Professional Development Topics and Learning

Science of Reading

Discover engaging ways to take the science of reading into the classroom. TCM’s professional development team is ready to support schools using transformational professional development that highlights the enormous body of research and how this research can truly impact instruction and achievement.

From understanding what the brain does during the process of reading to developing a breadth of knowledge about supporting students with challenging texts, choose from a range of professional development offerings rooted in several seminal theoretical models including the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

Each professional development is supported by a Professional Development resource that highlights the practices. Develop a series of professional development from the suggested ‘courses’ below. Each course will highlight research and pedagogy and provide relevant and timely instructional practices and strategies that enhance instruction.

What the Science Says About...

• Phonological awareness
• Phonics Instruction
• Advanced Phonics Instruction
• Word Analysis Skills
• Building Knowledge and Vocabulary
• Comprehension Strategies
• Complexities of Text
• Writing in Response to Text
• The Writing Process
• Language Skills in Writing

Building Knowledge and Vocabulary: Reading Complex Text Across the Content Areas

Students need to access rich, challenging text to develop knowledge, build vocabulary, and improve comprehension across the content areas.

As students tackle difficult text, a wide breadth of effective strategies are needed to uncover meaning and build students’ skillset.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover nuances within text that make it difficult
• Uncover student-centered ways to support knowledge and vocabulary development
• Encounter and practice strategies to empower students to conquer challenging text

Phonological Awareness: Supporting Foundational Literacy

Research has indicated the critical need for explicit instruction to ensure all students have foundational literacy skills.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify the research that indicates the importance of phonological awareness.
• Develop understanding to plan effective phonological awareness instruction.
• Practice engaging strategies to develop phonological awareness.

Phonics: Systematic and Explicit Instruction

Ensuring that all students have foundational literacy skills that support decoding and fluent reading includes a deep understanding of phonics instruction.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify the research that showcases the Science of Reading and Writing to support systematic and explicit phonics instruction.
• Develop understanding to plan phonics lessons that are systematic and explicit.
• Practice strategies, including the use of decodable text, to support phonics instruction.

Authentically Building Fluency

Moving beyond the understanding of fluency as a speed-reading concept, a clear definition of fluency includes accuracy, automaticity, and prosody.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify the research that demonstrates that fluency is critical to reading comprehension.
• Develop understanding of effective assessment and instructional methods to develop fluency.
• Practice strategies and discover tools to support fluency development.

Making the Complex Simple: Using Rigorous Texts

Students need to access rich, challenging text to develop knowledge, build vocabulary, and improve comprehension across the content areas.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify nuances within text that make it difficult.
• Develop understanding of student-centered ways to support knowledge and vocabulary development.
• Encounter and practice strategies to empower students to conquer challenging text.

Untold Stories: Using Powerful Texts to Build Literacy Skills

Inspire students to read and analyze short texts that focus on ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

In this session, learners will:

• Explore how to use short texts to provide powerful teaching opportunities that support a variety of instructional needs, content areas, and reading levels.
• Discover ways to add relevancy and purpose to any literacy curriculum with fascinating stories about real people and real events throughout history.
• Learn how to support collaboration and focus on active listening and strong speaking skills as they read, write about, and discuss the untold stories.
• Discover strategies that empower students to explore and share their own untold stories.

Close Reading to Dissect Text

Rereading text, with different purpose and focus supports the careful uncovering of the texts that students read.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify key components to rereading to uncover the meaning of text.
• Develop understanding of how to use syntax, semantic clues, vocabulary, clues, and evidence to support deep understanding.
• Practice high-yield strategies to support students as they navigate text, moving toward independence.

Strategies to Develop Critical Readers

Supporting students with a range of tools and processes to navigate through a variety of texts will support them in becoming critical readers.

In this session, learners will:

• Identify specific tools to support understanding with texts from a range of genres.
• Develop an understanding of planning to support critical reading.
• Experience classroom examples that incorporate a range of strategies to support students with a range of texts.

Smoothing the Road to Reading with Vocabulary Activities for Early Learners

One of the key elements to reading comprehension is vocabulary. If you think of all the layers of comprehension like building a road, you need to think of vocabulary building like filling the potholes in the road. If the vocabulary knowledge is incomplete, the road to comprehension will be bumpy.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover vocabulary ideas for engaging students in developing meaningful vocabulary
• Reinforce the importance of vocabulary to all learners
• Compile practical instructional ideas for vocabulary development
• Reflect on ways to support early readers with vocabulary

Building Knowledge and Vocabulary through Rich Informational Text

College and career-ready standards emphasize the importance of student reading grade-level complex text. Informational text provides unique challenges and a plethora of advantages in building knowledge and vocabulary to support grade-level reading.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover tools to identify rich text (text sets) for the purpose of building knowledge and vocabulary
• Explore the range of learning goals that can be addressed through instruction using rich, informational text
• Reflect on how scaffolds and supports can make challenging text accessible to all students

Pairing Fiction and Nonfiction Text to Support Deep Thinking

Educators at all levels are grappling with exposing students to both literary and informational texts. Educators need to be cognizant that state standards have increased the requirements for the amount of informational text students should encounter during the school day and the increased focus on comparing texts in like and varying genres. Thus, we need to give students opportunities to explore and gain proficiency in reading strategies with a range of texts.

