Friday, October 16

7:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Workshop Session I

W1-1 Richard Clark, Buffalo Grove High School; Kate Glass, Buffalo Grove High School; Cori White, Buffalo Grove High School

“The Jumping Off the Text (J.O.T.) Essay: A

21^st Century alternative to the Five-

Paragraph Essay”

Rethink the way students read the classics by rethinking the way students write about them. Teachers will examine the J.O.T. © (Jumping Off the Text) essay framework which mimics the structure sophisticated writers employ. Using metacognitive templates, teachers will connect texts from their classroom to the world, planning their own essay.

W1-2 Dr. Bonnie K. Sonnek, Western Illinois University; Dr. Laretta Henderson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

“21^st Century Literacies: Multimodal

Meaning-Making Assignments”

Literacy in the 21^st Century encourages examination of social justice issues and provides space for critical engagement. To identify these issues, teachers need to reconceptualize the teaching-learning process in which they must become co-learners in a democratic and thoughtful community. This presentation will examine literature and composition as multimodal assignments.

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Breakout Session A

A1 Christopher Thomas, Lyons Township High School; Toby Casella, Lyons Township High School

“Podcasting and the Classroom: Expanding Your Classroom Reach onto the Internet”

Have you ever thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could get my students to listen in my class as attentively as they listen to their iPod?” this session will focus on free software you can use to not only record lessons or lectures of your class, but then make them into downloadable podcasts your students can listen to on-line or load onto their mp3 players.

A2 Jeffrey Scheur, Grayslake North High School

“Experiential Grammar: Helping Students Become Literate Leaders”

Why won’t the grammar errors stop? Mechanical miscues and usage errors often give English teachers fits as they search for effective ways to turn students into literate leaders. This session explores ways to use experiential learning, differentiated feedback, and creative solutions to help students conquer their grammar goblins.

A3 Cheryl Staley, Carbondale Community High School

“‘If you prick me do I not bleed?’”: Identity, the Outsider and The Merchant of Venice”

Identity issues engage students intensely. Through The Merchant of Venice, students explore the role of the outsider and the exclusions based on gender, race, religion, and the status of immigrants that are as relevant now as in Shakespeare’s day. The emerging capitalism in Venice allows students to explore the characters’ values and their own in regard to money.

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Book Exhibit Visitation

Qualify for door prizes by visiting our book exhibits during this and other breaks. Drawings will be held at a variety of conference functions; you must be present to win!

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Keynote Speaker and Annual Business Meeting

Chris Crutcher, Author, Educator and Family Therapist

This dynamic speaker will share his insight into working with adolescents as an educator and family therapist, and his experiences as a young adult author.

10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. Book Exhibit Visitation

Qualify for door prizes by visiting our book exhibits during this and other breaks. Drawings will be held at a variety of conference functions; you must be present to win!

10:50 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Breakout Session B

B1 Kim Asher, Rockford Public Schools; Sarah Okey, Rockford East High School

“Portfolios: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”

Portfolios enable students to be reflective and progressive learners. In this age of accountability, teachers and students must be able to produce working documents to meet district and state standards. Teachers provide the stimulus, while students write of their meaningful experiences whether through the assignment or reflection. Using portfolios, they can reflect back on what they have submitted in order to progress toward what they can become.

B2 Byung-In Seo, Chicago State University

“Making Literature Alive to Our Students: Using Travel Experiences to Provide Insight into Text”

Before students can analyze literature in a thoughtful and creative manner, it is necessary for them to understand it. All literature contains a level of truth, but identifying these truths can be difficult, because we don’t always understand the essence of a story. In this presentation, I will show how I used my ravel experiences as a means of uncovering and clarifying nuances that would otherwise be overlooked, thus bringing alive the text to my students.

B3 Dr. Tim Duggan, Northeast Illinois University; Liz Kirby, Rolling Meadows High School

“Making Research Real: A Teacher-Student Partnership for Local Action”

In a writing class, students identify problems of concern to themselves and their communities, research those problems by asking questions, gathering information, and forming possible solutions, then act on their recommendations. A college professor and a high school teacher present theory and practical advice for making student-led action research work.

