2011-2012 VRI Events

Cancellation Policy
Please let VRI at UVM know if you will not be attending an event for which you registered. Cancellations received 24 hours before the event will receive a 100% refund. Registrants who do not notify VRI at UVM that they will not be attending an event, or cancel within the 24 hours before the event, will be charged the full fee for the event.

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Readers Workshop II

Date: March 29 & 30, 2012
Instructors: Nancy Woods & Cathy White
Location: VRI at UVM, Montpelier
Time: 8:30am-3:00pm

These sessions are for Gr. 2-8 teachers currently implementing a Reading Workshop Model in their classroom. Participants will delve into implementation details and Reading Workshop dilemmas. Opportunities to share experiences and problem- solving issues with others presently implementing the model will be included. We will practice instructional techniques and models and clips of classrooms will be viewed to provide experiences to enhance existing Reading Workshops. Participants will receive a professional resource to support the content presented.

Cost: $240

Understanding Text Complexity in Middle and High Schools Content Areas

Date: April 6, 2012
Instructors: Cynthia Reyes (UVM) and Alysia Backman (South Burlington HS)
Location: VRI at UVM, Montpelier
Time: 8:30pm-3:00pm

During this one day workshop, participants will work to deconstruct what text complexity looks like, as well as how to include complex text within their classroom for all students using strategies and scaffolding. In addition, through breakout sessions in the afternoon, participants will look closely at text strategies with non-fiction alternative texts and close reading strategies for a variety of text types. This workshop will make reference to the Common Core and build on ideas represented in the document.

Cost: $135

Literacy Coaching to Build Capacity

Date: April 10, 2012
Instructor: Jennifer Allen
Location: VRI at UVM, Montpelier
Time: 12:30pm-3:00pm

Jennifer will share her frameworks for “layered coaching” as a way to build capacity in our schools. As specialist and coaching roles expand, the layers of this work can be purposefully aligned with school and district goals. Fullan’s concept of “Simplexity” connects closely to her work as she identifies specific areas of focus that provide important leverage points. Jennifer will emphasize the importance of making meaning together…that we are all on the same team, and will also share her own pitfalls of learning and how her role has evolved and changed over time. Specific strategies will also be explained regarding how coaches can keep children as the center of our conversations and help teachers use assessment to inform instruction, develop curriculum, and analyze student work. Jennifer will also demonstrate how this work can be threaded within and across the coaching layers.

Cost: $80 – Free for LLI Members

Genre Study: Report Writing

Date: May 16, 2012
Instructors: Mary Beth Monahan and Kathleen Harrington
Location: VRI at UVM, Montpelier
Time: 8:30am-3:00pm

This workshop will be a “genre-study” on report writing. We will explore different frameworks for organizing a genre study, drawing on models provided by Katie Wood Ray, Lucy Calkins, and others. We will also immerse ourselves in a range of mentor texts to generate the curriculum for this unit.

Cost: $135

Language & Identity: Building Support for English Language Learners

Date: May 7, 2012
Instructors: Cynthia Reyes (UVM), Theresa Ackerly, Heidi Western, and Alysia Backman (South Burlington HS)
Location: VRI at UVM, 250 Main Street, Montpelier
Time: 8:30am-3:00pm

This interactive workshop is geared towards non-ELL teachers and a broader audience of teachers and staff that generally support and teach English language learners from grades 5-12. The presentation will highlight the socio-cultural, historical, and foundational view of teaching ELLs, the local status of ELLs in Vermont, current assessment of ELLs (WIDA consortium), second language theories and an application of reading-based instruction appropriate for teaching and supporting ELLs. Continental breakfast and lunch provided.

Cost: $135

Break on Through: Using Young Adult Literature to Engage ALL Students Across the Content Areas

Date: May 9, 2012
Instructors: Cynthia Reyes (UVM) and Alysia Backman (South Burlington HS)
Location: VRI at UVM, Montpelier
Time: 12:30am-3:30pm

This half-day workshop will discuss ways to get students connected to text through discussion, writing, and multimodalities. In addition, it will touch on ways to activate students’ background knowledge, as well as assess their understanding and extend the conversation once the book is done.

Cost: $80