Events

PD Event: Writing and Teaching Memoir 

Kittle Rief Romano Event

Presented by Penny Kittle, Linda Rief, and Tom Romano. Register Here!

Information

Grade Level: 5-12

Price: $159

Credit: You will receive 3.75 general credit hours and 0.37 general CEUs.

Who Should Participate: Classroom teachers of grades 5 through college, literacy coaches, reading and language arts specialists, learning support teachers, curriculum coordinators, and administrators.

Date and Time: Four 75-minute sessions from 4:30pm to 5:45pm Eastern Time (ET)*.

  • Thursday, October 10, 2024
  • Thursday, October 17, 2024
  • Thursday, October 24, 2024
  • Thursday, October 31, 2024

*Please note that this webinar series is scheduled for Eastern Time (ET). If you are in a different time zone, please plan your schedule accordingly.

Overview

Our stories matter, for both teachers and students alike: especially when they are told well. The focus of this series is two-pronged: the craft of writing memoir, and teachers as writers. In writing memoir, story is elevated through the development of characters, scenes, plot, and significant detail. Presenters will share how they have taught students to write memoirs and have written memoirs themselves, even in their academic publications. Participants will write their own memoirs out of indelible moments in their lives and collect strategies, mentor texts, and vision for bringing writing alive in their classrooms.

Learning Objectives

Session 1: Finding Subjects: Moments that Matter
  • Discover indelible moments to drive your own writing
  • Engage in exercises that reveal indelible moments
  • Narrow a subject to several essential scenes
Session 2: Learning from Mentors: the Study of Others’ Writing
  • Understand the power of three kinds of mentor texts
  • Study the power of craft moves in mentor texts
  • Read like writers: learn how the craft of writing engages readers
Session 3: How Feedback Supports Writers
  • Teach students how to give positive, relevant responses to students’ writing in small groups
  • Determine and address a writer’s needs in one-on-one conferences
  • Learn to recognize improvements in craft through a writing process paper 
Session 4: Revision Strategies to Improve a Draft
  • Use voice recordings to analyze momentum, pacing, and clarity in writing
  • Rewrite a draft shifting point of view and/or tense
  • Understand how conventions create style and voice

Author texts: 4 Essential Studies by Penny Kittle & Kelly Gallagher

Whispering in the Wind by Linda Rief

Fearless Writing by Tom Romano

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