Category: literacy instruction

The Benefits of Utilizing Word Ladders to Teach Literacy Skills – Spelling, Vocabulary, Writing, Fluency, Comprehension

Word Ladders were first created in the late 1800’s by Lewis Carroll, as a two-person game. The original game was called Doublets. Players were given the beginning word and the ending word, like head – tail. Each player had five moves to change the first word into the last word. Players were only allowed to change one letter of the previous word to create their next word or move toward the target word.

There are a few differences between the original word ladder game played in the late 1800s and the Word Ladder curriculum developed by Dr. Timothy Rasinski. One difference is that only the beginning word is given. Another difference is that Rasinski ladders usually require more than five moves. Another difference is that solvers of the “puzzle” must use a clue and the previously developed word to discover the next word in the puzzle. Another difference is that Rasinski’s Word Ladder allows for different amounts of letter changes, instead of a set amount. The clue states how many letters need to be added or subtracted to the previous word of the puzzle to form the new word. Another difference is that there may be different amounts of letters within a word in the same puzzle. The puzzle shows solvers how many letters are in the word that they are solving for. Rasinski’s Word Ladders are published as literacy curriculum for students in Grades K-6. Each ladder has a focus or topic.

The benefits of using Word Ladders are many. Word Ladders usually help to increase student knowledge of spelling—encoding of words. Students must think about the letter order of possible words. Students must link graphemes to phonemes and analyze written letter structures within possible words, as they discover the next word. Another benefit is vocabulary. The clues require students to think about different words that are described in the clue. Students must retrieve possible words from their lexicon. Student collaborations about possible words usually help students to retrieve the necessary words. These conversations also help to link other possible words to words of similar meaning. Students also benefit from learning the meaning of words that are unfamiliar to them. The conversations grow, broaden and deepen student lexicon. This growth assists in student comprehension of both oral and written communication. This growth also strengthens student ability to write more complex sentences.

Many students will be frustrated until they understand how to complete the puzzle. Modeling or completing the process of the solving the ladder puzzle together a few times usually creates a student interest of completing the task independently or in collaboration. Matching student ability with the right grade level curriculum will also decrease student helplessness of solving the mystery. I usually use them as a whole class exercise. Students are allowed to collaborate and we usually go over the puzzle, so that every student feels included. When a student asks, I will give clues – leading questions or statements – that might help them to accurately solve the current clue.

Rasinski’s Word Ladders may still be used as a game. Students are usually motivated to solve the clues within each ladder to complete the puzzle. Many students like the competition of seeing who can solve the puzzle first. The puzzles may be a hard challenge for struggling students, when given as a whole class assignment. Allowing student collaboration usually eases the frustration. Some of that will depend how the puzzle(s) are used.

Teachers use Rasinski’s form of the puzzle to strengthen student spelling, written comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, oral language and or motivation to participate in literacy activities. These puzzles might be used in the regular class at grade-level to increase student knowledge of the previously noted. These puzzles might also be used as an intervention for student who are struggling with vocabulary knowledge or the other mentioned benefits.

Why Teach Spelling?

Spelling knowledge is a gateway to higher student achievement in literacy. Individuals begin learning how to spell, as they begin manipulating sounds. Individuals begin to encode words as they begin writing symbols that represent sounds. Individuals are not initially wired to encode words they must be taught how the sounds are represented in print – for any language.

Spelling instruction enables students to become better skilled at decoding and encoding written words, which usually increases student reading fluency. Students also increase their lexicon, building depth and width of knowledge about different subjects. Students also increase their ability to write and use higher level words within their writing. Students also build or strengthen their synthesizing skills and become more self-assured.

Spelling instruction should encompass several different components that are known to increase student retention of how individual words are spelled. These different components assist students in completing “word studies” of how words are encoded. Spelling instruction should increase in complexity as students grow academically—moving in a systematic, sequential manner. Spelling instruction should include the following components:

• Phonology – “the study of spoken sounds (phonemes)—rules of how sounds are encoded, such as why these sounds follow this pattern to form this sound(s). Individuals should have phoneme awareness skills before learning how to read. This is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulated individuals sounds in spoken words. Phoneme awareness is part of phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the ability to process and manipulate letter sounds, rhyming words, and segmenting of sounds within words. The study of phonology usually increases student ability to spell, pronounce, and comprehend written words” (Ray, 2019).

