Descripción

Literacy is the foundational prerequisite that is every teacher’s responsibility.

Research proves that what positively affects and sustains student achievement is the highly knowledgeable and effective teacher.

What teaching strategies must teachers be able to perform and how are these strategies applied effectively in teaching children to read and write?

This course attempts to answer these two important questions. One key element of a successful reading and writing program focuses on the teacher.

OBJECTIVES

•  Understanding the importance of literacy in students’ lives.
•  Identifying effective reading and writing strategies and how to teach them.
•  Providing students with opportunities to learn and apply skills and strategies in authentic literacy tasks.

KEY POINTS

• Degree of sophistication
• The learning path
• Reflection
• The power of celebration
• Deep learning
• Regie Routman’s Optimal Learning Model

SESSIONS 1 and 2
– What is language?
– Language Development.
– Filling the linguistic pool.
– Oral language: how to promote oral language acquisition. Listening and speaking.
– Developing vocabulary, structure and pronunciation.
– Nursery Rhymes, poems, songs and stories

SESSION 3 and 4
– What is reading? Reading strategies. How to run a rich reading programme.
– Reading instruction: shared, guided and independent reading. Buddy Reading.
– The importance of repeated readings and re reading.

SESSION 5 and 6
– The writing process.
– Genres, topics, conventions.
– Developing writing. Writing conferences. Editing. Celebrations.
– The 6 traits in writing.

SESSION 7 and 8
– Understanding and using efficient models of learning: deep learning as opposed to shallow learning.
– Learning intentions and success criteria.
– Language assessment.
– Regie Routman´s Optimal Learning Model.
– Making learning visible.
– Metacognition.

METHODOLOGY
Oral presentations
Analysis and discussions

COURSE DURATION
8 sessions of 2 and a half hours once a week,
from August to September.

Course Tutor: INÉS STEFANI
Inés Stefani is a Uruguayan teacher who graduated from “Magisterio” in 1980 and since then has taught at bilingual schools.

In 1989 she graduated as a Reading Recovery teacher in New Zealand. She has worked and studied for 4 years in that country.

She later completed a Bachelors of Education in Teaching, and a Masters Degree in Teaching at the University of Auckland in New Zealand as well as a Certificate in School Middle Management, at UNITEC, Auckland, New Zealand.

She was Academic Principal from 2005 to 2010 and Head of School from 2011 to 2017 at Woodlands School, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Inés has done consultancy work, in the field of literacy acquisition, nationally and internationally, especially in Brazil and Argentina since 2003.

Since her retirement, she is back doing consultancy work. She has been teaching “Bilingual Education 1” in “Magisterio Bilingüe” at the Universidad de Montevideo since 2019 and “School Management” since 2018 and “Literacy Acquisition” since 2019 at International House Montevideo.

"The course offered by Inés Stefani at International House Montevideo gave participants the chance to reflect on the powerful impact acquiring strong literacy skills has on every learner’s performance in all areas, and in life in general. The course was devoted to defining the most important concepts on language development, focusing on the teacher’s key role, sharing effective strategies to be implemented in class, and getting to know efficient models which have been proved successful both in Uruguay and abroad. In every session, the tutor generously shared her vast experience with the group. There were also interesting exchanges among all the teachers who took part and were, at that moment, teaching different levels at different schools in Montevideo. I believe this course would be very enriching for all teachers willing to reflect on their own practices and develop new strategies to guide their students in the amazing adventure of learning how to read and write."

María Muniz
Head of English Dept. - Ivy Thomas Memorial School

"Having the ability to read and write is crucial for every child. This course gave us the guidance and many valuable tools to help our young learners do so. We had the chance as teachers to see what is useful for different ages and levels. Many of the colleagues in the course could apply those strategies shortly after our meetings and then discuss the experience. Inés shared her expertise and helped us reflect on our practices in friendly sessions. I thank her and International House Montevideo for this valuable opportunity of professional development."

Marcela Pintos
Elisa Queirolo - Ma. Inmaculada