Coaching Institute with a Focus on Strategic Text Set Use for Instructional Read Aloud, Close Reading, and Mentor Text Study

Monday, November 18 - Wednesday, November 20, 2024 Location: Teachers College and NY Schools Cost: $650/per person Hours: 8:30am-3:00pm (ET) Grades: K-5

Teachers College Advancing Literacy is excited to host the Coaching Institute with a Focus on Strategic Text Set Use for Instructional Read Aloud, Close Reading, and Mentor Text Study. This 3 day institute is designed for literacy coaches, literacy leaders, and teachers to study the teaching of reading and writing via strategic text use. Participants will receive support with instructional planning, leading teachers, and giving and receiving feedback on classroom teaching. We will ground the work we do with teachers and students in the research and best practices of teaching and learning. Culturally relevant, responsive and sustaining pedagogies will be at the core of our learning as we think about the ways we work within our school environments and to bolster what we know about the science of learning, reading, and writing. We will also focus on the research and methods for teaching the science of reading and writing, including topics such as vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, text and sentence structure, and more. Building a community of practice is essential for all learners to grow, and this institute will not only provide you with a vision, but will give you time to practice with one another in classrooms. 

Participants will study demonstration teaching, practice giving and receiving feedback, and reflect on teaching and coaching practices. Then, together as a cohort, participants will think about ways to bring this work back to their school and district colleagues.

• Study and practice strategic use of read aloud and close reading to build community, listening comprehension skills, oral language, discourse about writing, and ways to build ‘paragraphs’ of thoughts.

• Develop and create strategic, powerful, multimodal text sets and plans  that support knowledge building, culturally responsive pedagogies and grade level standards.

• Lead instructional read alouds and close reading sessions with students, including coaching student conversations.

• Incorporate purposeful and intentional direct instruction of vocabulary into teaching practices.

• Study, co-plan, and practice methods of teaching that support clear, engaging, and transferable instruction.

• Practice ways of unpacking and using mentor texts for many purposes. Work with teachers and students in both whole group and small group settings to provide feedback and practice. 

• Think about ways that mentor texts support teachers and students in the decision making process as writers. We will consider everything from sentence level to whole text choices. 

• Use mentor texts to build healthy and strong identities and to understand and talk about differences.

Coaching institutes at Teachers College are experiences that get you quickly engaged in teaching and coaching, and also provide an important professional community for reflection and collaboration.