GRADES 6-12
Join us as we joyfully journey and explore the fundamentals of reading comprehension and word recognition to effectively support ALL readers. Learn strategies to create a dynamic and engaging reading environment for secondary classrooms.

This session invites participants to embark on a journey of reading, exploring the intricate pathways that lead to comprehension. We will delve into the foundational concepts of the Simple View of Reading, examining the interconnectedness of language comprehension and word recognition.

By understanding the core components of reading, we will gain insights into the diverse learning journeys of our students. We will explore how these components interact and influence each other, recognizing that every reader's path is unique. This session will empower participants to:

• Cultivate a Growth Mindset: Embrace the idea that reading is a lifelong journey, and that challenges are opportunities for growth.
• Develop a Deeper Understanding of the Simple View of Reading: Explore the role of language comprehension and word recognition in reading development.
• Apply Research-Based Strategies: Learn practical techniques to support struggling readers, such as explicit phonics instruction, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies.
• Foster a Joyful Reading Environment: Create engaging and motivating reading experiences that spark curiosity and ignite a passion for learning.
• Collaborate with Colleagues: Share ideas, insights, and best practices with fellow educators.

Through a combination of informative presentations, hands-on activities, and collaborative discussions, participants will leave this session equipped with the knowledge and tools to inspire and empower their students as they navigate their own reading journeys.

GRADES 6-12, COLLEGE, GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Gholdy Muhammad, in Unearthing Joy, argues students need access to lessons that affirm identity, skill development, intellectualism, criticality, and joy. Educators want students to read relevant, timely, and diverse texts, but it takes time. This workshop will provide current, relevant texts and strategies to share them with joy. We'll survey #TeachLivingPoets, #DisruptTexts, Tarra Yosso's research on asset mapping, and current publications from literary journals and The Poetry Foundation to prove that "relevant" can mean triumphant, beautiful, honest, and real. Participants will leave with texts from living writers, texts that AI won't recognize, and strategies that will work across disciplines. 

GRADES K-6, GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Transform your literacy instruction through the power of multi-sensory storytelling! Experience firsthand how layering visual supports, movement, and tactile elements can make texts accessible and engaging for all learners. Leave with practical strategies to reignite the joy of reading in your classroom while supporting students across ability levels.

In education, we often witness how academic challenges can dim the natural joy of learning in our students. Yet, when we make literacy truly accessible, we reignite that spark. This interactive session invites educators to experience and create multi-sensory storytelling approaches that transform reading from a potential barrier into a journey of joyful discovery for all learners.

Through hands-on exploration and collaborative development, participants will experience how layered multi-sensory supports - from visual icons to movement and tactile elements - can make stories come alive for students across ability levels. By experiencing these approaches first as learners themselves, educators will discover how accessibility and engagement naturally lead to increased confidence and motivation.

Session Goals
Participants will:
- Experience the power of multi-sensory storytelling through an immersive model lesson
- Learn practical techniques for adding visual supports and icons to texts to support comprehension
- Discover how to layer multiple sensory elements to create inclusive literacy experiences
- Build strategies for celebrating small victories and building confidence through accessible literacy
- Leave with ready-to-implement tools and adaptations for their classrooms

Opening Experience
- Participants experience a model lesson using icon-supported reading
- Active engagement with layered sensory supports (visual, movement, sound, tactile)
- Reflection on the impact of multiple access points for comprehension

Practical Application
- Introduction to techniques for adding communication icons to texts
- Hands-on practice adapting sample texts with visual and sensory supports
- Collaborative exploration of differentiation strategies for various student needs

Implementation Workshop
- Small group work to begin adapting participant-selected texts
- Development of celebration points for tracking student progress
- Creation of concrete plans for classroom implementation

Closing and Resource Sharing
- Exchange of ideas and strategies
- Distribution of digital resource guide
- Formation of optional ongoing collaboration network

About the Facilitators
Megan, a Special Education Program Manager and Stellie, a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), bring extensive experience in making literacy accessible and engaging for students with diverse learning needs. Their work focuses on building joy and confidence through carefully structured support systems that celebrate progress and promote active engagement in learning.

