REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON “READING INFORMATIONAL TEXTS” FOR K-3 EDUCATORS

FROM Rebecca B. Garland, Chief Academic Officer
Angela H. Quick, Deputy Chief Academic Officer
Cindy W. Bennett, Director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction

REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON “READING INFORMATIONAL TEXTS” FOR K-3 EDUCATORS

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and the regional education service providers (RESA) are planning a series of workshops on “Reading Informational Texts.” A copy of the overview of this session is attached, as is the trainer’s resume. Please note that even though the description carries the Cambuim Learning Group/Voyager Learning logos, these workshops have been developed specifically for North Carolina. They will incorporate some of the existing materials from this company but have been modified or revised so that the sessions address the national Common Core Standards as well as the principles of literacy included in the Gates Literacy Initiative.

These sessions are for K-3 educators only. This includes principals, classroom teachers, literacy coaches, curriculum specialists, and central office staff. However, participants are expected and should be willing to provide this information to other K-3 faculty within the school.

The workshop will be provided twice in each RESA area and is one full day in length. Breaks will be provided, but lunch is “on your own” for participants. Each session will be limited to 40 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no registration fee for the session, as expenses are being paid from the remaining Reading First budget.

The general daily schedule for sessions is as follows:

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Workshop (break time at the discretion of the trainer)
11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Workshop/Evaluation (break time at the discretion of the trainer)
3:30 p.m. Workshop adjourn

Certificates of Attendance will be awarded for six (6) contact hours.

Western Regional Education Service Alliance

July 20, 2010 Haynes Center
AB Technical College
Enka

September 28, 2010 Haynes Center
AB Technical College
Enka

Registration forms should be sent to DPI. Please see registration form (attached) for additional information.


Piedmont Triad Education Consortium

July 23, 2010 Village Inn, Clemmons

September 29, 2010 Site to be Determined

Please go directly to the Piedmont Triad website (http://www.ptecnet.org/) for additional information and registration materials. You will need to register directly with the Consortium.


Northwest Region Education Service Alliance

July 27, 2010 Holiday Inn
N. Wilkesboro

September 30, 2010 Holiday Inn
N. Wilkesboro

Please go directly to the North West RESA website (http://www.nwresa.org/) for additional information and registration materials. You will need to register directly with the RESA.


Southeast Education Alliance

August 16, 2010 Duplin Commons (across from James Sprunt Community College)

October 1, 2010 James Sprunt Community College, Williams Building
(See attached map/directions.)

Registration forms should be sent to DPI. Please see registration form (attached) for additional information.

Learn NC Summer Courses

The summer months are a great time to earn renewal credit. Here are some courses that LEARN NC has coming up:

Featured course: Archaeology and North Carolina's First Peoples
Jul 12–Sep 5
Theresa McReynolds
6.0 CEUs * $125
If you thought archaeology was strictly the domain of history teachers and Indiana Jones, think again. LEARN NC’s online professional development course Archaeology and North Carolina’s First Peoples lets educators of all subjects and grade levels explore 12,000 years (!) of human history in North Carolina.
This course, which runs from July 12 through September 5, is worth 6 CEUs, and costs only $125. In addition to teachers, we encourage non-classroom educators who work with students or archaeological resources (i.e., park managers, camp counselors, etc.) to enroll as well.
*****

Facilitating Online Collaboration - Carolina Online Teacher Program
Jul 6–Aug 3
2.0 CEUs (Technology) * $150
Communication is the lifeblood of online courses - learn how to make the most of it. Develop the skills to facilitate good online communication, moderate online discussion, and promote better accomplishment of instructional goals within the virtual classroom.

Designing a Virtual Field Trip (e-Learning for Educators)
Jul 7–Aug 17
Claire Lambert
2.0 CEUs
$150
Use internet resources to design a "virtual field trip" for your students. You'll study strategies and resources to create effective and engaging virtual field trips aligned to state and national standards.

Introduction to Online Learning
Jul 12–Aug 1
Diana Chang
1.0 CEUs
$50
Are you interested in taking an online course, but unsure where to begin? Maybe you're a little nervous about not seeing your instructor and your classmates in-person. If so, Introduction to Online Learning is the course for you. This course introduces first-time online learners to the characteristics, requirements, tools, and practices of distance learning.

A Crash Course in ESL
Jul 14–Aug 10
Carrie Hill
2.0 CEUs
$150
Grasp pedagogy, policy and procedure for teaching and working with English language learners. This course provides a concise overview of strategies and best practices for all teachers, administrators, and support staff working with English language learners.

