Summer Institutes, July 2023: Graduate Course Descriptions
The NH Summer Literacy Institutes consist of graduate level courses offered for one week (2.0 credits) or one week plus additional remote learning (3.0 credits), as well as non-credit workshops. Scroll down to find descriptions and instructors below.
For 2023, courses will be held from Monday, July 10th through Friday, July 28th. Classes are held Monday through Friday from 8:15am-2:30pm. The offerings this year are in-person and hybrid. Please note that in addition to their in-person week, all 3 credit courses will meet twice online after the final in-person class. Dates and times are in the course descriptions. Don't miss out!
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Week of June 28-30
June 28-30, 2023
$75 off on early bird registrations by April 15, 2023! Use code EB75OFF
Join Kylene Beers, Penny Kittle, Linda Rief and Islah Tauheed as we deepen our understanding of how students forge identities as confident and capable writers and readers. The purpose of reading, writing, and teaching is to become a community where we feel less alone. Where we find joy. We will create that community in this workshop with you. We will consider what makes texts tough for students and the necessary scaffolds that empower students to engage, interrogate, and deepen their thinking. We will write together, discuss the challenges that students are facing, and gather around books and ideas to further our commitment to clear and effective teaching of all young people.
Who Should Attend
Teachers, coaches, and leaders - the UNH Literacy Institute is for you. The focus is on essential reading and writing strategies for students in grades 4–12. These strategies are critical for ELA/reading, social studies, science, and special education teachers, but all educators are welcome.
Schedule
Your three days will be filled with large and small group learning and sharing. The days begin at 8:15 and end at 2:15. During that time you’ll be writing, reading, and sharing. A critical component of the institute is the writing you will do. Come prepared to focus on your own strengths as a writer so you can return to your school ready to write with your students. And if you aren’t yet sure what your strengths are, then come prepared to discover. You’ll also spend time learning how to help your students become engaged and critical readers of texts – fiction, nonfiction, and digital.
The institute is a packed with learning that will energize you, engage you, and give you needed strategies to share with your students. New Hampshire is a beautiful place to be in the summer. Join your colleagues and the UNH Literacy Institute Team for a needed time of collaborative learning, growing, and re-imagining your teaching.
Faculty
Kylene Beers, a former middle school teacher, is the bestselling author or co-author (with Bob Probst) of numerous books including When Kids Can’t Read/What Teachers Can Do, Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading, Reading Nonfiction, Disrupting Thinking, and Forged by Reading. Kylene is an international consultant on literacy issues, a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and has served as an advisor to the National Governor’s Association Education Committee. She is a recipient of the NCTE Halle Award for Outstanding Middle Level Educator and the Exemplary Leadership Award awarded by NCTE’s Conference on English Leadership.
Islah Tauheed (Bronx, NY) is a courageous advocate for teachers. She works toward change by creating safe spaces where people can let their guard down, express their true selves, and receive honest feedback. She is currently an assistant principal in the Bronx, NY, where she enthusiastically strives to create a mutually-beneficial team that uplifts both educators and students to experience curriculum that reflects the diverse background of students in the school community. Islah is a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, a former Heinemann Fellow, and member of ASCD’s Emerging Leaders of 2021.
Penny Kittle teaches composition at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She taught in public schools for 34 years. She is the author of nine books, including Micro Mentor Texts, Book Love, and Write Beside Them, which won the James Britton award from NCTE. She co-authored both 4 Essential Studies and 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents with Kelly Gallagher and co-authored two books with Don Graves. She co-edited a collection of Graves’ work, Children Want to Write. She is the president of the Book Love Foundation and was given the Kent Williamson Exemplary Leadership Award from NCTE’s Conference on English Leadership and ILA’s Thought Leader Award. She works beside teachers and leaders across the world to empower young readers and writers.
Linda Rief left the classroom in June of 2019 after 40 years of teaching Language Arts with eighth graders. She misses their passionate, powerful voices as writers and readers.
Her latest books include Whispering in the Wind: A Guide to Deeper Reading and Writing Through Poetry (2022), The Quickwrite Handbook: 100 Mentor Texts to Jumpstart Your Students’ Thinking and Writing (2018), Read Write Teach: Choice and Challenge in the Reading-Writing Workshop (2014), The Writer’s-Reader’s Notebook (2007),and Inside the Writer's-Reader's Notebook (2007).
In 2021 she was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from NCTE and in 2020 received the Kent Williamson Exemplary Leader Award from the Conference on English Leadership, in recognition of outstanding leadership in the English Language Arts. A recipient of NCTE’s Edwin A. Hoey Award for Outstanding Middle School Educator in ELA, her classroom was featured in the series Making Meaning in Literature produced by Maryland Public Television for Annenberg/CPB. For three years she chaired the first Early Adolescence English/Language Arts Standards Committee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Week of July 5-7
Fascinating stories about the history of African Americans in New England are now at our fingertips thanks to the work of scholars, librarians, and nonprofit organizations. But how do we integrate these powerful stories into K-12 language arts classrooms? Come join us for this workshop where we tackle how best to bring these stories into our classrooms and schools.
