Saturday, September 30, 2023 – Day Two

(Please note that session times and descriptions may vary slightly from what is currently posted below but will begin at 8am and go to no later than 4:30pm.)

Registration & Continental Breakfast – 7:00 to 8:00 am

Opening Remarks – 8:00 to 8:10 am

Saturday Opening Session

8:10 to 9:40 am

Leta Palmiter, Ed.S., CALT, C-SLDS

Mississippi Rising: How the Last Became First in Literacy Growth

Join us for an inspiring and engaging presentation on Mississippi Rising, the story of transforming the lives of students in the state of Mississippi over the last 20 years. Fueled by a spirit of radical optimism, dyslexia therapists were the power behind the systemic change and positive outcomes. Learn about the heartwarming success stories and rave reviews from educators, parents, and students alike, and discover how you too can be a part of this incredible science of reading movement.

Break – Visit Exhibitors (Last Chance to Sign up for Raffle Items) & Check out the IDA-RMB Bookstore – 9:40 am to 10:00 am

Saturday Morning Breakout Sessions

10:00 to 11:30 am – Choose 1 of 7 possible sessions

Leta Palmiter, Ed.S., CALT, C-SLDS

FULL:ChatGPT and AI: Fear or Fate?

Learn how to use generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, in planning individualized instruction. By using this cutting-edge technology, you can save time and improve the effectiveness of your teaching. Participants must bring their laptops fully charged to this session. Seating is limited.

Nora Schlesinger, PhD Director of Language and Literacy Education; and Nanci Shepardson, M.S.Ed., Ed.S., W.D.P, CPACC Director of Accessibility and Assistive Technology Solutions

The Role of Executive Function in the Acquisition of Literacy Skills (repeated from Friday)

The acquisition of literacy skills requires multiple executive functioning (EF) skills. Embedding best practices that scaffold and develop EF skills within a structured literacy lesson takes careful and purposeful planning. In this session, participants will understand the term EF and how it applies to literacy education. They will learn the three EF skills that facilitate reading and spelling as well as understand the research around this important topic. Finally, structured literacy teaching methodologies will be explored.

Michael J. Hildebrandt, M.S.Ed., Ph.D.

Emotion and Executive Functioning: Integrating Cognitive and Emotional Strategies (repeated from Friday)

Executive Function impacts all areas of life and learning. In the past, much of the research and practice in executive functioning focused on strategy instruction to support and develop a subset of students’ academic abilities in planning, organization, and working memory, now commonly referred to as cool executive functions. More recent research points out that classrooms are complex social and emotional environments and that students do not remain cool under the daily pressures they face as they engage in rich learning environments and communities. A focus on supporting the emotional aspects of executive functioning is crucial to the development of people of all ages. This presentation will provide context to integrate an appreciation of social and emotional needs within existing strategy instruction in cool executive functions and explore strategies to support warm executive functions such as initiating and maintaining motivation, metacognitive and emotional self-monitoring, emotional and cognitive inhibitory control, and mental flexibility.

Allison Caldwell, M.Ed

Addressing the Reading Rope Through Listening Comprehension

Learn how to pre-plan a read aloud to engage students with each strand of the reading rope, ensuring that are building oral language, vocabulary and background knowledge for children of all ages.

Keegan Wilson, literacy consultant and educational advocate

(CANCELED)Shifting from Word Walls to Sound Walls: Benefits for Dyslexic Learners

Are you hearing more about sound walls and ready to make the transition in your own classroom? Do you know the differences between sound walls and word walls? Come to this session to learn more about the research behind sound walls and how to make a shift from using traditional word walls. After this session and seeing many examples of each, you will be able to recognize the differences and decide which one is best for your classroom.

Ana Dodson, Psy D., and Judi Dodson, MA

SEL and Language – Where’s the Connection? It’s Everywhere!

This interactive workshop will cover many explicit, research-based strategies for supporting your students social and emotional needs. You will learn simple, fun, and effective ways to integrate and facilitate emotional literacy, communication, self-regulation, and empathy into your daily classroom schedule. These strategies can help transform traditional instruction into trauma-informed instruction. Making space in our busy schedules to build relationships and create connections will build a sense of belonging for your students. These connections can become a powerful tool that can help students heal and enhance their ability to learn and their language at the same time.