In this professional development, teachers will deepen their understanding of instructional practices to support reading rich texts by actively learning how to use both literary and informational texts as the means to incorporate practical yet powerful literacy strategies. Effective instruction requires the ability to sequence and structure many key components into a cohesive whole. This session guides teachers in the instructional practices that tie it all together.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover ways to prepare for reading challenging cross-genre text by setting a purpose
• Explore classroom routines and instructional practices that support comprehension of text
• Plan for rigorous instruction to include a range of text types

Building an Inquiry-Based Learning Environment

Teaching and learning using the inquiry-based instructional framework is beneficial for students in multiple content areas and increases student engagement.

In this session, learners will:

• Be instructed on how to construct an environment to promote inquiry-based teaching and learning across multiple content areas.
• Learn strategies that allow students to deeply analyze instructional sources as well as using documents that support inquiry practices.
• Practice strategies that develop students’ thinking processes to analyze and inquire about information in and out of the classroom.

Building Knowledge & Vocabulary: Reading Complex Text Across the Content Areas

Students need to access rich, challenging text to develop knowledge, build vocabulary, and improve comprehension across the content areas.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover nuances within text that make it difficult and uncover student-centered ways to support knowledge and vocabulary development.
• Encounter and practice strategies to empower students to conquer complex text
• Learn new ways to engage students with rich, powerful vocabulary and proven strategies to help students learn those words as well as how those new words work.

Improving Student Writing Skills: Learn how to develop skilled and enthusiastic writers.

Writing has many purposes – to think, to prove, to learn, and to summarize. In today’s alternate learning environments, writing offers opportunities to gauge students’ conceptual understanding across content areas.

That’s why learning effective strategies for teaching writing should be an integral part of any professional toolbox.

In this session, learners will:

• Learn best practices in writing instruction and the research supporting short writing assignments
• Discover innovative ways to help students master the four main categories of writing including Informative/Explanation, Opinion/Argument, Narrative Fiction, and Narrative Nonfiction
• Receive a guide for creating and assessing short writing activities including incorporating instructional mini-lessons and designing rubrics
• Learn strategies for applying learning to tomorrow’s classrooms, wherever those classrooms might be

Strategies for Building Academic Vocabulary

Teach students independent word learning strategies so that they understand what words mean and ultimately read more effectively.

In this session, learners will:

• Empower students with a powerful step-by-step strategy to effectively uncover the meaning of words using Greek and Latin prefixes, bases and suffixes
• Discover key steps to engage students in meaningful conversations that promote oral language
• Reinforce the importance of word learning and word play in the classroom through fun activities and games
• Compile practical instructional tools to make academic vocabulary strategies a priority to ensure college and career readiness

Effective Implementation of a Balanced Literacy Framework

Explore the elements that comprise a comprehensive balanced literacy classroom from phonics and word study to shared, guided and modeled reading to writing.

In this session, learners will:

• Marry guided reading instruction with increased text complexity
• Develop close reading strategies during Guided Reading, Modeled Reading, and Shared Reading instruction
• Learn high-yield instructional strategies for implementing all components
• Formulate balanced assessments that align to each component
• Foster the reciprocal connection between reading and writing instruction

Building Early Reading Skills: Repeated Reading and Recognizable Words

According to the 2000 report from the National Reading Panel, fluency is one of five pillars of effective reading instruction. The report defines fluent readers as those who “can read text with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.” Despite the fact that fluency is the hallmark of a skilled reader and lead s to greater growth and greater enjoyment of reading, it is often neglected in classrooms.

Based on Dr. Timothy Rasinski's important research on fluency, this professional development session looks at ways to build reading skills for all students, including English language learners. This session will help students read grade-level texts with fluency.

In this session, learners will:

• Learn strategies to improve reading instruction with short texts that are mean to be read and reread
• Explore word reading strategies that compliment phonics instruction to support students’ reading
• Reflect on strategies and motivation of beginning readers

Improving Student Writing Skills Using Mentor Texts

Using mentor texts allows teachers to accomplish multiple goals using the same piece of text.

In this session, learners will:

• Discover how authentic writing instruction can encourage writers to develop their own craft
• Develop strategies to analyze mentor texts as platforms for writing topics and examples of author's craft
• Practice strategies to support the writing process including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading, and publishing.

Getting Started on the “Write” Foot with Early Writers

Overcoming the fear of writing is the key to teaching early writers to be successful. Early learners need explicit instruction and repeated practice to build the confidence for independent writing.

In this session, learners will:

• Learn how to develop early writers with a step-by-step procedure for success
• Transition students from whole group interactive writing to independent authors
• Use a variety of writing techniques and ideas to build writer confidence
• Construct a learning environment that supports all writers

Write Now! Effective Strategies for Writing Instruction

Writing is an essential and vital part of every classroom. However, teaching writing can be challenging and overwhelming for students.

In this session, learners will:

• Review best practices in writing instruction.
• Explore ideas for creating writing activities within any content area.
• Discover innovative ways to help students master the four main categories of writing including Informative/Explanation, Opinion/Argument, Narrative Fiction, and Narrative Nonfiction.