Expected Outcomes
Participants will leave with:

Practical techniques for adding visual and sensory supports to texts
Methods for celebrating student progress and building confidence
Ready-to-use strategies for creating joyful, inclusive literacy experiences
Access to a digital resource guide for continued implementation
A network for ongoing collaboration and support

This session embodies the conference theme by demonstrating how making literacy truly accessible creates natural opportunities for joy in learning. When students can actively engage with texts in ways that honor their learning styles and abilities, we create classroom ecosystems where both students and teachers can thrive.

GRADES 9-12
Feed your literature-loving soul by diving deep into the non-fiction essays and poetry of Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The centerpiece of our analysis will be World of Wonders, a collection of essays in which she finds inspiration and joy in nature; extension texts will include her poetry, short essays by Ross Gay, the American transcendentalists, and others. After we’ve discovered joy in the texts and in the world around us, we’ll discuss practical ways to engage students in the texts so they can discover and write about their own joy and develop an appreciation for the world around them. The goal of this session is to bring joy into English teachers’ work by creating a learning space designed for reading, thinking, discussing with adults, and writing.

 GRADES K-12, COLLEGE, GENERAL ENRICHMENT 
Using the framework of critical writing pedagogy, these sessions will support teachers in analyzing the craft moves from postmodern picture books. Then, we will use this analysis to explore how we can support students engaging in critical literacy and writing the stories they want to see in the world.Postmodern picture books can be used as mentor texts to engage students in critical writing pedagogies in K-12 writing classrooms. The craft moves of postmodern picture books model methods for students to question narratives, consider representation, and write their own identities into their stories. Examples from both elementary students and pre-service teachers illustrate writing as an engaging and joyful way to explore instruction that embraces popular culture, linguistic repertoire, multimodality, and funds of knowledge. Engaging in these writing practices support positive, successful writing experiences and foster new writing identities. They also challenge the frequent over-emphasis on skills discourses and narrow conceptions of what “counts” as writing, conceptions that dominate schooled writing. Embracing both postmodern picture books and the students’ pieces as mentors as tools in literacy teacher education enables us to practice and enact a critical writing pedagogy that teachers can bring into their own future classrooms.

PRECONFERENCE READING: Tondreau, A. (2024). Using Postmodern Picture Books as Mentor Texts for Critical Writing Pedagogy. Language Arts, 102(1), 7-19.  

GRADES 9-12
This session highlights the partnership between librarians and English teachers to foster a culture of reading through an independent reading program. Attendees will learn how to design engaging mini-lessons, genre deep dives, and book recommendations to inspire both reluctant and avid readers, creating a thriving, joyful reading culture.Geared toward both librarians and English teachers, this session highlights the transformative partnership between the classroom and the school library in fostering a culture of reading through a focused independent reading program. This collaboration goes beyond simply checking out books or giving book talks—it's about creating genuine connections and building a community through the joy of reading.

This program has seen remarkable success in helping students step out of their comfort zones, discover new books, rekindle a love of reading, and view the school library as a welcoming space for thoughtful recommendations and an invaluable resource. Attendees will learn how to design a dynamic independent reading program featuring biweekly mini-lessons, genre deep dives, and “go-to” book recommendations tailored for reluctant readers and avid readers alike. Walk away with actionable strategies and inspiring titles to create a joyful and thriving reading culture on your campus.

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE , GENERAL ENRICHMENT 
Reading strategies borrowed from the world of the theater can teach students how to see beyond written words and discover what is between, beneath, and around them, transforming reading from a tedious chore into the adventure and experience it is meant to be. What is it that theater artists do to transform text from printed words to a living world of space, action, sound, light, texture, and color? To begin, theater artists know there is more to a text than can be captured in the words alone. They regard text as a foundation to build on, a starting point of a process that involves accomplishing multiple tasks that uncover the innermost meaning of a text. This approach to reading is effective because it involves doing something with the text. The text provides information, but it is the interaction with it, the doing something with it, that leads to meaning-making.