B4 Erik Borne, Willowbrook High School

“You’re a Poet and You Didn’t Even Know It!”

In the 21^st Century English classroom, where we need to help students hone the skills of expressing themselves in a variety of ways, poetry has its place. This session will demonstrate a poetry unit, actively engaging students in the process of reading, modeling, imitating, and writing—finding meaning for themselves, grappling with language, and delving into what they find important. This unit is designed to convince students who scorn poetry the most that they are actually quite talented and skillful.

B4 Deb Will, Zion-Benton Township High School; Donna Blackall, IATE Rebecca Caudill Committee Chair

“What’s New In Young Adult Literature?”

Want to get your students excited about books? Want to hear about recently published works that engage your middle school and high school readers? This is the session for you! Titles from the newly announced 2010 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award and Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award lists will be presented. You will also find out how to participate in these awards to get your students involved!

B5 Christopher Wendelin, Amos Alonzo Stagg High School

“Literacy and Social Activism: Giving Students the Tools to Change the World”

Whether it is helping impoverished communities in Africa or breaking down social boundaries in your school cafeteria, students can make a difference; it is our job as educators to show them how. This presentation will discuss ways to use literacy to empower students and share ideas for organizing your own project for social change.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Luncheon: 2009 Illinois Author of the year and Honorary Awards

Li-Young Lee, author of Behind My Eyes (Norton, 2008); Book of My Nights (2001), which won the 2002 William Carlos Williams Award; The City in Which I Love You (1991), and Rose (1986), will be honored as the author of the year.

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Breakout Session C

C1 Claire Lamonica, Illinois State University

“Practicing What We Teach: English Teachers in Action”

It’s hard to require our students to become civically engaged if we aren’t engaged as well. But sometimes it seems that for every opportunity to get involved there’s a ready excuse. Other times, we just aren’t aware of the opportunities. In this session we will provide an overview of ways English teachers can have an impact at the local, state, and national level…and actually do some hands-on work in preparing you to do so. It’s easier than you think. “We are teachers. Hear us roar!”

C2 Sarah Hoffer, York High School; Kristin Powell, York High School; Shawna Lefebvre, York High School; Benjamin Carrillo, York High School

“Enlightening the Understanding of Our World Through a Text-Based Curriculum”

In this presentation, we will explore the means by which English educators can use canonical and contemporary texts to engage students in “real world” inquiries, promoting greater understanding of the world. Using Night and Fahrenheit 451 as models, participants will create unit activities and assignments that advance the authentic development of literacy in their classrooms.

C3 Gary Anderson, William Fremd High School; Tony Romano, William Fremd High School

“Writers Week: 15 Years of ‘The Best Week Ever’”

Since 1995, our school has celebrated Writers Week with guests Gwendolyn Brooks, Chris Crutcher, Sharon Draper, Naomi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins and many others. Students also present their work, along with faculty members. Learn how your school can stage a Writers Week, and experience exploding with life (and writing) lessons.

C4 Marilyn J. Hollman, Chicago Area Writing Project

“Just A Look at Twilight, Vampires and All”

When a cultural artifact is this popular, there is usually something more to it than fleeting sensation. This presentation hopes that participants give Stephenie Meyer’s series a second look, maybe even a third. To quote (almost) Freud: what do young women want?

C5 Dr. Vicky Gilpin, Cerro Gordo High School

“Looking Beyond the Test Scores: Encouraging Global Citizenship in an Individualized Environment, or How Do We Use English Courses to Move Past a Narrow Focus?”

Whether the focus is on grammar, literature, composition, or some other combination of language arts labels, English courses can be powerful in encouraging students as critical thinkers and global citizens. Forward-looking educators use strategies to help school districts on the local level while still benefiting the world on the global level. Students don’t stop being our responsibilities as they close the covers of their bubble tests. We have to analyze strategies to bridge the values of the past, the goals of the future, and the needs of the world while meeting the demands of the immediate policies, standards, or administrations. This session allows for open discussion about how to find that balance. Possible realms of inquiry include RtI, SAC, synectic learning, assignments that multi-task, and experiential methods.