• Morphology – the study of the smallest units of meaning. Word analysis helps students understand how the smallest units of meaning dictate a word meaning. The word meaning determines spelling pattern. Morphology increases student lexicon and comprehension abilities of both oral and written language.

• Syllabification or syllable knowledge – how words are divided into different chunks or parts. There are six major syllable types in the English language. Understanding how words are divided into syllables usually increases student decoding and encoding skills. Syllable knowledge also increases the accuracy of language pronunciation and comprehension.

  • Orthography – the rules of how letters form written words. The internal structure of a word in print. Encoding words requires knowledge of how the letters and letter patterns of a word dictate its sound and meaning. In some cases, the same sound within words is generated by different letters, for example the long /ā/ sound is generated using these different letters or combination of letters:
  • -eigh (weigh)
  • ai (rain)
  • a – e (cake)
  • a
  • ei (vein)
  • -ay (stay)

Another example is the letter k that uses different single or combination of letters to create the /k/ sound, for example:

  • c (cut)
  • ck (back, chick)
  • k (kick)
  • ke (bake)
  • Orthography Mapping – “the mental process we use to store words for immediate, effortless, retrieval. It requires phoneme proficiency and letter-sound proficiency, as well as the ability to unconsciously or consciously make connections between the oral sound in spoken words and the letters in written words.” (Redding, 2023, slide 6). Instruction in orthography usually leads to faster retrieval of how words are spelled, which typically increases student reading fluency rates. Students memorize the letter layout of words and store them to be retrieved for later use—sight words.
  • Etymology – the study of word origins. English is deprived of many different languages that may have different rules of how letters are ordered within a word to create the same sounds. For example, words of the German or Latin language use different letters to form the same sounds of different origin. Some languages are more transparent than other languages. English is less transparent than other languages.

Students often resist being taught purposeful lessons about how to accurately encode letters into the “right” word. Students usually show less resistance to spelling instruction when it is embedded within other lessons.

Spelling should be taught systematically and explicitly. Students begin learning how to spelling written words through oral language. Students increase their knowledge of how to spell words when they begin bridging their oral language to written letters or combination of letters.

References

Redding, N. (2023). The importance of spelling instruction. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA).

Ray, J (2019). Structured literacy teacher, instructional knowledge. The Literacy Brain. https://theliteracybrain.com/category/structure-literacy-instruction/page/2/

Rosenberg, D. (2023). The forgotten skills needed for literacy success: spelling and handwriting. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA), Wilson Language Training.

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) Phonics Instructional Theory, Part II

This is Part 2 of a two-part blog on the phonics instructional theory of Anna Gillingham and Bessie Stillman (1956). The first part was published on this platform (The Literacy Brain) on July 5, 2023. There are eight linkages or steps to their theory of teaching phonics. I wrote about the history of their theory and linkages one and two in Blog 1. Gillingham and Stillman suggest that these steps should be used as initial instruction during Grades 1 and 2 and remedial instruction in Grade 3.

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) instructional method involves the close association of components that form a language triangle. These components are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These components work together to record information in the brain.

An additional note about linkage two, which is about how to properly write graphemes. Gillingham and Stillman (1956) emphasized the importance of proper penmanship. They stated that “no symbol is really serviceable for easy writing until it can be formed without visual supervision” (p. 41). Tracing letters may take place for several weeks before students begin to write them on their own. Writing letters incorrectly lends to poor writing and spelling.

The third step asks the teacher to show the student a grapheme (visual) of a letter and asks the student to name (auditory) the grapheme. Occasionally, the teacher moves (kinesthetic) the student’s hand to form the letter. The student is not supposed to watch the process, but name (auditory) the letter that his hand was guided to form. The teacher asks the student, what sound (auditory) does this letter make? Student needs to know both the visual and kinesthetic feel of a letter.

During the fourth linkage, the teacher asks the student to write (auditory/kinesthetic) the grapheme (auditory/visual) for a spoken sound, like d for /d/.

In step five, the teacher shows (visual) the student the grapheme from Step 3 and asked them to stated what it says (its sound) (auditory). The teacher moves (kinesthetic) the student’s hand to form the letter, while the student looks away and says (auditory) the sound of the letter that his hand was guided to form. The teacher asks the student, what sound (auditory) does this letter make?

