Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok, Thailand
Full Bio
VICKI VINTON is a literacy consultant and award-winning writer who has worked with schools and districts across the U.S. and abroad for over 20 years.
As an early member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, she brings a deep understanding of the workshop approach to teaching reading and writing, while also helping teachers incorporate inquiry work in their classroom.
Her books include Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading: Shifting to a Problem-Based Approach, What Readers Really Do: Teaching the Process of Meaning Making and The Power of Grammar: Unconventional Approaches, all published by Heinemann.
Additionally, she is the voice behind the popular literacy blog To Make a Prairie, and she regularly presents at conferences, institutes and conventions in North America and around the globe.
Katrina Theilmann
Assistant Facilitator
Elementary School Literacy Coordinator at the American School of Doha, Qatar.
Full Bio
KATRINA THEILMANN is currently the ES Literacy Coordinator at the American School of Doha, Qatar. She worked with Dr. Cindy Cummings to present the updated AERO Framework at the 2012 NESA Spring Educators Conference in Athens, and she is leading the change in the elementary school at ASD.
Ms Theilmann has extensive training in language arts, and she was part of the NESA Literacy Coaches Cohort led by Carrie Ekey. She has also worked closely with Pete Bowers regarding structured word inquiry.
4-Day Certificate Course: March 28-31
Building Strong, Skillful and Passionate Writers
A Foundation Course in Writing Workshop for Grades 3-8
4 days: March 28-31
- Day One will look at the core values and beliefs that underpin writing workshop (such as, "teach the writer, not the writing," the importance of choice, and teaching for transfer), as well as some of the key structures and components of workshop, from units of study to the writing process and from writers’ notebooks to mini-lessons and celebrations.
- Day Two will take an in-depth look at designing and implementing mini-lessons for different stages of the writing process and the bends of a unit. Teachers will see how mini-lessons can be taught through either direct instruction with teacher modeling or through a guided inquiry approach, using mentor texts.
- Day Three will focus primarily on conferring. Teachers will be introduced to the typical structure of a writing conference (Research, Compliment, Decide, and Teach), as well as some variations, such as research or compliment conference. They'll also be exposed to several different ways of record-keeping. The majority of time, however, will be spent on the crucial skill of formatively assessing student work in a conference setting and intentionally deciding what to teach and how to teach it.
They will then consider what kinds of lessons and strategies students might need at each stage of the writing process to ultimately create a piece of writing that reflects that understanding.
Additionally, teachers will learn how to embed grammar instruction into their unit plans at the revision versus the editing stage, so that student writers learn to see grammar as a way of conveying meaning versus simply adhering to rules.
Please bring a physical notebook along with a writing implement, and a laptop.
**NOTE: The Foundation Course in Writing Workshop is four days (March 29-April 1) and starts one day before the SEC itself (which begins March 29).
Target Audience: Grade 3-8 Teachers, Literacy Coaches and Support Staff.
Continuum Levels: 1, 2, 3, 4
NESA'S Learning Continuum:
How to Sign Up
- Please sign up via the Spring Educators Conference registration form.
- The Foundation Course in Writing Workshop is four days (March 28-31) and starts one day before the SEC itself (which begins March 29).
Handouts/Prep
Save paper and effort where possible!
For your convenience, and to support our efforts in being "green", all handouts/files posted here have been notated with an A, B, C or D indicating the following:
(A) hardcopies needed at workshop
(B) electronic version on laptop is sufficient (for viewing during the workshop)
(C) required reading PRIOR to the workshop
(D) file not needed for workshop itself, but simply material of additional interest/reference
(C) Letter to Participants
(B) Building Strong, Passionate & Skillful Writers
(B) Materials for 6-8 Writing Workshop