# data[].attributes.body
The Simple View of Writing looks at writing skills in two main parts: Foundational Skills and Composition.

•

Foundational Skills are described as the "nuts and bolts" of writing. These are the basic actions of getting words down on paper. Examples include letter formation, handwriting, correct spelling, and knowing how to use punctuation and organize things on the page.

•

Composition involves knowing about the topic you're writing about and being able to pick the right words and put them in a logical order. This includes things like having knowledge about the topic, choosing vocabulary and words, and forming sentences correctly (like knowing complete vs. incomplete sentences and using the right verb tenses). It also covers grammar and usage (like commas, punctuation, and quotation marks), organizing your ideas, and thinking about who your audience is.

Scarborough's Reading Rope was created by Dr. Hollis Scarborough and has two main parts, or strands.

•

One strand is Language Comprehension. This part includes things like having background knowledge, knowing vocabulary, understanding how language is put together (language structures), being able to reason verbally, and having knowledge about literacy.

•

The other strand is Word Recognition. This part includes phonological awareness, decoding words, and recognizing words instantly by sight. The sources state that these two strands are intertwined. When a student masters all of these strands, they will be able to understand what they read (reading comprehension will happen).

Ehri's Phases of Word Reading is a model developed by Dr. Linnea Ehri, outlining four steps students go through as they learn to read words.

•

The first step is the Pre-alphabetic phase. In this phase, students don't know much about how letters represent sounds and might use pictures instead.

•

Next is the Partial alphabetic phase. Here, students start to learn that letters stand for sounds and pay attention to the shape of letters.

•

The third step is the Full alphabetic phase. At this point, students are decoding harder words and word patterns they haven't seen before.

•

The final phase is the Consolidated Alphabetic phase. Students learn more about words, including things like syllables.

# data[].attributes.body
The agenda included sharing time, reading The Land of Many Colors, an activity based on the book, and a discussion on what makes a teacher effective.

What Effective Teachers Do:

They make the classroom exciting and full of learning tools like books, posters, and poems.

Students stay busy with meaningful work, whether it’s as a whole class, in groups, or on their own.

Teachers work with different group sizes—whole group, small groups, and individuals.

Learning Theory Mentioned:

Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky): Kids learn best when working with others. Some tasks they can do alone, but others they need help and guidance to complete.

# data[].attributes.body
Motivation and engagement matter a lot, and how you set up your classroom plays a big role in student success.

Make your classroom print-rich by filling it with things like word walls, books, posters, poems, student work, and even comics or magazines.

Set up the space so it feels safe and welcoming. Let students know where things are and give them choices, like different learning centers for reading, writing, math, art, or science.

Let students feel like they’re part of the classroom—it should feel like their space too.

Always model tasks for students, both academic and social. Don’t assume they know how to do something—show them first.

Student grouping is also important and will be discussed more later.

# data[].attributes.body
Alphabetic Principle: Kids learn that spoken words are made of sounds (phonemes), and those sounds match written letters (graphemes). Every sound in a word connects to a letter.

Phonemic Awareness: This is the ability to hear and play with sounds in words—like rhyming, blending sounds (like /c/ /a/ /t/ = cat), and noticing alliteration. It's all about listening and speaking, and it's an important skill before kids learn to read.

Phonics vs. Phonemic Awareness: Phonemic awareness is about hearing sounds in spoken language. Phonics is about matching those sounds to written letters and words.

Print Awareness: Kids start noticing print even before they fully understand reading. They learn things like books go front to back, left to right, and top to bottom. Teachers should model this clearly. Big books, book walks, and interactive read-alouds help teach this.

Classroom Environment: Make the classroom welcoming and organized. Have labeled areas for different subjects and lots of visible print. Give students choices and help them feel like the classroom belongs to them.

Modeling & Grouping: Always show students how to do something before asking them to try it. Don’t assume they know. Grouping students for learning will be covered more later.

# data[].attributes.body
Covers stages of writing development:

Phonetic Stage → Early to Later Alphabetic

Transitional Stage → Consolidated Alphabetic

Writing opportunities for students:

Journals

Writing centers with supplies (paper, envelopes, restaurant slips, pre-made books, markers, crayons, pencils, etc.)

Shared writing (e.g., Morning News)

Class books

Play center writing activities

# data[].attributes.body
Listening vs. Reading:

Both aim to help us understand and make meaning.

Listening is often easier for kids because:

We share background knowledge in conversation.

We can ask questions and get immediate feedback.

