Bill McBride

Today's students see more and more of a disconnect between school environments and the outside world. Recent research clearly identifies six environmental stimuli that get the brain's attention--stimuli that are inherent in most pieces of technology. Yet teachers rarely employ these elements in their teaching to increase student engagement. This highly interactive workshop will model a number of brain-based literacy strategies that utilize all six stimuli and consequently get students involved in learning. Teachers will learn strategies to help students preview texts, take notes, comprehend while reading, and summarize what they have read. Come prepared to be inspired and have fun. Detailed handouts are provided.

Content area teachers will participate in research-based, hands-on activities that promote literacy for all readers. The workshop covers the following five areas:

* Brain-based learning to increase student engagement
* Vocabulary Development for Older Students
* Before Reading Strategies
* During Reading Strategies
* After Reading Strategies
* Understanding by Design Implementation

The reading strategies presented represent some of the most successful activities teachers can implement in various content areas. This is a highly interactive and inspirational workshop designed to create teacher change in philosophy and practice. Detailed handouts are provided.

Recent scientific research is illuminating the genetic differences between the male and female brain. Based on the works of Michael Gurian and Leonard Sax, this workshop presents the differences in male and female brain development that affect behavior and learning. Teachers will come to understand that most school practices reinforce how girls learn rather than boys; consequently, boys make up the majority of our behavior problems, failures, and drop outs. Practical, hands-on literacy strategies will be presented that promote instruction specifically for males, for females, and for both sexes. Detailed handouts will be provided.

Many teachers feel woefully behind the curve in their use of internet and computer teaching strategies. This workshop is designed to get them over that psychological hump that hinders their use of technology in the classroom. In one day in a computer lab, teachers will learn the following:

* How to create a movie in Windows Movie Maker
* How to download video, pictures, and You Tube video into their movie
* How to include special effects, titles, and transitions into their movie
* How to add music and narration to their movie
* How to integrate Movie Maker films into their curriculum

You may never see prouder expressions on your teachers’ faces after this day! Detailed handouts are provided

Students reading content area texts are immersed in difficult concepts—abstract -isms, foreign terms, scientific and mathematical words, and concepts about which students have little prior knowledge. Vocabulary research points to clear strategies teachers can use with students to help them read and retain difficult key terms. This workshop will provide teachers with an understanding of what it means to “know” a word, what doesn’t work with older students in developing vocabulary, and which effective strategies increase a student’s word power. Hands-on practical activities will be modeled and detailed handouts will be provided. (It should be noted that primary teachers also enjoy this workshop.)

Making notes is the first step in studying by requiring a student to reflect on what he or she has read. Summarizing requires a student to reflect once again, and consequently, builds retention. In order for students to learn how to make good notes and summarize, they need good models for each of these processes. This workshop will demonstrate successful strategies that utilize graphic organizers to scaffold the processes of making notes and summarizing texts. These activities also enhance a student’s ability to review and reflect on what they have read.

Medical technology has made profound inroads into learning how the human brain works in the last decade. Though we are still scratching the surface, we now are beginning to understand how the brain learns and retains information. Based on the work of Eric Jensen, Marilee Sprenger, Pat Wolfe, and David Sousa, this workshop shows teachers how to adapt their classroom practices to make use of the way the brain works. Teachers will learn that “chalk and talk” no longer makes sense with today’s kids whose brains are wired by a technological environment. Specific strategies will be modeled that show teachers how to teach for comprehension and retention. Detailed handouts are provided.

This interactive workshop will present practical activities that get students actively involved in reading their Social Studies texts. Brain-based research shows educators how the brain learns, how to help students store information in long-term memory, and how to engage a student’s attention. Teachers will learn strategies to help students preview texts, take notes, comprehend while reading, and summarize what they have read. Attendees will also learn about best practices to improve the vocabulary development of older students. This workshop combines research-based methodologies and hands-on activities that teachers can translate immediately to their classrooms. Detailed handouts will be provided.

Social Studies texts are filled with a multitude of difficult abstract concepts—many -isms, -ologies, and -ocracies. Terms often describe places and times about which students have little prior knowledge. Vocabulary research points to clear strategies teachers can use with students to help them read and retain difficult academic terms. This highly interactive workshop will provide teachers with an understanding of effective strategies that increase a student’s understanding and retention. Hands-on practical activities and Powerpoint games that are also appropriate for English Language Learners will be modeled. Detailed handouts will be provided.

This interactive workshop will present practical activities that get students actively involved in comprehending their Math texts. Teachers will learn how to help students preview texts, learn academic vocabulary, decipher word problems, and use language to aid understanding of key concepts. Teachers will also learn methods to get students more physically and verbally engaged in classroom activities. This workshop combines research-based methodologies and hands-on activities that teachers can translate immediately to their classrooms. Detailed handouts will be provided.

This interactive workshop will present practical activities that get students actively involved in reading their Science texts. Brain-based research shows educators how the brain learns, how to help students store information in long-term memory, and how to engage a student’s attention. Teachers will learn strategies to help students preview texts, make notes, comprehend while reading, and summarize what they have read. Attendees will also learn about best practices to improve the vocabulary development of older students. This workshop combines research-based methodologies and hands-on activities that teachers can translate immediately to their classrooms. Detailed handouts will be provided.

Brain-based research shows educators how the brain learns, how to help students store information in long-term memory, and how to engage a student’s attention. This interactive workshop will present practical activities that get students actively involved in reading two of their most difficult textbooks—Math and Science. Teachers will learn strategies to help students preview texts, take notes, comprehend while reading, and summarize what they have read. Attendees will also learn about best practices to improve the vocabulary development of older students. This workshop combines research-based methodologies and hands-on activities that teachers can translate immediately to their classrooms. Detailed handouts will be provided.

This interactive workshop will present practical activities that help students read both fiction and nonfiction texts. Teachers will learn strategies to help students preview texts, make notes while reading, and summarize what they have read. Attendees will also learn about best practices to improve the vocabulary development of older students. Teachers will also learn how to use a student’s reading as a springboard for writing instruction. This workshop combines research-based methodologies and hands-on activities that teachers can translate immediately to their classrooms. Detailed handouts will be provided.

What teenagers do well is argue. In this interactive workshop, teachers learn to use this natural “resource” to teach students to write persuasively—the most tested mode of writing on high stakes test. Students begin by analyzing student models to learn how to support an opinion well. Cross content instruction helps students understand surveys, statistics, and logical fallacies. Students then research topics that matter to them, construct their arguments, research counterarguments, offer rebuttals and summarize views in actual classroom debates. Once the argument is well developed, students are able to transfer their work into a powerful persuasive paper.

* Researching and Evaluating Internet Information
* Supporting Parents and Teachers of the Gifted and Talented
* Vocabulary Development for Mathematics
* Vocabulary Development for Science
* Vocabulary Development for Language Arts
* Using Student Video in the Content Area Classroom