Embracing Literacy 2025 Events

Introduction:
Secondary educators often face the challenge of supporting students who struggle with decoding and fluency, yet professional development in the Science of Reading is largely focused on elementary instruction. This session bridges that gap by providing research-based strategies tailored for middle and high school students.

Participants will clearly understand how the Science of Reading applies beyond the early grades and explore practical, age-appropriate methods for teaching decoding, fluency, and comprehension. The session will cover effective instructional approaches, adaptable interventions, and high-quality resources designed for secondary learners.

1. Understand how the Science of Reading applies to middle and high school students. 
2. Recognize the challenges faced by adolescent struggling readers and their impact on learning. 
3. Apply evidence-based decoding and fluency strategies in secondary classrooms. 
4. Utilize practical tools and resources to support older students in mastering foundational literacy skills. 
5. Support a schoolwide literacy approach by integrating structured literacy strategies across disciplines.

Objectives:
By the end of the workshop, attendees will leave with actionable strategies to implement in their classrooms, tools to assess and address literacy gaps, and a deeper understanding of how structured literacy can support struggling readers in content-area learning. Whether you are a classroom teacher, literacy coach, or administrator, this session will equip you with the knowledge and resources to enhance instruction and improve student outcomes. Conference attendees will find this session particularly valuable as it addresses a critical but often overlooked need—helping older students develop the foundational literacy skills they require for academic success.
Understand how the Science of Reading applies to middle and high school students. Recognize the challenges faced by adolescent struggling readers and their impact on learning. Apply evidence-based decoding and fluency strategies in secondary classrooms. Utilize practical tools and resources to support older students in mastering foundational literacy skills. Support a schoolwide literacy approach by integrating structured literacy strategies across disciplines.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?

Description:
Building Language Networks: Integrating AI into Explicit Vocabulary Instruction -Explicit vocabulary instruction is essential for secondary students to engage with complex texts and communicate effectively. This session explores how AI tools can enhance vocabulary teaching by supporting word selection, offering adaptive learning experiences, and strengthening language networks. Participants will learn research-based strategies for direct vocabulary instruction, including selecting high-utility words and fostering word consciousness. Through practical examples and discussions, attendees will discover how to integrate AI to improve vocabulary instruction, enhance comprehension, and build academic language networks, leaving with actionable insights to create a language-rich environment that accelerates literacy development.
Objectives:

1. Understand the components of comprehension and their role in supporting student learning.
   
2. Explore the Reading Rope model and its application to teaching comprehension in secondary classrooms.
   
3. Learn strategies to intentionally build background knowledge, vocabulary, and language structures for narrative and informational texts.
   
4. Understand how to use a lesson plan framework and actionable strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners.
   

Intended Audience:
Secondary school teachers across all content areas
Literacy coaches and specialists
Special education teachers
Instructional leaders and administrators interested in literacy development
Educators looking to improve comprehension strategies in their classrooms

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
  
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
  
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?
  

Introduction:
This presentation will explore how schools and districts can strategically utilize staff members who are Science of Reading (SoR) leaders to improve literacy instruction and student outcomes. Participants will learn how to leverage these leaders as instructional coaches, professional development facilitators, and collaborative team members to support teachers in implementing evidence-based reading practices. The session will also highlight ways to create sustainable systems that empower SoR leaders to drive long-term literacy success.

Objectives:
1. Understand the Role of Science of Reading Leaders – Define key responsibilities and best practices for SoR leaders within a school or district. 
2. Learn Effective Coaching & Mentorship Strategies – Explore how SoR leaders can support teachers through modeling, feedback, and collaborative planning. 
3. Develop a Plan for Professional Development – Identify ways to integrate SoR leaders into structured, ongoing literacy training for staff. 
4. Create Systems for Sustainability – Learn how to build a culture of literacy excellence by embedding SoR leadership into school-wide and district-wide initiatives.
5. Maximize Impact on Student Learning – Discover data-driven approaches to measure the effectiveness of SoR leadership and adjust strategies as needed.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?

Introduction:

During this session, participants will dive into the understanding that comprehension is not a skill but rather an outcome. We will explore evidence-based strategies to use during and after reading that support students in building background knowledge and focusing their attention on critical content. Through hands-on activities, we will practice text dependent questions, question types and planning for questions. All while discussing how to adapt these techniques for diverse learners, including struggling readers and English learners. Attendees will leave with practical resources, templates, and actionable steps to implement these strategies and foster proficient readers and writers. Whether you're a teacher, coach, or administrator, this session will equip you with tools to drive meaningful student outcomes and bridge the gap between reading comprehension and writing proficiency.

Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Explain why reading comprehension is an outcome, not a discrete skill, supported by evidence-based research.
2. Apply strategies that build background knowledge and focus attention on key content during and after reading.
3. Develop and adapt text-dependent questions to support diverse learners, including struggling readers and multilingual learners.
4. Implement practical tools and templates that connect reading comprehension with writing proficiency across instructional roles.

Credit Reflection Questions: Applying Learning to Practice

• What new insights did you gain from the presentation, and how did they connect to your existing knowledge or experience?
• In what ways did the presentation deepen or enhance your understanding of the topic?
• How do you plan to apply what you learned in your work? Who will benefit from it, and what changes or improvements do you expect to see?