Welcome to The Grimes Reading Institute

For Regular and Special Education Teachers, Paraprofessionals, Specialists, Consultants, Administrators and Service Providers

Western Massachusetts Association of Special Education Administrators and the Mary Lyon Foundation, Inc.

A Toolbox for Finding and Fixing
Reading Problems:
Where's the Breakdown and What
Do I Do About It

Skilled reading is a dynamic process that has been compared to weaving the different strands or sub-skills of comprehension and word recognition together. Hollis Scarborough’s widely used “rope” model depicts eight such sub-skills that become more and more tightly wound and reliably strong as reading skill develops, beginning with background information and oral language for the preliterate child.

What happens if one or two of these eight sub-skills, such as vocabulary or inference-building or phonemic awareness has not been developed adequately for a given learner? This issue will be discussed as various learners’ needs and interventions are described.

This workshop will focus on the “ingredients” and sub-skills of reading as they get wound tightly (or not!) into skilled reading and provide a “tool kit” for addressing weak “strands” for various areas of need. The presenter will place this information in the context of RTI and Literacy Planning and rely on her expertise as both a special educator and as a reading specialist.

Participants will leave with manipulatives and a “mini manual” of references, web sites, webinar listings, assessments, list serves, video clips, learning center and curriculum ideas that will address these various areas. This workshop will focus on Pre-K to Grade 4 and will be introductory in nature, but substantive enough to provide “tools for tomorrow” for individual learners as well as group activities.

with an introduction by
Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D., Clinical Director, USM,
SMART for Schools and member State Literacy Team

• Speaker, Educational Consultant, Provider of Professional Development in the area of Reading Development for over 15 years for administrators, teachers, parents, community groups, state initiatives and private entities
• Served on development team - MA Licensure Test, Foundations of Reading
• Served as one of three Lead Trainers for the Massachusetts Reading First and Bay State Readers grants & designer of the professional development plan
• Public school special educator, adjunct university professor and author of course work for literacy, as well as articles on reading and differentiated curriculum
• First Admissions Director – Landmark School, Prides Crossing, MA
• Ed.M. Reading and Human Development – Harvard Graduate School of Education

What We Know About Language Development for Dual Language Learners and Others Pre K-3

The workshop is geared to Dual Language Learners as well as to native English speakers and diverse learners and children at risk for learning disabilities. The presenter will provide examples of simple and practical activities and resources in the areas of Vocabulary Development, Oral Language, and Listening Comprehension. The National Early Literacy Panel will provide the background.

• How to choose books to read aloud and vocabulary words
• How to elicit language when reading to children or conversing
• How to model language for English Language Learners and others
• How to help children express ideas in stories using hands-on materials
• How to provide scaffolding as support when children are challenged
• How explicit instruction is helpful when there is a paucity of language
• Why the “vocabulary gap” in impoverished children matters
• Dialogic reading with “Low Level Language Learners” L4

Audience: All elementary principals, assistant principals, teachers and central office personnel

Time: 9AM - 3:30PM (Registration begins at 8:30am class starts promptly at 9am.)

Location: MESPA Education and Technology Center
28 Lord Road ~ Suite 125
Marlborough, MA 01752

This two-part workshop will provide information about “the nuts and bolts” of oral language development as it relates to vocabulary development, listening comprehension, phonological awareness and other foundational pre- literacy skills. The material is based on the findings of the National Early Literacy Panel and relates to an RTI (Response to Intervention) framework.

The presenter will provide examples of helpful activities as the following topics are addressed:

Why is spoken language foundational to written language?
• What is Dialogic Reading and why is it so important?
• Is this different for Dual Language Learners or English Language Learners?
• How can language-based learning disabilities be prevented?
• How can teachers and caregivers build vocabulary (Eg. choosing the right words, the right books)?
• How do we teach both implicitly and explicitly to meet various needs?
• How do we decide which children need “pre-teaching” for a given activity?
• How can teachers help children’s language using hands-on materials?
• How can teachers build a child’s verbal confidence?
• How do we assess language skills and monitor progress?
• Why is spoken language foundational to written language?