We see visual cues (like facial expressions and gestures).

Spoken language uses more familiar words.

Speech happens in context; books don’t adjust.

No need to decode or figure out how words sound.

Skilled Readers:

Automatically recognize words without thinking much.

Young readers need help—using pictures, context, and what they already know.

Word-solving strategies:

1. Look at the word.

2. Sound it out.

3. Try different sounds.

4. Break it into syllables.

Automatic Word Recognition:

Helps readers focus on meaning, not just decoding.

But just reading words isn’t enough—comprehension is the real goal.

Spoken vs. Written English:

Phonemes = individual sounds.

Syllables = units of sound (usually have a vowel).

Onset = beginning consonant(s).

Rime = vowel + rest of the word (e.g., “bat” = onset: b, rime: at).

Many words follow the CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern.

# data[].attributes.body
Alphabetic Principle:

More than just knowing the alphabet.

Refers to the idea that letters represent sounds in spoken words.

Essential for reading and spelling.

Needs to be learned early as the first step in reading and writing.

Broken into two parts:

1. Alphabetic Understanding - Knowing words are made of letters and sounds.

2. Phonological Recording - Translating letters into speech sounds.

Activities to Help with Alphabetic Principle:

Alphabet match (uppercase and lowercase).

Alphabet Go Fish.

Sound/letter games (gameboards).

Build a Flower (letters with pictures).

Feed the Monster (letters and sounds).

Letter sorting.

Playdough letters, salt trays, Bingo dot letters, wiki sticks.

Rhyming books.

Mystery words (pictures forming words).

Puzzles.

Tolman’s Hourglass Figure:

Illustrates the progression from speech sound awareness to writing.

Helps students connect sounds with letters for writing.

Supports memory for printed words.

Word Recognition:

Fast and accurate retrieval of word forms.

Orthographic Mapping - Storing words for quick recall.

Blending - Combining letters to form words (e.g., C-a-t = cat).

Decoding - Breaking words into sounds.

Sight Words vs. High Frequency Words:

Sight Words - Words recognized instantly by sight.

High Frequency Words - Common words that are hard to sound out.

# data[].attributes.body
Word Walls

Word Walls help students connect print to speech.

Words are organized by their first letter (e.g., B for ball).

Words are listed alphabetically.

Focus on high-frequency words.

Help students see word patterns (phonics and spelling).

Serve as references for reading and writing.

Should be interactive for students.

Can be used in any subject (Math, Social Studies, Science, etc.).

Activities for Word Walls

Find words with a certain number of letters or syllables.

Play Word Wall Bingo.

Look for rhyming words.

Play Tic-Tac-Toe.

Use word wall cheers.

Add words to center activities.

Play "Mind Reader" (e.g., "I’m thinking of a word with 3 letters and a short 'a' sound").

Sound Walls

Sound Walls help students connect speech to print by categorizing sounds.

Allow students to explore how sounds are made with the mouth.

Show that letters can have different sounds.

Include different sound categories like:

Stops (one burst of sound)

Voiced and Unvoiced sounds

Fricatives, Affricates, Glides, Liquids, Nasals.

# data[].attributes.body
Reading Rate:

Reading rate varies by text type and needs practice with different texts.

A fast reading rate doesn’t mean the child understands the text.

Reading rate changes as the reader improves.

Curriculum-Based Assessment:

Assessments can be bought or created by the teacher.

Steps:

1. Choose a reading passage appropriate for the grade.

2. Have the child read for about 1 minute.

3. Track the errors while the child reads.

4. Calculate the words correct per minute by subtracting errors from words read correctly.

Can also use IRI or running records for accuracy and rate scores, comparing to national norms.

Additional Assessment Methods:

1. Anecdotal Records: Written notes about student progress.

2. Running Records: Detailed notes on how students read (covered in another chapter).

3. Self-Assessment: Students assess their own reading.

Use tools like fluency phones or record themselves reading with a device.

Record, listen, reflect.

# data[].attributes.body
High Stakes of Testing

Changes in standards and state mandates affected student assessments.

Many schools focused on high-stakes testing.

Formative assessments (guiding instruction) became summative assessments (assessing outcomes).

Poor student performance led to criticism of schools, principals, and teachers.

Focus shifted to test prep instead of the curriculum.

Reading curriculum became narrower.

Led to cheating, teaching to the test, and too much focus on test-taking skills.

