Phonemic Awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

Why is it important?

Together they provide the foundational skills necessary for effective and successful reading. 

Resources:

5 Pillars of Reading

Scientific research that shows how people learn to read and the most effective methods for teaching reading.

Why is it important?

It is research backed instruction, ensuring that students can successfully learn to read. 

Resources:

Science of Reading

A model that states reading comprehension depends on two core skills: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. 

Why is it important?

Reading comprehension is the product of those components, so in order to learn to read successfully students must also know how to sound out and recognize words and understand the meanings of words and sentences. 

Resources:

Simple View of Reading

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes into spoken words; the awareness that language is composed of these small sounds. 

Why is it important?

Phonemic awareness forms the foundation for learning to read and write, therefore in order to be a good reader it is important to learn phonemic awareness. 

How is it taught?

Oral activities, hands-on manipulatives, starting with a word like “tap” and asking  students to change the “t” sound to a “m” sound and resulting with the word map. 

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Phonemic Awareness

It is the ability to recognize and work with sounds in spoken language, such as picking out words that rhyme, counting syllables, noticing sound repetition, and being aware of the individual sounds in a word. 

Why is it important?

Phonological awareness is important because it is the foundation for learning to read

How is it taught?

Engage students with songs and rhymes, moving to syllables, and then teaching phoneme awareness and manipulation. 

Resources:

Phonological Awareness

Scarborough’s reading rope is a combination of phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition. It has upper strands and lower strands. 

Why is it important?

It illustrates how reading relies on the intertwining of language comprehension and word recognition. 

Resources:

Reading Rope

It is the basic rules of the written language. Print awareness is understanding that print is organized in a particular way- knowing that print is read from left to right and top to bottom. 

Why is it important?

It is important because it provides students with the understanding that they need to become successful readers and writers. 

Resources:

Concepts of Print

Orthographic mapping is the mental process we use to store words for immediate, effortless retrieval. It is the process we use to take an unfamiliar printed word and turn it into an immediately recognizable sight word. 

Why is it important?

It is the process in which students become successful and fluent readers. Students use part of their brain to connect the sounds and words that they already know to the letters in a word. These are known as “sight words” 

Resources:

Orthographic Mapping

Phonics is a way of teaching reading that stresses the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences and their use in reading and spelling. It combines phonemic awareness and graphemes by encouraging students to recognize the sounds and how the sounds are represented. 

Why is it important?

Phonics instruction produces significant benefits for students in kindergarten through 6th grade and for children having difficulty learning to read. The ability to read and spell words was enhanced in kindergarteners who received systematic beginning phonics instruction. 

Resources:

Phonics

Phonics Instruction

Instructional Strategy 1:  Analytic Phonics 

Teaching students to analyze letter-sound relations in previously learned words to avoid pronouncing sounds in isolation. 

Instructional Strategy 2: Synthetic Phonics

Teaching students explicitly to convert letterers into sounds (phonemes) and then blend the sounds to form recognizable words. 

Decodable Texts: (What are they? Why are they important?)

Decodable books play an important role in phonics instruction and building confidence in young readers. They are simple books that are written for beginner readers and contain the specific grapheme-phoneme correspondence students have learned. Decodable books encourage students to sound out words using decoding strategies rather than guessing from pictures or predicting from other cues. 

Assessments: Letter/Sound Recognition 

Measures the ability to recognize letters and sounds. Knowing the letters of the alphabet is essential in developing reading skills. Students should be able to recognize the letters in both uppercase and lowercase form. 

Show students one letter at a time and ask: 

• Can you tell me what letter this is?

• Can you tell me what sound it makes? 

Resources:

Phonics Instructional Strategies

Decodable Texts

Assessments

The ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression. 

Why is it important?

Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding words, therefore they are able to focus their attention on what the text means. 

How is it taught?

The best strategy for developing reading fluency is to provide students with many opportunities to read the same passage orally several times. Introduce new or difficult words to students, and practice reading these words before they read them on their own. Model fluent reading, and then have students try it on their own. 

Heart Words- What are they?

Irregular words that cannot be easily decoded because it either includes grapheme-phoneme correspondences that are unique to that word or a few words, or the student has not yet learned all the grapheme-phoneme correspondences in the word. 

Examples: said, the, to, do, of, from, are, was, etc. 

Sight Words- What are they?

They are common words that students recognize instantly without sounding them out. Recognizing words by sight helps students become faster, more fluent readers. 

