Celebrating Ten Years of Classical Education Workshop Schedule
Celebrating Ten Years of Classical Education Workshop Schedule
Friday, May 1, 2009
7:30 – 8:30 Registration
8:30 – 9:30 Educating Our Own Minds by Susan Wise Bauer
9:45 – 10:45 Reading Aloud and Telling Stories to Children by Jim Weiss
11:00 – 12:00 Teaching Reading From Birth On by Jessie Wise
12:30 – 1:30 A Plan for Teaching Writing, Grades K-12 by Susan Wise Bauer
1:45 - 2:45 First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise
3:00 – 4:00 A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the Middle Grades
by Susan Wise Bauer
4:15 – 5:15 Panel Discussion with Susan, Jessie and Jim
5:30 – 6:30 A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the High School Years
by Susan Bauer
7:30 – 8:30 You’re Never Too Old for a Bedtime Story by Jim Weiss
Saturday, May 2, 2009
7:30 – 8:30 Registration
8:30 – 9:30 What is Literary Analysis? When, Why, and How Should I Teach It?
by Susan Bauer
9:45 – 10:45 A Hands-On Seminar: Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise
11:00 – 12:00 A Hands-On Seminar: Basic Literary Criticism by Susan Wise Bauer
12:30 – 1:30 Stories Just For Fun by Jim Weiss
1:45 – 2:45 Teaching Students to Work Independently by Susan Wise Bauer
3:00 – 4:00 If I Could Do It Over Again by Jessie Wise
4:15 – 5:15 Home Schooling the Second Time by Susan Wise Bauer
5:15 – 6:30 Last Minute Shopping
Workshop Descriptions
Educating Our Own Minds: How to Teach Ourselves as we Teach Our Kids
Susan Wise Bauer
Educating our children involves educating ourselves. And that means gaining confidence in our own intellectual abilities—rather than relying solely on “experts.” Come discover a plan for self-education in the classical tradition, including scheduling for busy adults; setting up a reading plan that involves understanding, analyzing, and discussing literature; and mastering the skills needed for reading classic fiction and nonfiction.
Reading Aloud and Telling Stories to Children
Jim Weiss
Jim Weiss has received more than eighty major awards for his best-selling recordings. In this entertaining session, he shares clear, easy methods for those golden hours spent reading aloud or telling stories to children and adults. Topics may include: creating distinctive character voices; the structure of written and oral stories; feeling at ease speaking in front of others; the critical role stories play in teaching children how to learn; and integrating stories into learning across the curriculum.
Teaching Reading From Birth On
Jessie Wise
This workshop presents an overall plan for teaching reading to children. Jessie Wise outlines how you can help your child develop good language skills, starting at birth! She gives tips on how to make pre-reading instruction simple, effective, and fun. She also advises how to begin appropriate phonics instruction for children ages three, four, five, and older. Jessie gives suggestions on how to help remedial readers and how to encourage reluctant readers. Jessie Wise has over thirty years’ experience in reading instruction: She has taught in the classroom, at home, and tutored private students.
Download workshop handout: The Good Reader: Teaching Reading From Birth On
A Plan for Teaching Writing, Grades K-12
Susan Wise Bauer
An overall plan for producing good writers at home. This workshop explains how to guide your student through a simple progression (copying, dictation, narration, summarizing, outlining, short critical essays, long critical essays, research paper) that will develop both writing and thinking skills in a systematic, stepwise manner. Includes suggestions on how to use these writing and thinking skills in every area of the curriculum. Recommended for those teaching all K-6 students, as well as for those teaching older students who are reluctant writers.
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Jessie Wise
How do you effectively teach beginning and advanced grammar to elementary-age students? Jessie Wise provides the answers in this practical and engaging workshop. Jessie believes that we underestimate what young children are capable of learning. In Levels One and Two, she draws from familiar examples in the child’s own life to teach correct capitalization and punctuation. She uses child-friendly techniques of copying, dictation, and narration to give the student models for correct writing. She provides helpful memorization techniques for grammar concepts and poetry. In Levels 3 and 4, she provides a gradual and simplified process for learning to diagram sentences, giving the student an easy-to-see picture of sentence construction.
