The Chicago Literacy Group recognizes that teaching is complicated. As we all work to understand the evolving science and what it means for our instructional practices, what teachers need is clarity. Educators deserve development that elevates them as practitioners and professionals, which is why we offer the Summer Institutes. This year, our goal is to communicate to educators the essentials to teaching students to think, read, and write. There is an incredible amount of information and research out there; our promise is to distill it in ways that truly help you to teach in more meaningful and impactful ways. If you are wanting to learn about high-leverage practices to prioritize to get all kids reading and writing, then the Summer Institutes are the place for you.
So what is your goal for the upcoming year? Is it centered around the teaching of reading? The teaching of writing? What about expanding language skills and vocabulary? Are you a leader who wants to charter a course of focus and priority for the upcoming school year and help your teachers thrive? This year, we have six Institutes, each two days in length, designed to get at the heart of what can impact educators and students the most.
The Essentials of Teaching Reading: Using Research to Prioritize Our Daily Instructional Practices and Teach Every Child to Read |
The Essentials of Teaching Writing: Using Research to Prioritize Our Daily Instructional Practices and Teach Every Child to Write |
High-Impact Literacy Leadership: Determining Priorities and Planning Cycles of Development to Help Every Educator Thrive |
The Essentials of Teaching Vocabulary: Making Vocabulary and Morphology Instruction More Explicit, Interactive, and Impactful |
The Powerhouse Practice of Repeated Read Alouds: Uncovering Why + How to Use a Three-Read Approach to Boost Language + Vocabulary Skills |
The Essentials of Small-Group Teaching: Differentiating Foundational Skills Instruction in Meaningful and Manageable Ways |
K-2nd Session |
K-2nd Session |
PreK-8 Session |
2nd-8th Session |
PreK-3rd Session |
K-2nd Session |
July 15-16, 2024 |
July 17-18, 2024 |
July 22-23, 2024 |
July 24-25, 2024 |
July 29-30, 2024 |
July 31-August 1, 2024 |
9 am - 3 pm |
9 am - 3 pm |
9 am - 3 pm |
9 am - 3 pm |
9 am - 3 pm |
9 am - 3 pm |
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Registration is first come, first served. Once capacity is reached for each Institute, registration will close.
Whether we have been teaching for two years or twenty, the ever-shifting educational landscape–with evolving research, changing policy, and competing initiatives–can leave us wondering what practices to prioritize. How do I teach every child to read? What should I do each day so that my students develop the skills, cognitive processing, and behaviors that proficient readers need in order to flourish?
Institute 1 will focus on two big factors that influence a child’s ability to read – foundational skills and language comprehension. Our goal is to simplify the complex and provide each educator with a clear guide as to how to effectively teach two daily practices: the phonics lesson and the interactive read aloud. Armed with research and clear on purpose, structure, and high-leverage practices, each educator will leave feeling empowered to teach every child to read.
Institute 1 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 1 is a 2-day session, which takes place on July 15-16, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Greene Elementary in Chicago, IL. Participants can choose to attend either a K-2 or 3-5 session. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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The conversation in the last few years has focused heavily on the science of reading, but what about writing? What does research say is essential for children to learn the skills, cognitive processes, and behaviors that proficient writers need to flourish? What does every child need to be taught in order to become a writer?
Institute 2 will focus on the two big “C”s of writing development – conventions and composition. How do we teach students the foundational skills of writing (spelling and syntax) alongside the teaching of cognitive and composition skills (such as knowledge of genre, structure, and the writing process)? Our goal is to provide each educator with the knowledge and clarity to effectively balance the teaching of both conventions and compositions by using the gradual release of responsibility model. Empowered by research and armed with tools for explicitly taking writers through the “I do, we do, you do” process, each educator will leave ready to teach every child to write.
Institute 2 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 2 is a 2-day session, which takes place on July 17-18, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Greene Elementary in Chicago, IL. Participants can choose to attend either a K-2 or 3-5 session. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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As a leader it is always hard to juggle competing priorities, but in the current climate of quickly changing practices and policies, it’s made prioritizing an even greater challenge. What is most important in advancing the literacy practices of the teachers in our buildings? How do we determine both a short-term focus, while maintaining a long-term vision for professional development? What does a cycle of development look like, in order to truly empower teachers and evolve common practices?
