Thank you for your interest in this course! Registration is now closed. We plan to run the course again in late Spring/early Summer.
Please visit this page for updates.
What is this course about?
In this self-paced course, we will work on how to improve literacy outcomes for older students who are reading below grade level. Participants in this course will have the opportunity to learn the research behind literacy accelerators that can propel reading progress, consider how to support students in rebuilding their academic confidence, and gain practical skills for how to implement these ideas to support students in regular classroom settings.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for grades 4-12 ELA/Literacy teachers (or those who support them).
What can I expect?
This module's on-demand content includes readings, short videos, asynchronous discussion, and opportunities to apply this work to your own context.
If you'd like to do this course alongside colleagues - that's great! Plan to pace activities within the course for independent completion and then engage in discussion at a PLC or Zoom meeting.
How long do I have to complete the course?
This course will remain open from February 1st - March 15th, 2022.
Will I get a certificate of professional learning hours?
If you complete all the learning and activities, you will receive professional learning certificates totaling 12 hours. Please reach out to your school district to ensure they will accept it.
Example Curriculum
- Module 1 Goals
- Opening Activity: consider the Warmth of Other Suns
- Video: What Skills and Knowledge Does a Reader Need for Comprehension (8:43)
- Video: The 5 Reading Accelerators for Older Students (7:48)
- To Read: What Reading Does for the Mind
- To Read & Discuss: The Science of Reading
- Prep for Activity: "Did I Just Get Smarter?" PDF and Video modeling. (19:20)
- Activity: Did I Just Get Smarter?
- Final Thoughts Discussion: Module 1
- Mid-Course Reflections from Your Instructors
- Module 2 Goals
- Video: What is Automatic Word Recognition (10:32)
- Video: Learn the Ingredients of Automatic Word Recognition (23:43)
- Self-check: Automatic Word Recognition
- Self-Check: Check on your understanding of fluency
- Video: More on Fluency (Automatic Word Recognition) (17:18)
- Activity: Create an Analogy
- Discussion Thread: Make it Your Own - Improving Fluency Daily With Any Text in Any Class
- Video: Model for folding in Word Recognition Supports (27:37)
- To Read: Fluency
- Discussion of Readings
- Activity: Word Study
- Supplemental Resources
- Module 3 Goals
- Video with activity pause points: Building Knowledge (20:12)
- Activity: Leviathan Reading: Part I
- Activity: Building Knowledge - Leviathan Reading: Part II
- Quiz: Leviathan Reading: Part III
- Activity: Langston Hughes (Will V Day Be Me Day) Readings to Build Knowledge (7:41)
- Video: Growing Vocabulary (30:29)
- Reading: Research Synthesis Knowledge and Vocabulary
- Resources: Text Set Resources
- Discussion: Module 3
- Module 4 Goals
- Pre-Work: Reading and Structured Journal - must do before starting the video!
- Video: The 3 Levels of Representation in the Mind (30:49)
- Self-Check: The 3 Levels of Representation in the Mind
- Discussion: Proposition-rich Sentences - instructional implications
- Video: Macro & Micro Structures (24:13)
- Video: Standard of Coherence (18:15)
- Video: More on Standard of Coherence (18:06)
- Culminating Discussion: Million Dollar Question
- Closing Course Reflections from Your Instructors