LA-03
Differentiating Instruction to Accommodate Learning Styles in Language
Arts
Addressing the individual learning styles of students can
be a challenge for teachers. The World Wide Web contains a vast
number of resources to assist teachers in understanding and planning
for the different avenues through which students learn best. Suitable
for participants of all grade levels and subject areas, this course
will review a range of web sites providing information about learning
theory related to learning styles and multiple intelligences, as
well as resources to assist teachers in both identifying students'
learning styles and intelligences and engaging students in activities
which best suit those styles and intelligences. Participants will
become familiar with teaching strategies and tools targeted for
each learning style and intelligence and develop a preliminary
lesson plan using those strategies and tools.
LA-04 Making the Most of Adolescent Literature
When
teachers integrate adolescent literature into the curriculum, students
are given an opportunity to learn about themselves and the world
during a critical time in their development. Recent research on
reading development suggests a growing number of evidence-based
practices that can help students with the complex process of reading
to make meaning. In this course, participants will learn how to
select literature for students of varied needs and how to improve
students' reading comprehension through questioning techniques.
They will also explore a wide range of literature response strategies
and techniques for assessment. As a final product, participants
will create a classroom lesson based on the strategies learned
in this course.
LA-07 Improving Reading and Writing in the Content
Areas
In order to be successful in content area classes such as
social studies, science, and mathematics, students must be able
to read a variety of informational texts and produce written documents.
This course will give teachers the tools they need to integrate
literacy strategies into content learning to help raise student
achievement. Participants will use the Literacy Matters web site
as an anchor throughout this course for exploring instructional
strategies. By the end of the course, participants will be able
to locate web-based tools, strategies, and lessons that foster
literacy skills in all content areas. They will also have developed
a preliminary lesson plan incorporating these tools and strategies.
LA-08 Strategies and Tools for Teaching the Writing
Process
This course will support teachers of middle and high school
students in their incorporation of technology tools into the writing
curriculum. Participants will be introduced to powerful software
and web-based tools that enhance the various stages of the writing
process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and publishing. Participants
will also explore a range of resources and exemplary projects that
take advantage of these technologies in the classroom. For example,
participants will discover the potential of writing exchanges on
electronic networks, view examples of such projects, and think
together about how these tools could be incorporated into their
specific curricula. Participants will complete the course with
a collection of resources and preliminary lesson plans that address
their local or state standards and curricular goals.
LT-01 Reading First: Supporting Early Reading Instruction
with Technology
Participants in this course will discover the many
ways in which new technologies can support classroom reading instruction
in kindergarten through third grade. As they examine existing research
on literacy technologies, participants will also review or familiarize
themselves with the five areas of instruction discussed in the
National Reading Panel's 2000 report on early reading: phonemic
awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension.
The course will put special emphasis on evidence-based uses of
technology for reading instruction.
LT-02 Supporting Literacy Development in Lower
Elementary Classrooms
In this course, participants will explore
how new technologies can support emerging literacy development
in kindergarten through second grade. Participants will investigate
tools and strategies that can help build phonemic awareness and
facilitate the transition from invented spelling to English spelling.
Participants will also explore strategies for integrating reading
and writing with meaningful project-based activities, and experiment
with software tools for publishing student work and creating class
books. Participants will complete the course with a number of resources
and ideas for immediate classroom use.
LT-03 Supporting Literacy Development in Upper
Elementary Classrooms
This course will help teachers and specialists
that work with students in grades three through six to develop
a technology-enhanced lesson that addresses national and local
literacy standards and that connects reading and writing with other
curriculum areas. To support this development process, participants
will examine a sample lesson plan that incorporates several ways
technology can support reading and writing across the curriculum.
Participants will experiment with technologies that can be used
to develop vocabulary and facilitate each phase of the writing
process, including concept-mapping, peer review, editing, and publishing
student work. They will examine how the Internet can be used to
foster reading-writing connections and to help students develop
critical research skills. Participants will also be introduced
to assistive technologies that can help students with special needs
learn to read and write independently. Participants will also discuss
assessment strategies for technology-enhanced literacy projects.
LT-04 Helping Struggling Readers Improve Comprehension
Struggling readers and writers may have difficulty decoding text,
comprehending, and conveying ideas through writing. This course
focuses specifically on supporting the academic development of
students who are competent decoders but who struggle to understand
the meaning of what they read. We will explore the different types
of comprehension difficulties students may face and will introduce
a number of research-based strategies to improve comprehension
skills. As a final project, participants will design and implement
a lesson plan focused on improving students' reading comprehension.
LT-05 Accommodating ESOL/ESL Students in the
Classroom
This course is designed for K - 12 educators in all subject
areas. Participants will discover and create strategies to help
their English language learners improve their reading, writing,
speaking, listening, and thinking skills in content areas. The
course will include an introduction to the linguistic and cultural
issues faces by ELL students. A strong emphasis will be placed
on the inclusion of all learners and the use of appropriate media.
LT-06 ESOL Literacy Development 1 – Reading
ESOL Literacy Development takes educators/administrators into the
world of how second language (L2) learners acquire reading skills.
Participants will gain a working knowledge of philosophies behind
L2 reading acquisition, the role of culture, how the brain works
during L2 reading acquisition, the five essentials of reading
(phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, reading comprehension,
vocabulary, and reading fluency), and assessments that are unbiased
to evaluate reading skills. Educators will not only gain
knowledge of how L2 learners acquire reading skills, but will
also develop an in depth outline, including a mission statement
that will provide as a guide to use in classrooms for L2 reading
acquisition. Although educators are the primary focus for this
course, administrators will find this course a useful tool in
the development of a school-wide view and practice of L2 reading
skill acquisition.
LT-07 ESOL Literacy Development 2 – Writing
Literacy is an active experience linked to personal and cultural identity. Being literate is not merely the acquisition of reading and writing skills; rather it is the ability to combine these skills to shape one's future. ESOL Literacy 2 – Writing takes educators/administrators into the world of how second language (L2) learners acquire writing skills. Participants will gain a working knowledge of philosophies behind L2 writing acquisition, the role of culture, the development of writing skills (pre-emergent, emergent, early, and fluent), and assessments that are unbiased in the evaluation of writing skills for L2 learners. Educators will not only gain knowledge of how L2 learners acquire writing skills, but will also develop an in depth outline, including a mission statement that will provide as a guide to use in classrooms for L2 writing acquisition. Although educators are the primary focus for this course, administrators will find this course a useful tool in the development of a school-wide view and practice of L2 writing skill acquisition.
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