Events

Events sponsored by Decoding Dyslexia CA (DDCA) are indicated on the events calendar.  Local events held by other organizations may also be listed that may be of interest to our members. DDCA does not endorse any specific program or company.

Sep
20
Thu
Structured Word Inquiry @ Marina Village Conference Center
Sep 20 @ 9:00 am – Sep 21 @ 3:30 pm

Both days will draw on classroom/tutoring lessons across the grades to help teachers/tutors make sense of English spelling and ways to bring that understanding in their own educational contexts. Both days will be driven by the participants questions and both will have investigations teachers will engage in, but there will be more time for digging into activities on Day 2 with the basics in place. The basic story will be something like this:

Day 1: 
– A general introduction to the big picture of English orthography and SWI
– Working with word morphological and etymological word families
– Making sense the interrelation of morphology, etymology and phonology by working with matrices, word sums (spelling-out-loud and writing-out-loud), grapheme-phoneme correspondents and synchronic and diachronic etymology
– How to draw on SWI in the process of reading instruction, and to deepen understanding of key concepts and terms in any subject area. 
– Brief description of the research

Day 2:
– A revisiting of the key concepts of Day 1, but now with much more time for activities. 
– More time for activities
– much more time for the details of “writing-out-loud” and “spelling-out-loud”, bigger investigations 
– more time learning how to work with Etymonline to inform SWI investigations
– more practice on grapheme-phoneme-correspondences and the interrelation with morphology and phonology
– a more detailed account of the research
The point is that people can get an introduction on Day 1 if they can only commit to one day. Day 2 is hugely valuable to have time to process the concepts and terms of Day 1 and to refine understanding.

Flyer

Sep
29
Sat
Structured Word Inquiry @ Athena Academy
Sep 29 @ 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Register for the class directly through the instructor:  peterbowers1@mac.com

Full day workshop!  Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is appropriate for teachers and tutors new to SWI and those who have attended workshops and worked with SWI for some time.  Those who have attended Pete’s workshops multiple times know that revisiting these introductory sessions is particularly rich for deepening understanding and confidence in their instructional practice.  The content addresses instruction of children of all ages and abilities.

Download the Flyer for more information

Oct
10
Wed
Microsoft Presents: Empowering Students Affected by Dyslexia @ Microsoft Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Oct 10 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Program Background
This workshop provides educators and parents/caregivers an introduction to Microsoft Learning Tools and accessibility features of Windows 10 and Office 365.

  • The goals are to empower teachers to create inclusive classrooms that support students
    of all abilities and to help parents/caregivers support learners outside of the classroom.
  • The workshop covers why it’s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to
    empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with
    disabilities.
  • Workshop participants get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu, and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365.

 

Learning goals

During this workshop, participants will learn about:

  • The purpose and educational uses of Microsoft Learning Tools
  • Accessibility features and tools
  • Resources to continue to learn how to use Learning Tools and accessibility tools and
    features
Oct
17
Wed
Microsoft Presents: Empowering Students Affected by Dyslexia @ Microsoft Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Oct 17 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Program Background
This workshop provides educators and parents/caregivers an introduction to Microsoft Learning Tools and accessibility features of Windows 10 and Office 365.

  • The goals are to empower teachers to create inclusive classrooms that support students
    of all abilities and to help parents/caregivers support learners outside of the classroom.
  • The workshop covers why it’s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to
    empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with
    disabilities.
  • Workshop participants get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu, and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365.

 

Learning goals

During this workshop, participants will learn about:

  • The purpose and educational uses of Microsoft Learning Tools
  • Accessibility features and tools
  • Resources to continue to learn how to use Learning Tools and accessibility tools and
    features
Oct
20
Sat
Microsoft Presents: Empowering students with Dyslexia with Inclusive Technologies @ Microsoft Store Century City
Oct 20 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Empowering students with Dyslexia with Free tools to improve reading, writing, and accessibility built in to Windows 10 and Office 365

Come learn about Inclusive Technology Learning Tools that help with dyslexia, hosted by Microsoft, the International Dyslexia Association -LA  Branch and Decoding Dyslexia CA

What you will learn:

  • How the built in capabilities in Office 365 and Windows can enable learners of all abilities to improve reading and writing skills.
  • How inclusively designed Learning Tools add benefits for those with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, as well as non-native speakers and emerging readers.
  • How learning tools are built into: Word, OneNote, Outlook, Office Lens, and Edge browser

Bring With You:

We would like this to be a learning and sharing event for the community. Your student/child is encouraged to bring their favorite technology and is invited to share what assistive technology works for them!

