Teach writing with confidence
Most of us are readers but we aren’t writers, this means we often feel less confident when teaching writing than we do when teaching reading.
Is this true for you?:
- Your writing lessons fall off your timetable because you aren’t quite sure how best to teach it.
- You’re interested in learning about ways to teach writing that go beyond formulaic writing structures.
- You want to add more authenticity, creativity and passion to your writing lessons but you’re not sure how.
If so, this full day writing PD day is just for you!
In this online PD we will look at:
- What research says about effective writing instruction.
- The difference between assigning writing and actually teaching it.
- Practical ways to increase student engagement and skill in writing.
- Choosing and delivering effective minilessons in writing for students in years 2-6
As with all Oz Lit PDs, you will leave the day with lots of practical strategies to trial in your classroom the very next day.
The details:
- When: Tuesday September 29, 2020
- Where: Online using Zoom
- Time: 9:00am-3:00pm (Melbourne Time)
- Cost: $150+GST per person (with 5% being donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation)
- (If you’d like an invoice so your school can pay, just send an invoice request to accounts@ozlitteacher.com.au)
You’ll get: a full day online PD, a copy of the PowerPoint slides and a supporting resources pack.
Keen? Head over to the Oz Lit Teacher shop to snap up your ticket now.
What previous participants had to say about this PD:
It was such an engaging and interactive experience. I learnt so much about teaching writing and feel a lot more confident going into the next term of teaching.
-Laura
As a graduate teacher, this PD really connected some dots for me in my professional practice. I often find myself identifying which areas of my teaching that I would like to improve, but you provided the learning I needed to know how I can do that. You explain things in such a clear, accessible way. The sense of humour you bring keeps the learning fun and engaging. Thank you so much Narissa!
-Tessa
It was refreshing to learn about the essential ingredients to teaching writing. You have such a great approach to PD and I always love attending your PDs (and Bastow). It was engaging, interesting and inspiring. You were real- having us not do everything at once. We need more people in leadership like you!!!
-Zoe
Pure Guided Reading
Most of us, when first starting out, were thrown into the classroom with very little practical experience. (The sink or swim method as we call it!) If you landed in a school that uses a ‘workshop model,’ you may have found yourself searching frantically to find out anything you could about guided reading, so you could hit the ground running.
Over the years you may have cobbled together different bits of information, research and knowledge about running guided reading in the classroom but you may never have had explicit training in the what, why and how of Guided Reading in its pure form.
Are any of these true for you?:
- You’re wanting reassurance to know you’re ‘doing’ guided reading right.
- You’re looking for a clear way to structure and plan your guided reading lessons.
- You’re interested in knowing more about grouping your students based on need as well as the level.
- You’re wondering where independent reading and conferring fits into all this?
If so, then this Guided Reading PD is right for you!
In this online PD we will:
- Look at the research behind guided reading and how it fits into a gradual release of responsibility model.
- Highlight assessments you can use to help inform grouping for guided reading.
- Outline a structure for guided reading lessons and provide you with a plan you can take away and use immediately.
- Discuss alternate small group instructional strategies (such as strategy groups), that can also help you meet the needs of your students.
Structure: 5 X 1 hour PDs on Wednesday nights at 7pm between August 19- September 23. (19/8, 26/8, 2/9, 9/9, 16/9)
- Where: Online using Zoom
- Cost: $225+GST per person (with 5% being donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation)
- (If you’d like an invoice so your school can pay, just send an invoice request to accounts@ozlitteacher.com.au)
You’ll get: 5 hours of online PD, a supporting resources pack and a copy of the recording.
Writing Traits Masterclass Series (2nd Intake)
So You’ve Heard Of The 6+1 Traits And Want To Know More?
In this PD series I’ll be taking a one-hour weekly deep dive on each of the traits to help you really understand:
- what each trait is (beyond a basic definition)
- what each trait looks like in mentor texts and student writing
- how you can teach students about each of the traits.
Why?
Teachers who have a deep understanding of the qualities of good writing are better equipped to nurture and nudge the writers in their class and that’s exactly what this PD is on about. By going deep on one trait at a time, you’ll develop the teacher content knowledge required to:
- identify the qualities of good writing in mentor texts
- pinpoint student strengths and instructional needs
- provide more effective feedback to students
- plan more targeted, focused and effective minilessons.
