Structured Reading, Writing, Grammar, and Study Skills for Grades 5-8

Teachers will learn the research, rationale and strategies for incorporating Structured Literacy as an essential component of English-Language Arts instruction for students in grades 5-8.  Structured Literacy is appropriate for all students but essential for some.  Middle school educators will learn about all aspects of the structure and phonology of the English language in order to meet the needs of all students.  They will learn to recognize deficits that impact students and will specific methods to provide support, intervention and when necessary, referrals for intensive support.

The workshop will present strategies to enhance learning for students who have reading and language deficits due to gaps in skills, second language learning, learning disabilities and other difficulties which have impacted their ability to access grade level content.  Advanced components of Structured Literacy Instruction for middle school teachers are also appropriate for general education, inclusion and even advanced classes in preparation for high stakes testing.   This workshop will focus on essential reading skills at the middle school level including decoding strategies, vocabulary development through morphology, comprehension for literature, and expository text.  It will include strategies for teaching non-literal language, spelling, written language, and grammar to support comprehension, prosody and academic writing.  

The Sunday half-day workshop will focus on multisensory study skills, test taking and oral presentation skills.