Week 5 Lecture

Course Introduction

TCH LRN 504: Methods for Biliteracy & Language Arts in Inclusive Primary Classrooms Week 5

Tonight’s Agenda

• Attendance

• Check-in: Phonemic Awareness Baseline Assessment to establish a starting point for student reading skills. This assessment will inform subsequent instruction and help tailor interventions to meet individual student needs.

• CORE Phonics Survey: Assessment focusing on identifying individual students' phonics knowledge, critical for guiding targeted instruction.

• Assessment Basics: Overview of essential concepts and principles related to educational assessments and their role in evaluating student learning.

• Decodable Running Records: Techniques and methodology for using running records to analyze student reading and comprehension skills, providing insight into effective teaching strategies.

• Oral Reading Assessment Practice [Phonics Focus]: Hands-on practice focusing on how to effectively assess student's oral reading fluency and phonics knowledge.

• Orthographic Mapping: Instruction on the importance of mapping sounds to letters in words to enhance reading and spelling competence.

CORE Phonics Survey

Focus on assessing students' phonics knowledge using this systematic approach, identifying areas where students excel and where they require further instructional support.

Assessment & MTSS: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Overview of MTSS

The Multi-Tiered System of Support is a framework designed to provide various levels of support to all students, ensuring both academic and behavioral success across diverse classroom settings. The key components include:

• Social-Emotional Supports: Strategies geared toward developing students’ emotional health and resilience.

• Academic Supports: Tailored interventions designed to meet students' learning needs at various skill levels.

• Behavioral Supports: Procedures established to promote and reinforce positive behavior in the classroom.

• Attendance Initiatives: Strategies aimed not only at encouraging regular attendance but also addressing barriers to attendance that some students may face.

• Family Engagement: Collaborating with families to enhance student outcomes and fostering connections between school and home.

• Whole Child Approach: Recognizing each child's unique needs and addressing them holistically.

4 Types of MTSS Assessments

Within the MTSS framework, it is crucial to implement the following four types of assessments:

1. Universal Screeners: Administered 1-3 times per year, these assessments help determine potential reading difficulties and identify students at risk for reading issues early on.

2. Diagnostic Assessments: These assessments are employed to identify specific reading strengths and weaknesses, guiding tailored instructional interventions, typically provided after a student fails screening tests.

3. Progress Monitoring Tools: These tools are used to monitor student progress throughout instruction and are administered on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, adjusting instruction based on individual student growth.

4. Summative Assessments: Evaluative assessments that measure student performance at the end of a learning period, examples include end-of-unit tests and state-required assessments.

Goals and Objectives of Assessments

• Universal Screener: To determine grade-level functioning and identify the need for additional testing.

• Diagnostic Assessments: To assess current knowledge and skills, informing instruction and guiding lesson planning.

• Formative Assessments: To measure student progress and understanding throughout a unit of study.

• Summative Assessments: To evaluate the overall effectiveness of the teaching and learning process at the conclusion of instructional periods.

Assessment Drill-Down Flowchart

This tool is essential for assessing reading skills and identifying instructional levels specifically suited to individual students’ needs.

RTI: Response to Intervention

A structured process within the MTSS framework, which includes:

• Tier 1: Core Curriculum – Instruction based on primary prevention strategies provided to all students.

• Tier 2: Group Interventions – Targeted support for students identified at risk with additional instructional strategies.

• Tier 3: Intensive Interventions – Focused instruction for students who do not respond effectively to Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports.

Common Struggling Reader Profiles

• Good Language Comprehension, Poor Word Recognition: Requires phonics intervention to improve decoding skills.

• Poor Language Comprehension, Good Word Recognition: Requires targeted comprehension interventions to facilitate understanding of texts.

• Weaknesses in Both Areas: Requires a dual approach, incorporating both phonics and comprehension interventions to support reading development.

Effective Intervention Instruction

Effective reading interventions should include:

• Explicit and Systematic Instruction: Clear, direct teaching of strategies and skills.

• Repeated Practice Opportunities: Sufficient practice time for students to master skills.

• Frequent Response Opportunities: Engaging students actively to reinforce their learning.

• Specific Error Correction and Feedback: Concrete guidance for improvement to bolster student learning.

Literacy Intervention

Due to the prevalence of reading difficulties, referrals for reading problems are common; thus, it is vital to utilize assessments to inform targeted interventions. Implementing best practices, such as scaffolding, modeling, and maintaining student motivation, is critical.

Decodable Running Records

This important assessment tool allows educators to analyze specific reading skills in students effectively.

Why Use Decodable Records?

Decodable records guide instructional next steps based on in-depth analysis, evaluating comprehension alongside fluency, while providing measurable data for tracking progress over time.

Choosing the Right Decodable Running Record

Ensure that these assessments align with phonics instruction, matching running records to previously taught skills to reinforce student learning.

Assessing Students with SoR-Aligned, Decodable Running Records

Utilize controlled texts to reveal student responses to instruction, focusing on previously taught phonics patterns for assessment.

Decodable Running Record - What to Look For

When assessing, focus on:

• Phonemic Awareness: The ability to identify and manipulate sounds in spoken words.

• Phonics Skills: Student’s ability to decode written language.

• Recognition of High-Frequency Words: Ability to recognize commonly used words quickly.

• Reading Fluency: The ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.

• Self-Corrections: Instances where students recognize and correct their own reading errors.

Activities to Reinforce Orthographic Mapping

• Teacher articulates sounds; students identify the corresponding grapheme.

• Implementing Elkonin boxes for visual mapping of sounds to letters.

• Gradual introduction of more complex phonics patterns as students progress.

Elkonin Boxes (Sound Boxes)

This activity segments words into phonemes using tokens to visually express sound structure, enhancing phonemic awareness.

Activities for Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping

• High-frequency word activities to enhance recognition and efficiency.

• Identification of irregular words through targeted practice.

Phonetically Irregular Words: Heart Words

Words that do not conform to standard sound-spelling rules, such as "said," "are," "have," and "the."

• These should be taught using multisensory techniques to aid retention and understanding.

Orthographic Mapping Practice

Involves:

• Mapping words on Orthographic Mapping sheets.

• Utilizing Elkonin boxes for phoneme representation.

• Blending and writing the corresponding words for practice.

Homework

• Read Chapter 12: A Comprehensive Approach to Vocabulary Development.

• Complete questions relating to Chapter 12 to reinforce comprehension.

• Administer Phonics Diagnostic Assessment to focus on individual student needs.

• Reflect on the shared reading lesson to promote deeper understanding and preparation for in-class phonemic awareness commentaries the following week.