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Webinar: Essentials of Adolescent Literacy: Reading and Writing Instruction in Grades 5-12

The Science of Reading is not just for younger learners—all adolescents in grades 5 to 12, especially those who struggle with foundational skills, benefit from explicit literacy instruction. Drawing on current research, the first part of this edWebinar provides an overview to help secondary educators understand the unique aspects of adolescent literacy. Topics include the three levels of instruction (content literacy, disciplinary literacy, and intervention for basic skills), ways to integrate literacy into all subjects, the importance of connecting reading and writing, and the reasons some adolescents struggle with literacy. The second part offers practical instructional suggestions for key components of literacy: vocabulary, comprehension, text structure, writing, discussion, advanced word study, and fluency. Based on Joan Sedita’s book, Essentials of Adolescent Literacy, this recorded edWebinar is of interest to classroom teachers, intervention specialists, and administrators who want to learn effective strategies for helping students in grades 5 to 12 strengthen their reading and writing skills.

Webinar: Essentials of Adolescent Literacy Book Study Session 2: Wednesday, January 7, 2026 – Chapters 5-7

Session 2: Chapters 5-7: Evidence-based instruction for text structure, writing, and supporting learning through discussion.

Webinar: Essentials of Adolescent Literacy Book Study Session 1: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 – Chapters 1-4

Session 1: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 - Chapters 1-4: The foundations of adolescent literacy and evidence-based instruction for vocabulary and comprehension.

Webinar: Power Hour of Learning: Building a School-Wide Writing Culture

This collaborative session will highlight how partnerships with Keys to Literacy build teacher capacity and empower school and district leaders to foster a sustainable culture of writing that improves student outcomes and instructional quality. This 60-minute session will explore:

Building teacher capacity using our writing framework
Embedding writing instruction across all content areas
Aligning with Indiana’s updated ILEARN writing rubrics
Improving student outcomes by increasing teacher knowledge and efficacy in writing instruction
Let’s work together to elevate writing instruction and continue to increase outcomes for ALL students in Indiana.

Webinar: NY BOCES Power Hour of Learning: Leaning into Adolescent Literacy & Leadership

Webinar: Bridging Research and Practice: Keys to Literacy Partnerships with Colleges and Universities.

Want to learn more about Keys to Literacy and Higher Education Partnerships? Watch the recording for “Bridging Research and Practice: Keys to Literacy Partnerships with Colleges and Universities.” Hosted by Lisa Klein, Executive Vice President, Keys to Literacy, and Dr. Kelly Ballard, Coordinator of Higher Education Relationships, Keys to Literacy

Webinar Series: Unlocking Literacy: Literacy Solutions that Move the Needle

Join literacy experts Joan Sedita and Pati Montgomery for Unlocking Literacy, Keys to Literacy’s new webinar series! In the premiere episode, “Literacy Solutions that Move the Needle,” we go beyond buzzwords to reveal what truly moves the needle in schools. From identifying high-quality, evidence-based professional learning to understanding the critical role of leadership and coaching, Joan and Pati will unpack how to build sustainable, data-driven literacy success at every level—especially in Tier 1 instruction. Whether you’re a coach, school or district leader, or part of a state education team, you’ll leave with actionable insights and a clearer vision for building a literacy model that lasts. The session will wrap up with an interactive Q&A with these two luminaries. Don’t miss this opportunity to invest 45 minutes in ideas that can transform practice!

Webinar: CLSD Informational Webinar

Are you looking for a partner to help with CLSD planning and implementation? Complete the following form to learn about Keys to Literacy's comprehensive literacy solutions. Offering highlights: PreK-12 Literacy Professional Development, Literacy Leadership Institutes and Coaching, Comprehensive MTSS Systems and Supports, and Higher Education solutions.

Webinar: Collaborative Classrooms Webinar with Pati Montgomery

Listen to Pati Montgomery, on this webinar with Collaborative Classrooms as she gives her thinking and background for her new book, It’s Possible: A Leadership Plan for Implementing Quality Reading Instruction

Onsite

Webinar: The 6 systems every school needs to improve literacy outcomes – with Pati Montgomery

TRT Podcast #187: The 6 systems every school needs to improve literacy outcomes – with Pati Montgomery

Increasing teacher knowledge about the science of reading is one important step toward improving literacy outcomes in a school or district. But so much more is required! Pati Montgomery, founder of Schools Cubed, walks us through the six key systems that are essential for improving literacy outcomes.

Onsite

Webinar: The Writing Rope and Integration of Reading and Writing Instruction

This edWebinar presents an overview of The Writing Rope model for writing instruction that represents multiple components of writing instruction as strands in a rope. An explanation with references to research findings is provided for the five strands:

Critical Thinking (generating ideas and information, stages of the writing process)
Syntax (syntactic awareness, sentence elaboration, punctuation)
Text Structure (narrative, informational, opinion; paragraph structure; patterns of organization)
Writing Craft (awareness of task, audience, purpose; word choice; literary devices)
Transcription (spelling and handwriting fluency)

The importance of integrating reading and writing instruction, including a comparison of Scarborough’s Reading Rope and The Writing Rope are also addressed.

