Sessions

The most important knowledge a developing reader learns is that print represents speech imperfectly but predictably. Some learners intuit this knowledge from noticing the letter/sound relationships as they learn to read and write. Most, however, especially our students with dyslexia, need to be explicitly taught the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent. Although English has a complex orthography, with influences from many languages, students can access word identification much more quickly if they learn the most common letter/sound connections and when they need to flex the sound for a letter to arrive at a word they know. This presentation will explore the 103 letter/sound combinations that are over 90% reliable, as well as strategies students can employ in their reading and writing.

Session Objectives

• Participants will understand the imperfect but predictable relationship between speech and print
• Participants will learn the 103 most reliable 103 letter/sound combinations
• Participants will gain strategies to help their developing and struggling readers notice and use the statistical regularity of English letter/sound combinations for reading and writing

In Proust and the Squid, Maryanne Wolf reminds us that “Fluency does not ensure better comprehension; rather, fluency gives enough extra time to the executive system to direct attention where it is most needed—to infer, to understand, to predict, or sometimes to repair discordant understanding and to interpret a meaning afresh.” Fluency, the rapid, prosodic flow with which a skilled reader reads, is the bridge between decoding and comprehension. As a reader’s fluency improves, it creates bandwidth and cognitive space for the skills we know are required for deep comprehension. In fact, reading fluency should be thought to be on a continuum that increases in complexity as the text becomes more demanding. The domains of language represent all the ways in which we understand and use oral and written language. Each component of language- phonology, orthography, semantics, syntax, morphology, and pragmatics- is governed by a set a rules that must be learned in order to use language correctly. An understanding of the domains of language will help students progress in reading fluency as they are able to understand the various aspects of the words they read. Educators should be able to explain why all component skills for reading development must become accurate and rapid to support more advanced reading skills. Furthermore, they should know and apply in practice considerations for text reading fluency as an achievement of normal reading development that can be advanced through informed instruction and progress monitoring. This results in the ability to identify and define the components of reading fluency including accuracy, rate, and prosody.

Session Objectives:

• Know/apply in practice considerations for role of fluent word-level skills in automatic word reading, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and motivation to read.
• Know/apply in practice considerations for text reading fluency as an achievement of normal reading development that can be advanced through informed instruction and progress-monitoring practices.

High-frequency words (HFW) are considered to be the most frequently occurring words in text. They account for approximately 60% of the words in print. Students need to be able to recognize these words instantly in order to be fluent readers! During this presentation, Jennifer Hasser, M.Ed., will discuss how to teach high-frequency words (HFW) efficiently and strategically to maximize retention. By teaching our students about the different types of HFW, and by discussing word origins to anchor spelling with meaning, we can provide them with the tools they need to be fluent readers.

You will learn how to teach high-frequency words by:

• phonetic pattern
• frequency
• etymology
• linguistic category
• phoneme/grapheme mapping

Dark secrets in a highly rated school district: In this lively panel presentation, we share about failing students using a balanced literacy approach for instruction and assessment at Tier 1. Tens of thousands of students with and without dyslexia have skated through the system without receiving the structured literacy instruction needed; one deemed by research and mandated by federal and state legislation. Join us to learn how “just a couple of moms”, a few local board members, state elected education officials and a professor of undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy education locked arms to prove that all K-2 students should receive structured literacy education that is evidence-based and aligned with the science of reading. Participants can immediately apply this approach to elicit systemic change in their district to spur change in their schools!

Since its November 2022 launch, many educators may have tried ChatGPT or heard about it from their learners.

ChatGPT is just the beginning of a seismic shift in how we learn. Educators are finding themselves in a new space of needing to equip themselves amid the discomfort of not knowing what AI means for our instruction and assessment practices--yet.

This session aims to equip participants with the context and strategies for taking small, high-impact steps over time to build a new understanding of AI in education. Educators will see a live, teacher-created ChatGPT query (with a recorded screencast as backup). Next, we will examine a continuum of K12 and higher ed ethical responses, from banning ChatGPT and surveillance to how we might have mutual ethical use with our learners. Additionally, we'll consider trends in K12 teacher and learner implementations, focusing on literacy and the experiences of learners with Dyslexia.

Looking to next steps, participants will be invited to reflect on removing barriers, recommendations for what to do first in our instructional design, and strategies for ongoing knowledge-building and collaboration.

Science tells us that if we want students to become fully literate, we must change not just standard foundational skills instruction but also the dominant approaches to reading comprehension and writing. That’s particularly true for students who struggle with decoding. If we limit those students to practicing reading comprehension skills on texts they can decode, they may not acquire the academic knowledge and vocabulary needed for success at higher grade levels. If we don’t explicitly teach them how to construct complex sentences, they may not be able to understand the syntax of written language.

