Richard Gentry Workshops

Last Year, the following workshops and seminars were attended by K-8 teachers, special education teachers, curriculum specialists, administrators, and principals. To have Dr. Gentry present one of his staff development workshops, contact him or complete a request form.

  

Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing:

Best Practices for Beginning Reading & Writing Instruction in Every School

In this very special one-day workshop, literacy expert Dr. J. Richard Gentry helps you move beginning reading and writing instruction into the twenty-first century! Drawing on major new insights in brain research, Richard shows how reading and writing develop in five phases—from operations with no letter knowledge to understanding of phonics chunks— that provide the blueprint for instructional approaches.

• Learn the five phases of code breaking that help you clearly see each child's level of reading and writing development.
• Pinpoint students’ needs and deliver targeted reading and writing instruction.
• Match guided reading level with students’ writing at each phase.
• Intervene at the earliest possible time when it is necessary.
• Get tools and techniques for writing workshop, guided reading, spelling and phonics.
• Learn to use leveled text, hand spelling, finger spelling, adult underwriting, classroom management techniques and more.

For more details, download a Brochure.

  

The Science of Spelling:

Explicit Specifics for Making Great Readers and Writers.

Brain scan research calls for a complete rethinking of what schools are doing with spelling. This session demonstrates which instructional strategies really work and why rather than treat spelling as a supplementary subject, schools should move to research-based explicit spelling instruction.

Highlights include:

• Specific techniques for emerging spellers in Kindergarten and First Grade
• The answers to nagging questions about invented spelling
• Why teaching word specific knowledge is critical for all readers and writers
• A curriculum of easy to use power word sorts for every grade level (1-8)
• Tips on differentiating spelling instruction

Learn how teachers develop better readers and writers through appropriate spelling instruction. Get the information you need to bring continuity and effective spelling instruction to your school or district. Learn a plethora of appropriate strategies and the best time to use them.

"The perfect session for schools and districts struggling over what to do with spelling!" -Missouri teacher.

  

Breaking the Code:

Teaching Writing in Kindergarten Through Second Grade

Learn how teaching writing in kindergarten leads to first grade READING success! Master these techniques that every K-2 teacher needs to know: Scaffolding Writing, Private Speech, Hand Spelling, Finger Spelling, Sound and Letter Boxes, Materialization Techniques, Sound and Letter Boxes, Adult Underwriting, Story Framing, Story Mapping, and much more.

• Learn to steer developing writers from scribbles to writing with fluency and volume.
• Learn a quantitative sequence that works—from writing names, to labels, to phrases, to sentences, to line stories, to elaborate voluminous pieces.
• Learn motivational techniques for turning struggling and reluctant writers into success stories.
• Get the tool kit you need for teaching phonemic awareness and phonics while teaching writing and spelling.

"This seminar brought it together for me- now I know how to teach emerging writers and readers!" -West Virginia teacher.

  

Comprehensive and Balanced Literacy

(K-2) (3-8)

Discover how any literacy program can be raised to an advanced level of effectiveness. Based on new research for Phase I and Phase II reading, writing, and spelling development, this up-dated seminar provides the nuts and bolts for developing an effective comprehensive literacy program in elementary school.

Highlights include:

• Schedules that work
• Thoughtful use of flexible and comprehensive frameworks
• End-of-year benchmarks
• Explicit research-based strategies for teaching comprehension and fluency as well as writing and spelling
• Powerful must-do word sorts for every grade level and the best activities for teaching them
• Tips for meeting the needs of English language learners and struggling students