Literacy specialist joins local teachers at workshop

16 years ago

By Ben Austin
Staff Writer

    Teachers and staff from schools all around the area got together last week for a workshop to re-polish their skills in teaching literacy before their students come back from their summer vacation.
ImagePioneer Times photograph/ Ben Austin
PRESENTING — National literacy specialist Debbie Diller spoke to teachers from all around Aroostook County Friday at a workshop. Diller has now written six books on the topic of literacy work stations.
    Debbie Diller, a literacy specialist from Houston, Texas, spoke at the Houlton Wesleyan Church on Friday, August 22, in front of roughly 100 staff members from five schools.
    “I think she was very well received. The people that I spoke to were thrilled of her presentations, said she had a lot of common sense ideas, some very practical things they hadn’t thought of. The nice thing about Debbie Diller is that she is a national presenter, so in her travels she picks up ideas from other educators, so we get the benefit, not of just her and her own personal experience, but things that she has picked up from other educators,” explained Houlton Elementary School Principal Candace Crane.
    Houlton's pre-kindergarten to third grade teachers and support staff were joined by staff from Mapleton, Caribou, Millinocket, Katahdin and Fort Fairfield at this .
    "I think that is very important, especially with the fact that we are talking about regionalization and schools pulling together and pooling resources. Certainly having someone with her level of expertise come to our area … was really quite remarkable. So when you have something like that, that kind of opportunity being offered, as a colleague you need to offer it to everybody that would want to come,” said Crane.
    The topic of the end of summer workshop focused on literacy work stations. Diller commonly speaks throughout the nation on the topic of literacy work stations.
    "A literacy work station is an area within the classroom where students do work alone or interact with one another, using instructional materials to explore and expand their literacy. It is a place where a variety of activities reinforce, and/or extend learning, often without assistance of the classroom teacher," explained Diller in a hand-out.
    Diller has previously written five books on the topic, and recently finished a sixth book, Spaces & Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy, which brought with her to show local teachers on Friday.
    Diller was asked to come speak by Crane last year when came to her knowledge that she would be in Maine. The workshop was funded by the Reading First grant, which in the past has paid for teacher training, reading curriculum, and support materials at Houlton Elementary School.
    "I appreciate the fact that we have that Reading First grant. It has brought us many opportunities and many things we would not have had otherwise. The staff has worked very hard. Those extra benefits that we got from having Reading First grant certainly did not come without a cost. Certainly the staff has put a lot of personal time and hours in,” Crane explained.