Full Catalog of Upcoming Events

Why We Integrate Life Skills and Academic Instruction

• Learning has academic, emotional, and social elements.

• Emotional Regulation (ER), Cognitive Regulation (CR), and Social Skills (SS) are life skills necessary for everyday success.

• Developing these Life Skills helps students learn the academic content.

Dr. Gordon presents the reasons for using mentor texts to teach these life skills.  She suggests books and gives instructional strategies for integrating these life skills into the content areas.  

Why We Integrate Life Skills and Academic Instruction

• Learning has academic, emotional, and social elements.

• Emotional Regulation (ER), Cognitive Regulation (CR), and Social Skills (SS) are life skills necessary for everyday success.

• Developing these Life Skills helps students learn the academic content.

Dr. Gordon presents the reasons for using mentor texts to teach these life skills.  She suggests books and gives instructional strategies for integrating these life skills into the content areas.  

Why We Integrate Life Skills and Academic Instruction

• Learning has academic, emotional, and social elements.

• Emotional Regulation (ER), Cognitive Regulation (CR), and Social Skills (SS) are life skills necessary for everyday success.

• Developing these Life Skills helps students learn the academic content.

Dr. Gordon presents the reasons for using mentor texts to teach these life skills.  She suggests books and gives instructional strategies for integrating these life skills into the content areas.  

 This is copied directly: 

"Georgia School Counselors are invited to participate in this professional learning session to learn more about the recently adopted K-12 Mathematics Standards for Georgia. School counselors will have the opportunity to engage in discussions about the new standards, mathematics course requirements, and options for high school students. This will also provide opportunities for counselors to network with other school leaders from across the state!" Recorded on Nov 1, 2021

Mentor texts, including picture books, novels, and biographies can be used to help students understand and deal effectively with the mental health challenges of anger management and anxiety. The books illustrate aspects of Anger and Anxiety, as well as the Character Traits of Resilience, Persistence, and Fostering Relationships. Note: The Mentor Texts are to be used by teachers and coaches working with Mental Health experts.

Mentor texts, including picture books, novels, and biographies can be used to help students understand and deal effectively with the mental health challenges of anger management and anxiety. The books illustrate aspects of Anger and Anxiety, as well as the Character Traits of Resilience, Persistence, and Fostering Relationships. Note: The Mentor Texts are to be used by teachers and coaches working with Mental Health experts.

These videos will be helpful for those wanting to learn chemistry content. The resources to teach chemistry can be requested as indicated below. This is copied directly from the GPB website:  "Chemistry: A Study of Matter is a series teaching high school chemistry. The series provides instructional content delivered through thirty-minute episodes and integrated classroom materials. Episodes provide content while giving cues for the classroom teacher to pause the program and interact with students, engaging them in discussions, problem-solving, and laboratory activities. Classroom materials, including note-taking guides to accompany the episodes, worksheets, classroom activities, quizzes, and tests are available in electronic format. For security reasons, only student materials are provided on this site. teachers' resources are free for Georgia educators. If you are a Georgia educator, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request the Chemistry teacher resources. You may be asked to verify your Georgia educator status. 

These videos will be helpful for those wanting to learn physics content. The resources to teach physics can be requested as indicated below. This is copied directly from the GPB website: "Physics Fundamentals is a series teaching high school physics. Physics Fundamentals provides instructional content delivered through thirty-minute episodes and integrated classroom materials. Episodes provide content while giving cues for the classroom teacher to pause the program and interact with students, engaging them in discussions, problem-solving, and laboratory activities. Classroom materials, including note-taking guides to accompany the episodes, worksheets, classroom activities, quizzes, and tests are available in electronic format. For security reasons, only student materials are provided on this site. The teacher resources are free for Georgia educators. If you are a Georgia educator, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request the Physics Fundamentals teacher resources. You may be asked to verify your Georgia educator status." 