Theater artists begin their reading, as any other reader might, by identifying the “who, what, where, when, why, and how” that the writer has supplied. Regrettably, many readers stop at this point, figuring they have done their due diligence, and so have finished the task. By contrast, theater artists are just beginning at this point. Now they dig in and build on the text, adding their own creative ideas to those of the writer, converting the text from abstract concepts to concrete reality. Actors focus on the characters (the “who”), designers center their thoughts on the context (the “where” and “when”), and directors concentrate on the action (the “what”, “why” and “how”). Ultimately, they integrate and synthesize their work into a living world of characters, context, and action.

Following the reading process outlined in Theater, Drama, and Reading: Transforming the Rehearsal Process into a Reading Process (NCTE, 2021), the session will guide you through the steps of reading as an actor, as a designer, and as a director. These reading steps involve delving into the back story of the characters, filling in time gaps in the story line, building a representation of the narrative’s setting in the classroom, and enacting the story’s sequence of actions within that environment.

You will see how completing these tasks gives readers a structure through which to understand characters backgrounds and relationships, more clearly comprehend the continuity of a story, and identify how and why the actions progress from the beginning to the end. Through this process, readers do not “study” a text, but “inhabit” it, realizing the meaning of the language as they use the words to achieve their characters’ objectives, comprehending the era in which the story is set through embodying its behaviors, and understanding the action of the story by experiencing it.

GRADES 9-12, COLLEGE , GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Romantic poet William Wordsworth defined poetry at the turn of the 18th century in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads as a joyful endeavor! He challenged readers to let go of stodgy expectations about rhyme scheme and meter imposed during the Age of Reason. and instead appreciate the natural cadence of the human voice, nature, common folk and “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings . . . recollected in tranquility.”

In addition to Wordsworth, we'll consider Romantic poets such as Robbie Burns, William Blake, Charlotte Turner Smith, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. There will be opportunities for readings, analysis, discussion and creative writing.

PRECONFERENCE READING: Preface to the Lyrical Ballads

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE , GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Reflect on the demands of teaching and the many roles you play beyond the classroom. Engage in meaningful conversations with yourself and others to discover and sustain the joy and energy needed to teach.

Using ideas and exercises from the book "Teaching Better Day by Day: A Planner to Support Your Instruction, Well-Being, and Professional Learning," (Corwin 2023) participants will spend time over the course of the three days reflecting on their own, participating in small group conversations with others, and discussing practical strategies as a group. The aim of the sessions is to celebrate the joy participants are already finding through their work and, by using the resources, readings, exercises, conversations, and time, send everyone home feeling renewed and filled with what Don Graves called "the energy to teach." Participants will be encouraged to participate in the sessions in whatever way best meets their needs at that time. Group discussion will be encouraged, but if some feel the need to engage in more sustained personal reflection (at the beach, by the fire, one one of those lovely Asilomar decks), that is just fine.

GRADES 9-12
Join this interactive multimedia session to build inclusive high school English classrooms using Universal Design principles. Learn to integrate ELD standards, create a classroom brand with core values, songs, and logos, and explore the potential and challenges of AI in education.

As class sizes grow and the pressures on educators increase, finding joy in the classroom can feel like an uphill battle. But, what if joy isn’t a luxury, but the key to reaching every student? This session offers practical strategies to transform challenges into opportunities for connection, creativity, and growth. Participants will leave with ready-to-use tools, templates for classroom branding, strategies for Universal Design for Learning and Integrated ELD, and a roadmap for navigating AI in education -- all designed to make teaching joyful and effective. Participants will engage in small group discussions, create personalized classroom branding materials, and collaborate on lesson plans that integrate UDL and ELD principles. We will also discuss AI tools that support teachers and how to foster conversations and work with AI in the classroom. This session offers an opportunity to reimagine our classrooms as joyful, inclusive spaces where every student can thrive amidst today’s challenges.

GRADES 6-12
In this session, teachers will explore how educators in one district are integrating joy (as conceptualized by Gholdy Mohammad) into social justice curriculum. Participants will learn how adding a “Joy” domain to the Learning for Justice standards can balance difficult themes of injustice and human struggle in texts like The Diary of Anne Frank and Stamped.PRECONFERENCE READING: Online reading links available at curriculumstudy.org 

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE , GENERAL ENRICHMENT
We’ll consider our strengths, our passions, and our dreams, moving from “me” to “we” as we consider both individual and collective approaches that can help us shape the lives and the world we most want to live in, together_.

