Educators

Writing Institute ENGL 672/EDUC 589 - "Mentoring Writing"

Schedule and Speakers

Nationally-recognized scholar-practitioners in the field of writing will speak in the morning sessions. Faculty from Millersville University and from the surrounding school districts will facilitate the afternoon working sessions that will be divided into level-specific groups of elementary, middle and high school teachers of English/Language Arts. Morning sessions will feature the following speakers and topics:

Day One – Monday, August 4

Penny Kittle

Penny Kittle is a teacher at Kennett High School in Conway , New Hampshire , and a literacy coach for three elementary schools. She works part-time as a writing consultant in the Learning Through Teaching program at the University of New Hampshire . She is immersed in the daily challenge of teaching students to write thoughtfully and cohesively about what matters to them through focused genre units, mini-lessons, and efficient writing conferences. She plans units with teachers at all grade levels using mentor texts, teacher models of process, and quick writes. Penny has taught grades 3 through graduate school in five states: Oregon , Washington , California , Michigan , and New Hampshire . She has spoken throughout the United States and Canada at writing conferences. Penny worked closely with her mentor, Donald H. Graves, to videotape teachers in writing process classrooms, capturing the magic of students engaged with their writing. She is passionate about improving the working conditions in schools for new teachers and about teaching students and teachers to learn to write well in order to preserve the stories of their lives. Teachers leave Penny's workshops inspired to transform their own. She has authored Write Beside Them: One Teacher, One High School, One Writing Community (Heinemann), The Greatest Catch: A Life in Teaching (Heinemann), and with Donald Graves Inside Writing: How to Teach the Details of Craft (Heinemann).

Description of Session: Strategies for Struggling Writers: From Storyboard to Essay

Day Two– Tuesday, August 5

Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli

Lynne Dorfman has been a facilitator at the Annual Pennsylvania Writing Institute at Millersville University since the Institute began. She currently is the Literacy Coach for the Upper Moreland School District , the Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project, an adjunct professor for Arcadia University , and an independent consultant. Rose Cappelli is a K-2 Reading Specialist in the West Chester Area School District , a teacher consultant for the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project, and course coordinator for West Chester University . Both Lynne and Rose are avid readers, writers, and learners, professionally and personally. Mentorship and collaboration are at the heart of their work with students and teachers. Their ultimate collaboration was their co-authorship of Mentor Texts (Stenhouse), and they currently are working on a second book dealing with nonfiction mentor texts.

Description of Session: Using Mentor Texts

Day Three– Wednesday, August 6

Reading and Writing Workshops with Institute Staff

Day Four– Thursday, August 7

Janet Angelillo

Janet Angellilo is literacy consultant who has worked throughout the US and Canada . She was a senior staff developer for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and worked beside teachers in the New York City schools and surrounding suburbs. She has taught advanced sections and given keynote addresses at both Teachers College Summer Institutes and other institutes around the country, and she has presented at many conferences, including NCTE, IRA, and the New York State, Connecticut, and Delaware Reading Associations. A classroom teacher for many years, Janet taught upper grades and middle schools in New York City and the suburbs. She is the author of several articles on writing, as well as four books, Writing About Reading: From Book Talk to Literary Essays in Grades 3-8 (Heinemann), A Fresh Approach to Teaching Punctuation: Helping Young Writers Use Conventions with Precision and Purpose (Scholastic), Making Revision Matter: Strategies for Guiding Students to Focus, Organize, and Strengthen Their Writing Independently (Scholastic), and Writing to the Prompts: When Students Don't Have a Choice (Heinemann).

Description of Session: Writing to the Prompt

Day Five– Friday, August 8

Frank Murphy

Frank Murphy lives in Holland , PA , and is a teacher who has taught a wide variety of grades at the elementary and middle-school levels. A history buff, baseball fan, and popular speaker, he is the author of many fun historical fiction books for young readers.
Among his books are Babe Ruth Saves Baseball!, Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares, George Washington and the General's Dog, and Thomas Jefferson's Feast.

Description of Session: A Visit with an Author