In step six, the teacher states (auditory) a grapheme.  Then the student states the phoneme of the teacher stated letter or groups of letters. This is an exercise of auditory recall, along with the connection of auditory and kinesthetic.

In step seven, the teacher says (auditory) a phoneme and the student states (auditory) the name of the grapheme. This is similar to Linkage 6 in how the brain is processing the information.

In linkage eight, the teacher states a phoneme (auditory) and the student writes (kinesthetic) down the grapheme (visual) of the phoneme. Students should practice this step with and without looking at their paper. The student should name the letter(s) as they write the symbol(s) for the sound.

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) suggest that linkages of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are less important than linkages 5, 7 and 8. They stated that the latter steps of their phonics instructional theory require daily practice. They also discussed that teacher observation will assist them to provide or repeat other necessary instructional steps. Students are building connections between the graphemes and phonemes during the steps of the instructional process. In step five, students are translating the written symbol(s) in to the symbol’s phoneme. In linkage seven, students are listening to a sound and naming the written symbol(s) for the sound heard. This is done orally. In linkage eight student are translating from an oral sound to a written symbol or letter. Students who struggle with any of these tasks (linkages 1-7) usually have a language deficit.

References

Gillingham, A, & Stillman, B. (1956). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Cambridge: Education Publication Service, Inc.

 

The Necessary Components of Learning How to Spelling

Writing is often hard for students. Writing in general requires a higher level of cognitive skills. Writing requires students to synthesize known information. This is easier to accomplish orally. Individuals often speak (especially young children) at a higher cognitive level than they can write. Oral language is usually developed naturally through one’s environment, whereas writing words on paper requires instruction. Students often orally convey their thoughts in fragments, whereas most thoughts on paper must be put into complete sentences. One piece of the writing pie is correctly spelling or encoding words on paper. Students will often use lower-level words that they might be able to spell correctly. Students who struggle in spelling words correctly usually avoid writing words on paper. This is when creative instruction needs to be brought in play.

English is not a transparent language; it has stable rules and many exceptions to those stable rules. In transparent languages like, Finish or Italian the graphemes and phonemes are more consistent, with little expectations of the graphemes changing sounds within words. English is derived from multiple languages. Most American English words are derived from Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon languages. These languages have stable rules that can be learned through studying letter-sound correspondences, syllable patterns and morpheme patterns. When a student knows where the word is derived from and the “rules” of that language assist in spelling the word accurately.  Webster brought more constancy in how we spell American English, while he creating the first instructional spelling books in the early 1800s.

Spelling requires students to know about phonology, orthography, and morphology to correctly encode a word. Phonology is the study of the sounds of letters that develop words. Students need to know the one-on-one grapheme-phoneme correspondences of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. During the study of phonology students begin learning how each letter may change its sound depending upon where the letter is placed in a word. Students should know these norms by Grade 2. They will use this information throughout their lifetime.

Orthography is the “rules” of how words are spelled within a language. The rules dictate if a letter will remain a one-on-one correspondence or change based on other letters within a word. Orthography is the visual representation or graphemes that represent words spoken orally. Students should have background knowledge of the “norms” of how letter placement creates the sounds of words. Orthographic knowledge increases student lexicon, which increases student reading fluency.

Morphology is the study of the meaning of the smaller parts of words, such as re- meaning again and -ing meaning an action. These different parts usually dictate its meaning. Students need to know the meaning of how something is spelled as American English has many words that are spelled differently, but sound the same (homophones).

Phonology, orthography, and morphology should be taught simultaneously. Phonemic awareness or oral language ability is the prerequisite in which these vital elements of learning how to decode and encode words is built upon. Some students will need to review some or all of the parts of phonemic awareness to effectively learn how to decode and encode words. Decoding is an easier skill for most students to grasp and use, than encoding words. Each of these components of learning how to spell words correctly increases with complexity as students mature. Teaching lessons about semantics along with lessons of morphology, usually increases student ability to effectively spell words that convey a more accurate meaning. These components are part of the Structured Literacy Method of effectively teaching students how to read and write.

References

Redding, Nancy. (2023). The Importance of Spelling Instruction. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA).

Rosenberg, Dee. (2023). The Forgotten Skills Needed for Literacy Success: Spelling and Handwriting. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA), Wilson Language Training.

