Literacy Station Inspiration to Present in June

Once again, we will be sharing strategies and collaborative activities at a K-12 Literacy Conference! Come join us! 
(Hurry! The registration deadline for school groups is April 8th!)

We will be presenting a blended (partially online) writing unit that incorporates student-generated writing lessons, process writing instrution, formative assessment, and collaborative learning at the 2016 Center for Workforce and Community Education Literacy Conference for K-12 Teachers. The program is sponsored by the Germanna Education Consortium in conjunction with the Spotsylvania County School's regional Leadership Learning Exchange Conference. 

The literacy conference will take place on Thursday, June 23 2016 at Chancellor Middle School in Spotsylvania, Virginia with featured and keynote speakers, local educators, and VDOE staff members presenting on current best practices, innovations in 21st century teaching, and new changes or announcements related to the Virginia SOLs.

For registration and session information, see the Conference Flyer or contact Kim Rodenberg at (540) 834-1925.

We hope to see you there!

Virginia Grade 8 Writing SOL Prompts

It's that time again: cramming in the last few practice lessons to prepare students for the Virginia Writing SOL test. The pressure is on, and for many teachers that means repetitive structured writing instruction until the day of testing. 
The options for the prompts are all released and published on the VDOE website, but teaching writing is much more involved than rogue memorization of prompts. Many Virginia 8th grade teachers don't get around to exposing students to a fraction of the released prompts. Since organization is key, my three-week writing boot camp in preparation for the assessment focuses on dissecting the prompts and allowing students to generate ideas based on the structure of the prompts.

I created this Google Doc so that students can input their prewriting directly into the format. They also have the ability to work on them from home on their own devices up until the day of the test. The idea is that they are as exposed to as many of the prompts they can be in a sd understand how they will map out their evidence and details. 
You can download, adapt, and share as you like!

VA Grade 8 Writing Prompt Organizer





Va Grade 8 Prompt Outline