Meet the Rigorous Common Core State Standards for WRITING: CRITICAL RESPONSE and ANALYSIS Helping Students Think and Write Critically and Analytically About What They Read (Grades 6-12) Presented by Sarah E. Robinson Outstanding Secondary Teacher, NBCT Trainer and National Presenter

Specifically designed for Grades 6-12 Classroom Teachers, English/Language Arts Teachers, Content Area Teachers, Literacy Facilitators, Literacy Coaches, Writing or Reading Specialists, Title I Staff, and Administrators

• Practical and effective ways to help your students meet and exceed the rigorous Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing in grades 6-12
• Ready-to-use materials focusing on the Common Core writing standards for grades 6-12
• Specific strategies to help students formulate written analytical and critical responses to what they read
• Easy-to-implement critical response writing strategies that work for a range of learners, all based on the CCS standards for writing in grades 6-12
• Dozens of dynamic lessons that will have your students taking ownership of their writing growth through collaboration and self-reflection
• A time-saving guide for choosing rigorous text and writing prompts for critical and analytical responses based on the CCS standards for writing
• Receive an extensive handbook filled with numerous writing samples, rubrics, reproducible materials, lessons, and strategies to motivate any classroom … All materials included are designed for the grades 6-12 classroom and meet the standards set forth by the CCS Standards for reading and writing critically and analytically

Practical Ideas and Strategies

The Common Core State Standards for writing have taken rigor to a new level for students and teachers alike. Students must be able to respond critically to what they read, providing a strong analysis and relevant evidential support. If you are looking for strategies to teach critical and analytical response in your English/language arts or content-area classes, or if you want more ideas to help students construct claims, organize their thoughts, and gather relevant textual evidence, then look no further!

Outstanding secondary teacher and national presenter, Sarah E. Robinson, will share powerful, easy-to-implement strategies to guide students through critical readings that result in critical writing responses that meet and exceed the CCS standards in writing for grades 6-12. Genre specific strategies will allow teachers to create a learning environment in which students take ownership of their critical thinking and writing from the brainstorming and planning stage to the final evaluation and presentation. Don’t miss this informative and strategy-packed seminar to help your students meet the key skill of critical response in the CCS standards for writing.

Ten Key Benefits of Attending

1. Practical Strategies to Help Your Students Meet and Exceed the Rigorous Common Core State Standards for Writing
   Specific ideas for introducing your students to the “genre” of literary critical response … Learn how you can teach the skill of critical response in both fiction and nonfiction writing in any content area … Receive a number of student samples that show the key elements of a strong critical response
2. Innovative, Practical, and User-friendly Strategies to Teach Students How to Write Organized Arguments with Relevant, Sufficient Evidence in Your English or Content-Area Class
   Specific, teacher-friendly ideas to ensure students include sufficient evidence and support in their critical response writing
3. Classroom-tested Effective Strategies That Help Your Students Develop Claims and Organize Their Thoughts
   Developing a claim is usually the most difficult part of the writing process, even when presented with a prompt … Take home a large number of exemplary prompts, as well as creative ways to break down the prompt, elicit claims from reluctant or blocked writers, and realistic methods for writing organization
4. Teacher-proven Methods for Gathering Textual Evidence and Evaluating the Evidence for Relevance
   The CCS standards require strong, relevant textual evidence in students’ writing … Learn highly effective ways to help students find, gather, evaluate, and weave their evidence seamlessly into their writing to back up their claims
5. Take Peer Conferencing to a Higher, More Effective Level
   Go beyond the typical mundane responses to peer work … Teach your students how to appropriately respond critically to their classmates’ writing … Leave with check sheets, commentating ideas, and simple, easy to implement strategies that show students how to effectively and respectfully conference with their classmates
6. Develop Powerful Student-centered Rubrics
   Learn ways to create rubrics for critical response that are student-centered and maintain the rigor demanded by the CCS standards in writing for grades 6-12
7. Specific Strategies for Writing to a Content Area
   Different content requires slightly different writing … Learn ways to write critically for your content by teaching students to become the “expert in their field” and meet or exceed the CCS standards
8. Discover How to Choose the Best Text for Critical ResponseStarting with the best text is paramount for a strong critical response … Find out what makes one text better than another when critically responding, and incorporate ways to determine if the text you chose is worthy of a critical response
   