 

 

 

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) Theory of Teaching Reading-Phonics

During the 1950s, there was much debate over which reading instructional methods were the most effective for teaching students how to read. The debate remains the same today, phonics or whole word. Gillingham and Stillman’s theory (1956) of teaching students how to read suggests that all students should be taught literacy using her phonics instructional method. They state that students should receive this type of instruction as preventive measure in Grades 1 and 2. Teaching students how to read was not emphasized until Grade 1 in the 1950s. Today educators begin teaching students how to read in pre-kindergarten/kindergarten. They also stated that this method should be used for remedial instruction beginning in Grade 3. In the 1950s most students were not identified as behind until Grade 3. Today we can begin to identify students as young as pre-kindergarten. If all students were taught to read beginning in pre-kindergarten/kindergarten using a phonological instructional method less students would need to be remediated.

Gillingham began her work in the field of dyslexia or with students struggling to learn how to read under the direction of Dr. Orton a pathologist who studied individuals with brain issues. Students who struggled at learning how to read were referred to Dr. Orton for evaluation. These students were often of higher IQ, with normal sight, and functioned “normally” other than not being able to learn how to read. Most of Gillingham’s work centered on how to effectively teach this type of student how to read. Stillman was a classroom teacher that worked with Gillingham to formulate how to teach students struggling to learn how to read. She also discovered that all students benefited from being taught using her phonics instructional method.

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) believed that remedial students did not learn reading skills through the normal route of instruction. Gillingham and Stillman found that students who were placed in remedial classes often had normal or higher levels of intelligence but were struggling with the acquisition of reading skills. Gillingham and Stillman noted that remedial students often have “normal sensory acuity, both visual and auditory” (p. 20).  They argued that remedial students need to be taught by a trained remediation teacher who can present alternative methods in learning how to read.  When the same students are taught using the phonics method, for example, the results are vastly different. Gillingham and Stillman noted that students who are provided with remediation for four or five years have a greater chance in improving their reading skills.  Students who are remediated early in their school career will often not have memories of failing to learn to read. Students who are remediated early will usually be more confident in their reading abilities and in learning other subjects.

Gillingham and Stillman’s Phonic Instructional Theory

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) stated that students should first be taught the grapheme-phoneme or letter-sound correspondences, followed by the encoding of phonemes to form words. She stated that whole word instruction cannot take the place of “word-building” or phonics instruction. One student stated that “Until I had these Phonic Drill Cards, I never knew that the letters in a word had anything to do with pronouncing it” (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956, p. 39).  Gillingham and Stillman’s method involves the close association of components that form a language triangle. These components are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These components work together to record information in the brain.

The first step or linkage is letter-sound correspondence instruction (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956). Students are taught the name of the written symbol (visual), then the sound (auditory) of the written symbol while looking (visual) at the written letter. Students are also taught to feel (kinesthetic) their vocal cords to understand how their body is producing the associated sound. Gillingham and Stillman stated that there is not a set order that letters must be taught. It is suggested that letters should be introduced beginning “with unequivocal sounds and non-reversible forms” (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956, p. 44). She also suggested that teachers should have a plan to follow for the introduction of new symbols.

The teacher first models each process, then completes the tasks with the student, before the student is ask to complete the task independently. Emphasis is placed on learning the correct pronunciation of each letter phoneme, which is modeled by the teacher. Gillingham and Stillman (1956) discussed that teachers should study the correct pronunciation of each letter sound, using pictures that show the correct pronunciation-mouth, tongue, and teeth position. They suggested that each grapheme should be introduced with a “key word” that models the correct pronunciation of the symbol in the initial letter position, like /b/ bear. Students practice correspondences until they become fluid in each letter-sound correspondence. Today we know that phonological awareness plays a major role in students learning the correct pronunciation of each letter sound.

The second step or linkage is learning how to write (kinesthetic) the symbols (visual) of the learned sounds (auditory). The teacher models how to write the symbol; how to hold a writing utensil, where to begin, where to end, etc. Students then trace over the teacher’s model of how to write the symbol. When students become fluid in how to correctly form the symbol through tracing, then they begin copying the symbol on their own.

There are six more steps in Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) phonic instructional theory, which will be addressed in future blogs.

References

Gillingham, A, & Stillman, B. (1956). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Cambridge: Education Publication Service, Inc.