GRADES 6-12, COLLEGE, GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Students’ lives are rich with narrative through pop culture and over the past few years they have used it more than ever to express themselves. Learn differentiated instruction techniques to use pop culture and content while creating a classroom full of bold discussion, creativity, and opportunities for building positive relationships leading to SEL experiences.

Utilizing connections to our students lives is one of the most important things that a educator can do. With a belief in the significance of popular culture to support and extend the learning environments of young adults and make those needed connections this session shows other educators various ways in which to build those connections. The fact is that while most teachers agree that pop culture should or can be used, most either do not know how to use it properly, are afraid of using it, or use it, but do not "do anything" with it. What is worse is that some use it as a filler or crutch to get through a few days of class. For example: showing the video of a play of Macbeth after having just read the play.

This session provides simple and fun activities, ideas, and examples of pop culture usage that teachers can implement as soon as they get back to the classroom.

Popular Music is used to discuss ways into literary analysis on a more comfortable level. Also, as a way to examine themes and make connections to canonical works.

Movies are used as both a connection piece to greater written works and as a stand along literature. Likewise, they are used to make connections to students and help students with themes, motifs, and storytelling. Furthermore, movies are seen as a way for students to actively express their learning and show their objectives are being met.

Social media and blogs are discussed as ways of showing students ability to do literary analysis, understand character development, and learn to see varying perspectives.

While these pop culture institutions (movies, music, media, etc.) are the center of the learning and assessing, it is the connections that are made through their use that will be the center of the presentation. How using students pop culture allows for teachers to make connections with students from all walks of life and which, research shows, leads to increased student engagement in a class and higher academic achievement (Visco, 2021).

In addition, this presentation centers pop culture as an impetus for collaborative conversation and a catalyst that allows for multiple perspectives to be heard in a safe social emotional learning environment. As Samina Mishra (2018) expresses, “Education as a process must be the window that opens up new ideas and spaces in the world for students, and it must also be the mirror that reflects their experiences of the world” (p. 112).

The hope is that teachers leave this session seeing pop culture in a new light and as a tool they can use to help create connections and help their students dream bigger than an 11 x 8 piece of paper. Not only that, but be bold in their use of pop culture and in creating those meaningful connections between themselves and their students, between the content and the pop culture, and between home and school literacies. In addition, teachers receive pop culture activities, lessons, and ideas they can take with them and implement immediately or dream of new ways to cultivate each to fit their own style and usage.

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE, GENERAL ENRICHMENT
Sessions will explore the different ways we write, look at the research on the physical act of writing, analyze and reflect on how that writing “feels” in terms of thinking, and the impact writing has on fluency, the brain, communication, effectiveness. How can calligraphy, block printing, voice to text and artistic practices enhance writing joy. Explore a variety of creative visual arts practices students can use to “write” and show their understanding.

Mine the intersections of writing instruction and the physical act of writing. How can images lead to words and vice versa? How can we, as English teachers, use artistic practices of calligraphy and creative lettering to enhance student learning and literacy? How can we encourage each other to make our own unique marks?

In this session, explore world traditions in calligraphy, cursive, script, joined italics, block lettering and printmaking, graffiti, activist and street art. Engage with the physical act of writing using different materials, tools and techniques; explore how handwriting impacts learning; and then use these practices to inspire students to write more legible and fluid arguments, narratives and multi-genre work.

The inability to sign one’s name has been used prescriptively and promotes exclusivity. How can we support students with the physical demands of writing and help them appreciate the cognitive gains inherent in the physical act of summary writing; and understanding the ways of typography while also allowing for creative autonomy and choice to energize and enliven learning.

How does students' inability to read cursive or write quickly by hand impact learning? What other methods can students use to “write” and show their understanding? When does one learn cursive? What does the research say about cursive as it relates to understanding/ thinking and communicating?

