English Language Arts – For ELA Secondary 6 -12
Beyond the Academic Essay: Composing in the Secondary Classroom – 12/5/25
In this session, participants will explore other modes of writing they might invite into secondary ELA classrooms to develop students writers as well as assess student content knowledge. These modes of composition will include print as well as digital examples and we will discuss how teachers might blend narrative, informative, and argumentative forms. Participants will look at, evaluate, and replicate mentor texts as well as consider assessment of and feedback on student writing. Emphasis will be placed on composing as a humanizing practice.
Seminar Leader: Emily Meixner, Professor of English, Coordinator of English Secondary Education Program
Emily received her Ph.D. in Curriculum Theory & Multicultural Teacher Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coordinator of the Secondary English Education Program and regularly teaches courses on secondary reading and writing pedagogy as well as courses on children’s and young adult literature. Her research interests include secondary literacy best practices, LGBTQIA young adult literature, and teacher professional development. Dr. Meixner also works regularly in local school districts providing professional development on such topics as reading/writing workshop, reading strategies and close reading, reading in the content areas, and young adult literature.
Strengthening Student Literacies in a Time of AI 1/12/26
And the session description: As schools grapple with how to navigate and perhaps integrate both AI and AI literacy into curricula, they must also determine what non-AI reading and writing proficiencies need to be preserved and strengthened. This session will provide a framework for that thinking by responding to concerns raised when students outsource reading and writing tasks (in general and in specific disciplinary contexts) to AI. Session participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the ways in which these non-negotiable literacies are (or are not) currently embedded in school curricula and envision how they might be made more visible.
Crafting Visual Literary Analyses – 2/6/2026
How might secondary students compose literary analyses using visual forms? This session will explore visual options for middle and high school teachers looking to build student engagement and deepen students’ close reading and public speaking skills. Participants will have the opportunity to create example visual analyses of their own.
Seminar Leader: Emily Meixner, Professor of English, Coordinator of English Secondary Education Program
Emily received her Ph.D. in Curriculum Theory & Multicultural Teacher Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coordinator of the Secondary English Education Program and regularly teaches courses on secondary reading and writing pedagogy as well as courses on children’s and young adult literature. Her research interests include secondary literacy best practices, LGBTQIA young adult literature, and teacher professional development. Dr. Meixner also works regularly in local school districts providing professional development on such topics as reading/writing workshop, reading strategies and close reading, reading in the content areas, and young adult literature.
Seminar Leader: Emily Meixner, Professor of English, Coordinator of English Secondary Education Program
Emily received her Ph.D. in Curriculum Theory & Multicultural Teacher Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coordinator of the Secondary English Education Program and regularly teaches courses on secondary reading and writing pedagogy as well as courses on children’s and young adult literature. Her research interests include secondary literacy best practices, LGBTQIA young adult literature, and teacher professional development. Dr. Meixner also works regularly in local school districts providing professional development on such topics as reading/writing workshop, reading strategies and close reading, reading in the content areas, and young adult literature.
Reading and Writing Nature – 3/6/2026
This workshop will focus on building reading and writing curricula around nature topics from hiking and camping to environmental degradation and climate change. Session attendees will be introduced to essential vocabulary, possible texts (ranging from picture books to fiction and nonfiction published for teens and adults to digital texts), and muti-modal writing assignments. Connections will be drawn between the NJ Content and Climate Change Standards.
Seminar Leader: Emily Meixner, Professor of English, Coordinator of English Secondary Education Program
Emily received her Ph.D. in Curriculum Theory & Multicultural Teacher Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the coordinator of the Secondary English Education Program and regularly teaches courses on secondary reading and writing pedagogy as well as courses on children’s and young adult literature. Her research interests include secondary literacy best practices, LGBTQIA young adult literature, and teacher professional development. Dr. Meixner also works regularly in local school districts providing professional development on such topics as reading/writing workshop, reading strategies and close reading, reading in the content areas, and young adult literature.