* Comprehension Strategies: Reading for Meaning
* Differentiating Assignments Through Learning Centers
* Effective Strategies for Struggling Readers and Writers
* Guided Reading Management: Structure and Organization for the Classroom
* Differentiating Instruction in a Whole Group Setting
* Guided Reading Instruction
* Content Area Reading and Study Strategies
* Creating Life-Long Writers
* Managing a Wide-Range of Learners: Differentiating Instruction and Assignments
* Implementing the Reading Common Core Standards with Ease

Comprehension Strategies: Reading for Meaning

There are certain keys that unlock the treasure of becoming a life-long proficient reader. This presentation will look at specific, research-based activities and instructional strategies that are used by highly effective readers. Some specific areas that may be focused on are listed below.

* Retelling
* Story elements
* Main idea
* Summarizing
* Comparing/contrasting
* Using context clues
* Drawing conclusions
* Making connections
* Asking and answering high level questions
* Vocabulary development
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Differentiating Assignments Through Learning Centers

This workshop will show specifically how to organize and use learning centers in the classroom. Learn how centers can be utilized and managed with minimal teacher preparation and planning. One of the keys to using centers successfully is to provide activities that are multi-leveled and stay consistent throughout the whole year. The directions for the activities do not change. What changes each week is the how the students apply and utilize learned skills through the activities.

* Meeting the needs of a variety of students through the utilization of learning centers.
* How to set up centers so they are coordinated with school curriculum and district goals.
* Management of centers on a daily basis.
* Using materials and activities at each center that can be integrated with any reading, writing, science or social studies theme.
* Ideas that allow students to be actively engaged in meaningful work.
* Create centers that can be used all year with minimal preparation time.

Learning centers give students opportunities to apply and utilize skills and information at their own levels and in their own way of understanding. The goal is for students to; show what you know.
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Effective Strategies for Struggling Readers and Writers

How does instruction of reading and writing differ for students who find them difficult? This presentation will give a wealth of strategies and activities to answer that question and help struggling learners become successful. Learn how to help students transfer the strategies used in small, guided groups to independently using them when they read and write. Some specific areas that may be focused on are listed below.

* Self-monitoring
* Using context clues
* Reading and writing for meaning
* Using textual support
* Scanning and skimming for information
* Building reading and writing fluency
* Comprehension development with both fiction and nonfiction
* Choosing appropriately leveled books for independent reading
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Guided Reading Management: Structure and Organization for the Classroom

One of the hardest parts of working with small, guided reading groups or needs-based groups is the management piece. This presentation will show how to successfully implement small, guided reading groups in classrooms with minimal interruptions and maximum time on task. One of the keys to a solid management system is consistency. Time used for direction giving is at a minimum, while instruction and practice is at a maximum. Some specific topics that may be focused on are listed below.

* Forming guided reading groups and/or needs-based groups
* Scheduling the groups based on the needs of each group
* Using background groups as a management tool and a place where students can
practice reading at their independent levels
* Differentiating assignments and activities that students can be working on while the
teacher is working with a small group

Teachers will be shown a wealth of specific assignments to use with any grade level, any curriculum area, and multi-levels of student achievement. All assignments and activities can be coordinated with school, district, and state curriculums.
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Differentiating Instruction in a Whole Group Setting

This workshop is a practical, use it tomorrow, guide for differentiating instruction in a whole group setting. Pat will show you how to work with your whole class so that everyone is actively involved and attentive. The activities and strategies discussed can be used across the curriculum with a wide-range of learners.

Five Windows of Opportunity
* Students Engagement Window: engaging students so all are actively involved in learning.
* Questioning Window: getting students actively involved in generating though-provoking, high level questions.
* Flexible Grouping Window: working with combinations of whole group, small groups, quads, trios,
and partners.
* Differentiated Assignments Window: creating multi-level assignments so students of different abilities may benefit from them.
* Ongoing Assessment Window: using assessments that drive our instruction and small group formations.

Differentiation instruction in your classroom does not have to be overwhelming. This workshop will help ease your way into differentiation using the five Windows of Opportunity. You'll leave with a wealth of easy-to-use ideas, activities, strategies and routines that will enable you to have success with differentiation in your classroom.
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Guided Reading Instruction

What makes guided reading different from other types of reading instruction? Discover the key elements of guided reading including using powerful coaching strategies. Teach students how to monitor their comprehension and engage them in the reading process.

Teach students how to
* create images,
* predict,
* make connections,
* draw conclusions,
* ask thought-provoking questions,
* clarify and synthesize,
* infer.
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Content Area Reading and Study Strategies

This workshop will give a repertoire of ideas, activities, and strategies to help students with organizing, studying, and working with content area curriculum.

* Using graphic organizers
* Developing self-monitoring strategies
* Instructional strategies and assignments for vocabulary development
* Increasing comprehension
* Studying and learning new and difficult concepts
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Creating Life-Long Writers

This presentation will show teachers how to help students become strategic and proficient writers. Techniques and activities that help writers solve problems will be shown. Assigned writing tasks as well as creative writing will be addressed. Some specific areas that may be focused on are listed below.

* Personal responses
* Writing to a prompt
* Persuasive writing 4
* Editing and revising techniques
* Writing to inform
* Writing across the curriculum
* Using textual support when answering questions about texts
* Voice
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Managing a Wide-Range of Learners: Differentiating Instruction and Assignments

This workshop will show participants how to easily and effectively differentiate instruction and assignments so all students can be successful. Learn how to support the struggling students as well as challenge the proficient ones. Ideas, strategies and activities will be centered on the areas of reading and writing.

* Flexible grouping: whole group, small groups and partners
* Strategies to manage a wide range of learners during whole group instruction
* How to take assignments and adapt them to meet different needs and levels
* Helping students show what they know
* How to use open-ended assignments and activities that can be used with any book and any level
* Meeting the needs of a variety of ability levels through the utilization of learning centers
* Using materials at each center that can be integrated with any reading, writing, science or social studies theme.
* How to set up centers so they are coordinated with school curriculum and district goals
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Implementing the Reading Common Core Standards with Ease

The Common Core Standards (CCS) define what knowledge and skills students need to know. They do not define how teachers should teach or how students should learn. Pat will show you specifically how to work with the common core standards through practical, research-based instructional strategies. You will leave with ideas, activities and strategies that can be used the next day to implement the Reading Common Core Standards.

* Overview of the CCS in Reading
* Using your existing curriculum to teach the standards
* Writing to inform
* Learning strategies to support the CCS requirements that students make arguments with evidence and dig deeper rather than just restate and give surface-level answers.
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