Welcome to Literacy Lane …

Where every child reaches for the stars!

Heart: Teachers Heart: Parents

Reach For The Stars

Encourage responsibility and ownership through STAR binders
Build confidence, community, and fluency through share chairs
Meet individual needs by creating weekly goals and using research – based interventions
Monitor comprehension and progress through weekly conferences
Model skills and reading strategies through teacher read alouds and guided reading
Incorporate student choice along with leveled readers in Book Bins
Increase vocabulary and introduce spelling patterns through meaningful stories, activities, games, and songs
Support wonderful writers by including 6 traits, student choice, and friendly feedback

Together, we will…

Improve the way we read, write, speak, and listen
Become excellent problem solvers
Express ourselves in positive ways
Learn a lot about each other
Feel confident and ready to take on life’s challenges

Happy Reading and Writing! Mrs. Ziegler J

Text Box:

Big Ideas in Beginning Reading

http://reading.uoregon.edu/

Text Box:

Orton-Gillingham Multi-Sensory Method of Language Instruction

http://www.orton-gillingham.com/

http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=491M

Text Box:

Strategies to Help Struggling Readers

I have found that poetry is a powerful tool! Children absolutely love it! What’s even better is that there are poetry books on just about every topic, so your child will be able to find one that he/she really enjoys. Since poems provide so much enjoyment, kids naturally want to read them over and over again. Without knowing it, they are working on fluency, expression, sight words, and a number of other important skills. Check out a book of poetry from your local library and start by reading a poem to your child. Then read it together until they are able to recite it on their own. If it’s a poem your child absolutely loves, have him/her write it in a poetry journal you can keep at home!

Here are a few websites with even more ideas…

Text Box:

http://www.readingrockets.org/helping
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10603
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/reading.html

DIBELS
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. Forest Park is using this benchmark assessment in grades K-5. http://dibels.uoregon.edu/

The ABC’s of Reading

~Anonymous

Ask questions while reading together. "What do you think will happen next?
Buy books as gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or other holidays.
Chat about what is happening in the book and how it relates to everyday life.
Drop everything and read. Set aside 20 minutes a day during which the whole family reads.
Examine book illustrations in detail. Select books that have large, bright pictures.
Find books that interest your child. Make suggestions, but don't turn reading into work.
Give hints when your child gets stuck on a word.
Have fun. Smile and enjoy the story. Read with a slow, relaxed voice and be expressive.
Invite your child to the bookstore. Take time to lounge in the chairs and browse the books.
Join in your child's reading successes. Celebrate every small step with sincere praise.
Kids love to receive mail. Send your child a magazine subscription in an area that interests him or her.
Learn to read with, and not just to, your child daily. Read aloud, share ideas, and answer questions.
Model reading. Share with your child, whether you're reading for information or for entertainment.
Never force your child to read. If you're both too tired or discouraged to read, take a break.
Offer your child a variety of reading materials, such as books, magazines, cereal boxes, comics, and newspapers.
Predict story elements, draw conclusions, and retell the story with your child.
Quiz your child at the end of a story. Informally, of course!
Reread books to familiarize your child with words and to build self-confidence.
Sing songs, recite poetry, and do fingerplays to help develop language and listening skills.
Try to help your child understand that it's okay to make mistakes.
Understand that reading is developmental and that it takes time and practice to become fluent.
Visit your local library on a regular basis. Sign your child up for his or her own library card.
Welcome wordless picture books into your collections. They generate conversation and allow the nonreader to create his or her own stories.
"Xhibit" patience when your child is selecting books. Your support is empowering.
You are the most important person in helping your child develop a lifelong love of reading.
Zealous readers are the result of supportive and nurturing role models.

Heart: Teachers

K-3 Reading Interventions

Florida Center for Reading Research

http://www.fcrr.org

Key Points

No single intervention program stood out ie…there is not “one right way.”

