4-Day Literacy Institute – The Strategic Classroom: Bridging Literacy and Executive Function

This four-day institute gives educators a deep dive into the critical connection between literacy instruction and the executive functioning skills students need to plan, adapt, and persevere. You’ll leave with a curated set of ready-to-use scaffolds and practical techniques for addressing cognitive load, identifying student sticking points, and building self-regulation — all seamlessly layered into your existing curriculum without adding to your workload. Help your students develop the academic endurance and self-regulation skills they need to thrive.

Day 1: Executive Functioning, Language, and Cognitive Supports for Independent Learners

When educators put the right language routines and cognitive supports in place, students gain the tools to tackle challenging texts, sustain focus, and think flexibly on their own. This session connects executive functioning, oral language, and literacy to give you a research-grounded toolkit for building student independence. You’ll practice discussion moves that lead conversation about tasks, explore language supports that build cognitive flexibility — including sentence frames, revoicing techniques, contrastive routines, and think-alouds — and get hands-on time with virtual tools like Snorkl, Padlet, Canva, ChatGPT, and MentalUP. In the afternoon, in-person participants will analyze a grade-level text, anticipate barriers, and design ready-to-use scaffolds to bring back to your classroom.

Key Learning Objectives:

• A clear framework for how executive functioning drives reading comprehension, task management, and student independence
• Discussion moves that lead conversation about tasks, deepen thinking, and build cognitive flexibility during classroom talk
• Language supports — including sentence frames, revoicing techniques, contrastive routines, and think-alouds — that make flexible thinking visible and repeatable for students
• Practical experience with virtual tools that support planning, collaboration, and move to more student independence
• Classroom-ready scaffolds and routines designed to promote self-regulation and independence across content areas

Day 2: Word Reading, Reading Comprehension & Working Memory

Building on Day 1’s executive functioning framework, this session takes a deeper look at how working memory impacts word reading and comprehension — and how cognitive load can mask true reading difficulty. You’ll gain a toolkit of before, during, and after reading scaffolds, including graphic organizers, annotation strategies, and discussion protocols, and questioning techniques to support students in managing complex texts while strengthening decoding and meaning-making.  Leave with an understanding of digital tools like Google NotebookLM, MindMeister, Immersive Reader, Quizlet, and SchoolAi to support every learner. In the afternoon, in-person participants use a grade-level text to design and create classroom-ready graphic organizers and templates that maintain rigor while reducing cognitive overload.

 Key Learning Objectives:

• understand the role of working memory in reading and how it affects both decoding and comprehension
• identify the cognitive load demands of complex texts
• learn and apply scaffolds that reduce cognitive overload before, during, and after reading tasks
• strengthen instructional approaches that support automaticity in word reading
• explore virtual tools like Google NotebookLM, MindMeister, Immersive Reader, Quizlet, and SchoolAi to support planning and increase student independence
• utilize templates to design reading experiences that support students’ cognitive capacity while maintaining rigor

Day 3: Structured Supports to Build Confident Writers

With a deepened understanding of cognitive load and comprehension from Days 1 and 2, this session turns to writing — equipping educators with structured supports that guide students confidently through every stage of the writing process. You’ll gain an understanding of both daily and long-term writing compositions and how scaffolds such as graphic organizers, explicit instruction routines, and teacher modeling techniques can support organization and clarity in writing.  Leave with an understanding of digital tools like SchoolAi, Trello, and Todoist can build student independence from brainstorming through publishing. In the afternoon, plan a grade-level writing task complete with a structured organizer, modeled example, and guided practice plan ready for immediate classroom use.

Key Learning Objectives:

• understand how structured supports reduce cognitive load and increase student independence throughout the writing process
• learn and apply tools such as graphic organizers and outlines to support students in planning, organizing, and developing their ideas
• use explicit instruction and teacher modeling to demonstrate writing processes
• design scaffolded writing routines and practice opportunities that support students
• explore virtual tools like SchoolAi, Gemini, Todoist, and Trello to support planning and increase student independence
• plan targeted supports to address common student challenges, ensuring all learners can engage successfully in writing tasks

Day 4: Motivation, Engagement & Self-Regulation

This session focuses on building student motivation and self-regulation to support sustained engagement and academic stamina. Participants will explore how classroom routines, task design, and teacher practices influence persistence and ownership of learning. You’ll leave with a toolkit of high-leverage strategies to support goal-setting, progress monitoring, and effort management- alongside digital tools like Habitaca, Tiimo, Streaks, Forest, and Moodnotes that help students monitor and manage their own learning. In the afternoon, analyze a current lesson or unit and design embedded supports that strengthen student motivation and self-regulation for lasting, long-term impact.

Key Learning Objectives:

• understand the connection between motivation, engagement, and self-regulation
• learn techniques to help students recognize their own learning needs and select appropriate strategies
• implement routines that build stamina, persistence, and goal-directed behavior
• evaluate and refine classroom practices to better support sustained engagement
• gain toolkit of engagement strategies to use in any lesson
• explore virtual tools like Habitaca, Tiimo, Streaks, Forest, and Moodnotes to help build student motivation, engagement, and self-regulation
• analyze and adjust a lesson plan that can be used to strengthen student independence and engagement

Date: July 6 – 9, Monday – Thursday.
Presenters: Alison Leveque, PhD., Dana Carr-Ford, MA, MsEd, Kinjal Nicholls, MA
Grades: 3 – 8
Location: In-person at the Windward Westchester Lower School Campus in White Plains, NY
Credits: NYCTLE credits – 5 hours per full-day workshop

There are two ways to take the full institute:

• 2 full days 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., ET  in-person at our Westchester Lower School campus
• 2 mornings, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, virtual

Browse individual workshops to register by session.