Back in 2002, Nevada was awarded one of the highly competitive Reading First grants. Nevada Reading First had two related but distinct foci, the professional development of teachers and the reading proficiency of students. The Reading First bottom line was that reading achievement will increase and the reading deficit will decrease.
To that end, Dr. Meggin McIntosh was invited to create vocabulary development workshops for educators throughout the state of Nevada and Owning Words for Literacy was born.
Here’s what Meggin says:
I am fascinated by literacy issues. My educational background (I have a Ph.D. in Reading Education and Linguistics and an M.S. in Elementary Education and Linguistics) and the availability of the Nevada Reading First Grant allowed me to create and present workshops for educators throughout the Silver State. The name of these workshops, Owning Words for Literacy™, is particularly relevant. In every piece of literature that I have sent out, I use the following statement to clarify the importance of owning words for literacy:
Teachers who participate in the Owning Words for Literacy™ workshops will be learning ways to build students’ vocabulary— concurrently with their knowledge. Vocabulary and knowledge are interdependent. Without knowledge, students cannot learn the vocabulary that will help them be more literate and, without an adequate vocabulary, students cannot learn. It’s a synchronous process and we will use that power in students’ favor.
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