Gillingham, A. (1955). The prevention of scholastic failure due to specific language disability, part I. Bronxville: N.Y. Academy of Medicine.

 

 

Has reading instruction really changed in the last 200 years?

Has reading instruction really changed in the last 200 years? Webster’s main push was to unify an American literacy curriculum that was different from the literacy curriculum used in the mother country of England; the current push is to unify reading curriculum through national standards in reading. Webster utilized phonics within his reading curriculum; phonics is still a major portion of reading instruction today. Educators have been pushed and pulled in different directions regarding reading instruction, with the goal that every child will be blessed with the gift of reading. This national effort is a laborious undertaking, because each child is unique and reaches the school door with a different learning style, different learning challenges, and a different home environment. Over the last 200 years, there have been changes to accommodate the needs of a growing society in learning to read, despite a dependence on old ideals.

Webster (1843) saw language as a way of conveying one’s thoughts and feelings from one person to the other. Webster thought that America needed ownership of their own language, a simpler language to read and write apart from the language of the “mother country” of England (preface, 1790, p. x,). Webster noted, “America must be as independent in literature as in politics, as famous for its arts as for arms; and it is not impossible but a person of my youth may have some influence in exciting a spirit of literary industry” (as cited in Blinderman, 1976, p. 32). Utilizing British grammar as a model, Webster wrote an America version of language and spelling instruction called A Grammatical Institute of the English Language in 1783.  Webster would continue to improve his methods of teaching language and spelling until his death.

Webster (1790) saw that the strength of the United States was dependent on the education of its youth; his patriotism led him to remold the education of young people, noting that no person, regardless of their social economic status, cultural heritage, or sex, should be excluded from educational opportunities. He saw language arts as the center piece of educating youth, adding moral issues, science, history, government, and the arts to the curriculum. As Webster’s curricula progressed, he introduced other subjects into standard teaching lessons, and this curriculum was the beginning of an instructional approach to teaching subjects separately and purposefully.

Webster (1843) also saw a need to improve the separate entities of language, spoken and written. He simplified and regulated the spelling of words, utilizing didactical marks for punctuation; this method improved student ability to spell and to pronounce words. Webster also noted that spoken language involved the correct articulation of words, utilizing an intricate team of the throat, tongue, palate, teeth, and lips. Teachers were looked upon to model correct articulation and to correct students on the spot in order to ensure correct articulation of words spoken or read. A student’s body language was seen as a part of how words were articulated correctly. Written language was the part committed to paper, written to communicate a variety of thoughts, and to be utilized in a global sense that could be transported from place to place.

Webster (1843) believed that grammar made logical sense of words and provided the rules for both spoken and written language. Webster also saw grammar as the science of organizing words together, utilizing firm rules that were seen as a model of organized language in order to communicate effectively. Webster saw four major parts to grammar: orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody.

“Orthography treats of the letters, their powers and combinations in syllables; or, it teaches the true manner of writing words, called spelling. Etymology treats of derivation of words from their radicals or primitives, and of their various inflections and modifications to express person, number, case, sex, time and mode. Syntax explains the true mode of constructing sentences. Prosody treats of the quantity or accent of syllables and the laws of versification (p.7).”

Each portion of the language puzzle was taught in a “systematic, sequential, letter-based, and learned by rote—would not be challenged until 1820’s” (Monaghan, E. J., 2010, p. 4, para. 4).

Webster (1790) felt so strongly about the need to improve education in the United States that he shifted from his role as a lawyer to an educator in order to devote his energy to the transformation of the reading curriculum in America. To protect his own writings, Webster helped to develop the copyright laws, holding the first copyright of a book; these laws ensured that the money from the sales of publishing through his efforts to develop, improve, print, advertise, and distribute would be protected and placed in his hands. He standardized orthography, spelling, articulation, and other portions of grammar in America, leaving heavy footprints within the reading curriculum and instruction of today.

References

Blinderman, A. (1976). Three early champions of education: benjamin franklin, benjamin rush, and noah webster. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa Ed. Foundation.

Monaghan, E. J., Ed. (2010).  Noah webster (1758-1843) – webster’s innovations, perfecting the spelling book for reading instruction, other works. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2544/Webster-1758-1843.html.

Webster, N. (1800). A grammatical institute of the English language; comprising an easy, concise, and systematic method of education. Boston: Thomas & Andrews.

