Sound Readers - Workshops for Teachers

"I was so impressed by the presentation-the easy going format, the "dynamic" way in which the information was presented, and the immediate practicality and usefulness of the information. Thank-you!!!"
Tracy C.
Parent and Grade One Teacher

"You are an excellent speaker: enthusiastic, fast paced, informative, and interactive with the audience. I tried some of the games this morning, and the kids LOVED them! Thank-you so much."
Gita W.
Teacher, Prince of Wales Public School
Barrie ON

"Super presentation all around! Well put together. Well delivered. I hope all teachers in the system can take part."
Karen S.
Teacher and mother of three

"Very enthusiastic! How do you do it?! I wish my children could be hooked on learning by a teacher like yourself. I am a teacher myself and I learned so much to take back to my classroom! Thank-you!"
Joanne M.
Teacher and mother of three

"This is a workshop that gave us different routes to apply reading skills. If we could have it two to three times a year, what a benefit it would be for both parents and teachers. Thank-you for your time and energy."
Shannon R.
Teacher and mother of two

"I thoroughly enjoyed (Martha's) enthusiasm and (her) great ideas! Thank-you!"
J. Magloughlen
Grade three teacher

"Although I am a teacher and I am familiar with phonemic awareness, etc., it was so helpful to hear Martha talk about it, refresh my memory, and give me practical, new ideas."
Tammy S Teacher and mother of two

"Fast-paced, full of practical ideas, relaxing atmosphere, loads of information. This workshop was excellent!"
Sue B
Teacher and mother of three


Sound Readers™ Workshops for TEACHERS

“Teachers” include:
Primary school teachers Special education teachers Kindergarten teachers Nursery school teachers Tutors Child care centre staff Ontario Early Years Centres staff Playgroup leaders Home childcare providers Teen parent program staff Librarians Reading circle facilitators Classroom or program volunteers Parent/family resource program staff

Who presents "Sound Readers™ workshops?

Martha Kovack, Martha is currently the Early Literacy Specialist. Click here to read her Bio.

What Workshops does "Sound Readers™
offer for Teachers?

Multisensory Structured Language (MSL):
From Reluctant Readers…to Sound Readers™!
(For teachers of beginning or struggling readers)

In this workshop, teachers will learn how to help even the most reluctant readers find success.

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of:

Multisensory Structured Language (MSL).

How to implement MSL with Kindergarten, Primary, & Special Education classrooms.

The improvement that MSL can make to Balanced Literacy programs.

The difference that MSL makes to students who have completed remedial reading programs such as Reading Recovery™, and yet still struggle.

Systematic, sequential, direct, & explicit teaching methods.

Simple and practical MSL activities that can be included in any reading program to improve academic achievement.

Phonemic (FUN-ee-mic!) Awareness!
(For teachers of 3-6 year olds, and special ed)

This workshop shows teachers how to help preschoolers, kindergarten children, and grade one students ‘start off on the right foot’ towards developing excellent decoding and spelling skills. Before children learn to read print, they need to become aware of how the sounds in words work. This workshop shows teachers how to have fun with songs, stories, and games that will help children rhyme, play with syllables, and segment & blend sounds in words so that they will have an easier time learning to read and spell later on.

What is Phonemic Awareness?

Phonemic Awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words.

Not all children acquire knowledge about Phonemic Awareness naturally, simply by being exposed to meaningful reading experiences in their environment. Similarly, good phonics programs do not guarantee that children will develop Phonemic Awareness. Sound Readers™ Phonemic Awareness workshops provide teachers with the tools, the confidence, and the enthusiasm to be able to:

Administer easy to follow, reliable, and valid phonemic awareness level assessments;

Understand the rationale underlying phonemic awareness training;

Engage students in short, easy-to-learn games and activities that direct their attention to the sounds in words;

Teach students to segment and blend syllables and individual sounds;

Combine segmentation and blending with instruction in letter-sound relationships;

Teach for transfer of newly acquired knowledge to words in context.

Emergent Writing: From Scribbles to Sounds to Symbols
(All teachers)

Reading, writing, and listening are streams that flow into the same pool: they are constantly refreshing each other.
(Brauniger & Lewis, 1997, Building a Knowledge Base in Reading)

Help young children move through the stages of emergent writing by engaging them in practical multisensory activities designed to make learning to write easier, more effective, and more motivating. Leave with dozens of ideas that can be incorporated into large group, small group, and individual programming to create a truly literacy-rich classroom environment.

Prepping Parent Volunteers
(All teachers)

Need help for parents who visit your classrooms to help struggling readers find success? This workshop gives teachers easy, fun, efficient and effective tools that will help parents make a difference for children in their classrooms.

Teachers will learn how to play Crazy Cards™, and how to help children transfer what they learn in these games to their reading.

Sound Readers™ Reading Buddy Blast Off!
(K-3 Teachers, Special Ed)

The Sound Readers™ Reading Buddy Blast Off!™ Program has been implemented in Ontario schools since 1998. This student-peer coaching program has been designed to teach older students how to help their younger reading buddies develop excellent reading skills. Older students are required to create the materials and plan their lessons. The program consists of 5 training sessions for the older students, and continues in the classroom weekly throughout the school year.

Play, Language, & Learning to Read
(Teachers of families with children birth – 3 years)

In this workshop, early years teachers will learn about the importance of the relationship between pretending, talking, and looking at books, and how to help children move through developmental stages and reach milestones that will help ensure success as lifelong readers in the future.

Bonkers for Books™!
(Teachers of families with children of all ages)

In this workshop, teachers will learn how to help parents be motivated to do more reading aloud, and how to make reading aloud more interesting, interactive and fun! Teachers will also learn how parents can make sure that their children understand what they read later on.

Sound Readers™ Story Time!
(Teachers of families with children birth – six years)

Sound Readers™ Early Literacy Consultants are available to attend programs that work with families to model early literacy activities, answer questions that parents or care providers have about their children’s early literacy development, hand out resources and information about early literacy, and/or to lead a literacy-rich circle time to role model reading aloud with enthusiasm and purpose.

Nursery Rhyme Time
(Teachers of families with children birth – six years)

Teachers will learn how to help parents have fun learning about the connection between nursery rhymes and learning to read, and will leave with lots of ideas for fun activities that will ensure all children experience the joy of song and rhyme. This workshop may also be interactive with children.

How can I book a Sound Readers™ Workshop or Classroom Consultation?

Workshops and consultations may be booked by phone by calling
1-800-515-6815, or by e-mail at info@soundreaders.ca.

What will a Sound Readers™ workshop cost?

Workshop Fees for 2007/2008:

$250 per hour. (maximum 50 participants) plus travel
(see "Travel Fees" below)

Travel Fees:

Travel expenses must be paid on top of workshop and Classroom Consultation fees. Fees for travel are: $ .38/km from Barrie ON, Canada within a 200km (125 mile) radius.

Please call for travel fees for workshop bookings that are more than 200km (125 miles) away as flight, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, parking, and meals must be taken into consideration.

Sound Readers™ Workshops for TEACHERS