Designed for high school ELA teachers and those who coach them.

Many freshmen struggle academically, not because they lack ability but because they are not prepared to exercise the personal responsibility their teachers expect of them. Successful teachers of English I find ways to bridge the gap, to support the recent middle schooler without alienating the high schooler. This program will examine the knowledge and skills necessary to make that transition. Teachers will engage in and then craft their own language arts activities that support and extend their students’ abilities. Activities will address reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening skills.

Reading, as the old saying goes, is fundamental. However, not all public school students have access to the variety of materials necessary to build a strong reading foundation. Research grant opportunities for purchasing books, digital devices, and other materials to aid in literacy instruction. Explore multiple means of acquiring literacy-related donations and discover open-access materials online. Finally, participate in the sharing of strategies for the effective use of these resources.

NCCAT’s Holocaust Education Program works to promote Holocaust education in North Carolina public schools. It is important to continue our efforts to promote student understanding of the ways in which our individual and collective actions shape the direction of the present and the world of the future. Join fellow alumni of our Holocaust education program as we explore teaching the Holocaust through writing and literature with various genres, including personal narrative/memoir, biography, poetry, and film. This program will help teachers focus on the power of individuals’ personal stories as an effective vehicle for teaching about the Holocaust, so they may involve students in appropriate and powerful study of this difficult topic. The Gathering is open to teachers who have participated in NCCAT’s “Teaching the Holocaust” programs or in comparable intensive Holocaust education programs.

Designed for teachers of the elementary grades.

Writing instruction is not only important but also vital for today’s students. Yet finding the time to teach writing in the elementary classroom can prove challenging. In this program, teachers will explore the various purposes for writing, the writing process, and strategies to integrate writing in other content areas. Additionally, teachers will investigate creative strategies to motivate students to write.

Designed for high school ELA teachers and those who coach them.

A false dilemma offered by critics of standardized testing is that they force teachers to focus on low-level skills if their students are to perform well on end-of-course exams. This is simply untrue. The NC English II End of Course tests (EOC) requires that students analyze written text in the service of extracting meaning, recognizing the effect of particular words, and identifying an author’s stance on an issue, among other valuable skills. In this program, teachers will consider the “big picture” issues that English II should address. They will also engage in a variety of activities intended to enhance students’ reading, writing, and thinking skills.

Designed for teachers in grades 3–12.

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.

Primary sources, such as photographs, manuscripts, maps, and government documents, are now digitized. Educators can easily access and use them to enhance digital learning for their students. Join us at NCCAT as we partner with university libraries and online programs that provide relevant and engaging teaching resources in user-friendly online forms. We also will discover other online sources and explore means of using them that promote critical thinking and analysis skills and engage middle and high school students in technology, language arts, science, social studies, and other subjects. Together we will locate materials relevant to your own North Carolina hometowns or counties and share ways to improve your students’ digital literacy and make these sources more meaningful to them.

Designed for ELA teachers of grades 6–8 and those who coach them.

Middle grades ELA inhabits a type of educational limbo. Intellectually, students are capable of taking on complex reading and writing tasks but many are still developing the necessary maturity to do so. This program will examine the knowledge and skills necessary to transition successfully from elementary to high school. Teachers will engage in and then craft their own language arts activities that engage both the child and the budding adult in each of their students. Activities will address reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening skills.

Research indicates literacy coaches have a direct impact on literacy instruction and student achievement in today’s schools. Coaches use their role in the schools to enhance others’ abilities through motivation and support. This can oftentimes be an overwhelming and daunting task. This program will offer inspiration, guidance, training, modeling of strategies, and evidence based practices for the 21st century elementary literacy coach.

It’s time to start thinking outside the box! Teachers often think projects take too much time to plan or don’t know how to align them with curriculum. Project Based Learning units (PBLs) are an effective and enjoyable way to learn that allow students to work as a team, reflect, ask questions, build confidence, work with a purpose, problem solve, and learn time management. Investigate what essential questions, unit questions, and content questions will enable you to develop your own PBL unit. Return to your classroom with a PBL unit you create that will excite and engage your students as they claim ownership of their learning.