Webster, N. (1814). An American selection of lessons in reading and speaking: calculate to improve the minds and refine the taste of youth. Philadelphia: Hogan.

Webster, N. (1843). An improved grammar of the English language.  New York: Webster & Clark.

Webster, N. (1790). Collection of essays and fugitive writings on moral, historical, political and literary subjects. Boston: Fauet’s Statue.

 

Relieve Student Stress—Teach Spelling

The stress and anxiety that students often feel when they are trying to spell words without the proper tools usually diminishes when students learn how the letters work together to form words of meaning. Students begin learning the sounds of letters and words as they begin mimicking the conversations of their environment. Students begin learning the rules of how letters are encoded into words through their daily interactions with people and their environment. Some letter phonemes are consistent, some phonemes or chunks of words are influenced by other letters within the word. Parents and educators often model how to orally sound out words to provide students the opportunity to mimic words and learn a new tool. This tool usually assists students to more accurately pronounce words. This is called phonological awareness, which is defined as “a reading skill that involves a range of understandings related to the sounds of words and word parts, including identifying and manipulating larger parts of spoken language such as words, syllables, and onset and rime. (Ray, 2017, pp. 13-14).

Students build on the foundation of phonological awareness when they begin to attach graphemes to the spoken sounds. This is when students begin learning letter-sound correspondences. Letter-sound correspondences is the second pillar of structure literacy (Ray, 2020, p. 38). Some graphemes are constant, some have variances that are dependent on how the letters are placed within a word. The rules of how letters influence other letters within a word is identified as phonics. Ray (2017) defines phonics as:

A form of instruction that cultivates the understanding and use of the alphabet, which emphasizes the predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds in spoken language) and graphemes (the letters that represent those sounds in written language) and shows how this information can be used to read or decode words.” (p. 13)

There are many ways to teach how the letters are encoded to develop words. One type of instruction that may strengthen student sound-letter correspondences and how letters may change individual letter phonemes during the primary grades is to write the symbol(s) that represent the individual sounds of a word. Students begin to understand how letters change their individual sounds based on where they are placed in a word. There are many benefits of teaching students the letter-sound correspondences, such as improved spelling and comprehension. This practice should be taught throughout a student’s formal education, beginning when they start encoding or writing down the graphemes to build words. The complexity of how the letters create different sounds and words increases with each grade-level.

The following is an example of how I often model/instruct later primary students to examine the relationships of phonemes and graphemes. These students usually can read the words that they are examining.

Sound out the word gym.

What letter sounds do you hear?            /___/   /___/   /___/

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                   ____   ____   ____

 

Sound out the word gym.

What letter sounds do you hear?              / j /   / i /   / m /

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                        g       y       m

 

another example:

Sound out the word tardy.

What letter sounds do you hear?                / t /   / ä /   / r /   / d /   / e /

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                          t       a       r       d      y

I usually use spelling words that students are expected to know how to spell at their particular grade level.

Educators might use a different format for teaching students at different grade-levels or complexities of words. When systematic, direct, explicit instruction is used students usually learn the “rules” of how letter placement affects the sounds of words and the spelling of words that are new or hard become natural. When teaching spelling you are essentially teaching all of the pillars of structured literacy (phonemic awareness→letter-sound correspondences→syllables→ morphology→ syntax→semantics).

References

Ray, J. S. (2020). Structured Literacy Supports All Learners: Students At-Risk of Literacy Acquisition – Dyslexia and English Learners. Texas Association for Literacy Education Yearbook, Vol. 7, pp. 37-43.

Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

 

Scaffolding of Writing

Learning how to write is often hard, cumbersome. Individuals do not come preprogrammed to write. Writing words onto paper begins with learning how to speak. Toddlers learn to string words into sentences through the layers of their environment. The immediate layer (home) is usually the most influential. Toddlers’ sentences may also be influenced through books read to them. Children may also be influenced by exposure of different media sources and people’s conversation in the production of spoken sentences. Many students struggle in how to put their spoken words onto paper.

Writing is a higher cognitive processing order and is often very laborious for students. Students usually learn how to write through (explicit, modeled) instruction and many hours of practice. Using writing topics that spark students’ intrinsic motivation usually eases the process. There are many different types or styles of writing that may also spark students’ motivation to write. Using tangible scaffolds may also assist students’ motivation to participate in the writing process.