This three-day workshop explores storytelling, literature, and social studies amid the expansion of digital archival collections to illustrate how teachers can successfully bring these narratives into their curriculum and classrooms. We ask two central questions:
- What are the stories of freedom that we ought to share?
- How can we use archival material to enrich our reading and analysis of literary texts written by writers of color?
This workshop will bring together teachers and cultural leaders who will share best practices on incorporating archival materials in teaching language arts and humanities. We'll go on a walking tour of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire and visit the historical site of novelist Harriet E. Wilson, the first African American to publish a novel in North America. Along with these field trips, we’ll share how to analyze documents, from poems to petitions with your students; and we’ll study excerpts from African American texts such as Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and view documentaries like Shadows Fall North.
Required Readings: • Lisa Ze Winters, “Fiction and Slavery’s Archive: Memory, Agency, and Finding Home,” in Reviews in American History 46.2 (June 2018): 338-344. • Shadows Fall North. Directed by Brian Vawter. Durham: University of New Hampshire’s Center for the Humanities/Atlantic Media Productions, 2016. • Susanna Hargreaves, “A Memorial to a New Hampshire Mother and Author,” in New Hampshire Magazine, https://www.nhmagazine.com/the-memorial-to-a-new-hampshire-mother-and-author/.
Scholarships are available as needed. Please email nhliteracy.institute@unh.edu if you're interested.
INSTRUCTORS: KABRIA BAUMGARTNER & JERRIANNE BOGGIS
Kabria Baumgartner is the Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies and Associate Director of Public History at Northeastern University. Her research focuses on African American history, literature, and culture in nineteenth-century New England. She is the author of the award-winning book, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America (New York University Press, 2019). She previously taught in the English department at the University of New Hampshire, where she was named the 2019 Outstanding Assistant Professor. She has published numerous scholarly articles as well as op-eds in The Washington Post and WBUR’s blog Cognoscenti.
JerriAnne Boggis is Executive Director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, an organization that preserves, celebrates, and honors African American history in the state. She is a writer, educator, and community activist who works to correct the historical record on the racial complexity and richness of New Hampshire’s diverse past. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2022 Social Innovation Leader Award in the non-profit sector by the Entrepreneurs Fund of New Hampshire, the Ona Judge Award by the Human Rights Society in 2021, and named as one of the ten most influential women of the century in New Hampshire by the Seacoast Press in 2020. Most recently, an interview with her was featured in the November 2022 issue of Yankee magazine.
Comments from former workshop participants:
“Kabria’s and JerriAnne’s workshop allows teachers to explore local sites, stories, and literature. Most interesting to me were Kabria’s students’ digital compositions/documentary videos that tell local histories using archival images and materials. They show the amazing work that’s possible.”
“The most powerful piece for me was walking in the footsteps of those before us. It was a living history moment that was incredibly powerful.”
“Kabria is pure magic! Her examples of student’s archival work was powerful! I really think the workshop’s focus on living histories and archival work provides a concrete foundation that weall need to move forward with this tenuous work.”
Week of July 10-14
ENGL 922.01, CRN 70774. 2 credits. July 10-14, 8:15am-2:30pm in person
"Less is More"
-Ludwig Mies can der Rohe
In this course we will remove all the noise and clutter clouding our minds and focus on the small, creating real space and time to process and dig in. We will read and write short texts creating a collection of ideas, exercises and mentors you can use in your classroom.
Using short texts as portals to engage our students and slow down thinking we can nurture the kind of deep engagement we are all striving for. We will explore: Tiny notebooks, Photoetry, Verse Novels, Centuries and less.
INSTRUCTOR: TOMASEN M. CAREY
Tomasen M Carey is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department at The University of New Hampshire where she serves as the Director of the UNH Writers Academy, Field Coordinator for the Learning Through Teaching Program, and as an Instructor of the New Hampshire Literacy Institutes. Her articles have appeared in the New England Reading Journal and she is the voice behind the blog, https://conversationeducation.com/
WRITING THROUGH INQUIRY IN KINDERGARTEN TO EIGHTH GRADE (A. HEALEY, I. O'KANE & W. FORBES) 3 CREDITS
ENGL 920.04, CRN 70828. 3 credits. July 10-14, 8:15am-2:30pm in person. There will be two additional classes online from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 17th, and Friday, July 21st.
