writing – The Literacy Brain

Who is Responsible for Tier 2 and 3 Instruction?

Is it the responsibility of the regular classroom teacher to teach Tier 2 and 3 instructional lessons in the regular classroom? This is usually dependent on resources and school’s structure of the response to intervention (RTI) model for reading. Some schools have multiple learning opportunities for Tier 2 and 3 instruction outside of the classroom. Some schools may have push-in assistance for students with an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) for literacy instruction. Tier 2 instruction is usually taught in small groups, two or three times a week for 30 minutes. A student who receives Tier 3 instruction often has an IEP and is taught in a one-to-one group setting, five times a week for 30 minutes. Some schools will not have pull-out or push-in programs.

There is not enough instructional time to teach both regular grade-level and Tier 2 and 3 instructional lessons for literacy in the regular classroom. Some classroom schedules allow for “intervention time”, which is often when Tier 2 and 3 students are pulled out of the classroom. The schedule is usually dictated by administration. There may be some wiggly room, but often not. Tier 2 and 3 instruction should be taught in a systematic manner close to student zone of personal development (ZPD). Often part of Tier 2 and 3 instructional needs are be met through scaffolded instruction and short one-on-one conversations about a current task that helps them in completing the current task. The short conversations are usually closer to student ZPD. Each student has different instructional needs. Some students show that they are not functioning at grade-level on paper, but they may be able to orally complete the task at grade-level. Students who are English second language learners are often not able to participate orally or on paper. Some students are missing prerequisites; others may need more practice.

As a classroom teacher, your core responsibility is to teach grade-level subject matter and skills. Most skills can be scaffolded to meet the learning needs of all students. The scaffolding may happen in both directions. Higher level students need some stimulation to keep their intrinsic motivation going.

For instance, if you are going to teach a lesson on writing Haiku poems. Think about the underlining skills or prerequisites that a student must know before they can write a Haiku poem on their own. If you have taught this lesson or a similar type lesson before, you should know the students that will need help to accomplish the assignment. Think about how you might incorporate scaffolds to assist them in accomplishing the task more on their own. Scaffolding is meant to be a temporary help until student can accomplish the new task on their own. A student may need the scaffold for multiple years or just one time. You may need to change the type of scaffolding, as the student moves more towards ownership of the task. See my July 7, 2021 blog post for more information about scaffolding.

Below are some possible ways that students may need help or scaffolding during a Haiku poem writing exercise:

spelling – depending on the age of the student they might use a personal or class dictionary. Some students may need help finding words in a dictionary. Some students may need a reminder about how to sound out words. Some students may need assistance with phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Their classmates might also be a resource that they can use.
coming up with a topic—dictate the topic or offer topic choices. This gives student power to choose. Or brainstorm with the whole class to conclude a topic.
words to include in their poem—brainstorm words in small groups or whole class. Write down the words, so they may use the list as a reference. Students might asked their neighbors. Students often like to read their renditions to their neighbors for approval, before reading it aloud to the class.
Formatting—The poem structure relies on syllables and lines. Provide a template, give all students the option of using one.
counting syllables—students may need a refresher on how to determine the number of syllables. Some may need additional help/practice during the writing process.
formatting letters—students may need letter formation modeled or a reminder question about upper- and lower-case letters.
writing words on paper—often students can write orally, but struggle to write words on paper. Write down the words and have them copy the words, if possible.
early finishers—write a second poem or draw a picture depicting their poem.

This is not an exhausted list of the types of scaffolds that students might need for writing a Haiku poem. Scaffolding is a delicate, precise process.

Students enter the classroom at different levels, meeting them at their ZPD is often complex.

