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Reading Rockets (n.d.) states that writing is a complex process that requires a wide range of skills that includes: a strong vocabulary, understanding of the genre presented,  structure of the text and voice, basic mechanical skills such as grammar and punctuation, organizational skills, and higher order thinking.

Basics: Writing | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/writing

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Vocabulary is the learning about the words we need to know to understand what we hear and read, and to communicate clearly and with precision. There are four types of vocabulary to consider:

Listening vocabulary:  the words we need to know to understand what we hear.

Speaking vocabulary: the words we use when we speak.

Reading vocabulary: the words we need to know to understand what we read.

Writing vocabulary:  the words we use in writing.

Basics: Vocabulary | Reading Rockets. (n.d.).  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/vocabulary

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Comprehension is the act of constructing during reading. This is an interaction between knowledge of the reader and the textual content. Comprehension requires readers to integrate their knowledge of the world, vocabulary and print.

Basics: Reading Comprehension | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/reading-comprehension

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According to Reading Rockets (2023), "fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension."

Reading Rockets. (2023). Basics: Fluency.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/fluency

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Phonics instruction teaches the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. To read, children need to understand the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language.

Basics: Phonics and Decoding | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonics-and-decoding

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According to Reading Rockets (2023), phonological awareness is made up of a group of skills. This can include being able to identify words that rhyme, counting the number of syllables in a name, identifying the syllables in a word, and more. The and last to develop is called phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with phonemes in spoken words.

Basics: Phonological and Phonemic Awareness | Reading Rockets. (2023).  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness

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According to Fisher and Frey (2023), Oral language development facilitates print literacy. Language is produced by articulate sounds or manual gestures. An oral language or vocal language is a language produced with the vocal tract in contrast with a sign language that is produced with body and hands.

Basics: Oral Language | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/oral-language

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1.) Rhyming and alliteration
2.) sentence segmentation
3.) syllables (segmenting and blending)
4.)  onsets and rimes (blending and segmenting)
5.) Phonemic awareness

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According to Texas Education Agency (2023), Teachers aid in fluency development by modeling, focus on related reading and reading practice, activities, and using chunking and phrasing.

Texas Education Agency. (2023). Fluency: Instructional Guidelines and Student Activities | Reading Rockets.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/fluency/articles/fluency-instructional-guidelines-and-student-activities

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Teachers should also attend to the increased demands of the Speaking and Listening domain, especially Anchor Standard 1, which states that students should prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Teachers need to dedicate time every day for students to engage with one another in conversation where they use academic language (Fisher & Frey, 2023). There are some instructional routines that have been proven helpful for students: readers' theatre, presentations, listening stations, and reciprocal teaching. There is also technology that can be used such as listening gallery walk, photo narratives, and digital storytelling.

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning. Reading Rockets. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/comprehension/articles/speaking-and-listening-content-area-learning

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Here's a good read to possibly help!

According to Cook (n.d.), The connection between children learning oral language and school counselors lies in the role that school counselors play in supporting students' academic and personal development, including their language development. This can be done by contributing to early interventions, support for language development, social-emotional development, specialized support and cultural and linguistic sensitivity. Their work contributes to creating a holistic and supportive educational environment that fosters language learning and overall student well-being.

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For teacher application in phonological awareness, activities can be brought in-- like substituting different sounds for the first sound of a familiar song (e.g. row your boat). Phonological awareness can be developed through carefully planned instruction that will have a positive impact on students reading and achievement. An instructional activity that can be used is change-a-name game. This game helps children to learn how to remove sounds and teach them to substitute the beginning sound in their name with a new sound.

