with Lexie Domaradzki and Shelby Skaanes
October 18 & 25, November 1 & 8.
Time: 3:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Target Audience: K-5 Educators
Credit: One optional university credit is available for attending all webinars and participating in online discussions and assignments ($145)
For many children, learning to read is a challenging undertaking. The Reading Rope, created by Dr. Hollis Scarborough, captures the components of this task. In this webinar series we will use the Science of Reading to guide our work focused on the lower strands of the Scarborough Rope Model. The lower strand, Word Recognition, consists of phonological awareness, decoding, and word recognition. Throughout each session we will focus on acquisition of early literacy skills and best practices in reading instruction. The target audience for this series is Grade K-5.

Session 1 – The Science of Reading
Through 40 years of research findings from numerous fields of study, we have a thorough understanding of how the brain works when engaged in the reading process. In this session we will discuss why some students struggle with reading and what factors promote or interfere with children’s progress, we will deepen understanding of the research behind how individuals learn to read, the brain regions involved in reading and we will take a close look at models of skilled reading.
Session 2 – Phonological Awareness
Phonological Awareness includes several skills related to an individual’s understanding of how a spoken language works and the different ways a word can be broken down. In this session we will provide information and modeling of best practices to enhance core instruction and support struggling students in intervention. We will cover basic as well as advanced phonological awareness skills. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state.
Session 3 – Phonics/Decoding
Decoding requires that a student knows that written letters correspond to speech sounds and that these speech sounds are combined together to make a word. In this session we will provide information about the phoneme-grapheme relationship, we will model explicit instructional routines for core instruction and intervention and discuss the role of decodable text. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state.
Session 4 – Word Recognition
Sight Recognition is the ability for an individual to look at any word they come across and automatically know what it says. In this session we will clarify the difference between regular and irregular words and model instructional routines to enhance core instruction and support struggling students in intervention. We will also cover intensifications to use with students who struggle with sight word recognition. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and engage in conversations with colleagues from around the state.

Lexie Domaradzki started as an elementary school teacher more than 20 years ago and has since dedicated her professional life to high quality education for all. She provides consultation and professional development services to the Alaska, Oregon, Montana and Idaho Departments of Education, and the Alaska Staff Development Network. Areas of focus include K-12 literacy, support with school improvement facilitators, Response to Intervention, and the comprehensive assessment system.

Shelby Skaanes: Shelby is passionate about providing data-driven consultation, from establishment of an assessment system, to determining the best intervention approach so that each student has access to optimal improvement. She has been in the education field for nearly 20 years, nine of which were as an elementary school teacher in Tacoma, Washington. Shelby has a proven ability to develop school cultures that support continuous improvement for teachers and students. She has presented at numerous institutes and leadership conferences over the past fifteen years in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