Scaffolding instruction means, providing “a supportive instructional structure that teachers use to provide the appropriate mechanisms for a student to complete a task that is beyond their unassisted abilities” (Ray, 2017, p.14). van de Pol, Volman, & Beishuizen (2010) suggests that there are three levels of scaffolding instruction-contingency, fading, and transfer of responsibility. The type of mechanism to use for scaffolding instruction or completion of an assignment will depend on the task and the student. During the contingency stage of instruction teachers will usually adjust and model completion of task to meet the learning needs of the current student(s). During the fading stage of instruction students are beginning to complete assignments on their own with some assistance from students or teachers of higher cognitive abilities. Students do not own the ability to complete the task effectively without some assistance at this stage. At times the assistance may come in the way of a scaffolding mechanism that may not be a human, such as a graphic organizer or chart. Often how to use the mechanism is taught during the contingency phase of the scaffolding process. Some mechanisms that might be used during writing instruction include:

  • assistance in developing a descriptive word list to use for writing a passage
  • graphs
  • suggesting types of sentences to write in this section
  • sentence stems
  • writing different parts of a writing piece as separate tasks
  • discussions related to the topic
  • examples of appropriate sentences to include in their writing. I like to use appropriate sentences provided by other students as examples. Student may use these sentences or develop their own.

The final stage of the scaffolding process, transfer of responsibility implies that a student is able to complete the task without assistance, such as produce an organized, cohesive paragraph about a suggested topic or write a sentence using the correct punctuation.

Scaffolds usually increase student motivation and decrease stress and anxiety. Scaffolds often allow students to focus on smaller pieces of the task. Scaffolds are meant to be temporary and should be removed as student gains more ownership in the ability to accomplish the goal. Students often move back and forth between the different stages of the scaffolding process until they reach full ownership of a task. Each student will have different patterns of movement through the scaffolding stages, often dependent on the initial instruction given, background knowledge of student, and student abilities.

References

Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: A decade of research. Education Psychology Review, 22, 271-296. doi:10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6.

The Essential Components and Teacher Education of RTI

A valid response to intervention (RTI) program provides the necessary support and instruction to students who are struggling to maintain appropriate grade-level expectations for reading and math. The program provides different layers of more intense, focus instruction based on individual student’s learning needs. The program was first mandated in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002 by United States Congress. RTI was also mandated in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 2004. The mandate remained a part of the policy when NCLB was updated and renewed under the name of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2017. This act was put into place to provide students who lag behind their fellow classmates support earlier in their formal educational career, with the hope of alleviating special education services. It was also determined that the earlier students were supported the less emotional trauma students would endure and the less financial burden individuals would be to the educational process and society.

Essential Components of RTI

The major components of a valid response to intervention (RTI) program are rather simple. How the components are developed or formed and maintained to accommodate the students present increases the complexity of the program. Each program should include three major components: (a) systematic assessment measures-screenings, diagnostic, and progress-monitoring, (b) research-based instruction taught sequentially and at times taught explicitly to meet the educational needs of all present students-instruction in the regular classroom, supplemental and more intensive instruction, and (c) use of current student data to form student instructional lessons. Each program should also have a mode of communication within its infrastructure. Communication that flows between all entities of the RTI program. Each program will seem similar, but different.

Essential Teacher Knowledge

Teachers of a successful RTI program should have the following knowledge and skills: (a) literacy development and instruction, (b) how to use data to inform instruction, (c) how to differentiate instruction, (d) how to collaborate, (e) be a lifelong learner, (f) how to use interpersonal and communication skills, and (g) how to use necessary technology (Bean & Lillenstein, 2012). Teachers should also be knowledgeable about how to use various types of assessments, such as progress monitoring, curriculum-based, and universal screens.

The leadership team of an RTI program is responsible for the oversight and direction of professional develop opportunities related to RTI. The campus coordinator usually heads the leadership team and is often a reading specialist. This person is often the liaison between the district and school. The leadership team should be knowledgeable about teachers current instructional abilities and education. The leadership team should also know what types of on-going teacher professional develop that should take place in order to maintain an effective RTI program. Research suggests that on-going professional develop of a successful RTI program should include the following: (a) systemic curriculum, (b) effective instruction, (c) direct instruction, (d) specified instructional materials, (e) key instructional components, (f) CBM assessments, (g) videos and/or observations of classroom instruction, (h) data graphed against goals, (i) student progress monitored monthly, and (j) decisions regarding curriculum and instruction based on data (Kashima et al., 2009). Professional learning can take place in a variety of different venues, such as one-on-one with district personnel or in a seminar format (White et al., 2012). The leadership team of an RTI program should also be knowledgeable about current research and resources related to effective intervention curriculum and instruction. RTI is a living breathing model that must remain flexible to meet the learning needs of their current students.