Karen Kemp, Ph.D.

Effective Phonics in Core Reading Instruction (repeated from Friday afternoon)

“The gulf between science and education has been harmful. A look at the science reveals that the methods commonly used to teach children are inconsistent with basic facts about human cognition and development and so make learning to read more difficult than it should be.” (Seidenberg, M., 2017). Most commercially available reading programs give short shrift to phonic elements and fail to provide adequate decoding instruction for many students in today’s classrooms. This often results in overwhelmed MTSS/RTI systems struggling to meet the needs of the high number of students with deficits in foundational skills. Research shows that reading comprehension is enhanced by vocabulary, background knowledge, and critical thinking. Comprehension also depends on fluency of word recognition. As such, providing explicit phonics instruction in the core can lead to successful decoding and the overall purpose of reading – comprehension.

Robert Frantum-Allen, MA, and Jessica Smith, M.Ed.

(CANCELED) School Wide Systems that Leaders must Consider when Implementing the Science of Reading

Colorado’s READ act has identified school principal literacy standards, This session will provide an overview of the Science of Reading and school wide systems that school leaders will want to have in place in anticipation of the implementation of literacy instruction backed by science. Using the Colorado literacy leadership standards, the first in the national passed in legislation, presenters will support school leader in science of reading implementation. A particular focus will be placed on how marginalized population such as English Learners and exceptional students fit within these systems.

Lunch Buffet – 11:30 to 12:30 pm – Visit Exhibitors & IDA-RMB Bookstore – Exhibitor Raffle Winners Announced

Saturday Afternoon – 1st Breakout Sessions

12:30 to 2:00 pm – Choose 1 of 7 possible sessions

Bette Lovelace, Literacy Consultant

Let’s Take a Closer Look at Sounds Walls and Spelling!

We have 26 letters and 44 sounds that make up the English language, yet it’s not a 1-to 1 correspondence. In this presentation we will learn how to develop a better understanding of why students have certain misunderstandings reflected in their spelling, as well as how to provide feedback and support for accurate spelling. Let’s practice learning how to reference your sound wall and encourage your students to interact with this tool as they spell.

Caiti Daigh, Implementation Specialist, and Katie Hughes, Implementation Specialist

Science of Reading Vocabulary

In this dynamic presentation, attendees will discover multiple new vocabulary learning activities that can be immediately incorporated into instruction. After laying the groundwork for the importance of addressing word meaning in decoding and comprehension instruction even in the earliest years, the presenters will explore the Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986) that is a cornerstone of support for the rich, multisensory experiences students will encounter in the vocabulary activities (KPS 4A.2). Finally, effective and efficient multisensory activities will be introduced that teach meanings of vocabulary terms in a way that maximizes the connections between the Orthographic, Phonological, and Meaning Processors (KPS 1.3; KPS 4E.4). Participants will leave this presentation with a concrete understanding of how and why they should ensure that students have a broad and deep understanding of many word meanings from their earliest years in school.

Mary Yarus, M.Ed., CALT, CSLDS

Implementing Dyslexia Intervention in Secondary

Struggling readers exist at all ages and grade levels. This session will discuss the effective implementation of your intervention program in the secondary classroom setting. We will explore making adjustments to the program based on the age and interest levels of the secondary student.

Lauren McGrath, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Denver; and Michelle Rozenman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Denver

Evidence-based strategies to address stress and anxiety in children with dyslexia

In this presentation, Drs. McGrath and Rozenman, two licensed child clinical psychologists with expertise in learning disabilities and anxiety, will share evidence-based strategies for supporting children with dyslexia who are experiencing high stress and anxiety symptoms. This presentation will cover some of our recent research showing that children with dyslexia have an increased risk of developing clinical anxiety symptoms compared to typical peers. Moreover, children with dyslexia also show elevated rates of reading anxiety, a form of anxiety that has been vastly under-studied. To date, there has been little attention on interventions that can address the mental health needs of youth with dyslexia, especially anxiety. In this presentation, we will share evidence-based strategies adapted from existing anxiety interventions for youth. The presentation will include experiential practice of specific skills including 1) calming skills, 2) coping skills, and 3) strategies for engagement with academic material and celebrating engagement successes. We will also include information about what to do if a child’s anxiety is beginning to get in the way. The goal of this presentation is to equip caregivers and educational staff to deploy best practices to support youth with dyslexia who are experiencing stress and anxiety.

