Introduction to Language Comprehension

This is the second part of a comprehensive structured literacy training. This three-day professional development course on language comprehension is designed to deepen educators’ knowledge and application of evidence-based strategies to improve reading comprehension. Participants will learn an explicit and in-depth language comprehension approach, aligned to the Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS; Cowen, 2016). IDA defines KPS as “the knowledge and skills that all teachers of reading should possess to teach all students to read proficiently.” 

This course focuses on language comprehension development, including: building students’ background knowledge, explicitly teaching vocabulary with morphological analysis emphasizing Latin roots, and analyzing texts through close reads and text annotation. Participants will also consider how they can promote a rich language environment by scaffolding high-quality language in student dialogue, reading appropriate literature aloud, engaging students in classwide activities involving vocabulary, and modeling academic language use. 

The course provides ample opportunities to practice and deliver lessons that involve evidence-based scaffolded reading practices and instructional routines across major genres and text structures: informational, narrative, and argumentative text.

Details

Audience: Elementary teachers, middle school  teachers, instructional coaches, literacy coaches, administrators
Length: 3 day Workshop
Presenters: Jodi Amaditz, Meghan Sanchez

Outcomes

• Understand how building background knowledge, explicitly teaching vocabulary with morphological analysis emphasizing Latin and Greek roots, and analyzing texts through close reads and text annotations can improve all students’ language comprehension
• Explore how to bridge the gap between scientific research and classroom application
• Practice teaching strategies in line with language comprehension to improve literacy outcomes for all students
• Learn how restructuring language comprehension programming and refining instruction aligned with reading research can make teaching more impactful for all students

Topics

• Academic Vocabulary Instruction
• Morphology with Latin Roots
• Building Background Knowledge
• Open-Ended Questioning
• TRAP Strategy
• Close Reading
• Text Annotations
• A Look at Your School’s Language Comprehension Curriculum
• Multiple Opportunities to Practice and Apply Strategies

Presenter Jodi Amaditz

Jodi Amaditz is the Director of Chartwell Teaching Institute and Director of Teaching and Learning at Chartwell School. She holds a masters degree as a Reading Specialist from Columbia University Teachers College. Jodi taught as a learning specialist in New York City elementary schools and as a reading specialist and special education teacher in Westchester New York Public middle schools for twenty years. She is a certified Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator and holds a Structured Literacy Classroom Educator certificate from the Center of Effective Reading Instruction (CERI). Jodi is the coordinator for Chartwell’s UCSF Dyslexia Phenotyping and Outcomes partnership and has lead workshops for The Orton Gillingham Association (OGAPE), the California Dyslexia Initiative (CDI), the Indiana Literacy Cadre, and Learning and Brain. Chartwell’s Structured Literacy 5 Day Workshop is accredited by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).

Presenter Meghan Sanchez

Meghan Sanchez is a Teacher Training Consultant with Chartwell Teaching Institute (CTI). Meghan brings 10+ years of experience to the classroom and prior to this role, was a homeroom teacher at Chartwell for the last two years. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Haverford College in Haverford, PA and a dual Masters in Elementary Education and Special Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Meghan served as the director of academic support and as academic dean at Lake Tahoe Preparatory School. Meghan has taught students of all ages, ranging from PreK-4 to high school, and has also supported new educators as a graduate assistant with Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Meghan lives in Truckee, CA, with her wife, Kayla, and dog, Reagan.