Our Super Saturdays use a "lab school" model, in which teachers and students participate in the presenter’s workshop lesson together in small groups, generally including the following: mini-lesson on writing craft, study of a mentor text, demonstration of innovative and engaging pedagogical strategies, large blocks of time for students and teachers to write, and sharing writing in small groups or whole group.

While each workshop can stand alone, students and teachers can draw much more meaning from each seminar if they have other seminars to build on. Furthermore, registering for the entire series saves you money and time.

Event Schedule
9:30-10:00am - Registration in front of Sweeney Hall Courtyard
10-10:30am - Writing Games Warm-up
10:30-12:30pm - Saturday Seminar lesson led by Teacher Consultant

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Course Descriptions

February 1 - Writing Comic Strips
ZOOM! BANG! ZAP! Do you like making silly sounds and comic strips? Have fun learning how to use sounds to make a fun comic strip with a new friend!

Lisa Rivera is a SJAWP teacher consultant and 1st grade teacher at Kathryn Hughes Elementary School.

March 7 - Art as a Medium for Writing
In this workshop students will be inspired to create interesting stories based on famous pieces of art. Students will have a virtual gallery. Works by Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, and many other renown artists will be presented. Students will have time to select an art piece and write down their ideas for a story. Time will be allotted to share ideas in a small group prior to writing. Students will spend time drafting a story, and once they have completed it they will share it with a partner.

Maria Rosas is a 2nd grade Dual Immersion teacher at Gabriela Mistral Elementary in the Mountain View Whisman School District.

April 4 - Let’s Explore Opinion Writing using Food
Do you have opinions or feelings on different food? Do you have favorite foods or have reasons why you like one food more than others? Come join me and learn how to express your opinions clearly using food as topics. We will try sampling certain flavors of certain food item and learn how to write clear paragraphs about which flavors you prefer and why. Discover how to write opinion writing and have fun while doing it.

Jennifer Kim Baumgartner is a 2nd grade teacher at Pearl Zanker Elementary School in the Milipitas Unified School District.