Reading and Writing Connections Institute 2024 (Virtual)

Monday, June 24 - Thursday, June 27, 2024 Institute will be offered virtually through Zoom.

Hours: 11am-5pm Eastern Daylight Time

Grades: K-10

Summer Institute Brochure

This virtual institute will support first year participants in studying the research and practice of teaching writing. Advanced participants will explore multiple structures and pedagogies for raising the level of close reading and deepening reading-writing connections, including strategic, highly planned read aloud, focused book clubs, and targeted instruction with grade level texts. We’ll examine the role of reading response - writing and jotting about reading and talking about reading, as ways to deepen students’ comprehension and interpretation, and also develop their expressive language. In all sections, participants will spend time learning relevant research, studying student work, creating tools for classroom implementation, and honing their instructional practice.

First Year Sections

Writing: A Deep Study of Essential Instructional Practices, Mentor Texts and Responsive Feedback (Grades K-10)

Writing is a transformative force for young people. Join us in making writing powerful for all your students. First year writing sections are designed to support comprehensive standards and evidence-based writing instruction in grades K-10. We’ll support participants with teaching whole class lessons as well as with responsive conferring and small group work. We’ll introduce engaging mentor texts, and demonstrate multiple methods for implementing these grade level texts in the classroom. We’ll also work inside of partnerships and clubs, demonstrating how to get students into learning alliances focused on collaborative learning. Participants will spend time learning relevant research, studying student work, creating tools for classroom implementation, and honing their instructional practice. This section, on writing instruction essentials, will be right for educators in grades K-10 who are taking a writing institute at Teachers College for the first time and those who want to dive into the latest research and evidence-based practices in writing instruction. 

Advanced Sections

Fostering Reading and Writing Connections Through Read Aloud, Conversations, and the Study of Mentor Texts (Grades K-3)

Participants will learn and study how highly planned, strategic read aloud provides opportunities for students to develop strong vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and listening skills; and also serves as a powerful mentor text for writing instruction. Participants will learn how to leverage whole class texts to foster the oral language skills needed to talk and think about text as well as compose inside of specific genres. Participants will see how the research and pedagogy of teaching can create a rigorous, culturally relevant, and responsive environment for all learners. 

Creating Reading-Writing Toolkits to Support Transfer of Literacy Skills (Grades K-3)

Participants will consider the significance of reciprocity between composing and comprehension, between encoding and decoding, and the  predictable content to support a range of learners. You’ll have the opportunity to make toolkits, so that you are prepared for a wide range of instructional needs and structures. You’ll have the opportunity to explore pedagogy, too, so your practices are affirming and lead to student agency.

Deepening Reading and Writing Connections, Close Reading, and Writing about Reading/Reading Response (Grades 3-10)

Participants will study ways to instill close reading skills so that readers see more in the texts they read and transfer more of what they learn about writing craft to what they read. We’ll study reading response, including reading notebooks and a variety of multimodal reading response.  We’ll share methods for deepening learners’ acquisition of literary vocabulary, as well as structures for increasing usage. Participants will see how the research and pedagogy of teaching can create a rigorous, culturally relevant and responsive environment for all learners.

Creating Reading-Writing Toolkits to Support Transfer of Literacy Skills (Grades 3-10)

Participants will consider the significance of reciprocity between composing and comprehension, between encoding and decoding, and the  predictable content to support a range of learners. You’ll have the opportunity to make toolkits, so that you are prepared for a wide range of instructional needs and structures. You’ll have the opportunity to explore pedagogy, too, so your practices are affirming and lead toward student agency. 

Cost: $850

Reading and Writing Connections Payment

You will be notified by email if your application is accepted. Your acceptance email will provide a link for payment (credit card or PO only). Purchase orders for this institute can be made out to: Teachers College Advancing Literacy, 525 W 120th Street, Box 77, New York, NY 10027.

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