Essential elements of effective interventions include:

Training in phonological awareness, decoding, and word study (or whatever program is being used)
Guided and independent reading of progressively more difficult texts
Writing exercises (reading and writing go together like peanut butter and jelly! J You can’t have one without the other…unless you’re Erich.)
Engaging students in practicing comprehension strategies while reading text (keep your eyes open for a power point on comprehension)
Group size (one-on-one or small group)
Daily or near-daily frequency
Early identification of students in need of intervention (K or 1)

Seven Common Traits Observed in Successful Schools

Strong Leadership
Positive belief and Teacher Dedication
Data Utilization and Analysis
Effective Scheduling
Professional Development
Scientifically Based Intervention Programs (Even though all the research I’ve read does not give one “right way”…in fact, we all know and research states that the teacher is the biggest factor in student motivation and success!)
Parent Involvement

Powerful Early Intervention Strategies to Help Students Struggling with Reading and Writing (Grades K-2)

Joan Aldrich Knight Conference, Neenah , WI

Must have small groups in order to differentiate and meet children’s needs.
Whole class teaching is the LEAST effective teaching strategy.
How children learn never changes no matter how many bandwagons we jump on.
What’s good for kids in K is good for kids in 2^nd grade! J
Let CHILD dictate curriculum.
Brain remembers: color (red is best), pictures, patterns, songs
Effective teaching includes: play, small group work, conversation, multi-sensory experiences, higher level questions, balance, fosters independence.
Daily Trilogy:
Centers (GR groups, free choice, etc. ; change kids as needed)
Stations (GW groups, SSR, Working with Words; mixed ability, same all year)
Themes (Modeled and Shared Reading and Writing; use science and ss topics)
We must have a thread of consistency from grade to grade.

Here are a few ideas how: shift from skill teaching (short shelf life) to strategy teaching (life long)…struggling kids cannot remember skills; use 6+1 traits; universal alphabet and pictures in every classroom; universal picture clues for digraphs and vowels

Running Records/Progress Monitoring (1/3 weeks with core kids, 1/week with kids who need more support, 1/day with really tangled kids). Cannot just look at number/score; must dig deeper and find out what strategies child is using, and what they need.
Focus on Balanced Literacy. Gradual release of responsibility.
Focus on 4 Blocks (research based, child driven):
Self Selected Reading , Guided Reading, Guided Writing, Working with Words
Aim for 3/week GR and 2 consecutive days/week GW.
Before choosing books for GR think…
Teach children to read LANGUAGE not words.
Teach CHILD not book.
Look at books through children’s eyes.
Kids must be phonologically aware before starting GR.
Focus on NURSERY RHYMES! Naturally teach necessary skills.
Buy Matching Books to Readers: Using Leveled Books in GR by Fountas and Pinnell
Research says groups should be 6 or less. The more tangled the child, the smaller the group.
National Goal for Literacy is 2hours/day.
Word Walls (Focus of Working with Words Block):
4 separate walls/purposes (name/photo, onset/rime, pencil words, theme)
Lots of ideas for activities, what to include in SSR book bin, management.
A few good websites:
www.raz-kids.com (I can’t remember what’s here, check it out)
www.wordplays.com (Making Words activity ideas)
www.readinglady.com (Great posters, lit. circles, other)
www.abramsandcompany.com (Reader’s Theater Scripts w/ levels next to characters)
How to improve writing: daily writing, GW, brain based support

(Make it purposeful)

How to improve reading: Read to someone, Read to self, Listen to reading,

Word Work, Work on Writing

Did you know that you must spell a word correctly 28-35 times before it becomes fluent? And no, that doesn’t mean we should do spelling words 30 x each.

PLAY GAMES! MAKE IT FUN !

“If we don’t have a word in our vocabulary, we can’t even think it.” ~Jerome

“It is not the amount of activities which make better readers…it is the amount of reading.” ~J. David Cooper

“If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always gotten.”

~Joseph Johnson Jr. PhD, Head of Title 1 in US