Institute 5: Vocabulary Instruction That Makes a Difference: Meeting Standards and Beyond with a Multiphase Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction Program (MCVIP) in Grades 4-9
Reading Today Online asked all of the Institute Chairpersons for IRA San Antonio to respond to three questions designed to give our readers and all prospective attendees a better understanding of the insights and benefits they will gain from attending these day-long programs.
What is the professional urgency that this Institute is designed to address?
Are you confused about how best to integrate vocabulary instruction into your curriculum? Are you working on the kind of instruction in vocabulary that the Common Core State Standards and best-practices research calls for? Are you dissatisfied with compartmentalizing vocabulary in your curriculum with a free-standing program, workbook or other set of commercial materials? Then this is the institute for you!
What types of literacy professionals is this Institute designed for?
This institute is designed for educational professionals (teachers, literacy specialists, interventionists, curriculum directors. professional developers) wanting to build strong, integrated vocabulary instruction in their schools and classrooms. Four nationally known experts on vocabulary—Michael Graves, author of The Vocabulary Book (2005); Jim Baumann, co-editor of Vocabulary Instruction, Second Edition: Research to Practice (2013); Camille Blachowicz, co-author of Teaching Vocabulary in All Classrooms (2010); and Patrick Manyak, former Reading Teacher columnist and conceptualizer of Character Trait Analysis (2007)—will present the foundations of research-based vocabulary instruction which has shown to make a difference in student performance. Their session will include keynotes to orient participants to the research on vocabulary and classroom instruction and 3 different breakouts with teachers and professional developers from their federally funded Multifaceted Vocabulary Instruction Project. Participants will attend all three breakouts, with video examples of teaching, and then have a chance to Q & A with the experts and master teachers.
How will attendance at this Institute help those literacy professionals "make a difference" in their work?
This institute is designed by researchers, authors, professional developers and teachers with a deep commitment to teacher empowerment and professional growth. They are passionate about what they have learned and developed together and want to share it with you, the school literacy professional.
You will leave the institute with handouts and other resources reflecting all four essential components of a multifaceted program and with concrete, teacher-tested ideas that resulted in standardized test and performance gains for students.
You will have a chance to ask specific teachers, professional developers and researchers about what they have seen and experienced and will have time to network with other engaged and dedicated educators throughout the interactive sessions.
This is your chance to learn about vocabulary instruction that makes a difference. The institute is limited in size to maximize interaction so, if YOU want to make a difference in the vocabulary learning of your students, sign up soon.
Registration Information: This preconference institute will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 19 before the 58th International Reading Association Annual Convention begins on Saturday, April 20. Register online for this or another institute and/or to register for the annual convention. Call 888-294-9167 or 415-979-2278 to find out how to register by phone, fax, or mail. To learn more about convention events in San Antonio, visit the annual convention website and the online itinerary planner (iPlanner), or read more Reading Today annual convention articles.