Coming in the Summer:

Teaching of Writing Workshop - June 14 - July 9

Choose between Voice of America Learning Center (VOA) or Online Cohort. Earn 6 Graduate Credits.

Join the OWP 4-week! Become a teacher writer and design your literacy classroom as you study contemporary approaches to teaching writing and share best classroom practices.

Teaching for Change: Equity, Access and Social Justice,  6/7 - 6/17 (3 credits)

Instructors: Stacey Riedmiller, Reading Elementary; Anna Owens, Winton Woods MS
On-Campus Course: Currently designed as on-campus, Voice of America Learning Center

Earlier this year, Francisco Vera, an 11 year old Colombian activist told the BBC, “Children need to have a say in the big topics of our day.” And, young people in recent years  have increasingly been raising their voices online and in the streets to challenge racism, sexism, gun violence, environmental degradation and other forms of injustice. The words of these young activists come as a call and a challenge to schools and teachers to create culturally-relevant classrooms where diverse voices and experiences are centered and cultivated, where students read, write, and speak for change in the world, and where anti-racist teaching practices are fundamental. Join K-12 teachers as you explore current scholarship around equity, anti-racism, inclusion, and justice through a lens of changing our current systems and classrooms to support all students to be seen, valued and heard.

Grammar Invitations: Grammar, Conventions & Writing, 6/7 - 6/25, (3 credits)

Instructor: Liz Reilly, Mariemont HS; Anne Stokes, Fairfield West Elementary
Hybrid Course: Asynchronous Online June 6-25, Synchronous On-Campus, June 8 & 18

“All I know about grammar is its infinite power.” Joan Didion. We know that grammar matters when it comes to crafting writing. Why then, does it feel difficult to connect grammar instruction with student writing? In this hybrid workshop for K-12 teachers, participants will consider the evolution of and current research on grammar instruction, share and practice effective strategies for teaching grammar and conventions, apply grammar practices to their own writing and create curriculum plans to harness the power of grammar in writing instruction. We will spend two days synchronously (at VOALC or virtually on zoom) with Jeff Anderson, author of Mechanically Inclined and Patterns of Power, as a special guest on June 18!

Enriching Literacies for Gifted Students Part I & Part II, 6/28 - 6/30 (1 credit)

Instructor: Liz Dooley, Mason Community Schools, Gifted Endorsed - Gifted Hours available
On-Campus Course: Currently designed as an On-Campus Course. Virtual option available.

Enrichment doesn’t mean more work, but what does it mean? In this workshop, K-12 teachers will read and review professional resources for understanding and supporting gifted learners as well as explore the structures, strategies and practices that best create environments to enrich learning, develop inquiry, and build on passions. Teachers will leave with classroom practical ideas for building a literacy classroom that enriches gifted students along with 18 gifted professional development clock hours.

Enriching Literacies for Gifted Students Part II available if you have already taken Part I.

Multimodal and Multigenre: Redefining Reading and Writing, 6/28 - 7/16 (3 credits) 

Instructors: Dr. Jason Palmeri, Miami University, Stacey Reeder, Mercer Elementary School
Online Course: Asynchronous Online with optional synchronous interaction 6/28 -7/16

Outside the classroom, our students are surrounded by digital and multimodal genres—TikTok videos, Insta-poems, podcasts, street art, tweets and more. Join K-12 teachers to explore how we can reimagine writing for the digital age—preparing students with the literacy skills and reflective habits of mind they will need to communicate effectively with words, images, and sounds using a variety of technologies. We will approach multigenre writing in a playful, collaborative way — exploring what we can learn about multimodal composing from each other and from our students. In addition to reading research and sharing classroom practices, we will compose multimodal, multigenre projects and consider how to advocate for the inclusion of multimodal approaches in schools.

Content Literacy, 6/30 - 7/9 (2 credits)

Instructor: Megan Rodney, OWP
Online Course: Asynchronous Online with optional synchronous interaction

Writing is thinking on the page. Since students are learning and thinking all day, why keep writing to an ELA classroom? Just because science and social studies starts doesn’t mean writing and reading stop. In this workshop, K-12 teachers will examine professional resources around the role of reading and writing to learn, process and share content knowledge. Together, we’ll explore the ways teachers in elementary and secondary content classrooms can support learning through literacy structures and develop lessons that use the power of writing and reading in content classrooms.

Celebrating Poetry: Reading, Writing and Teaching with and about Poetry, 7/12 - 7/30 (3 credits)

Instructors:Whitney Gorsuch, Lebanon Jr High, Juliet MonBeck, Kettering High School,
Online Course: Asynchronous Online with optional synchronous interaction

Engaging. Inspiring. Healing. All of these words have been used to describe the role of poetry in the world. Why then do so many students use words like challenging and intimidating when thinking about poetry in school? This class takes the fear out of teaching poetry and aims to help K-12 teachers incorporate poetry into the classroom routines and lessons. Participants will write their own poems, compile a collection of poetry mentor texts for classroom use, and be given the time to appreciate the elegance of poetry. We will also connect poetry to our classroom lessons as we examine author’s craft, compare genres and texts, explore ways to use poetry in reading and writing instruction, write our own poetry and even discuss ways to assess creative writing.

Where We're From: Place Based Writing and Learning,  7/12 - 7/30,  (3 credits)

Instructors: Kerry Crotty, Sycamore High School, Celeste Hopkins, Wilson Elementary School
Hybrid Course Design: Asynchronous Online 7/12 - 7/30, Synchronous On-Campus July 13 & 22

Place matters: Where we are from shapes identity and the natural world grounds us in times of chaos. In a world that is global in so many ways, our local place is still powerful as it shapes and influences our views and interactions. Join K-12 teachers in a powerful workshop focused on place-based teaching strategies and learning. Together we’ll think about honoring “own voices” from a place, researching communities, learning our location histories and writing stories inspired by the natural world. Through professional readings, field-trips and place-based writing of our own, we will design classroom lessons and models inspired by place and promote the value of place-based learning in schools.

Join the workshop that will change your teaching!