Last week, Susan Finn Miller, Steve Schmidt and I hosted a coffee break to kick off our round-robin science of reading event! We invited anyone who is interested to join a group of colleagues who will take the (FREE) LINCS online course on Teaching Adults to Read: Beginning and Intermediate Readers. Those who participate will also discuss together in our communities over the next 4 weeks what they gain from the course. Certificates will be awarded to those who complete the course.
While we are encouraging everyone to take the course -- because it is excellent!-- the discussion is open to everyone. You are not required to take the course to participate in the discussion.
Here's the schedule for our discussion to take place over the next 4 weeks. We plan to post the first question on Monday, and the second question on Wednesday each week. Of course, participants are welcome to pose their own questions, too.
Week 1 – 3/20: Teaching and Learning Group
- Try one or more of the diagnostic assessments with your students. What did you learn that is surprising?
- After reviewing the handout “Alphabetics: What to Teach,” introduced in Module 2, what language would you use to describe the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?
Week 2 – 3/27: Reading and Writing Group
- What does evidence-based reading instruction look like in the classroom?
- How does this compare to how your students are currently being taught?
Week 3 – 4/10: English Language Acquisition Group -- right here!
- What are some of the challenges English learners face when learning to read English?
- How should reading instruction be approached with English learners who have a solid literacy foundation in their primary language compared with those who do not?
Week 4 – 4/17: Teaching and Learning Group
- What are key takeaways from this course and/or our discussion that have changed the way you view literacy instruction in your classroom?
Looking forward to a robust discussion on this important topic!