And so it begins . . .

My pre-conference session, “Reading with Rigor:  Interpreting Complex Texts Using Annotation and Close Reading Strategies” today is with the authors of this book.

Today, from 9 am to 5 pm, all day, with these two talented ladies. Sonja Cherry-Paul and Dana Johansen.  One hour closing workshop at #tcrwp last year gave me enough info/fuel for ages.  Hmm? What will I learn in an entire day?

Here’s what Lucy Calkins says about them in the foreword of their book:

“You’ll join these two extraordinary teachers in demythologizing the essential skills of Common Core aligned reading and in teaching those skills in such a way that students own them.”  LC

And

“…Dana and Sonja are crystal clear about the fact that increasingly, the role of a literacy teacher needs to be to empower students to be active agents of their own learning.” LC

And

“At the same time that they offer us inspiration and grounding in their very best teaching ideas, they also offer the very best practical details, procedures and materials needed for day-to-day, high-caliber teaching – the support so many of us desperately need to do our jobs even more than we have before.” LC

The #ILA15 program says –

“Presenters will create an engaging, hands-on learning environment to achieve the following learning objectives:

– Participants will learn strategies they can use with students for close reading, annotation, shared reading, and independent reading.

– Using an interactive, hands-on approach participants will explore ways to teach students how to identify and analyze literary elements such as symbolism, theme, mood, and figurative language, in ways that lead to stronger interpretation of complex texts.

#ILA15 Begins . . .

St. Louis?  Yes, St. Louis!

Here’s my writing room for the next four days!

What will you be learning at ILA15?

What will you be writing about?