School Literacy and Culture offers an extensive catalog of teacher workshops which address the needs of young learners from toddlers through 2nd grade.
Participants in our Teacher Workshops can expect:
Latest research on child literacy
Proven methods for
engaging young learners
Highly experienced and energetic
workshop learners
We offer workshops at Rice and can also facilitate workshops at your school. We believe every child deserves a high-quality early literacy education. Please consider one of our workshops and we can achieve this goal together.
Workshops at Rice
Bring your school group to our location for a select workshop. Contact slc@rice.edu for more information.
Workshops at Your School
School Literacy & Culture’s professional learning opportunities include both signature workshops and custom-built sessions created specifically for your campus. Choose from our proven favorites that have guided and inspired teachers for years, or let us design a tailored experience aligned with your school’s goals. Each workshop blends theory, research, and practice, offering strategies that teachers can use right away to nurture language, literacy, and joyful learning in their classrooms. Please browse through our offerings and fill out the Workshop Request Form to begin our partnership today. We look forward to working with you.
Our Signature Workshops are designed as 2-hour learning experiences.
- Workshops on Oral Language and Vocabulary Development
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Playing with Poetry: Literacy Learning for the Youngest Children (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of 3 years–1st Grade
Poetry can be used to introduce a new class project or used during transitions to keep children’s attention. From rhyming books to interactive charts, participants will explore ways to include poetry in the preschool classroom. Learn ways to help students find a love for the written word while focusing on the importance of oral language development, comprehension and finding a “voice.” Come share some of your favorite poems you have used in your own classroom while learning new ones to share with your children. School Literacy and Culture staff will lead this fun and interactive session
Phonological What? (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of PreK–2nd Grade
This session will show you how to build the critical foundation that children need to become future readers. Join us as we play and sing away with games, transitions and songs you can use every day. Attendees will walk out the door with research-based strategy cards to promote phonological awareness in the classroom.
The Art of Conversation: Promoting Oral Language and Vocabulary Development with Young Children (1-2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers and parents of infants to 1st grade
The National Institute for Literacy (2009) tells us that oral language development provides “a critical foundation for reading, writing and spelling” and is in fact the ‘engine of learning and thinking.” Presenters will share practical strategies for extending everyday conversations with children and demonstrate how quality teacher/child interactions promote speaking and listening skills, vocabulary development, and higher-level thinking.
Fostering Literacy and Language Through Play
AUDIENCE: Teachers of infants and toddlers
In this session, participants will review developmental milestones for infants and toddlers while learning practical strategies which support literacy and language development. Educators will explore how the natural unfolding of skills can take place through the enjoyment of books, the importance of positive interactions between young children and adults, and the role of literacy-rich experiences in oral language development.
- Workshops on Reading
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The Magic of Read Aloud (1-2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers and Parents of all ages–1st Grade
Is your storybook reading magical for your children/students? Do they beg you to read to them? Come to this session to discover ways to motivate your children to love literature while also building their oral language, vocabulary, comprehension and imagination—crucial components for developing young readers. Research continues to support the findings of the 1985 Commission on Reading statement that found read aloud as “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading.” (Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading, 1985)
Owl Babies the Next Day: Bringing Books to Life with Dramatization and Story Baskets (2-3 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of students from 2 years–1st Grade
During this interactive workshop, participants will talk about many ways to extend read alouds of great children’s literature. Presenters will use the book "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell as a springboard for talking about story dramatizations, vocabulary building activities, and retellings with story baskets. You will see many examples of well-loved story baskets and talk about how to introduce and organize them for classroom use before creating your own story basket supplies for "Owl Babies."
- Workshops on Play
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The Critical Importance of Play (2.5 hours)
AUDIENCE: Parents and Teachers of all ages
Parents face the daily challenge of making the best decisions for their children’s development both at home and at school. In an era when even our youngest students’ classrooms are driven by standards, many parents question the value of play at school when there is so much to learn in so little time. Parents are also bombarded with a multitude of technology and toy options that leave them wondering what is really best for their children’s creative development outside of school. This exclusive play session will empower participants to advocate for the importance of play in an early childhood classroom and select materials and toys to support children’s imaginations at home. This presentation will specifically address needs of toddlers to first graders, but parents, grandparents and teachers of all ages are invited. This workshop is only offered on the Rice University campus.
“‘What If…’ We Let Them Play?” Exploring the Importance of Play in Developing 21st-Century Skills in Our Youngest Learners
Join us as we explore the types and stages of play, as well as the importance of play in processing emotional events and developing executive functioning skills. We will consider why play is critical to young children’s socio-emotional and cognitive development, and we will ask, “What if…?” as we reflect on our classrooms and teaching practices to create the play environments young children thrive in.
