Paramus SummerLiteracy Institute

August 15-18, 8:30 AM-3:30 PM

East Brook Middle School190 Spring Valley Road- Paramus, NJ 07652

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FOR FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANTSFor first-time participants, we offer a special course called

Taking a Closer Look at Workshop Teaching. Participants will choose a reading strand or awriting strand, and study for half of the day in a large grade level cluster (K-2 or 3-8), and

spend the other half of the day in grade level-specific breakout groups with some of thebest teachers, literacy coaches, and school leaders in New Jersey.

Kathy Collins is an internationally renowned speaker in the field ofprimary reading instruction. The author and co-author of many books ongood instruction, she is a former staff developer at the Teachers CollegeReading & Writing Project, where she led the work on reading instruction inGrades K-2. She was the keynote speaker at our first Summer ReadingInstitute in 2013, and we are so happy to have her back with us this year!Kathy will lead the reading strand for Grades K-2.

Dana Clark is a literacy staff developer with Gravity Goldberg,LLC. A former teacher and literacy coach, she has led study groupsfor the Littogether Teacher Leader Project and the ParamusCoaching Course and presents nationally on various topics inliteracy. She has taught at every summer institute since 2012. Danawill lead the reading strand for Grades 3-8.

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Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is the author of professional book PoemsAre Teachers, How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres(Heinemann 2018), Amy Ludwig VanDerwater has written manybooks for children including Forest Has a Song (Clarion 2013), EveryDay Birds (Scholastic 2016), and Write! Write! Write! (Wordsong2020). A notebook-keeper, Amy writes short essays, contributes topoetry anthologies, and blogs at The Poem Farm and Sharing OurNotebooks. For the past twenty-three years, she has taught writingworkshops that celebrate the power and joy of words. Find Amy andher newest book (If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your PocketDay Celebration, Wordsong) online at https://linktr.ee/amylvpoemfarm. She has taught at manyof our institutes since 2012, and will lead the writing strand for teachers in Grades K-2.

Pamela Koutrakos is a middle school instructional coach, aformer elementary teacher, literacy coach in several BergenCounty districts, and staff developer for Gravity Goldberg,LLC. She is a member of the Littogether Think Tank and theauthor of Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices K-6 (Corwin2018), The Word Study That Sticks Companion:Classroom-Ready Tools for Teachers and Students, K-6(Corwin 2019) and Mentor Texts That Multitask: ALess-Is-More Approach to Integrated Literacy Instruction, K-8(Corwin 2022). Pam has blogged for ILA, NCTE, CCIRA,

Learning Without Tears, MiddleWeb, Gravity Goldberg LLC, and Corwin Connect. She speaksnationally on literacy instruction and word study. Pam will teach the writing strand for teachers inGrades 3-8.

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FOR RETURNING PARTICIPANTSFor teachers who have attended summer institutes in the past,

or have participated in Littogether Teacher Leader Project study group,or have been in ongoing staff development in Reading and Writing Workshop for at least two

years, we offer the following courses of study. These courses are led by teachersand consultants who embed their teaching in real classroom practice.

Space is limited and spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis,so we ask you to sign up for 1st and 2nd choices for each session.

⟺We hope these selections will be of great support to you in your practice!

PRIMARY UPPER ELEMENTARY MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL

SESSION 1, 9:30-11:15Section A: Evergreen Reading–Strengthening Your TeachingMuscles through Just One BookFacilitator: Kathy DoyleIntended Audience: Grades 3-6Someone once said, “If you can’t cry, you can’t read.” There are somany books that can move us as readers to deep moments ofconnection to books and to other people, but how do we harvest all thepossibilities of what to teach in books we love? Join master teacher Kathy Doyle in an on-the-spotbook club, where you’ll read a new chapter book and engage in an “evergreen study,” whereyou’ll come to know a brand new book that will feed your teaching (and your reader’s soul) formany years to come. Kathy will help you unpack the many messages and teaching possibilitieswithin just one book, and help you discover the teaching moves to do similar study on otherbooks as well. We can’t promise that you’ll cry, but we can promise it will be an experience thatwill add new chapters to your reading life and teaching life!