Basics: Phonological and Phonemic Awareness | Reading Rockets. (2023). Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness

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A school counselor can be an aid in phonological awareness:

1. Identification and Assessment- School counselors can collaborate with teachers and reading specialists to identify students who may be at risk for phonological awareness difficulties. This involves reviewing academic data, conducting screenings, and monitoring students' progress in literacy-related skills.
2. Referrals for Intervention-  If a student is identified as needing additional support in phonological awareness, school counselors can facilitate the referral process for specialized services, such as speech therapy, reading intervention programs, or individualized education plans (IEPs).
3. Support At-Risk Students- School counselors can work individually or in small groups with students who are struggling with phonological awareness or related literacy skills. They can provide emotional support, strategies for coping with academic challenges, and motivation to improve.
4. Collaboration with Educators- School counselors should collaborate closely with teachers to align their efforts in supporting phonological awareness. This may involve reviewing assessment data, developing intervention plans, and monitoring students' progress together.

Joseph, L. (2023). Best Practices in Planning Interventions for Students With Reading Problems | Reading Rockets.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.readingrockets.org. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/intervention-and-prevention/articles/best-practices-planning-interventions-students-reading

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Phonological awareness is closely connected to issues of equity and inclusion in schools, particularly in diverse and inclusive educational settings. Here are some ways in which phonological awareness intersects with equity and inclusion:

1. Early Literacy Development for All- Phonological awareness is a foundational skill for literacy development. Ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, linguistic diversity, or abilities, have access to high-quality phonological awareness instruction is essential for equitable educational opportunities. Inclusive schools recognize the diverse needs of students and aim to provide effective literacy instruction for everyone.

2. Addressing Language Barrier-Equity in education requires addressing language barriers that some students may face. In inclusive classrooms, there may be students who are English language learners or come from homes where languages other than the primary language of instruction are spoken.

3. Emergent Curriculum-pay attention to student interests.

4. In-depth Projects that are Culturally Responsive Practices- Inclusive schools adopt culturally responsive practices that honor and value students' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

5. Representational Development- Through this, educators can present new concepts in the classroom.

6. Collaboration- Educators should promote cognitive development through collaborations with other educators, school counselors, students and parents to insure the child's success.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in Early Childhood Education - Northwest. (2021). Nwmissouri.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://online.nwmissouri.edu/programs/education/msed/early-childhood-edu/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-ece/

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The focus of phonics instruction is to help readers understand how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes). A teachers application is to create phonics instruction that may be provided systemically or incidentally. Teachers can employ analogy phonics, analytic phonics, embedded phonics, phonics through spelling and synthetic phonics.

Basics: Phonics and Decoding | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonics-and-decoding

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Phonics instruction is a way of teaching reading that stresses the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences and their use in reading and spelling.

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School Counselors can employ individual or group counseling for aid students. On an individual level student and counselor can go more in depth and in a group situation activities can be made and shared within the group. According to MsJordanReads, some activities can include:

1. MAKING WORDS

Letter Manipulatives – Making words is an effective and hands-on way for students to practice phonics. This activity can use foam letters, magnetic letters, or word building templates.

2. “If I Can Spell” Word Family Activity
This is a journal activity and is another method of sharing in case there is one student that struggles to share out loud.

3. WORD HUNTS

Word hunts can provide students with the opportunity to search for different phonics patterns in context. Its also a great way to keep everyone engaged and moving in something fun.

MsJordanReads. (2022, March 14). 5 Fun Phonics Interventions for Literacy Centers and Small Groups. MsJordanReads. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://msjordanreads.com/5-fun-phonics-interventions-for-literacy-centers-and-small-groups/

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From 9:20 to 21:40

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University of Washington College of Education

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ConnectEd: Supporting Teachers to Implement Equity Focused Phonics Instruction

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School counselors can implement Response to Intervention (RtI) to provide students with support beyond regular classroom instruction. According to Merz, school counselors with the collaboration of teachers and parents will provide the most beneficial way for students to succeed.

