Dear Colleagues:

We wanted to inform you that Deputy Commissioner Ken Slentz has just joined Senior Fellow Kate Gerson to co-present an important workshop from 11:15 to 12:45 at the Long Island Language Arts Council/Nassau Reading Council Conference, Literacy at the Core,this Friday, 3/23/12 at the Melville Marriott

You are welcome to register at the door. 

Registration fee for LILAC/NRC members: $110     Nonmembers: $140

We hope you will join us for a day of collegiality and learning.

 

 

 11:15—12:45

       UPDATE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS                                                                                          Nassau

       COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS INITIATIVE                                                                      P-12

       WITH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION    

                Kate Gerson, Senior Fellow, University of the State of New York Regents Research Fund

                Ken Slentz, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Education Department

This workshop will provide an update on the NYSED timeline and curriculum models.  The presenters will emphasize the six shifts with particular attention to close reading of texts and academic vocabulary.  Participants are encouraged to have read the following materials by Marilyn Jager Adams from the 11/29/11 NYSED Institute, which are available on http://engageny.org:

 

                 Reading, Language, and the Mind Presentation – Jager Adams

 

American Educator: Winter 2010–2011

 

                                        LILAC/NRC Annual Spring Conference

Melville Marriott

Friday, March 23, 2012

Literacy at the Core

Keynote Speakers:  Renowned Literacy Expert Harvey Daniels & Acclaimed Author Gordon Korman 

 

Conference & Workshop Schedule

 

7:30 — 8:00

Registration and Continental Breakfast

 

8:15

Opening Remarks — Grand Ballroom

Nicole Waldbauer, LILAC President

Michelle Peterson, Conference Co-Chair

Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund, Superintendent of Schools

  Valley Stream 13 USFD

 

8:30 — 9:30

Keynote Speaker:  Harvey “Smokey” Daniels

 

9:30 — 10:00

Exhibits and Coffee Break

 

10:00 — 11:00

Session A — Concurrent Workshops

 

11:00 — 11:30

Exhibits and Coffee Break

 

11:30 — 12:30

Session B — Concurrent Workshops

 

12:30 — 1:30

Luncheon Remarks— Grand Ballroom

Mary Dickinson, NRC President and Conference Co-Chair

 

1:30 — 2:30

Keynote Speaker: Gordon Korman

 

2:30

Final Remarks

Book Signing

 

 

10:00 — 11:00    SESSION A WORKSHOPS

 

1. THE   COMMON CORE: WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?                Nassau

WHERE ARE WE GOING?                                                                     K-12

                Victor Jaccarino, Hofstra University

                 Patricia Iannacone, Nassau BOCES

As Race to the Top Network Team members, the presenters have had extensive training in the Common Core Learning Standards, and have conducted many workshops on Long Island and throughout the State on the English Language Arts Literacy Standards in all subjects. During this workshop, administrators and teachers will explore where they are with the Common Core Learning Standards in their schools, and where they need to go.  Participants will have the opportunity to discuss lessons they have developed and any workshops they have conducted. They will have the opportunity to present questions to the group and the presenters on the best approaches to aligning with the Common Core and how to give teachers the support they need to address the Standards.

 

2. THE COMMON CORE FOR                                                              Melville

     THE NOT SO COMMON LEARNER                                                             K-12

                Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld and Dr. Maria Dove

                Molloy College

What do the Common Core Learning Standards mean for academically and linguistically diverse learners? What can teachers and administrators do to support these students to participate in standards-based learning activities and to achieve academic success? The purpose of this workshop is twofold:   (1) To address the Common Core Learning Standards through the lens of working with K-12 ELLs and other at-risk students and (2) To explore several effective, research-based English Language Arts strategies aligned to the six shifts that will help all learners make progress towards meeting rigorous, grade-level expectations in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

 

3. COLLABORATION AT THE CORE:                                                Suffolk         

      TEACHING THE SOCIAL SKILLS                                                       K-12

      OF SMALL GROUP LEARNING

                Harvey Daniels, Keynote Speaker and Author                                 

 

4. TOGETHER AT THE COMMON CORE                                              Salon X

                Kristina Holzweiss, Bay Shore Middle School                                              K-12

Learn how to locate FREE materials and resources for activities, lessons, and assessments that address the Common Core Learning Standards.  Also, learn how to continue the Common Core conversation on Edmodo, a free management system and virtual classroom.  Educators can connect with others nationwide to exchange Common Core strategies.  Edmodo can help you create and assign Common Core assignments, differentiate learning for your students, and extend your classroom beyond the four walls.