Participants will gain an understanding of the research supporting the use of read-alouds and writing instruction to boost comprehension for students with reading difficulties, what this approach looks like in the classroom and actionable strategies for implementing it.

This presentation will define dyslexia, discuss the manifestations of dyslexia and the lifelong challenges individuals with dyslexia face. The science behind literacy acquisition and instruction will be presented. The Simple View of Reading (SVR) will be reviewed to facilitate common language. Specific subtypes of reading disorders will be discussed. Participants will learn “why” systematic and explicit instruction in the five reading components is essential for equitable and inclusive literacy instruction for individuals with dyslexia. The connection between social justice and literacy as a civil right will be presented. Inclusive literacy instruction using culturally relevant literature and access to meaningful text with morphological and phonological consistency will be shared. 1. After this session, participants will increase their awareness of characteristics of dyslexia in academic settings. 2. After this session, participants will have an improved understanding of the science behind literacy instruction for individuals with dyslexia. 3. After this session, participants will be able to understand the connection between social justice and literacy as a civil right. 4. After this session, participants will be able to understand the various elements that promote inclusion and equitable literacy Instruction for Individuals with Dyslexia.

How can we best support students with learning and processing difficulties? Sections of the presentation include Understanding Learning Differences, Identifying Priorities & Goals, Improving Time & Materials Management, Enhancing Study Skills & Habits, and Developing Note Taking & Test Taking Strategies.

American policymakers, educators, and parents are committed to ensuring all K-12 students learn to read. Over the last decade, the focus on the science of reading continues to inform reading instruction. However, writing is often missing from the reading conversation and an overlooked aspect of literacy instruction. This presentation aims to enhance educators’ knowledge and abilities to include writing in literacy instructional practices.

Informational content in this presentation includes meta-teaching and meta-learning writing and reading, systematic and explicit writing instruction, and science of writing best practices. The benefits of attending this presentation include enhancing educators’ beliefs and knowledge about building students’ literacy skills while implementing the science of writing instructional practices.

Session Objectives:

• to provide educators the opportunity to consider their own beliefs related to teaching writing within literacy instruction and students synergistically learning reading and writing skills
• to build educators’ knowledge of instructional practices to embed writing in reading instruction
• to know how writing connects to the brain, how reading and writing interlock, and how to implement the science of writing practices.

There are over 5 million English learners in schools across the country, and most teachers are either already working with a few or will be soon. There seems to be an abundance of questions about whether one technique is more efficient or even more effective than another. Often, in our quest to find the perfect program or approach, the instruction given to the student is never adjusted and misses the mark entirely.

We know there is a significant variability factor to consider when working with English learners. Most importantly, however, we must remember that English learners must do double the cognitive workload. Our English learners must learn content as they build vocabulary, add to their background knowledge, and, most importantly, learn a rather complex orthographic system. This session will briefly focus on the cognitive workload our English learners' experience, especially those struggling with learning difficulties, and the importance of a robust linguistic knowledge base that a teacher should possess.

The critical role of spelling for reading is a focus in recent refereed journals in neuroscience and cognitive psychology as well as in current books by reading scientists and educators. But how do you translate this research into classroom practices? In this session, you’ll see spelling as a window into the reading mind of both normally developing and struggling readers and why explicit spelling instruction is essential for all elementary students.

In this session, you'll receive an overview an overview of what tools and practices work well at your grade level and a sampling of what words, patterns, and rules need to be taught. See how integrated spelling instruction saves you time and boosts student achievement.

Session Objectives:

• Clarification of the role invented spelling plays for beginners that ALL teachers should know
• Why explicit spelling instruction is essential for Grade 2 and beyond
• Formative assessment tools and strategies you can use tomorrow
• How to monitor a dyslexic child’s progress or recognize symptoms of dyslexia
• How structured literacy spelling instruction at every grade level is a powerful dyslexic specific intervention

Engage in how students with dyslexia in middle and high school learn how to decode and spell with morphology, analyze vocabulary, and advance their reading comprehension skills. Discover how to go beyond learning the code and growing into a more skilled secondary student.

Are you hearing more about sound walls and ready to make the transition in your own classroom? Do you know the differences between sound walls and word walls? Come to this session to learn more about the research behind sound walls and how to make a shift from using traditional word walls. After this session and seeing many examples of each, you will be able to recognize the differences and decide which one is best for your classroom.