Merz, R. (1990). Exploring the school counselor’s role in response to intervention Exploring the school counselor’s role in response to intervention (rti) efforts for struggling readers in elementary grades (rti) efforts for struggling readers in elementary grades.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2434&context=honorstheses1990-2015

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There are seven strategies to teach students comprehension: monitoring comprehension by being aware of what students understand, identify what they do not understand and use appropriate strategies to revolve problems; metacognition "thinking about thinking." Readers use metacognitive strategies to think about and have control over their reading. The third strategy is to assign graphic and semantic organizers; these help students to focus on test structure differences between fiction and nonfiction, it provides students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a test, and helps with writing well-organized summaries of a text. The fourth strategy is answering student questions, these can be effective if they give students a purpose for reading, focus students' attention on what they are to learn and help students actively as they read. Followed by the fifth strategy which is generating questions to help students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading. The sixth strategy is recognizing story structure and lastly, the seventh, is summarizing which requires students to determine what is important within the text.

Adler, C.R. 2023. Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension. Reading Rockets

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Comprehension plays a crucial role in school counseling in various ways: aiding in academic success--good reader vs. poor readers (Texas Education Agency, 2023). School counselors can also help in supporting diverse learners by being aware of students needs and also talk to teachers educational planning and developing specific plans and accommodations some students may need.

Texas Education Agency. 2023. What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and Comprehension Instruction. Reading Rockets.

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Najarro, I., & Will M. 2022. What is Culturally Responsive Teaching? Education Week.

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For decades, researchers have found that teachers in public schools have undervalued the potential for academic success among students of color, setting low expectations for them and thinking of cultural differences as barriers rather than assets to learning.

In response, scholars developed teaching methods and practices-broadly known as asset-based pedagogies-that incorporate students' cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom as tools for effective instruction. The terms for these approaches to teaching vary, from culturally responsive teaching and culturally sustaining pedagogy to the more foundational culturally relevant pedagogy. Though each term has its own components defined by different researchers over time, all these approaches to teaching center the knowledge of traditionally marginalized communities in classroom instruction. As a result, all students, and in particular students of color, are empowered to become lifelong learners and critical thinkers.

This explainer unpacks what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher, how all these research terms are related, and where other academic concepts such as critical race theory tie in-or not.

What is the definition of culturally responsive teaching?

Culturally responsive teaching means using students' customs, characteristics, experience, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction.

The term was coined by researcher Geneva Gay in 2000, who wrote that "when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference for students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly."

It's the kind of teaching that helps students of color see themselves and their communities as belonging in schools and other academic spaces, leading to more engagement and success.

What is culture, and why is it relevant to student learning?

Culture refers to the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people. Students' culture and lived experiences that influence how they understand and make sense of the world or themselves are an integral part of who they are as learners. As Emily Style, the former founding co-director of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), once wrote, "Half the curriculum walks in the door with the students."

While more than half of public school students are students of color, most schools are organized around the mainstream culture of white Americans. The culture that many students experience at home and in their communities is not always represented at school-or is represented in a stereotypical way.

Also, 80 percent of teachers are white. Research has found that teachers are just as likely to have racial biases as non-teachers, and those biases tend to influence the expectations they have for their students and their ways of managing their classrooms. For example, past research has found that white teachers have lower expectations for Black students than they do for white students, and those can turn into "self-fulfilling prophecies" when students internalize them or when teachers change their approach to students as a result of their mindsets.

One study found that white teachers were more likely to praise a poorly written essay if they thought it was written by a student of color than if they thought the essay was by a white student. Teachers' racial biases can also result in decreased access to advanced coursework and higher rates of suspensions.

When did culturally responsive teaching start?

Culturally responsive teaching stems from the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which was introduced by scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings in the 1990s. Ladson-Billings was tired of the commonly held narrative that Black children were deficient and deviant, and that there was something wrong with them. Instead, she wanted to find out what was right with Black children, their families, and their communities. To do so, she researched the practices of effective teachers of Black students.

For about two years, Ladson-Billings observed teachers who were identified by both principals and Black parents as being excellent. The teachers had different ways of teaching, but they all had high expectations for their students and fostered academic success. They also all valued and integrated themselves in the community from which their students came.

Ladson-Billings distilled the commonalities in those teachers' beliefs and practices into the framework of culturally relevant pedagogy, which she defined as a model that "not only addresses student achievement but also helps students to accept and affirm their cultural identity while developing critical perspectives that challenge inequities that schools (and other institutions) perpetuate."