 This is copied directly from the website:  "Federal spending and research on adolescent learners over the past 15 years has sharply increased (Reynolds, 2021) but systemic, instructional changes in middle and high school literacy instruction have been slower to emerge. What have researchers learned in recent years about adolescent literacy? How are schools working to improve how they teach reading and writing in their secondary schools? What can you do to teach reading and writing more effectively in your classroom and school?  AdLit 101 is designed to help you get up to speed on recent research and policy developments, to give you some practical advice on infusing reading and writing skills into your instruction, and to point you towards a wide range of resources."

Dr. Rubin shared about the importance of observing, monitoring, and responding to language development needs and for shared tools developed in partnership with Arianne Weldon, the Executive Director of Get Georgia Reading, and Dr. Garry McGiboney, who serves as the Executive Director of Government and Education Programs at Sharecare.

Previously trained hearing officers may received the updated information for this year.  It is required that anyone completing the course also complete a form affirming that completion.  Please contact Dr. Jimmy Stokes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at  770-601-3798 if you have any questions.

This was copied directly from the website. "Through engagement in this series of 13 webinar modules, participants will understand the current research, implications, and the essential elements necessary for assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties. This series was created in conjunction with David Kilpatrtick, PhD to compliment the information provided in his book Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties (Wiley, 2015)." This course is currently open access. If you are unable to access, the access rights might have changed. Please let us know if this happens.

This is copied directly from the web link: "Recording of reading specialist, Lisa Flute, as she shares details about how she transformed the North Side Elementary's book room to resemble the Simple View of Reading. Books are organized by those that support accurate, automatic word recognition and those the develop language comprehension. Lisa will share organization details and re-purposing of leveled text."

Modules on professional ethics have been created via a partnership between the GA Professional Standards Commission and the 16 RESAs throughout the state. There are 10 standards in this independent learning journey.  This training is only for Standard 10.  It is a self-paced and self-directed learning activity.  

This was copied directly from the website: "Today In Georgia History is an exciting, award-winning educational project that focuses on an historical event or person associated with a particular day in Georgia history. These short segments aired daily on GPB television and radio stations across the state from 2011-2013, and are now archived and available on this site.

GHS and GPB collaborated to provide audiences with this innovative and engaging programming." Vocabulary and daily activities are included. The video segments can be viewed by time periods.

This Quick Course will teach you about types of trauma, the signs of trauma in children, and how you can design a trauma-informed classroom. You’ll learn a specific approach to the design of your classroom and its culture so that you are maintaining a safe space that supports all children.

TRAUMA-INFORMED TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR GRADES 6-12 - NEIU (15 ISBE Clock Hours) This Quick Credit Course will teach you about types of trauma, the signs of trauma in adolescents, and how you can implement strategies to support a trauma-informed classroom. You’ll learn a specific approach to the design of your classroom and its culture so that you are maintaining a safe space that supports all students.

This is copied directly from the GDOE PL page: "PROVE IT! Teaching Students How to Back up Claims with Primary Source Evidence

Good writers back up their claims with evidence. Join Nancy Balaun as she explores ways for students to analyze primary sources, make claims, and prove it. She will brainstorm ways to connect what you are already doing in ELA with your Social Studies standards and leave you with tools you can use in your classroom tomorrow. Join us as we prove it!" Length:  1 hour

English Language Arts, Mathematics, Personalized Learning, Reading/Literacy, Science, Social Studies

Description: This is copied directly from the GDOE PL page: "Join our presenters as they provide an overview of talent development and the important role it plays in meeting the needs of students."  Length:  15 minutes

 This is copied directly from the video:  " In this session, author Gravity Goldberg will share a curated selection of high-impact, instructional strategies that new teachers can become familiar with and master early in their teaching careers."

This is copied directly from the video description:  "This webinar will cover the latest research and best practices for effective vocabulary instruction in K-12 classrooms."

