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A Foundation for Literacy:
Reading Aloud,
Storytelling, Standards-Based

Planning & Writing

ADVANCED Professional Development Edition

a distance education course
developed by Words That Cook, LLC to guide the cultivation
and advancement of children's literacy skills.

Intended for preservice and inservice teachers.

(show me MA accreditation requirements)

Research shows us that doing activities with children that incorporate reading aloud, storytelling and writing enhances children's literacy skills, which affect not only their success in school but also their success in routine, daily life. Through hands-on interactive coursework with one or more children from your selected age group, A Foundation for Literacy effectively prepares you to sustain children's literacy development at the early childhood, elementary or middle school level.

By taking this course, you can make a difference!

You will learn techniques that motivate students before, during and after they learn to read. You will be energized as you gain expertise in using stories, literature, multisensory activities and discussion to create lifelong readers and writers. This interactive course allows you to learn at your own pace and contains innovative media that offer current research- and evidence-based models for both preservice and inservice teachers, early childhood through middle school.

You will:

• Ignite children's imaginations and desire to write
• Engage in dynamic reading to boost fluency and comprehension
• Initiate wordplay that builds phonemic awareness and vocabulary

• Generate thinking and discussion with captivating storytelling
• Motivate by adapting to different learning styles and intelligences
• Empower yourself and your children with new teaching strategies

The course syllabus, textbook and instructional DVDs will guide you through this distance education course. You will also be supported by and have access to an instructor via phone and E-mail and will receive a response to any inquiry within one business day. The course runs on a rolling enrollment basis with new sections beginning on the 1st of each month. You will have three months to complete your coursework. Throughout the course, assignments are completed with one or more children. Some assignments are done in writing, while others are recorded on audiocassette. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Advanced Professional Development Edition students will earn (120) Professional Development Points (PDPs) of which (30) PDPs may be applied to fulfill pedagogy requirements. Students earning these credits will complete additional coursework beyond that required by the undergraduate or professional development editions.

“This is a great opportunity for teachers and other concerned professionals to expand their knowledge of fostering children’s literacy development at all stages. Literacy is a major concern in the United States, and this class provides skills that will help educators meet the literacy standards in today’s classrooms.”

— Windy Honeycutt, Interim Director of the Fitchburg State College Center for Professional Studies

“We have tried to develop a course that will attract and accommodate students from all walks of life and even draw students into the fields of education and language arts. When our students complete the course, they will bring to their respective communities the skills necessary to set children on a path to success.”

— Susan Minichiello, Director of Course Development for Words That Cook, LLC

“This course reinforces the huge amount of learning that takes place in preschool. The Web sites for PBS.org and RIF.org will be given to my teaching staff. They are both simple to use and full of valuable information and ideas ... The information in the Web sites for phoneme awareness will become a training workshop at staff meeting in the fall. The assessment/evaluation Web sites have given me an idea to use self-reflection as an assessment tool for the teachers and myself. I will try to assess my own performance by observing, interviewing and journaling. This is my first time using rubrics for self-assessment. I found that they were very valuable to doing this course. They clarified many of the assignments.”

— Joan Aigen, Preschool Director, Norwell, MA

A Foundation for Literacy: Reading Aloud, Storytelling,
Standards-Based Planning & Writing
supports national literacy standards of the U.S. Department of Education.

More About A Foundation for Literacy

This four-part, multisensory distance education course is designed to be interactive, inclusive and practical. You will become familiar with learning styles and multiple intelligences, apply what you learn through multisensory teaching, reflect on the results and assess your progress. The course developers took rigorous steps to ensure that the course is coherent, user-friendly and based on the latest research in literacy education.

Module Descriptions

Module One: Read it Aloud! Tips, Tools & Techniques teaches effective read-aloud strategies that not only engage children in active listening, but also boost their literacy skills and help to build a foundation for a lifelong love of reading. The textbook and expert audio files provide guidelines, examples and exercises that enable you to become a compelling interactive reader who can use children's literature to promote language development. Assignments require you to work with at least one child participant. If you choose to work with more than one child, all children should be of the same age group (early childhood, elementary or middle school).