Practicing for Life: Dramatic Play in the Early Childhood Classroom
Audience: Teachers of three year olds to 1st grade
The Dramatic Play Center is the perfect place to practice for life or create a new world of imagination. Little learners harness the power of mature play while they act out roles, pretend with props, and develop rich language. Come be inspired to move beyond the kitchen in your dramatic play center. In this session, you will learn how to effectively plan and implement thematic dramatic play centers that promote children’s cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development while empowering children to take ownership of their learning.
Ramps and Pathways
Audience: Teachers of Pre-K to 2nd grade
Are you a kid at heart? Do you love to have fun while learning just like your students? Then come and have a blast in our collaborative hands-on session where you will explore Ramps & Pathways and discover how this engaging physical knowledge activity encourages young children to think and work like engineers. The open-ended nature of ramps, marbles, and blocks allows for endless exploration, experimentation, and reasoning. Let’s engage our 21st-century learners and challenge them to think critically, collaborate, communicate, integrate their learning, and solve problems. Come and get creative with us while learning how to use Ramps & Pathways to foster a cooperative classroom environment and allow children to build, create, and most of all, HAVE FUN!
- Workshops on Writing
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What a Writer Needs: Thinking About Writing in the Early Childhood Classroom (1.5-2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of Students from 3 years–Kindergarten
Why write? How can we help young children answer the question for themselves? Writing is more than learning how to form the letters. With your participation, we will demonstrate methods and show examples of writing from “best practice” classrooms.
Creating Confident Writers in the Early Childhood Classroom (3-6 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of 3 year olds to 2nd grade
Join presenters from Rice University’s School Literacy and Culture Project for an in depth session dedicated to building the foundation for a love of writing in the early childhood classroom. After an examination of how young children’s emergent writing moves from scribbles to conventional print, we’ll explore developmentally appropriate activities used to move children through their own zones of proximal development. An inviting writing center, "power writing," the role of dictation, and the placement of meaningful writing opportunities throughout the classroom will be discussed. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the stages of writing as well as plenty of practical ideas for creating confident writers.
The Literate Classroom: Write Around the Room (2-3 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of all ages through 1st Grade
Are you making the best use of your centers? Transition times? Join us as we talk about goals for your classroom and how to intentionally build literacy activities into all parts of your day. Walk away with practical ways to make literacy learning inviting to young children.
- Workshops on Literacy Extensions
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Bounce From a Book (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of PreK–1st Grade
During this workshop, participants will be introduced to quality children’s literature and ways to extend children’s understanding of the written word. From creating class quilts to writing group stories, come discover specific ways to enhance children’s literature, making the reading process a fun and engaging one.
When Children Become Authors: Making Class Books in Preschool and Kindergarten Classrooms (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers of 3’s–Kindergarten
Find out how books can come alive in your own preschool classroom with a little bit of creativity and planning. During this workshop, you will see ideas for many different types of class books to make with young children and be able to make a big book to take back into your own classroom.
- Workshops that Work Across the Curriculum
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Building Blocks of Building Blocks (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers and parents of toddlers to 1st grade
In this hands-on session, participants will learn how block play impacts child development while linking early literacy development to the building process. This presentation will also encourage teachers to become familiar with the stages of block play, learn ways to organize and manage a block center, and explore ways to keep block play interesting throughout the school year.
What’s in a Name? (2 hours)
AUDIENCE: Teachers 2-year-olds–Kindergarten
A child’s name is a wonderful, developmentally appropriate tool for individualizing literacy learning. Come learn how to use “name curriculum” as a springboard to meeting a variety of objectives including phonological awareness, letter recognition, print awareness and more.
Sensory Play: Enlightening Minds, Engaging Bodies, Empowering Emotions
Audience: Teachers of 2 year olds to 1st grade
Research in early childhood development shows that sensory play strengthens neural connections by engaging multiple systems at once, supporting language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving, and social interaction. Through intentional sensory experiences, children build vocabulary, make meaning, and deepen understanding through active exploration. Join us as we explore practical ways to integrate literacy learning into sensory play.
Teaching Beyond the ABCs and 123s: Supporting Children with Executive Function Skills and Self-Regulation
AUDIENCE: Teachers of infants to 1st grade
In this session, participants will deepen their understanding of what executive function skills are and why it is essential for children’s socio-emotional and cognitive growth. Educators will explore real classroom examples and examine everyday routines, interactions, and play opportunities that strengthen executive functioning in meaningful, developmentally appropriate ways.
The Power of Learning Skills Through Play in Literacy Centers
Audience: Teachers of Pre-K-Kindergarten
This interactive workshop will focus on creating developmentally appropriate classroom environments that support learning through play. Participants will explore how to facilitate guided play through intentionally designed literacy centers, utilizing research-based strategies to scaffold student learning.