Response to Intervention

2002-2008: Reading First Initiative (No Child Left Behind) required early screening and progress monitoring for primary students (4 times a year).

Standardized tests were introduced, but they didn’t account for students’ needs, attitudes, or motivation to read.

What is Assessment?

An assessment is an inference based on reliable and valid data.

Reliability means the data is consistent.

Validity means the data measures what it’s supposed to measure.

Assessments should be authentic.

Teachers are in the best position to assess student ability.

Formative Assessment

Shows what students know at the time of the assessment.

Examples include: alphabet assessment, phonemic awareness, decoding, reading level, comprehension, running records, writing samples.

Collecting Evidence During the Year

Teachers can assess students in many ways: work samples, rubrics, teacher-made tests, discussions, observations.

Teachers can also help students learn to assess themselves.

# data[].attributes.body
Vocabulary Importance

Vocabulary is key to reading success.

Discuss why vocabulary matters in reading and how it's taught.

Children’s Vocabulary Growth

Vocabulary grows a lot throughout school years.

By age 3, there's a 30 million word gap between wealthiest and poorest children (NAEYC, 2014).

Levels of Word Knowledge (Beck et al, 1987)

1. Unknown: Words students don’t know.

2. Acquainted: Words students know at a basic level.

3. Established: Words students know easily and automatically.

Not knowing words affects comprehension.

Vocabulary Programs in Classrooms

Should provide varied and frequent language experiences.

Should teach individual words.

Teach students to learn words independently.

Foster word consciousness to make students interested in words.

Involves reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Language Experiences

Teachers should expose students to vocabulary every day.

A variety of language experiences is needed for growth.

Exposure is key for learning vocabulary.

# data[].attributes.body
How to Teach Spelling:

Use phonics or word study lessons.

Focus on orthographic mapping (4-part processing system).

Teach high-frequency words.

Practice words often through meaningful activities (e.g., tactile activities, word searches).

Group words by spelling patterns.

Explore word structures like syllables, phoneme-grapheme relationships, and morphemes.

Introduce 5 new words per week.

Teach syllable types and syllabication.

Have students use words in sentences (e.g., cloze sentences).

Sort words by patterns.

Have students proofread their work.

Follow specific curriculum spelling activities and word lists.

Practice dictation.

# data[].attributes.body
Morphemes:

Smallest units of sound.

Words can have one or more morphemes.

Morphemes are either free (stand-alone words) or bound (need other morphemes).

Morphemes come from different language origins.

Prefixes and Suffixes:

Inflectional suffixes don’t change the part of speech (e.g., plural -s).

Derivational suffixes change the part of speech (e.g., -ness, -ly).

Past tense suffix -ed has three pronunciations: /t/, /d/, /ed/ (e.g., picked, begged, sorted).

Morphological approach helps understand new words while reading (Tolman and Moats, 2019).

Suffixes and Final Odd Syllable Rules:

Consonant Doubling Rule: Double the final consonant in one-syllable words ending in one vowel and consonant before adding a suffix (e.g., flap -> flapped).

Silent "e" Rule: Drop the silent “e” when adding a suffix that starts with a vowel (e.g., scare -> scaring).

Exception: Cry -> cried, crying (no “e” drop).

# data[].attributes.headline
Sentence Structure, Grammar, and Syntax

# data[].attributes.subject
Sentence Structure, Grammar, and Syntax

# data[].attributes.body
What is a Sentence?

A complete thought with a subject (who/what) and predicate (action/state of being).

Must express a full idea.

Example: "The cat sleeps." ✓ vs. "Running fast." ✗

Four Types of Sentences:

1. Simple Sentence: One independent clause.

Example: "The dog barks."

2. Compound Sentence: Two or more independent clauses, joined by coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS).

Example: "The dog barks, and the cat meows."

3. Complex Sentence: One independent clause + one or more dependent clauses.

Example: "While it rains, the dog sleeps."

4. Compound-Complex Sentence: Multiple independent clauses + one or more dependent clauses.

Example: "While it rains, the dog sleeps, but the cat plays."

Basic Grammar Rules:

Parts of Speech:

Nouns: Person, place, thing, or idea.

Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it.

Verbs: Action words.

Adjectives: Describe nouns.

Adverbs: Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Prepositions: Show relationships.

Conjunctions: Connect words or phrases.

Interjections: Express emotion.

Syntax Essentials:

Word order follows Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) in English.

Correct: "John reads books."

Incorrect: "Books John reads."

Agreement Rules:

Subject-verb agreement.

