Early Literacy Virtual Conference

Research shows that developing phonological awareness skills in the early years is the number one indicator of reading success! Let's help prepare our children for successful reading experiences.

This presentation will include an introduction to the important skills that encompass phonological awareness (concept of a word, rhyming, syllables, phonemic awareness) and the correlation these skills have for future reading success.

We will explore how phonological awareness can help build phonics and decoding skills. Syllable Patterns and Syllable Types will be introduced and explained how the knowledge of these language components can be helpful for future reading success.

Multi-Sensory strategies, games and activities will be shared. Educators and parents will be able to take away several things from this presentation that are relevant and can be integrated into their teaching day, right away.

Resources from the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education Trainings will be used for this presentation.

While many students with dyslexia go undiagnosed, their struggle and the need for assistance is still real. The availability of technology to our students and in our classrooms has created an atmosphere of opportunities for students with disabilities. What was considered assistive technology in the past has, in many cases, become common technology. This session will explore tools to assist students in three main areas of struggle: reading, writing, and note-taking from lectures. Many of these tools are free or low cost and most are available to anyone. Some are even built into programs that students are already using. By learning about these tools, students can gain independence in their work and truly show what they know and what they are capable of.

Also covered in this session:

• Accommodation vs. Remediation
• Building independence
• Making materials accessible
• Addressing the idea of fairness

IDA Austin will present common indicators and signs of dyslexia by age and grade level. The presentation will give parents, general educators, and administrators a clear understanding of what to look for when considering if a child should be screened or further evaluated for dyslexia. Additionally, organization resources will be shared with participants looking to learn more using reputable information. Indicators and signs will be derived from information provided by the International Dyslexia Association, Understood.org, and the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

Co-Presenter

Paula McCoy

Academic Language Therapist

When developing an IEP, it is vital that parents and educators are involved in collaborative decision making. The presentation offers participants a unique way of approaching problems at IEP meetings before they arise. Using the Structured Collaborative IEP Process requires full team participation and the answering of 6 key questions. The presentation will demonstrate how to achieve effective IEP team collaboration resulting in an IEP that meets the child’s individual needs.

Screening for the risk factors of dyslexia is the first step in preventing academic failure. But… what do you do once you’ve screened? This workshop will provide educators and parents with the knowledge and tools to interpret screening data and provide targeted interventions—at school and/or home. Preventing reading failure requires early intervention that is evidence-based ,explicit and systematic. If you work with students in Kindergarten-5th grade, this workshop is for you!

Students with dyslexia experience high rates of anxiety and stress. Self-regulation can be developed to address anxiety and stress. Self-regulated learners are connected, self-aware, self-determined, strategic and resilient.

Learning objectives include:

• Learn how self-regulation supports learning.
• Understand that self-regulation is multi-dimensional and dynamic and requires responsive strategies.
• Learn ‘low-lift’ strategies to help students manage their stress and develop resilience.

Co-Presenter

Laura Moylan

Services Director, Lee Pesky Learning Center

Historically, Structured Literacy approaches have been effective for remediating language difficulties. Educational technology can enhance multi-sensory instruction to make it more engaging and explicit while maintaining its individualized and diagnostic-prescriptive characteristics. An Orton-Gillingham Fellow and a Director of Technology will share their collaboration to include technology as an instructive and assistive tool in the Structured Literacy classroom.

Co-Presenter

Sharon Plante

Director of Technology, The Southport School

Incorporate whole classroom instructional modifications for teaching decoding and spelling while incorporating technology and maintaining multi-sensory reinforcement.

We have clearly identified many of the skills and strategies needed by our struggling readers in early elementary grades. This presentation focuses on the needs of older struggling readers.

These will include:

• decoding multisyllabic words with a workable "system"
• expanding knowledge of Tier 2 vocabulary words and their use in varying contexts
• increasing knowledge of morphology and its use in all components of reading
• expanding abilities in critical areas of written expression.

Co-Presenter

Michael Hart

Child Psychologist & Founder, DrMichaelHart.com

Neuroscience indicates that psychological beliefs, learning, and achievement are intertwined. Adults have a key role in fostering students’ beliefs that shape thinking and learning. The workshop will explore two key beliefs, growth mindset and self-efficacy, and how to incorporate growth mindset instructional practices with students with dyslexia to enhance students’ ability to achieve academic success and success beyond school.

Through discussions and a hands-on example, by the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Discuss why educators should adopt a strengths-based and interest-based model to literacy education
• List 3-5 Google tools that support a strengths- and interest-based approach to literacy
• Apply their knowledge of strengths & interests to adding in choices to existing or hypothetical lessons and curricula

Using interactive, hands-on demonstrations of key instructional procedures, structured literacy experts, Mindi and Beth, will discuss structured literacy (aka Orton-Gillingham) methods, including:

• What they are and how they differ from other methods of literacy instruction;
• Why they are so effective for all students but, particularly, for struggling readers and writers;
• How they can be used affordably and effectively in homes and schools.

Co-Presenter

Beth Chaput

Speech Language Pathologist

This session will explore some of the various reasons students develop a reluctance to express themselves in writing, including dyslexia (which is not just a reading disorder) and the issue of dysgraphia. The reasons, each of which will be explored in detail, include poor pencil grip and handwriting struggles, lack of automaticity, dyslexia, dysgraphia, weak background and preparation, poor vocabulary, lack of interest in subject matter, spelling, and organizational issues.

Using knowledge from cognitive neuroscience about the development of the reading brain, Dr. Wolf’s presentation will bring new insights to the prediction, early diagnosis, and targeted intervention of children with dyslexia. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of deep reading skills and on the impact of technology on the 21st century readers.

Dr. Wolf is a scholar, a teacher, and advocate for children and literacy around the world. She is the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. She completed her doctorate at Harvard University, in the Department of Human Development and Psychology in the Graduate School of Education, where she began her work in cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics on the reading brain, language, and dyslexia. A frequent presenter and the author of more than 160 scientific articles, she designed the RAVE-O reading intervention for children with dyslexia, and co-authored the RAN/RAS naming speed tests, a major predictor of dyslexia across all languages.
Find more information on Dr. Wolf.

Throughout preschool and early elementary school, Nicole was a sunny, confident and engaged child. Now 12 and in grade 6, her teacher paints a different picture: “Nicole enters class pleasantly and seems to get along with the other children. During class, however, she never participates and it seems her mind is elsewhere. Nicole’s work reflects a general lack of effort, as if she doesn’t care.”

Jacob, age 9, loves playing with hands-on materials. Building elaborate designs with Legos, he shows confidence and capability. In class, though, Jacob is unenthusiastic and disconnected. Often Jacob looks pained, particularly during open-ended writing assignments.

Both children show signs of being a shut-down learner. The signs typically emerge in the upper elementary grades and become more pronounced by high school. They include:

• a sense that the child is increasingly disconnected, discouraged and unmotivated
• fundamental weaknesses with reading, writing, and spelling, leading to diminished self-esteem
• increased avoidance of school tasks such as homework
• dislike of reading
• hatred of writing
• minimal gratification from and increasing anger toward school.

This workshop will discuss different characteristics of these children, as well as identifying the common “red flags” and early “cracks in the foundation” that need to be understood. Ways of approaching these children and understanding the intersection of dyslexia and executive functioning will be a central part of the workshop.

We will explore what a public school dyslexia program can accomplish by:

• Executing on effective environments
• Understanding the dyslexic brain
• Providing MSL intervention
• Providing the right accommodations and AT tools
• Building self-advocacy in students