West Jersey Reading Council Fall Conference

CANCELLED

Reading and Writing go hand in hand, yet they are most often taught quite separately. Not only does combining the teaching and practice of reading and writing help improve success in both subjects, but it assists teachers with tackling one of their biggest challenges...TIME! This workshop will provide several strategies for linking reading and writing that will improve your students' understanding and application of literacy skills and help maximize your time in the classroom.

*Appropriate for Grades K-6

Add to Calendar

Through Depression Defeaters Inc., we have seen firsthand the incredible impact of helping children turn their pain into purpose. Children who participate in our programs develop greater resilience, improved self-esteem, and a stronger sense of self-worth. They learn that their struggles do not define them, but rather, can serve as stepping stones towards a brighter future.

*Appropriate for Middle School and High School

Add to Calendar

A common challenge for teachers of literacy is how to plan instruction in grammar and mechanics that actually”sticks” and transfers into student writing. This workshop will provide a solution! Learn how to deliver 5-7 minute lessons that are engaging and playful and require minimum advance preparation. Furthermore, this approach centers the learning on application of skills and content to students' writing, leading to a much higher probability that they will remember and apply what you’ve taught. Investigate how you can make grammar and conventions a joyful topic for you and your learners.

*Appropriate for Elementary and Middle School

Add to Calendar

This is a roundup of the best recent books published related to the topics of climate and sustainability. The books showcased can be used in a diverse array of capacities-- as full class read-alouds, for informational text excerpts, book clubs/lit circles, research resources, classroom or school library picks, etc. All books will promote at least one of the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Supplemental resources will be provided to participants.

*Appropriate for Elementary, Middle, and High School

Add to Calendar

A unique workshop that supports the driving question, “How might we elicit authentic connections in a classroom by writing and sharing personal stories inspired by diverse voices in children’s books?” Participants will learn how to SPARK student storytelling by implementing mentor texts with a variety of diverse voices. This engaging workshop will guide participants to analyze cultural and personal elements of diverse stories in children’s books, immerse in the storytelling process, and explore different pathways to publish student work. This specialized workshop enriches the classroom community and promotes empathy, cultural awareness, and diverse perspectives through the lens of literacy.

*Appropriate for Elementary, Middle, and High School

Add to Calendar

This presentation will offer attendees a chance to deepend their understanding of how word reading proceeds beyond the "basics" of reading mostly one-syllable words (or common two-syllable words) in grades K-2. Research about the processes that enable readers to expand their abilities to decode longer words and to expand (over time) the numbers of words recognized automatically will be shared. Teaching practices that can be used to support students in this pivotal aspect of reading will also be discussed and demonstrated.

*Appropriate for Elementary

Add to Calendar

This presentation will discuss strategies for teaching the class novel. Intentional front-loading and modeling independently paced reading make novels approachable for students.

*Appropriate for Middle and High School (General Education Teachers and Teachers of Multilingual Learners)

Add to Calendar

The presentation will begin with an introduction to dialogic reading (DR), the CROWD and PEER prompts used to execute DR, and the benefits of DR to build comprehension skills with readers in primary grades (first grade through third grade). Research based evidence of DR benefits and some explanation of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) will be shared along with a list of references. We will discuss how to transfer the use of this strategy to parents & guardians, as well as address barriers that may prevent adults from being able to engage in DR with children. Barriers such as lack of access to printed text, consideration of the adult's literacy ability, and/or the adult's time constrictions. In addition, participants will be given an opportunity to ask questions. This session will provide the participants with an opportunity to acquire knowledge of a strategy that will lead to improved student learning. Since DR is an interactive strategy between adult and child, the participant will gain knowledge of ways to engage children and adults in this type of dialogue with books to improve comprehension skills.

*Appropriate for Grades K-2

Add to Calendar

Students get better at reading and writing, in part, by doing those things a lot. But simply asking them to go off and read and write a lot is rarely easy. We might encounter avoidant behaviors, poor stamina, lack of focus, or low motivation. Or, we might get those readers and writers to “do," for a bit, but only with substantial support and scaffolds. This limits our ability to provide on-the-spot feedback and, simply, to feel energized and impactful at our work. Here are fresh and user-friendly strategies to help all students feel capable and energized to read and write.

*Appropriate for Elementary, Middle, and High School

Add to Calendar

If you enjoyed the uplifting and unifying spirit of the Summer Olympics, the Global Read Aloud is for you! Join us as we “go global” to share the 2024 Global Read Aloud, a project created to bring together the joy of reading while making connections with classrooms around the world. We will share information about the program and this year’s book selections including our experiences participating over the past several years. Participants will leave with resources for getting started. Get ready to recharge your classroom, get connected, and make literacy a medal-winning experience for your team of students!

*Appropriate for Primary and Elementary

Add to Calendar

Get equipped with Dr. David Kilpatrick's Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST), an individually administered diagnostic test of phonological awareness. The PAST is a free resource that can be administered by a teacher in one brief session to determine the point of instruction for students and monitor progress. This workshop will teach how to administer and interpret the results to better equip teachers to teach phonological awareness skills.

*Appropriate for all levels

Add to Calendar

Participants will explore literature that reflects authentic human experiences and celebrates Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Participants in the session will identify ways they can be used in their instructional practice.

*Appropriate for Elementary

Add to Calendar

Get ready to learn, move, and connect. We will bring famous stories to life using movement games, activities, and dances. This workshop will be for pre-K and elementary teachers looking to energize their classrooms.

*Appropriate for Primary and Elementary

Add to Calendar

In this presentation, Corwin author Trevor Bryan will share a few simple tools and ideas that will help your student engage more purposely and productively with core comprehension strategies, reading responses and narrative writing. The approach that Trevor shares is simple, logical and can be used across grade levels. Essentially, it helps students to understand what key information they need to pay attention to in order determine text structure, make inferences and prediction, efficiently summarize, find themes, use text evidence to support their thinking, and craft narratives that make sense. Resources will be provided.

Appropriate for Primary, Elementary, and Middle School

Add to Calendar