The Strategic Classroom: Bridging Literacy and Executive Function – Virtual Morning

Adaptable to your schedule! Join us all four days or for a single session. 

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.

Date: July 6 – 9, Monday – Thursday, 9:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. ET
Presenters: Alison Leveque, PhD., Dana Carr-Ford, MA, MsEd, Kinjal Nicholls, MA
Grades: 3 – 8
Location: Virtual
Credits: NYCTLE credits – 3 hours per morning workshop

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

This institute opens by building a strong foundation in executive functioning and its direct impact on student independence, reading comprehension, and academic success. You’ll leave with practical oral language and discourse routines to build cognitive flexibility and reduce potential challenges. This session emphasizes modeling, structured talk, and scaffolds that help students process ideas, shift thinking, and engage more deeply in learning.  Leave with an understanding of virtual tools such as Snorkl, Mental Up, and Padlet that can support student independence and learning. In the afternoon, put it all into practice by analyzing a grade-level text, identifying barriers, and designing ready-to-use scaffolds to bring back to your classroom.

Key Learning Objectives:

• define executive functioning (EF) and explain its role in student independence, reading comprehension, and overall academic success
• identify classroom and task-based challenges that increase cognitive load and hinder students’ ability to manage tasks and sustain engagement
• explore virtual tools to support planning like Canva, ChatGPT and Snorkl and increase student independence through Padlet and Mental Up
• apply strategies that integrate oral language and discourse routines
• learn modeling and scaffolded language routines to make thinking visible and support students in processing, organizing, and expressing ideas
• design and plan aligned scaffolds and classroom routines that promote self-regulation, reduce cognitive demand, and increase student independence across tasks

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, 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