Handwriting is important for future academic skills such as note-taking, tests, and homework, specifically math. A competent, confident ability to write prevents mental drain while doing the previously mentioned tasks, with less stress focusing on how to write. Learning handwriting can enhance reading and spelling skills as well.

Scholastic:

A Ticket Around the World, Natalie Diaz & Melissa Owens

Happy In Our Skin, Fran Manushkin

Beautiful, Stacy McAnulty

Hidden Figures, Margot 

Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Amanda Gorman by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and    Queenbe Monyei

Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Daniel Minter

Bright Brown Baby by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney

Free at Last by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and Alex Bostic

Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohan

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Lynn Williams, Karen; Mohammad Khadra

Bee-bim Bop by Linda Sue Park

Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

Dear Juno by Soyung Park

Zen Shorts by John Muth

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein

Native American:

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talkers Story by Joseph Bruchac

Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat

Hosea Plays On by Kathleen M. Blasi

Plenty of Hugs by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Kate Alizadeh

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

1001 Cranes by Naomi Hirahara

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Happy In Our Skin By Fran Manushkin

One Family by George Shannon

Same Sun Here

Juna's Jar

One Word From Sophia

Last Stop on Market Street

Emmanual's Dream

Mango, Abuela, and Me

I'm New Here

Mama's Nightingale

The Jumbies

Funny Bones

Gone Crazy in Alabama

El Deafo

Sitting Bull

George

The Way Home Looks Now

Listen, Slowly

The Invisible Boy

Full Cicada Moon

Echo

In The Footsteps of Crazy Horse

X

According to Reading Rockets, there are 5 purposes of assessment: 1) to identify skills that need review, 2) to monitor student progress, 3) to guide teacher instruction, 4) to demonstrate the effectiveness of instruction, 5) to provide teachers with information on how instruction can be improved." Additionally, teachers should use strategies that are supported by research evidence and that will give them useful information about their students." Areas to test students' abilities include letter knowledge, phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension.

MTSS: Multi-Tiered System of Supports; within this framework, there are 4 types of reading assessments: 1) Universal Screeners: conducted 1-3 times a year and established criteria by the school, if a student fails they may be at risk for reading problems and/or qualify for services. 2) Diagnostic Assessments: administered after being screened, identify a student's strengths and weaknesses to guide intervention. 3) Progress Monitoring Tools: Measures progress at a specific amount of time such as weekly or bi-weekly. 4) Summative Assessment) given at the end of a unit or the year.

There are many types of assessments:

Formative: ongoing assessment which takes place during learning and is used to plan or modify instruction; often an observation.

Summative: occurs after learning to summarize a student's progress at the end of a unit.

High-Stakes testing: a summative used to make an important decision based on the outcome; can dictate curriculum.

Norm-referenced: students are compared to others in the same grade or age.

Criterion-referenced: assesses how well skills or knowledge in a specific domain have been learned.

Functional-level assessment: measures growth.

Role of Assessing for Learning: assess for learning as opposed to assessing of learning. "The basic idea behind assessing for learning is to obtain enough information about students so that you can give them the help they need" Pg 65 Gunning. Using standards provides learning intentions, they offer an explanation of the objectives that are required for students to meet.

Success criteria: students need to be able to tell when they have met their learning goal or target objective. This is in addition to knowing what they need to learn.

Self-assessment: Students should ask themselves, "Where am I going? Where am I now? How do I close the gap?" This is a key component of learning.

Analogy Strategy: If the pronounceable word part strategy isn't working try the analogy strategy. Have the student compare the unknown word to a known word. Ask, "Is the word like any word you know?"  Compare yet to net. 

Context: 

Advanced Decoding Strategies: 

*Try another sound- the vowel or consonant has another sound.

*Sound correction/model word routine- the student says the letter, then uses the model word, "a, apple", as a reminder of what sound the letter makes for a word.

*Monitoring/Cross check- Student produces a nonword or a word that doesn't fit. Student uses context to check the use of a phonological strategy or phonics to check the use of a contextual strategy.

*Writing- Student fails to process all the letters in a word, even though he knows all the correspondences in the word. "Write the word. As you write the letters, say the sounds that the letters stand for."

*Choice- Student is unable to decode a word using any strategy. Provide a choice of two words. Have student select the correct one. "Is the word wolf or dog? How do you know?"

*Affirmation- Praise student for working out a word. Specific praise is based on what the effort is.

*Diagnostic- Use a diagnostic prompt to see how a student has decoded a word. "How did you figure out that word?"

The goal of phonics instruction is to provide students with the keys for unlocking the pronunciations of unknown words encountered in print. Having and using multiple problem-solving strategies offers students options if and when other options are not working. It offers hope and ultimately builds confidence.

