“Becoming Word Crafters Using Touchstone Texts”
Grades K-3
Terri McAvoy, Skaith Elementary, St. Joseph School District

Come into Terri’s classroom and see how she uses picture books to teach her students to become word crafters. See how she uses the gradual release model to guide writers through a process, complete with revising techniques, that results in published works loaded with terrific descriptive detail and voice. You will leave this session with mini-lesson ideas, pictures of sample anchor charts, and an extensive list of picture books cross-referenced by the craft techniques they exemplify.

Click here for Terri's presentation handouts in PDF format. Works cited page in PDF.

“Rigor, Interest, and Voice: The Multigenre Research Paper”
Grades 7 to College
Rebecca Dierking, Maryville High School, Maryville R-II School District

Do your students lose interest in class every March? Do you lose interest in grading papers every April? In this session, Rebecca will detail her biographical research paper unit. Based on the model devised by Tom Romano, this project requires students to research a well-known person and then write in various genres, either as that person or about that person. This unit keeps her twelfth graders interested in learning and actively engaged in class throughout the spring. The assignment also encourages the development of voice while maintaining a rigorous course at the end of the school year. You will receive a copy of the complete unit handouts and will be able to view various completed student works. Rebecca intends this presentation for the upper grade levels (7 to college), but she will discuss resources and adaptations for lower grade levels (3-6) as well.

Click here for Rebecca's presentation handouts in PDF format.