OPI Teacher Learning Hub 2022-2023 Course Catalog
View the full OPI Teacher Learning Hub 2022-2023 Catalog by clicking this link.
SIM Sentence Writing Strategy Virtual Professional Learning Opportunity
| Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy (for students in grades 2+) is a set of instructional lessons during which students will learn basic grammar terms as well as how to write and check several types of simple sentences. Instruction in Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy (FSW) is appropriate for students who need a thorough grounding in basic concepts and terms, such as “subject,” “verb,” or “infinitive.” FSW can be used as a developmental writing curriculum or as a quick set of review lessons to improve students’ understanding of these concepts. Once students have that basic understanding, they may move on to Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy (for students in grades 3+). With these lessons, you can teach students about clauses and the other advanced sentence structure elements. Together, these two Sentence Writing Strategies support students to recognize and write 14 sentence patterns with four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. This professional learning offering will be a hybrid of self-directed and facilitated activities. There will be two 1.5-hour interactive webinars and access to a Canvas Course with lesson overview videos, instructional resources (teacher presentation slides), and digital copies of student exercises. |
My Indian Boyhood
The text used in this self-paced online Moodle course targets grades 4-8; however, teachers of all grades and content areas will build background knowledge and learn instructional strategies that will facilitate the integration of Indian Education for All. Participants will read and review the Essential Understandings of Montana Indians and the book, My Indian Boyhood by Luther Standing Bear. The primary text, considered an antidote to stereotype-laden children’s books, is a first-person account of Luther Standing Bear’s traditional childhood. The Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians will serve as a guide for critical analysis of My Indian Boyhood. Through readings, examinations of high-quality and authentic literature and teaching materials, participants will explore a variety of literature and professional teaching materials and develop strategies, a lesson plan and a final project for the immediate integration of IEFA into their classrooms.
How to Register: Visit the Western Montana Professional Learning Collaborative registration website
Understanding and Supporting Students with Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities
Designed by consultant and literacy specialist, Genevieve Thomas (Spark Educational Consulting), in partnership with School Services of Montana, this asynchronous, online course engages you in learning experiences that support deepening your understanding of dyslexia, including how the reading process breaks down for individuals with dyslexia. Through videos, resource exploration, reading, and reflection, you will learn research-based best practices for supporting students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities, aligned with the Science of Reading, including instructional strategies, screening and assessment, accommodations, adaptive technology, and more!
How to register: Visit the registration website
In the Footprints of Crazy Horse
The text used in this online book study targets grades 5 – 8; however, teachers of all grades and content areas will build background knowledge and learn instructional strategies that will facilitate the integration of Indian Education for All. Participants will read and review the Essential Understandings of Montana Indians and the book, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III. The primary text follows the heroic deeds of the Lakota leader who took up arms against the US federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians will serve as a guide for critical analysis of In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse.
Through readings, examinations of high-quality and authentic literature and teaching materials, participants will explore a variety of literature and professional teaching materials and develop strategies, a lesson plan and a final project for the immediate integration of IEFA into their classrooms.
How to Register: Visit the Western Montana Professional Learning website
Art and Literature IEFA Integration (for use in grades K-5)
This course introduces quality American Indian themed literature for the K-5 classroom, and seeks to provide meaningful art activities to create connections to each text. In this two-credit course, you will:
1. Read a number of American Indian-themed picture books suitable for use in the early education classroom.
2. Explore ways to give students concrete experiences to help them relate the text to real life, build vocabulary, and develop a respect for differences.
3. Learn or review the Seven Essential Understandings Regarding American Indians and the Montana Common Core Standards.
4. Complete a number of art activities connected to the books in this course and review/revise them for your classroom
5. Create your own social studies/literature lesson and art activity connected to an additional IEFA themed picture book of your choosing
6. Those seeking graduate credit will create two lesson plans, or incorporate one additional book into their lesson plan for the final grade.
This is a self-paced course, but do not expect to complete it in one sitting! Course participants must be comfortable working independently and be self-motivated to complete all work within the flexible time frame.
How to Register: Visit the Western Montana Professional Learning Collaborative website
Brain-based Literacy Instruction
Learn how to assess, identify, and instruct students with dyslexia as well as other poor readers. Our comprehensive training program teaches the characteristics of dyslexic and other poor readers, how to identify them, and how to teach the essential skills for successful intervention. Educators will learn how to plan and implement systematic, sequential, and unique multisensory instruction that will bring exponential and rapid gains to even the lowest achiever.
Visit the RoxieReading website for more information.
Pathways to Structured Literacy
Pathways to Structured Literacy is designed to empower educators to employ diagnostic and prescriptive literacy instruction based upon the Orton-Gillingham methodology. Using assessment results in foundational reading and spelling skills, participants will learn how to create explicit, systematic lessons that simultaneously engage students’ auditory, visual, and tactile-kinesthetic learning pathways as they guide students to discover the patterns that govern written English. This interactive course is aligned to the IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards, is eligible for 3 graduate credits through Arcadia University, and is ideal for general education teachers and specialists who want to learn how to provide targeted or intensive reading interventions to students of all ages. Online coursework is accessible at your convenience—24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Participants will have access to multiple resource collections that provide downloadable and printable materials that can be used to support planning and instruction in the classroom. These turnkey resources include sample lesson-plans, scripts, student manipulatives, differentiation and intervention tools, AIM’s Structured Literacy Scope and Sequence, and more.
Visit the AIM Institute for Learning & Research website for more information.
Pathways for Proficient Writing
Pathways to Proficient Writing is designed for educators that are committed to learning about the connection between writing research, theoretical models such as the Not-So-Simple View of Writing and The Writing Cycle, and best practices for writing instruction in the classroom. Participants will learn effective instructional practices that will benefit all students, including linguistically diverse populations and those with or at risk for language-based learning disabilities. At the end of this professional development opportunity, you will be able to draw from your specialized knowledge of the processes and skills that comprise writing (including planning and organizing ideas, translating ideas, using transcription skills, and reviewing, revising, and editing) to increase your students’ writing proficiency.
Visit the AIM Institute for Learning & Research website for more information.
Pathways to Literacy Leadership
Pathways to Literacy Leadership provides the foundational knowledge needed to empower school administrators to create an organizational vision for effective literacy instruction and provides the tools necessary to implement a systems-based approach. In addition, it provides leaders with the opportunity to build a culture of literacy through leading the change process.
Visit the AIM Institute for Learning & Research website for more information.