September 24, 2008 - Brooklyn, New York

Launching Writing Workshop / Testing Fundamentals

Keynote Speaker: Donald Crews

Donald Crews was born in Newark, New Jersey, where his mother worked as a seamstress and his father was employed by the railroad. When he and his siblings (a brother and two sisters) were youngsters they would travel by train from New Jersey to Florida where Bigmama, their grandmother, lived. These sumnmer journeys to Florida sowed the seeds for his stories Bigmama’s and Shortcut – two of his most popular books.

Featured Workshops:

Launching Writing Workshop Grades K–1, 2–3 and 4–5

Launching the Writing Workshop is an exciting endeavor for you and your students as you work together to live the writer’s life. Creating a community of writers and finding great books and authors your students can learn from and emulate is essential.

Each registered attendee will receive a Complete Launching Unit of Study that you will be able to implement in your classroom. Each Unit includes:

10 touchstone texts
20 or more corresponding mini-lessons that take your students
through each stage of the writing process, from immersion to
generating ideas, revision, editing, publishing, and assessment!
10 book labels
1 storage bin
1 binder
1 Teacher’s Guide

Test-Prep Using Real Books Grades 3–5

In this workshop participants will learn how to link essential reading strategies with the essential skills required of students in high-stakes testing situations and to deliver the instruction within a Reading Workshop framework.

Each registered attendee will receive a Whole-Group Instruction Lesson Set that you will be able to implement in your classroom. Each Unit includes:

9 touchstone texts
15 whole-group lessons, each focusing on a particular skill or strategy and connected directly to the 9 touchstone texts
9 book labels
1 storage bin

Presenters:


	RORY COHEN
	Rory taught in New York City Public Schools and in Long Island before becoming a staff developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. While at the project, Rory mentored elementary teachers across the state, providing demonstration teaching and reading and writing curriculum planning. Rory is now a nationally recognized literacy consultant who specializes in primary reading and writing and an Educational Co-Director at Schoolwide, Inc.


	DARLENE FARRACE-PROTT
	Darlene holds a certification in Elementary Education and has more than 14 years classroom experience. She received a BA from Kean University in New Jersey, and is currently completing course work towards a master’s degree in Educational Administration. Darlene is a cofounder of NJ Teacher 2 Teacher, LLC, which was established in 2003 to provide teachers with high quality professional development. Her vocation as a staff developer includes traveling to many districts presenting workshops in Language Arts and Mathematics. Darlene is excited to share her experience, ideas, and strategies with other professionals in the field of education.


	MICHELLE WOLF
	Michelle is a lead writer and developer of the Writing Fundamentals Units of Study. She has worked on Long Island and in New York City as a teacher, staff developer, and literacy consultant. While with the New York City public schools, she served as a district mentor providing workshops for teachers and principals. Michelle has a vast knowledge of children's literature and has been instrumental in the development of the Schoolwide, Inc. catalog.


	ROBIN COHEN
	Robin is presently a literacy consultant in several school districts in the Northeast. She was formerly a reading specialist and staff developer in District 11 in the Bronx and at Liberty Elementary School (Nyack School district in Rockland County, NY). Robin was the 2005-2006 winner of the International Reading Association Exemplary Reading Award for New York State. She was the NY State Reading Teacher of the Year in 2002, and honored as an NCTE Educator of Excellence in 2001. Robin is also the originator of the Student-Run Bookstore project published in the American Educator and Parade magazines.

If you have any questions, please call us at 1.800.261.9964