(See Schedule/Registration for schedule of courses and registration information.)

Please contact Karen Hartman at 303.246.0657 if your district is interested in hosting a seminar. See below for the types of seminars we’ve offered in the past. 

PREVIOUS SEMINAR OFFERINGS 

We can bring a seminar to your district.  Below are seminars we have offered in the past, and we can develop one for your district if you have other needs.  Most seminars as described are intended for two days.

Crafting Digital Time Capsules  

Wondering how you might plan for authentic units of study (very likely remotely) come fall? Join this session to create a digital time capsule project, customizable to your own students and grade level standards. We’ll explore how workshop practices such as writing for real purposes, choice, playfulness with form, and the use of mentor text translate to remote learning, while collaborating to plan a practical unit to teach in your own classroom. This seminar will include both synchronous and asynchronous lessons and opportunities to collaborate over the course of two weeks.

Writing Your Own Writing Models (a.k.a. finally doing my own assignments)

This seminar will involve a few synchronous activities/mini-lessons/writing conferences over the course of five days, while mostly being rooted in you just making time for yourself to write.   You will be developing examples of the writing you are asking your students to do, which has grown even more important during the time of remote learning.  If possible, come with lesson plans, rubrics, and models you’ve already started to guide the writing.  This seminar is about creating whatever pieces of writing you want for using as teaching models in your writing class – whether you are teaching remotely or face to face. 

Instant Writing Community (a.k.a. join a like minded writing group)

This seminar will provide participants with multiple opportunities for feedback on their own writing, which will generate ideas for providing feedback in the remote learning classroom, as well as face to face.  The seminar will involve synchronous writing conferences over the course of five days, while mostly being rooted in you just making time for yourself to write.  Participants are asked to come with at least one piece of their own writing that they want to revise – seeking feedback.

Writing in the Disciplines: Authentic Writing Instruction in Your Content Area  (for middle and high school content area teachers)

In the last few years we’ve learned about writing in the disciplines which is not the same as writing across the curriculum. Writing as an historian is not like writing as a scientist and writing as a scientist is not like writing as a mathematician.In this two-day workshop you will explore what the writing in your discipline looks like and explore effective ways of teaching students how to write in that discipline. We’ll also do some writing using mentor texts specific to your discipline.

Developing Primary Writers Using Mentor Texts   (for K-2 teachers)

This workshop is for both teachers well versed in the use of mentor texts and those who are new to the idea. We’ll focus on getting our youngest students to see themselves as writers. We will look at mentor texts to help us teach our students how illustrations tell a story. We will also look at mentor texts to help our students grow as writers as they begin to use words along with their illustrations.In this workshop we will also explore how mentor texts can help us teach craft and structure. We will take time to do a little writing using mentor texts—writing you can share with your students.

Developing Writers with Mentor Texts  (for writing teachers, 3rd grade through high school)

This workshop is for both teachers well-versed in the use of mentor texts and those who are new to the idea. We will explore how mentor texts can help our students learn what good writing looks like and how they can use the same strategies as professional writers. We will look at specific texts and decide how to build writing lessons using the texts as mentors. We will also do some writing using a mentor text—something you can share with your students.

Conferring: Getting to the Heart of the Writing Workshop

The experts tell us writing conferences are the heart of the writing workshop, but conferences can also become the most difficult component for teachers to fit into their busy schedules. Join us to learn more about conferring with our student writers so it makes a difference in their writing and in their learning.

Digital Tools to Support Writer’s Workshop

A two-day seminar for teachers of writing. Participants will experience a digital writing workshop through reading, writing, and reflecting on how they might use digital tools to support their own classroom writing workshops.

Writing In and Out of Complex Texts

A two-day seminar for teachers of writing. Participants will learn writing strategies for getting students ready to read complex texts, to help students read carefully through complex texts, and to help students extend their understanding of complex texts after reading.

Teaching and Writing Argument

A two-day seminar for teachers of writing. Participants will read, study, and write argumentative pieces, reflecting on how they might teach argument in their own classrooms as they focus on the Common Core State Standards.