monday
Sessions A–D
LCD-9 Concurrent Session Using Inquiry As a Tool For Continuous Improvement (Grades K–2) Alice L. Ensley, Primary District Trainer for Literacy Collaborative, Dalton Public Schools, GA
In this session, we will explore a model that can be used to help schools or districts monitor and improve their literacy implementation. You will learn how to propose a hypothesis, gather soft and hard data to examine the hypothesis, set goals based on this data, and design and implement a plan for meeting these goals. We will use an actual case study from a Literacy Collaborative school district as a model for this session. You will have time to explore the needs of your school or district, and receive feedback about the kinds of data you could collect to begin your own inquiry study. LCD-10 Concurrent Session Promoting Children’s Social-Emotional Development through a Literacy Lens (Grades K–2) Lisa Fiore, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Lesley University, MA
Promoting children’s social and emotional development is critical for their success as engaged literacy learners and citizens inside and outside the classroom. In this session, you will learn about ways to incorporate meaningful activities and materials into their respective contexts, and explore concepts and strategies that will enhance the learning environment. Communicating the importance of social-emotional learning experiences to families and community members will also be addressed.
Session Author Interviews—Live Footage: Conferring With Young Writers (Grades K–2)
LCD-12 Concurrent Session Idea Notebooks + Inquiry + Investigation = Wondering That Inspires Reading, Writing, and Thinking (Grades 3–6) JoEllen McCarthy, Regional Staff Developer, Always Learning, NY Erica Pecorale, Professor, Long Island University, NY
Teachers and students need to be navigators of an abundance of information, resources, and tools. Building a culture of inquiry and investigation in classrooms requires active engagement in learning. Because of the vast amount of materials and genres, it is an exciting time in education to take advantage of the possibilities available to students as they learn to explore informational texts and develop their own research processes. You will explore mentor texts and digital tools like Wonderopolis. Minilessons and student work will also be shared that demonstrate opportunities for students to explore the connections between reading and writing, thus making the research process more transparent and transferrable. LCD-13 Concurrent Session Creating Book Murals Using Interactive Writing (Grades K–2) Katie O’Leary, Inclusion Teacher (K–Grade 1 Loop), Boston Public Schools, MA
In this session, we will explore the process of creating collaborative book murals with primary students. After falling in love with a story, students analyze the story elements, design a mural layout, create art, and compose the text through interactive writing to convey a story in a book mural. An emphasis will be on the role interactive writing plays in this process.
LCD-11 Concurrent
Teresa Hensley, Primary Literacy Coach, Whitfield County Schools, GA
Conferring is the heartbeat of the writer’s workshop. In this session you will discover how powerful and defining these moments can be, and how conferring can impact a writer’s growth over time. You will see video clips of conferences and interviews with young writers, teachers, and parents in order to analyze your own approach to conferencing.
LCD-14 Concurrent Session The Reality Is: Nonfiction Books Kids Will Want to Read (Grades 3–6) Susannah Richards, Associate Professor of Education, Reading and Language Arts Program, Eastern Connecticut State University, CT
With the increased attention to reading and writing expository text in the Common Core State Standards, it is imperative that teachers and students be able to engage with high-quality informational texts. This session will help you explore a diverse variety of recently published nonfiction texts that you will be able to use to ignite readers to create meaning. We will also share an extensive booklist and suggestions on how to use the titles in the curriculum.
For more info: 617.349.8402 | literacy@lesley.edu | www.lesley.edu/literacyforall 19