Writing

Webinar: Teaching Summary Writing to Support Comprehension

In this 2022 webinar hosted by PaTTAN (Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance), Joan Sedita provides instructional suggestions for teaching students how to summarize.

Comprehension, Writing

Webinar: The Writing Rope – A Framework for Evidence-Based Writing Instruction

In this 2022 webinar hosted by EdWeb and Brookes Publishing, Joan Sedita (creator of The Writing Rope framework and author of the book The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects) summarizes the writing skills and strategies that student writers must integrate in order to successfully write.

Writing

Webinar: Instructional Suggestions for Writing About Reading

Archived from 2022. This webinar presented by Joan Sedita for the Oregon RTIi Annual Conference begins with an overview of The Writing Rope framework for writing instruction and then presents instructional suggestions for writing responses to prompts in any subject area based on sources. Strategies are introduced for the ANSWER Routine (Analyze the question, set Notes, Select relevant information from sources, Write the response, Edit and Revise.

Writing

Webinar: The Role of Executive Functions in Reading & Writing

Archived webinar from December 2021 presented by Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy. In this 50 minute webinar, Joan describes the following executive functions and the role they play in reading and writing: goal setting, organizing, cognitive flexibility, working memory, self-monitoring, and inhibition.

Webinar: The Role of Orthographic Mapping in Learning to Read

In this 2021 webinar, Joan Sedita, the founder of Keys to Literacy, explains the orthographic mapping process that proficient readers use to store words in long-term memory, enabling fluent reading.

Adolescent Literacy: Components of Literacy Instruction in an MTSS Model

In this 4-minute video, Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, summarizes the literacy instructional practices that benefit students in grades 5-12. This includes content and disciplinary literacy instruction for vocabulary, comprehension, and writing for core, Tier I instruction. It also includes supplemental instruction for basic skills for Tiers II and III intervention instruction.

Adolescent Literacy: Literacy PD for 5-12 Teachers

In this 4-minute video, Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, explains why it is essential for grades 5-12 teachers of all subjects to receive literacy professional development.

Adolescent Literacy: Why is explicit writing instruction essential for adolescent learners?

In this 6-minute video, Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, explains why students in grades 5-12 benefit from explicit writing instruction. She summarizes the categories of writing instruction represented in The Writing Rope.

Writing

Webinar: Developing Oral Language to Support Early Literacy Instruction

Archived webinar from May, 2021 presented by Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy. Joan reviews the connection between oral language and literacy learning and provides instructional suggestions.

Webinar: Two-Column Notes – A Powerful Tool for Comprehension & Writing

This is an archived webinar from April, 2021 presented by Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy. Note taking is a strategy that supports comprehension and planning before writing. The two-column note format is a versatile tool that can be used in any subject and any grade to help students capture information from anything that is read, said, or done in the classroom. This webinar explains the format, offers suggestions for teaching students how to use two-column notes, and shares multiple examples of how students have used them across different grades and subject.

Comprehension

Webinar: Reading Interventions for Older Readers

Joan Sedita presents an overview of the instructional needs of students in grades 4-12 who struggle with reading. Includes a summary of reading components, causes of reading difficulty, and instructional suggestions.

Webinar: The Writing Rope – The Strands That Are Woven Into Skilled Writing

This is an archived webinar from December, 2020. Watch Joan Sedita explain the instructional components that make up her Writing Rope. She also offers teaching tips for each each of these strands in the rope: Critical Thinking, Syntax, Text Structure, Writing Craft, Transcription.

Webinar: Text Structure to Support Comprehension & Writing

In this webinar from November 10, 2020, Joan Sedita (founder of Keys to Literacy) shares instructional suggestions for teaching text structure to support comprehension and writing at the sentence, paragraph, and longer text levels.

Webinar: Instructional Suggestions for Beginning Phonics

NEW! In this webinar from October 13, 2020 Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, provides suggestions for teaching the alphabetic principle and phonics for decoding and spelling to students in K-2.

Webinar: Quick Writes

Archived webinar from 2020. Keys to Literacy trainers Shauna Cotte and Lisa Klein present suggestions for Quick Write tasks that can be used in any subject and any grade. They present quick write tasks that can support comprehension, vocabulary and writing, including suggestions for using technology.

Webinar: Understanding Dyslexia Part 2

Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, presents information and instructional strategies for teaching phonemic awareness and phonics to students with dyslexia. This 2020 archived webinar is a follow up companion to a first Understanding Dyslexia webinar.

Webinar: Keys to Early Writing

This is an 2020 archived webinar. Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, presents information and instructional suggestions about teaching beginning writing skills to students in grades K-3.

Webinar: Keys to Beginning Reading – Reading Basics

In this archived webinar from 2020, Joan Sedita presents the following topics from Module 1 of the Keys to Beginning Reading PD course for elementary teachers: Chall's Reading Stages, the 5 components of reading, The Simple View of Reading, Scarborough's Reading Rope, and Levels of Language.

Webinar: Writing in the Content Areas – Grades 4-12

This one-hour archived webinar from 2020 presents information and instructional suggestions for writing in any content area. Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, covers these topics: the strands that are woven into skilled writing, 3 types of content writing tasks, quick writes, stages in the writing process, and suggestions for planning content writing assignments.