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Section B: Guided Reading 2.0–New Moves to Ratchet Up Your PracticeFacilitator: Enid MartinezIntended Audience: Grades K-2For many years, Guided Reading has been the component that sets up both our youngest and ourmost fragile readers up for success. Reading levels are more than just rungs up the A-Z ladder thatwe climb like a race. Each level is carefully crafted with many micro-steps and skills that are easyto overlook. Join international primary reading expert Enid Martinez as she helps you uncoverthese teeny-tiny pieces within each level and shows you hands-on ways to integrate them intoyour Guided Reading sessions right away.

Section C: Teaching at the End of the World: Developing Student-Driven, Student-Focused Literacyfor Challenging TimesFacilitator: Matt MoroneIntended Audience: Grades K-12For all of the recent discussions around “learning loss,” there has been an even more palpable,and troubling, trend: a “love-of-learning loss.” When students enter school as young children,they love to learn, but somewhere along the line, that fire dies. By the time most kids reachmiddle and high school, the flame is all but extinguished. Recent global catastrophes—pandemics, climate change, social and cultural upheavals—have only exacerbated this pattern.How can we rekindle the love of learning so inherent in humanity? This interactive, challengingsession with Pascack Valley English Teacher Leader Matt Morone will push literacy educators toteach the kids in front of them: meeting them where they are and providing them with theresources, assistance, and encouragement needed to reignite that flame, even when everything ison fire.

Section D: Tell Me More–Using Talk to Help Kids Think Grow Language Comprehension Skillsand Think With More Complexity About TextsFacilitator: Kathy CollinsIntended Audience: Grades K-2Research indicates that in our efforts to help children become well-rounded, strong, and engagedreaders, instruction supporting children’s language comprehension is a vital companion toteaching phonological and orthographical awareness. Language comprehension developmenthelps readers in a wide variety of ways, from vocabulary acquisition to building prior knowledge,from speaking to listening skills, from decoding words to making meaning of extended passagesin text. In this session, Kathy Collins will help educators think about ways to support and enhancechildren’s language comprehension through talk opportunities within independent reading andacross comprehensive literacy components.

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Section E: Mentor Texts That Multi-task: A Less-Is-More Approach to Integrated LiteracyInstructionFacilitator: Pamela KoutrakosIntended Audience: Grades K-4Let’s redefine the role of mentor texts! We all have them: a “short stack” of multimodal texts thatwe love, but maybe there can be a way to use them across the entire literacy block. Joininstructional coach and author Pam Koutrakos in an interactive session where you can unpackways to use these texts and other tools to multi-task, using them to support content-area topics andSEL skills. You’ll be introduced to new titles that represent, include, and celebrate manycharacters, people, settings, and topics. Throughout the week, sample (tiny, yet mighty)multi-tasking text sets, appropriate for different grades, settings, and learning pursuits will beshared to support joyful learning experiences across the day in inquiry and more traditionalteaching environments. It will be strategic. It will be productive. It will be what you need!

SESSION 2, 1:45-3:30Section F: Ready, Set, Write–Building the Primary Teacher’s WritingToolboxFacilitator: Christina RizzoIntended Audience: Grades K-1Did you ever pack a day trip for your very young child? There are somany things to remember, because each has its own purpose! The same istrue when we get our youngest students ready to write. There are mentortexts to inspire, charts to remind, components of Balanced Literacy to

empower, play to prepare and engage, and our own pieces to model. Join Paramus kindergartenteacher and former staff developer Christina Rizzo as she helps you pack your bag with all theright tools to make writing an adventure for your youngest students. She will help you imaginehow these tools will help you whether you’re writing narrative, opinion, or informational pieces,and how you’ll build community all along the way!

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Section G: Identity, Hurt & Healing, Heartwork–Three Lenses to Deepen Understanding ofTexts and PeopleFacilitators: Dana Clark, Keisha Smith-Carrington, and Jigisha VyasIntended Audience: Grades K-5Decades ago, in her powerful essay “Mirrors, Windows, And Sliding Glass Doors,” Rudine SimsBishop shared the importance of curating libraries that allow every child to see themselves in thepages of books. Yet over thirty years later, we recognize that our collections still lackrepresentation and that simply placing diverse books on our shelves isn’t enough. In this session,Dana Clark, Keisha Smith-Carrington, and Jigisha Vyas will help you explore how to usebeautiful, diverse texts as a vehicle to bring reading comprehension, SEL, and social justicetogether. Join us in studying how to coach readers and invite conversation through the lenses ofidentity, harm & healing, and heartwork.