Examples: I, and, find, now, this, see, help, etc. 

High Frequency Words- What are they?

High frequency words are often referred to as “sight words”, a term that reflects the practice of learning words through memorization. They could be considered the building blocks of the English language. 

Resources:

• Fluency

• heart words

• sight words

• high frequency words

• Precommunicative stage: The child uses letters from the alphabet but shows no knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. The child may also lack knowledge of the entire alphabet, the distinction between upper and lower case letters, and the left-to-right direction of English orthography.  

• Semiphonetic stage: The child begins to understand letter-sound correspondence and that sounds are assigned to letters. May use single letters to represent a word. Ex. U for you.

• Phonetic stage: Children use a letter or group of letters to represent every speech sound that they hear in a word. Attempts to spell words are systematic and easily understood. 

• Transitional stage: The speller begins to assimilate the conventional alternative for representing sounds, moving from dependence only or mainly on phonology (sound) for representing words, to evidence of greater understanding of common letter patterns in words and the structure of words. 

• Correct stage: At this stage, spellers know common letter-sound relationships and generalizations (rules) for spelling, as well as how to use morphemic information in spelling. The student understands how to spell many common prefixes and suffixes, silent consonants, alternative spellings, and irregular spellings. 

Spelling Rules:

• Add suffixes to words ending in ‘y’: the y often turns to i, unless the suffix begins with i

  • Ex. hurry → hurried 

• Plural suffixes s and es: use es for words that end in s, ss, sh, ch, x, or z.  

  • Ex. cat → cats, and bus → buses

• The silent e: the “magic e” makes the vowel say its name. 

  • Ex. “cap” has a short a, but “cape” has a long a

• Double consonants: if the last syllable of a word has a single vowel followed by a consonant and ends with a stressed syllable, we double the consonant when adding a suffix. 

  • Ex. hop → hopping, hope → hoping

• Commonly confused words and homophones: associate each word with a visual image or sentence that captures its meaning. 

  • Ex. there, their, they’re, and two, to, too are all homophones. 

Resources:

Spelling Stages

Spelling Rules

The Writing Rope is a new model for understanding the interwoven elements that support writing. It is a tool with five strands: critical thinking, syntax, text structure, writing craft, and transcription. It highlights that proficient writing is not a single skill but a combination of several strands developed simultaneously.  

Why is it important?

These strands help students to become effective writers. It promotes students’ learning in a number of ways such as promoting fluency and supporting reading comprehension. The Writing Rope ensures that students develop into confident, capable and well-rounded writers across all subjects. 

Resources:

Writing Rope

Connections Between Reading and Writing:

Students’ comprehension of content area texts is improved when they write about what they read. Students’ reading skills are improved by learning the skills and processes that go into creating text. Students’ reading comprehension is improved by having them increase how often they produce their own text. There are also a lot of similarities between the Reading Rope and the Writing Rope strands. 

Instructional Strategies for Writing:

Providing adequate time for students to write is one essential element of an effective writing instruction program. Students need dedicated instructional time to learn the skills and strategies necessary to become effective writers. Students also need to acquire specific strategies for each component of the writing process. Finally, teach students to become fluent with handwriting, and create an engaged community of writers. 

Assessments for Writing:

There are several ways to assess writing, and the most common way is to use some sort of rubric. Other forms of writing assessment use checklists or rating scales. A teacher isn’t the only one who can assess a writing sample, students can assess their own writing by working in pairs or small groups. 

Resources:

Connecting the Reading and the Writing Rope

Writing Strategies

Assessments for Writing

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that primarily affects reading, spelling, and writing skills due to a different wiring of the brain. Dyslexia is caused by a phonological processing problem, meaning that people affected with it struggle not with seeing language, but with manipulating it. 

Why is it important?

It is important to be correctly informed on what dyslexia is and how it affects people because one in five people are diagnosed with it. 

Caregiver Information on Dyslexia:

Tips to Support Reading at Home

• Read aloud regularly 

• Encourage reading level-appropriate materials

• Set aside dedicated reading time 

• Discuss the material being read

• Assess reading progress incrementally 

• Visit libraries and bookstores together

• Use online resources such as apps and reading games

• Create a comfortable reading space 

• Lead by example by reading yourself

• Celebrate reading achievements 

Resources:

• Dyslexia

• What is Dyslexia?

• How to Help a Struggling Reader at Home

Structured literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. The six elements of structured literacy are phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AS01yPYr3aWW3errCQmVa6oT1HbQNup7

Why is it important?

