Educator Series

Session I: The Neurobiology of Reading

Reading is a complex cognitive process that involves a network of connections throughout the entire brain. Understanding the neurobiology behind the cognitive skills required for students to read well will aid educators to better identify, target instruction, and provide interventions for emerging and struggling readers. 

Session II: Word Study and Fluency

These topics will be addressed together since this is the area to promote automaticity and pace, two of the major goals of fluency. In addition, these skills are together in the Common Core and State Standards, which promotes consistency. Word study in fourth and fifth grade is less intense than in the earlier grades and strategies to build fluency are easy to learn and carry out. For these reasons, combining them is a good match.

Session III: Vocabulary Development

Vocabulary development has so many skills and strategies to be taught and how to organize them into the school day needs a module unto itself. It is most important to struggling readers and ELL’s that it needs a module unto itself.

Session IV: Comprehension Development

Comprehension development has so many skills and strategies to learn for content area reading, fiction, nonfiction, etc. it needs its own module and could not be dealt with if it was merged with vocabulary. combining them is a good match.