“I know what my next chapter will be! `What Do Clouds Do at Night?’” - Third Grader
Our kids love to write. They make books and they see themselves as authors. How did the three of us get here? By shifting our thinking through questioning the status quo, honoring students’ unique writing identities, and bookmaking. Inspired by the work of Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland, we empower students to take it to the next level through inquiry. We ask ourselves tough questions which inspire us to create experiences that cultivate joy and meet our writers where they are. We work every day to notice the strengths of our young writers and guide them to new heights by stepping outside of genre-specific instruction, listening to our “gut churns” (Abumrad, 2017), and reflecting on our practices to define and redefine our teaching moves.
Join us as we take a deep dive into writing through an inquiry lens. Together, we will:
- Make books
- Remix stories as graphic novels
- Share jumping-in points to bring writing inquiries to your classroom
- Dive into conferring and assessment strategies
- Publish pieces on a digital creator
- Host a writing celebration
“As you study the work your students do, think about the questions you might ask that will help believe them into being the writers you want them to be.” - Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland
INSTRUCTORS: ASHLEY HEALEY, ISABELLE O’KANE, & WHITNEY FORBES
Ashley Healey is a National Board-Certified Teacher out of Stratham, NH. An avid reader and writer, Ashley strives to build strong literacy identities in her students. She believes in student empowerment, finding joy, and being true to oneself. As a strong supporter of ecowellness, Ashley is always looking for ways to infuse nature into her teaching. For the past nine years, she has engaged in continual professional growth through the Learning Through Teaching program and the Summer Literacy Institutes of the University of New Hampshire. While she spends her school year with our youngest learners, Ashley has enjoyed writing alongside the 5th-8th grader writers at the UNH Writers Academy for the past ten summers.
Based in Stratham, NH, Isabelle O'Kane is an educator invested in inquiry-based, student-driven, equitable, and joyful learning. She has spent the past seven years reading and writing beside budding literary minds, during which time she has grown as a reader and writer herself. Isabelle loves bookmaking with her students and celebrating the successes of our youngest authors!
Whitney Forbes is a first-grade teacher in Stratham, NH. Over the past thirteen years, she has taught diverse learners at the elementary level with an emphasis on literacy, advocacy, equity, and joy. Through inquiry and play, Whitney helps to develop her students' literary identities. Engaging in writing and reflection within and outside of the classroom have been powerful tools for Whitney's personal and professional development. She is excited to teach and learn and the Summer Literacy Institute alongside other passionate educators, readers, and writers.
Week of July 17-21
ENGL 920.01, CRN 70775. 2 credits. July 17-21, 8:15am-2:30pm in person.
Whether we are new to teaching or a veteran, we often find ourselves in the classroom asking: how do I get my students engaged in reading and writing with all these other educational demands? Often, we encounter roadblocks that make the pathway forward difficult to navigate. Perhaps it's a struggle with classroom management, a lack of support or resources in your district. As teachers of English, we enter our classrooms hoping to make a difference in the lives of our students as readers and writers; this is a class for teachers to find (or re-find) their footing, renew their spirits, provide pragmatic ideas, share, and gain a network to aid in the difficult moments of our classrooms.
This is a personalized course designed by teachers to support teachers who feel they could use one of the most important, and often missing factors, in teaching - collaboration. The kind of collaboration that:
- engages educators in an open dialogue
- opens doors to gather and generate ideas
- tackles curriculum shifts
- problem solves
- refines the craft of teaching
- builds crucial relationships
- celebrates our successes
The goal of the coursework you complete will be focused on serving your specific classroom demands. Additionally, this network is designed as a support system, something you can lean on through the school year and beyond.
INSTRUCTORS: DENNIS MAGLIOZZI & KRISTINA PETERSON
Dr. Dennis Magliozzi has been teaching English Language Arts in public schools for over fourteen years. He has an MFA in poetry and a PhD in Education from UNH, where his work focused on adolescent literacy, poetry, and school programming. Together with Kristina, they’ve supervised teaching interns at UNH since 2017, and they co-teach in UNH’s Writers Academy. They are also co-founders of Bookshelf Diversity, a state-wide grant project designed to bring books from diverse authors and content into the hands of NH students. Dennis and Kristina are also Ambassadors for NH’s Racial Unity Team’s Art in Action project.
Kristina Peterson has been teaching English Language Arts in public schools for over fourteen years. She has a Master’s in Teaching from George Fox University and mentored new teachers for over a decade. Together with Dennis, they’ve supervised teaching interns at UNH since 2017 and co-teach in UNH’s Writers Academy. They are also co-founders of Bookshelf Diversity, a state-wide grant project designed to bring books from diverse authors and content into the hands of NH students. Dennis and Kristina are also Ambassadors for NH’s Racial Unity Team’s Art in Action project.
EDUC 920.02, CRN 70776. 2 credits. July 17-21, 8:15am-2:30pm in person.
