WHAT WE DO

Needs Assessment

Together we will take a learning walk through your building to study reading and writing instruction, classroom environments, classroom talk, and student independence. We will help you identify areas of strength and areas ripe for potential growth by creating a plan to move your school or district towards a balanced literacy model of literacy instruction.

Staff Development

We will work with groups of teachers by grade level or based on teachers' interests. We can demonstrate teaching in labsites, coach teachers to practice a new skill, work with teachers to plan units, analyze student work, or otherwise build teacher knowledge over a period of several sessions. Each series will be designed to meet the specific needs of your teachers.

Multi-Day Institutes

We can plan and facilitate three to five-day institutes on balanced literacy, customized to support the needs of your school or district. Institutes can be tailored for beginning or veteran teachers.

One-Day Workshops

We offer full-day workshops that deepen teacher knowledge and strengthen instructional practice around a particular professional learning need. Each workshop is thoughtfully crafted and takes into account the successes and challenges of your school or district. Sessions are structured for large audiences as well as for smaller study groups, across the day. Some topics include:

Launching a Rigorous Reading Workshop
Launching a Rigorous Writing Workshop
Studying Student Work to Plan Assessment-Based Instruction
Content Area Literacy: Weaving Literacy Instruction Into Social Studies and Science
Supporting Student Thinking Through Talking and Writing about Reading
Getting to Know Text Level Characteristics to Support Readers Across a Year
Using Guided Reading to Make Significant Growth in Literal, Inferential and Interpretive Comprehension
Utilizing Small Group Instruction in Reading Workshop
Utilizing Small Group Instruction in Writing Workshop
Conferring with Readers
Conferring with Writers
Studying Readers and Reading Skills: Strategy Progressions and the Power of Continuums
Emergent Storybook Reading: Building Literacy from the Beginning
Literacy and Play Across the Curriculum
Choice Matters: Setting Up Primary Classrooms for Rigorous Writing Instruction Across Genres
Using Inquiry to Build Readers' Ability to Interpret and Writers' Ability to Experiment
Getting Reluctant Writers to Write
Supporting Grammar and Conventions across Units and the Writing Process
Creating and Using Conferring Toolkits
Using Mentor Texts to Lift the Level of Student Writing and Teacher Demonstration
Read Aloud: The Power Component of Balanced Literacy