Workshops and presentations

Are you interested in having Ruth Culham, AKA The Writing Thief, or Libby Jachles, visit your schools, districts, states or make a splash at conferences?  They’re available and eager to help launch a writing revolution using the traits of writing model and related topics.  

We offer the following workshops and presentations and we also do custom on-site training by request.  We also offer virtual workshops tailored to your needs: short and sweet or longer and complete.  Planning a curriculum redesign?  Let us help.

Meet the Grown-Up Traits of Writing

You may THINK you are familiar with the traits of writing, but did know they each have key qualities now?  And have you seen how they can be used to organize and outline a full year of writing instruction that is smart, successful, and easy to plan?  

New thinking about the traits is the focus of this session. You’ll be surprised—happily surprised at how much you’ll discover and learn.

Making Effective Comments

There is never enough time to sit with every student and talk through writing as much as we’d like.  At this workshop, learn how to make each contact with student writers a learning opportunity that is tailored to each writer’s needs. 

Passing by the writer at work?  You can make this a teaching moment.  Stopping to briefly chat with a writer—much can be taught in a few thoughtful comments.  Working on papers at home?  Make comments that teach, not just point out problems or fall back on “Way to go.”  “Nice work.”  It’s all about knowing how to read the writing and zero in on what’s working and what to tackle next.  The traits and their key qualities lead the way.

NEW: Teach Writing Well!

Ruth’s latest and best-selling book by the same title, is a lifetime in the making and answers many questions that writing teachers have asked over and over.  Practical, smart, and immediately useful, if you are concerned about teaching writing, this workshop is the one for you.  

Teaching students to write well is one of the underserved curriculum areas in schools.  Yet, it is a critical lifelong skill students need to succeed no matter what the future holds for them--they must learn to write with confidence and clarity. Together we’ll explore a trait-based spiraling curriculum that coupled with the use of a writing wallet, will allow every teacher to tackle teaching critical writing skills with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm. (A copy of the book for participants is required.)

• GRADES 2 - 6

NEW: writing a la Mode!

We use the traits to learn HOW to write, but we must also develop skill and confidence in learning WHAT to write.  Explore the three modes of writing:  Narrative, informational, and opinion.  Understand the key qualities of each mode and how to teach students to write clearly in each.  New scoring guides for the three modes including key qualities for each, new student-friendly scoring guides, and new mentor texts with lessons will be explored at this half or full day workshop.  (Mode Crates are recommended.)  This workshop is available Spring 2021.

• Grades K - 5

WHAT'S IN YOUR WRITING WALLET?

No one has ever learned to write from a worksheet.  We all learned to write from a teacher who took the time to show us how writing really works, trait by trait (ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions).  Explore new ways to teach writers without worksheets--ways that really work. Try out activities and lessons that you can use right away as you help students understand writing process--especially revising and editing as they work with each of the traits.  There will be secrets revealed at this workshop—secrets that are simple, easy to implement, and will save you time while improving student writing by leaps and bounds.  (1.5 - 2 hour presentation for all grades)

• All grades

SEVEN STRATEGIES FOR successful Writers

This full-day workshop invites participants to sample each strategy and bring ideas ready to use to their classrooms. Appropriate for all grades. If scheduled over time, half day workshops can focus on individual strategies and build skills to teach writing.

1. Use the traits to dive deeply into student writing.

2. Use writing folders to practice revision and editing skills.

3. Use reading to improve writing.

4. Use warm-ups to scaffold writing practice

5. Use RAFTS to inspire strong writing in the content areas

6. Use the modes to clarify the purpose for writing

7. Use focus lessons to develop targeted skills and strategies

• Grades K - 8

BECOMING A WRITING THIEF

It's been said that good writers borrow while great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. There are so many writing models right at our fingertips: picture books, chapter books, everyday texts and more. At this session, we’ll examine mentor texts that can be used to teach each trait of writing as well as the modes. We’ll delve into the relationship between reading and writing so every teacher can become a Writing Thief. 

• [K - 2] [3 - 5 and 6 - 8]

DREAM WAKERS: MENTOR TEXTS TO CELEBRATE LATINO CULTURE

It’s been said that mediocre writers borrow, but great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. 

At this session participants will discover how using picture books steeped in Spanish culture and life is a rewarding and powerful teaching strategy to help students at any age learn to write. As models for good writing, students use picture books and chapter books to see the writing traits in action and to learn specific craft techniques to create strong writing using the writing process. ·Participants will sample highly reviewed books with Latino themes that align with each of the traits, make writing connections to each of the modes/purposes (narrative, informational, opinion) and discover digital options for sharing picture books, too.

OF COURSE THEY CAN WRITE!

The first time a young writer picks up a pen or pencil to capture an idea on paper using pictures and imitations of letters and words, he or she is writing. The traits: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions (and presentation) are terms teachers can use with them right from the start. Using developmentally appropriate scoring guides to understand how early writing works, participants at this workshop will discover how easy it is to infuse the traits--all of them--into conversations and lessons about writing.

• Grades K - 2