Supporting Anxious Readers and Writers

In this session directed towards teachers of high school English, participants will receive several strategies to spark the thinking and engagement of students who struggle with literacy-based anxiety. This session will explore several strategies from Jane Kise’s book, Doable Differentiation, as well as applications of research from Professor John C. Hawkins at Illinois State University that have been most effective in getting students “unstuck” in the face of overwhelming reading and writing tasks. Presenters will share resources to support implementation of these strategies as well as provide practical examples of how these strategies have worked in their classrooms. Participants will engage in one simulated reading and writing activity and will leave with strategies and resources to help get anxious readers and writers out of their heads and into the text.