Differentiated Instruction Workshop
Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: K–6 classroom teachers, English learner and special education staff, site and district literacy administrators, and literacy coaches
Description
This one-day workshop is designed to facilitate the implementation of a three-tier approach within elementary schools. The session will present the three levels of student need (benchmark, strategic, and intensive) and the elements of instruction that can be differentiated (pace, complexity, and degree of explicitness). Participants will learn effective techniques to manage instruction and receive a 21-day planner. Techniques to support advanced learners will also be covered.
Participant Outcomes
- Become familiar with the three-tier approach to differentiation.
- Learn which instructional elements can be differentiated.
- Experience and practice techniques for managing differentiated instruction.
Functional Grammar and Writing for Elementary Workshop
Levels: K–6
Length: 2 days
Audience: Classroom teachers, resource teachers, and school administrators implementing writing instruction for elementary-level students
Description
This workshop provides teachers with the knowledge and strategies for teaching writing to both primary- and upper-grade elementary students, from basic sentence construction through longer compositions.
Participant Outcomes
- Become familiar with effective practices in writing instruction.
- Understand the differences between modern and traditional grammar.
- Understand the structure of English sentences and how to teach the sentence at a level of complexity appropriate for elementary students.
- Become familiar with expository text structures.
- Learn how to teach paragraph writing.
- Understand the structure and organization of longer compositions and selected essay types.
Multisyllabic Words and Fluency Workshop, K-6
Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: Administrators, classroom teachers, English learner teachers, special education teachers, literacy coaches, and reading specialists
Description
This session addresses the techniques that help students transition from reading single-syllable words to reading multisyllabic words. In addition, participants learn effective techniques to foster reading fluency: accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.
Participant Outcomes
- Understand the research on fluency and link research to practice.
- Gain clear and explicit models of instructional routines.
- Practice using instructional routines specific to the multisyllabic words and fluency.
Functional Grammar and Writing for Adolescents Workshop
Levels: 6–12
Length: 2 days
Audience: Classroom teachers, resource teachers, and school administrators implementing writing instruction in grades 6–12
Description
This workshop provides teachers with the knowledge and strategies for teaching writing to adolescents, from basic sentence construction to longer compositions.
Participant Outcomes
- Become familiar with best practices in writing instruction.
- Understand the differences between modern and traditional grammar.
- Understand the structure of English sentences and how to teach the sentence at a level of complexity appropriate for older students.
- Become familiar with expository text structures.
- Learn how to teach paragraph writing.
- Understand the structure and organization of longer compositions and selected essay types.
Decoding Instruction for Adolescents Workshop
Levels: 6–12
Length: 1 day
Audience: 6–12 intervention teachers, English learner teachers, special education teachers, reading teachers, and coaches
Description
This workshop explains the basic principles of teaching decoding to adolescent students and includes a brief review of linguistic concepts that are important to understand in order to teach phonics. Participants learn phonics concepts and practice key instructional techniques, including the introduction of sound/spellings and the use of blending and decodable text with older students. Several approaches and methods for teaching students to read multisyllabic words are presented, and reading assessment is addressed.
Participant Outcomes
- Understand the concept of phonemic awareness as the underpinning for learning to decode.
- Learn specific ways to teach phonics and why phonics instruction is vital for struggling readers.
- Learn strategies for teaching high-frequency words.
- Practice ways to teach students to recognize multisyllabic words.
Fluency Workshop, 6-12
Levels: 6–12
Length: 1 day
Audience: 6–12 intervention teachers, English learner teachers, special education teachers, reading teachers, and coaches
Description
This workshop focuses on instructional methods for teaching students to become fluent readers and spotlights the relationship between fluency and comprehension. Highlights include specific techniques to increase time on text and promote rereading: Reader’s Theatre, active learning, and repeat reading.
Participant Outcomes
- Understand the concept of fluency and its importance to reading achievement.
- Learn methods and tools for fluency assessment.
- Learn strategies for building reading fluency.
We recommend that you combine the Decoding and Fluency workshops for an intensive intervention-focused solution for your teachers of struggling adolescent readers.
Vocabulary Development Workshop, 6-12
Levels: 6–12
Length: 1 day
Audience: 6–12 administrators, academic content-area teachers, English learner teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, and coaches
Description
Participants learn and practice research-proven methods to directly teach important content vocabulary, teach students to figure out unknown words using contextual analysis and morphemic analysis skills, and engage in fun and stimulating activities that foster “word consciousness.” Participants will receive more than 30 sample lesson models with easy application to classroom text in any academic content area.
Participant Outcomes
- Know the current research on vocabulary development.
- Know effective techniques for teaching specific words.
- Know effective strategies for teaching students to figure out unfamiliar words while reading.
- Have a repertoire of active strategies for promoting “word consciousness.”
Comprehension Workshop, 6-12
Levels: 6–12
Length: 1 day
Audience: 6–12 administrators, academic content-area teachers, English learner teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, and coaches
Description
Participants learn about current, validated research in comprehension instruction and receive an overview of the factors known to positively impact comprehension. Participants receive in-depth instruction in selected instructional techniques that have broad application in both narrative and informational text at all grade levels, including content classes.
Participant Outcomes
- Understand seminal research on text comprehension.
- Apply a set of strategies to your own text.
- Understand different text structures and their signal words.
- Understand ways to improve instruction in content-area texts.
Total Adolescent Literacy Solution
We recommend that you combine the above workshops: Decoding Instruction for Adolescents, Fluency, Vocabulary Development, and Comprehension for a total adolescent literacy solution.