Paul Kropp - keynote speeches and professional talks

Paul Kropp brings a unique perspective to his presentations by drawing upon his expertise as a writer and his twenty years of experience as a teacher. In these professional talks, he mixes humor with solid information for teachers and parents. Mr. Kropp is comfortable with large audiences (up to 1000) but prefers groups of 50 to 80 for teacher professional development.

Most popular topics

Bombs, Barf and Bloodshed: The Boy Problem in Literacy
For teachers of grades 3-8 or 9-12; parents. Boys aren't reading or writing as well as girls anywhere in the world. In this mostly entertaining presentation, Paul Kropp does a quick survey of the statistics and the larger factors that lie behind the problem. Then he presents ten ideas of what teachers can do in their schools and classrooms to even-up the gender disparity. As delivered in San Francisco, Indiana, Quebec City, Montreal, London, Mexico City, Vancouver and Toronto

New: Dealing with Gender Differences: What Teachers Should Know Now
For teachers of grades 4 - 12. Girls do better in school; boys do better in business. Both boys and girls have much to learn from each other to live full and successful lives, both in school and afterwards, and teachers can deal with gender issues through understanding differences and working of bridge the gender gap. Topics include: competitiveness, attention span, confidence,aggressiveness, empathy and the imposter syndrome.

Helping Struggling Readers
For teachers of grades 4-10. Mr. Kropp has 30 years of experience both teaching and writing for struggling and reluctant readers. In this presentation, he elaborates on the two most important aspects for reaching these students – selecting the right books and following-up with engaging activities. There is humor, audience involvement and a great deal of professional information on topics ranging from readability and book design to graphic organizers and drama activities. As delivered in New Orleans, Niagara Falls, Virginia, Edmonton, and at Reading for the Love of It in Toronto

What to Do If They Can't Read the Textbook
For teachers of grades 4-6 or grade 7 to 12. This presentation shows teachers of various content-area subjects – history, science, math and all other curriculum areas - what they should know about reading to help their students tackle difficult texts in their subject areas. The session covers readability, pre-teaching, book evaluation, vocabulary and concept development - all with hands-on participation. As delivered in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Virginia and Ontario.

Three R's and SMART: Reading Solutions for Parents and Teachers
For parents and community groups. This presentation offers the key ideas of How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life / The Reading Solution in an entertaining, hour-long format followed by a 20-minute question and answer period. The talk briefly summarizes the current problems with children's reading, focusing on the grade 4 and grade 9 reading slumps, and emphasizing the importance of the nightly readaloud. As delivered in Louisiana, Florida, Connecticut, New York, Florida, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and many other locales.

All of the topics above can be delivered as keynote, half-day or full day presentations. Handouts are either 2 pages, 8 pages or a 50 page booklet depending upon presentation length.

Full-day Workshops

Mr. Kropp offers full-day workshops on “The Boy Problem,” “Reaching Reluctant Readers” and “The Six Traits of Writing.” He does many of these presentations with his wife, Lori Jamison, and for HIP Seminars. The HIP Seminar site has more detailed information on these topics.

Other presentations and workshops for teachers

The Write Genre based on the book The Write Genre: Activities and mini-lessons to teach your Grade 3-9 student to write with clarity, style and flashes of brilliance, written by Paul Kropp and his wife Lori Jamison. The talk, like the book, offers ideas and mini-lessons to help students write personal narrative and persuasive pieces. Interactive, half-day presentation, audience up to 50 teachers. Suitable for teachers of grades 3-8 or for high school audiences (material varies by grade level).

Beyond Round Robin Reading: Ten alternatives to promote oral reading fluency. Teachers of grade 2 and up. Most language arts teachers realize that round robin reading is ineffective and sometimes very detrimental to students. This half-day workshop goes through many alternatives that promote oral reading fluency: choral reading, echo reading, readers' theater and many more.

"IMPST" - and Other Lessons I've Learned from Student Writing. All grades - a new keynote talk. A humorous look at writing across the grade levels and what we can learn as teachers of literacy.