Professional Development Resources for Teachers
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Tennessee SIG
The IRIS (IDEA and Research for Inclusive Settings) Center for Faculty Enhancement was designed in response to a request from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. This national effort, serving college faculty working in preservice preparation programs, aims to ensure that general education teachers, school administrators, school nurses, and school counselors are well prepared to work with students who have disabilities and with their families. IRIS is the nation's only faculty enhancement center established for this purpose.
Visitors can complete interactive, web-based modules that will help them learn more about such issues as Accommodation, Behavior, Collaboration, Disability, Diversity, and Differentiated Instruction. The newest modules address RTI, or Response to Intervention, an alternative method for determining if a child has a learning disability.
Tennessee SIG’s own Suzy Page has put together a great resource for teachers at https://umdrive.memphis.edu/g-sig/www/index.htm. Suzy has matched Tennessee teaching standards with information from textbooks used in Tennessee schools. The information on this site will help you set up learning centers in your classroom.
Reading Overview Resources
The National Institute for Literacy, a federal organization, administers programs that promote child and adult literacy. Click on “Partnership for Reading” for a resource list.
The National Reading Panel’s website contains resources and publications, including the panel’s report to Congress, reports, videos and other instructional materials.
The International Reading Association provides the website , which organizes hundreds of articles on reading education. You may search their database by title, author or subject.
Early Literacy
Get Ready to Read! targets early literacy development, bringing research-based strategies to parents, early education professionals, and child care providers to help prepare children to learn to read and write. The site contains a screening tool for four-year-olds, skill building activities and information on a multitude of topics.
The PBS site is full of stories, songs, printable pages of letters, numbers and activities of all sorts. There’s a teachers’ guide and plenty of information about children’s literacy development.
The Early Childhood Outcomes Center website, located atpromotes the development and implementation of child and family outcome measures for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities. This site also contains a cross-walk of various published instruments with the three child outcomes required by OSEP.
The National Center for Family Literacy’s mission is to create educational and economic opportunity for the most at-risk children and parents. The Center’s web page includes links to their professional development, program development, policy and advocacy, membership and partnership resources.
Phonemic Awareness
The Partnership for Reading website summarizes research-based instructional principles for phonemic awareness.
This ERIC digest describes the role of phonological awareness and word recognition in beginning reading.
The professional development guide found at Foundations of Reading
discusses phonological awareness (including phonemic awareness) and offers suggestions on how to teach this foundational skill to struggling readers.
The LD Online site provides information and activities to teach phonemic awareness.
Phonics
The University of Oregon provides a comprehension site at with a definition of alphabetic principle and research findings on phonics, including the critical features of phonics instruction. The site also offers instructions on how to sequence phonics.
At The Partnership for Reading , instructional principles for the teaching of phonics are summarized.
A basic description of phonics and recommendations for phonics instruction are featured at The US Department of Education .
The LD Online web site offers David Chard’s article containing instructional suggestions for teaching phonics and other reading skills to struggling readers at.
Vocabulary
The University of Oregon website contains a description of types of vocabulary instruction, a discussion of critical vocabulary skills students should learn, and examples of vocabulary programs and materials.
Instructional principles for helping children enhance oral and written vocabulary are shared at The Partnership for Reading .
At All America Reads, strategies to build vocabulary are discussed, and lesson plans are offered on topics such as word mapping and idiomatic expressions.
Fluency
Instructional principles for helping children become fluent readers are summarized at The Partnership for Reading .
A number of approaches to building reading fluency are described in an excerpt from Mather and Goldstein’s book Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management (2001).
The University of Oregon site at offers a description of fluency and the critical features of fluency instruction, and examples of fluency instruction strategies.
Comprehension
A summary of research-based comprehension instruction strategies can be found at The US Department of Education .
University of Oregon’s reading website located at provides a helpful summary for teachers, including critical features of comprehension, comprehension strategies for use before, during and after reading, and sequencing of instructional strategies.