Audience: All elementary principals, assistant principals, teachers and central office personnel

Time: 9AM - 3:30PM (Registration begins at 8:30am class starts promptly at 9am.)

Location: MESPA Education and Technology Center
28 Lord Road ~ Suite 125
Marlborough, MA 01752

Sponsored by The Reading Institute in Williamstown, MA (Director Janet Stratton)

Educators are being challenged to analyze and interpret data from reading related assessments and use this data to drive instruction that meets students’ varied needs. This workshop will provide planning tools that can assist elementary teachers in designing this targeted instruction and grouping the students. It will provide a summary of recommended activities and research based practical strategies for each kind of reading difficulty revealed through assessments such as DIBELS.
The session will provide recommendations in choosing specific materials, programs, and resources and activities in each of the five components of reading for a given profile of student, based on data. It will begin to address some criteria for choosing one program over another and outline other sources of information helpful to teachers, parents, and others who are making decisions about students. This is focused on K-5 and will be interactive with a focus on paraprofessionals.

Dates: November 4, 2010

Time: 8:30am - 3:30pm

Location: Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566

Cost: $150.00 per person/$125.00 per person when 3 or more attend from the same school or district. 6 Professional Development Points, lunch and refreshments. Payment is made to The Reading Institute.

Sponsored by The Reading Institute in Williamstown, MA (Director Janet Stratton)

This workshop will provide an overview of RTI and its implications for providing reading instruction that is jointly planned and monitored by general education and special education collaboratively. The focus is K-5. The presenter will describe:
• how this desired framework can be set up
• what curricula support it
• why a literacy team and assessment team are crucial
• the need for ongoing professional development
• the need for screening and targeted progress monitoring of students.
• how a multi-tiered continuum of instruction uses scientific research-based interventions that link remedial and preventive efforts within a school or district.

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a school-wide system for improving student achievement by directly linking ongoing assessment to instructional decision-making to accomplish three important goals:
• Ensure that every student in need of intervention receives high-quality, research-based instruction as soon as the need is detected
• Provide progress-monitoring tools to ensure that teachers are making data-based decisions about interventions and adjusting interventions based on the data
• Provide a practical and scientifically defensible method of qualifying students as eligible for special education services based on their response to the interventions being provided
RtI integrates assessment and intervention in a multi-tiered system. Schools identify students who are at risk for poor learning outcomes, provide evidence-based interventions, monitor student progress, and adjust the intensity and nature of the interventions based on each student’s responsiveness.

Dates: November 5, 2010

Time: 8:30am - 4:30pm

Location: Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566

Cost: $150.00 per person/$125.00 per person when three or more attend from the same school or district. 7 professional Development Points, Lunch, Refreshments. Payment is made to The Reading Institute.

Northeast Affiliate Conference
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

This workshop will provide a beginning toolkit for implementing or refining a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework for K-12 Literacy that links general education, special education, Title 1, and ELL instructional plans. It will address the following issues:

• Why district and school literacy plans are essential
• The “nuts and bolts” of setting up a literacy plan
• The different “look” of RTI* in grades K-3 and 4-12 settings
• How professional learning communities, assessment-driven instruction, progress monitoring and differentiated instruction are key ingredients of a RTI plan

RtI integrates evidence-based assessment and intervention in a multi-tiered framework of instruction where school community members take collective responsibility for all students. Universal screening helps identify students who are at risk for poor learning outcomes. Teams plan and provide evidence-based interventions, monitor student progress, and adjust the intensity and nature of the interventions based on each student’s responsiveness.

The “Grimes Acid Test” model for building literacy teams will be graphically described followed by time for small group discussions on its implementation for particular settings. RTI plans for both K-3 and 4-12 will be described by guest speakers who are in various stages of developing these models in their districts. A manual of relevant resources will be made available to participants.

