Breakout Session F

SessionF1

Meghan Kerr
Jeanne Deichmueller
    Yorkville Middle School
Room: Fell C
Audience: Middle School

Theorizing in the Middle
In this era of increasing rigor, middle schoolers are challenged to engage with texts at a deeper level, but how do we make that engagement more meaningful? Learn how we introduced literary theory to middle schoolers, who analyzed a chosen film, connected it to other texts, and related their analysis to their world.

Session F2

Dawn Forde
Nicole Boudreau-Smith
Andrew Bouque
Stephen Heller
        Adlai E Stevenson High School
Room: Redbird F
Audience: High School

Authentic Curricular Design: Giving Voice to the Voiceless
In this session, the panelists will demonstrate how teachers can build dialogic classrooms that authorize students to become advocates by devising curriculum that develops students’ problems-solving capabilities through argumentation and by using students’ feedback throughout curricular design to ensure that their voices inspire changes in curriculum.         

Session F3

Alisha White
Jessica Burke
Jeramie Okoh,
Alexis Phares
Maggie Wallace
    Western Illinois University
Room: Redbird E
Audience: High School

Connecting to Home through Artifactual Literacies Projects
Students’ identities are embedded within their everyday experiences and their drawings, talk, writing, and objects of significance. Pahl and Rowsell’s theory of Artifactual Literacies aims to bridge students’ home and school literacy practices through object stories. This presentation shares Artifactual Literacy Projects created by secondary English teacher candidates.

Session F4

Michael Aye, maye@d131.org
    East Aurora High School
Room: Fell A
Audience: Middle/High School

“Is this Real Life?” Framing Writing Assignments to Engage “Life” Skills and Create Lifelong Learners
The question “when will I ever use this in my life?” deserves an answer.  A curriculum that stresses rigorous academic growth while challenging students to practice skills that are also useful outside of school (such as meta-cognitive thinking) addresses the needs of an adolescent as a person, not simply a student.

Session F5

Richard Martin, martinr@unit11.org
    El Paso-Gridley Junior High
Becky Holdsworth, rholdsworth@unit6.org
    Fieldcrest High School
Room: Fell B
Audience: Middle/High School

Promoting a School-wide Writing Environment through Writing Centers
Student-led writing centers (where student tutors help peers with writing) present students with authentic situations in which to test ideas and expression.  A high school and junior high teacher, along with their student tutors, will describe how their writing centers operate and how these centers promote a school-wide writing environment.