There are three components of culturally relevant pedagogy:

student learning-prioritizing students' intellectual growth, including their ability to problem-solve;

cultural competence-creating an environment where students affirm and appreciate their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture; and

critical consciousness-teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups.

So, what are the characteristics of culturally responsive teaching?

Gay's research shows five essential components of culturally responsive teaching:

A strong knowledge base about cultural diversity. Teachers should understand different racial and ethnic groups' cultural values, traditions, and contributions to society, and incorporate that knowledge into their instruction.

Culturally relevant curricula. Teachers should include multiple perspectives in their instruction and make sure the images displayed in classrooms-such as on bulletin boards-represent a wide range of diversity. Teachers should also contextualize issues within race, class, ethnicity, and gender.

High expectations for all students. Teachers should help students achieve academic success while still validating their cultural identities.

An appreciation for different communication styles. Teachers should understand different communication styles and modify classroom interactions accordingly. For example, many communities of color have an active, participatory style of communication. A teacher who doesn't understand this cultural context might think a student is being rude and tell the student to be quiet. The student may then shut down.

The use of multicultural instructional examples. Teachers should connect students' prior knowledge and cultural experiences with new knowledge.

Doesn't that require teachers to reinforce stereotypes about students of color and even discriminate against white children?

In short, no. While the academic framework of culturally responsive teaching and other asset-based pedagogies emerged from how to best support students of color, it evolved into a teaching approach that serves all students, regardless of their racial background.

Sharroky Hollie, the director of the nonprofit Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, works with teachers to practice what he calls cultural and linguistic responsiveness. In his work, he talks about the rings of culture, meaning the various aspects of students' identities that can impact how they interact with the world around them.

To Hollie, it's not just about thinking of ways to validate and incorporate a student's racial background into the classroom. It's not about thinking of students in a one-dimensional, stereotypical way. Culturally responsive teachers must also consider the student's gender, age, socio-economic status, whether they live in the suburbs or a rural area, and more.

"It's not as simplistic as we're trying to value our students of color," he said. "We're actually trying to value the rings of culture that they bring to our schools, regardless of their racial background."

For instance, in predominately white school districts, there are white students who, due to where they live or their family's socio-economic status, are underserved by their school district and could benefit from a culturally responsive approach to education, Hollie said.

What is culturally sustaining pedagogy, and how is it different than culturally relevant teaching?

Schools are still places where white norms are considered the default standard in the curricula, behavioral expectations, linguistic practices, and more. Culturally sustaining pedagogy says that students of color should not be expected to adhere to white middle-class norms, but their own cultural ways of being should be explored, honored, and nurtured by educators.

The framework builds on the work of Ladson-Billing and others but offers a "loving critique" that cultural relevance in the curriculum is not enough for students in today's world, given demographic shifts toward a more diverse society. Paris and Alim also argue that asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant teaching, traditionally haven't paid enough attention to young people's more fluid relationships with their identities.

Ladson-Billings has embraced the evolution of her foundational pedagogy, writing in 2014 that "culturally sustaining pedagogy uses culturally relevant pedagogy as the place where the beat drops." She also told Education Week that she is now paying close attention to how teenagers shape culture, an aspect that wasn't present in her original work.

It's important to remember that these asset-based pedagogies-culturally responsive, culturally relevant, and culturally sustainable, among others-are not in conflict with each other. While their frameworks vary, they all have the same goal of dismantling a deficit approach to educating students of color and focusing instead on their strengths, assets, and communities in the classroom.

What does the research say about the effectiveness of these teaching frameworks?

A 2016 synthesis of decades of research on culturally responsive teaching and related frameworks found that engaging in culturally affirming practices across subject matters, including mathematics and science, led to positive increases in students' understanding and engagement with academic skills and concepts.  For instance, students in high school math class could learn about statistics by assessing the probabilities of racial profiling cases in various neighborhoods or using other datasets applicable to their communities that bring up questions about justice and injustice.

