The goal of this online course is to help teachers create life-long readers who are empowered as independent learners. Participants will learn strategies that promote and support adolescent literacy in the contemporary urban classroom. The needs of unmotivated and special needs students will be considered.

As you attempt to align curriculum, assessment, and instruction, you must begin by looking at the big picture and finding the over-riding ideas set forth by your district's standards. By thinking about the end result and imagining various levels of proficiency, you begin to define your instructional goals.

Teaching can be an isolating profession. Becoming a true professional involves reflection, engaging in dialogue with colleagues, and developing a portfolio of personal best practices. Becoming a Professional will guide you along the path to true professionalism.

The most effective teachers actively organize their time, space, materials and students to create and maintain an environment that is truly conducive to learning.

As the role of the school grows in children's lives, it is increasingly important for families and schools to work together for the welfare of the child.

Super-teaching means researching, making contacts, arranging classroom visits, and organizing curriculum related trips. Creative approaches to identifying resources can yield information and free and/or low-cost materials. The best classroom materials should not be confined to the annual book order. This course focuses on the ability of teachers to utilize a variety of resources around them. Employing these resources supports teaching and learning in the classroom.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." This can be especially true in teaching.

This course explores the different ways people learn, and how to match teaching methods with individual differences.

Participants will learn to identify and understand the needs of English Language learners, implement strategies for modifying academic content, and put their new skills into practice.