May Powerful Voices

Tricia Ebarvia: 

• 9:00 am CST May 12 Get Free: Anti-Bias Literacy Instruction for Stronger Readers, Writers, and Thinkers Teachers will be invited to interrogate how to unpack the ways in which bias informs their instructional and curricular decisions. Using critical literacy pedagogies, and inspired by the work of Dr. Barbara J. Love's "liberatory consciousness," teachers will learn strategies for how to support students in anti-bias reading and writing practices as they develop greater awareness and take action toward social justice. 

• 9:00 am CST May 26 Constructing Thematic Literacy Instructional Units Through an Anti-Bias Lens In this session, Tricia will walk teachers through how to construct strong thematic units of study through an anti-bias, critical pedagogy lens. This practical, step-by-step workshop will support teachers in identifying engaging topics of study and engaging texts from multiple perspectives that center the voices of Indigenous, Black, and people of color communities.Teachers will leave with a protocol for text selection and lesson design.

• 10:45 am CST May 10 and repeated on May 26 Writing Our Lives Toward Healing in Troubling Times What if we taught writing as if we were writing for our lives?  What if we taught writing as if Black lives mattered?  How do we teach writing to respond to the social and political moment?  How do we support spaces for young people to write their lives?  In this presentation, Dr. Marcelle Haddix will offer a framework for reclaiming writing instruction as a way toward collective healing in and beyond our school communities. The session will engage educators in understanding ways that writing can serve as a method for cultivating restored health and wellness for youth and communities impacted by the ongoing effects of racial injustice and violence. 
   

• 12:45 pm CST May 12 Three Essentials in the Teaching of Writing: Time, Choice, Response In the past 9 months, we have been bombarded with programs, packets of worksheets, videos and websites, all vying for our attention and our students’ attention as we navigate online, hybrid, and in person teaching. But writers do not need that information overload. Writers need time to write, choice of what to write about and in what genre, and response and feedback from us, from peers and from audiences. Katherine invites participants to refresh, renew, and remind ourselves of what those essential conditions are, and what they can look like whether we are teaching online or inside the classroom. 

• 12:45 pm CST May 26 Raising ALL Children’s Voices: Finding Beauty and Brilliance in Every Student’s Speaking and Writing Often, when we skim student writing or listen to them speak, we notice what’s wrong and what’s missing, according to current English standards. We feel our job is to correct them, making some students feel frustrated, disengaged, unseen, and unheard. Instead, we might celebrate the gifts and strengths our students have, naming them the way writers would, using language of craft rather than rubrics and scores. Students begin to feel like real apprentices learning an art. Katherine will provide protocols that help name what your students are doing well in their writing in order to help them want to revise and write more.

David O'Connor Pre-recorded session  American Indian Studies in Wisconsin Audience Author, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Literacy Coach, English Language, Special Education, Library Media, Principal/Administrator, Reading Teacher/Reading Specialist, Title I, Interventionist, Curriculum Director, Teacher Educator, Preservice, Reading Recovery, Consultant, Content Area, Digital Technology 
Explore and identify ways to deepen your understanding of American Indian Studies of Wisconsin (often referred to as Wisconsin Act 31) content through texts and digital resources. Learn about ideas for implementing American Indian Studies content into practice while identifying and exploring selected resources and materials to integrate into teaching and learning or curriculum with students. Explore information about Wisconsin American Indian nations’ histories, treaties, sovereignty, and cultures. 

Nancy Roncke, Clair Mitchell, and Mara Morita Pre-recorded session The Power of Student-Led Discourse on Students' Advocacy and Comprehension Experience the power of how Socratic seminars lead to increased student advocacy and comprehension. Learn first-hand from middle school students, their teachers and literacy coach while actively participating in anticipatory learning experiences that enhance Socratic seminars. With a rich foundation in comprehension and student-discourse theories, the session will culminate with everyone participating in an interdisciplinary Socratic seminar, complete with inner, outer, and cyber circles. Experience how intentional planning around student-led discussions fuels not only all students' comprehension skills, but ultimately their motivation and level of advocacy in their world. 

Liza Wiemer and Aliza Werner Pre-recorded session Learning from History: Empowering Students with Holocaust Literature to Improve Our World Audience Author, 6-8, 9-12, English Language, Library Media, Reading Teacher/Reading Specialist, Curriculum Director, Teacher Educator 
Holocaust education is critical because the history provides a mirror for humanity today. The impact of silence, complacency, and hate continues to be prevalent. Few students have direct ties to or knowledge of the subject. In a PowerPoint and handouts, we’ll broaden the list of literature for classroom use, explain how to use it to improve critical analysis, empower students, and foster compassion, understanding, and respect. We’ll examine/explain why some assignments such as role-playing are curriculum violence. Resources for a positive learning experience without trivializing or marginalizing will be provided.