Culturally responsive teaching and similar approaches to teaching also increased students' motivation, interest in content, and the perception of themselves as capable students, among other benefits, the study found. Brittany Aronson, an associate professor in educational leadership at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a co-author of the study, said, whenever teachers drew direct connections between classroom lessons and students' experiences outside of school, students could see greater value in the academic content as it applies to the real world. Such work helps students see themselves as knowledge producers and researchers.

Overall, teaching that makes school relevant to students helps them succeed both in terms of quantitative measures such as high test scores, and more qualitative measures such as becoming life-long learners able to ask critical questions about the world around them, both in and out of school, Aronson said.

What are some examples of culturally responsive teaching?

Teachers who practice culturally responsive teaching have a classroom full of books featuring characters and images that represent a variety of ages, genders, ethnicities, and other types of diversity. They share the achievements and expertise of people from different ethnic groups in every subject area. They include multiple perspectives when discussing historical and contemporary events, including those from oppressed groups who are often left out of the narrative. And they encourage students to draw on their prior knowledge and cultural experiences to make connections to the academic content.

Culturally responsive teaching also must have an element of critical consciousness, where students are empowered to critique and analyze societal inequities. For example, Teddi Beam-Conroy, an associate teaching professor at the University of Washington, was teaching the Declaration of Independence to a class of 5th graders. When they got to the line that said, "All men are created equal," Beam-Conroy asked her students, "Who were the men who were considered equal at that point?" To illustrate the point, she asked everyone to stand up-and then told them to sit down if they didn't identify as male, if they didn't identify as white, or if their parents rented instead of owned a home.

That exercise opened the door to a conversation about how Americans weren't all equal in the late 18th century. Beam-Conroy's students discussed when women and African Americans got the right to vote-and what implications that has had on the composition of U.S. Congress or the Supreme Court. The critical consciousness piece is "examining how historically, power has been distributed and guarded among particular folks who make the laws," Beam-Conroy said. "Fifth graders can understand that."

Culturally responsive teaching can also involve a deeper reimagining of classroom codes of conduct. For instance, in some students' culture, talking while someone else talks shows how invested and engaged they are in the conversation, said Hollie with the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning. Culturally responsive teachers find ways to incorporate that verbal overlap into their lesson rather than seeing it as rude or worthy of discipline.

What isn't culturally responsive teaching?

Researchers note that some educators say they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, but it's an overly simplified version. For example, for some teachers, a multicultural school potluck meal or adding diverse books to their classroom library sufficiently counts as affirming students' culture in education. But culturally responsive teaching is deeper, more critical work.

"There's a tendency to truncate culturally responsive teaching to be about a whole myriad of things-it's about relationships, it's about anti-racist education, it's about diverse books," said Zaretta Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. "It's like that old parable of the king who asks nine blind men to describe an elephant. Each one grabs a different part of the elephant. 'Oh, it's flat and wide'-he's got the ear. 'No, it's like a rope'-he's got the tail. No one has the whole picture."

Too often, she said, white progressive educators view culturally responsive teaching as an add-on to their regular instruction instead of a fundamental shift in their pedagogy. For example, a teacher might think students of color just need to see themselves in order to feel motivated and do the work, so she'll incorporate diverse books into her classroom or syllabus-but not change anything to the content or her way of instruction.

Another common misconception is that culturally responsive teaching is a way of addressing student trauma, which is a deficit-based ideology that assumes the universal experience of people of color is one of trauma, Hammond said.

How widespread is culturally responsive teaching?

Most teacher-preparation programs have also incorporated culturally responsive teaching into their courses. And some school districts, including New York City and Baltimore City, have adopted a culturally responsive and/or sustaining approach to education.

Still, experts say it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how many teachers have adopted these asset-based pedagogies because some may use only certain tenets. For instance, helping students develop a critical consciousness is often ignored.

What does all of this have to do with critical race theory?

Critical race theory, broadly speaking, is an academic concept with the core idea that race is a social construct, and racism is not only the product of individual bias or prejudice but is also embedded in policies and systems, such as a legal system-or as some scholars such as Ladson-Billings propose, an educational system.