Dates: December 2, 2010

Time: 8:30am - 3:30pm

Location: Boston Park Plaza
50 Park Plaza at Arlington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Sponsored by The Reading Institute in Williamstown, MA (Director Janet Stratton)

Building Sustainability by Building Expertise
Professional Development for "Teacher Leaders"

Location: Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566

Graduate Credits: Three graduate credits through Endicott College are available for an additional charge of $150.00, which is paid to Endicott College on the first day of class.

This is a five day course designed to deepen the knowledge of key teachers and assist principals by providing a school district with “building experts” to serve as resource people, coach-like people, and “go to people” in the area of reading instruction K-5. The goal is to help build expertise and consistency in a building with participation by Title 1, Special Education, ELL, and General Education teachers as well as paraprofessionals. PDP’s and/or credit are provided.

• Setting up Learning Centers and small flexible groups to help differentiate instruction
• Rti-friendly practices
• Infrastructure that supports “collective responsibility” school-wide (such as using grade level & data meetings to determine area of need & interventions with given children, providing tiered instruction, “walk to read” models, etc.)
• Curriculum suggestions of evidence-based instruction
• Review of assessment & progress monitoring practices to inform instruction ~ “monitor and adjust” (M. Hunter)
• General problem solving and information sharing regarding “best practices” in current, state-of-the-art instruction
• Video examples of successful schools and practices

The course begins with a condensed overview of evidence-based reading instruction in oral language, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, fluency, phonics and phonemic awareness, and quickly moves to the application of these practices and “make and take” ideas for immediate use.
The goal is to help leaders and teachers “drill down” to where the gaps exist in struggling readers’ backgrounds and present profiles and then prescribe flexible small group instruction, progress monitoring systems, curriculum supplements, learning center activities, technology assistance, and scaffolding that can address those areas.

Note: This course was designed by Sally Grimes, Ed.M. and is generic in nature, thus it does not promote a single set of practices or programs.

This course would build a common language and a collection of agreed upon practices and strategies to extend to other teachers. They would increase their knowledge of the following:
1. Practical applications of what we now know about reading instruction that is targeted to specific needs of specific children and is based on research-based assessments, observation and progress monitoring. These applications are mainly ones that “can be used tomorrow.”
2. Knowledge of resources (webcasts, “free” lessons and materials, parent information, supplemental curriculum materials, home-made manipulatives, etc.)
The ARRA requires that new Federal funds be spent in a manner that “builds capacity.” Since there is a shortage of Reading Specialists who are knowledgeable and skilled in evidence-based reading instruction, there is an even greater need now to develop “teacher leaders” who are trained in specific content areas, such as evidence-based reading instruction. Classroom teachers often need coaching, modeling, and training in current evidence- based practices to deal with the many details of assess- ment driven instruction.

The Presenter: Sally Grimes, M.Ed.
Sally Grimes, founding director of the Grimes Reading Institute, has provided consulting services and professional development to schools nationwide, as well as to federal, state, and private educational agencies in the area of reading instruction. Sally served as one of the three Lead Trainers in Massachusetts for the Reading First Grant under No Child Left Behind. The Grimes Reading Institute was one of the three entities that contracted with the Massachusetts Department of Education to design and develop the professional development component of the Reading First Grant. In addition, Sally’s experience includes teaching (pre-K through graduate school), diagnostic work, policy development, public service, and administration. Sally received her Master’s Degree in Reading and Human Development from the Harvard Gradutae School of Education, and her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois.

