The San Antonio Writing Project

Doing the "Write" Thing Conference Schedule

8:30-9:00 AM Registration and Check-In (Frio St. Building 1.402)

9:00-9:10 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks Dr. Roxanne Henkin, UTSA, San Antonio Writing Project Director

9:10-9:35 AM Keynote Address—Mr. David Liss, Novelist Introduction of Speaker-- Shannon Blady

9:35-9:50 AM Break, Refreshments, Vendor Viewing

9:50-10:55 AM Session 1 Presentations

11:05 AM-12:10 PM Session 2 Presentations

12:25-12:45 PM Wrap up Door Prizes, Conference Evaluation and Professional
Development Credit Certificates

Session #1 Presentation Descriptions

Presenter	Level	Title	Presentation Description
Nora Gonzalez	All levels	The Cuentos Project: Connecting the Past to the Present	This session will give you ideas on how to get your students to preserve their family stories in order to better understand and connect to the generations before them.
Shelly Linford	Elementary-Middle School	Make it Real!	Motivation is key to helping children succeed in the classroom. One way to motivate students is through involving them in authentic activities that are for a real audience. This workshop will give you many new ideas on helping motivate your students through authentic class work and authentic audiences.
Kalpana M. Iyengar	High School – College /ELL	Teaching Prepositions to ESL/ESOL Students Using	This is a learner-centered class activity that enables students to learn grammar using math. My objective is to establish a community of ESL/ESOL learners that are interested in learning English Grammar using math rather than using difficult and boring labels.
Joanne Benson	All Levels Specifically Special Education	Writing with Your 5 Senses	To get students to start writing is a challenge especially students with disabilities. Using their senses to hear, smell, taste, see, and touch can help them in the writing process.
Nancy Gregory	Middle School-High School	Adding Zing to Student Writing	In this session we will examine ways to eliminate monotonous sentence patterns so that students will compose crisper, livelier sentences, always a plus when trying to dazzle on TAKS. Handouts will be provided.
Rachel Gray-Castro	High School	Personal Writing: The “This I Believe” Essay	Most students know themselves well, why not utilize that knowledge? Started by Edward R. Morrow and continued today on National Public Radio, the “This I Believe” essay helps students reflect on their thoughts and write on one focused belief. Along with learning about the easily accessible and adaptable “This I Believe” curriculum, participants will come away with other techniques such as “Cross the Line” and “The Unique Lime” to inspire students’ writing.
Lennie Irvin Jeanne Russell	High School-College	What is College Readiness in Writing?/ Writing the College Essay: Seeing Oneself as College Material	This session will discuss the recently adopted Texas College Readiness Standards and share insights and ideas gained on “college readiness” from an Open Institute the San Antonio Writing Project conducted on the subject last summer. A lively discussion about the challenges of getting our students college- ready will be encouraged. This presentation will also discusses a two-week writing workshop focusing on writing college application essays piloted with three groups of Burbank High School seniors last fall.

Session #2 Presentation Descriptions

Presenter	Level	Title	Description
Lisa Kalinowski	Elementary	Using Multicultural Texts to Inspire Writing	This workshop will provide teachers a research-based platform for using multicultural texts in the classroom in various contexts as a way to inspire writing. The presenter will also make available a resource list and ideas for classroom implementation.
Michelle Schiebel	Elementary	Helping Primary Students with Writing Ideas	Young students have a vault of ideas; they just need the key to unlocking that vault. Teach your students how to come up with writing topics; then guide them in keeping their writing focused.
Laurie Coleman	High School-College	What Role Does Critical Reading Play in Writing?	This session shares research-based classroom insights and strategies for improving students’ literacy with an emphasis on the connection between critical reading and writing to help students write stronger, more engaged essays.
Shannon Blady	Middle School-College?	Nonlimited Nonfiction	This demonstration will provide engaging activities to implement with expository texts. We will also explore fun writing projects to use across the curriculum. Activities are aimed at upper elementary, but can be adapted for all ages.
Therese Fleming	Upper Elementary-High School	The Special Things Inside of Me	This multimedia presentation involves using art, music, comics, local news pieces, prose and technology to help students read, research, and write about two of their favorite topics ~ superheroes and themselves. We will take a look at the nature and definition of heroism. What makes a hero? How do you become one? How do various cultures define heroes? In addition, we’ll discuss some of the heroes who have been commonly overlooked in textbooks and the media. Students will look inward and write about the special things that make them an everyday hero. The culminating project is an inspirational reflection of each student projected onto a silhouette of themselves.
Lesley Carr with Christie Scott	High School	Novel: More than a Book Report	This presentation explores multi-genre approaches to experiencing and writing about a novel--beyond the old box of the "book report."
Mike Moran	Middle School-College	Students as Ethnographers	Do your students have trouble generating specific details? Do they make generalizations and judgments without providing support? In this real-world assignment, students become close observers of their environment and learn how to shape their field notes into cohesive and well-developed essays. Examples and handouts provided.