This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Other approaches such as Guided Reading and Balanced Literacy are not as effective for struggling readers as Structured Literacy is. 

Resources:

Structured Literacy

Why is it important?

Media literacy is a way for us to understand our world and have our say in it. It also involves a strong focus on civil engagement and creation, connecting people with the tools to make their voices and perspectives heard. 

Resources:

Media Literacy

Pros of Read Works

-Budget friendly: free, (from what I saw), with access to high quality reading materials.

-Extensive Library: a big collection of fiction and nonfictions articles that can be filtered by Lexile level, grade, topic, and word count.

-Teacher Friendly: I played around with this as best as I could, but from what I could tell it seemed fairly easy to assign articles once you have a classroom created. They also have ready to go lesson plans that can be utilized.

-Differentiated Instruction: Allows for easy differentiation by allowing teachers to assign the same reading material, but at different reading levels.

Cons of Read Works

-Limited Multimedia: Primarily text based with few videos or interactive games.

-Quality of Questions: Through a bit of research, I found that some users commented on the quality of the comprehension questions, stating that they are heavily focused on multiple choice with limited opportunities for deeper thinking.

Pros of Magic School AI

-Time Saver: With all the tools that are offered through this resource, you have the ability to save A LOT of time lesson planning and creating quizzes, assignments, etc.

-Specialized Tools: Tools such as an IEP generator are available for assistance in crating engaging content for diverse learners.

-User Friendly: The website is set up in a way that is accessible to all, regardless of if you are tech savvy or not.

Cons of Magic School AI

-Potential for Inaccuracy: As with any AI tool, there is a risk of it generating incorrect or biased content.

-Limited Knowledge Base: AI may not always be up to date with the latest information.

-Over Reliance on Technology: Using an AI generated database could lead to reduced human interaction and teacher creativity.

Pros of Colleague AI

-Increased Productivity & Efficiency: AI acts as a sidekick for tasks, which can save a lot of time.

-Cost Friendly: The website is free to use.

-Enhanced Decision Making: AI is able to provide fast responses to any questions you might have.

Cons of Colleague AI (same as with Magic School AI)

-Potential for Inaccuracy: As with any AI tool, there is a risk of it generating incorrect or biased content.

-Limited Knowledge Base: AI may not always be up to date with the latest information.

-Over Reliance on Technology: Using an AI generated database could lead to reduced human interaction and teacher creativity.

Tier 2 Words: Tier 2 vocabulary words are high frequency words essential for reading comprehension and mature communication, yet they are usually not used in everyday conversation. (Ex. analyze contrast, fortunate, diverse, significant, etc). These are more sophisticated and complex than tier 1 words, but are crucial for students to be able to articulate more complex ideas and thoughts.

Tier 3 Words: Tier 3 words are low frequency words that are more subject specific, and are essential for understanding specialized subjects such as science, history, or math. These are words that primarily appear in textbooks, scientific articles, or other subject specific texts. (Ex. photosynthesis, quadratic, isotope, amendment, etc). These words are typically taught around specific lessons when it is relevant to the subject matter.

A Guide to Tier 1, 2, & 3 Vocabulary

Word Sorts: Word sorts involve categorizing words based on shared characteristics, helping students explore relationships among vocabulary terms. This helps students analyze word patterns, improving both reading and spelling skills. It is helpful as teachers to use word sorts for a multitude of reasons. One reason is that they can quickly provide you with information about how much your students already know about a topic. They are also an easy way for students to review what they've learned and for you to informally assess their learning.

Concept Sort

Strategy of Your Choice: Vocabulary Jeopardy- a fun trivia game used to review before a vocabulary quiz or test. To play, make the jeopardy board manually with index cards or sticky notes (or electronically if you choose). The categories will be:

Define: Give the word definition.

Synonym: Give a word that means the same or nearly the same thing.

Antonym: Give a word that means the opposite.

Sentence: Use the word correctly in a sentence.

Start with each of the cards flipped over or covered up so students can't see the vocabulary word. Write the point values for each question on the back side of the card or cover the sheet. Students can pick which category and point value they want, and you can flip the card over. They have to provide the right information that pairs with the vocabulary word on the card in order to score the given number of points. You can separate students into groups or teams however you would like.

