Educator's Playbook Kelly Harmon

This month's newsletter is packed with practical, evidence-based strategies to help your students expand and strengthen their vocabulary. I'm focusing on effective techniques to support your students’ learning journey, from acquiring new words to using them confidently in discussions and writing. You’ll also find a listing of upcoming seminars and institutes I’ll be delivering—great opportunities to dive deeper into instructional strategies and collaborate with fellow educators.

I’m also available to visit your school or district to provide any of these seminars! We can use Zoom for short workshops or arrange in-person sessions for longer, more comprehensive workshops.

Happy teaching!

Kelly

How is your students' vocabulary?
We know that vocabulary is essential for students' overall learning and comprehension. Teachers often ask me to share evidence-based strategies and techniques to enhance vocabulary instruction.

For students to continually expand their vocabulary, they must not only learn new words but also connect them to their existing knowledge and apply them in meaningful ways.

Here are key areas teachers should consider for vocabulary instruction:

• Learning New Vocabulary: Students acquire new words and concepts through both direct and indirect instruction.
• Making Connections Using Prior Knowledge: Activating prior knowledge helps students make sense of new vocabulary in relation to the topic or situation.
• Synthesizing Prior and New Learning: Once prior knowledge is activated, students need to synthesize it with new vocabulary to fully internalize the learning.
• Using New Vocabulary in Writing and Discussion: To solidify their learning, students must actively use new vocabulary in both discussions and writing.

I’ve created a playbook page with over 20 strategies and techniques for each of these critical areas. This month I’m offering a free download of the Educator's Playbook for Vocabulary Instruction. This is a great planning tool for classroom teachers, MTSS/RTI teams, and interventionists. Click here to download your copy!

Transform Writing Instruction with AI: Join Our Seminar for Grades 3-6 Educators!

Calling all educators in grades 3-6—classroom teachers, Title I staff, special education staff, library/media specialists, and administrators! Ready to revolutionize your writing lessons and save valuable time? Join me for the seminar Using AI Tools to Strengthen Student Writing Skills and Enhance Your Productivity.

In this session, you'll discover practical strategies for integrating AI into your writing instruction, crafting engaging lessons, and navigating responsible use. Learn how AI can automate assessments, personalize learning, and empower your students as confident writers.

You'll also receive an extensive digital resource handbook and access to online tools that will help you reduce your workload and streamline grading. This seminar, designed by an educator for educators, will give you actionable insights to make your classroom a hub of creativity and innovation.

Don’t miss out! Join us on October 29th or November 1st, presented by the Institute for Educational Development. Let's unlock the potential of AI in your classroom together! Click here for more information.

Don’t miss this strategy-packed seminar by international educational consultant Kelly Harmon, designed specifically for Grades 3-5 teachers. Discover cutting-edge science of reading and learning strategies to help your students catch up and thrive. Kelly will share dozens of practical, easy-to-implement ideas for accelerating learning and monitoring progress. You’ll leave with renewed enthusiasm for teaching, a digital resource handbook, and access to online tools to support your students' success. This fast-paced day will equip you with everything you need to catch up your students who have fallen behind. Click Here for more information.

Unlock Your Coaching Potential at the Upcoming Instructional Coaches Conference!

Are you ready to elevate your instructional coaching to new heights? The Bureau of Education and Research is presenting an exceptional opportunity to learn from some of the most respected experts in the field at the upcoming Instructional Coaches Conference. With 21 strategy-packed sessions, this conference is designed to provide you with practical, actionable strategies that you can implement immediately to support both students and staff.

Join Kelly Harmon, an internationally recognized educational consultant with over 30 years of experience, for sessions that will empower you to strengthen your coaching skills. Kelly’s presentations are known for being engaging and filled with strategies that can be put to use right away, making her a go-to expert in the realm of instructional coaching. Whether you’re looking to enhance your coaching techniques or seeking fresh ideas to inspire your team, Kelly’s sessions are not to be missed.

You’ll also have the chance to learn from Ryan Doetch, an award-winning educator whose enthusiasm and expertise in instructional coaching will leave you energized and ready to implement new strategies in your school. Ryan’s sessions are fast-paced and filled with practical tools that you can tailor to meet the specific needs of your students, ensuring that you walk away with ideas you can use immediately.

Finally, don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Jaime Bailey, a dynamic educator with a wealth of experience in classroom instruction, literacy coaching, and curriculum coordination. Jaime’s sessions are renowned for their practical, replicable ideas that you can adapt to your own context. Her passion for effective professional development shines through in every presentation, making her sessions a must-attend for anyone looking to enhance their coaching abilities.

This conference is your chance to unlock the full potential of your coaching practice. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn from the best in the business and bring fresh, impactful strategies back to your school or district.

Click Here for more information.

Learn how to better lead your school or district Title I team in this strategy packed, two-day institute led by Kelly Harmon. You will discover how to work with teachers to identify and implement the most effective, cutting edge, research based instructional strategies to increase school and district-wide student achievement. You will learn how to develop teacher expertise in working with struggling students along with ways to continually monitor and adjust instruction based on student results.

This is a unique opportunity to evaluate your own Title I program in light of current research that identifies the most effective instructional practices, and gain an in depth look at the key components of highly successful Title I programs and how these can be applied to your own Title I school or district model. Take an intensive look at what works for struggling learners and how you can adapt it to meet the needs in your school or district. You will walk away with dozens of practical strategies and an extensive digital resource handbook to help you lead and teach your teachers.

Join Kelly and your colleagues for two, fast paced days packed with the best research?based strategies to increase reading and math achievement for your at risk students. Click here for more information.

Learn how to better lead your school or district RTI program whether online or in-person in this strategy-packed, two-day institute led by nationally acclaimed presenter and RTI facilitator, Kelly Harmon. Specifically designed for school teams who are using the RTI model and are looking for ways to strengthen it, this two-day institute will help you look at new and different ways to refine and build your RTI model to better focus on planning learning goals that meet the needs of your students.

Discover strategies to increase all students' success at the Tier 1 level and interventions that work for those students who need further, small group instruction at Tiers 2 and 3. This is a unique opportunity to take a closer look at your RTI program, identify the most effective, research‑based, instructional practices and learn how to implement them in your own school or district.

You and your team will walk away with dozens of research-based strategies and an extensive digital resource handbook to help you refine and strengthen your RTI program.

December 5-6, 2024

Email: kelly@kellyharmon.net
Website: www.kellyharmon.net
Phone: 210-218-1723
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Twitter: @texasliteracy