This was copied directly from the website, "Few activities are as cognitively demanding as writing. In this session, Drs. Vroom and Zoleo provide an overview of the Hochman Method, an explicit set of specific writing strategies that teachers use in every grade and in all subjects, including ELA, social studies, science, world languages, and math. This evidence-based and proven instructional methodology enables students to master the skills that are essential if they are to become competent writers. Those skills equip students to become better readers, to communicate more effectively in writing and speaking, and most importantly, to elevate their thinking. The Hochman Method will be discussed in relation to the challenges of writing: the cognitive demands of writing, the interplay of writing with reading comprehension and knowledge, the scaffolding of writing instruction, and the importance of planning and revising. Participants will learn key strategies that can be implemented immediately with students in writing or through oral practice.

Dr. Vroom and Dr. Zoleo are the co-executive directors of The Writing Revolution (TWR). TWR is a national nonprofit that trains educators and supports schools and districts in implementing the Hochman Method, an evidence-based method of writing instruction that transforms the way students write, learn, read, think, and express themselves. Dr. Vroom was previously a lead social studies teacher and school-wide writing coordinator at New Dorp High School. Dr. Zoleo was previously the assistant principal at New Dorp, where she co-led the effort to bring the Hochman Method of writing instruction to the school. Both Drs. Vroom and Zoleo have been with TWR since its founding in 2014. Today, TWR trains thousands of teachers each year and partners with schools and districts across the United States. Drs. Vroom and Zoleo have developed content for TWR, as well as for textbooks and curriculum guides, and presented at the Aspen Institute, South by Southwest, and the College Board Foundation, as well as many other venues, on the topic of writing. Both Drs. Vroom and Zoleo earned doctoral degrees in student literacy from St. John’s University." After registering, participants will receive the links to the recording, slides, etc.

This was copied directly from the website, "Attendees will learn the importance of providing vocabulary instruction across content areas (i.e., English language arts/reading, social studies, science, mathematics) and the role of word knowledge for students’ reading comprehension. First, the presenter will describe guidelines for vocabulary instruction, including how to choose which words to teach. Next, the presenter will describe the steps in a routine for teaching essential words, provide sample vocabulary maps for various content areas, and model instruction. Third, the presenter will provide suggestions for planning vocabulary instruction and share resources teachers can use in their classroom. The presentation will conclude with a Q&A period.

Elizabeth Stevens, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. Stevens completed her doctoral degree at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds a master’s degree in special education from the College of William and Mary and a reading specialist degree from the University of Virginia. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, she taught special education for nine years in Virginia. Elizabeth has coordinated large-scale research projects at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. She recently served as Co-Principal Investigator of an IES-funded Development and Innovation Project, Middle School Matters, which focused on developing a PD model to support middle school teachers with implementing research-based practices during content-area reading instruction. Elizabeth researches effective reading and mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities and learning difficulties. She is particularly interested in the effects of aligning Tier 1 (core) instruction with Tier 2 intervention for upper elementary students with reading comprehension difficulties. She is also interested in the effects of vocabulary instruction on the word-problem performance of upper elementary students with mathematics difficulty. She has extensive experience in designing literacy interventions for diverse and at-risk populations, providing PD to districts, and examining the effects of such interventions and PD through high quality research studies. Stevens has published in numerous journals including Scientific Studies of Reading, Exceptional Children, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Reading and Writing, Remedial and Special Education, and Teaching Exceptional Children." 

2022 Series - This was copied directly from the website:  "The webinar series focuses on Structured Literacy to encompass both the content and principles of instruction supported by research on the teaching of reading.

Structured literacy (SL) teaching is the most effective approach for students who experience unusual difficulty learning to read and spell printed words. The term refers to both the content and methods or principles of instruction. It means the same kind of instruction as the terms multisensory structured language education and structured language and literacy.

Structured literacy teaching stands in contrast with approaches that are popular in many schools that do not teach oral and written language skills in an explicit, systematic manner. Evidence is strong that the majority of students learn to read better with structured teaching of basic language skills, and that the components and methods of Structured Literacy are critical for students with reading disabilities including dyslexia. (see: IDA Fact Sheet)" After registering, participants will receive the links to the recordings, handouts, etc.