Professional Development Opportunities
It's your first year teaching, or your first time teaching fourth grade. You want to find out what other literacy professionals are doing. You're interested in the current research and the implications for your practice. You want to think deeply about your reading and writing instruction without making the commitment to go to graduate school. Here are some resources that invite you to learn while you connect with other educators.

Comprehensive Literacy Sites

• If professional development focused on literacy and middle grade students is at the top of your agenda, invite your colleagues to join you in exploring Literacy Matters. This is a comprehensive website for teachers, reading specialists, and principals, which I contributed to at Education Development Center.
  www.literacymatters.org
• ReadWriteThink, an award-winning website, now has a section for high school teachers. Lesson plans, informed by current research, are available on these topics: young adult literature; censorship; modernist poetry; critical reading; creative and business writing; and characterization. (The site is a collaboration involving IRA and NCTE).
  www.readwritethink.org
• Instructional Strategies Resources, hosted by the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, includes links on topics such as reading comprehension (be sure to click on examples of graphic organizers) and writing.
  curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/clic/instructional_strategies_resources.html

• The Knowledge Loom, created in partnership with the Department of Education, Brown University, and national educational organizations, offers a range of topics for study. See "Spotlight Library" for an in-depth study of topics as varied as Adolescent Literacy in the Content Areas and Early Literacy in the Northeast.
  www.ed.gov/inits/bestpractices

• Are you unsure of how best to invest funds in educational software for readers and writers? Read reviews, at Superkids, that factor in teaching value, ease of use, and kid appeal. www.superkids.com

• The Philanthropy News Digest—K-12 Funding Opportunities abounds with links to funding opportunities for teachers, educational technologies, and more. fdncenter.org/funders
• School Grants offers resources especially designed for Pre-K through grade 12 teachers. Explore their "Tips and Opportunities."
  www.schoolgrants.org