Through the generous support of the O’Connor Family Foundation, Bates College Museum of Art offers up to six $300 grants to middle-school teachers from Lewiston and Auburn to support the continuing evolution of the Thousand Words Project (TWP).

Grants will be awarded to teachers who

• teach at Lewiston Middle School or Auburn Middle School
• propose to explore ideas not already covered by existing TWP lessons or to more specifically align existing TWP lessons with new curriculum
• schedule participation in TWP in the remainder of the current academic year OR are part of a team which participates in TWP in the 2015/2016 academic year.

Some examples of lessons that would be appropriate to propose include, but are not limited to:

• Persuasive Essay
• Personal Essay
• Writing Realistic Fiction
• Bringing History to Life
• The Literary Essay
• Publishing/Presentation
• Standardized Test Preparation

Teachers interested in submitting a proposal should begin by carefully examining the lessons already available through TWP website (www.thousandwordsproject.org).  Each applicant’s first step will be a conversation about their idea with Anthony Shostak, available at (207) 786-8302.  After this discussion, a formal grant proposal may be submitted.  Rolling deadline.

Each grant proposal should consist of:

1. a short description of the applicant’s interest in evolving TWP in the proposed direction
2. a synopsis of the proposed lesson to be developed
3. some basic ideas for technology integration
4. the subject and grade level for the lesson
5. the Common Core State Standards that will be addressed
6. full contact information for both the applicant and the school at which he or she works.

Grant proposals should be submitted as Word documents, named following this example:

Doe.Jane.TWPgrant.doc, sent to ashostak@bates.edu.

After receiving approval, each grant recipient will have up to ten (10) weeks to research, develop, and submit their lessons.  Final lessons must follow the basic framework seen on the page of each lesson on the TWP website, and should include ideas for technology integration and suggestions for others to “Run With It.”  Grants will be dispersed after the lessons are submitted and approved.  Lessons funded by this grant become the property of the Bates College Museum of Art, with authorship acknowledged.