Amber Cahill is a teacher with the Edmonton Public School Board. She has 15 years experience as a classroom teacher and has completed a Master's Degree in Special Education with a focus on oral, reading and written language disabilities. She has been incorporating Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) into her teaching practice for the past 4 years. Amber is excited to have the opportunity to share SWI with teachers who are looking for ways to help struggling readers and writers.
Learning Opportunities
This session has been completed.
Bringing Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) into the Classroom
Presented By
Amber CahillSession Details
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| October 06, 2020 | 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm |
Location
Virtual
Grade Levels
AllPlease note: the webinar information (link and how to access the webinar) will be emailed to you 2 hours prior to the webinar start time. If you have not received the webinar link by then, please email info@erlc.ca.
Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is a term coined by Dr. Peter Bowers, and defined as a process of scientifically investigating the writing system by considering a word's history and structure. There are 4 guiding questions that can help us to better understand English spelling, and see that it is not as weird, or difficult as we are often led to believe. In fact, English spelling is perfectly ordered and logical. Once we understand the features of our writing system, words that are usually thought of as "exceptions" begin to make sense. SWI is gaining traction as more research becomes available, but sometimes teachers are left wondering how best to implement this learning with their students. In these sessions, Amber Cahill aims to help teachers discover how SWI is appropriate to be used with a wide variety of students, from the youngest learners to more advanced students, and in a wide variety of contexts. All of Amber’s SWI sessions are appropriate for teachers who are just beginning their journey into SWI, and those who already have some experience with SWI.
Bringing SWI into the Classroom: Why is there a w in "two"? Why don't we spell "does" like "duz"? As teachers, can we give any answer other than “English is weird”?
Yes, we can! Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) uses morphology, etymology, orthography, and phonology to show the logic in our spelling system. We will talk about how teachers can begin to incorporate this framework in their classrooms and help move spelling instruction beyond lists of words to be memorized.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
Oct 20, 2020: Using Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) Matrices to Support Classroom Instruction
Nov 03, 2020: Using Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) for Intervention, Early Learning, and English Language Learners
Nov 24, 2020: A Deeper Understanding of Structured Word Inquiry (SWI)
Target Audience
Teachers Grades K-9; Instructional Coaches; District Leaders/Consultants
Also Recommended For
School-based Administrators