Morning Sessions: 9:00 am - Noon

Option 1

The Complexities of Comprehension - Nancy Hennessy, M.ED.

Reading comprehension demands the interaction of multiple sub skills so that the reader can process text at multiple levels of understanding. Making sense of words, sentences, how sentences relate to each other and the text and incorporation of prior knowledge are essential to comprehension. This session will explore what we must know about these processes and will identify strategies that directly develop essential skills and abilities critical for constructing meaning.

Option 2

Phonology 101: Basic Principles for Enhancing Phonological Awareness - Gary Troia, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

This session will introduce participants to the concept of phonological awareness and identify how it's related to literacy achievement and why it's important to address. Classroom assessment ideas and evidence-based teaching tactics will be described. Suggestions for improving phonological awareness in older students will be provided.

Noon - 1:30 pm

Luncheon Speaker: Dr. Edward Steinberg, Colorado Department of Education, Assistant Commissioner of Education

RTI, Dyslexia and Reading: Shifting the Mind Set

Awards Ceremony and Presentation:

Parents - Sally Pistilli – Douglas County Dyslexia Awareness Group
Patricia Reitwiesner – House Bill 1223
Teacher - Ellen Javernick
Special Award – State Representative Michael Merrifield and Karen Teja & State Senator Suzanne Williams

(Lunch is included in Conference fee and required for College Credit)

Afternoon Sessions : 1:15 - 4:00 pm

Option 1

RTI and Informed Practice: a Recipe for the Successful Treatment for Struggling Readers and Students with Dyslexia - Nancy Hennessy, M.ED. and G. Emerson Dickman, J.D.

What will it take to close the gap between uninformed and informed literacy environments for struggling readers? Let’s explore the science of reading to better understand the nature of the reading process, sources of difficulty and effective design and delivery of instruction. Listening to the “voice of evidence” can guide us in understanding the individual, classroom and organizational changes necessary if all students, including the individual with dyslexia, are to attain literacy.

Option 2

Reading and Writing Connections: Helping All Students Write about What They Learn - Gary Troia, Ph.D, CCC-SLP

This session will offer participants instructional strategies for linking reading comprehension with expository writing. In particular, we will review text summarization techniques using instructional frameworks such as cooperative learning. Expository writing as a genre study also will be addressed.

Option 3

Technology Tools for Struggling Readers and Writers - Jim Sandstrum, M.A., CCC-SLP

This session will offer participants instructional strategies for linking reading comprehension with expository writing. In particular, we will review text summarization techniques using instructional frameworks such as cooperative learning. Expository writing as a genre study also will be addressed.

(Bring your laptop if you have one to follow along with Jim)

5 pm

The International Dyslexia Association Rocky Mountain Branch Annual Meeting – Everyone is welcome to join us for Light Appetizers, Wine and Soft Drinks

Morning Sessions : 8:30 am - Noon

Option 1

Syllables Plus: Digging Deeper into the Structure of Language - Nancy Hennessy, M.ED.

What’s next after students learn basic phonics skills? This session will not only surface the importance of understanding advanced language structures, syllables and morphemes, but how they work in words and how educators can teach their students to deconstruct the complex words they encounter in academic texts.

Option 2

Vocabulary Teaching Tactics for the Classroom - Gary Troia, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

This session will present information about vocabulary learning and offer 10 different teaching activities that will help students remember words, what they mean, and even how to spell them. We will focus on content area vocabulary terms that often give students the most trouble.

Noon – 1:00pm - Lunch

Afternoon Sessions : 1:15 - 3:30 pm

Self-Managing Writing through Revising and Planning: The Keys to Writing Success - Gary Troia, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

In this session, participants will be introduced to the core components of self-regulation that are vital to carrying out the writing process. Specific planning and revising strategies that are helpful for writers of all ages will be discussed. Tips for how to embed writing strategies and self-regulation into process writing instruction will be given.

Data Matters! Connecting Assessment, Progress monitoring and Student Outcomes - Lynn Kuhn, M.A., CCC-SLP

The successful implementation of RTI depends upon good data. This session will assist teachers and administrators in understanding both the obvious and subtle implications provided through a deep understanding of how to use data to drive success for each student.

Beyond the Weekly Spelling Test: Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Strategies for Assessing & Teaching Spelling - Anne Whitney, Ed.D., CCC-SLP

Educators are being called upon to assume more responsibility for evaluating and treating individuals with spelling disorders. In the role of direct service provider, the specialist must evaluate and remediate the language underpinnings that affect the acquisition of spelling, reading and writing and to provide direct, explicit teaching of these skills as warranted.

This seminar will review the basic principles of spelling development. The specialist will learn to assess spelling errors that reflect deficits in phonemic awareness, orthographic knowledge, morphological knowledge, and in visual orthographic memory. The role each of these domains plays in spelling vs. reading will be addressed. It will guide the professional through the process of developing specific learning objectives based on an in-depth analysis of spelling samples.