Be ready to walk outside, write outside, make, read, think and co-create. Explore and expand your experience of what constitutes “hand” writing in this interactive session. Each day will include Peter Elbow style free-writing, art making experiences, “reading” typography, discussions of writing deconstructed into a multi-authored experience, and illustrated reading. Discover multiple genres of physical writing, and new ways of making meaning. Come away from this session with unique teaching ideas, a kaleidoscope of perspectives, sample work and resources to support all learners in your classroom.

GRADES 6-12, COLLEGE
Teachers will explore how to create shared linguistic spaces which nurture the many sounds of a literate life, where we can teach the recursive practices of reading and writing for something bigger than ourselves- our future. Today’s English classroom is a place where students read, write, think, and create as an engaged community of learners. It is a place built on trust that values the gifts each of us bring. It is a place of joy.

In this session, teachers will explore many ideas to create a shared linguistic space of joy in their English classroom. The facilitator will guide them through this process by outlining essential skills and strategies they can use such as increasing reading fluency and enjoyment in secondary students, developing voice, agency, purpose, and authenticity in student writers, unpacking information overload in the digital age, utilizing a National Writing Project model for literacy instruction, translanguaging and playing with words, creating a discourse community which nurtures personal connections, and fostering life-long readers and writers. To this aim, we will consider what teachers of today face in their classrooms, such as Chat GPT and AI, fake reading, censorship, a decrease in reading for enjoyment and reading skills nationwide, and the importance of having students write in other genres rather than argument and exposition. As a National Writing Project Teacher Consultant and teacher of literacy and preservice teachers, the facilitator will draw upon her experiences, research, and expertise to encourage language arts teachers to teach for the greater good, with an effort to inspire the writers of tomorrow and create a balanced literacy approach that is not only effective and rewarding, but inspiring.

PRECONFERENCE READING: "Inviting the Dining Room Table Conversation into Our Classrooms". 
English in Texas | Volume 54.2 | FALL/WINTER 2024 | A Journal of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts
*Article will be made available to attendees.   

GRADES 9-12
Empower your students to take ownership of their learning journey! This interactive session explores practical strategies to foster student autonomy, self-direction, and metacognition in the classroom. Learn how to create environments where students set meaningful goals, make informed decisions, and develop the confidence to drive their own educational experience.

When students take ownership of their learning, something magical happens – eyes light up, enthusiasm builds, and the classroom comes alive with purpose and excitement. Research shows that student agency not only improves academic outcomes but also creates joyful learning experiences where students discover their passions, celebrate their growth, and build lasting confidence.

Background:
Student agency transforms traditional classrooms into vibrant spaces where learning becomes an adventure rather than a task. Picture students excitedly sharing their creative projects, cheering on classmates' achievements, and experiencing the thrill of overcoming challenges they've chosen to tackle. This approach taps into students' natural curiosity and desire to explore, making learning both meaningful and delightful.

Session Overview:

~Discover how student choice creates moments of celebration and excitement
~Learn to nurture the natural joy of discovery through guided exploration
~Explore ways to build confidence through student-led learning celebrations
~Create opportunities for students to share their passions and interests
~Design learning experiences that spark curiosity and enthusiasm
~Foster a classroom culture where mistakes are welcomed as learning adventures

Participants will leave with:

~Strategies for creating joyful, student-driven learning environments
~Ideas for celebrating student growth and achievement
~Methods for incorporating student interests and passions into daily lessons
~Tools for building student confidence through autonomous learning
~Frameworks for balancing structure with creative freedom
~Techniques for making learning challenges feel like exciting opportunities

Success Looks Like:

~Students running into class eager to continue their projects
~Spontaneous collaboration as learners share discoveries
~Pride and excitement when presenting self-directed work
~Increased resilience as students embrace challenges they've chosen
~Natural peer mentoring and celebration of others' achievements
~Students asking to extend learning beyond class time

Join us in discovering how student agency can transform your classroom into a place where learning and joy go hand in hand.

GRADES 6-12
This session will incorporate the asset-based theory of “complex funds of knowledge” using Craft’s (2019) text, New Kid, to demonstrate how to engage and positively reframe the cultural and linguistical knowledge of marginalized students. Through activities and discussion, participants will learn how to connect to students’ funds of identity in an ELA classroom, 9-12 and preservice teacher education.