9. Reduce Anxiety about Critical Response, the Common Core State Standards, and the Writing Process
   Learn classroom-friendly ways to reduce writing anxiety by creating a community of writers in your classroom while focusing on the CCS standards for critical response to literature
10. Move From a Teacher-centered to a Student-centered Writing Classroom
    Practical and motivating ideas for getting students more involved with their writing … Discover a variety of reading materials, texts and student writing samples to vividly illustrate the importance of the writing task, the purpose and the audience

Outstanding Strategies You Can Use Immediately

• How to choose meaningful text that will interest your students and ways to formulate a critical response to the text
• A number of brain-based reading and writing strategies developed specifically for the CCS standards in writing for grades 6-12
• Specific, positive ways to utilize students’ need for social interaction when learning how to formulate a critical and analytical written response
• Modeling and facilitation strategies that will allow students to take ownership of their reading comprehension and writing progress
• Ways to incorporate nonfiction with traditional and classic literature to meet the rigorous key CCS standards of critical response
• Examples and tools to help teachers and students create rigorous, critical, high-level questions for reading and prompts for writing to the CCS standards
• How to get your students to produce both analytical and persuasive writing that links to literature
• Using the backward design method for student exploration of what the Common Core expects for analytical and persuasive writing
• How to have students create and utilize rubrics and check sheets based on the CCS standards
• Strategies to get your students producing higher level critical responses, worthy of the new CCS standards
• Collaboration strategies to enable students to critically discuss literature as a starting point for writing
• Ideas, lessons, and strategies to take students through the writing process
• Ways to create a student centered reading and writing community in your classroom
• Peer and self-analysis strategies that will have your students not only critically analyzing the text, but also their own writings and the writings of their peers

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

The Common Core State Standards have taken education to a higher level than ever before. Under these rigorous standards, students are expected more than ever to be able to read higher level text and formulate clear, analytical and critical responses to what they read. We, as teachers, need to be prepared to help our students meet these new standards. I want to inspire you, and in turn, I want you to inspire your students to reach new heights in reading and writing. More than just a bag of tricks to take back to your classroom, this seminar will enable you to create a community of readers and writers within your classroom.

As a teacher, I know how difficult it can be to facilitate critical and analytical reading and writing with adolescent learners. However, I also know that any student, given the right tools, strategies, and support, can read and write like an expert. This seminar will help you to harness the gifts and energies of this age group and move them through the writing process while looking at their own writing through a critical and analytical lens.

Join me for a day filled with practical, classroom-proven methods for teaching students how to read critically and then formulate a critical response to what they have read. Discover new, innovative ways to get students to look at their own writing and the writing of their peers through higher-level “lenses.” In addition, I will show you how to select texts that are best used when teaching critical response and create student-driven rubrics for measuring student growth and achievement, while also serving as a model for students to follow.

If you have students that are reluctant readers and writers, or if you are reluctant to begin teaching the Common Core State Standards in writing, I urge you to attend this seminar. I have worked extensively with the Common Core standards and combined it with the latest brain and educational research to create student-centered, highly effective lessons.

Please join me for a day of ideas, strategies, and lessons, all designed to help students meet the rigorous Common Core State Standards in writing while taking some of the work off of the teacher and placing it in the capable hands of students.

It will be my honor to work with you to inspire our young people to raise their literacy skills to new heights.

Sincerely,
Sarah E. Robinson

P.S. I promise you will leave with practical strategies you can use immediately to help your students meet the Common Core State Standards of critical response for writing in grades 6-12.

Who Should Attend

Grades 6-12 Classroom Teachers, English/Language Arts Teachers, Content Area Teachers, Literacy Facilitators, Literacy Coaches, Writing or Reading Specialists, Title I Staff, and Administrators.

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Resource Handbook
Each participant will receive an extensive resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. The handbook includes:

• Strategies, tips and methods to help students meet and exceed the CCS standards in writing
• Specific ways to teach students how to formulate a critical response to what they read
• Student examples of writing you can use in your teaching
• Student-friendly rubrics that can be adapted to any content area

Meet and Share
This seminar provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to meet and share ideas with other educators interested in the Common Core Standards for writing to enhance their English/language arts programs.

Consultation Available
Sarah E. Robinson will be available at the seminar for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your program.

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