Three Day Summer Reading /RtI Institute A Roadmap for Reading Initiatives – Designed Especially for Elementary Administrators and Their Teams

Dates: Tuesday, July 20, Wednesday, July 21, and Thursday, July 22, 2010

Location: MESPA Education and Technology Center, Marlborough, MA

Registration Deadline: July 15, 2010

Fee: Three Days $450

Administrators, in their roles as educational leaders, are more and more involved in the details of reading instruction, but the learning curve involved can be daunting because the complexity of the information seems to grow exponentially each year.
We now know more about the brain and the reading process than ever before, but how can our everyday practices, especially with struggling readers, reflect that knowledge? We do know how to teach approximately 95% of people to read. Our infrastructures and budget constraints and limited in-service and pre-service training for teachers and administrators make this goal seem unattainable sometimes, but it is not.
This institute will outline the critical components of meeting this goal while using the RtI (Response to Intervention) framework. It will help administrators to “know what they don’t know”, if that is what they need. It provides a “roadmap” to help navigate the path and potential “potholes” that can occur when evaluating and altering reading practices and assessment driven instruction. This workshop is designed for administrators and their literacy leaders to participate as teams, so that they are able to “hear the same thing” with regard to rationale and practices and then be able to develop action plans in a supportive setting.

• Specialist in RtI and Establishing District and School-Based Literacy Plans
• Assistant in Development of MA Licensure Test, Foundations of Reading
• One of three Lead Trainers for the Massachusetts Reading First and Bay State Readers grants & designer of the professional development plan
• Public school special educator and adjunct university professor and author of course work for literacy as well as articles on reading and differentiated curriculum
• First Admissions Director – Landmark School, Prides Crossing, MA
• Ed.M. Reading and Human Development – Harvard Graduate School of Education

Given the recent emphasis on demonstrating positive outcomes in academic skills, school psychologists must be informed—and informative—about instructional intervention. This two-day workshop will review current models for understanding the reading process, as a gateway to knowing the critical skills to assess in the areas of word identification and language comprehension, and how analysis of students’ reading deficiencies relate to intervention. The focus will be on reading remediation needs of students in the upper elementary and middle school range (i.e., Gr. 3-8).

Course #: 10-228

• how this desired framework can be set up by a literacy team working together

• how a multi-tiered continuum of instruction uses scientific research-based interventions that link remedial and preventive efforts within a school or district

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a school-wide system for improving student achievement by directly linking ongoing assessment to instructional decision-making to accomplish three important goals:

• Ensure that every student in need of intervention receives high-quality, research-based instruction as soon as the need is detected and reallocate resources so that consistency in instruction is provided

• Provide progress-monitoring tools to ensure that teachers are making data-based decisions about interventions and adjusting interventions based on the data

• Provide a practical and scientifically defensible method of qualifying students as eligible for special education services based on their response to the interventions being provided

• Served as one of three Lead Trainers for the Massachusetts Reading First and Bay State Readers grants & designer of the professional development plan

• Public school special educator, adjunct university professor and author of course work for literacy, as well as articles on reading and differentiated curriculum

• Ed.M. Reading and Human Development – Harvard Graduate School of Education

Sponsored by The Reading Institute in Williamstown, MA (Director Janet Stratton)

Peggy McCardle, nationally known researcher and author of Reading Research in Action, among other publications, and Sally Grimes, her colleague and veteran provider of professional development and consultant in literacy, will discuss why research matters to the classroom teacher. They will provide information and ways to implement the “Magnificent Seven” with related hands-on instructional activities and resources.

Oral Language, Decoding (Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, Alphabetic Knowledge), Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, and Writing.

• PLUS…A “GPS” to Implementation: Activities, Websites, Resources, Free Webinars, Tool Kits

Peggy McCardle holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from Pennsylvania State University, a masters of public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), and has been a nationally certified speech-language pathologist. She has held academic positions at South Carolina State College, the University of Mississippi, and has taught at various other universities. She has held clinical positions at Womack Army Community Hospital and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Since 1992, she has worked at the National Institutes of Health in various positions; currently she is a Branch Chief and research program director at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she has built and managed research programs in various areas of reading, reading disabilities, language development and bilingualism.

• Served as one of three Lead Trainers for the Massachusetts Reading First and Bay State Readers grants & designer of the professional development plan

• Public school special educator, adjunct university professor and author of course work for literacy, as well as articles on reading and differentiated curriculum

• Ed.M. Reading and Human Development – Harvard Graduate School of Education