Pronoun agreement.

Tense consistency.

# data[].attributes.body
Choosing Text for Reading Instruction

Why Text Matters?

Factors to consider: grade level, readability, student interest, and whether the text challenges students to think.

Moving to more complex texts helps improve vocabulary, knowledge, and reading skills.

Assessing Text Difficulty:

Can be assessed by:

1. Readability formulas (e.g., Lexile scores)

2. Text characteristics like depth, organization, and language

3. Reader-task analysis

4. Leveling apps or author information

Readability Formula:

Based on vocabulary difficulty and sentence complexity.

Fry Method: Measures word difficulty by syllables and syntactic complexity by sentence length.

Lexile Framework: Combines word and sentence complexity to determine text level (criticized by some as inaccurate).

Book Leveling:

Fountas and Pinnell System: Levels A-Z, based on book complexity (e.g., ideas, print size, text-picture match).

Decodable texts are recommended for beginning readers.

# data[].attributes.body
English Learners (ELs)

Learning English is important, but students shouldn’t forget their native language.

77% of English learners speak Spanish.

English learners tend to score lower on tests compared to English-speaking students.

Importance of Learning English

Expose learners to English as early as possible.

It takes at least 5 years for English learners to reach the oral skill level of native speakers.

The push for language arts curriculums has made outcomes harder for English learners.

Exposure to English is key for progress.

Effective Teaching Practices

English learners need support from teachers, including help with both language and culture.

Make students feel comfortable and provide support.

Build on students' experiences and familiar concepts.

Provide background knowledge and set language/content objectives for each lesson.

Use graphic organizers.

Teaching Practices (Continued)

Keep instruction clear and simple.

Use pictures or real-life objects.

Provide hands-on learning opportunities.

Give extra practice and time for activities.

If possible, teach in the student’s native language.

Some schools have dual-language programs for non-English speakers.

Instructional Techniques for Working with English Learners

Some words in different languages may look or sound similar—use these to teach.

Give extra time for assignments and tests.

Allow yourself extra time to teach English learners.

Build vocabulary in multiple languages in the classroom.

Involve family members in the learning process.

If possible, have English-speaking family members help with teaching.

# data[].attributes.body
Semantics: Study of word meanings and relationships.

Focuses on how words, signs, and sentence structure create meaning.

Example: The word "rank" has different meanings based on its use in a sentence.

Words with Multiple Meanings:

Example: "Chill" vs "chilly" — how are they different?

How Words Convey Meaning:

Semantics help children express themselves clearly.

Examples of Semantics:

Synonyms: Words with similar meanings.

Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings.

Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different meanings.

Pronouns: Words that replace nouns.

Categorization: Grouping words by meaning.

Comparatives: Words that compare two things.

Superlatives: Words that compare two or more things.

Semantic Maps: Visual tools for exploring word meanings.

# data[].attributes.body
Critical Thinking

Uses what students already know to help them write.

Involves planning, organizing, drafting, and revising.

Helps with brainstorming and using tools like graphic organizers.

Syntax

About grammar and how sentences are put together.

Learned by listening, speaking, and reading.

Students need to learn how to form correct sentences.

Text Structure

Students should learn how different types of writing are organized (narrative, opinion, etc.).

Includes how to build paragraphs and use transitions between ideas.

Writing Craft

Focuses on the writer’s personal style and voice.

Includes word choice, knowing the audience, and using story elements and creative techniques.

Transcription

How students physically get their ideas down (spelling, handwriting, typing).

Students need practice with all these to become strong writers.

# data[].attributes.body
What is Narrative Text?

Narrative text is meant to entertain or tell a story.

It usually follows a structure with a beginning, middle, and end (e.g., fairy tales).

Comprehension Struggle

Reflect on your own reading as a child and adult:

Did you struggle with understanding text as a child? Why?

Do you struggle with comprehension now? Why or why not?

Have you learned strategies to improve?

Goal of All Readers – Comprehension

Comprehension is a continuous process that starts before, during, and after reading.

Books that are interesting are easier to understand.

Some students do better with digital texts (can click on unknown words/links).

Others prefer physical books (use senses more).

Four Components of Comprehension

1. Knowledge

2. Strategies

3. Metacognition

4. Motivation

Developing Knowledge

Comprehension needs prior knowledge, background knowledge, and language skills.

Prior knowledge is a strong predictor of comprehension, especially for informational texts.

The construction-integration model explains comprehension as linking ideas in the text with prior knowledge.