The Bay Area Writing Project is excited to provide high quality professional development opportunities at an affordable price for teachers throughout the Bay Area, led by practicing teachers who share techniques and strategies that work in their classrooms. This workshop series is perfect for teachers, administrators, coaches, coordinators, student teachers or anyone interested in the teaching of writing.
Upcoming Sessions
Registration now open for our 2024/2025 season!
Schedule:
Opening Remarks: 9:30 am
Session 1: 9:45 am - 11:00 am
Break: 11:00 am - 11:10 am
Session 2: 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Registration:
- $25.00 Register for Workshop #2: Writing for Social Justice
- $80.00 Register for the Weekend Workshop Series (4 sessions)
Discounts:
-- Groups of 3 or more get a 20% discount (must register at the same time and the discount automatically deducted during check out)
Saturday, September 28, 2024: Workshop #1: Harnessing AI as an Instructional Tool
Virtual Event (This event has concluded. See upcoming workshops below.)
With the continuing expansion of AI tools (even Google is adding an AI component), teachers must grapple with the reality that AI is here to stay, and that students will use it. This workshop will provide creative ideas and strategies for utilizing AI as an instructional tool for writing, critical thinking, and feedback. When used intentionally and thoughtfully, it is possible that AI can provide useful scaffolds for students, and not become merely a substitute for original thought.
Saturday, October 26, 2024: Workshop #2: Writing for Social Justice
In-Person Event
Writing is an avenue to exploration of both self and society, opening doors to conversations about social justice. Whether engaging writers in introspection or civic action, writing has the power to transform. These workshops showcase a variety of genres and approaches to writing designed to promote self-reflection and help students consider how to address real-world problems and issues in meaningful, creative, innovative ways. Participants will walk away with strategies and ideas for their classrooms.
Session 1
9:45-11:00
Storytelling as an Act of Witnessing
This workshop will explore the relationship between story and social justice through a Poetry of Witness lens. We will engage with anchor texts and writing exercises to use with students in a variety of contexts.
Lisa Ludden Perry is the author of the poetry chapbook, Palebound, (Flutter Press, 2017), and winner of the 2024 Michael Rubin Work-in-Progress award for her manuscript In the Body it Nests. She lives in the Bay Area with her family and teaches high school English. A proud BAWP alumna, she is grateful for the 2024 ISI community who reminded her why she loves to be in the classroom in the first place.
Session 1
9:45-11:00
Poetry For Change
This workshop will demonstrate how poetic devices and tools can be utilized in the classroom to impact change and culture. Participants will engage with various poetic structures and styles as they tell their own stories of empowerment and social justice. This lesson motivates students to leverage their voice and ideas to advocate for changes and shifts within their communities.
Kayatta Patton is a poet, songwriter, and educator from the Bay Area. She is currently a Puente ELA Instructor at Longfellow Middle School In Berkeley and occasionally you can find her on various stages telling stories about the black queer experience in America through a hip hop lens.
Session 2
11:15-12:30
Writing for Transformation: An Inside-out Approach to Social Change
How might connecting with ourselves and our communities, recognizing gaps in representation, and writing into our experiences lead to social change? In this mixed genre writing workshop, teacher-writers will engage in transformative exercises and practices that may transmute pain, illuminate forgotten histories, and build inclusive visions. We will also discuss how content may be adapted for youth of all ages.
Poet, educator, and healing arts practitioner Shilpa Kamat’s writing ranges from ecopoetics to speculative/experimental. Her chapbook, Saraswati Takes Back the Alphabet, was a finalist for the Gloria Anzaldúa Poetry Prize, and her MG novel in verse will be published in the next year or two. She is a member of ISI’s Golden Cohort.
Session 2
11:15-12:30
The Shape of Water, Interdisciplinary Creative Writing
Grounded in the roots of Creative Writing & Social Action this workshop is an invitation to experiment and explore. From ekphrastic, blackout, and found poetry to social action stage plays, poetry albums, and films. Writers will have the opportunity to reflect on the different artistic mediums to speak truth to power.
Alie Jones is a self-care advocate, writer, artist, and Creole mermaid. She is a founder of Bodacious Bombshells, a wellness collective in Oakland. Alie is passionate about centering our breath work as sacred and hopes to build a legacy of awareness and expression. She is the Director and Co-founder of Black Freighter Press, a revolutionary press committed to the exploration of liberation.Alie graduated with a BA in Cinematic Arts & Technology from CSU Monterey Bay & a minor in Creative Writing & Social Action. She received her MPA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies as well as a MFA from Mills College in Creative Writing. Alie is the host of the podcast called Chit Chat with Aliecat, exploring self-care practices & journeys of self-love.