Aspiring K-12 teachers in graduate level courses may study aspects of critical race theory to better understand how school systems are designed in ways that don't serve the needs of students of color. But critical race theory is not taught as a guide for classroom instruction, nor is it typically used as a culturally relevant or culturally responsive lesson plan for kids and teens, said Aronson with Miami University.

Asset-based pedagogies, like culturally relevant or culturally responsive teaching, are not the same thing as critical race theory. They have different theoretical bases and different goals. However, there might be some commonalities-for example, the questions students are encouraged to ask about social systems, including education, may ring close to the consciousness critical race theory is meant to evoke.

In an interview with Education Week, Ladson-Billings stressed that culturally relevant teaching, as she defined it, has nothing to do with critical race theory. But opponents to critical race theory have glossed over those nuances, she said, adding that deliberative public debate is hard when people don't know what they're talking about.

"The attack on anything that allows more participation and moves us toward equity is going full force," she said.

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Here's what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and where critical race theory ties in-or not.

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Oral language development is a critical aspect of equity and inclusion in education. Ensuring that all students have access to high-quality language development opportunities, regardless of their linguistic or cultural backgrounds, is essential for creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment. Schools, educators, and support professionals play key roles in achieving this goal. Some key considerations include language as a tool for inclusion, addressing language barriers, cultural and linguistic sensitivity, individualized support from both teacher and school counselor, parent and community engagement if possible and teacher training and professional development.

Education, M. D. of E. and S. (2022). Literacy Block: Oral Language - Evidence Based Early Literacy. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from Www.doe.mass.edu. https://www.doe.mass.edu/massliteracy/literacy-block/oral-language.html

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Today’s education leaders face the challenge of students reading below grade, while knowing that the lack of access can dramatically impact literacy development. Educators are also increasingly aware of the importance of honoring diversity and ensuring that all students feel seen and valued. That's why content matters. Students deserve and need texts worth reading, and where they can benefit from a diverse content library that represents the wide range of academic needs and interests. Content that respects and reflects the experiences and cultures of all students, with special care for students whose backgrounds have historically been underrepresented, helps them understand that they matter.

Eisenman, Jenny. (2021). “Why Diversity and Equity in Content Matters for Reading Growth.” NASSP.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from www.nassp.org/2021/06/08/why-diversity-and-equity-in-content-matters-for-reading-growth/.

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A recent survey asked middle level and high school principals to choose the greatest challenge they face with their students' literacy development. An overwhelming 63% of respondents cited students who were reading below grade level ¹. This response is not surprising. In 2019, only 34% of eighth grade students performed at or above the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) proficient level ².

In the same survey, participants were asked to think about the term equity in the context of their students' literacy development. While this open-ended question provided a range of responses, three phrases repeated frequently in the answers: access, diversity, and achievement gap. These answers should also not surprise us. The same2019 NAEP results for eighth graders showed a significant achievement gap between students in high-poverty schools (average reading score of 249) and students in low-poverty schools (average reading score of 279).

Today's principals and education leaders face the challenge of students reading below grade and know that lack of access can dramatically impact literacy development. They are also increasingly aware of the importance of honoring diversity and ensuring that all students feel seen and valued as they engage in their academic learning.

What can be done in schools to address inequities, embrace and value diversity, and improve literacy development for all students?

To start, we can build diverse content libraries in our schools and classrooms.

The events of 2020, including a pandemic and social justice protests, significantly disrupted learning-and normal life-for students throughout the country. The move to remote instruction in early spring revealed significant inequities in education, including uneven access to broadband and to devices for home learning. The civil unrest that then rocked the nation in the summer brought much-needed attention to the racial inequality that exists in our country. In a recent article in District Administration, Reading Plus Chief Content Officer Randi Bender stated, "Social justice protests this [past] year sparked a wave of reflection and change across our nation. In education, the movement revealed the need to intensify efforts to provide students with diversity and inclusivity in books and reading programs." ³

In her 1990 essay, "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors," ⁴ Rudine Sims Bishop addressed the lack of multicultural literature available and shared the idea of books as "mirrors," where students have the opportunity to see themselves and their lives reflected in the selections they read; as "windows," where they gain an understanding and appreciation of experiences different from their own; and as "sliding glass doors," where children step through to become a part of the world created by the author.