C6 Henry Sampson, William Fremd High School; Marc Smith; Maria Mungai, William Fremd High School

“Bring Poetry Slam to Your Classroom, to Your School, to Your Community”

Contemporary spoken word poetry began in Chicago with Marc Smith. Poetry Slams have spread around the world to Australia, Paris, and Antarctica. Performance poetry celebrates the origins of oral tradition, and has excited audiences by the thousands for 20 years. Hear from the founder of Poetry Slams, Marc Smith, and from Henry Sampson, 35 years in the classroom, how to get your kids excited about poetry.

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Workshop II

W2-1 Dr. Robert Boone, Young Chicago Authors/Glencoe Study Center; Mark H. Larson, Highland Park High School

“More Real than Real: Creating Fictional Characters to Confront Real Life Issues”

“Scout…you never really understand a person…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Taking Atticus’s advice to heart, Boone and Larson demonstrate how the “Moe Method” of creating characters can be adapted to enable students to examine their own perspectives within and beyond the world of literature.

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Breakout Session D

D1 Andy Davis, University High School; Shyla Anderson, University High School

“Using ‘Wet Paint’ for Inter-Disciplinary On-Line Discussions”

The increased use and availability of technology is enabling teachers to make exciting connections between the subjects they teach and their students who learn. This presentation will demonstrate how the subjects of American History and American Literature can be taught in an inter-disciplinary format through the use of technology available to everyone.

D2 Diane Schmitz, Grayslake North High School

“What Is a Young American?”

In this session, participants will explore a research project designed to highlight young adults’ distinctive talents and contributions to the world throughout selected decades of the American experience. Participants will evaluate historical and contemporary sources that will help students of 2009 define themselves as leaders who will shape tomorrow’s world.

D3 Brian Newman, Joliet West High School; Janice Sheehan, Joliet West High School; Amanda Dickinson, Joliet West High School

“Civil Rights, Civil Unrest: Telling Your Community’s Untold Stories”

After learning about the race riots in Joliet during the 1967-68 school year, students assembled a panel of speakers, conducted interviews, and created a website to gather the stories of the teachers, students and community members of Joliet. Use technology and your students’ strengths to reveal your community’s untold stories.

D4 Andy Bouque, Dawn Forde, Isadora Parrini, Joe Flanagan, York Community High School

“Fostering Engagement with Gateway Activities: Tackling the Big Questions Through Effective Literacy Instruction”

Recent research in literacy instruction emphasizes the importance of engaging students in the learning process more deeply by promoting inquiry into essential questions and helping students develop prior knowledge about their reading and writing. In this interactive session, the panelists will provide numerous examples of gateway activities that support a structured process approach to literacy development. Participants in this interactive session will be able to take away these activities and use them with a wide variety of texts in their own classes.

3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Workshop III

W3-1 Diane Chambers, Elmhurst College; Tom McCann, School District 205; Angelo Bonadonna, St. Xavier University

“Student and Beginning Teachers’ Seminar”

Diane Chambers, Tom McCann and Angelo Bonadonna will facilitate this open discussion of students and early-career teachers’ fears, hopes, and strategies for success. Student teachers and teachers in their first and second year of service are invited to talk about challenges and victories. Experienced teachers and others who care about the struggles of novice teachers are encouraged to attend and share their ideas.

W3-2 Vikki Reid, Lyons Township High School

“Creating A Safe Environment: GLSEN Model for Inclusion of Homosexuality into High School Curriculum”

Fostering awareness and providing a forum for discussion surrounding sexuality, we break the silence to create support and safety for GLBT students. Strategies challenging discrimination in the public school system, based on JA Banks curricular inclusion of homosexuality in language arts and social sciences, link to state goals and standards.

W3-3 Tracy Townsend, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

“The Laureate Project: Finding the Future of America’s Poetry”

For five years, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’s English team has challenged its sophomore students to come to a better understanding of American literature and the American identity by investigating the role of the Poet Laureate. In this project, teams of students find a living, published American poet not yet a laureate and forward a case for his or her nomination to e Library of Congress by appealing to a jury of their peers. This workshop session will share lesson plans, activities, reading packets, samples of student work, and many ready-for-your-classroom handouts to help you bring this intensive, exciting exploration of contemporary poetry to your students.

