Comprehensive Literacy
The National Reading Panel (2001) identified five essential components of a comprehensive literacy program. Those components are: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, text comprehension and vocabulary. This inservice takes teachers and administrators through each component and examines what is considered best practices, as well as essential skills. Time is allowed for individual teachers and/or teams of teachers to reflect, discuss, and plan for what they need to do to make each component stronger in their classroom/school setting. Since every effective literacy teacher knows that effective writing supports literacy development for students, the area of writing is also addressed, even though it was not addressed by the National Reading Panel.

Guiding Reading Instruction: Black and White with a Touch of Gray
In this inservice, participants will look at the larger framework of effective, comprehensive reading instruction and specifically, guided reading as it fits into this larger framework. Teachers will understand the importance and purpose of guided reading instruction. Teachers will explore the issues which typically surface in guided reading instruction, such as what do you do with the students who are not in guided reading, leveling texts, locating appropriate resources, grouping of students, etc. This inservice will use video clips and demonstrations for participants to analyze and reflect upon in thinking about their own classroom instruction. Practical ideas will be presented for teachers to take back to their classrooms for assisting them with guided reading instruction. This inservice is planned to promote best practices and practical application for classroom teachers!

Increasing Students’ Phonemic Awareness Skills
In this session, participants will learn the scope and sequence of these important scientifically-based reading research skills (SBRR). The presentation is research-based and will focus on the presenter’s published Phonemic Awareness curriculum. Student exemplars will be shown to demonstrate ways to evidence students’ mastery of these important early literacy skills.

Combining Word Identification Skills With Phonemic Awareness Skills
In this session, participants will explore ways to weave word identification skills (including SBRR phonics) to phonemic awareness skills. Participants will learn many effective ways to assist students in learning word identification skills.

Scaffolding Beginning Writing K-3
In this session, participants will learn easy ways to help beginning writers learn to write in the expository, persuasive and narrative genres. Grade level scaffolding and expectations will be shown. Student exemplars will serve as evidence of successful implementation of this session.
Prerequisites: This inservice is offered only after completion of the previous two sessions.

Using Early Writing Skills to Evidence Skills
In this session, participants will learn how to use writing to evidence sight vocabulary, phonemic awareness, phonics, word patterns and grammar, as well as content knowledge. This session will help teachers understand the importance of knowing the sequence of skills taught to help them increase student accountability.

Scaffolding Writing Curriculum in the Elementary Grades
In this inservice, participants will work on scaffolding the writing curriculum in progressive steps, common instructional design and common language. This session can also introduce and focus on the importance of the use of a standard writing rubric for the assessment of writing.

Customized inservice sessions can be designed to meet your school or District’s needs.