Sentence Patterns – 6 hours
Each year students should progress and demonstrate an increasing sophistication in the craft of writing. Elementary students should demonstrate the ability to use linking words and phrases to connect opinions, reasons, and ideas, and to signal event order. Junior high students should use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion, clarify relationships, and convey sequence. They should use precise words and phrases, descriptive details, and sensory language to capture action and convey events. To meet these goals students must be able to write a range of sentence patterns. They must be able to create compound and complex structures that accurately reflect depth of thought and clear relationships. Prior to the workshop, participants are encouraged to purchase Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers: Building Better Sentences by P Hostmeyer.
Small Group Dialogue – 6 hours
How many times have you been part of a book discussion or a study group where few people contributed? This workshop will demonstrate methods and materials for leaders of small groups that will bring life to your meetings. Successful small group dialogue builds strong relationships and encourages everyone to share insights and observations. Be prepared to move, talk, and work with everyone in the room during this workshop.
QAR – Question Answer Relationship – 6 hours
Research shows that when QAR is taught to students and practiced in class for as little as eight weeks reading comprehension improves significantly, with average and below-average students showing the greatest improvement. Once students understand the types of questions, they can identify and use correct sources to construct complete answers. QAR empowers students as they develop reading comprehension. It becomes the basis for a common instructional vocabulary that can be used across all grades and disciplines.
Bible Telling – 6 hours
Telling a Bible story is a dynamic art; it isn’t reading aloud from Scripture or rote memorization. Come learn several methods demonstrating how to learn and tell a Bible story without memorization. By the end of the day, each participant will be telling no fewer than 3 Bible stories with fluency and accuracy. Free materials and resources will be provided to enable you to continue learning and telling stories. This is not a sit and get workshop; be prepared for active participation in small groups as you prepare your tellings.
Enhancing Presentation Skills – 3 hours
This workshop will demonstrate simple but effective methods to improve oral presentations.
Activities to Enhance Storytelling – 3 hours
Come play games, use simple props, and join activities that will enhance your storytelling skills. Easy effective methods that require little preparation but will have listeners actively participating.
Storytelling for Enrichment – 6 hours
Storytelling, the oldest form of communication, enriches language development in the classroom. Students who learn to tell stories learn patterns of language and develop rich vocabularies. Storytelling strengthens reading and writing skills as well. As students develop with characters, they develop empathy for others and vicariously experience adventures and emotions. This high-energy workshop provides teachers with ample materials to establish story telling in the classroom.
Writing Biblical Poetry – 6 hours
Step out of your comfort zone and tackle poetry writing. No need to understand a ton of literary terms; just come with a passion to delve deeper into the Word. While learning to write the poems, you will find yourself digging into the Scripture to find deep truths and insights. Writing poetry is a learning technique that will help you as you study the Word. Some of the poems will be simple formulas that encourage discussion and exploration. Other poems will be intensely challenging. Bring writing materials and a willingness to play and explore. By the close of day, you will have drafts of several poems, a plethora of ideas and skills, and some new friends.