There are many types of phonological awareness tasks including rhyming, alliteration, segmentation, blending, categorization, isolation, and manipulation. Of these, manipulation has proven to be the most effective because it provides a combination of segmenting, isolation, manipulation, and blending all in one. For example, change sling to sing by deleting the l. The student must segment the word then locate where in the word she hears the /l/ sound (isolation), then she needs to pull the sound out (manipulation), last she needs to combine the remaining sounds to form the word sing (blending). There is no need to use the other phonemic awareness skills because when a student responds instantly to a phonemic manipulation task, their phonemic analysis skills are unconscious and automatic. "This represents phonemic proficiency and is the foundation of efficient orthographic mapping." Pg. 76 Kilpatrick

Ch. 8 Becoming Proficient in Phonemic Awareness:

There are 3 stages students go through during the Equipped for Reading Success program:

1. Multisensory Stage: The student can only do the task with external prompt or helps. The student often makes mistakes.

2. Knowledge Stage: The student can do the task mentally, with no external prompts, but not quickly. He or she may still make mistakes.

3. Automatic Stage: The student can do a task quickly and with no apparent effort. The student rarely makes mistakes.

There are several multisensory teaching strategies one can use to help students develop a sense of phonemic awareness.

a) Letters/Spelling, L/S, to illustrate phonemic awareness concepts. Level J; using letter visuals, change bat to bet

b) Visual-Spatial, VSp, remove visuals and use tokens. 3-D tokens, us an object or post-it notes to represent syllables, onsets, times, and/or phonemes. 2-D tokens Students draw boxes, circles, or dashes to represent "tokens" on paper. Invisible tokens, tap the table left to right in place of "tokens".

c) Visual-Sequential Skills, VSeq, Focuses on segmenting without visuals. 3 examples are: Clapping sounds you are working on. Tap each segment (good for small groups). Hand Puppet to demonstrate opening and closing of the mouth during syllable segmenting.

d) Oral Cues. Whisper technique, whisper the words or parts you want the child to delete. Stretching and repeating sounds. Hiiiiiiiiit or had-d-d, some sounds can be stretched, some can't so they are repeated.

Ch. 9 How to train phonological awareness:

"Direct teaching means explicitly instructing students in phonological awareness skills." pg. 85 In this order, 1) explanation, 2) demonstration, 3) practice, 4) feedback.

Focus on teaching the levels of phonological skill Level D1 - level M2. This is at the multisensory stage, in 2 -10 minute lessons. Teaching techniques are as described above in the multisensory teaching strategies.

When a student understands a phonological awareness level, they are ready for One Minute activities, which are the main tool for developing skill and automaticity at each phonological awareness level. Students need to be at the knowledge stage of development to do One Minute Activities. Students should be working on two levels simultaneously.

Ch. 10 How to use the One Minute activities:

Start in K with D1, when all the students in the group are quick and accurate, move on to D2. Use instructional strategies as needed. Do levels in sequence, with 2 exceptions, (see pg. 91). Use the samples at the top of the page for verbiage. Re-use levels as necessary. Us words from One Minute activities for multisensory teaching tasks.

1) "Quantitative factors include sentence length, word frequency, or word length that can be measured objectively." Pg. 102 Gunning

2) Qualitative factors are subjective such as readers' interest, density of concepts, illustration use, and background to construct meaning from text.

3) Reader-Task Factors - Reader factors consider motivation, interest, background knowledge, and knowledge of the reading task. Task factors include the purpose for reading and the complexity of questions to be answered after reading.

Leveling Systems, such as Raz-kids use qualitative factors as described in no. 2 above to estimate the level of difficulty of reading material, based on predictability of text. Books are leveled A - Z; A is very beginning and Z is eighth grade.

I would define text complexity as the level of difficulty in the text a student would be assigned to read while learning to read. It is important to assess text complexity to maximize student output. A text that is too easy doesn't benefit from a lack of challenge, similarly a text too difficult will cause frustration and a student may shut down. Furthermore, qualitative factors enhance the experience through personal interest, the use of pictures to ease decoding if needed, and background knowledge for connections. Lastly, Reader factors consider qualitative factors as well as motivation and knowledge of the reading task, while task factors consider the purpose of reading the questions to answer at the end.

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability (SLD) that is neurological and language-based. People have trouble with "accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities." (IDA) There is a deficit in the phonological component of language.

Signs of Dyslexia:

• Learning to speak

• Learning letters and their sounds

• Organizing written and spoken language

• Memorizing number facts

• Problems Reading quickly enough to comprehend

• Problems Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments.

