Unlock the full potential of your students’ writing through this dynamic workshop series designed to help middle level and secondary educators foster creativity, ownership, and skill development in adolescent writers.

Key Benefits You’ll Gain

1. Empower Student Writers – Learn how to create classroom environments where students take ownership of their writing and decision-making processes.
2. Innovative Classroom Strategies – Discover tools, techniques, and practices to enhance writing instruction across all content areas.
3. Boost Teacher-Writing Skills – Strengthen your own writing alongside your students to serve as an authentic model in the classroom.
4. Standards-Aligned Instruction – Gain confidence in applying the 2020 DPI writing standards in creative and effective ways.
5. Community & Peer Collaboration – Build a supportive network of educators committed to fostering a school-wide writing culture.

You’ll leave with actionable strategies to build supportive writing environments, align with the latest standards, and enhance your own teaching practice.

Dates and Objectives

Location: CESA #3, 1300 Industrial Dr, Fennimore, WI

February 4th, 2025, 9:00am – 3:00pm:

• Evaluate the current state of writing.
• Discuss content area writing and teachers as writers.
• Review 2020 writing standards and low-stakes writing practices.
• Foster a community of writers.
• Differentiate reading and writing in content areas versus disciplinary literacy.
• Conduct a writing inventory and evaluate assignments.
• Update writing assignments and set goals for the school year.

March 5th, 2025, 9:0am – 3:00pm:

• Assess the implementation plan and analyze student writing.
• Focus on formative assessment and high-leverage feedback.
• Explore authentic audiences and multimodal writing.
• Evaluate the role and limits of AI in writing instruction.
• Reassess the implementation plan and analyze student writing.
• Support peer response and summative assessment practices.

Facilitators

Mark Dziedzic is a Senior Outreach Specialist and the director of the Greater Madison Writing Project, University of Wisconsin–Madison’s affiliate of the National Writing Project. He has been facilitating professional learning and teacher action research with pre-K-12 educators from across Wisconsin with the School of Education’s outreach office since 2009. Prior to joining the outreach office, Dziedzic was an elementary and middle school teacher in Colorado and Wisconsin. He also taught a methods course and supervised student teachers in the UW–Madison Elementary Education program.

Bryn Orum is the Outreach Program Manager for the Greater Madison Writing Project where she coordinates programs for youth and educators. Key projects include Rise Up & Write: a youth advocacy writing summer camp, and the College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP): a National Writing Project program that supports the teaching of evidence-based argument writing. Previously, she co-founded and taught high school English at Clark Street Community School in Middleton, Wisconsin. Orum studied literacy and English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she earned her bachelor of arts and master of science degrees. Much of her work in education has focused on equitable and innovative environments.

Common Questions

1. “I don’t have enough time to add more writing activities!”
   We provide strategies that are seamlessly integrated into existing lessons, making writing a natural part of content instruction without overwhelming your schedule.
2. “I’m not a writing teacher—I teach science (or math, history, etc.)!”
   Writing in the content areas doesn’t mean you need to become a writing expert. We’ll show you how to support writing without stepping outside your subject expertise.
3. “Writing assessments are too subjective and time-consuming.”
   You’ll learn streamlined approaches to assessment, focusing on practical, easy-to-implement strategies like peer response, clear rubrics, and AI-resistant tasks.
4. “I’m not sure how to motivate reluctant writers.”
   The workshop will equip you with low-stakes writing exercises and authentic writing audiences to engage even the most hesitant students.

Testimonials:

“I noticed my special education students particularly benefitting from this practice. The pacing of it worked well for many of my students with learning disabilities, in that we continued to practice and focus on the same skills. It appeared to be more manageable for them to focus in on those key skills of crafting a claim, choosing best evidence, and then creating thoughtful commentary.” – Susan Hart, High School English Teacher, Waunakee High School

 

“My English Learners developed confidence in speaking and writing, and were able to discuss their ideas and write like historians. They were able to carry the skills they learned to the other classes, and those skills transferred seamlessly. Students are writing argumentative essays in literacy, where similar academic language is used.” –Lindsey Harmon, Bilingual Resource Teacher, Kromrey Middle School

 

“The instructional resources offer the right amount of guidance and flexibility for teachers. Each resource emphasizes a particular argument skill and offers a pathway for learning that skill. However, I can make adjustments to the pathway in order to accommodate all of my learners.” – Stephanie Hurt, Middle / High School English Teacher, Brodhead, WI

Pricing:

1. Full Workshop Series: $400 – Includes all modules, resources, and peer collaboration sessions.
2. Follow Up Coaching and Support – Dates, details, and pricing will be made available to workshop participants during the series, like in June 2025.

Bonus:

Sign up today and receive exclusive access to a digital toolkit filled with writing templates, learning progressions, and ready-made resources you can start using immediately in your classroom!