Definition – learning consists of the acquisition of new behaviors. Praising good behavior and avoiding poor behavior.

Importance – students repeat behaviors that are good, and help establish routine with classroom management.

Cognitivism:

Definition – the inner workings of the mind. Mental processes exist and can be studied. 

Importance – realizing how students process information can help teachers by individualizing content to specific student needs.

Constructivism: Jean Piaget

Definition – children construct their own understanding of reality and do not simply reproduce what they see and hear.

Importance – children use what knowledge and life experiences to make connections with new content

Social Constructivism: L.S. Vygotsky

Definition – stresses the importance of social factors in cognitive development (Piaget & Vygotsky) believed that children need to interact with the world around them.

Importance – what would knowledge (new or old) be without world experience.

Interactionist:

Definition – provides plenty of opportunities for students to experience the holistic nature of reading and writing by having them read whole books and write for real purpose.

Importance – by not overdoing it, interactionists give students a bit more flexibility

Reader Response:

Definition – focuses on the personal impact on the reader (Aesthetic stance, efferent stance)

Importance – emphasizes individual reader response

New Criticism:

Definition – emphasizes focusing on the text, rather than any connections the reader might make between the text and self

Importance – the meaning and emotional impact of text is carefully analyzed

Critical Literacy:

Definition – texts are examined in terms of their fairness to all groups and adhere to equity

Importance – recognizing what has been left out, and who is disadvantaged (or advantaged)

It's an essential skill for reading, as it helps with decoding words.

The ability to identify, isolate, blend, segment, and manipulate.

Strategies include asking students questions such as: "What is the beginning sound in the word dog?" /d/

Phonological Awareness looks like playing word games, reading books that have fun with words.

The ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language, such as rhymes, syllables, and individual sounds (phonemes).

1.) Accuracy 

2.) Rate

3.) Expression

Fluency is more than just the list above. Speed is not what is important when it comes to fluency and reading. Fluency helps free up focus that is needed for comprehension. Fluency also includes prosody and automaticity.

Window - seeing parts of other worlds, cultures, and identities through storytelling and books.

Mirror - seeing your own world, culture, and identity through storytelling and books.

Culturally Diverse Texts sets students up for

Reversal - a letter is written backwards or misread as the backward version of that letter

Transposition - refers to reading or spelling words with the

letter order tranposed, such as reading the word on, as no, saw as was, or spelling said as siad.

Dyslexia and Struggling Students:

• Nature and symptoms

• Evidence-based instructional strategies

• Interventions

• Resources

1.) Pre-Commutative Spelling Age: 3-5. Children may write random letters, numbers, and symbols that have no connection to the sounds in a word.

2.) Semi-Phonetic Spelling Age: around 4-6. Awareness of the correspondence between sound-letters. Children use 1-2 letters to represent sounds at the beginning and end of words.

3.) Phonetic Spelling Age: 5-7. With the exception of blends and vowels, spelling is closer to correct form. A higher form of understanding phonetic structure.

4.) Transitional Spelling Age: around 6-8. Children grasp common spelling patterns, but still make errors with irregular words and complex vowels. Children start to make connections with word families.

5.) Correct Spelling/Conventional Spelling. Children spell words correctly, and occasionally make mistakes with more complex spelling. At this stage, they are learning to spell with prefixes and suffixes. They also use more complex spelling rules such as silent letters and past tense.

·         Stages of Reading Words -

1.) Pre-reading/Emergent Readers. Children are exposed to literature, words, and make a connection that the text produces a sound.

2.) Early Word Recognition/Beginner Readers. Ages 5-7. Children recognize sight high-frequency words (sight words/dolch words). They use decoding skills for CVC words, and start connecting letters to sounds.

3.) Phonetic Decoding/Transitional Readers. Ages 6-8. Children have confidence in decoding words, and recognize common spelling patterns. Irregular words/spelling patterns, silent letters, and complex words may be a struggle.

4.) Fluent Word Recognition/Fluent Readers. Ages 7-9. Children can read and recognize many words fluently and without much trouble. Relying less on sounding out, and more on recognition.

