Session B Workshop Descriptions

Teaching Black Feminism in the English Classroom: This workshop will center the work of Black feminist thinkers, theorists, and activists such as the Combahee River Collective, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Anita Hill, and Charlene Carruthers as texts to teach in high school as well as middle school English classes. The first part of this workshop will provide an overview of terms such as intersectionality, followed by a discussion of select Black feminist texts to integrate into existing curricula. Models of work will demonstrate how students read Black feminist theory and apply it to their personal writing; digital writing; school-based activism and assemblies, especially in relation to examining identity and the issues students care about through a Black feminist intersectional lens and framework. (6-12)

Presenter: Ileana Jiménez

Location: Salon A

There’s No Place Like Home: Creating, Nurturing, and Sustaining An Authentic Writing Community: In this hands-on workshop, K-16 educators Dr. Lakisha Odlum and Vivett Dukes, will discuss the ways in which they use poetry and blogging with their secondary and university-level students as ways to create a sense of belonging and to see the classroom as a “home.” Participants will be engaged in meaningful writing activities and discussions, and will leave the workshop with a list of writing activities and resources they can immediately implement into their classrooms. (9-12, College, Teacher Educators)

Presenters: Lakisha Odlum & Vivett Dukes, The State University of New York

Location: Salon B

The Power of Stories: At a time when teachers have become uncertain about what may be taught in the classroom and how to bring in a diverse range of voices, the simple act of having students tell family stories provides a way in. In this workshop, the Long Island Writing Project will share their experiences, ideas and strategies when working with fellow educators and students around the ideas of identity, culture, family history, and our place in the United States story. This workshop session will also discuss our current NEH/NWP humanities grant project. Join us as we engage in writing through prompts and share in community.

Presenters: Darshna Katwala & Heidi Atlas, Long Island Writing Project

Location: Salon C

Centering Youth Voices: The ELA Classroom as a Justice Change Lab: The ELA classroom is a critical space/place for students to leverage classroom materials to their enhance their voices to bring attention to issues important to them. Using NYSED's CR-S Framework and an inquiry model referred to as the Critical Inquiry Project, this session shares the outcomes of two teachers (one elementary, one middle school) who used ELA classroom materials to assist students in identifying and advocating for justice issues. Participants will receive turn-key materials and supporting documents to transform their classrooms into their own Justice Change Labs. (3-8)

Presenters: Jevon Hunter, Jennifer Gottfried, Lindsay Porter, SUNY Buffalo State

Location: Salon F

Teaching ELA in Search of Hope Moments: Hope Found in Uncertain Times: This interactive session shares classroom-tested, hands-on teaching strategies and projects that teacher-presenters have used to find, build, and maintain hope for and with students, colleagues, and themselves during these (and other) unique times. Presenters address the ways in which hope can be found and engaged in the teaching of English language arts, especially as it pertains to writing, reading, and communicating within (virtual and face-to-face) classroom communities. The session positions hope-focused writing & other ELA activities as central to the affective and academic work we do. (K-12, College, General)

Presenters: Nicole Sieben & Nicole DuBois-Grabkowitz, SUNY Old Westbury

Location: Salon G

Using Young Adult Literature in the Secondary Classroom: Secondary students can be reluctant readers. To spark engagement and create a joy of reading, young adult literature can be utilized within the secondary classroom. Young adult literature can deal with powerful topics such as racism, mental health, addiction and others in a more accessible format for students. This workshop will provide recommended titles, topics that they cover and time to think about how to implement them into instruction. (9-12)

Presenter: Melissa Palmer, Greenville HS

Location: Salon H

Building Middle School Community through Writing: "You don't need complete sentences in Science class! And English class is only about reading boring classics!" These are common statements by many secondary students. The prevailing thought is that reading and writing is ONLY for English class, and that mindset needs to change for students to become better communicators. Primarily aimed to improve interdisciplinary writing skills for middle school students, this workshop delves into building a middle school community that transcends the English classroom, while sharing strategies and PBL ideas. (6-8)

Presenters: Kendra Shedina, Duanesburg Jr/Sr High School

Location: Albany/Colonie Rooms

Creating Picturebooks with 2nd Graders: Participants will learn how a team of 2nd grade teachers guided their students to create their own picturebooks in a Kevin Henkes author study. The presenter will show you how to convert writing workshop into composing workshop, where students have access to mentor texts, use materials for art, design, and writing as they compose their stories, and have flexible work spaces. We will also explore dimensions of explicit instruction. Finally, the presenter will show how children’s narrative understandings were equally expressed in words, pictures, and design across their picturebooks. (3-8, lit coaches, teacher educators)

Presenter: Ted Kesler, Queens College

Location: Schenectady/Troy Rooms

Rethinking the Writing Process: Over the past ten years ELA and most content area classrooms have spent a great deal of time improving instruction in reading complex text. With more and more standardized tests including extensive writing, the expectations of college classrooms demanding more critical thinking and

writing skills, and an emphasis in many workplaces on communication skills, there is a definite need for improved writing proficiency in our schools. As we all know, there is only so much time in the school day and year. In this workshop, teachers will be given the opportunity to both revisit and reimagine the process of writing. This interactive workshop will address how to include more writing in order to improve both reading and writing instruction, help students to find their own writing process, and assist teachers to individualize writing instruction for their diverse classroom populations. (3-12)

Presenter: Victor Jaccarino, Hofstra University

Location: Empire Room