overview
Monitoring Comprehension
(Grade K-5)
Caryn Lewis
Course Description:
This session is conducted by a member of the Riverside County Office Achievement (R-CAT) Team, a group that represents a wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting the goals and vision of No Child Left Behind. R-CAT is a proven assistance model for schools aspiring to improve student achievement. In this model, county office personnel collaborate with schools to align analyzed data and school targets with professional training, resources, and accountability. In this session, a team member will use a direct instruction model to present research and information about how comprehension-monitoring strategies can be taught explicitly and systematically to students, how student success can be measured, and what steps to take when students are unsuccessful. Participants will have opportunities to review and interpret student data and to base instructional decisions on the needs of students.
Caryn Lewis
Caryn Lewis is currently teaching a third grade class at Good Hope Elementary School in Perris, California. This is a school-wide Title I school in which a majority of the students are designated as English language learners. Ms. Lewis received her undergraduate degree from the California State University at San Marcos, with a major in Liberal Studies and a minor in Spanish. Later, she completed her postgraduate training at Azusa Pacific University, earning a Master of Arts degree in Education with an emphasis in teaching. Today, Ms. Lewis serves on the Perris Elementary School District's Curriculum Council, which focuses on meeting the needs of all learners through standards-based instruction.
Co-developer
Dr. Susan Smith
Dr. Susan Smith of San Diego, CA, has been in education since 1989. Her experience includes working as a special education teacher, elementary classroom teacher, mentor teacher, PAR consulting teacher, supervising teacher, lead teacher, middle/high school science and math teacher, and university professor. She has also worked at the county level as a coordinator of elementary language arts, and at the state level as an Instructional Program Advisor for California's Reading First Program. She is the author of several state-level trainings and documents, including AB 466 Advanced Training; AB 75 Administrative Training; Standards-Based Student Writing Samples K-8; Writing Under Pressure; A Blueprint for Effective Writing Instruction; and Assessing Student Achievement in Writing. Dr. Smith serves on the Instructional Program Advisory Panel, the AB-466 materials review panel, and the California Writing Project advisory board. She is currently a member of the Riverside County Achievement Team, working with low-performing schools to increase student achievement. She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of San Diego in 2002.