Bridget Barley, Jemicy School Director of Middle School, author of Paragraphology™

The BRIGHT Way to Write (repeated from Friday)

Paragraphology™ is the study of writing through color-coding. It is a multisensory, comprehensive, scaffolded approach to writing and note-taking that can be easily utilized by children, teens, college students, and adults. Participants will learn how to support students using a systematically taught formula that guides them through the process of writing a basic paragraph to a comprehensive understanding of the five-paragraph essay. Through scaffolding, repetition, and practice of reading quality examples, producing work of their own, coding and unlocking writing prompts, and dissecting expository text, students learn the writing process inside and out. Participants will leave this presentation and immediately be able to implement Paragraphology™ in their classes and tutoring sessions.

Kristen DeBeer, Multisensory Math Tutor

Making Middle and High School Math Multisensory

Students with language-based learning difficulties often struggle with math at the secondary level, whether because they lack fact fluency or other basic skills which they didn’t master in elementary grades, or because the secondary concepts are not being taught using explicit language and multisensory methods. Foundational math concepts such as fractions are critical for algebra, but many students enter middle school without necessary numeracy skills to build upon. This session will address the reasons students struggle at the secondary level and give parents and teachers a demonstration of multisensory strategies to help students understand foundational concepts and make them stick. Topics from pre-algebra to geometry will be covered.

Laura Santerre-Lemmon, Ph.D. University of Denver

Assessment Fundamentals: Understanding Testing & Evaluation of Dyslexia (repeated from Friday morning)

In this presentation, you will learn about the assessment process and characteristics that are important in the evaluation of dyslexia. Dr. Santerre-Lemmon will review school-based and private evaluation processes and discuss common assessment measures and interpretation of test results, including interactive analysis of actual evaluation profiles.

Robert Frantum-Allen, MA, and Jessica Smith, M.Ed.

(CANCELED) Support Educational Leaders and Practitioners with a Literacy Walk-through Tool and Companion Coaching Guide

School leadership teams need to be equipped with effective tools to support the continuous improvement of school educators. A schoolwide leadership team, including principals, grade-level team leads, coaches and reading interventionists will learn how a literacy walk-through using look-fors” designed as a brief, structured, non-evaluative classroom observation can address best instruction, phonemic awareness, phonics/spelling, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Data collected from walk-throughs can be combined with student performance data. This data can then drive coaching conversation and professional development decisions. Coaching guides serve as companions to the ‘look for’ documents. Then using coaching techniques and coaching guides, leaders can use these structured tools to support improved instruction for students, particularly students who are exceptional and English learners.

Break – Visit Exhibitors & IDA-RMB Bookstore – 2:00 to 2:15 pm

Saturday Afternoon – 2nd Breakout Sessions

2:15 to 3:45 pm – Choose 1 of 6 possible sessions 

Karen Tzanetopoulos, M.S., CCC-SLP

How Dyslexia influences Learning Math: The Science and How to Help

Many students with dyslexia also struggle with learning math. Cognitive research in the science of math learning reveals the overlaps with the science of reading, such as phonology, semantics, reasoning, and RAN. Furthermore, English math language is abstract, making learning math more difficult. Yet today, math is taught with a heavy language and reading load with less mathematical structure, putting students with dyslexia at greater risk (just as leveled literacy minimizes language structure). Modifying math language, explicit instruction in phonology, semantics, and orthography, as well as teaching math with structure and an emphasis on the number line opens the doors to learning math.

