Registration for the summer professional development programs with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) is open. Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure a spot. Programs are available to North Carolina educators at the Cullowhee and Ocracoke campuses, online and with NCCAT fellows visiting school districts.
A major part of the offerings are opportunities in literacy education. In order for students to become globally competitive, it is imperative students receive a good foundation in literacy instruction. With new challenges facing teachers each day, this task can be daunting. NCCAT is ready to help with programs like the ones listed below.
13935 • REACHING RELUCTANT READERS: BRINGING BOYS TO BOOKS - OCRACOKE
Monday, July 6, 2015 to Friday, July 10, 2015
The statistics are consistent: young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. In many instances, the reading scores of boys bring down the reading scores for the entire school. Explore the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why boys lag behind girls. Identify reading materials you can use in your classroom to capture and keep the attention of your struggling readers. Experience a variety of instructional methods such as text selection designed for boys, contests and competitions, focus reading groups, and the latest websites and blogs to boost literacy achievement. Discover solutions to capture the attention of reluctant male readers and examine strategies that motivate boys to sustain reading in the classroom and at home.
13938 • READING, WRITING, AND READY BY THIRD GRADE: EARLY GRADES LITERACY INSTRUCTION - CULLOWHEE
Monday, July 13, 2015 to Friday, July 17, 2015
Literacy instruction is as difficult as it is essential. This program will provide early grades teachers with a complement of research-based tools and strategies to help answer some of their more burning questions: How do I teach “close reading” to students who don’t yet know the alphabet? What level of writing can I attain from children who are still learning to spell? How do I simultaneously provide enrichment for advanced readers and remediation for delayed readers? How can I integrate reading and writing instruction into all other subject areas? Finally, what does this instruction look like in the classroom and how are student engagement and learning measured in this process?*
*Administrators of teacher participants are invited to attend sessions on Thursday, July 16, and engage in activities that build and support school-wide literacy. Overnight accommodations will not be available. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided.
13940 • ACTIVE KIDS, ACTIVE READERS: BUILDING BRIGHTER STUDENTS - CULLOWHEE
Monday, July 20, 2015 to Thursday, July 23, 2015
Educational research and experienced teachers recognize that most school-aged students learn by doing. Teachers who build movement into their instruction report that their students are less disruptive and more engaged. Research supports that physical activity improves memory retention, comprehension, and self-regulation in students of all achievement levels. Learn how you can transform a typical desk-and-chair classroom into an active classroom. Design and create your own physically and mentally active lessons with low-cost materials. Please note that these activities are not intended to improve cardiovascular or muscular fitness. All teachers from pre-K through 12th-grade, including teachers of exceptional students, are encouraged to apply.
13941 • DEVELOPING READING COMPREHENSION IN THE EARLY GRADES - OCRACOKE
Monday, July 20, 2015 to Thursday, July 23, 2015
Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–3.
Develop your teaching tool kit to support the reading initiatives in North Carolina’s Read to Achieve legislation. Join us as we examine best practices for developing a welcoming and enriching reading and writing environment for the early childhood classroom. Open to teachers in grades K–3, this program will focus on developing strategies that link foundational skills to comprehension in the classroom. Set the stage for comprehension at the listening level for kindergarten students and transition instruction to thinking beyond the text as students move through the early grades.
13942 • READING, WRITING, AND RESEARCHING THROUGH THE REAL WORLD - CULLOWHEE
Monday, July 20, 2015 to Friday, July 24, 2015
Join the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and NCCAT as we look at ways to enhance student literacy skills through the natural world. Take a critical look at the human connection with nature through American literary greats. Learn to use nature journaling as a tool to motivate your students and improve their writing. Study the environment and participate in citizen science projects using informational texts and digital tools. Discover ways to sharpen your students’ skills in reading, writing, and researching through the natural world.
13943 • SUPPORTING THE LITERACY OF GIFTED CHILDREN - OCRACOKE
Monday, July 27, 2015 to Friday, July 31, 2015
Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–5.
Meeting the needs of academically or intellectually gifted children can be a challenge for teachers who have these students in regular or enrichment classroom settings. The North Carolina General Assembly, through special legislation, mandates that public schools identify and serve gifted students, and each LEA is required to have an AIG plan. Join teachers of AIG students and experts in the field of gifted education as we investigate strategies to provide enhanced literacy instruction integrated across the curriculum. Create lessons that enrich, extend, and accelerate AIG literacy standards. Explore the policies and best practices of AIG expectations, create ways to challenge gifted children, enhance literacy needs, and encourage continual intellectual growth.
13947 • DIGITAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT EARLY GRADES LITERACY - OCRACOKE
Monday, August 3, 2015 to Friday, August 7, 2015
New technologies and related initiatives have been arriving in the classroom with alarming frequency: Chromebooks, iPads, interactive white boards, Web 2.0 and 3.0 tools, student response systems, and countless apps. In an effort to remain current, many teachers may find themselves in a classic tail-wags-dog scenario; their curriculum is driven by the technology, when it is the technology that should support the curriculum. During this program, teachers will receive instruction in how to use digital tools to support and enhance their reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction.
13948 • ENGINEERING DESIGN: LITERACY THROUGH PROBLEM SOLVING - CULLOWHEE
Monday, August 3, 2015 to Friday, August 7, 2015
It’s easy to see how engineering applies to robots, but how does it apply to the life sciences? Use an engineering problem-solving strategy, the engineering design cycle, in the studies of ecology, molecular biology, genetics, and other life sciences. From the micro to the macro, tackle these and other questions: How do molecules move into and out of cells? Why is clean water critical to healthy ecosystems? Investigate the natural integration between literacy and science as we analyze informational texts to support innovation, learn strategies to help students uncover facts as they read, and challenge students’ preconceptions. Utilize the cycle with literacy strategies, simulations, and data collection tools to motivate creative thinking. Geared toward the middle grades, the concepts can easily be scaled up or down to fit your classroom needs.
13949 • STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTION IN EARLY GRADES LITERACY - CULLOWHEE
Monday, August 3, 2015 to Friday, August 7, 2015
Preference will be given to teachers in Grades K–3.
In order for students to become globally competitive, it is imperative students receive a good foundation in literacy instruction. With new challenges facing teachers each day, this task can be daunting. Examine key aspects of the Read to Achieve legislation to insure alignment in your classroom and school with research-based strategies and best practices. See how to “fit it all in” by integrating literacy across the curriculum. Learn how to effectively maintain a progress monitoring assessment schedule. Use data to develop engaging lessons that foster a love for reading while still teaching foundational skills. Develop a reading and writing environment that is welcoming and inviting to students of all developmental levels.
13952 • THE PERFECT CURRICULUM STORM: USING LITERACY, DIGITAL LEARNING, AND SCIENCE TO STUDY EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS - OCRACOKE
Monday, August 10, 2015 to Friday, August 14, 2015
Extreme weather events offer multiple opportunities to create engaging lessons across grade levels and the curriculum. Real-time media coverage of devastating storms like Katrina creates the ideal catalyst for motivating student interest in science, math, literacy, technology, and social studies lessons. Hear accounts from Outer Banks residents who have experienced hurricanes firsthand and see evidence of damage caused by recent storms. Partner with science, literacy, and digital learning experts to explore how extreme weather events are the perfect storm for creating lessons that will enhance K–12 curriculum.
We hope you will join us! For more information on NCCAT call 828-293-5202 or email [email protected].