References

Bean, R. & Lillenstein, J. (2012). Response to intervention and the changing roles of schoolwide personnel. The Reading Teacher, 65(7), 491-501. doi: 10.1002/TRTR.01073

Kashima, Y., Schleich, B., & Spradlin, T. (2009). The core components of RTI: A closer look at leadership, parent involvement, and cultural responsivity. Center for Evaluation & Education Policy, 1-11.

White, R., Polly, D. & Audette, R. (2012).  A case analysis of an elementary school’s implementation of response to intervention. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 26, 73-90.  doi: 10.1080/02568543.2011.632067

 

 

The Benefits of Determining and Addressing Students Literacy Needs – Early

Students of all economic and cultural backgrounds arrive at institutions of formal education assuming that educators will be able to teach them how to effectively read and write. Some will have the knowledge of letter-sound correspondences, some will have knowledge of how to hold a pencil and write. Some will know how to read. Some will have good oral language skills. Some will have good social emotional skills. Some will show up without any of the previous skills. They will be all put into the same classroom. The teacher is expected to meet the learning needs of all students throughout the day.

There are tools that teachers should have available to ease the “craziness” of having 20-25 students that are all at different levels of learning and social behavior. One tool is universal screening of early or foundational literacy knowledge and skills. Universal screenings are very short probes to determine which students may lack the necessary skills to be successful in their current grade. These screenings usually assist in determining which students may need additional small group or one-on-one instruction to learn foundational learning skills. These screenings also assist in determining students who might need further diagnostic assessment and different instruction for various learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. These short probes are usually used in partnership of teacher observation and completed assignments to increase the validity of the universal screening outcomes.

These probes should begin in kindergarten, and the findings a focus of instruction during Grades K-3. The earlier a student(s) learning needs or lack of knowledge and skills are address the less the student(s) will struggle. Students who receive earlier intervention instruction usually skip the deep emotional scars. Left unmeet these students usually spend their time clawing their way through their day, trying to avoid the shame of not be able to fully participate. Often students just need a few weeks of intense instruction in kindergarten. I have yet to meet a student who didn’t want to function at grade-level with their peers.

The types of probes are dependent on student age and ability. A student in kindergarten should be assessed in phonemic awareness and rapid automatic naming skills. A student in Grade 2 should be assessed in some of the previous probes along with word reading of both regular and pseudonym words. These are usually given three times a year within an instructional response to intervention (RTI) model* that focuses on academics-literacy and math. The probes and intervention instruction begin to separate students with true learning disabilities from those who didn’t gain or learn the foundational skills necessary before entering the formal educational setting. This also ensures that students with true disabilities receive more accurate instruction and assistance earlier than later for their disability.

Students who receive explicit, direct instruction in Grades K-2 for the lacking foundational literacy skills usually “catch-up” to grade level expectation and maintain their intervention gains. Some students will need assistance throughout their formal academic instruction. Students who receive the right academic intervention instruction will avoid many latter social emotional issues. The cost to society and formal education escalates, as students maturate and cannot effectively participate at their grade-level. The earlier students’ lack of foundational skills is addressed; the less funding is needed to bring up them up to grade-level. Students’ brains are more malleable during their younger years.

* Each RTI model should be different, but similar in nature to reflect the students’ academic learning needs and the resources available. All RTI models will have tiers or levels of instruction. Most RTI models in Grades K-4 focus on developing reading skills. Some RTI models may focus on behavior. Behavior focused RTI models may assist in determining the learning levels of students, as behavior often signals a lack of academic skills necessary to function at grade-level. Once the academic needs are meet the behavior issues usually melt away.

In my next blog, I will describe the necessary components and teacher education of a successful RTI program.

References

Moll, K., Georgii, B. J., Tunder, R., & Schulte-Kӧrne (2022). Economic evaluation of dyslexia intervention. Dyslexia, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1728

Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826

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