Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia College of Education will host two workshops for Savannah area educators-one focusing on effective teaching methods to reach students from poor and working-class families and the other on high-quality reading instruction and literacy contexts for all children-Sept. 6-7 at the Armstrong Center.
“The Other Side of Poverty in Schools,” will be held Sept. 6 and will focus on developing research-based teaching practices, reflecting on formative assessment across the curriculum, incorporating social class-related content and formulating ideas for establishing positive relationships with working-class and poor families. Workshop participants will:
• learn about the five principles for change to better meet the needs of working-class and poor students;
• develop research-based teaching practices sensitive to working-class and poor children and families;
• reflect on a formative assessment of working-class and poor students across the curriculum;
• take away classroom ideas for incorporating social class-related content; and
• gain ideas for establishing positive relationships with working-class and poor families.
“The Reading Turn-Around Program,” on Sept. 7 has been designed for teachers in elementary grades, instructional coaches, literacy coaches, administrators, after-school specialists, tutors and administrators who want to provide high quality reading instruction and literacy contexts for all children. Workshop participants will:
• learn about the social class-sensitive, five-part framework for differentiated instruction in reading;
• examine how social class and poverty play a role in reading and language in the classroom;
• analyze social class and poverty in popular culture, media and literature through critical reading practices;
• design learning opportunities around working-class children’s literature; and
• create a concrete plan for individualizing reading instruction for “struggling” readers, while enhancing literacy for all students.
The workshops are part of the Classroom Project @ UGA initiative developed by award-winning faculty members Stephanie Jones and Mark Vagle, associate professors in the college’s department of elementary and social studies education.
Jones is a researcher, professional developer, education consultant and former elementary school teacher. She is the author of Girls, Social Class and Literacy: What Teachers Can Do to Make a Difference and co-author of The Reading Turn-Around: A Five-Part Framework for Differentiated Instruction.
Vagle, also a researcher, is a former elementary and middle school teacher and middle school administrator. He is co-editor of Developmentalism in Early Childhood and Middle Grades Education: Critical Conservations on Readiness and Responsiveness. His research focuses on moment-to-moment classroom interactions and how they influence and impact student learning.
Each workshop will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and the cost is $175, which includes instructional materials and refreshment breaks. The Armstrong Center is located at 13040 Abercorn Street.
For more information and to register for the workshops, see www.coe.uga.edu/events.
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Note to editors: For more information on each workshop, see The Other Side of Poverty in Schools flyer and The Reading Turn-Around Workshop flyer.