*Decoding Dyslexia CA doesn’t endorse or support specific products/tools

Oct
24
Wed
Microsoft Presents: Empowering Students Affected by Dyslexia @ Microsoft Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Oct 24 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Program Background
This workshop provides educators and parents/caregivers an introduction to Microsoft Learning Tools and accessibility features of Windows 10 and Office 365.

  • The goals are to empower teachers to create inclusive classrooms that support students
    of all abilities and to help parents/caregivers support learners outside of the classroom.
  • The workshop covers why it’s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to
    empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with
    disabilities.
  • Workshop participants get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu, and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365.

 

Learning goals

During this workshop, participants will learn about:

  • The purpose and educational uses of Microsoft Learning Tools
  • Accessibility features and tools
  • Resources to continue to learn how to use Learning Tools and accessibility tools and
    features
Microsoft Presents: Empowering students with Dyslexia with Inclusive Technologies @ Microsoft Store Century City
Oct 24 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Empowering students with Dyslexia with Free tools to improve reading, writing, and accessibility built in to Windows 10 and Office 365

Come learn about Inclusive Technology Learning Tools that help with dyslexia, hosted by Microsoft, the International Dyslexia Association -LA  Branch and Decoding Dyslexia CA

What you will learn:

  • How the built in capabilities in Office 365 and Windows can enable learners of all abilities to improve reading and writing skills.
  • How inclusively designed Learning Tools add benefits for those with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, as well as non-native speakers and emerging readers.
  • How learning tools are built into: Word, OneNote, Outlook, Office Lens, and Edge browser

Bring With You:

We would like this to be a learning and sharing event for the community. Your student/child is encouraged to bring their favorite technology and is invited to share what assistive technology works for them!

*Decoding Dyslexia CA doesn’t endorse or support specific products/tools

Oct
31
Wed
Microsoft Presents: Empowering Students Affected by Dyslexia @ Microsoft Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Oct 31 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Program Background
This workshop provides educators and parents/caregivers an introduction to Microsoft Learning Tools and accessibility features of Windows 10 and Office 365.

  • The goals are to empower teachers to create inclusive classrooms that support students
    of all abilities and to help parents/caregivers support learners outside of the classroom.
  • The workshop covers why it’s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to
    empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with
    disabilities.
  • Workshop participants get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu, and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365.

 

Learning goals

During this workshop, participants will learn about:

  • The purpose and educational uses of Microsoft Learning Tools
  • Accessibility features and tools
  • Resources to continue to learn how to use Learning Tools and accessibility tools and
    features
Jul
20
Sat
Family Computer Coding Class @ Santa Rosa Christian Church
Jul 20 @ 9:00 am – 12:30 pm

We are very excited to have John Rodrigues, author of “High School Dropout to Harvard,” here to teach a family coding day. John is the Executive Director of ThinkLexic, a non-profit organization serving the dyslexia community with programs, advocacy and policy. John has a masters degree in learning disability education and is a popular speaker in the dyslexia community.

The class is open to students from kindergarten to 8th grade, siblings and teachers are welcome to attend.

Suggested Donation:

$15 per student participant (Kindergarten to 8th grade)

$20 per teacher (will receive a copy of the lesson plan)

$5 per observing adult

All proceeds go to the non-profit, ThinkLexic.

Decoding Dyslexia CA’s Sonoma County Parents Support Group is pleased to host this event. We are a group of parents and educators who meet monthly to share resources and empower each other as we support children with dyslexia and other learning differences.

We hope you can attend this fun family day!

Oct
19
Sat
IDA NorCal Event: The Lost Art of Teaching Spelling – A One-day Workshop @ Seven Hills Conference Center San Francisco State University
Oct 19 @ 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

The Workshop:
Who knew there were spelling rules? Our students are given worksheets and lists of words, but no explicit instruction. This interactive, multisensory seminar will guide teachers through the normal spelling development, the importance of phonological awareness, the alphabetic principles, and the rules that govern how we can confidently spell 85% of English words. Teachers will leave with materials to guide their instruction and strategies to improve the spelling skills of their students.

Speaker: Nancy M. Coffman, MS, CALT, QI, Director, Shelton Academic Reading Approach (SARA), Shelton School.

A nationally known speaker in the field of multisensory structured language education, Nancy Coffman currently directs SARA, a comprehensive IMSLEC- and IDA- accredited training program in Structured Literacy. She began teaching children with dyslexia and related disorders in 1991 and training teachers in 1998.

Who Should Attend:

General education teachers: This seminar will raise your knowledge base in the areas of multisensory instruction in spelling to better serve all students.

Dyslexia practitioners, therapists and CALTs: This seminar will enhance your practice with current research and multifaceted practice activities and materials.