Module Two: A Sense of Story teaches the fundamentals of story development as well as proven techniques for effective storytelling. International experts provide the essential elements necessary for you to understand, create and deliver your own exciting stories. Assignments require you to work with at least one child participant. If you choose to work with more than one child, all children should be of the same age group (early childhood, elementary or middle school).

Module Three: Standards-Based Planning teaches the benefits of implementing developmentally appropriate, multisensory lesson plans that support education standards and enables you to create such plans. Professionals and parents suggest criteria for selecting developmentally-appropriate books, as well as techniques for achieving optimal results when sharing books with children. You will learn how to devise criteria for selecting books, develop multisensory lesson plans that support standards and implement the lesson plans. Additionally, you will complete a Case Study of a child with whom you work in this module. For this module, it is required that you work with at least one child participant age three or older. If you choose to work with more than one child, all children should be of the same age group (early childhood, elementary or middle school).

Module Four: Write On! teaches how to generate creative oral language experiences for children that naturally lead to writing. Professionals and parents present guidelines for using playful hands-on activities and exciting interactive dialogue to engage children in the writing process. You will learn to introduce children to methods of “publishing” their writing and, in so doing, encourage children's sense of ownership and pride in their words. For this module, it is required that you work with two or more child participants age four or older and all children should be of the same age group (early childhood, elementary or middle school).

Course Materials

Course CD-ROM (1)

• Course Syllabus (includes learning objectives, assignment instructions, outlines and samples)
• Expert Audio Files
• Web Resources
• Instructional DVD Transcripts
• DVD Viewing & Workshop Guides
• Assignment-Specific Rubrics

Textbook (1)

Read it Aloud! A parent's guide to sharing books with young children
by Monty Haas and Laurie Joy Haas

~ Endorsed by the International Reading Association ~

Read it Aloud!

• offers techniques and strategies for bringing books to life and helping children learn to communicate
• provides guidance for blending reading aloud with follow-up discussion, related activities and wordplay
• introduces performance reading and interactive reading techniques and strategies that more effectively engage children
• includes non-competitive “Win-Win Word Games” that support understanding and sharing great children’s literature, as well as playing with literary devices (e.g. alliteration, metaphors, oxymorons)

Instructional DVDs (3)

Words that Cook! Parenting with children's books™
(Winner of the International Reading Association
Broadcast Media Award for Television)
 

• Show 1 features Youth Services Librarian Diane Ramsay, childcare professionals and parents demonstrating how to select and use books that support individual interests and expand children's horizons.
   
• Show 2 features International storytellers Eshu Bumpus and Motoko and teachers captivating their audiences using cultural icons, songs, gestures, different languages, voices and “noisy words.”
   
• Show 3 features “Ways of Writing with Kids” co-authors (Dr. Robert W. Maloy, Dr. Sharon A. Edwards and Dr. Ruth Verock-O'Loughlin), teachers and parents helping children to write with enjoyment using child-made toys, hobbies, scribbles, art and computers.

To utilize the course materials and complete assignments, you will need access to:

• a computer with CD-ROM and sound capabilities, the Internet and Adobe Reader® (free download available; latest version possible)
• a full-sized audiocassette recorder with a built-in microphone
• a DVD player or a computer with DVD player

ADVANCED Professional Development Edition students will earn
120 Professional Development Points (PDPs),
of which (30) PDPs may be applied to fulfill pedagogy requirements.

Students earning these credits will complete additional coursework
beyond that required by the Undergraduate or Professional Development editions.

Words That Cook, LLC is authorized by the
MA Department of Education as a
Professional Development provider.

Course Costs

Below is the course pricing information. Please note that the total cost covers Words That Cook Tuition, Materials & Fees in full.

Total Cost for (120) Professional Development Credits $ 649.00

If your organization has special purchasing needs, please contact us.
We’ll make it work for you.

For more information, contact Words That Cook, LLC.
774-885-2000       info@wordsthatcook.org