Mary Yarus, M.Ed., CALT, CSLDS

Improving Reading Fluency

Learning to decode words is a big step for students with dyslexia. Now to work on reading fluency… but what is it and how can it be improved? In this session, we will learn more about reading fluency and various activities to use with your students.

Paula Kavalec, Manager of Educational Partnerships, MEd Educational Leadership

Accelerating Foundational Skills for Older Readers (repeated from Friday afternoon)

Educators, school leaders, and parents recognize the urgent need to identify and support students in upper elementary, middle, and high school who struggle to read. Foundational reading skills are often at the heart of reading difficulties, and it is crucial to provide instruction that is research-based, respectful, dignified, and age-appropriate to this vulnerable group of students.
In this session, we will unpack research and bridge the research to practice using effective instructional routines within structured literacy lessons. We will also review the essential characteristics of connected texts that engage older readers while also ensuring appropriate practice leading to mastery of critical skills.

Lindsey Beveridge, Senior Literacy Consultant, Office of Elementary Literacy and School Readiness, Colorado Department of Education; and Mandy Harris, Senior Literacy Consultant, Office of Elementary Literacy and School Readiness, Colorado Department of Education

FULL:Implementing the Science of Reading in the K-3 Classroom (repeated from Friday afternoon)

In this session, explore how evidence-based instructional practices can be implemented in the 90-minute literacy block and small group instruction to build foundational literacy skills and promote student engagement.

Carolee Dean, M.S., CCC-SLP, CALT; Beth Anderson, B.A., M.Ed.; and Jolene Gutiérrez, M.L.S.

Using Narratives as a Bridge to Informational Text: Author/Educator Book Panel

Emergent readers, struggling readers, and second language learners need the type of meaningful, real-world content found in accessible, comprehensible, informational text. Unfortunately, many students struggle with making the leap from stories to nonfiction. Three children’s authors who are also experienced educators will discuss strategies for using narrative children’s literature as a bridge to both understanding and writing informational text. Narrative nonfiction follows the text structure of a story but often has many of the key features found in informational text including indexes, word definitions, pronunciation guides, sidebars, timelines, graphs, charts, and more. Exploring these features helps students understand both the similarities and differences between various types of texts. The panel will discuss tips and activities for identifying and working with the different types of informational text including: Description, Chronological Sequence, Compare and Contrast, Problem and Solution, and Cause and Effect. Signal words common for each type will also be discussed. Examples will be shared of these text types occurring within narratives as well as within expository text. Strategies for scaffolding the writing process with mentor sentences, graphic organizers, and visual images will be explored as tools to decrease stress to promote learning and lower the Affective Filter for ELLs as well as students with dyslexia. Participants will leave with useful tips, book lists, specific strategies, and graphic organizers to structure written work.

Lauren McGrath, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Denver; and Michelle Rozenman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Denver

Evidence-based strategies to address stress and anxiety in children with dyslexia

In this presentation, Drs. McGrath and Rozenman, two licensed child clinical psychologists with expertise in learning disabilities and anxiety, will share evidence-based strategies for supporting children with dyslexia who are experiencing high stress and anxiety symptoms. This presentation will cover some of our recent research showing that children with dyslexia have an increased risk of developing clinical anxiety symptoms compared to typical peers. Moreover, children with dyslexia also show elevated rates of reading anxiety, a form of anxiety that has been vastly under-studied. To date, there has been little attention on interventions that can address the mental health needs of youth with dyslexia, especially anxiety. In this presentation, we will share evidence-based strategies adapted from existing anxiety interventions for youth. The presentation will include experiential practice of specific skills including 1) calming skills, 2) coping skills, and 3) strategies for engagement with academic material and celebrating engagement successes. We will also include information about what to do if a child’s anxiety is beginning to get in the way. The goal of this presentation is to equip caregivers and educational staff to deploy best practices to support youth with dyslexia who are experiencing stress and anxiety.

Please turn in your name badge after your final session to ensure that you receive the link to our conference survey. After completing the survey, you can download your one or two-day certificate of attendance.

CLICK HERE to view Friday’s Schedule

Thank you all for making this a wonderful 2023 conference!