About this Event:

This hands-on workshop helps teachers in grades 4-8 move students beyond “the moral of the story” toward writing essays that show deeper empathy and insight. Presenters will use texts representative of current Language Arts curriculum materials to ensure immediate classroom relevance.

Using genre pedagogy, the Teaching and Learning Cycle, and deconstruction of mentor texts, participants will explore explicit strategies for teaching the structure and language of a Theme Interpretation Essay. Through modeling and collaborative practice, teachers will learn how to scaffold from everyday talk to academic writing. Participants will leave with ready-to-use classroom strategies that build empathy, strengthen text evidence, and support authentic student voice in theme-based writing.

We also will meet one hour virtually as a group to collaboratively share progress, ideas and address questions on February 11th from 3:30-4:30pm. 

Schedule:

• December 15, 2025: 9:00 am - 2:30 pm CT (in-person)

• February 11, 2026: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm CT (virtual)

Location: In-Person at CESA 2

Price: $275, lunch included

Content Questions: Ruslana Westerlund (ruslana.westerlund@cesa2.org)

Registration Questions: (events@cesa2.org)