BCTELA

*session descriptions from conference brochure.

Please click on the underlined presenters' names to see their session materials.

B1 Middle mosaic
Faye Brownlie, Susan Crichton, Leyton Schnellert, Ilona Weiss, Myriam Dostert, Deborah Roos, Natalie Mah, Chelsea Prince and Lori Sheritt-Fleming
Grades 4-10
This year's conference once again includes the Middle Mosaic! This session follows a popular model used at NCTE's annual conferences. It combines the traditional general and breakout models. Participants will hear three featured speakers for 15 minutes each and attend two round tables where presenters share classroom idea examples.

B2 Nurturing thoughtful,
reflective writers
Lorraine Minosky and
Mari-Jane Medenwaldt
Grades 4-7

How do we nurture thoughtful, reflective student writers? Using picture books as mentor texts, Lorraine and Mari-Jane will show you how they engage their students in the writing process, focusing on the memoir genre.

B3 How can we collaborate
on the Internet
Celia Brownrigg
Grade: K-12
Web 2.0 is the collaborative Internet. Tools such as Wikis and Google docs are making it easier and easier for teachers and students to gather information and co-construct knowledge. Let's beat the learning curve these tools present and explore them in a social setting. *Please bring a laptop.

B5 Transformations in the
classroom: The power of
teacher inquiry
June James and Tina Gordon
Grades 5-12

Teacher inquiry is powerful professional development that can become a part of classroom practice rather than something apart from classroom practice. This session will begin with an overview of the inquiry process and will continue with specific presentations from teachers who are conducting inquiries in their classrooms.

B7 Finding our voices: Ways
to help students become
mindful and find their voices
in all that they do
Pamela Smith, Belinda Chi
and Don Blazevich
Grade K-12

This presentation will explore how three teachers of primary, elementary, and secondary grades look at helping kids to find their voices in language arts and literature.

B8 Uncovering biases:
Culturally inclusive
practitioners
Sara Raouf
Grade K-12

This workshop is intended to invite teachers to look more closely at their own cultures, and the cultures of their students. By examining their own cultures, teachers will be able to uncover some of the hidden biases that may be present in their practices.

B9 Building readers, role
models, and relationships
Jenifer Barsky
Grades 9-12
Presentation of a program model to support struggling Grade 8/9 readers/writers, involving senior (Grade 11/12) mentor students, and explicit teaching of reading strategies and writing skills. Assessment tools, classroom activities, evaluation methods, and overall findings will be shared.

B12 Re-engaging the
disengaged
Jennifer Aulukh, Dave Ellison, Ravi Gill
and Jonathan Rempel
Grades 9-12
How do we engage the disengaged? How do we ignite a love of reading in the reluctant reader? How do we inspire and nurture the divergent learners in our classrooms? This workshop will share various approaches used by ELA teachers at the Surrey Learning Centres, a network of five alternate high schools for Grade 10-12 students. Examples will include using art in journaling, a cross-curricular issues-based discussion series, one-day conferences, special projects supported by the District Aboriginal Education department, and our latest endeavour - Adventure Learning, an outdoor, authentic approach to teaching ELA, which explores taking risks, creative/ critical thinking, and collaboration.

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