Teaching Online Courses - Carolina Online Teacher Program
Jul 14–Aug 17
Eric Drowatzky
3.0 CEUs (technology)
$225
Take your teaching into a new realm -- the online classroom. You'll learn the pedagogy of online courses, experience the realities and complexities of online learning, and discover specific techniques for successfully building an online learning community.

Moodle Training - Carolina Online Teacher Program
Jul 19–Aug 8
Deborah Horn
2.0 CEUs
$150
Want to teach an online course yourself? Learn the basics of teaching in Moodle, LEARN NC’s course management system, to customize one of our courses for your own classroom.

LEP Training 102
Jul 27–Aug 16
Carrie Hill
1.0 CEUs
$75
This course will continue to prepare you as you take on the role of a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Coordinator or ESL Teacher.

Archaeology and North Carolina's First Peoples: Online Course

Archaeology and North Carolina's First Peoples: Online Course
6.0 CEUs; $125
Begins July 12

How long have humans lived in North Carolina? What were these people like, and how do we know? This 8-week online course explores the science of archaeology and 12,000 years of North Carolina’s human past.
Participants will be introduced to inquiry-based activities that can be adapted to meet their own teaching objectives.

For more information or to register, visit http://www.learnnc.org/courses/current/Archaeology_07_10_McReynolds

Questions? Contact Theresa McReynolds (temcre@email.unc.edu)

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Archaeology in the K-12 Classroom
0.8 CEUs (or 1.0 CEUs with an optional assignment)
$25
Morganton, NC
July 19, 2010, 9:00AM-5:00PM

This one-day workshop introduces teachers to the science of archaeology and explores inquiry-based archaeology activities that can be used in the classroom.

For more information or to obtain a registration form, please contact Theresa McReynolds (temcre@email.unc.edu).

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North Carolina's Forgotten First Colony: Archaeological Fieldwork Experience for Educators
4.0 CEUs; $125
Morganton, NC
July 19-23**
**One-day and three-day options are also available; please contact Theresa McReynolds (temcre@email.unc.edu; 919-749-5212) for details**

This week-long teacher's institute explores the science of archaeology through a combination of classroom activities and archaeological fieldwork at the Berry site, believed to be the location of the earliest European settlement in the interior of what is now the United States.
You'll work with professional archaeologists and educators to learn and apply fundamental concepts of archaeology as you excavate the remains of a sixteenth-century Spanish fort that predates both the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island and Jamestown. Your exploration will be guided by inquiry-based activities that you can adapt for use in your own classroom.

For more information or to register, please visit http://www.wcu.edu/6091.asp or contact Theresa McReynolds
(temcre@email.unc.edu)

SPCC to Offer Spanish for the Workplace

South Piedmont Community College will offer Spanish for the Workplace (SPA 120) in Monroe and Polkton this fall.

The Monroe class will be offered Monday and Wednesday, 6-7:15 p.m., on the Old Charlotte Highway Campus. The Polkton class will be offered Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30-1:45 p.m., on the L.L. Polk Campus.

Taught by SPCC Spanish Instructor Dora Sanchez, a native Spanish speaker, the course is designed to give people Spanish skills for today’s workplace. Emphasis is placed on facilitating basic communication with people whose native language is Spanish. Career-specific vocabulary that targets health, business and public service professions will be stressed.

“Having this skill puts you a notch above others for getting the job you want or keeping the job you have,” said Valerie Jones, Arts & Sciences division chair at SPCC. The course was developed in response to needs identified by employers in Anson and Union counties.

College admission requirements must be met to enroll in this three-credit-hour course. For information about the enrollment process, go to www.spcc.edu. For more information, contact Valerie Jones at 704-272-5438 or vjones@spcc.edu.

Rosemary Britt
Director, Marketing and Communications
South Piedmont Community College
PO Box 126
Polkton, NC 28135

704-272-5342
FAX 704-272-5350
rbritt@spcc.edu

Looking for Exciting Professional Development Opportunities for NC Public School Teachers at NO COST to Your School System?

Are you looking for more FREE professional development to attend this summer? The K-12 Social Studies team and the Department of Public Instruction has just what the doctor ordered!

Attached is a Save the Date regarding an upcoming social studies Advanced Placement Institute for teachers at the high school, middle, and elementary level.
___________________________________________________________________

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Advancing Teaching


Attention North Carolina Public School Teachers:

Looking for Exciting
Professional Development Opportunities
for NC Public School Teachers at
NO COST
to Your School System?

