New IDEAS that WORK!

Write, share, connect, and find inspiration at the first Saturday Seminar of the year. The program features 2026-27 HVWP Teaching Fellows who will share practices that support K-12 students as writers, readers, and citizens of our world. Register now.

SEMINAR SCHEDULE: 

8:30-9:00 - REGISTRATION SIGN-IN, WELCOME & REFRESHMENTS 

9:00-10:30 - SESSION ONE WORKSHOPS:

FLY ON THE WALL: 

Writing about Moments in History

Denise Maltese, Onteora HS and Samantha Garcia, Catskill HS

With roots in historical inquiry, the Fly on the Wall essay invites students to shift from writing stories about themselves to writing about a moment in history that intrigues them. Join us to try this writing strategy that also supports students’ close reading skills. This workshop is one of four we will offer during the 2026-27 year that draws on recent research conducted by the National Writing Project. (Grades 3-12)

LEVERAGING PERSONAL EXPERIENCE in EXPOSITORY WRITING

Chris Gabryszewski, Dutchess Community College

Learners often struggle with approaching new research topics from perspectives outside of their own. This workshop explores using collaborative, expressive prewriting to generate and then connect personal and shared experiences to expository writing assignments. (7-College)

21st C RHETORIC WRITING:

The Power of Multimodal Composition

Julia Houk, Hudson Valley Writing Project Teacher Consultant

By combining visual languages like image, font, and spatial order with the written word, we deepen and extend communicative possibilities. In this workshop, we’ll engage in multimodal writing before exploring a student’s multimodal research project and unpacking the affordances and challenges of these assignments across K-16 classrooms and content areas. (K-College)

10:30-12:00 - SESSION TWO WORKSHOPS: 

DRAW IT. SAY IT. WRITE IT: 

Student Identity Webs

Erica Silbert, Pawling Elementary School

All writers, especially young writers, benefit from talking before they write. This workshop explores how drawing and oral language rehearsal can elevate student writing about their personal histories, identities. This work is central to building a classroom community in the early childhood classroom. (PK-3)

WRITING TO BUILD HISTORICAL READING, THINKING, and ANALYSIS

Guliano Franzini, Academy of Holy Names

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) give students immersive, hands-on experiences that can make the writing process more engaging and meaningful. We’ll explore how TTRPG can aid in test prep writing instruction, helping students write a text analysis response that is strong enough to defeat the enemy and win the Regents Crown. (Grades 5-12)

BUT IS IT TRUE?

Determining Credibility in the Information Age

Kira Lamarre Herbert, Hudson Valley Writing Project Teacher Consultant

What is “true” anyway? When reading news and other informational texts, before sending it on to others, citizens and learners of all ages would benefit from having strategies for determining the credibility of the source. In this workshop we will pay close attention to how a simple set of credibility filters works and examine student work from an upper elementary classroom. (3-12)

Oct. 17, 2027| 8:30 am-12:00 pm | Old Main Building, SUNY New Paltz

HVWP is a NYSED-approved sponsor of CTLE.

Certificates documenting 3 CTLE hours available upon request.

Registration fees: $25 | $5 for college students 

HVWP's 2026-27 Saturday Seminars are sponsored by the School of Education and

Campus Auxiliary Services at SUNY New Paltz.  

HUDSON VALLEY WRITING PROJECT 

newpaltz.edu/hvwp | hvwp@newpaltz.edu | 845.257.2836