Asynchronous Courses on

Teaching Reading and Writing

Course Details

Bundle #1:

Master the Tools for Distance Learning

Let’s face it — distance learning can be challenging. It’s a learning curve for both students and educators.

Teachers have done their best to adapt their literacy curriculums to new formats.

But between lesson planning, filming videos, and keeping students engaged and focused – they may be feeling overwhelmed.

It’s time to empower our teachers with the tips and tools they need to confidently deliver high-quality literacy instruction to their students.

With another semester quickly approaching, let’s ensure your educators have what they need to deliver engaging lessons, and that our students can continue to learn, succeed, and thrive in their virtual classrooms.

Course Details

Inside a Synchronous ELAR Lesson w/ SEL Practices

This course shows an entire synchronous lesson from start to finish, with tips for moving each section of the lesson to the virtual environment along the way. 

THE LESSON DEMONSTRATION INCLUDES:

  • I Do
  • We Do
  • You Do
  • Turn and Talks
  • Stop and Jots
  • Small Group Work Time
  • Social Resilience Strategies for Opening and Closing
  • Brain Breaks
Engaging Students in Distance ELAR Instruction

Step-by-step tutorials on how to design and implement engaging activities for students to complete in either the synchronous or asynchronous environment.

COURSE CURRICULUM

  • Stops and Jots with Zoom and Padlet (demo and tutorial)
  • Using Google Documents for Collaborative Activities (demo and tutorial)
  • Creating Interactive Letter and Word Sorts (tutorial)
  • Screen Breaks
  • Virtual Four Corners & This or That (tutorial)
  • Turn and Talks and Small Groups Using Breakout Rooms (demo and tutorial)
  • Annotating Texts (tutorial)
Designing Instructional Videos for Asynchronous Instruction

This course will introduce you to the research around instructional videos, including ideas for including pause points, best practices for using note-catchers, and creating homework assignments that build teacher/student and student/student connection.

This course also has step-by-step tutorials on recording and editing videos using various programs. Included in the program cost is the opportunity to submit an instructional video of your own and receive feedback.

COURSE CURRICULUM

  • Designing Instructional Videos
    • Overview of Best Practices
    • Designing Slides that Keep Students’ Attention
    • Using Guided Note-catchers
    • Pause Points
    • Ideas for Collecting Homework
  • Recording Videos
    • Comparision of Common Recording Programs
    • Tutorial: How to Record Videos Using Zoom
    • Tutorial: How to Record Videos Using PowerPoint
    • Tutorial: How to Record Videos Using Screencast-o-matic
  • Editing Videos
    • Tutorial: Editing Videos with Screencast-o-matic
    • Making Your Videos Interactive
    • Using EdPuzzle to Insert Interactive Pause Points
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Bundle #2:

Early Literacy
(based on the Science of Teaching Reading)

Course Details

Phonemic Awareness

In this course, participants will learn the why and how of building phonemic awareness in our youngest students through strong Tier 1 instruction and targeted intervention. It includes ideas for both in-person and online phonemic awareness instruction, in addition to examples of how these skills can be developed through simple at-home activities by parents and guardians.

Topics include:

  • Scarborough’s Rope and the importance of phonemic awareness instruction in the reading process
  • The hierarchy of difficulty for phonemic awareness skills and activities
  • How to describe and teach phonemes based on the manner and place of articulation
  • Continuous vs. stop phonemes 
  • Strategies to use to develop phonemic awareness (e.g., blending arms, Elkonin boxes, word chains)
  • How to progress monitor for phonemic awareness
  • Activities that adults can do at home to strengthen phonemic awareness
Alphabet Knowledge

In this course, participants will learn about research and best practices in developing alphabet knowledge with our youngest learners. The course will focus on why it is important to move away from  a “Letter of the Week” model of introducing letters and what characteristics to think about when teaching letters in an engaging way.

Topics include:

  • The research around alphabet instruction
  • Ideas for developing a scope and sequence for alphabet instruction that is based on letter sounds, names, shapes, and interest
  • The purpose of common alphabet activities and research-based alternatives
  • Ideas for at-home activities that families can do with their children to develop letter awareness
Emergent Writing

In this course, participants will learn about writing instruction in the preschool and early elementary classrooms. After reviewing the importance of language development and its connection to writing, participants will learn about the writing process and developmentally appropriate strategies for our young learners.

Topics include: 

  • Language development
  • The connection between gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and handwriting, and activities to develop each
  • Ideas for authentic writing assignments for various grade levels
  • Generative, conceptual, and procedural knowledge and the connection to writing development
  • The writing process
Your course should be mandatory for general ed teachers, as well as special education teachers that want to improve.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your courses. They were AMAZING! I have not felt such satisfaction from completing PD in a long time.

This was an awesome course. As an Early Childhood educator, writing is often a topic of discussion when trying to figure out ways to improve our students’ overall literacy instruction. Many districts do not provide an explicit writing program to support the students and teachers.
This course, however, did an amazing job of breaking down writing at every stage and making it accessible for both students and teachers. Thanks for the expertise shared.
Highly recommend for others!

I have thoroughly enjoyed every single part of this course. It was very clear, concise and had the most applicable exercises. I loved that the quiz happened at the end of each section. I also appreciated that the instructor responded to some of the comments in the discussion section.

I truly enjoyed this course.
The content is useful, the pacing is appropriate. The engagement level and expectations for activities is fair and applicable to current instruction.

Highly recommend for all teachers of ELA, not just early literacy teachers. There is much to learn at the higher grade level also.

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Bundle #3:

Text-dependent Instruction

Course Details

Selecting and Analyzing Texts for Instruction

This course covers how to analyze texts during the planning process. We know we need to read texts before using them in a lesson, but how do we decide if they are worthy of instructional time, and whether they are appropriate for small group, whole group, or independent reading? This course reviews the factors of text complexity and includes exercises for teachers to analyze texts on their own.

COURSE CURRICULUM

  • Quantiative Factors of Text Complexity
  • Qualitative Factors of Text Complexity (related to the TEKS)
  • Considering the Reader and Task When Selecting Texts
Close Reading With the TEKS

This course provides 3rd-12th grade teachers with an understanding of the close reading process, why it is an important component of the ELAR classroom, and how to plan a close reading lesson. 

COURSE CURRICULUM

  • What is Close Reading?
  • Examining Culminating Tasks
  • Writing Strong, TEKS-aligned Text-dependent Questions
  • Putting it All Together: Planning a Close Reading Lesson
Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening about Texts

Coming soon!

Using Text Sets to Build Knowledge

Coming soon!

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