In March 2023, during the California Writing Project CATE Pre-Convention Day in Monterey, four amazing CCWP Teacher Consultants, Lisa Fowler, Kenia Goicochea, Melissa Ackerman, and Lori Caldeira, facilitated engaging workshops. They and their participants enjoyed this opportunity to share and learn about meaningful writing in their classrooms. Their workhop descriptions are below.
Engaging Young Writers Grades: K-5
Lisa Fowler
What classroom experiences encourage students to be fully and joyfully engaged in learning and the writing process? In this session, we will write narratives of our own while also having conversations about the kinds of tools and strategies that encourage young students to be independent and joyful writers. As we analyze student writing and illustrations, we will discuss what students learned about the features and purpose of narrative writing.
Self-Discovery Community Builders: A Heart-Centered Approach Grades: 6-12
Kenia Goicochea
Critical reflection during COVID-19 brought me to the painful realization that I was losing my spark in teaching and had fallen prey to a depoliticized, numbing curriculum that I was passing onto my students. I made some changes and, within a year, my students and I were sharing laughter, tears, and an eagerness to bear witness to each others’ stories. During this workshop, I will share the changes I made to my practice and describe how I used students’ lives as critical texts, which we mined for stories, celebrated with poetry, and analyzed through essays. Come explore self-discovery assignments that inspire a sense of agency and discuss approaches for fostering classrooms where students feel safe enough to be honest and take risks.
Let the Glitter and Ink Fly: Writing Instruction that Sparkles and Shines Grades 6-12
Melissa Ackerman and Lori Caldeira
How will accessing student interest benefit writer success across writing categories? In Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, Milo gets stuck in the Doldrums . . . a gray boring place with no room for thinking and imagination. As teachers, we, too, sometimes get stuck in the Doldrums with adherence to curriculum scripts and framework standards. There is a line of thinking that old dusty classics are the best way to teach writing skills across the content area. However, we are here to take you on some flights of fancy and through magic portals in order to share our vision of a writing classroom that Sparkles & Shines!