Tannis is currently supporting Alberta teachers as a Professional Learning Facilitator with the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium. She recently served as a curriculum consultant for the Edmonton Catholic School Division. Throughout her 30-year career as an educator, in both Edmonton and Winnipeg, Tannis remains passionate about teaching and learning, and the need for explicit literacy apprenticeship at all levels in all subject areas. Tannis is a voracious reader who believes all students deserve access to rich, diverse reading experiences and to a safe equitable space to talk about what they see, hear, think and feel. She is on a journey to disrupt and bring clarity to the conversations that drive our planning and assessment practice.
Learning Opportunities
This session has been completed.
Readers and Writers for Life: Developing Student Agency in Secondary Language Arts
Presented By
Tannis NiziolSeries Sessions
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Feb 02, 2022 | 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm |
| Feb 09, 2022 | 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm |
| Feb 16, 2022 | 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm |
| Feb 23, 2022 | 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm |
Location
Virtual
Grade Levels
10-12Language Arts teachers know it is more important to enable readers and writers to think for themselves and to actively build their own conceptual understanding than to merely fill their heads with the "right" answers to chapter questions. In fact, students of the language arts are in an ongoing dialogue with ”texts” of all kinds--their own, and that of other writers-- so as to “... make sense of and bring order to their world... examine new experiences ...make connections, anticipate possibilities, reflect upon and evaluate ideas, and determine courses of action”. (p. 2 English Language Arts (Senior High), 2003). It is in meeting them where they are in this vital work that we create those essential conditions and learning experiences that help our students develop a sense of agency and independence as readers and writers of the world within and beyond our classrooms.
Learning Intentions:
February 2, 2022: Reading “Well” is not Enough
We will be learning about the ways we might:
- create the inclusive conditions that enable readers to develop agency over their independent reading lives.
- reframe independent reading to include daily reading, talk, conferring.
- consider our choice of “core” and book club texts to reflect and recognize the crucial identity work that enters the classroom with each & every one of our readers.
February 9, 2022: Growing Writers
We will be learning about the ways we might:
- build writing routines to include writer’s notebooks, mentor texts, and mini-lessons.
- focus attention on engagement and process first and product second.
February 16, 2022: Talking to Understand
We will be learning about the ways we might:
- model and scaffold discussion routines that enable students to think more conceptually and analytically.
- increase complexity using more open-ended questions and socratic dialogue.
February 23, 2022: Feedback and Assessment
We will be learning about the ways we might:
- prepare students for success on an end of semester exam without teaching to the test.
- provide the kind of authentic, meaningful feedback that moves learning forward.
- teach the language of feedback and structure opportunities for our students to give and receive effective peer feedback.
Target Audience
Grades 10-12 Teachers of: Language Arts