Teacher PD - Practical, Fast PacedTraining

The Seven Steps to Writing Success Teacher Training

If we are passionate about active, interactive and creative classrooms, then our teacher workshops have to be exactly that too. And they are!

• Outstanding. So many more ideas. It has all been so concrete and so very usable... Vital and invigorating presentation.
• One of the best P&D's I've ever been to. Will remain with me.
• The actual hints to use in the classroom were invaluable. A fabulous session full of inspirational ideas.

Our workshops give you real 'learning by doing' - with lots of talking, trying out practical classroom activities and of course handouts. You also get a huge range of interactive AND effective activities you can take back to the classroom tomorrow.

See our Clients and testimonials

1. Seven Steps to Writing Success (Full Day training)

The Seven Steps program is so practical and easy to learn, teachers can do it in ten minutes a day. Show your students:

• How to write five terrific story starts in five minutes
• Top author 'cheats' to make dialogue sound terrific
• A 'story graph' guide to solve all those planning problems
• Ways to use body language to 'show, not tell' (including great flirting gestures!)
• A ten minute exercise guaranteed to create edge-of-the-seat tension scenes
• A fantastic way to get rid of 'all the boring bits...'
• How to brainstorm a hundred story ideas in ten minutes!

Then put it all together and learn how to scaffold students to write a story, step-by-step.

The grand finale is the action packed AIM Game – where teachers brainstorm over 50 ideas for stories in less than ten minutes. A fantastic way to train students for the national benchmark (AIM) tests in Grade 3, 5, 7, and 9.

"It was fabulous and simply inspirational. It will change the face of writing!"

This workshop is rated as 'outstanding' by over 93% of participants.

2. Top Three Steps to Writing Success (2.5 hr workshop)

Based on Steps 1-3 of the Seven Steps this is a great introduction to the program. OR book a short PD workshop in the afternoon and follow it with student modelling for 1-3 days afterwards to reinforce the strategies where it counts – in the classroom.

Discover how students can:

• Plan for Success – discover the 'story graph' and brainstorm a hundred story ideas
• Create Sizzling Starts - and write five fabulous starts in five minutes
• Team up for Tension scenes - and add real excitement to their writing.

"The best PD I've been to in years!"

3. Final Four Steps to Writing Success (2.5 hr workshop)

Chunking teacher training into shorter workshops means greater retention of ideas. So by popular demand, we now bring you Steps 4-7 in a separate session. Like our other workshops this is often used in conjunction with student modelling. The Final Four shows you:

• Dialogue - learn the four levels of conversation and which one is the most dynamic
• Show, Don't Tell - actions (and great body language) make writing totally convincing
• Ban the boring - you'll never have to read what kids ate on the bus again
• Endings - discover how to replace 'and then I woke up' with powerful endings

"Fantastic activities. I can use these in my classroom tomorrow!"

4. Editing for Excellence (2 hr workshop)

Get a terrific Seven Steps marking guideline that makes editing quick and easy. Discover how to edit student's work (not just fix the spelling) by telling them three good points about the work - then ONE way it could be improved. Be inspired by rough drafts of author's manuscripts. Roll up your sleeves to edit handouts and see if you can create great 'before and after' examples of student writing.

There's even a fascinating exercise with a paperclip which shows how the creative mind works - and how you can maximize creativity in your classroom.

"Practical. Invigorating. And fun!"

5. One (or two) Steps at a Time (7 days, one per step)

For an easy and effective implementation of the program, get step by step training one day at a time. Pick the Steps you need (e.g. Planning, Story Starts, Dialogue, etc) and get a one hour teacher PD in the morning, followed by 3 sessions of classroom modelling.

The power of this program is that teachers learn in short 'chunks' and immediately head to the classroom for implementation. The proof is in the strong improvement in kids' writing in just one lesson.

NOTE: The program can also be implemented TWO STEPS at a time (i.e. two hours PD before or after school and two modelling sessions in classrooms.)

"The most important thing was the simplicity it gives to the writing process.... Inspiring, practical and useable."

6. Parent Workshop - Top Three Steps to Writing Success

Don't relegate parents to be just spelling and grammar checkers. Bring your parents into the learning triangle and help them assist their own kids with writing too. A Top Three Steps evening workshop is now available. Fun, interactive and empowering (as usual), Parent Associations or community groups often use these workshops as fund raisers.

7. Give us Your Grade 4's (Or any other grade you want!)

Want to improve your AIM scores, significantly increase writing skills AND get kids excited about writing? Get the Seven Steps going in just Grade 4 - then see the ideas spread from there. We meet with your school to provide a clear structure to teach the Seven Steps system.

Then we work side by side with teachers, sharing writing skills, mentoring, discussing strategies for specific concerns and of course working together with classroom modelling. Consistency (and frequent practice) is the best way to drive enduring and effective change.

Over a term you'd get regular:

• Seven Steps teacher training. (One hour morning segments, or short after school workshops)
• Classroom modelling (e.g. Planning, Story Starts, Tension, Dialogue, Show, don't Tell, Endings)
• After school workshops for parents to include them into the learning loop
• Inspiring keynotes to students

PLUS you get a huge range of handouts, quick tip sheets, student workbooks and the fully photocopiable Teacher Manual.

(NOTE: Grade 4's are our target group, but the program can be adapted to your specific grade.)

"You have inspired and invigorated our teachers. Thank you!"

8. Success for Boys

Boys stand when they talk, learn visually (preferably through TV!) and love to be active and interactive. The Seven Steps program is exactly that and more for boys.

Success for Boys incorporates best teaching practice coupled with top writing techniques from authors. We meet with your school to create a Seven Steps program specifically designed for your needs. Our aim is to work side by side with teachers and in the classroom with your kids.

Some of the resources you can choose from include:

• Active, fun and effective teacher training. (1 hour, 2 hours, full day)
• Steps modelled in front of your own classes
• Feedback (editing) on students' writing (and how to stretch their skills)
• NEW: Video footage of a sample Seven Steps class (e.g. Show, Don't Tell, Exciting Endings or Dynamic Dialogue)
• Mentoring for your graduate teachers

Bring your boys on board! Talk with us to devise a program specifically for you.