Webinar: Understanding Dyslexia

Archived webinar from 2020. This one-hour webinar provides an overview of dyslexia delivered by Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy. Topics include dyslexia as one of multiple causes for difficulty with literacy skills, dyslexia defined, dyslexia facts and myths, a summary of how the brain learns to read, and suggestions for providing reading instruction that meets the needs of students with dyslexia.

Webinar: Embedding Vocabulary & Comprehension in All Subjects, Grades 4-12

Archived webinar from 2020. This one-hour archived webinar presents information and instructional suggestions that support vocabulary and comprehension skills. Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy, shares these teaching suggestions for teaching academic vocabulary in any subject across grades 4-12: semantic mapping, selecting and teaching words in-depth, using word parts (morphology). She also addresses these two comprehension strategies: top-down topic web (graphic organizer), question generation.

Webinar: Effective Vocabulary Instruction – A Combination of Direct and Indirect Instruction

Archived webinar from 2016. This webinar, presented by Joan Sedita, is an overview of a strategy routine that combines direct and indirect instructional practices for teaching content vocabulary. Components include: previewing, using activities to make connections between words, selecting words to teach in-depth, and using context and word parts to determine the meaning of new words. For educators of students in grade 3-12.

Vocabulary

Webinar: Content Literacy Instruction and Alignment to the Common Core

This is an archived webinar from 2016. The Common Core literacy standards place a significant emphasis on literacy instruction embedded in content-area instruction for grades 4 and up. The webinar, presented by Joan Sedita, defines content literacy and describes the crucial role of content teachers in improving their students’ literacy skills. Joan reviews specific Common Core standards that are of particular importance to content teachers. For educators of students in grades 4-12.

Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing

Webinar: Reading and Writing from Text Sources, Part 3- Turning Notes into a First Draft

The third in a 3-part series: Joan Sedita models how a topic web and two-column notes can be used to write a draft based on text sources.

Writing

Webinar: Reading and Writing from Text Sources, Part 2 – Gathering Information from The Source

The second in a 3-part series: Joan Sedita models how to use two-column notes to gather information from sources.

Writing

Webinar: Reading and Writing from Text Sources, Part 1 – Preparing and Scaffolding a Text Source

The first in a 3-part series: Joan Sedita introduces an informational writing assignment that is based on two sources. She suggests instructional practices for previewing vocabulary and annotating text

Writing

Argument Writing Components

Joan Sedita reviews the components of a written opinion or argument. This is an excerpt from Keys to Content Writing professional development.

Writing

Quick Writes – A strategy to teach content writing

The best way to become a better writer is to write a lot! Watch Joan Sedita explain how “quick writes” can be used in any subject and any grade. Quick writes are writing tasks that students complete in under 10 minutes. This is an excerpt from Keys to Content Writing professional development.

Writing

Teaching Content Writing

Joan Sedita summarizes the instructional practices that make up the Keys to Content Writing routine.

Writing

Stages of The Writing Process

In this video, Joan Sedita review the stages in the writing process which include thinking, planning, writing and revising. This excerpt is from Keys to Content Writing professional development.

Writing

Paraphrasing Techniques

Paraphrasing is a difficult skill for many students because it requires them to use their own words to explain concepts and information they learn from reading and classroom instruction. Watch Joan Sedita model instructional techniques for teaching paraphrasing. This is an excerpt from Keys to Content Writing professional development.

Writing

Gradual Release of Responsibility – I We You

Watch Joan Sedita explain an instructional approach that gradually shifts the responsibility for learning and using literacy strategies from the teacher to students. Sometimes referred to as an “I, We, You” model of instruction, this approach to teaching is embedded in all Keys to Literacy teaching routines

Writing

Generating a Summary

Generating a summary helps students see the “big picture” and process information more deeply as they paraphrase main ideas in their own words. Watch Joan Sedita present instructional practices for teaching students how to write a summary. This is an excerpt from The Key Comprehension Routine professional development.

Comprehension

Graphic Organizer – Top Down Topic Web

Shauna Cotte, a Keys to Literacy trainer, explains why a topic web is a flexible and customizable graphic organizer that provides students a clear visual of the “big ideas” and topics they will learn from reading or classroom instruction. Topic webs can be used as a before, during, or after comprehension strategy and is part of The Key Comprehension Routine.

Comprehension

Two-Column Notes

When students take notes while they are reading or listening, their comprehension is enhanced as they process, organize and restate information in their own words. Watch Joan Sedita explain two-column note taking.

Comprehension

Research on Comprehension Instruction

Joan Sedita reviews the research findings about the most effective instructional practices to improve student reading comprehension. She identifies and summarizes the strategies listed in the National Reading Panel report and supported by other major research meta-analyses. She also explains how these findings are aligned with the strategies taught in The Key Comprehension Routine.

Comprehension

The Five Components of Reading

Watch as Joan Sedita reviews the five components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. As the video notes, difficulties in any of these components can make it difficult for students to comprehend what they are reading.

Comprehension

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