29/05/2026
Join Nagoya-Gifu JALT and Literature in Language Teaching SIG on Saturday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. for “Using Thinking Routines with Literature, Creative Writing and Beyond,” presented by Mary Hillis.
The event will be held at Nagoya International Center, 4th Floor, Room 3. The center is directly connected to Kokusai Center Station on the Sakura-dori Line (Red Line) and is also about a 10-minute walk from Nagoya Station.
In this presentation, Mary Hillis will explore how literature can create meaningful opportunities for language learners to engage with authentic materials while developing critical and creative thinking skills. Drawing on thinking routines developed by Project Zero, such as See–Think–Wonder and Connect–Extend–Challenge, she will demonstrate practical ways to guide students through noticing details, interpreting texts, asking thoughtful questions, and making personal connections.
Using examples from classroom activities with poetry and other literary texts, the session will introduce adaptable strategies that can be applied to literature, creative writing, and a wide range of classroom materials.
Mary Hillis is an English instructor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. She is the recipient of the 2025 TIRF Kathleen M. Bailey Teacher-Researcher Award and co-editor of Artificial Intelligence in Our Language Learning Classrooms (Candlin & Mynard, 2025).
Admission is free for JALT members, first-time visitors, and undergraduate students. Non-member admission is ¥1,000.
Whether you are interested in literature, creative writing, critical thinking, or simply looking for new ways to engage your students, we hope you will join us