Institute 3 will support leaders in establishing high-leverage literacy priorities, designing cycles of development to scaffold adult learning over time, and bringing schoolwide cohesion to teaching and learning. The Chicago Literacy Group will share “greatest hits” for tried-and-true ways for leaders to uplift and unite learning across a school community. Highly recommended for all principals, coaches, curriculum coordinators, and any other leader looking to impact and improve the learning experiences of both teachers and kids.
Institute 3 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 3 is a 2-day session on July 22-23, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Greene Elementary in Chicago, IL, and will focus on the leadership in PreK-8th grade schools. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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We know the importance of vocabulary and morphological knowledge in supporting reading comprehension. But what does research say are the most effective processes for teaching vocabulary? How do we know which words to teach? What are ways to ensure transfer, so that students expand their language skills when speaking and writing?
Institute 4 will provide guidance for setting up daily (and brief!) vocabulary lessons. This session will guide teachers in selecting key vocabulary words from complex text, utilizing a structure for teaching individual words as well as high-leverage roots and affixes, and making vocabulary and morphology instruction a multi-sensory experience. This Institute is designed for educators looking for ways to make the teaching of vocabulary and morphology more explicit, interactive, and impactful.
Institute 4 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 4 is a 2-day session, which takes place on July 24-25, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Greene Elementary in Chicago, IL. This is an Institute for educators in 2nd-8th grades. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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The research is clear that committing to a daily interactive read aloud is one of the most impactful ways to grow the language and literacy skills of all learners. But how can a repeated read aloud take it to the next level, serving as a tool to deepen comprehension, build conversation skills, and explicitly teach vocabulary?
Institute 5 will explore the science behind why repeated read alouds are an essential practice in PreK-3rd grade classrooms, whether done in whole-group settings or in small-group formats. Educators will learn the purpose and structure of each reading of a complex text and leave with example lesson plans for a three-day sequence. This Institute is sure to be a favorite of all educators, especially those looking for ways to engage whole-groups of students in thoughtful dialogue, as well as those wanting to boost the language skills of learners with specialized needs, multilingual learners, and students in need of executive functioning support.
Institute 5 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 5 is a 2-day session, which takes place on July 29-30, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Bateman Elementary in Chicago, IL. This is an Institute for educators in PreK-3rd grades. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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Many of us are taking on new foundational skills curricula or adding in different teaching strategies to better align our phonics and phonemic awareness instruction with research. Adding the challenge of differentiating that instruction can feel overwhelming. We know that differentiation is important, but how can we plan for and teach it in ways that are both meaningful and manageable?
Institute 6 will define for educators what differentiation is and how to set up small group teaching in order to meet the individual needs of students. Educators will learn a predictable structure for introducing and reinforcing foundational skills and then will plan cycles of small groups to teach in the fall. We’ll simplify the topic of assessment, providing ideas for quick and informative assessments for both diagnostic and progress monitoring purposes. This Institute will appeal to general education teachers who are looking to set up small-group instruction in their classrooms, as well as to reading specialists, interventionists, and learning behavior specialists who are looking to support the growth of individual students.
Institute 6 Structure, Logistics + Cost: Institute 6 is a 2-day session, which takes place on July 31-August 1, 2024, from 9 am - 3 pm at Bateman Elementary in Chicago, IL. Participants can choose to attend either a K-2 or 3-5 session. The registration fee is $325, and participants receive 5 hours of CPDU credit. |
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You two are fantastic! You are knowledgeable, positive, and inspiring. You understand that teaching is challenging and change is the only constant. You deliver information in a way that is accessible and manageable.
What worked? EVERYTHING! Carissa you are absolutely fabulous and so gifted and talented at what you do. You can tell you have a true passion for it as well and it shines through! I have never learned so much, had so many "ah ha" moments, or had so much fun at a workshop!
Carissa is so engaging, and clearly presents the work in a way that is clear and concise. She is truly a master of her craft and I love learning from her!
Fabulous PD. I'm fired up to teaching writing this school year!
It was by far the best writing professional development seminar I have attended!
Maria did a wonderful job presenting. She is extremely knowledgeable and very friendly.
I greatly appreciate the professionalism and knowledge of both literacy coaches, Maria and Carissa. They are an invaluable asset to me as a teacher, as well as to my school!!
This was a fabulous three days, and I'm thrilled to have been able to get to participate. Maria, you've made me so excited to start the literacy workshop in my classroom this year!
I love Maria and Carissa and the resources they provide for me as a teacher and teacher leader in my building. Going into my third year with CLG, I felt very confident about planning.