News and reflections from experts and practitioners on the latest literacy research, events and daily practice
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February 2, 2022 by User
Read Alouds / Think Alouds (RATA) are an effective teaching strategy to build and strengthen children’s metacognition in early childhood.
Metacognition is “thinking about thinking.” It is an increasingly useful mechanism to enhance learning, both for immediate outcomes and for helping children and adolescents understand their own learning process.
In our Spotlight on Early Literacy and the Whole Child, Dr. Terrie Noland, Heather Wiederstein, and Lia Preuss discussed this important strategy and gave examples of how teachers can model this technique in their classes. Our blog today provides a brief overview of RATA. For in-depth knowledge of this effective strategy and further discussion on ways to implement RATA in real-time, register for this edWebinar on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
You can also learn more about Learning Ally’s professional learning offerings and Spotlight Series and request the RATA presentation on demand.
What are Read Alouds / Think Alouds?
First, let’s distinguish Read Alouds / Think Alouds (RATA) from reading aloud. Reading aloud has its benefits in early childhood learning, but it is passive in nature – a one-way delivery from teacher to student.
Read aloud / think aloud experiences are dynamic and interactive in nature – a two-way discussion intentional on the teacher’s part to render explicit modeling to help children and adolescents build metacognition by integrating literacy and learning together as a source of delight and curiosity. This engagement leads to interaction. Children begin to think critically about the text they are hearing and discussing. In RATA, teachers are intentional about giving children foundational context that can help them build their own reservoir of knowledge.
There are many benefits of RATA:
metacognitive development
foundations of comprehension
critically thinking about text
social and emotional self-belief that a child can be a good learner
RATA builds positive feelings about learning. It is rich in reflection and understanding. It brings about self-awareness – to believe we are good learners – to believe we can solve problems – to close gaps, and believe we can figure things out that we do not know. RATA helps children become resilient learners who can approach challenges and regulate their actions by thinking critically.
Modeling a read aloud / think aloud instructional process
In RATA, teachers read text that is more complex and has rich, relevant themes. They give explicit instruction, like asking higher-order questions and going beyond basic recall to enhance comprehension, larger vocabularies, and metacognition skills. Teachers shower children with tier two words and give ample time to discuss and assess. They model good strategies for decoding and understanding. They are deliberate in exposing children to become familiar with metacognition – “learning to learn,” and reflecting on the “thinking process, or the act of thinking.”
In Think-Alouds, students experience their thought processes beyond engaging with and analyzing a text, and witness what “thinking about a text, “ and “thinking about thinking” feels like in action. Students become active learners, readers, and thinkers with RATA – as their comprehension skills and understandings, their cognition and social-emotional learning and development – build and reinforce each other - all while enjoying and delighting in books.
In these videos, Dr. Terrie Noland works with a developing reader in second grade to model RATA. “We never want to teach skills in a vacuum,” says Dr. Noland. “It’s not just about decoding, but the meaning of words, thinking about words, how we put them in phrases, sentences, and build in paragraphs.”
RATA builds foundations of knowledge
Read Alouds / Think Alouds experiences are not just reading aloud, but an engaging learning experience that integrates literacy and learning as a source of enjoyment. They help children think critically and pique their curiosity and wonderment. They lay a foundation of knowledge to forge new connections through questioning. They include culturally-relevant books that resonate with children's own lives, traditions and experiences.
Learning Ally’s supplementary reading programs will support your school or district’s mission of "literacy-for-all," and help you make reading fun and relevant to improve learning outcomes for emerging and struggling readers in K-12.
To learn more about early literacy and the whole child, diversity, equity, inclusion, and dyslexia awareness and instruction, as it relates to academic achievement, sign up for our Spotlight on Learning series. Upcoming events include:
March 30, 2022: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion webinar (free)
June 10, 2022: Spotlight on Dyslexia virtual conference
Thank you for following our “Perspectives in Whole Child Literacy” blog to learn more proven strategies from the nation’s top literacy experts and practitioners.
Look for our monthly eNewsletter coming soon!
