Keys to Adolescent Literacy Session H: Supporting Adolescents with Literacy Difficulties (Live Virtual Training)

Keys to Literacy offers Session H of their Keys to Adolescent Literacy series, focusing specifically on supporting adolescents with literacy difficulties through live virtual training. This session addresses one of secondary education's most persistent challenges: what to do when students in grades 5–12 struggle with reading and writing despite years of instruction. Grounded in Joan Sedita's book 'The Essentials of Adolescent Literacy,' the session helps educators understand the underlying reasons why some adolescents experience literacy difficulties, including how dyslexia and executive function deficits contribute to reading challenges. Participants explore research-based strategies for improving vocabulary, comprehension, decoding, fluency, and writing skills in older students, and learn how to use assessment data to design responsive, individualised literacy interventions. Keys to Literacy's approach recognises that adolescent literacy intervention requires different strategies than early reading instruction, and equips secondary educators with specific tools for their grade levels. The broader Keys to Adolescent Literacy series covers the full spectrum of secondary literacy instruction, and this session provides the specialised knowledge needed to support the most vulnerable readers.