Behind the Book: Exploring the Teaching of Writing with the Authors of Wondrous Words
Thursday, September 18 | 7:00 p.m. ET
REGISTER HERE
This event is free for all NCTE members. Not yet a member? Join today!
Registration will close 90 minutes prior to the event’s start time.
Join NCTE’s Elementary Section and Katie Wood Ray and Stella Villalba, authors of the newly released Wondrous Words: Reimagining Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom. This event will introduce teachers to cutting-edge writing pedagogies by exploring how the authors approach writing with a diverse group of students. The authors take an expansive view of writing—one that challenges narrow definitions and embraces the full range of students’ voices and experiences. We invite teachers familiar with the first edition of Wondrous Words as well as those who are new to the book. All new and practicing teachers and teacher educators are welcome!
Members will
- Engage in conversation about expansive and inclusive writing pedagogy at the elementary level,
- Learn about classroom stories and student work highlighting how writing pedagogy can honor students’ assets, including their languages and experiences, and
- Gain insights into the process of writing Wondrous Words and how it’s linked to professional learning and sharing.
Please contact profdev@ncte.org with questions.
FEATURED GUESTS
Katie Wood Ray is a former teacher, editor, and the author or coauthor of ten books on the teaching of writing. For many years she worked alongside teachers to develop child-centered methods for teaching writing that were grounded in the beautiful trial and error of classroom practice. Her books are filled with the stories and artifacts of children—mostly in rural Appalachia where she lives—growing into confident writers under the influence of teachers who nurtured that growth in daily writing workshops. As an editor, she helped other teacher-writers share their work in professional books and was the series editor for the dynamic Classroom Essentials series at Heinemann. She has a PhD in elementary language and literacy from the University of South Carolina (1992) and is a longtime member of NCTE.
Stella Villalba was raised and nurtured in a bicultural and bilingual household. Born in Argentina to parents from Paraguay, she learned that being a multilingual learner is a superpower and it’s through this lens that she teaches, listens, and leads every day. She believes that multilingual learners deserve an equitable education that protects and honors their languages, literacies, and lived experiences.
She has taught in dual education schools and in English as a Second Language programs. She is currently a teacher leader and a staff developer, coaching and mentoring educators to be ready for a global education that is rooted in multilingualism, biliteracy, and culturally and community sustaining pedagogy. She has a BA in foreign language teaching; an MA in language, literacy, and culture; and is currently pursuing a PhD degree at The Ohio State University in equity and multicultural studies. Two things that bring her joy include conferring with a child and reading a large stack of picturebooks.
FACILITATORS
Sanjuana Rodriguez, associate professor of literacy education, Kennesaw State University
Islah Tauheed, vice principal, Avon School, Newark, New Jersey