 

5. USING METACOGNITION AND ACCOUNTABLE                Roosevelt

     TALK WITH INFORMATIONAL TEXT:                                               K-12

Dr. Miriam Pepper-Sanello and Dr. Adrienne Andi Sosin

Associated Professional Development Consultants

Teachers create the norms and skills of Metacognition and Accountable Talk by modeling appropriate forms of discussion and by questioning, probing, and leading conversations.  The presenters will share an exemplary mini-lesson for developing complex non-fiction text comprehension that focuses on metacognitive strategies and cooperative student engagement.

 

6. EXPLORING THE K-2 COMMON CORE                                    Salon XI

    LEARNING STANDARDS                                                                           K-2

                Anna Tufo, Michele Ricco, Jeannette Kenney, Flor Calero

                Park Avenue School, Westbury UFSD                                                          

How do I meet the needs of students while adhering to the new Standards? This workshop will explore the ELA Common Core Learning Standards with a focus on vocabulary and text-based questions.  Picture books will be used to introduce main concepts of the Standards.  Participants will use picture books to create lessons based on the Standards.

7. LIFTING THE LEVEL OF                                                            Salon VIII

     INFORMATIONAL WRITING:                                                                K-8

     KEEPING THE COMMON CORE IN MIND  

                Sarah Cordova, The Distinctive Educator’s Institute, Inc.

                Ilene Cohn, Literacy Solutions, Inc.                                                

Participants will learn the importance of conferring with students as they craft nonfiction/informative pieces of writing.  Various teaching points and    strategies will be discussed to help students move through the different stages of the writing process.  Specific mentor text titles and authors will be shared to help teachers model examples of effective informative writing that aligns with the Common Core Learning Standards.

 

8. CLOSE, CAREFUL READING:                                                        Vanderbilt

     TEACHING CHILDREN TO                                                                       3-8

     DIVE DEEPLY INTO MEANING                                                            

                Kim Yaris, Literacy Builders

Powerful instruction can move children from literal understandings to rich interpretations of text. But what does that instruction look like?  This session will share field-tested mini lessons and questioning techniques that will help children achieve the careful analysis of text called for by the Common Core Learning Standards that allows readers to gain and integrate new information. 

 

9. RESOURCES FOR REACHING                                                        Salon VII

     THE COMMON CORE                                                                                           6-8

          Christine Brower-Cohen, West Babylon Junior High School         

Sixth-grade teacher and writer of the literacy blog, Literacy Connections with Christine Brower-Cohen, will share specific strategies and resources for middle school teachers.  Specific websites, books, non-fiction articles, and even picture books appropriate for middle school students will be shared.

 

10. UNPACKING THE COMMON CORE IN                                        Salon IX

       ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND SOCIAL STUDIES:              6-12

       TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT DR. KING’S

       “I HAVE A DREAM” SPEECH

Valerie Vacchio and Lara Gonzalez

Oyster Bay-East Norwich High School

During this interactive workshop, participants may experience a familiar text in a new way. The presenters will demonstrate how to conduct a close reading of Dr. Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Common Core anchor standards. Strategies for increasing levels of text complexity and for crafting strong text-dependent questions will be emphasized.

 

 11. ABCs OF COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS      Whitman

        FOR AP: TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ADVANCED     11/12 AP

       PLACEMENT LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE THAT

       HELP MEET THE COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS              

                Kim Serpe, John F. Kennedy High School

                Marie Netto, W.C. Mepham High School

                Bellmore-Merrick UFSD

Presenters will demonstrate how to create a Common Core - aligned unit or module while providing a variety of strategies which link Advanced Placement objectives to the Common Core Learning Standards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11:30 — 12:30    SESSION B WORKSHOPS

 

12.  11:15—12:45

       UPDATE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS                                                                                          Nassau

       COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS INITIATIVE                                                                      P-12

       WITH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION    

                Kate Gerson, Senior Fellow, University of the State of New York Regents Research Fund

                Ken Slentz, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Education Department

This workshop will provide an update on the NYSED timeline and curriculum models.  The presenters will emphasize the six shifts with particular attention to close reading of texts and academic vocabulary.  Participants are encouraged to have read the following materials by Marilyn Jager Adams from the 11/29/11 NYSED Institute, which are available on http://engageny.org:

 

                 Reading, Language, and the Mind Presentation – Jager Adams

 

American Educator: Winter 2010–2011

 

13. QUESTIONING: THE ANSWER TO DEVELOPING             Melville

       LESSONS AND UNITS TO IMPLEMENT                                               K-12

       THE COMMON CORE

Dr. Louisa Kramer-Vida, Ed.D.

Long Island University

Having trouble writing lessons and units that will help your students be successful with the Common Core Learning Standards? Just ask the right questions and you will get the results you want and need! Come to this      workshop and work with your colleagues. Together we will develop some good questions and some great assignments that will help both you and your students be successful with the Common Core. Useful materials will be distributed.

