Professional Development Opportunities

Upcoming A4L Training Workshops– TO BE RESCHEDULED

Salem

DATES: Thursday, June 18 from 8:30 – 4:30

UNIT: Everyday Heroes (click here for a description)

LOCATION: Salem Central Library, 585 Liberty St SE, Salem, OR 97301

Portland

DATES: Tuesday, June 23 from 8:30 – 4:30

UNIT: Authors & Actors (click here for a description)

LOCATION: Idealist, 209 SW Oak St, Portland, OR 97204

COST

• $250 for individual teachers
• $500 for school teams of up to 5 teachers/staff

Fee includes Teacher’s Manual (student materials additional)

A single credit through Portland State University is available for an additional $60. This includes 7 hours of instructional time and 3 additional hours of implementation support and follow-up. Please contact Allison for further details.

UNITS

Everyday Heroes

(Recommended for grades 3 & 4)

Literacy Objectives: Determining importance, synthesizing, note-taking and reading nonfiction texts Texts: Roberto Clemente by Jonah Winter and three informational texts Art Form: Visual Art (Collage) Instructional Hours: 10 – 12

Students conduct research and gather evidence about a person who they consider to be an everyday hero. They begin their investigation by reading the narrative biography Robert Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter. As they read, they engage in the literacy strategy of determining importance and noting information learned about Clemente to help them hone in on the evidence that supports their consideration of him as an everyday hero. Simultaneously, students learn a range of elements and principals of art as well as compositional techniques to create visually dynamic collages representing what they’ve learned. Just as researchers gather evidence from multiple sources, students read a series of nonfiction texts, adding to what they know about Clemente. Students synthesize the information they’ve gained to create master collages and share them in a gallery walk for an invited audience.

Authors & Actors

(Recommended for grades 4 & 5)

Literacy Objectives: Writing personal narratives (story beginnings and endings, descriptions) Texts: Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka, Best Friends by Mary Beth Olsen and The Wall by Eve Bunting Art Form: Theater (Statues, Body Shapes, Gestures, Vocal Expression) Instructional Hours: 10 – 20

Students use three different texts to explore three big components to creating a personal narrative: strong lead, sensory details throughout, and a powerful ending. Each of the three texts specifically highlights these narrative components and students are given the following prompts to explore: A Time I Broke the Rules, A Time I Lost Something, and A Time I Learned Something About Friendship. Working in small groups, students use dynamic theatre games and techniques such as “statues” to act out moments of their story and “Continuum” to generate ideas. Once they have explored all three topics through mini-writes, they then choose one based on their own interest and begin to devise a full narrative. Receiving specific feedback from their writing groups, students then work to revise their narrative on multiple occasions – learning to edit as a true author does.