This session will incorporate the asset-based theory of "funds of knowledge" (FoK; Gonzalez et al., 2005), in addition to Mejia's (2014) FoK categories and Zippin's (2009) "dark" FoK. The session reframes Zippin's work using an asset-based approach of "complex" FoK using Craft's (2019) text, New Kid, to demonstrate how to engage and positively reframe the cultural and linguistic knowledge of marginalized students. Craft's work serves as an example for participants to consider as not only a class text, but also where the protagonist, Jordan, is a marginalized student with his own set of complex FoK for pre- and in-service teachers to unpack. Through several activities that involve critical self-reflection and character analysis, participants will discuss the importance of utilizing students' different types of funds of knowledge as resources for learning. Participants will also discuss how to connect these activities and students' funds of knowledge to students' funds of identity (Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014) to better understand how marginalized students construct their identities based on their own knowledge and skills that are traditionally ignored or devalued in schools. This session is appropriate for the ELA classroom for grades 9-12 and for preservice teacher education courses.

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE
This session explores how relational capacity—building strong, positive relationships between students and teachers—can bring joy into the classroom. By fostering trust, inclusivity, and emotional connection, educators can create an environment that enhances student engagement, motivation, and well-being, ultimately leading to a more joyful and productive learning experience. 

Bringing Joy to the Classroom Using Relational Capacity: Fostering Connection, Engagement, and Positivity is an insightful and practical presentation designed for educators who are looking to create a more vibrant and emotionally supportive learning environment. At its core, the presentation focuses on relational capacity—the ability of teachers and students to build and maintain strong, trusting, and empathetic relationships.

By recognizing that learning is not just a cognitive process, but also an emotional one, educators can enhance student motivation, engagement, and overall well-being.
Through this presentation, participants will explore the powerful connection between relational capacity and the cultivation of joy in the classroom. It emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where students feel seen, heard, and valued—an environment that encourages open communication, emotional safety, and positive reinforcement. When students feel emotionally supported, they are more likely to take risks, share ideas, and develop a genuine love for learning.

The presentation will provide actionable strategies for educators to strengthen their relational capacity, such as active listening, emotional consistency, and creating inclusive spaces that celebrate diversity. Educators will also discover how daily practices like check-ins, humor, and project-based learning can bring fun, connection, and energy into the classroom.

Additionally, participants will learn the ways in which relational capacity leads to tangible benefits: enhanced student engagement, improved academic performance, and stronger teacher-student bonds. The presentation will also tackle common challenges—such as large class sizes or diverse student needs—and offer practical solutions for addressing these obstacles.

Ultimately, Bringing Joy to the Classroom Using Relational Capacity provides educators with the tools and insights to create a classroom culture where students are not just academically successful, but also emotionally nourished. The goal is for every classroom to become a place of connection, collaboration, and joy—a place where students and teachers thrive together.

GRADES 9-12, COLLEGE
Discover The Joy of the Socratic Seminar—learn how to spark meaningful discussions using texts from Shakespeare to Angie Thomas. Explore seminar structures, questioning strategies, and reflection techniques to engage students in diverse, relevant topics and empower them to share their voices on important issues.

The Joy of the Socratic Seminar session will show participants how to use the Socratic Seminar strategy to bring joy and discussion into the ELA classroom by discussing relevant topics that relate to a variety of literature from Shakespeare to Orwell to Angie Thomas. Participants will learn different Socratic Seminar structures, question strands, topic suggestions, response sentence frames for ELLs, and post-seminar reflection strategies. The Socratic Seminar can be used with high school and college students to promote student voices, discuss diverse literature, and get young adults talking about issues that matter in our world.

GRADES 9-12
Join us to discuss teaching Argument and controversial topics in today’s classrooms. I’ll share my eight-week program focusing on writing, reading, and speaking skills through student-driven research. Bring your ideas, assignments, and sample essays. Let’s collaborate, tweak, and make Argumentation engaging for grades 9 and beyond!