Structure
The series will run on the following Thursday afternoons (4pm AEST):
- Ideas trait: Thursday, September 10
- Organisation trait: Thursday, September 17
- Voice trait: Thursday, October 8
- Word choice trait: Thursday, October 15
- Sentence fluency trait: Thursday, October 22
- Conventions trait: Thursday, October 29
Don’t worry, you’ll be able to access a recording of any sessions you miss.
Cost: $180 + GST
All The Details
- What: You’ll get access to a recording of each session, a PD certificate and a copy of the slides.
- When: Thursdays at 4pm AEST (September 10, 17, October 8, 15, 22, 29)
- Where: Online (Zoom)
- Cost: $198 GST inclusive for access to the whole series (with 5% being donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation)
- NOTE: If you’d like an invoice so your school can pay, just send an invoice request to accounts@ozlitteacher.com.au
What previous participants have said about Oz Lit Teacher writing PDs:
“This PD gave me tools and ideas that I can implement right away. Riss presents with such enthusiasm, passion and humour, I wish that all PDs were as engaging and useful.”
-Greer
“Realistic, anyone can access at any point in their career, inspiring.”
-Shirley
“It was fantastic, you did not overload with information and everything you spoke about was really easy to understand. Your activities throughout the day that you had us participate in really showed how we can motivate students and create a passion for writing.”
-Tanyel
Traits Masterclass series (Intake 1)
So you’ve heard of the 6+1 traits and want to know more?
In this PD series I’ll be taking a one-hour weekly deep dive on each of the traits to help you really understand:
- what each trait is (beyond a basic definition)
- what each trait looks like in mentor texts and student writing
- how you can teach students about each of the traits.
Why?
Teachers who have a deep understanding of the qualities of good writing are better equipped to nurture and nudge the writers in their class and that’s exactly what this PD is on about.
By going deep on one trait at a time, you’ll develop the teacher content knowledge required to:
- identify the qualities of good writing in mentor texts
- pinpoint student strengths and instructional needs
- provide more effective feedback to students
- plan more targeted, focused and effective minilessons.
Structure
The series will run on the following Monday afternoons (4pm AEST):
- Ideas trait: Monday, August 24
- Organisation trait: Monday, August 31
- Voice trait: Monday, September 7
- Word choice trait: Monday, September 14
- Sentence fluency trait: Monday, October 12 (All states Term 4)
- Conventions trait: Monday, October 19
Don’t worry, you’ll be able to access a recording of any sessions you miss.
All the details
- What: You’ll get access to a recording of each session, a PD certificate and a copy of the slides.
- When: Mondays at 4pm (August 24, 31, September 7, 14, October 12 and 19)
- Where: Online (Zoom)
- Cost: $198 GST inclusive.
- As always, 5% of the profits from this PD will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Reading: Effective Think-Alouds (Available for download now!)
This workshop is aimed at anyone who wants to strengthen the minilesson part of their reading comprehension instruction (it is very useful for remote teaching!)
Done well, think-alouds are a highly effective teaching practice for reading instruction. The problem is, the research says they aren’t used enough in schools.
This workshop was originally held as a live webinar and the recording is now available to download and watch in your own time.
The workshop covers:
- The what, why and how of effective think-alouds.
- How to plan for effective think-alouds.
- How best to scan books to use in the classroom.
- How to make your own think-aloud recordings.
This one hour recording comes with a supporting resources pack, a copy of the PowerPoint slides and a certificate of participation.
The cost is $27.50 (GST inclusive) and 5% of this donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Here’s some feedback from this workshop:
“You are a very skilled deliverer of online PD. I love that I can do it from home. Evenings are usually a time that suits, and recordings are nearly as good as the real time session.” -Michelle N
“I loved this PD as it wasn’t too long and overwhelming. It was perfect, straight to the point and easy to understand. I know exactly what I need to refine and how to be more explicit when coaching my teams with the delivery of lessons online and within the classroom. The resources you receive are very helpful.” -Michelle T