The comprehension section of the Reading Rockets site offers a collection of several articles on reading comprehension. The articles provide both conceptual frameworks and practical tips for improving comprehension.
At The Partnership for Reading, instructional principles for helping children build reading comprehension are summarized.
Gersten and Baker’s article on the National Center for Learning Disabilities site discusses reading comprehension research findings and implications for teachers. Although aimed at teachers of children with learning disabilities, the article provides helpful information for anyone working with struggling readers.
The first half of the video clip found at The Alternative Certification Program's
Virtual Classroom demonstrates partner reading for building fluency, while the second half shows comprehension strategies.
This article by Fuchs et. al, located at LD Online describes extending Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) from grades 2 – 6, to both younger and older children to improve reading comprehension.
Family Involvement Information for Teachers
The Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) is a national network that promotes strong partnerships between educators and families. Composed of school professionals, parents and others, the organization offers resources including an E-newsletter. Visitors to the site may sign up for weekly updates on new research, publications and resources related to the network.
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory developed the booklet “Parent Partners: Using parents to Enhance Education” (1999), assists teachers and parents in working together to help children succeed. The publication addresses research on parental involvement, implementing a parent involvement program, and potential pitfalls. Additional resources are provided.
This research brief from the Family Involvement Network of Educators, addresses the question: Adolescence: Are parents Relevant to Students’ High School Achievement and Post-Secondary Attainment? Research findings are shared, along with observations on the relationship between school practices and family engagement and implications for teacher preparation.
Learning Difficulties
Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities
This Tool Kit, provided by the Office of Special Education Projects, brings together the most current and accurate information, including research briefs and resources designed to improve instruction, assessment, and accountability for students with disabilities in a format that is easy to access and to understand. The Tool Kit will assist state personnel, schools, and families in their efforts to ensure that all students with disabilities receive a
quality education.
LD Online features “The ABCs of LD” and other basic information on learning differences, information about laws impacting children with leaning difficulties, and many resources for ELL learners. The site includes ordering information for the now-classic (1989) video “How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop”.
The LD Resources site at is a collection of nearly one thousand entries on various aspects of learning disabilities and difficulties. It also contains comments from community members. Click on “LD Support Sites” for a list of multiple websites of interest.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities has a variety of helpful resources.
English Language Learners
Aimed at families and educators of English Language Learners, ColorinColorado, is a project of Reading Rockets. The site offers information on teaching reading to English language learners, recommendations for children’s books, and background information on language and culture.
Second-language acquisition theory is described, along with recommendations regarding effective reading instruction for English language learners at LD Online .
Grouping
An article by Vaughn, et. al located at LD Online describes research on various classroom grouping options and suggests practical implications for reading instruction in classrooms.
Curricula
Located on this site are the University of Oregon’s recommendations for how to evaluate and select a core reading program, plus reviews of comprehensive, supplemental, and intervention reading programs.
Adolescent Learners
MiddleWeb provides a variety of resources for schools, districts, educators, parents and public school advocates working to raise achievement for all students in the middle grades. This site includes hundreds of articles and links about curriculum, teaching strategies, teacher professional development, parent involvement, classroom assessment, and much more.
America’s Career Resource Network focuses on helping all students achieve at high levels and gain the knowledge and skills they need for success after high school graduation. The site contains a monthly “top five” list of related resources.
The research brief from the Family Involvement Network of Educators addresses the question: Adolescence: Are parents Relevant to Students’ High School Achievement and Post-Secondary Attainment? Research findings are shared, along with observations on the relationship between school practices and family engagement and implications for teacher preparation.
Books for Students
The National Education Association offers the companion lists Teachers Top 100 Books and Kids’ Top 100 Books. Compare the lists!
LiteratureCircle.com offers a list of book recommendations for use with literature circles. Teacher recommendations and student recommendations.