Onsite Training and Consulting
- Elementary Courses:
- Review the courses below, select the ones
that will meet your training needs, and give us a
call at 800-840-2698 to help build a training just
for you.
101: Reaching
All Learners
102: Developing
Content Literacy
103: The
Interactive Student Notebook
104: Mastering
Assessments
105: Enhancing
Teachers’ Understanding and Appreciation of American
History
- A full-day TCI Academy training is six hours, which is the minimum commitment for bringing us onsite. Mix and match sessions from any of the courses listed below to build a training just right for your site. One of our Customer Support Representatives will be happy to assist you in combining sessions to create one to five days of training.
Course
101: Reaching All Learners
|
|
101a: Visual
Discovery: Developing Visual Literacy Skills
|
2
hours |
The
Visual Discovery strategy encourages students to construct their own
knowledge through higher-level thinking, develops deductive reasoning,
and taps visual, intrapersonal and body-kinesthetic intelligences. Learn
how to use Visual Discovery activities that encourage students to view,
touch, interpret, and bring to life compelling images as they discover
key concepts.
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101b: Skill
Builder: Dynamic Methods for Teaching Key Skills to Young Learners |
2
hours |
During
a Skill Builder, students are challenged to work in pairs to complete
skill-oriented tasks repeatedly while getting immediate teacher feedback.
Discover how to teach students key social studies skills such as reading
maps, categorizing information, analyzing artifacts and primary sources,
and reading for detail, in a dynamic, interactive way. Teaching key skills
as early as kindergarten will set students up for success in later grades.
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101c: Experiential
Exercise: Helping Students Connect to Abstract Concepts |
2
hours |
Experiential
Exercises are short, memorable experiences that make abstract ideas accessible
and meaningful. Learn how to bring to life rich human dramas and compelling
experiences so that students understand and remember even the highest-level
concepts. Tapping into young students’ intrapersonal and body-kinesthetic
intelligences helps them build an appreciation of key concepts and remember
them long after their
elementary years.
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| 101d: Writing
for Understanding: Turning Your Students into Powerful Writers |
2
hours |
To write forcefully
and in detail about important topics, students need interactive experiences
about which to write. The Writing for Understanding strategy taps into
students’ multiple abilities so that all learners—even those with lesser
linguistic skills—have something memorable to write about. You will discover
how to use prewriting activities, authentic writing assignments, and a
guided writing process to encourage students to write with style and meaning.
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| 101e: Response
Groups: Cultivating Rich Class Discussions |
2
hours |
Response Groups
are small, mixed-ability groups that grapple with a thought-provoking question
or issue and then share their viewpoints with the entire class. Discover
how to teach young students the skills they need for engaging in and enjoying
these in-depth, lively class discussions. You’ll learn effective methods
for teaching even young students to exchange information with one another
and to understand different points of view effectively and respectfully.
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| 101f: Problem
Solving Groupwork: Using Collaborative Skills to Unlock Understanding |
2
hours |
During Problem
Solving Groupwork tasks, students sit in mixed-ability groups to tackle
challenging projects. Because each student has a well-defined role, everyone
participates. Learn how to design and implement groupwork activities
that effectively engage all students on challenging projects. You’ll
discover the key elements of successful groupwork and how to implement
them in your classroom.
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| Course
102: Developing Content Literacy |
|
| 102a: Supporting
Struggling Readers |
6
hours |
Strong reading skills in young learners are crucial to their long-term academic success; yet for many students, reading can be more of a chore than a joy. This session will delve into the reading process and show you how you can increase your students’ reading comprehension by actively teaching vocabulary and guiding them through purposeful before, during, and after reading activities. You will experience practical, fun, and innovative ideas for helping all students improve their content area reading skills.
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| 102e: Supporting
Struggling Writers |
6
hours |
Writing is a process that can be difficult for some young learners. This session will demonstrate ways to support struggling writers so that all students, even those with lesser linguistic skills, are able to write powerfully and in detail as a means of learning and demonstrating knowledge. You will leave with scores of new ideas for making writing more meaningful and engaging for all students.
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| Course
103: The Interactive Student Notebook |
|
| 103a: Interactive
Student Notebook: Creating Dynamic Repositories of Student Work |
4
hours |
The Interactive
Student Notebook has a long tradition of success in the elementary classroom.
Discover how to use Interactive Student Notebooks to invite students to
become active participants in their learning. As students create these
rich portfolios, they tap a variety of intelligences—verbal, logical, visual,
and more. You will discover how to create and implement preview assignments,
graphically organized reading notes, and processing assignments.
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| 103b: Evaluating
Interactive Student Notebooks |
2
hours |
Discover how
to manage the volume of notebook assignments and provide consistent, ongoing
feedback to your young students. Learn concrete techniques for efficiently
and effectively assessing, organizing, and evaluating notebooks.
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| Course
104: Mastering Assessment |
|
| 104a: Implementing Effective Assessment Strategies |
6
hours |
This session will help you measure student performance on group projects, notebooks, and in-class discussions in ways that are meaningful and manageable. You will discover how to create and implement effective rubrics and to encourage students to reflect on their own work and progress so that they continually strive to improve.
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| Course
105: Enhancing Teachers’ Understanding and Appreciation
of American History |
|
| 105a: Colonial
America |
3
hours |
You will be immersed in a compelling lesson that focuses on European exploration and the early colonial settlement in Williamsburg. You will “tour” Williamsburg by visiting stations that depict aspects of life there and discover how to apply similar station-based learning strategies to other eras of American history.
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105b: The
Declaration of Independence and the
American Revolution |
3
hours |
You will discover powerful ways to engage your students in the emotions and drama of the American Revolution using metaphor-based learning. You will learn a step-by-step process for creating metaphors that inspire students and help them build connections between historical content and their everyday lives.
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| 105c: The
Constitution and the Bill of Rights |
3
hours |
This session focuses on fun and engaging ways to help your students remember key facts about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You will discover how to create and implement mnemonic devices that will help your students long remember the details and intent of these important documents.
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| 105d: Westward
Expansion |
3
hours |
The pioneering spirit that drove westward expansion and exploration is exciting and appealing to young learners. In this session, you will experience lessons that encourage debate and consideration of alternative viewpoints of westward expansion. You will learn a step-by-step process for creating, implementing, and assessing class discussions that involve all students, not just those with developed linguistic skills.
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| 105e: The
Civil War and Reconstruction |
3
hours |
In this session, you will explore ways to use visuals to bring the Civil War to life for students and to provide them with a schema for historical details. You will discover how to find rich images and design powerful lessons around them for all eras of
American history.
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| 105f: Using
Primary Source Documents in U.S. History |
3
hours |
In this session, you will learn how to integrate a variety of primary sources, including music, visuals, political cartoons and written documents, into your instruction in ways that appeal to students’ multiple intelligences and help them better understand our nation’s history. Your TCI Academy Trainer will share practical ideas for accessing sources and creating lessons that will spark student interest.
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