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Those who happened to walk by Rooms 334鈥�340 of the MUB on听Oct. 30听might have noticed a group of younger-than-usual students deep in thought and creation 鈥� pens, markers, pages of text, pipe cleaners, and glue sticks spilling across their shared group tables. Every so often, one might have stood听up to hang a poem-leaf on the 鈥減oet-tree鈥� in the corner or deliver a molded clay creature to a display set up on a windowsill at the edge of the room.

Every October since 2019, assistant research professor of education Bethany Silva, who also directs UNH鈥檚 Community Literacy Center, and associate professor of English Alecia Magnifico have been coordinating a lively party for writing on campus in honor of the National Day on Writing. For three years now, that has included hosting eighth graders from Oyster River Middle School and engaging in "joyful acts of writing" together.

The National Council of Teachers of English established the National Day on Writing (NDOW) in 2009 鈥渢o celebrate composition in all its forms by individuals from all walks of life.鈥澨齇ver the years, support for the event has come from many UNH organizations, including the Community Literacy Center, English Teaching program, Connors Writing Center, and NH Literacy Institutes. The UNH Center for the Humanities has been a sponsor for the last several years.

鈥淗osting the National Day on Writing Celebration is a win all around,鈥� says Silva. 鈥淥ur UNH Education and English Teaching students have the opportunity to practice what they鈥檙e learning in their classes, and our local middle schoolers have the opportunity to be inspired as they connect with UNH students around writing.鈥�

In their classrooms, students are often asked to write to demonstrate competency, often in the high stakes context of testing. Not here. "I like the opportunity to think about composing beyond essays and screens, to think and create and imagine,鈥� said one participant. 鈥淚t feels like stretching after sitting still."

This year鈥檚 NDOW included a wide variety of writing prompts generated and facilitated by UNH volunteers, including English department lecturers and graduate and undergraduate students. "Since I am an aspiring literature teacher, this event was a great way to begin exploring the realm of leading creative activities for middle school students,鈥� one undergraduate facilitator shared.

In set up and spirit, the event promoted听autonomy. Attendees chose which prompts they participated in and for how long. Depending on where they gravitated, the 160 students at the 2025 gathering might be creating a cartoon character, monster, or invention, then writing about their creation鈥檚 powers ... or they might be composing a missing scene from a book, generating a scary story in two sentences, or journaling as a favorite character.

There was something for everyone 鈥� the bold and the hesitant, the verbal and visual. Some prompts lifted the pressure of finding words first by asking participants to draw a pirate map or create a logo, using art and design to open side doors to writing. Some activities were tactile or transformative. One group sat folding zines, another collaging together images, a third blacking out words of听existing texts to create new poetic expressions.

In the corner, the 鈥減oet-tree鈥� displayed a growing cluster of colorful paper leaves fastened to its live branches. Across them were scrawled quickly improvised poetic lines, ranging from the humorous to the lyrical.

As they enjoyed the activities, the students were also building community, expanding understandings about what counts as writing, communicating what matters to them, and getting a brief glimpse of the resources and culture of a college campus. (鈥淚 overheard at least five eighth听graders asking our UNH students how to apply!鈥� says Silva.)

In addition to hosting and planning the event, Silva and Magnifico are also finding ways to communicate its impact. Each year, they see firsthand how playful literacies spark learning. 鈥淐elebrating the National Day on Writing helps us learn more about that side of education,鈥� says Magnifico, who has written about the benefit of these types of approaches (including in this for a special issue of English Teaching: Practice and Critique). 鈥淪tudents and teachers often think mostly about writing as work, or as a task for school, but answering structured questions is only a tiny part of what we humans can do when we learn through writing and making.鈥