Ideal for new teachers, but old veterans like myself are always ready to try something new.

GRADES 6-12, COLLEGE
What can 100-word stories teach your students about reading and writing? Short answer: everything! This flash-fiction form has become a popular structure for efficiently teaching a wide variety of literary devices, terms and processes in a targeted way. This is a dynamic approach to literacy that has changed the landscape of Kim's classroom. This small, bright form has allowed her students to build their voices, their confidence, and their skills through writing workshop, close reading, annotation, discussion, and revision. Kim will use techniques from her book 100-word Stories: A Short Form for Expansive Writing to show how this tiny structure can engage your students and energize their creative thinking.

GRADES 9-12
This session will describe a framework for supporting novice writers in understanding the rhetorical situation, so they can more intentionally write with purpose and power. Participants will learn the framework firsthand as writers, better preparing them to implement it with their students.

If you are interested in learning more about this framework please see my article in the California English Journal "Tapping into Rhetoric to Build Confident Writers."

GRADES 9-12, COLLEGE
Journalism offers students unique opportunities to collaborate on media projects for student and professional outlets. This session explores SF State Journalism’s successful curriculum and provides insights into replicating these experiences, which foster a sense of pride and joy through published w

The curriculum being presented includes findings from a recent curricular innovation supported by the Teagle Curriculum Redesign Initiative. The Journalism Department at SF State—informed by focus groups with students and alumni, as well as industry professionals—modernized its curriculum to better reflect today's media industry. As a result, the department engaged students with fresh opportunities to produce audio, video and written content for student and professional news organizations. This session will include curricular examples and student testimonials about the academic approaches that have brought them joy.

To help prepare for the session, participants are encouraged to review the following resources that showcase student work:

KQED Collaboration:
“The Future of the Bay Area”

Student media:
goldengatexpress.org
xpressmagazine.org

GENERAL ENRICHMENT
A John Prine song and the CCSS will be our main texts for analysis in discussion based in the rhetorical theory of James Moffett. Activities will allow us to experience the dynamics of a language rich classroom environment, the kind that aids growth in both critical thinking and rhetorical facility in reading and writing in all grades.

We will move cogently from dramatization of a John Prine song to a problem-solving discourse concerning how to appropriate the CCSS to build language-rich classroom environments that grow rhetorical facility. This will model our madness. Participants will engage in several activities that emulate those for use in the classroom that, by nature, evoke the kind of mindfulness that is basic to critical thinking, thus basic to critical analysis of the kind that leads to deep reading of texts and the world. We will explore, through exercises and discussion how involvement with drama, observation of what is happening, leads to generalizations and, eventually to the theories that guide decision making, regarding such things as what to think, believe, say, and do. James Moffett’s work, particularly his Student-Centered Language Arts books (editions co-authored with Betty-Jane Wagner), Teaching the Universe of Discourse, and Detecting Growth in Language, will guide discussion to demonstrate the power for thought and language development the rhetorical model provides. Fun and joy promised.

PRECONFERENCE READING: Study the mindfulness that brings meaning to things and when and where those meanings get translated into discourse and what discourse does to meanings. think about your thinking! Suggested but not required: Early works of James Moffett, maybe a chapter or two from the Student Centered book or Universe of Discourse.

GRADES K-12, COLLEGE, GENERAL ENRICHMENT
In learning to harness the power of writing, we gain the ability to understand our lives and find our place in the world. This session provides time to write: personal essays, memoir, fiction, poetry. We respond to one another’s drafts using a rewarding classroom-ready Writing Project protocol.

Join us as we reclaim the joy of writing! In this workshop, we engage in a non-threatening writing process developed by the Bay Area Writing Project which transfers easily to the classroom. We remember the thrills and challenges of writing, and explore methods fparticipants work independently (“on the road”), creating memoirs, essays, poetry, or fiction. Later, we gather in small groups to read our work and offer positive feedback. On Sunday, we regroup to enjoy each other’s creations and celebrate the creative journey.or sharing and revising early drafts. On Saturday morning,

School or district teams can use conference time to plan their own projects, and find inspiration from the Opening Session and Around the Hearth sessions.