We want you to know that we are here to support you! As you know, public schools depend on the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching to help provide professional development for our state's teachers. With the current economic climate, many school systems have drastically reduced, and in some cases eliminated, professional development funding.

NCCAT's instructional programs are a vital means of improving the quality of teaching in North Carolina's schools. Programs are interdisciplinary and span a multitude of subject areas, including environmental and physical sciences, technology, humanities, arts, mathematics, leadership, communication, and health. All NCCAT seminars incorporate the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards.

NCCAT provides North Carolina's teachers with meaningful and effective professional development that is essential to the 21st century classroom. NCCAT covers all program costs including seminar expenses, meals, lodging, and pay for the substitute teacher.

We currently have a few openings in the following NCCAT professional development seminars: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13227♦ Connect to Your Future: Celebrating Success in the Classroom June 28-July 2: Cullowhee Designed for beginning teachers in their second or third year of teaching.
Teaching is an art, a science, and a profession supported by best practices of extensive educational theory and research. But what tips, tools, and techniques help teachers promote student success? Do children of poverty have different and unique learning needs? How do you determine and meet the learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cognitive levels of all students in the classroom? This seminar supports motivated beginning teachers in their second or third year of teaching by strengthening their knowledge base and classroom expertise. Through experiential learning, teachers will explore pedagogical concerns including differentiated instruction, brain-based research, communication, and classroom management. Come prepared to build professional competencies and confidence, improve student achievement, and reinforce your commitment to this critically important profession.
13229♦ Make Thinking Visible: Integrating Art into the Curriculum July 7-11: Cullowhee Utilizing the full spectrum of the arts, learn strategies that will engage even your reluctant learners. Research has shown that the arts help level the learning field across socioeconomic boundaries and increase overall academic performance for youth at risk. An expansive cultural and global view will serve as a vehicle to explore effective teaching strategies for today's diverse classrooms. 13215 ♦ Everyone Needs a Little Mystery: CSI in Your Classroom August 2-6: Cullowhee Was it really Colonel Mustard in the billiard room with a knife? After this seminar, you'll know for sure. Our survey of forensic science techniques will span from fingerprinting and impression analysis to forensic entomology, bite mark analysis, the physics of blood spatter, and much more. Use the equipment that the professionals use and hone your powers of observation and deduction as you assume the guise of expert CSI-Crime Scene Instructor. You will process a crime scene and explore DNA forensic analysis in a state-of-the-art laboratory. Middle and high school science teachers are encouraged to apply. 13218 ♦ Get the Picture? The Math, Science, and Art of Photography August 9-13: Cullowhee Shutter speed, aperture diameter, depth of field...who knew there was so much math and science involved in taking a high-quality photograph? Discover how this unique art form can provide an ideal vehicle for strengthening math and science skills while enhancing creativity in all students. Understand how photographers not only record what is visual but also create and preserve a sense of time and place. No prior training in photography is necessary; however, participants are encouraged to provide their own 35mm film single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.

How can I apply?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Step 1: SELECT up to three seminars; for a full list of seminars, visit NCCAT's website.

Step 2: CONTACT NCCAT Teacher Services by calling 800-922-0482 or email the registrar. We will need your name, home phone number, social security number, the number of years you have taught in North Carolina, school name, and your seminar choices. Step 3: SUBMIT the application with your principal's signature and your brief personal statement (200 words minimum) to NCCAT Teacher Services.

FAX your completed application to 828-293-3740, Attn: NCCAT Teacher Services. Once your completed application is received and approved, NCCAT will notify you of your placement status.

FIND FULL SEMINAR DESCRIPTIONS AND DATES by clicking here and visiting NCCAT's websitewww.nccat.org/s/1099/start.aspx

DPI Professional Development on the Teacher Evaluation Instrument

Educators:

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Social Studies team is releasing various upcoming professional development opportunities developed in conjunction with the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. The attached professional development opportunities will help:

1. Teachers make the content they teach engaging, relevant, and meaningful to students' lives.
2. Teachers facilitate instruction engaging all students to use 21st Century skills so they can discover how to learn, innovate, collaborate, and communicate their ideas.
3.Teachers include global awareness, civic literacy, financial literacy, and health awareness in the core contents.

http://www.ncptsc.org/Final%20Standards%20Document.pdf (copy and paste)

Based upon research on effective practices and teacher efficacy, the attached professional development opportunities are FREE and are virtually facilitated to maximum participant involvement and flexibility. We look forward to your participation!

Don't forget to remember those who died while in military service as we celebrate Memorial Day.