Vocabulary Jeopardy

Fill in the Blank: Fill in the blank helps you to be able to asses whether or not students are able to recognize the context that best fits the meaning of the vocabulary word. It is important how these types of questions are worded on a vocabulary test. They should only fit with one vocabulary word, but not be so easy that it is a dead give away what the correct answer is.

Assessments for Vocabulary

Poetry: poetry is literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. It is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses. Two examples include "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost and "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe

Realistic Fiction: a story that can actually happen and is true to life. It is a genre of literature that has plausible plots, relatable characters, and settings that could exist in the real world. Two examples include "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio and "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.

Historical Fiction: historical fiction takes place in a historical setting. Some examples include "The Prophets" by Robert Jones Jr. and "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah.

Nonfiction: nonfiction refers to fact based works. It is an informational text dealing with actual, real life subjects. Two examples are "The Body Keeps Score" by Bessel van der Kolk and "I am Malala" by Malala Yousafzai.

Folktales: folktales are stories that get passed on from generation to generation. They develop as different people tell them over time. Many folktales are very old. Two examples include "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Jack and the Beanstalk"

Biography: biographies tell the story of a notable person's life, written by someone other than the subject. Two examples are "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot.

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/types-of-genres 

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/rl/litrlgenres.asp

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/folktale/399460

Two types of text leveling

Quantitative Leveling: these are systems like the Lexile Framework leveled texts through computer programs that measure dimensions like text length and complexity.

Qualitative Leveling: this type of leveling is done by humans, and while it considers things like text length and complexity, it also takes more nuanced qualities into consideration, like whether a text delivers information in a purely straightforward way or contains multiple levels of meaning.

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/leveled-texts/#:~:text=Leveled%20texts%20are%20used%20to%20differentiate%20reading,based%20on%20a%20single%20assessment**%20*%20**Inflexibility

Decodable texts use a lot of words and patterns that can be matched with phonics skills that students are learning. Picture book read alouds can support phonemic awareness and phonics skills, and complex texts help children develop their comprehension, stamina, and critical thinking skills.

https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/choosing-and-using-classroom-texts 

Grammar is the systematic set of structural rules governing how words, phrases, and clauses are arranged to form coherent sentences in a language. It acts as the framework for effective communication, defining word order, verb tenses and punctuation to ensure clarity.

Helpful Tools:

Assistive technology (AT) can help kids who have trouble with spelling and grammar, and with organizing and expressing their thoughts. Types of assistive technology include things like handwriting tools, keyboards and touchscreens, dictation, word prediction, spell check and grammar check, text to speech, graphic organizers, and dictionaries.

Online tools such as grammarly.com are also a good choice for checking over your writing and grammar skills, as it checks for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and tone.

Resources:

https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/assistive-technology/articles/assistive-technology-writing

Peer feedback is the process where individuals, such as your peers, share constructive feedback about each other's work, allowing them to make changes that they see fit in order to enhance their work.

Helpful Tools:

There are many helpful online tools for peer feedback, and two of them include Padlet and Peergrade. Padelt allows students to see everyone's posts in one place, allows students to react to posts, and students can then "grade" one another's work through this website. Peergrade is a free online platform which helps to facilitate peer feedback. With this tool, you can choose from their library of rubrics and assignment templates that make it easier than ever to provide your students with the opportunity to give one another productive feedback.

Resources:

https://ditchthattextbook.com/10-tools-for-effective-peer-feedback-in-the-classroom/ 

It is a widely used rubric for teaching and assessing writing by focusing on seven key elements: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation.

Ideas: the meaning and development of the message.

Organization: the internal structure of the piece.

Voice: the tone of the piece- the personal stamp that the writer brings to it.

Word Choice: the specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning.

Sentence Fluency: the way the words and phrases flow throughout the text.

Conventions: the mechanical correctness of the piece.

Presentation: the overall appearance of the work.

Resources:

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/6-1-traits-of-writing--the-complete-guide-for-the-primary-grades.html

-Typically possess large vocabularies

-Read fluently at a young age

-Are able to comprehend complex storylines

-Often operate 2 or more years above their grade level

-High level of comprehension

Supporting Advanced Readers:

-Exempt them from guided reading and allow them to instead read on their own.

-Group students together based on ability and have them read materials that are at their level.

-"Walking reading" which would be like letting a third grader go to a fourth or fifth grade class for their reading instruction.

-Provide semi-independent possibilities for advanced readers by proving them with less direct instruction while providing them with constructive activities that they can engage in successfully with limited supervision.

Resources:

What Do We Do with Above Grade Readers?