What is the difference between a comic and a graphic novel? How can we effectively teach students to read and write comics and graphic novels, and what are the benefits of doing so? (Is reading graphic novels even “real” reading??) After a week of exploration, discussion, and play, participants of this course will feel confident articulating some of the common elements found in graphic-heavy texts, advocating for their use across classroom spaces, and engaging students in both reading and writing these popular–yet often undervalued–forms. This course is appropriate for teachers of upper elementary, middle, and high school students.
INSTRUCTOR: SHAWNA COPOLLA
Shawna Coppola has been a public school educator for over two decades. Certified as a literacy specialist as well as a K-8 educator in the state of New Hampshire, Shawna is a sought-after speaker and consultant to a variety of schools and organizations across the United States. She has written two books about teaching student writers in grades K-8; her third book, Literacy for All: A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching, is due out this summer from W.W. Norton & Company.
Week of July 24-28
ENGL 920.03, CRN 70810. 2 credits. July 24-28, 8:15am-2:30pm in person.
As English teachers, we regularly invite vulnerability into our classrooms. Through the practice of writing and literacy discussions, students get opportunities to process their thinking, wrestle with tough topics, and practice important social and emotional learning skills. But how often do we intentionally create this space for students? And when we do, how can we maximize the impact and make sure it’s a regular part of our practice and not just the nature of our content? In this course, we will think critically about the ways mental health, positive psychology, and social emotional learning intersect with literacy practices.
Participants will:
- Engage in reflection that helps re-center the “why” of education, a revisit of teaching philosophy
- Learn about positive psychology and its potential impact on our daily lives in and out of the classroom
- Use reading, writing, and conversation to practice emotional management and healthy coping strategies
- Sift through some of the SEL resources available for educators, focusing on the ones that are most practical for their classrooms
- Build a personal toolkit of activities and strategies to help students understand the science of mental health and positive psychology and how that can impact their day to day lives
INSTRUCTORS: ANGELA GOMEZ & MEGAN MARLING
Angela Gomez is a middle school English teacher, but her life in education began way before that. Straight out of high school she joined the DOE as a paraprofessional working in 12:1:1 classrooms supporting students with educational disabilities. From there she became a substitute teacher working in various communities in Brooklyn and Manhattan. She is currently working at the America’s School of Heroes in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. She’s taught in various classroom settings including Integrated Co-Teaching, English as a New Language, and Advanced Regents Program classes. Being part of a diverse community of educators and students, Angela is passionate about cultivating a culturally responsive curriculum where students can see themselves in the texts they study. Having a passion for creative writing herself, she is also an advocate for using writing as a tool for social and emotional expression. Angela completed her MST through UNH during the summer of 2020.
Megan Marling works with high school students in a public school outside of Columbus, Ohio, where she teaches a range of secondary English courses, including college composition and journalism. She also has experience in teaching middle school students near Providence, Rhode Island, where she taught after her finishing undergrad at Miami University. While earning her MST at the University of New Hampshire, she specialized in writing and social emotional learning.
ENGL 922.02, CRN 70777. 3 credits. July 24-28, 8:15am-2:30pm in person. There will be additional classes online on Monday, July 31st and Monday, August 7th from 8:00-10:00am.
Do you find that evaluating students’ writing according to rubrics and other standardized measures obscures important strengths and potential for growth? Are you concerned that automated writing assessment tools and the invention of AI technology that can compose original prose may sap students’ motivation to write or prevent them from developing unique writing voices? In this course, we will confront these questions together as we explore classroom assessment practices that cultivate the human in the writer through all stages of the writing process, and help students develop confidence and belief in themselves as writers. We will collaboratively critique, discuss, and appreciate novel and time-honored approaches to assessing and responding to student writing, sourced from journal articles, blogs, and other venues. We will try these methods out on drafts of our own writing, and reflect on their potential for use in our classrooms. Finally, through engaging with these activities we will develop a collective definition of what it means to teach and assess writing in a humanizing way. Participants can expect an opportunity to develop their own writing – in any genre of their choice –and to acquire new tools for assessing student writing in their own classrooms.
INSTRUCTOR: SARAH BECK
Sarah Beck has been a teacher of writing, literature and education for over 20 years. After teaching high school English for several years near Cleveland, Ohio, she transitioned to a career in teacher education, working with preservice and in-service teachers in urban and suburban settings to develop their practice of teaching literature and writing. In collaboration with colleagues and students, she has authored numerous articles on the teaching and assessing of writing. She is also the author of A think-aloud approach to writing assessment: Analyzing process and product with adolescent writers (Teachers College Press). Holding an M.F.A. in writing from Washington University, and undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Harvard, she is currently an Associate Professor of English Education at New York University.