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Seward Incorporated is a leader in custom e-Learning solutions for the
nation and the world.
Word Learning Strategies is a comprehensive program
for teaching fourth and fifth graders a set of word learning strategies.
Students use the strategies to infer the meanings of unknown words they
encounter while reading.
The program is comprised of three main components,
the teacher-led core curriculum,
supplemental online instruction for struggling readers and English Language
Learners,
and the teacher website with online teacher training and tools for
monitoring students' online progress.
The core curriculum
consists of fifteen weeks of classroom instruction on four word learning strategies,
Word Parts, Context,
Dictionary, and Combined.
All of the needed materials are provided, a Teacher's Guide with forty-five
detailed lesson plans,
student activity books,
eight full-color posters,
slideshows, games, quizzes,
and tests.
During the lessons, teachers explain, model, and guide the students in strategy use.
Then, over time, students are given increased responsibility for using the
strategies on their own.
Teacher-led instruction is an efficient means for reaching several students at once,
while online instruction is well-suited for individualized learning.
For the students who learn at a slower pace,
twenty-two remediation lessons are available online.
These lessons reinforce the word learning strategies taught in the classroom.
First, students review the strategy by interacting with an animated presentation.
Then, they use the strategy with unknown words in a story
and conclude with a brief quiz. Two additional units of supplemental
instruction are available for English Language Learners.
The Idioms unit is for all ELLs
and the Cognates unit is for Spanish-speaking ELLs.
These Units consist of game-like activities in which students learn about idioms and
cognates while rescuing animals from another planet.
Teachers assign students to the online lessons, and monitor their progress through
use of the teacher's website.
This site also provides access to an hour-long online training for teachers.
Through the use of video and other multimedia,
the interactive training explains the rationale and the guiding principles of
the program.
It also introduces teachers to the WLS materials and lessons.
The fifteen week classroom curriculum, supplemental online instruction, and the
teacher website each play a unique but critical role in word learning strategies.
The program has been carefully crafted to effectively and efficiently teach
students to use Word Parts,
Context, the Dictionary,
and a Combined strategy to unlock the meanings of unknown words they meet
while reading.