"When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part," said Bishop. "Our classrooms need to be places where all the children from all the cultures that make up the salad bowl of American society can find their windows."

In other words, content matters. Students deserve texts worth reading, and they benefit from a diverse content library that represents the wide range of their emotional and academic needs and interests. Content that respects and reflects the experiences and cultures of all students, with special care for students whose backgrounds have historically been underrepresented, helps students understand that they do indeed matter-to their teachers, classmates, school, community, and country.

How then can content diversity impact literacy development?

When students read texts about people who look like they do and share their beliefs, customs, and history, they can be inspired. When students read these texts, they feel visible, appreciated, and respected. And these feelings can motivate them to read more, which can then help them acquire the skills and confidence needed to find reading success. In a Reading Plus study ⁵ of more than 140,000 students, researchers found that students who reported higher levels of interest and confidence in their reading abilities also achieved significantly higher levels of reading growth. The 2012 Reading Rockets article, "Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation," ⁶ reinforces the importance of relevant content for students: "Teachers who include texts and references to the specific cultures represented in the classroom are more likely to engage students ... This helps to bring some of their own personal background knowledge to the reading activity, thereby increasing comprehension. With repeated experiences of relevance in the classroom, students increase their interest, and their reasons for reading increasingly become enjoyment ..." In other words, when we provide students with texts that tug at their hearts, open their minds, or touch their souls, we are fueling interest, which fuels engagement, which fuels learning.

Let's take a moment to think back to the significant literacy challenge faced by many principals: students reading below grade level. Efforts to provide diverse and inclusive content to students can help mitigate this challenge. With content that motivates them to read more, students are more likely to improve their reading proficiency, which can close that gap for below-grade-level readers. Providing content that reminds all students that they do indeed matter ultimately grows more confident, lifelong readers and learners.

Resources:

1. Reading Plus. "Middle and High School Principal Survey," April 2021.

2. National Center for Education Statistics. The Condition of Education: Reading Performance.

3. Bender, Randi. " 5 Steps to Ensure Students See Themselves in Instructional Content." DistrictAdministration, 12 January 2021.

4. Bishop, Rudine Sims. "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors." Perspectives: Choosing and Using Book for the Classoom, vol. 6, no. 3, Summer 1990.

5. Reading Plus. " Reading Motivation and Reading Success: A Two-Way Street."

6. McRae, Andrea, and John T. Guthrie. " Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation." Reading Rockets.

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Why Diversity and Equity in Content Matters for Reading Growth

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A recent survey asked middle level and high school principals to choose the greatest challenge they face with their students' literacy development. An overwhelming 63% of respondents cited students who were reading below grade level1. This response is not surprising.

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Teacher can employ direct instruction for students but indirect learning is at play as well.

Indirect instruction can look like: Children learning the meanings of most words indirectly through everyday experiences. Such as hearing their parents, teachers, the tv, etc and it can be through oral and written language.

According to Reading Rockets (n.d.), children can learn word meanings indirectly in three ways:

They engage daily in oral language

They listen to adults read to them

They read extensively on their own

Direct instruction may look like:

Providing students with instruction in specific words that are important to students’ content learning

Vocabulary quizzes

Teaching students more general word-learning strategies such as analyzing parts of words (e.g., root words)

Basics: Vocabulary | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/vocabulary

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According Vostal et al., (2023), school counselors have the responsibility to be intentional about implementing a comprehensive school counseling program, which often includes planning and teaching classroom lessons on topics connected to academic skills. The connection to school counseling would be that a school counselor is doing their job by collaborating and talking to teachers and notices the issue about vocabulary difficulty in a grade level. This school counselor would then plan to do a lesson on vocabulary. An example is "Dictionary Games" (Reiss, 2008). For this activity the instructions are to set up timed competitions and group students by tables or divide the classroom into two. This activity provides a gemlike structure that can help motivate and involve all students.

