Teachers as Readers - Summer 2016!

     Current WARC members: If you are interested in signing up for the Summer 2016 Teachers as Readers group, please email the Williamsburg Area Reading Council to sign up at VSRAWilliamsburg@gmail.com.

     The group will meet three times this summer:

• Tuesday, June 21st 
• Wednesday, July 20th 
• Monday, August 22nd 

    The meeting time will be 7 pm for each in-person gathering. Information on the specific locations will be forthcoming.

 
    The featured text for this summer will be Learning from Classmates: Using Students' Writing as Mentor Texts by Lisa Eickholdt (Heinemann, 2015). Current members of WARC who sign-up before the group is full will receive a copy of the text to keep. You will also be eligible to earn up to 15 recertification points for your participation and attendance at the meetings. For people who are interested in taking part in TAR, but are not WARC members for the 2015-16 school year, there will be a $25 fee to participate and to receive a copy of the book.

   This summer, we have added a special feature. National literacy consultant, Meredith Alvaro, will be presenting to the TAR group on the evening of July 20th! Here is some information on Meredith from her website:

"Meredith Alvaro is currently a full time National Literacy Consultant and Professional Staff Developer located in the NY/NJ metro area. Meredith previously served as the Director of Student Teaching in the Elementary Inclusive Preservice Program at Teachers College Columbia University as well as held a tenured NYC public school teacher position in Manhattan’s former District 2. Meredith conferred her Masters Degree at Teachers College, where she studied literacy directly with Lucy Calkins, and is pursuing her EdD at Teachers College. She is dually certified in Special Education as well as General Education and has worked extensively with English Language Learners and students with a range of significant disabilities. Meredith is a licensed Administrator and Superintendent in the State of New Jersey."

    "For the past 15 years, Meredith has supported schools across the United States with In-Classroom Coaching and practical workshops that have focused on developing effective user friendly strategies alongside teachers. Meredith’s highly sought after Professional Development services are always grounded in practicality. Meredith's presentation style is incredibly engaging as she literally builds presentations in front of teachers with just a simple pad of chart paper and some markers. This step-by-step methodology ensures that her participants are part of understanding each and every strategy from the ground up. Teachers absolutely rave about this interactive, classroom-friendly approach! Using this method also allows Meredith to easily adapt and adjust every workshop to the needs of each group through by being free from "canned presentations" she cannot deter from. The result: Teachers can easily turn-key their new arsenal of tools immediately back to the classroom because they were part of creating everything."

  If you are interested, please be sure to email WARC soon!  It's going to be a great summer!

WARC Honors the 2016 Reading Teacher of the Year and Nominees

Williamsburg Area Reading Council's Fall Book Talk - Monday, November 23, 2015

You can download this flyer via Google Docs through this link: http://tinyurl.com/nux4bvm

Complete Information on the WARC Fall Mini-Conference Featuring Peter Brown!

Hello everyone!

Please click on the link to access the Google Doc for the full Peter Brown conference flyer! Also, be sure to follow WARC on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/WARCouncil. We look forward to seeing you at our amazing event!

Peter Brown is Coming to Town!

        Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual WARC Fall Mini-Conference! The keynote speaker will be author and illustrator Peter Brown. You won't want to miss this event! Stay tuned for additional details about the night via our Facebook page and the WARC blog.

Now is the Time to Join for the 2015-16 School Year!

    Joining the Williamsburg Area Reading Council is quick and easy! Here's the information on how to join online. Remember, when you are joining WARC, you are also joining the Virginia State Reading Association. Together, the dual membership costs only $30 ($20 for paraprofessionals, retired teachers, and college students.) You more than get your money back in the following opportunities: 

• If you attend all the main events for the year (the Fall Mini-Conference, Book Talk, and the Reading Teacher of the Year reception), you will earn recertification points for licensure renewal. 
• Non-members who wish to attend the Fall Mini-Conference have to pay $20 at the door to come to the event. Current members will not have to pay anything, because it is a part of your membership. 
• Non-members who wish to attend the 4th Annual Book Talk have to pay $5 at the door. Again, current members do not pay to come as it is also included in your membership. 
• Your membership card will have a list of local businesses who will give you 10% off your purchase throughout the year. You will just need to present your card!
• Nominees for the WARC Reading Teacher of the Year honor must be WARC members to be eligible.
• WARC members that participate in the summer Teachers as Readers will receive a professional book to keep (which can range from $25-40 in cost, depending on what text is selected.) TAR participants also earn recertification points for fully participating in the TAR summer events and assignments. (You must be a member of WARC in order to participate in the Teachers as Readers group.)
• Free prizes, such as children's books, free Joy of Literacy and Literature conference entries, and Barnes and Noble gift cards are given away at the various events of the year. The more you attend events, the more chances that you have to win a prize! 
• Your dual membership in WARC and VSRA are great professional organizations to include in your portfolio and resume. 
• Additional benefits with the VSRA can be reviewed via the VSRA website.  

As you can see, the more that you participate, the more that the benefits of joining stack up! 

    A drawing will take place for members who join by October 6th. WARC will select two lucky members to win a Peter Brown book collection, as well as several Barnes and Noble gift cards! 

1st Annual Teachers as Readers Summer Professional Development

    The 1st Annual Williamsburg Area Reading Council's Teachers as Readers was a fantastic success! There were approximately 35 participants in the group this summer. The professional book that was used for study was Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6 by Lynee Dorfman and Rose Cappelli (Stenhouse, 2007).

    You can preview part of the text via Stenhouse Publisher's website: Preview Mentor Texts

    Participants who signed up by the deadline received a copy of the text to keep as a membership benefit. Independent reading assignments were given throughout the summer. The group met at the Berkeley's Green Club House on June 23rd and August 17th to discuss the reading and ideas for mentor texts with colleagues. 

     Participants were also required to join the group's private Edmodo page to share ideas in mid-July about the assigned reading. Group members also replied to posts made by other people in the learning community. An optional group Pinterest board was also created, where members of the TAR group shared links to mentor text suggestions. The Edmodo group will continue to share ideas, links, book ideas, and pictures of charts throughout the year to keep the learning going. The Pinterest board will also continue indefinitely, so feel free to follow our board by clicking here for the link: WARC Pinterest Board for Mentor Texts. Group members who completed the assignments earned recertification points for their efforts. Members enjoyed the book selection and look forward to putting the text to work during this upcoming school year! 

    If you want to participate in casual and informative professional development in the summer with us next year, mark your calendar. We'll post information about TAR for the Summer of 2016 in the spring via Facebook and on the blog. We look forward to you participating!