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. District Leader Meeting

District leaders will meet to share ideas and organize events for their districts in the next year. If your district does not have a leader, please feel free to join in the conversation and volunteer to serve!

3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Book Exhibit Visitation

Qualify for door prizes by visiting our book exhibits during this and other breaks. Drawings will be held at a variety of conference functions; you must be present to win!

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Social Hour

This is an opportunity to meet other English teachers from around the state, make new friends, and reconnect with colleagues. Meet the IATE Executive Board and discuss how they can serve you better. Best of all—relax

with friends and enjoy the evening.

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Annual Banquet and Evening Entertainment by Poetry Alive!

Great food and great entertainment are planned for Friday evening. Forget the traffic and stay with us! Poetry Alive! a fantastic poetry performance group from North Carolina will present their high energy poetry montage for your enjoyment. Don’t miss this literary extravaganza!

8:45 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. President’s Reception

This reception will honor outgoing president Elizabeth Kahn and welcome her successor, Deb Will. Come join the fun as we celebrate activism through protest music, movie clips, and photos from attendees. There will be an open mic segment in order to share protest or activist poetry, short stories, lyrics, etc. Come join the fun!

Saturday, October 17

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Workshop Session IV

W4-1 Pennie Gray, Illinois Wesleyan University; Ana Floriani, Illinois Wesleyan University

“Trusting Their Voices: Equipping Students to Take Action on Issues that Matter to Them”

Join us in this workshop as we share ideas for engaging students with social justice issues through literature and composition. From meaningful material selection to supportive assessment, we will unpack strategies for helping students understand the complexities of the issues that face them and explore avenues through which they can voce their emerging understandings and evolving questions.

W4-2 Joseph Geocaris, Adlai E. Stevenson High School

“Revitalizing Research: Exploring the Intersection of Teaching and New Literacy”

Participants will explore lessons social networking sites have for teachers. We will analyze Facebook as a literacy space, and compare its goals in our classrooms. We will create ideas for adapting curriculum, and integrating 21^st century literacy practice in ways that reinforce our goals and broaden the students’ experiences beyond the classroom.

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Breakout Session E

E1 Jennifer Gulotta, O’Fallon Township High School; Tracy von der Linden, O’Fallon Township High School

“Books of Hope: Bringing Empathy to the Writing Classroom”

Book of Hope is a not-for-profit organization that coordinates books written by US students with countries that need them. The program is an inexpensive way to incorporate service-learning at any age as they provide resources that span from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Three years ago, our school implemented this program into a senior writing class designed for struggling writers. This assignment has increased motivation and empathy by teaching our students about the country of Uganda and their former child soldiers and having them create stories for them. They understand the real audience they are writing for, and they are excited knowing that their books are delivered directly to our adopted school. In our presentation, we will share information about this program, its effect in our classroom, the assignments we have used successfully, along with examples of our students’ work.

E2 Jennifer Barnabee, Pleviak School; Heather Johnson, Debby Ostrowski, Kim Scott, Melissa Klein, Thompson School

“Data Doesn’t Have to Be A Dirty Word”

Data doesn’t have to be a dirty word, that is, IF you know how to use it to inform your instruction. One 6^th grade team and a literacy coach from Lake Villa School District #41 (K-8) will share how the Data-Learning Team process has helped to share instruction in their language arts classrooms. Suggestions and tools for starting the process will be shared.

E3 Emily Hayes, Carbondale Community High School; Danny Wilson, Carbondale Community High School

“Spoon River Anthology: A Study of the Influence of Place on Regional Poetry”

Students read Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology and travel to the inspirational Oakland Cemetery. In spirit of the poet, they “wake up” a local cemetery, creating their own fictionalized epitaphs. The unit culminates in a poetry reading at dusk, where students place themselves within the context of Illinois history.