5.) Advanced Word Recognition/Proficient Readers. Ages 9-12. At this stage, children are decoding complicated words, and reading near fluent. They are activating their critical thinking, comprehension, and understanding of deeper content.

·         Consonants - 25 consonant sounds in English. Some sounds are spelled with two letters, known as digraphs.

·         Vowels - there are about 16 vowel sounds in English. Each vowel sound has a variety of spellings.

·         Patterns - the pattern between sounds (phenomes) and letters or group of letters in words. For instance CVC (consonant vowel consonant)

·         Syllabic Analysis - when students are able to say one syllable alone, yet not able when put into a two syllable word.

Instructional Strategies

Evidence Based Instruction - refers to teaching practices that are grounded in scientifically supported research, demonstrating that they consistently lead to improved student outcomes.

Vocabulary Development - building a child's word bank through exposure to new words

Enhancing Literacy - Includes developing vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, writing skills, and the ability to communicate ideas clearly.

• Reduces cognitive load to comprehend text

• Makes content accessible

• Models reading fluency

• Models thinking processes for using reading strategies

Text structure is the way a piece of writing is organized.

Supporting ELL's (English Language Learner)

Reading to students daily is essential. Text that contains little text, supporting illustrations, and repetitive/predictable phrases. Work on comprehension by using using props, pointing to words as you read, and ask open ended questions.

Recent studies show, focusing on oral and spoken language is key to helping students reading comprehension.

Using sources such as Newsela supports students reading the same article, just at different reading levels. This activates engaging small and large group discussions.

When working with gifted students, providing them leadership in their learning helps promotes higher level thinking and emphasizes research skills.

Grammar can

1.) Improve reading comprehension

2.) help students become more efficient writers

3.) create confident communicators

4.) enhance writing skills

When teaching Grammar, be sure to model and teach one skill at a time. Grammar is the vessel that allows students to express their ideas. Provide time for practice, and teach sentence combining, punctuation, and etc.

Writing can

1.) break down any barriers between thoughts and letter formation

2.) clarification between alike letters (d,b, and q,p)

3.) assist in letter sounding correspondence

Assessment for Grammar/Writing could vary from oral, to written. More than just a worksheet of tracing and sentence fillers. Students that need more support can use technology to show what connections they have made. Those who are more advanced can be challenged by requesting more details.

www.readingrockets.com

What students understand while they read has a profound impact on their entire lives.

Comprehension is essential for students to be able to:

• Retell or summarize key points of a text.

• Make inferences and draw conclusions based on evidence in the text.

• Analyze the author's purpose, tone, and use of language.

• Apply knowledge gained from the text to other situations or contexts.

With the use of technology in the classroom comes a big responsibility for teachers - to encourage students how to use it properly and ethically.

Technology provides tools for teachers that take administrative tasks off their hands so they can focus on engaging with students.

An example of technology in the classroom is the app called "Seesaw". This app is used for communication between teacher and parents, teacher and students, interactive assignments, videos, content links, and a tool for differentiation.

In order to recognize differentiation in a classroom, practicing "Getting to Know You" activities help develop a relationship with students. A few examples: "Two Lies, One Truth" ; "Classmate Interview and Presentation" ; "Four Corners with favorites" ; or "Beach Ball". All of these include reading & writing, plus oral presentation.

Maintaining classroom motivation by creating an engaging environment is a key element to differentiation. A classroom should have a proper library with variety in genres, instructional level, and diversity. Having a print-rich classroom also benefits differentiation. Providing teacher made print, hanging students work, and having a word wall.

2.) Phonics: Phonics teaches readers how to decode (read) and encode (spell) words by connecting letters to sounds. Helps children make the connection that letters represent sounds.

3.) Fluency: has three parts. Accuracy, Rate, and Expression. Fluency helps free up focus that is needed for comprehension. It includes prosody and automaticity.

4.) Vocabulary: involves learning the meaning of words and how to use them properly in context. Vocabulary growth is closely tied to reading comprehension.

5.) Comprehension: Comprehension involves not only understanding the meaning of words but also integrating information, making inferences, and thinking critically about the text. If a student cannot understand the text, then they cannot benefit from it.