Workshops for Reading Excellence

REWARDS and REWARDS Plus Trainings
(programs published by Sopris West)

REWARDS (Reading Excellence: Word Attack and Rate Development Strategies) is a research based and validated reading intervention program that dramatically improves decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension for students in 4th through 8th grade.

• Offered in half or full day sessions, the REWARDS training provides teachers with the research behind the program as well as the teaching strategies and tools necessary for program implementation. In addition to valuable program information, participants receive practice opportunities which will enable them to teach the REWARDS strategy with fidelity.
• REWARDS Plus Social Studies and REWARDS Plus Science are for secondary students who read minimally at the 4 th grade level, have completed REWARDS and need to improve reading, vocabulary and comprehension skills. REWARDS Plus Trainings are also offered in half or full day sessions.

The Six Minute Solution: A Reading Fluency Program
(published by Sopris West)

The correlation between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension is well documented in numerous research studies. Only when students are able to read smoothly, easily and quickly are they then able to fully comprehend what they are reading. Rereading the same piece of written text over and over again has been recognized as a valuable procedure for building reading fluency. The use of paired peer partners is an effective and engaging way of implementing daily fluency practice for all students.

Offered as a two-hour workshop or in conjunction with a REWARDS training, participants learn how to implement a daily six-minute instructional model designed to foster reading fluency in all students.

Summer Reading Camp and Effective Reading Intervention Academy

Designed by renowned educational consultant Dr. Anita Archer, Summer Reading Camp and Effective Reading Intervention Academy incorporates research based programs:

REWARDS and The Six-Minute Solution (Sopris West Educational Services), Phonics for Reading and Skills for School Success (Curriculum Associates), Reasoning and Writing (SRA) and Read Naturally (Read Naturally), best practices and efficient techniques that work in the following programs:

• General and special education
• Title
• Suplemental Programs
• Summer school and after school
• Academic year and interim sessions
• Two-day workshops are offered for teachers instructing Primary students (grades 2-3) and Intermediate students (grades 4-8). Participants will learn research based teaching strategies enabling them to increase the reading skills of their struggling readers as well as procedures for developing an intensive reading intervention program for elementary and middle school students.

This half-day workshop highlights the key role fluency plays in effective reading and its strong relationship to comprehension. Participants learn strategies for promoting fluency within daily classroom routines by teaching and using a variety of passage reading procedures in any content area. They also learn methods to intentionally build fluency with repeated reading routines.

Read Naturally (published by Read Naturally)

Developed in 1990 by Minnesota Reading Specialist Candyce Is not as a practical approach to fluency instruction, Read Naturally's powerful strategy has helped thousands of struggling students become better readers.

The full day training describes the important role fluency plays in reading achievement and fully prepares participants to implement Read Naturally's highly effective three part strategy of teacher modeling, repeated reading and progress monitoring in their own educational setting.

Decoding Instruction: Research Validated Practices for K-3 Students/4-9 Students

• These half-day trainings provide teachers with the tools for providing instruction in phonemic awareness, letter/sound association and decoding strategies for one syllable as well as multi-syllabic words.

Active Participation: Increasing Student Engagement

Active participation is an interactive model of instruction and essential in any good instructional program. There is a direct correlation between the number of student responses made and their academic achievement.

This half-day workshop focuses on procedures for increasing student engagement and participation as well as on management strategies to promote desired student behavior and classroom climate.

Effective Vocabulary Instruction: Research Validated Practices

The importance of vocabulary to reading comprehension and overall school achievement is well documented in research studies. This presentation highlights the critical role of vocabulary instruction and outlines the components of an effective vocabulary program. Participants will learn a research-validated routine for teaching vocabulary, procedures for selecting words for instruction, practice activities that promote word learning and effective ways of ensuring active student participation.