Day 2 (AM)
Foundational Literacy: Creating a Language Rich Classroom
Foundational Literacy: the ability to read words and bring meaning to text.
Session Focus Question: How can we intentionally create meaningful opportunities for students to develop the critical oral language skills necessary as the foundation of literacy?
SESSION OBJECTIVES:
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To know and understand the simple view of reading and how word recognition and comprehension leads to reading.
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To understand the components of word recognition and language comprehension.
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Understand how OL skills are foundational to developing the ability to read and comprehend text.
SDIRC: A Powerful Partnership
Dr. Susan Moxley, Interim Superintendent of the School District of Indian River County, kicked off the morning. She congratulated educators in the room for taking time during their summer to hone their craft.
A Moonshot Talk with Liz Remington: Creating a Language Rich Classroom
Liz Remington explained why oral language skills are foundational to developing the ability to read and comprehend text. She unpacked the academic language linguists use so educators can better understand why students need rich oral language experiences to become literate.
The Four Arts of Language Arts: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. Oral language is the foundation of literacy. Early oral language development is essential before reading and writing can develop.
Simple View of Reading
Participants were introduced to the simple view of reading. Throughout the week, they unpacked each aspect of what is actually a very complex process: how we learn to read.
Growing Oral Language skills through conversation.
Oral Language skills are developed from a very young age through conversation. A child's first teacher is their parent. The simple act of conversing with your infant or toddler is giving them the very important foundation for reading success later.
Watch this adorable interaction between father and his young son. He is building oral language skills and connecting with his baby!
Why Read Alouds?
Why Read Alouds? Being read to is the biggest predictor of reading ability. Liz Remington unpacked the six things being read to develop: Phonology, Empathy, Attachment, Executive Functioning skills, Print Concepts and Thinking.
Students need to experience both Structured and Unstructured Read Alouds, as exposure to rich vocabulary is a big factor in early literacy development.
Visible Thinking Routines
Leslie Connelly took the group through Zoom In, a visible thinking routine. Looking at a small section of a picture from the book, participants discussed with their connection partners what they see, think, and wonder about the image. Then, as the image "zoomed out," they shared their new observations and discussed how their thinking may have changed.
Interactive Read Aloud
Fran McDonough, TLA Educational Consultant took attendees through an interactive read aloud of the book Malala's Magic Pencil.
Fran introduced the CROWD Strategy:
C-Completion Questions
R-Recall Questions
O-Open Ended Questions
W-"Wh" Questions
D-Distancing Questions
Participants were introduced to another visible thinking routine called Color, Symbol, Image as a way to respond to the text.
Transfer Time
Participants take time to meet in groups and plan how they might transfer their learning to their own context.
Each day I embraced the commitment at the beginning of the day. For example, I wanted to become bold in meeting new people. I embraced my tasks throughout the week.
- Participant Feedback
Day 2 (PM)
Foundational Literacy: Rhythm, Rhyme, and Repetition
Session Focus Question: How do we grow awareness of how language develops so that we can support the development of phonological skills?
Session Objectives:
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learn direct, explicit, and multisensory strategies to develop phonological awareness (
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understand the role of phonemes in foundational literacy development
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know how to identify and address breakdowns in understanding at the sound level
Liz Remington presented on the importance of phonological awareness and how to support and grow phonological skills to help students to read. The Phonological Processing chart above anchored the afternoon session.
Strategies for the Classroom
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Rhyming and Alliteration
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Snowball Words
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Squish the Syllable
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Snap, Crackle, Pop
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Going on a Sound Hunt
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Name that Sound
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One Card Out
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A Diner called ET
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Body Talk
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Guess a Name
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Ta Da
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Worm ate his homework
The Phonological Processing chart was unpacked by giving educators strategies they can use in the classroom to assess and teach these skills.
Speech Pathologist and Literacy Interventionist Jody Houston presents on ways to classify sounds and why this is so critical to building students' foundational literacy skills.
"I'm so grateful for the people in the room. . . . We were able to create a lesson and will take what we learned back to the classroom." - Participant Comment