Missy Lloyd and Davia Madariaga, Greenville ISD Curriculum Coordinators, were chosen to be presenters at the Bill Martin Jr. Symposium. The Symposium will be held at Texas A&M-Commerce on May 4th.

The Bill Martin Jr. Symposium is a day for students and teachers to network, collaborate and share literary experiences. Jim Aylesworth, author of over thirty children’s books, will be the Keynote Speaker.  The Symposium will also feature presentations by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy, co-authors of children’s books and books for teachers. 

Symposium participants will have the opportunity to learn different literacy instructional strategies during break-out sessions. Missy and Davia’s session is entitled, “Engaging the Brain through Active Journaling,” and will focus on utilizing a journal with Gifted and Talented students as an outlet for creativity and expression.

The GISD Curriculum Coordinators say of their presentation, “Gifted and Talented (GT) students tend to be very inquisitive and sometimes hard to engage. Utilizing active journaling can help teachers engage the GT student while teaching them skills they will use long after they graduate from high school. Through active journaling, students use both their visual and linguistic intelligences, help teach note taking and organization, and can become a portfolio for individual learning.”