I am looking forward to a week of fun events as we roll into December. (I’m also sharing with you some super-new west coast dates coming up in Spring, you’re the first to know!)
Thursday, December 5. Madison, WI. Madison Area Reading Council is hosting a dinner and talk at the Maple Bluff Country Club. Yummy food and an intimate setting. Dinner at 5:30 and I’ll be talking close reading starting at 6:30. Register here.
Friday, December 6. Brookfield, WI. Event Sold-Out. Heinemann One-Day workshop, Fall in Love With Close Reading from 8:30-3:30. Seats went quickly, if you weren’t able to attend in person we will be tweeting live all day long using #FILWCloseReading. Join us!
Saturday, December 7. Pewaukee, WI. Waukesha County Reading Council is holding their next meeting at the Country Springs Conference Center where I will be speaking, “Kids Want to Write!: Develop a Powerful Culture of Writing, Growth, and Community.” 8:30-11:00AM. Session is already packed, visit their facebook page for last minute info.
Monday, December 9. Amherst, NY. with special guest Kate Roberts(!!) Heinemann One-Day workshop, Fall in Love With Close Reading. Day starts at 8:30-3:30. We will be tweeting live all day long using #FILWCloseReading. Join us! A few seats are remaining, register here.
Other Events Online and Across the Country
I’m traveling the country across 2014, visit my events page to see when I will be in your area.
In January, Kate Roberts and I are leading a 3-session Heinemann webinar adapted from our book Falling in Love with Close Reading from 4:00-5:15 PM EST. Register here.
In March, I am leading a 3-session Heinemann webinar adapted from my book Energize Research Reading and Writing from 3:30-4:45 PM EST. Register here.
Psst.
As members of my blog community I’d like to share with you the first word on two newly added west coast events (the exact location hasn’t even been decided yet!), but registration is now open and seats are expected to go quickly.
Thursday, April 3. Seattle, WA area. Heinemann One-Day workshop, Fall in Love With Close Reading from 8:30-3:30 (there may just be a special guest…). Register here.
Friday, April 4. Portland, OR area. Heinemann One-Day workshop, Fall in Love With Close Reading from 8:30-3:30 (there may just be a special guest…). Register here.
Christopher Lehman 
Chris,
I have been asked what kind of activity could be done with educators to practice coming up with text dependent questions…. I asked them to read Chapter 2 of FILWCR – but thought I would check with you to see if there is a valuable activity to guide educators into not giving 10 questions for each book!!!!
I think you probably know my answer – I am not on the “text-dependent question” bandwagon, at least not as a form of teaching. I think they are forms of quizzing, and quizzing to me is just not teaching. I would much rather teachers spend time studying teaching methods and reading strategies then too much time on these. If there is a feeling that someone must, then I’d look to Depths of Knowledge (DOK) – I’ve written and spoken some about Norman Webb’s work, others have as well. I think it’s more important to go into any question writing thinking what goals you have for students then obsessing over how something is worded. It reminds me a bit about Understanding by Design’s “essential questions,” I think the intention behind them was starting with the end in mind but I see some well-meaning educators nit-picking wording in those questions for hours at which point I think it’s a lot of work for very little return. That’s my two cents at least.
Yes, we have worked with DOK last year when we began in depth work on the CCSS. Thanks for your reply. The presentation my Administrator needs to make has to include an activity for the teachers to do. We can work to tie it in with the previous work with DOK. Thanks, and have a great holiday!