Download workshop handout: First Language Lessons
A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the Middle Grades
Susan Wise Bauer
Expanding on the principles presented in “A Plan for Teaching Writing,” this workshop offers very specific guidance in how to teach middle grade (logic-stage) students the skills of constructing an argument, outlining and writing from an outline. Includes training in outlining, writing from an outline, basic Socratic dialogue, and evaluation and grading. Essential for those teaching all 5-8 students; since written argumentation is the basis of high school writing, this seminar is also highly recommended for those teaching high school students. Students in grades 5-12 are encouraged to attend.
Panel Discussion with Susan, Jessie and Jim
Susan, Jessie and Jim will answer audience questions. Bring your own questions for our speakers to discuss.
A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the High School Years
Susan Wise Bauer
Expanding on the principles presented in “A Plan for Teaching Writing,” this seminar covers all of the types of writing that high school students should learn before entering the freshmen year of college: response papers, summaries, and critical essays across the curriculum. Attendance at “Focus on the Middle Grades” seminar is highly recommended. Students in grades 8-12 are encouraged to attend.
You’re Never Too Old for a Bedtime Story
Jim Weiss
Here’s the perfect way to unwind at the end a thought-provoking day. Jim Weiss will tell us specially selected stories from classic literature to take us gently and joyfully into the night.
What is Literary Analysis? When, Why, and How Should I Teach It?
Susan Wise Bauer
You know that your children should read, but what else should you be doing to teach them skills in literature? After teaching literature at the college level for over a decade, Susan has seen the results of many different methods. This seminar will guide you towards the most effective way to teach literature. Offers a foundational explanation of what literary analysis is, a list of skills that need to be covered, guidance in how to teach them, and resource recommendations.
A Hands-On Seminar: Teaching Reading
Jessie Wise
Jessie will conduct two basic reading sessions with young students, covering beginning and intermediate phonics instruction. All are welcome to observe. Parents may nominate their own young readers for the starring role (no shy children, please!); those chosen will need to be available the morning of the seminar so that Jessie can get acquainted with them.
A Hands-On Seminar: Basic Literary Criticism
Susan Wise Bauer
Susan will lead a selected group of students in discussion of a literary work and the construction of a response paper. All are welcome to observe. Students must register ahead of time and complete assigned reading before the seminar begins. Intended for students in grades 7-12.
Stories Just For Fun
Jim Weiss
During the lunch hour, Jim Weiss will spin tales from classic literature and history. Settle back and just enjoy as a master storyteller shares tales that have delighted and informed for centuries.
Teaching Students to Work Independently
Susan Wise Bauer
A plan for helping middle and high school (logic and rhetoric-stage) students move towards independent learning. Offers step-by-step guidance for parents and students as well as troubleshooting. Students in grades 7-12 are encouraged to attend.
If I Could Do It Over Again
Jessie Wise
When Jessie Wise began home schooling her three young children in the early 1970s, she didn’t know anyone else who was educating at home. She worried that social services would come knocking at the door accusing her children of truancy. The neighbors warned, “Those kids will never get into college.” The grandparents cried. Yet after thirty years’ experience in home schooling and in tutoring dozens of other children, Jessie Wise looks back with the wisdom of hindsight to reflect on her home schooling journey. She tells what she did right, as well as what she did wrong, and reflects on how she would change her home school experience if she had the chance.
Download workshop handout: If I could Do It Over Again
Home Schooling the Second Time
Susan Wise Bauer
Susan Wise Bauer was educated at home for almost all of her elementary and secondary school years, went on to college and graduate school, and now teaches at the university level and home schools her own four children. As she looks back over her own ten years of home education, she picks out those elements which were most valuable to her in her adult life, which techniques and programs she has chosen to reproduce with her own children—and which aspects of her own education were mistakes! (And despite the mistakes, she’s still doing just fine as an adult, which reassures her as she schools her own children.)
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