)
March 12, 5:30 PM to 7 PM, 826DC
Students explore the historical and speculative fiction genres before reimagining a time they felt powerless and writing a different outcome.
SOCIAL JUSTICE POETRY: LISTENING TO THE TREES (grades 8-12)
March 26, 5:30 PM to 7 PM, 826DC
Students examine relationships between art, poetry, politics, and current events and then reflect on personal experiences through social justice poetry.
BEYOND THE PAGE: WRITING GRAPHIC NOVELS (grades 8-9)
April 9, 5:30 PM to 7 PM, 826DC
Students explore the graphic novel genre with a focus on plot, character development, scripting dialogue, and visual composition.
LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW: A PLACE MEMOIR (grades 8-12)
May 7, 5:30 PM to 7 PM, 826DC
Emotions play a huge role in how we remember places important to us. Students explore this by writing memoirs, using plot, dialogue, and description to bring their stories to life.
TRUE CONNECTIONS: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH SOCIAL MEDIA (grades 8-12)
May 21, 5:30 PM to 7 PM, 826DC
In this workshop from 826NYC, students write about their personal experiences with social media and online platforms.
Click here to register for upcoming workshops (English) // Haga clic aquí para registrarse en los próximos talleres (Español)
Reading All-stars
826DC’s Saturday literacy program, Reading All-Stars, provides DC Public School students with individualized, one-on-one literacy mentorship and enrichment at their school. Volunteer mentors and students build writing and reading skills together, as well as a deeper love for the written word, all while working closely with school administrators and teachers to reinforce and build on classroom learning. Plus, the kids get lots of stickers! Saturday literacy programs are co-led by a dedicated team of volunteers and supported by committed volunteer mentors. Our current Saturday literacy program partner school is Harriet Tubman Elementary School.**Students must attend Harriet Tubman Elementary School in order to be eligible for this program.** Interested in registering as a student or volunteering with Reading All-Stars? Email ReadingAllStars@826dc.org for more information.
In-School Writing, Editing, and Publishing
826DC offers support to teachers in the K-12 classroom though this program, one of our most flexible and teacher-driven. Teachers can choose a curriculum delivery model or for 826DC small group/one-on-one support. In-Schools can range from one class period to multi-week sessions.
How much does it cost?
The program is 100% free to schools, teachers, and students.
What have you been up to recently?
Editing and Publishing 826DC joined five classrooms of 11th grade students to work in small groups on revisions for a personal memoir project around food writing over the course of two days. 826DC then worked remotely with the students via Google Docs to proofread and copyedit their work. Finally, 826DC designed and published a collection of the students’ writing and corresponding recipes. Poetry Writing Workshop During National Poetry Month in April, 826DC led a poetry writing workshop for a group of 9th-12th graders, focusing on a reading and discussing a poem and guiding the students through writing poetic responses to the work. Students’ poems were subsequently submitted for publication consideration on the Poetry Foundation’s website. Group Storytelling 826DC led a storytelling writing workshop with 1st-3rd graders. We introduced the students to the basics of any narrative (protagonist/hero, antagonist/villain, plot, setting, characters, and dialogue), and then guided the students through writing the story as a group. The students then wrote their own individual endings to the story and illustrated the pages themselves. Each student received a bound copy of the book to keep.
Realistic Fiction Over three days, 826DC led a lesson with 7th graders to build their “show, don’t tell” descriptive language skills.
LoNoMeMo (Local Novel Mentoring Month) 826DC volunteers served as mentors for high school students who (frantically) wrote 50,000 word novels within the span of a month.
How can I get involved?
If you’re interested in hosting 826DC in your classroom, the first step is to fill out the Teacher Interest Form. We ask for a minimum of four weeks advance notice for most In-School Writing, Editing, and Publishing partnerships.