Do you want to integrate reading and science instruction? Are your kids struggling to write about science and social studies? Would you like your science teaching to be more hands-on and meaningful? I will work with your school or district to address the issues facing your teachers and students.

 

Here are some descriptions of previous workshops; contact me with your needs and concerns and I will tailor a workshop to your needs.

Integrating Science and the Common Core

Common Core Standards ask students to master more than just reading comprehension. Students need to be able to read for knowledge-building. That is, they need to think about what information they need on a topic, know where to find it, and be able to integrate it with other sources of information. Science is a great area for learning these skills, because it’s fun!

In this workshop, teachers will learn ways that science text is particularly difficult for students, how to integrate hands-on science learning with science reading, and how to implement effective non-fiction reading groups. Throughout the workshop, teachers will participate in lessons that they can use immediately in their classrooms. If desired, this workshop can be tailored to include social studies content and methods as well.

Suitable for: Teachers in Grades 2-5

Science the “Write” Way

Your students may love science, but they struggle when it come time to pick up a pencil and write about it. In this workshop, I present practical strategies for helping students be ready to write, start writing, and have motivation to revise. This is the nitty-gritty of writing: what to say to students, tools to help them succeed, and insight into how professional writers form and develop their ideas on paper.

Earth Science Intensive

Earth science can be difficult to teach. In this workshop, I walk teachers through 3 lessons specifically tailored to the Earth science GPS for their grades. Each lesson includes a literacy component and at least one hands-on science activity. With each grade band, I also demonstrate how to build a lesson around a section from their current textbook.

Length: 1 hour 45 minutes per grade band (K-1, 2-3, and 4-5)

Suitable for: Teachers in Grades K-5

STEM Support for Media Specialists  

Media specialists are being asked to support school-wide STEM initiatives, and make the media center a hub of STEM activity. Often, media specialists have not had much training in this area. In this workshop, I demonstrate some easy ways to bring science and math into the media center. I also work with participants on ways that their existing skills and programs can be tweaked to support STEM initiatives.

Length: This is a very flexible program, based on the needs of your media specialists. 1 hour to a full day.

Suitable for: Elementary Media Specialists

Other

I am happy to work with you to meet your specific needs in the area of reading, writing, and science. I can put together a workshop that addresses the specific science standards in which your teachers need support. I can also work with your teachers to develop skills over the long-term. For example, this year I will be working with one group of teachers monthly, which allows those teachers to try new methods and then meet back for support and problem-solving.

Contact Me for more information or to schedule a workshop!