ReadingRockets.org Helps New Teachers Get Ready to Teach

Washington, D.C. – ReadingRockets.org and sister Web sites ColorinColorado.org and LDOnline.org have joined forces to provide first-year teachers with tips and strategies to smooth their entry into the teaching profession. New teachers anywhere in the world can access Reading Rockets' First Year Teacher course-a self-paced, self-study, free online course on helping children in grades K-3 learn to read. The 10-module program, located on Reading Rockets' Back-to-School page, or by going to First Year Teacher Program, details what new teachers need to know to put all children on the path to reading.

Another new feature is EdExtras, a free monthly service that offers schools and PTAs brief articles about children and learning. These one-page articles, researched and written by literacy experts, can easily be printed in parent newsletters as a way to provide parents the latest on research and education practice. Educators can sign up for EdExtras, available in English or Spanish, at http://pbsmail.org/weta_learning/join.tcl.

A First Year Teacher column, with questions from teachers answered by ReadingRockets.org staff, is also on our Back-to-School page. Novice and veteran teachers can review numerous articles and other teaching tools designed to enhance and supplement their professional development.

"Teachers are the most critical component of classroom instruction, and we developed our First Year Teacher course and other material to help novice teachers walk into the classroom for the first time with confidence and knowledge," said Noel Gunther, executive director of ReadingRockets.org.

First-year teachers who visit LDOnline.org will find information on 504 plans (legal documents that outline instructional services for students in general education settings) and IEPs (individualized education programs for special education students that include specific student accommodations).ColorinColorado.org offers novice and veteran teachers frequently asked questions about English language learners, research articles, and resources and other material to help those working with students who are learning English. Both sites also provide the First Year Teacher course and column.

"I feel good about using your Web site because it reinforces the expectation that our district will teach all of our students to read," said Sarah Ernst, of Waukegan, Illinois, who teaches fourth- and fifth-grade students in a resource/inclusion program.

ReadingRockets.org is a service of public broadcasting station WETA, Washington, D.C., and receives major funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. ColorinColorado.org is funded in part by the American Federation of Teachers and the National Institute for Literacy. LDOnline.org is made possible in part by generous support from Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes®.

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