References

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

Wanzek, J. & Vaughn, S. (2010). Tier 3 interventions for students with significant reading problems. Theory Into Practice, 49, 305-314. doi: 10.1080/00405841.2010.510759

Dyslexia, Gift of Words

The original thought was that all dyslexic students were highly intelligent, but struggled at processing written language. Many individuals with dyslexia taught themselves how to read, usually during their adolescent and adult years (Hinshelwood, 1917). Students with a lower IQ were usually placed in special education or deemed mentally retarded. Today, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) we know that any student at any level of intelligence can have dyslexia. Educators like Gillingham and Stillman (1956) believed that students can be screened to learn who has dyslexia and receive instruction targeted at their particular learning needs during the primary school years. Many states now have educational laws recognizing dyslexia as a learning disability. Some dyslexic students will still fall through the cracks of getting the proper supports. Many dyslexic students adopt the notion that they are stupid. Although, most are gifted. Dyslexic individuals usually think outside of the box. They can usually visualize an object in 3-D and spin-it-around. The types of supports students receive within their environment usually determines their literacy outcomes.

The following palindrome poem was written by a 10-year-old dyslexic student in Rebecca Brown’s classroom and posted on Twitter, February 27, 2019.

Dyslexia by AO

I am stupid.

Nobody would ever say

I have a talent for words.

I was meant to be great

That is wrong.

I am a failure.

Nobody could ever convince me to think that

I can make it in life.

Now read up⇑

Book Reading Activities

COVID-19 temporarily changed how we live our daily lives, in particular how we educate our youth. Most schools have gone to a “long-distant”, digital format to continue providing instruction and practice for students to continue their formal education. Students have more time to read and should be making this a top priority. This is one of the most important educational practices a student can do during this time. Students should be reading novels or books that have longer story lines. Students should be reading books closer to their reading ability. Many educational sites are offering free downloads of novels for students to read. Most school sites also have books that can be downloaded or read on-line. Students who are not used to reading written words on electronic devices may struggle at reading and processing the written words. So, this may make the process of reading and comprehending written words slower than normal.

The following options are possible exercises that students can do at home to increase reading achievement. Most of these options can be used with either non-fiction or fiction books. These practices usually increase student knowledge and cognition. The exercise of reading continues to strengthen and develop brain connections that increase student literacy abilities. These “brain muscles” should have regular exercise.

Keep a journal about what they have read each day or time they read. This journal can include pictures that convey a character or passage of what they have read.
Write a summary of each chapter, four to eight sentences. Writing a paragraph that has a topic sentence followed by detail sentences or sentences that describe the details of the chapter, and a conclusion sentence about the chapter.
Write a summary of the book. This summary should include details about the beginning, middle, and end. The amount of details that should be included in the summary will be different at each stage of the maturation process. Students can also include details about the major characters and pictures about the different settings and characters, etc.
Draw a picture of your favorite character(s). Students should include four or five colors to express the character. The process is especially helpful for younger students. I have taught many older students who also enjoy this process. Older students should be held accountable for writing about the picture. I often have students write a paragraph.
Described the main character(s). Students might describe what they look like, what the character(s)enjoy, what they don’t like, and how the character(s) spend their time.
Described the setting of the story. Students might describe one setting or several settings of a novel. Students might include pictures and written words to describe the setting of the story. Some of the information displayed by the students may be inferred information. This means that each written description or picture may be different, as we all have different backgrounds of knowledge.
Draw a picture of the setting or favorite scene in the book.
Describe the problem or climax of the book. This is something that not every student can grasp, some may need discussion to fully comprehend or pinpoint the problem or climax of the book.
Face-time (or contact through an electronic device) a relative, classmate, or friend to describe the plot of the story, character, chapter, etc.
Buddy read; this can be accomplished in different formats. Younger students can read aloud to higher level siblings, older students can read aloud to younger students. Students can read the same book, using an electronic device or a phone.
Read to a pet. Most students love to read to a pet.
Read aloud to self. This engages the hearing and well as the visual senses to process the written words. This is especially helpful to early or struggling readers.
Discuss what your reading with a classmate, parent, friend, or relative. This may need to take place using an electronic device.
Read with a parent. The student and parent take turns reading. They might read either every other line of a story, read every other paragraph of the story, or read every other page of the story. The format is usually dependent on student ability. I prefer reading every other paragraph.
Develop a 3-D model of your favorite setting or part of the book. The 3-D model can be made of play-dough, clay, wood, tin foil, beans, paper, or anything that you may have on hand.