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Elementary Reading Academy

Levels: K–6
Length: 5 days (optional 6th day)
Audience: District and site administrators and teacher leader teams, with coaches as determined by the client

Description

The Reading Academy offers educators fundamental knowledge in effective reading practices for all learners, applying research-based reading practices to research-based basal textbook series. By taking all five topical sessions, participants gain a comprehensive understanding of the basic components of reading instruction.

NOTE: Sessions 3, 4, 5, and 6 may be taken separately. Sessions 1 and 2 must be taken together.

Participant Outcomes

• Understand the research on the particular essential components of reading instruction and link research to practice.
• Gain clear and explicit models of instructional routines.
• Practice using instructional routines specific to the particular topic.

Session Descriptions

Day 1: Overview, Linguistics, and Early Literacy

This session provides an overview of the scientific research on teaching reading, including basic linguistics, phonic elements, and print awareness and letter knowledge. (This session may not be taken separately; it must be combined with session 2.)

Day 2: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

During this session, participants learn how to develop phonemic awareness as well as explicit, systematic phonics instruction, including effective corrective feedback and various forms of blending, and the application to decodable text. (This session may not be taken separately; it must be combined with session 1.)

Day 3: Multisyllabic Words and Fluency

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.

Day 4: Vocabulary

This session focuses on vocabulary development. Participants study word-learning strategies and specific word instruction, and experience active ways to promote “word consciousness.” The needs of English-language learners are addressed.

Day 5: Comprehension

This session focuses on the different ways to assist students to access both narrative and informational texts. Specific reading skills and strategies—including questioning, graphic organizers, and monitoring techniques—are presented using explicit instruction, with hands-on lesson models and practice.

Day 6: Reading Assessment for Effective Instruction (optional)

This session guides participants through Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures and also lays out the basic principles and purposes of different types of assessments and what a comprehensive assessment blueprint looks like within the context of a three-tiered system.

Differentiated Instruction Workshop

Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: K–6 classroom teachers, English-language 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.

Vocabulary Development Workshop, K-6

Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: Administrators, classroom teachers, English-language learner teachers, special education teachers, literacy coaches, and reading specialists

Description

This workshop provides educators with current research and effective practices to develop vocabulary knowledge in elementary school children. Participants learn and practice research-proven methods to directly teach important content vocabulary, teach students to figure out unknown words using simple word-learning techniques, and engage in fun and stimulating activities that foster “word consciousness.”

Participant Outcomes

• Know the current research on vocabulary development.
• Learn effective techniques for teaching specific words and effective strategies for teaching students to figure out unfamiliar words while reading.
• Have a repertoire of active strategies for promoting “word consciousness.”

Multisyllabic Words and Fluency Workshop, K-6

Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: Administrators, classroom teachers, English-language 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.

Comprehension Workshop, K-6

Levels: K–6
Length: 1 day
Audience: Administrators, classroom teachers, English-language learner teachers, special education teachers, literacy coaches, and reading specialists

Description

This session focuses on the different ways to assist students to access both narrative and informational texts. Specific reading skills and strategies—including questioning, graphic organizers, and monitoring techniques—are presented using explicit instruction, with hands-on lesson models and practice.

Participant Outcomes

• Understand the research on comprehension and link research to practice.
• Gain clear and explicit models of instructional routines.
• Practice using instructional routines specific to comprehension.

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.

Reading Fundamentals

Levels: K–12
Length: 3 days
Audience: Administrators and teachers

Description

This three-session course covers the fundamentals of teaching reading. It is neither as extensive nor as deep as the Reading Academy; however, it can serve as a review or a short overview of five critical topics: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Participant Outcomes

• Understand the basic principles of five critical reading foundational skills.
• See models of instructional lessons.
• Practice specific routines.

Selecting Research-Based Materials Workshop

Levels: K–6, 6–8, or 9–12 (intervention)
Length: 1 half-day per grade-level group
Audience: Curriculum and textbook adoption teams and/or school site staff

Description

This workshop provides guidance for any reading textbook and materials selection committee as they determine what materials will meet their needs and support the research on teaching reading. After using CORE’s “Consumer’s Guide” to making good material purchases, participants leave with criteria to consider and suggested resources. CORE does not recommend a specific program, but rather educates the decision makers so that they can make a truly informed decision based on their own needs.

Participant Outcomes

• Leave with criteria to consider and suggested resources.
• Efficiently narrow materials search.

Reading Assessment for Effective Instruction Workshop

Levels: K–12
Length: 1 day
Audience: K–6 classroom teachers, 6–12 intervention and reading teachers, English-language learner and special education staff, site and district literacy administrators, and literacy coaches

Description

This workshop explains basic principles and terminology of assessments used to plan classroom instruction and provides participants with the knowledge they need to select, administer, score, and interpret the results of assessment measures in each of the main areas of reading instruction. Participants practice administering key assessments and using assessment results to plan instruction. This workshop may be joined to the Reading Academy or taken separately.

Participant Outcomes

• Identify the four major types of assessment and their purposes.
• Become familiar with the content and administration of various assessments in phonemic awareness, decoding and word attack, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
• Understand how to use assessment as a basis for instructional decision making.
• Understand the role of assessment within a three-tier comprehensive literacy model.

Adolescent Reading Academy

Levels: 6-12
Length: 5 days (optional 6th day)
Audience: District and site administrators and teacher leader teams, with coaches as determined by the client

Description

The Adolescent Reading Academy targets teachers of language arts, interventionists, and special education staff in middle and high school settings. The content reflects the research on reading problems for struggling older readers and supports the recommendations of Striving Readers and Reading Next.

NOTE: Sessions 3, 4, 5, and 6 may be taken separately. Sessions 1 and 2 must be taken together.

Participant Outcomes

• Understand the research on the particular essential components of reading instruction.
• Gain clear and explicit models of instructional routines.
• Link research to practice.
• Learn about the skills needed to intervene with struggling adolescent learners.

Session Descriptions

Day 1: Overview and Linguistics

This session provides an overview of the scientific research on teaching reading, including basic linguistics: phonemes, morphemes, and phonic elements. (This session may not be taken separately; it must be combined with session 2.)

Day 2: Decoding Instruction for Adolescents

This session focuses on the decoding skills needed to support struggling adolescent readers. Topics include phonemic awareness, phonics, irregular high-frequency words, and multisyllabic word attack. (This session may not be taken separately; it must be combined with session 1.)

Day 3: Fluency

This session focuses on the development of fluency. Participants learn techniques to assess fluency and practical strategies to help students improve accuracy, speed, and prosody. Included are ways to increase time on text and resources for adolescent fluency development.

Day 4: Vocabulary

This session focuses on vocabulary development. Participants study word-learning strategies, specific word instruction, and experience active ways to promote “word consciousness.” The needs of English-language learners are addressed.

Day 5: Comprehension

This session focuses on the different ways to assist students to access both narrative and informational texts. Specific reading skills and strategies—including questioning, graphic organizers, and monitoring techniques—are presented using explicit instruction, with hands-on lesson models and practice.

Day 6: Reading Assessment for Effective Instruction (optional)

This session guides participants through Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures and also lays out the basic principles and purposes of different types of assessments and what a comprehensive assessment blueprint and schoolwide literacy plan look like.

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-language 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-language 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.

Vocabulary Development Workshop, 6-12

Levels: 6-12
Length: 1 day
Audience: 6–12 administrators, academic content-area teachers, English-language 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-language 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.

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