 

 

14. THE PAGE TURNER PRINCIPLE                                                       Suffolk

                Gordon Korman, Keynote Speaker and Author                                       K-12

 The author will discuss his two genres, humor and adventure, and how teachers can use page-turners as an effective tool to keep kids reading.

 

15. SUPPORTING THE COMMON CORE LEARNING             Whitman

       STANDARDS THROUGH CONTENT AREA LITERACY:               K-2

       TEACHING THROUGH THE LENS OF SCIENCE

                Christine Bartell and Regina D’Orio

                Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School

                Oyster Bay-East Norwich CSD

Presenters will discuss how literacy skills learned in primary classrooms can be supported by the work students do in science. We will take participants through several units of study in which students are engaged in the real life application of literacy skills by reading, writing, listening and speaking like scientists. Common Core Learning Standards and implementation planning will be addressed.

 

16. THE ART OF COMPREHENSION                                                Roosevelt

                Trevor Bryan, Art Teacher                                                                                      K-5

                Donna Donner, Literacy Teacher

                Elms Elementary School, Jackson Township, New Jersey

This workshop will demonstrate how “just right” artwork can be used as an effective means to practice reading comprehension skills and launch student writing. Through pictures, because the burden of text is removed, non-readers, emerging readers and struggling readers all have the opportunity to practice the types of thinking required for good reading. This workshop will break looking at pictures into three simple and accessible steps, easily learned by both the teacher and students. These three steps scaffold thought, which helps students to use evidence to support their thinking, make inferences, assign larger meaning and make personnel connections. Participants will walk away with a new, simple approach to teaching comprehension and writing and have a new and refreshing appreciation of art.

17. DIGITAL STORYTELLING                                                        Salon VIII

                Gene Wolfson, Ed.D. , Alaura Imperioli and Jacqueline Volini             K-6

                Iona College

Digital Storytelling is utilizing the computer and specific multimedia software to create and present a fiction or nonfiction story by teachers or students in all grades.  Presenters will explain the concept of Digital Storytelling, the benefits of utilizing this strategy; demonstrate how to create digital books using a PC or Mac, and how to use digital storytelling in K-6 classroom.  A Q&A period will follow.

 

18. TEACHING TOWARDS TRANSFERENCE:                             Salon IX

       USING THE COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS            3-5

       TO TEACH READING IN THE CONTENT AREAS

                Tracy Zambelli, James H. Vernon School

                Oyster Bay-East Norwich CSD

Learn how you can help students transfer essential reading skills and strategies into the reading of informational text in science and social studies.

 

19. TEXT SETS: READING, WRITING                                            Salon VII

       AND THINKING ACROSS TEXTS                                                            3-8

                JoEllen McCarthy and Erica Pecorale, Always Learning                                                     

The presenter will share rich text sets that facilitate the purposeful investigation of topics from a variety of genres.  This practice benefits all learners as they read across texts, write about reading and write to inform. Through the use of these engaging mentor texts, teachers can support, scaffold, and expand students’ reading, thinking and writing.  In addition to benefiting from the explicit instruction and modeling of craft lessons, the understandings of topics are further developed when explored through close readings from diverse perspectives and genres.  Student work samples will be shared as well as literacy snapshots of classrooms that translate this practice into action.  A book list with multi genre text sets that include informational literature, poetry, picture books, digital sources and more will be provided.

 

20. SENTENCE DIAGRAMING:                                                        Vanderbilt

       THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ORGANIZER                                         3-12

                Amy Benjamin, Consultant and Author

The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who despise sentence diagramming and those who love it! But, do you know how to do it? Many   teachers don’t. Come to this workshop to brush up on your diagramming skills, or to learn a new skill for your repertoire. We will approach diagramming as a way of building and generating detailed but well-organized sentences, as per the new New York State Assessment writing rubric traits.

 

21. USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE                                           Salon X

       PROJECT BASED LEARNING                                                                        6-8

                Christie A. Thiel and Kristy McNally, Westbury Middle School

Daunted by the prospect of incorporating technology?  Overwhelmed by the idea of constructing research papers?  Participants will learn how to connect research to literature, utilize iMovies and podcasts, and motivate students by allowing them to drive the project.  This student-centered approach addresses the demands of the Common Core while allowing students to have a sense of ownership in the process of researching and creating a persuasive public service announcement.

 

22. READ, WRITE, REGENTS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE             Salon XI

       TO MAKING THE STANDARDS WORK                                           9-12

                Amy Kahn, Westbury High School

This workshop will review the new high school Comprehensive English Regents Examination and the Common Core Learning Standards as they apply to English Language Arts.  Participants will review, create, and share strategies that work and that align with the Common Core Learning Standards.