Kari-Lynn Winters, a professor at Brock University,  provides Drama/Literature workshops for various groups of participants (elementary and secondary school students, pre-teachers, librarians, and so forth).  These workshops demonstrate drama and play writing strategies that can be used alongside literature, especially picture books and YA novels. The specific vision for these workshops (e.g., the themes that can be addressed, the amount of time needed, the culminating project, and so on) can be customized and negotiated prior to Kari-Lynn’s visit.

2007 Norma Fleck Award Winner gives Professional Development Workshops on the subjects of tackling the topic of death with kids or Global Warming.

I offer a PD workshop called Dumb it Up! Turning Science into Story. The workshop is on integrating observation, exploration and discovery into writing and integrating writing and story telling into the teaching and learning of science.

I offer a number of professional development workshops for adults that include the following:
- writing fiction
- writing memoir
- responding to student writing (offering descriptive feedback)
- helping adolescents read poetry for understanding
- point of view as a writing tool
- cooperative learning strategies in the classroom

I require three weeks’ notice in order to prepare PD workshops. 
Maximum participants for PD workshop: 35

Marketplace Writing Strategies for the Classroom and Home In this session, we go behind-the-scenes of the book publishing industry to explore writing and publishing for the marketplace, focussing in particular on the collaborative relationship between editor and author which in many ways is similar to that of teacher/ parent and student writer. The session offers practical suggestions on how educators and parents can apply approaches adapted from the publishing world to enhance the writing of the youngsters in their charge.  

Get the most out of your literature units when you apply some of the teaching techniques presented in this workshop. Drawing on her knowledge as a writer of literacy materials for English Language Learners, Ms. Becker presents a variety of ways to use poetry to build vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, grammar and imagination. Participants will enjoy a variety of humorous poems, used as examples to illustrate rhyme, rhythm, synonyms, homonyms, context clues, and more. Takeaways include black line masters and a copy of Mama Likes to Mambo, a collection of poetry used in this 50 minute workshop.

I offer Professional Development Workshops.  I am interested in literacy – particularly boys’ literacy.  I have given key-note addresses across Canada, and led many workshops on the power of The Story. 

(Gr1- 4) Rachna Gilmore, discusses and explores some of the innovative and unexpected ways in which some of her books for younger readers (Ellen's Terrible TV Troubles, Wild Rilla, A Screaming Kind of Day, and Grandpa's Clock) may be used in the classroom to enhance learning. Specific classroom activities will be suggested. Some of the themes covered include media literacy to encourage children to become more aware of the influences of media in their lives; the power of the imagination; abilities and disabilities; family dynamics and inter-generational relationships.

From the old-fashioned Letter to the Editor to the modern-day blog, there are myriad ways for students to make their voices heard about the issues that matter to them most.

Young people have a “leverage” today that they have never had before in history—just ask the marketers who are angling for their attention, or the retailers who are competing for their dollar. They can use this leverage, if they want, to boost sales for La Senza Girl or iPod. But they have other choices. As an educator, be prepared to say, “It’s SuperHero time—will you use your powers for good or evil?” Hear author and animal activist Diane Haynes talk about the writer as SuperHero, writing as a tool for change.

- Self-editing techniques that students have fun doing
- Building characters from the inside out
- How to create a great villain
- Techniques for plunging a story into action

In this workshop for educators, I reveal a new way to teach creative writing. I use slides of children’s drawings from a research project I conducted with over 5oo children. I show the remarkable results this method generates.  I demonstrate, step-by-step, how to use this strategy in the classroom.  Creating stories was never easier or more fun!

Who says writing an essay isn’t fun? In this squirting flower of a workshop, you will learn how to teach students the art of essay writing through humour. Essays are structured exactly like jokes, comic strips or comedian’s monologues, so we use examples of each to teach the fine art of explication. You’ll begin the workshop by learning how to write your own stand up comedy routine or to create a slapstick clown act. Then we’ll use the same principles to illustrate the steps of creating an effective essay that includes an introduction, body paragraphs with a topic sentence and three examples, and a wrap it up conclusion. Leave with your own copy of Funny Business, from which some of these activities are drawn.

Marsha didn't learn to read until she was nine years old. She talks about how levelled readers inoculated her against literacy and how she was able to teach herself how to read with big fat novels after she failed grade four.
Marsha shares the story of how she became a passionate reader and how each child is only one book away from that passion. She shares how she became a writer and why she is passionate about revealing in her books the flakes of history that have been shoved under the carpet.

Valerie Sherrard talks about tips, tricks and strategies for getting those reluctant readers turning pages.  Her interactive and entertaining workshop offers a fresh look at this challenging issue faced by teachers and librarians everywhere.

Veteran blogger and first-time YA author, James Bow talks about how to set up a weblog or "blog". Blogs are a great way to get students passionate about journaling and are also an inexpensive way for educators and interest groups to create newsletters, notice boards andopinion pieces on the internet.
Rachna Gilmore offers an introduction to some of her books along with specific suggestions on classroom use, including general themes and curriculum connections, as well as innovative and creative classroom activities. Teachers' Guides are handed out.

Graphic novel author Liam O'Donnell takes educators into the world of kid-friendly comics created specifically for reluctant readers. Drawing on recent literacy findings, Liam demonstrates how graphic novels contain the five key literacy elements that engage reluctant readers and offers techniques to springboard readers from comics to books. This one hour presentation will reveal the literacy value of this exciting format, dispel many of the myths about graphic novels and empower educators to use comics to book-hook even the most reluctant reader.

Silver Birch Award Winner Helaine Becker’s first career was as President of an educational company supplying the school market with quality teaching materials, primarily in math, science and language arts. She has written dozens of professional books for teachers including Collaborative Teaching in the Middle Grades: Inquiry Science; Spelling Puzzlers for Grade 1, Decoding Math Word Problems and Flip over Math. She has presented numerous professional workshops to teachers on subjects such as Math Materials and Methods (at the NCTM conference), and Hands On Science (for the Toronto Board of Education). Ms. Becker can tailor a professional workshop to meet the needs of teachers at your board or school.

Celia Godkin gives teacher workshops on how to use her books to teach ecology to the junior grades. The workshop includes teacher information guides to three books that they can take away with them. She can do one or two hour sessions.

Frieda explores the many ways we can model and motivate children to write stories in their own "voice" by tapping into their experiences and feelings. She will share examples from her own writing. Bring paper and pens to this interactive workshop.

(Grades 4-8) Rachna Gilmore offers teachers an inside glimpse into the background and creation of her critically acclaimed children's novels, Mina's Spring of Colors, and A Group Of One, both of which feature Canadian children of Indian heritage. She suggests creative and original ways of using these books in the classroom to demonstrate how particular cultural experiences may be woven into the larger cultural tapestries of society and made relevant in the broadest context.

Here's a sampling:

- How to maintain and teach others a smoother paint brush line even if you are the shakiest hand east of the Pecos.
- How you can create an almost perfect circle using either the time honoured "wrist-arc" method or the ancient "stick-line" technique.
- A hands-on project that combines visual design with literacy and motor control training.
- The basics of Jungian Dream Psychology in one single fascinating drawing assignment.

Historical novelist Marsha Skrypuch talks about the real people and the history behind her Armenian genocide novels, Aram's Choice, Nobody's Child and The Hunger. Readings from her upcoming novels, Call Me Aram, and Daughter of War.