Vostal, B. R., Oehrtman, J. P., & Gilfillan, B. H. (2023). School Counselors Engaging All Students: Universal Design for Learning in Classroom Lesson Planning. Professional School Counseling, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x231203199

20 Vocabulary Lesson Ideas. (n.d.). Education Missouri. Retrieved November 2, 2023, from https://education.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2012/10/Vocabulary-Lesson-Classroom-Ideas.pdf

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It's important that educators are aware of the needs of all students. For example, ELLs "will agentively choose to use languages other than English (LOTEs) to make sense of schoolwork..." (Daniel & Pacheco, n.d., p.653). This helps to shed light on what may be going through a students mind while in class and learning vocabulary and new words. To be inclusive of all it is important to be knowledgable of this as an educator to help understand students and assist their needs.

Daniel, S. M., & Pacheco, M. B. (n.d.). Translanguaging Practices and Perspectives for Four Multilingual Teens. 653–662. Retrieved November 3, 2023.

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Teachers have a big task when it comes to teaching writing. Reading Rockets (n.d.) presents four ways in which students need to develop a broad set of writing skills:

1.) Basic writing skills-- this includes instruction on how to spell, capitalize, punctuation, handwriting and sentence structure.
2.) Text generation-- this is translating one's thoughts into language. This includes vocabulary, elaboration of detail, and the clarity of expression.
3.) Writing process-- in order to do this the teacher is expected to plan, revise and edit which then later on in later grades they can eventually do this themselves. This process is extremely important to success in writing throughout schooling years.
4.) Writing knowledge-- Writing knowledge is the  understanding of discourse and genre. For example, writing knowledge can include writing for an audience,  the writer needs to understand the need to convey meaning clearly and appropriately (tone and important details to include) to the people who will be reading the writing.

Basics: Writing | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org.  Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/writing

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In the section of "Growing Writers", there is the topic of Imagination Collaboration where actor Erica Perl (Dotty) visits a third grade class. This is an example that a school counselor can use by providing and coordinating helpful tools for students. The school counselor can also conduct a group session where the students who may be struggling a little more can do role-playing activities or even have a "writing group" to further work on skills needed. Another idea for a school counselor would be to conduct a lesson for classes on writing.

Growing Writers | Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Www.readingrockets.org. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/launching-young-readers/growing-writers

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To ensure equity and inclusion, it is important that educators choose accessible approaches to the writing classroom, use a diverse and inclusive set of texts (that are approved), use effective collaboration with writing centers if there are any, and use equity in writing assessments (seek alternative grading approaches.

Accessible approaches to writing classroom: Strive to be  active in making your classroom more accessible. Ways to do this can look like prioritizing becoming more knowledgeable,  flexible, and open to making changes that respond to what students need.

Diverse and Inclusive Texts: While Florida has been having an issue of "banned books" it's important to find what can work. Classrooms are diverse on multiple levels-- students in the room from may have come from other states, countries, and language backgrounds. It's important that students see themselves reflected in class content.

Effective Collaboration With Writing Centers: This applies mainly to middle school and high school because it may be more likely to have a writing center or teachers can do "writing workshops" in these settings. But it is important for students to continue to work on wiring and for it to be critiqued before grading so that they learn and can work on making changes that need to be made.

Equity in Writing Assessments: Departing from traditional grading systems can allow for greater equity in a writing class. Outcomes can be less stress for students and educators, more focus on content, writing practices, and the learning process. This can also potentially help build a stronger sense of community in the classroom. There are two ways that can be adopted by teachers: less grading with a summative assessment at the end and contract grading with students completing required assessments required for a grade at the end.

Inclusive Teaching in the Writing Classroom | Teaching Writing. (n.d.). Www.bu.edu. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from https://www.bu.edu/teaching-writing/resources-for-teaching-writing/guides-tips/inclusive-teaching-in-the-writing-classroom/