Section H: Engage, Empower, Energize, Synergize!!Facilitators: Jarred Amato and Oona AbramsIntended Audience: Grades 7-12As middle and high school literacy educators, we want to do ALL the things: independentreading, book clubs, novel study, mentor texts, writer’s workshop, and so much more. How canwe do justice to each, do each well, and still manage to meet the demands of our pacing guidesand curriculum? In an educational landscape of catch-up culture demanding breadth, we candesign authentic literacy learning experiences with more depth and still meet multiple standards.Join Jarred Amato and Oona Marie Abrams as they share how they plan to design their literacyblock in 2022 (and beyond). In this collaborative workshop, we will share strategies, structures,and resources in order to empower and engage all students as readers and writers.

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Section I: Using Writing to Deepen Student ComprehensionFacilitator: Ted KeslerIntended Audience: 3-8The reader response notebook (RRN) is a tried-and-true tool in elementary andmiddle school classrooms. However, teachers and students often expressfrustration with this tool. Students’ writing about their reading can seem as

though they are just going through the motions, with little evidence of deep comprehension. In thisworkshop, Ted Kesler will take you through creative and expansive ways to use the readers’ notebookwith your students to achieve deep comprehension of all kinds of texts, and how to use notebookentries as rich sources of classroom discourse, exploring ideas from his book, The Reader ResponseNotebook: Teaching Towards Agency, Autonomy, and Accountability (NCTE, 2018). Be prepared forcreative thinking, and along with your notebook, bring your crayons, pastels, and colored pencils.

Section J: Writing Together–Teaching from Our Own ProcessFacilitator: Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterIntended Audience: Grades K-5Writers of all ages carry the same questions to each project: how do we find ideas, revise,strengthen writing through reading, heal and make change with our words? Join Amy LudwigVanDerwater, teacher, author, and friend of this institute as we read and write a variety of textsand explore drafting and revision strategies. As writers, we will examine specific ways andresources to deepen our own craft. And as teachers, we will learn to mine our own writingpractice - no matter how often we write - for lessons and conferring points. Come. Bring yournotebook. Play!

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INSTITUTE FACULTYA Partial List

Oona Marie Abrams teaches 11th and 12th Grade English at Chatham High School. From 2014 until2018, Oona edited English Leadership Quarterly, the journal of the Council on English Leadership. Afounding organizer of Nerd Camp New Jersey, she is also an active member of NCTE, CEL, ALAN, andASCD. Follow her on Twitter at @oonziela.

Jarred Amato, Ed.D. is an award-winning English teacher, and the co-founder of Project LIT Community,a national grassroots literacy movement. Jarred is an avid reader and writer who enjoys collaboratingwith fellow educators to improve literacy access, attitudes, and outcomes in our schools andcommunities. You can follow Jarred at @jarredamato and @projectlitcomm on Twitter.

Dana Clark is a literacy staff developer with Gravity Goldberg, LLC. A former teacher and literacycoach, she has led study groups for the Littogether Teacher Leader Project and the Paramus CoachingCourse. You can follow her on Twitter @dana_dclark or on her blog, https://litlife.blog/.

Kathy Collins was our first keynote speaker at our first reading institute in 2013. She is an internationalspeaker in the field of teaching reading in the primary grades. She is the author of Growing Readers: Unitsof Study in the Primary Classroom (Stenhouse 2004), Reading for Real: Teach Students to Read with Power,Intention and Joy, K-3 (Heinemann 2008), I AM Reading: Nurturing Young Children’s Meaning Making andJoyful Engagement with Any Book (Heinemann 2015 with Matt Glover), No More Mindless Homework(Heinemann 2017 with Janine Bempechat). Tweet with her @KathyCollins15.

Kathy Doyle is a former teacher of Grades 1, 2, 3, and 5 in the Tenafly Public Schools. She has appearedin many books on literacy instruction and has been a frequent instructor at the Teachers College Reading& Writing Project institutes and with some of their outreach districts. She is a member of the LittogetherThink Tank, and has led the courses through the Littogether Teacher Leader Project and ParamusCoaching Course.