• spelling

• Trouble Learning a foreign language

• Trouble correctly doing math operations

Evidence-Based Instructional Strategy:

Systematic, explicit instruction that involves several senses (hearing, seeing, touching) at the same time. Equipped for Reading Success by Robert Kilpatrick

Intervention:

Phonological and Phonemic awareness activities

Resources:

International Dyslexia Association (IDA)

https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/READ/Dyslexia/

"Visible learning is the most effective method of teaching. it means that the goal is clear to the students and is challenging but not overwhelming. Students engage in deliberate practice, feedback is provided, and progress is tracked. Teachers see learning through the eyes of their students." pg. 11

Instruction is based on the evidence collected through progress monitoring, often if not weekly. It is important to pm often to see how much progress is being made and evaluate what is working or not.

1. Description: Offers a detailed description to give the reader a mental picture.

2. Sequence: Chronological order of events or steps in a procedure.

3. Problem and Solution: Set up a problem, explain the solution, and discuss the effects of the solution.

4. The causal relationship between an event, idea, or concept and the events, ideas, or concept to follow.

5. Compare and Contrast: Examines the similarities and differences between two or more people, events, concepts, ideas, etc...

All About Adolescent Literacy (AdLit). (2023). Text Structure. adlit.org

Activities to teach text structure:

First, introduce text structure to students by showing them examples of each. Analyze text samples including topic sentences to help students learn how to identify text structure. Model writing a chosen structure for students to see. Choose a structure to focus on and have students practice it.

1. Have students create a graphic organizer of the different text structures. If appropriate, let them choose their platform to show their learning. i.e., PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva, Prezi, or simply create a poster-board presentation.

2. Students can write paragraphs using a text structure. This could be done article style as for a newspaper or magazine. A timeline, table, or chart as in a textbook would be an option as well.

https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/comprehension/teaching-text-structure

Assessment: Use either of the above activities at the end of a unit on text structure. If doing activity 1, allow students to work in pairs and choose which mode best suits their learning style to show their knowledge. Students should include the purpose of non-fiction text structures, each text structure, and its description, along with an example of where the structure might be found. For example, a recipe would be an example of a sequence text structure. For activity 2, choose a text structure you want students to dig deeper into that pairs well with another discipline such as social studies. Again, have students choose a mode to show their learning. The expectations for this assessment will depend on the discipline and text structure you choose.

Critical Thinking Strand: Students need explicit instruction to learn to brainstorm ideas, take notes from sources, and plan and organize their writing based on what they are writing about.

Syntax Strand: "Students benefit from explicit instruction focused on building sentence skills, including activities such as sentence elaboration and sentence combining."

Text Structure Strand: Explicit instruction is needed in the following levels of text structure:

Narrative, information, and opinion

Paragraph structure

Patterns of organization

Linking and transition words or phrases

Writing Craft Strand: Explicit instruction is needed in the following :

Word choice

Awareness of task, audience, and purpose

Literary devices

Transcription Strand: Students need explicit instruction in spelling, handwriting, and keyboarding.

readingrockets.org/writing-rope-strands

Activities to teach writing:

1. Shared Writing: Students and teacher write collaboratively, ..." the teacher is the primary holder of the pen, even though the process is a collaborative one." During this instruction, the teacher models the text structures while including spelling, punctuation, and grammar. This activity is ideal at the beginning of a new genre unit and should be modeled from start to finish. The collaboration between the teacher and the students includes lots of oral exchange, allowing students to hear each others' ideas before putting them in writing. Ferlazzo, L., (2021, June 19). Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction. edweek.org.

2. Four Square: (Think Frayer's Model), Students fold a blank sheet of paper into four squares and draw a square in the middle. This can be used for any grade. Below are three ways to use this graphic organizer:

   *Writing sentences: Write a topic in the middle and draw and/or write ideas in the four squares.

   *Writing paragraphs: Write a topic sentence in the middle. Write three supporting sentences with details in three squares and a concluding sentence in the last square.

   *Writing short essays: The main information goes in the middle square, and supporting paragraphs with details go in the squares around it.

Ferlazzo, L., (2021, June 19). Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction. edweek.org.

Assessment:

Assessment of a Four Square activity; use the graphic organizer for students to begin. Have students utilize each square for its intended purpose depending on the writing assignment, and assess its use for its purpose. Look for the accuracy of information if the assignment is expository writing. For the final product, check for student understanding of the use of the graphic organizer. Make sure students have met the criteria for writing the assignment itself, including proper grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and details.

1. a : the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence

2. a : the characteristic system of inflections and syntax of a language.

The parts of grammar are as follows:

*Syntax: arrangements of words, phrases, and clauses in sentences.

*Punctuation:

a) statement: I can read.

b) question: What can I read?

c) command: You must read.

d) exclamation: I love to read!

*Sentence structures:

a) simple - Basic sentence that expresses a complete thought. Contains subject, verb, and verb phrase.

b) complete - basic sentence that expresses a complete thought. Contains a subject, verb, and a predicate.

*Clause: a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.

