Session A Workshop Descriptions

Unbound: Exploring the Unthetered Home and the Coverless Book: A library will feel like home no matter where you go. Explore the universal welcoming of libraries and invite students into spaces through a series of authentic assessments connected to a YAL class. We will discuss home discourses, reading outside the established roles of identity alignment, reading for bias, and taking reading risks. Assessments include Blind Date with a Book, Pecha Kucha, Dangerous Books, and Editorship as Dramatic Play. Each assessment engages with the concept of unbound or hidden text. Participants will leave with the task sheets and rubrics for each of the assignments. (9-12)

Presenters: Sarah Rhodes & Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs, SUNY Oneonta

Location: Salon A

Fictioning as Literary Analysis: Join this workshop to consider alternative ways to engage students in literary analysis. Drawing inspiration from transformative fiction, we will consider how literary works could be reframed as invitations for students to generate their own fiction. Building on Oscar Wilde’s insight that “to the critic the work of art is simply a suggestion for a new work of his own,” we will provide frameworks and prompts for teachers to create space for fictioning in their ELA classrooms. (6-12)

Presenters: Ashlynn Wittchow & Meg Davis, Teachers College, Columbia University

Location: Salon B

Writing Home: A Space for Teacher Writers: Join National Writing Project teachers for a session in which we celebrate the National Day on Writing! Find inspiration from music and poetry and enjoy this time to discover, reflect, remember, and - of course - write! (General)

Presenters: Nancy Czachor (CDWP), Darshna Katwala (LIWP), and Tom Meyer (HVWP).

The Empire State Writing Project Network

Location: Salon C

"Hey Jason, Look this Way!" Using Jason Reynolds' Text to Celebrate the Brilliance in Our Community and Our Lives: Celebrated author Jason Reynolds has written a range of fiction literature that afford the ELA classroom to engage in critical reflection up oneself, one's community, and one's place in the world. Drawing upon his most recent book, "Look Both Ways," session participants will learn how a middle school ELA teacher used this text to have students identify the Community Cultural Wealth within their own urban community through creative assignments that center the lived experiences of youth. Participants will receive materials and guidance for implementing "Look Both Ways" into their own curriculum. (6-8)

Presenters: Jevon Hunter & Alex Sokolinski, SUNY Buffalo State

Location: Salon F

In Words and Color: Pairing Poetry and Art for Analysis: Henry James said, “To the art of the brush the novel must return.” Same with poetry: the best poets--of the past and today--use the artist’s tools. This session will introduce strategies for close-reading canonical works of poetry and art, as well as works by diverse contemporary poets and artists. We will look at pairs of poems and visual texts to demonstrate the ways those pairings help students refine their close-reading skills. Participants will consider the poets’ and artists’ choices and the way their work functions alone and in conversation with other works. (6-12)

Presenters: Robin Aufses, Lycée Français de New York

Location: Salon G

To Be a Writer: Identity & Identification: What happens when students begin to identify as writers? I asked myself this question as I sifted through my students' responses at the end of a year of Writing Workshop. Students came to me viewing writing as a dull and formulaic regurgitation of information organized into five-paragraph essays and extended responses. They left with something quite different. Participants in this workshop will explore with me the results of these end of the year responses and consider its implications for future teaching and learning, as well as envision what this might look like in their own classrooms. (K-12)

Presenters: Rebecca Quackenbush, Chester School District & The Hudson Valley Writing Project

Location: Salon H

Not Another Team Project: A Look at How a PBL High School Creates Authentic Projects and Combats Collaboration Frustration: In this presentation, we will showcase how our school incorporates project-based learning and collaboration across the curriculum. We will also look at some general strategies for project development and team collaboration as well as share some English-specific projects that use authentic learning and community partnerships to enhance student engagement. (6-12)

Presenters: Catherine Eisele & Sarah Hugger-Fiess, Tech Valley High School

Location: Albany/Colonie Rooms

The Reader Response Notebook: Teaching Towards Joy, Expression, and Creativity: Do your students' reader response notebooks (RRNs) feel stale? Are they mostly writing generic summaries or to prompts after reading? In this workshop, we will explore creative ideas to use the RRN to express their thinking before, during, and after reading. We will discuss keeping ongoing lists that connect your students’ reading with their lives outside of school. We will expand what texts they might respond to, how to teach into their entries to deepen their comprehension, and how to use RRNs to build your reading community so your students experience joy and joining the literacy club. (3-8)

Presenters: Ted Kesler, Queens College, CUNY

Location: Schenectady/Troy Rooms

Cultivating a welcoming writing environment: Creating a safe space for students to authentically write and grow: Transform your classroom into a space where all students feel safe and take risks as a writer. Examine your classroom structures and routines to ensure students are provided daily opportunities to write authentically and about topics that matter to them. Incorporating strategies and routines from leading researchers and practitioners will allow you to help your students to view themselves as writers! (6-12)

Presenters: Bobbie Dardano, Penn Yann Central School District

Location: Empire Room