Ted Kesler, Ed.D., is associate professor in the Elementary and Early Childhood Department of QueensCollege, CUNY, where he directs the MAT CHED 1-6 programs. He is an ELA consultant in schooldistricts around the country, especially in the New York Metropolitan area. As a classroom teacher, hewas featured in a year-long, nine-part series in The New York Times called "Class 3-223: Mr. Kesler'sStruggle." You can find out more about this series and Ted's work at www.tedsclassroom.com, or followhim on Twitter @tedsclassroom.

Pamela Koutrakos is a middle school instructional coach in the Paramus Public Schools. A formerteacher and literacy coach of elementary grades in several districts in Bergen County, Pam also workedas a staff developer for Gravity Goldberg, LLC. She is a member of the Littogether Think Tank and theauthor of Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices K-6 (Corwin, 2018), The Word Study That Sticks Companion:Classroom-Ready Tools for Teachers and Students, K-6 (Corwin, 2019) and Mentor Texts That Multitask: ALess-Is-More Approach to Integrated Literacy Instruction, K-8 (Corwin, 2022). Pam has blogged for ILA,NCTE, CCIRA, Learning Without Tears, MiddleWeb, Gravity Goldberg LLC, and Corwin Connect. Shespeaks nationally on literacy instruction and word study. Connect with Pam on Twitter @PamKou.

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Tom Marshall is the Principal of Stony Lane Elementary School, leader of the New Jersey LiteracyLeaders’ Network, and a former staff developer and national consultant for the Teachers CollegeReading & Writing Project. He is the recipient of CEL’s 2017 Innovative Leadership Award throughNCTE and the author of Reclaiming the Principalship: Instructional Leadership Strategies to Engage YourCommunity and Focus on Learning (Heinemann 2018). He is the director of our summer institutes, and youcan find him on Twitter @tomlittogether.

Enid Martinez is a nationally renowned speaker in the field of primary literacy instruction, particularlyin the area of emergent reading and working with English Language Learners. She is a former staffdeveloper at the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project, and was a consultant for Fountas andPinnell. You can follow her on Twitter @EnidMartinez.

Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator who is the founder of The Minor Collective, acommunity-based movement designed to foster sustainable change in school, with his wife KassandraMinor. He is the author of We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be(Heinemann 2018). Cornelius has partnered with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, theNew York City Department of Education, the International Literacy Association, and Lesley University’sCenter for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative. He presents at conferences internationally, wasfeatured in Out of Print, and was recently featured on The Today Show. You can find Cornelius on Twitter@MisterMinor.

Matthew Morone is one of the institute’s assistant directors, and is an English teacher at Pascack ValleyHigh School in Hillsdale, New Jersey. In addition, Matt works with educators as a literacy coachthroughout the state. Matt also is an instructor with the Essex County Provisional Teacher TrainingProgram, where he helps aspiring teachers enter the field through the Alternate Route. He was namedDistinguished High School Teacher of the Year by Princeton University in 2016. Matt formerly served asMember-at-Large for the Conference on English Leadership (CEL) and is a current member of theLittogether Think Tank. You can follow him on Twitter at @MrMorone, and read his blog atfailsafely.com.

Dr. Bilal Polson is the Principal of Northern Parkway Elementary School in Uniondale, New York. In2010, he was awarded the CEE Diversity Grant by NCTE for his pilot qualitative study, Classroom TeacherAwareness of Students’ Literacy Lives. Bilal serves on the Board of Governors for the Early ChildhoodEducation Assembly (ECEA), and presents at national conferences. He serves as co-director for theProfessional Dyads of Culturally Relevant Teaching (PDCRT) project, and co-authored a number of peerreviewed journal articles and featured in a chapter of Courageous Leadership (Teachers College Press 2016).Bilal holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Hofstra University, and can be found on Twitter@BilalPolson.

Courtney Rejent is a former middle school instructional coach who currently serves as AssistantDirector of Special Services in the Ramsey Public Schools. She is an active member of NCTE and CEL.Some of her work is featured in Mindsets and Moves by Gravity Goldberg, and she is a member of theLittogether Think Tank. She serves as our institute’s social media coordinator. She can be found onTwitter @c_rejent.