*Phrase: a group of words without a subject-verb component.

c) compound sentences: two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.

d) Complex sentences: An independent clause and a subordinate/dependent clause linked together by a subordinating conjunction (after, although, because, since, when: or a relative pronoun (that, which, who).

e) Compound-Complex Sentence: contains two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. (Most advanced)

f) Run-on sentences: A group of words with two or more complete thoughts and incomplete punctuation.

*Contractions:

isn't - is not

let's - let us

she's - she is

they're - they are

*Possessives:

Student (singular)

Students (plural)

Student's (singular possessive)

Students" (plural possessive)

Activites:

1. Punctuation Scavenger Hunt: Choose a read-aloud and read the first few pages of the book. After each sentence say the punctuation at the end. Then pause after each sentence and have students guess the punctuation. Use a chart with punctuation listed and mark their answers, keep it for future reference. Compare with fiction and non-fiction and have students observe if one type of text uses more of a certain type of punctuation.

2. Parts of Speech Hopscotch: create a traditional hopscotch using chalk. Instead of numbers label the squares noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction, proposition, prepositional phrase, and interjection. Have students give an example of the type of word or speech that they land on.

Assessment:

Building sentences: After a grammar unit, students will write a short story or paragraph using two and three-part sentences, 1 or 2 compound sentences, 1 or 2 complex sentences, and at least 1 contraction. Assess for punctuation, proper comma placement, and spelling; fiction or non-fiction.

It is important as an educator to educate oneself about dyslexia and share that knowledge with colleagues and families. Among the most important information would be its symptoms and teaching strategies. The resource provided below is called, IDA Dyslexia Handbook, What Every Family Should Know.

https://www.readingrockets.org/sites/default/files/guide/IDA-Dyslexia-Handbook-2019.pdf

Here is a list of ideas to help students with dyslexia:

Accommodations involving materials,

1. Tape recorder; students can read along as the text is being read to them.

2. Clarify or simplify written directions; underline or highlight directions. Rewrite directions by breaking them down into easier-to-read, linear-style directions.

3. Present a small amount of work; tear out workbook pages, assign odd numbered problems, and break a worksheet into sections.

4. Block out extraneous simuli; a line marker to follow along each line of reading. A sheet of paper to cover extra sections on a page.

5. Highlight essential information; for students who struggle to find essential information.

6. Provide additional practice activities. Supplement the learning activities with instructional games or peer teaching activities.

7. Provide a glossary in content areas.

8. Develop reading guides. A road map of written material with questions embedded to aid comprehension.

Accommodations involving interactive instruction,

1. Use explicit teaching procedures.

2. Repeat directions.

3. Maintain daily routines.

4. Provide a copy of lecture/content notes.

5. Provide students with a graphic organizer.

6. Use step-by-step instruction

7. Simultaneously combine verbal and visual information.

8. Write key points or words on the board.

9. Use balanced presentations and activities.

10. Use mnemonic instruction.

11. Emphasize daily review.

Accommodations involving student performance,

1. Change response mode.

2. Provide an outline of the lecture.

3. Encourage use of graphic organizers.

4. Place students close to the teacher.

5. Encourage use of assignment books or calendars.

6. Include information on handouts or worksheets.

7. Allow use of instructional aids.

8. Display work samples

9. Use peer-mediated learning.

10. Encourage note sharing.

11. Use flexible work times.

12. Provide additional practice.

13. Use assignment substitutions or adjustments.

Read the below article for a full review of the above suggestions.

https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/dyslexia/articles/accommodating-students-dyslexia-all-classroom-settings

Any of the above support systems will help struggling students. Some are more specific for learners who need assistance for dyslexia, but the idea here is to provide support for all students, those who need it will use it, those who don't need it, won't use it.

1. Get to know as much as possible about each student.

2. Have high expectations for all students.

3. Have a variety of research-based instructional strategies at hand.

4. Use ongoing assessment to guide instruction.

5. Provide multiple types of assessment. Think multiple modalities

6. Differentiate homework.

7. Collaborate.

8. Use flexible grouping.

9. Make content comprehensible for all students.

Ford, K., Colorin' Colorado, Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners.

Strategies:

1. Complexity of questions. Open-ended questions to increase higher-order thinking.

2. Mini-classes or stations. Mixed-ability groups can challenge and support one another.

3. Independent and creative work. Give advanced learners more independence to discover their learning needs and dig deeper into content.

4. Integrated skills tasks. Such as having students "rephrase information at varying levels of complexity."

Activities:

1. Peer teaching. Encourage students to dig deeper into the content through a didactic lens to create a short lesson or tutorial.

2. Problem-solving projects. Students use current and relevant problems to create innovative solutions and are encouraged to work together.

3. Debates or group discussions. Students work on creating lucid ideas to present to their peers orally and take a stance on real-world issues.

Oxford University Press, (2024, March 7).