Units of Study: Implementing Rigorous, Coherent Writing Curriculum

Registration for the 2013 Common Core Writing Conference Days is now open.

In this day-long seminar, Lucy Calkins, author of the brand new series, Units of Study in Opinion, Informational, and Narrative Writing, and co-author of the best-selling book, Pathways to the Common Core, will help you understand the implications of the Common Core State Standards for writing. She’ll guide you as you align your writing instruction to the CCSS.

Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.



The Common Core State Standards refocus the nation on students’ proficiency as writers. NCLB, the last large-scale reform movement in literacy, called for an emphasis on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Writing was nowhere in the picture. In the Common Core State Standards, in contrast, writing is treated as an equal partner to reading, and more than this, writing is assumed to be the vehicle through which a great deal of the critical thinking, reading work, and reading assessment will occur.

In this workshop, teachers and administrators will learn overarching plans and precise details that can help students reach and exceed the high expectations of the Common Core. As part of this, you’ll learn about the new Units of Study grade-by-grade curricula that Lucy and her colleagues have just completed. You'll hear about the importance of teaching a spiral curriculum in information, narrative and opinion writing, one in which youngsters are taught to write reviews, essays, information books, research reports, stories: the works.

Lucy will open up her tool box and show you the most powerful techniques she has for helping every child become a powerful, resourceful writer. The emphasis will be on whole school reform and grades 2-6.

You’ll also learn how assessment can accelerate students' progress. Lucy will suggest that when you have a clear sense of the trajectory along which writers develop, that knowledge can make teaching more purposeful and powerful. An understanding of learning progressions can help you provide more powerful feedback. All of this can be interwoven into cycles of ever more challenging whole-class work in ways that engine students’ progress.

Perhaps more than anything, however, you'll be reminded that old fashioned values—respect, honesty and responsive teaching—are at the heart of powerful writing instruction.

Tuition:
The cost of this workshop is $165.00 per person.

Seminar Locations:

New York: September 27th, 2013
Teachers College
525 West 120th Street (btwn Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.)
New York, NY 10027

Los Angeles: October 10th, 2013
Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel
9620 Airport Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90045

San Francisco: October 11th, 2013
South San Francisco Conference Center
255 South Airport Boulevard
South San Francisco, CA 94080
*8:30am-3:00pm

Jacksonville: November 15th, 2013
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront
225 East Coastline Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32202