E4 Stephanie Gannaway, Effingham High School; Michelle Beck, Effingham High School

“Centers, Stations, and Rotations: Using a Centers Approach in the High School Classroom”

Centers-based instruction is not just for the elementary levels any longer. See how centers create a productive learning environment that allows for differentiation and maximizes teacher-student and student-student interaction. Learn how to manage a centers-based high school classroom and gather some materials you can use in your classroom this school year!

9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Breakout Session F

F1 Tom Anstett, Lincoln-Way East High School; Tom Gavin, Lincoln-Way North High School

“English 4 Seniors”

Ever wonder how to make British literature a bit more compelling, a bit ore connective to today’s world and to students’ lives? Take a peek at this presentation where five ideas for projects and presentations will be given. Works include: Swift’s A Modest Proposal, Hamlet, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a project for the Man Booker Award in England, and Frankenstein. Student participation plus teacher facilitation can produce great learning.

F2 Kristina Pedroni, Western Illinois University, pre-service teacher

“Teaching Reader Perception and How It Affects Texts”

This presentation focuses on a unit based on Beach and Marshall’s (1990) theories of reading. Different readers read texts differently. To apply Beach and Marshall’s theory, I will assign the audience different lenses to use when responding to different texts and demonstrate how to create an open-minded atmosphere for controversial issues.

F3 Stephen B. Heller, Adlai E. Stevenson High School; Anna Upson, Adlai e. Stevenson High School

“Synthesis in the English Classroom”

This session explores how the synthesis format can be applied to the study of literary text. In so doing, teachers of fiction can bridge the divide that often occurs within an English classroom between the worlds of fiction and nonfiction, with particular attention to research. Sample synthesis questions will be provided.

F4 Deb Will, Zion-Benton Township High School; Lin Lindemann, Zion-Benton Township High School

“Show Me the Money: Grant Writing for Busy English Teachers”

Many schools are facing difficult financial times and are struggling to maintain current programming. Funds for innovative teaching practices may be scarce, and finding funding for a new project may seem impossible. This presentation will show you how you can adapt the skills you use as an English teacher (reading, writing, research) to find and write grants that support innovative programming.

10:50 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Breakout Session G

G1 Kristin Dragos, Western Illinois University, pre-service teacher; Gianna Valentine, Western Illinois University, pre-service teacher

“Google in the Classroom”

This presentation will offer instruction about using various aspects of Google and ideas on how to include these forms of technology in the classroom. Some ideas that will be addressed include book clubs, creating websites, and blogging using Google Groups and Google Sites.

G2 Steve Newman, Evanston Township High School

“Making High School the Real World”

This experiential, interactive presentation will illustrate how students can become a community of learners, more familiar with their community, and then work and volunteer in the community. The presentation will also provide specific examples of how ETHS facilitates real-world experiences in the classroom, as well as offer curricular design tips.

G3 Gena Khodos, Hinsdale South High School

“Integrating Literacy into the Non-English Classroom”

When a building wants to integrate literacy, the English teachers are the pioneers sent to do it. This workshop provides a list of strategies and activities that can be presented to non-English disciplines with limited interruption to their curriculum in an effort to integrate literacy into the curriculum.

G4 Kara Saternus, Driscoll Catholic High School

“Lord of the Flies and Ancient Civilizations: A Cross-Curricular Project”

This unit is designed for a sophomore honors English class, and will include philosophy and development of power into a government. The students will be asked to compare and contrast Lord of the Flies with an ancient civilization that includes reference to Golding’s thesis and modern times. Furthermore, the final assignment guidelines, rubrics, and examples will be included.

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. President’s Lunch and Featured Speaker Kimberly Arndt

Get ready for an “English in Action” lunch with Kimberly Arndt, and her presentation, “Helping the Homeless: Using the English Classroom to Inspire Community Involvement.” Inspired by the book, Can’t Get There from Here by Todd Strasser, Kimberly will take you through lessons devised to motivate students to engage in a call to action. Kimberly Arndt is a teacher at Maine South high School in Park Ridge, a participant in the Illinois State Writing Project, and a graduate from Eureka College.

1:30 p.m. Executive Council Meeting