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Christina Rizzo is one of the institute’s assistant directors, who teaches Kindergarten in the ParamusPublic Schools. A former literacy coach and staff developer with Gravity Goldberg, LLC, she has taughtGrades 1 through 4 in various districts in Northern New Jersey and holds her Master’s Degree fromTeachers College with Lucy Calkins. She has participated in the Northern Valley Curriculum Center’sCoaching Academy, and is a member of the Littogether Think Tank. You can follow her on Twitter at@ChristinaRizz0.

Keisha Smith-Carrington is the Supervisor of Pre-K through 6th Grade in the Princeton Public Schools.Although facilitating English Language Arts/Literacy professional development has been her focus forover 18 years, she has spent this year thinking deeply with colleagues about ways to develop students’racial literacy from the early grades through high school. This team of thought partners is developinganti-bias/anti-racist lessons focused around the Learning for Justice, formerly Teaching Tolerance, SocialJustice Standards, the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework (Dr. Gholdy Muhammad), and textsthat reflect the many people in our world. Keisha is a member of several professional literacy networksincluding the Literacy Leaders Network.

Erin Solej has taught English in all middle school grades, and has been published in several parentingmagazines and two editions of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Our institute’s writer-in-residence, she writesfull time.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is the author of Poems Are Teachers, How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writingin All Genres (Heinemann 2018), and has written many books for children including Forest Has a Song(Clarion 2013), Every Day Birds (Scholastic 2016), and Write! Write! Write! (Wordsong 2020). Anotebook-keeper, Amy writes short essays, contributes to poetry anthologies, and blogs at The Poem Farmand Sharing Our Notebooks. For the past 23 years, she has taught writing workshops that celebrate thepower and joy of words. Find Amy and her newest book (If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your PocketDay Celebration, Wordsong) online at https://linktr.ee/amylvpoemfarm.

Jigisha Vyas is a university professor, instructional coach, a certified mindful educator, and yogainstructor. She spends her time supporting educators and reimagining curriculum, instruction, andteacher leadership. She has taught both special and general education, working primarily with studentsin grades K-5. She finds passion in the work of building student voice and student agency, while activelyleading and promoting equity and anti-bias teaching in education. Her greatest joy is teaching yoga andmeditation to all age groups, teachers and students alike!

Jaime Weaver is a reading specialist and literacy coach in the Paramus Public Schools. She has taughtprimary grades, and worked closely with Isoke Nia. She often leads study groups within the ParamusCoaching Course.

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ARE YOU INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS YEAR’S INSTITUTE FORFREE?

WANT TO GROW THE TEACHER LEADER INSIDE YOU?

CONSIDER TEACHING A

MIDDAY WORKSHOP!

GO TO https://tinyurl.com/ParSumMidday22 AND FILL OUT A PROPOSALFOR A 45-MINUTE LITERACY WORKSHOP THAT YOU CAN TEACHDURING THREE DAYS OF THE INSTITUTE. IF YOUR PROPOSAL ISACCEPTED, YOU CAN ATTEND THIS YEAR’S INSTITUTE FOR FREE!

SIGN UP TODAY!!

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ATTENTION TEACHERS IN URBAN SCHOOLS!

Do you teach in an urban school? Are you dedicated to giving yourstudents greater voice through literacy? Would you like to attend our

institute for free?

Apply for the Paramus Summer Institute Urban EducationScholarship at this link.

https://tinyurl.com/ParSumUrban22

Scholarship recipients will be notified this June!

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Join Dr. Bilal Polson each day for a midday book club and conversationon fostering an environment that reflects our diverse learners and

teachers.

Sign up for it here.https://tinyurl.com/MiddayBookClub

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So, are you ready to join us? Sign up online.

Please fill out the district registration form:https://tinyurl.com/PARSUM22District

and the individual registration form:https://tinyurl.com/PARSUM22Individual

Sign up by June 9th for a discount!

Early Bird Cost(Until June 9th)

Regular Cost(From June 10th On)

Teachers $575 each or3 teachers for $1,600

$625 each or3 teachers for $1,750

Administrators $400 $450

Purchase Orders and Checks are payable to:Paramus Board of EducationAtt: Lynda Ariyan145 Spring Valley Rd.Paramus, NJ 07652(201) 261-7800, x3038lariyan@paramusschools.org

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