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.
Using Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) for Intervention, Early Learning, and English Language Learners
Presented By
Amber CahillSession Details
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| November 03, 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.
Structured Word Inquiry is great, but is it really appropriate to use with young or struggling students? Yes, it is! Early literacy instruction and intervention is about so much more than just memorizing letters and their sounds (and don’t forget your list of exception words). We can introduce morphology, etymology, orthography, and phonology in a way that is developmentally appropriate, engaging and accurate. What better way to set students up for success than to help them learn the truth of the writing system right from the very beginning?
You Might Also Be Interested In:
Oct 06, 2020: Bringing Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) into the Classroom
Oct 20, 2020: Using Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) Matrices to Support Classroom Instruction
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