Categories: Curriculum & Access, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Reading Strategies for K-12
For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2022 - Princeton, NJ – Learning Ally, a national leader in education solutions championing literacy for emerging and struggling learners, has launched new Professional Learning solutions and services intended to help K-12 districts provide ongoing, relevant, mixed-modality learning opportunities that allow educators to translate instructional knowledge into their daily practice.
The annual programming is based on research that supports a multiformat professional learning environment designed to ensure immediate and sustained educator efficacy. It will strengthen PreK-12 teacher and administrator knowledge and capacity by drawing on evidence-based literacy skills development methodologies and innovative approaches to literacy leadership.
"Too many students are falling behind because they cannot read at grade level,” said Heather Wiederstein, Vice President of Solutions Design for Learning Ally. “Teachers are clamoring for professional learning opportunities grounded in the science of reading, early literacy, and the whole child. Based on adult learning theory, our programming maximizes 'learning stickiness,' so that more educators become literacy leaders in schools and more struggling readers can improve their learning outcomes for success in school and beyond."
Three new offerings - Literacy Foundation, Literacy Acceleration, and Literacy Transformation - were designed by master teachers to be comprehensive and progressive. Learning stickiness is achieved through necessary pacing, action planning, practice, reflection, and reinforcement for successful implementation in real-time teaching and learning environments. Participants learn in an immersive virtual community platform from experienced instructors, and can customize their program with personalized coaching sessions. A 16-week Community of Practice cohort offers hands-on practice and blended-learning sessions with:
A robust 'Spotlight on Learning' series delivering half- and full-day bursts of knowledge from thought leaders focuses on topics in early literacy and the whole child, diversity, equity, inclusion, and dyslexia awareness and instruction.
In addition to learning new concepts in basic and advanced literacy and leadership skills, educators network with a large contingent of like-minded educators and literacy experts to discuss topics on: environmental, social, and emotional considerations that impact literacy; partnering with families to promote literacy at home; and, the critical need for early childhood intervention for struggling learners to achieve academic success.
About Learning Ally
Learning Ally is a leading nonprofit education organization dedicated to equipping educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than 1.6 million students and 260,000 educators through our solutions and community, across the United States.
About Learning Ally Audiobook Solution
The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is our cornerstone award-winning reading resource used in more than 20,100 schools to help students with reading deficits succeed. Composed of high quality, human-read audiobooks and a suite of teacher resources to monitor and support student progress, it is proven to double the rate of reading growth and designed to turn struggling readers into engaged learners. Visit www.LearningAlly.org.
In 2021, The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution received six education awards including T&L's Award of Excellence for Best Back to School Solution for Secondary Education, T&L Best Remote and Blended Learning Tool, and SIIA Codie Finalist for Best Virtual Learning Solution. Learning Ally was also named a “World Changing Ideas” Organization in the category of Education by Fast Company.
Categories: Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, Press Releases
January 28, 2022 by User
The search for solutions is often undertaken without giving due attention to causes. For instance, one needs eyes to read, and as a result, one might assume that problems in learning must be related to how we see. In this case, the truth is counterintuitive. Jeanne S. Chall has written that “The reading gaps of the deaf as compared to the blind seem almost a contradiction. The blind are the better readers. This happens because reading is closer to hearing than to seeing.” Perhaps we can modify Dr. Reid Lyon’s approach to discovering what should be done to focus on the true core issues regarding causes for the lack of improved outcomes for students in spite of decades of meaningful research.
Decades of consistent, rigorous, and replicable research have informed us on what is wrong and what should be done to help. Some refer to this observation as “settled science.” Nevertheless, when confronted with the underwhelming impact that such research has had, we continue to address our limited resources to determine what constitutes a meaningful depth of knowledge when we should be focusing on logistics and the ability to distribute that which has already been stockpiled.
Read the full article.
About the Author
Emerson Dickman, JD (www.emersondickman.com) is a special education attorney and child advocate specializing in the representation of children and adults with disabilities for over 40 years. He has often credited his wife, Georgette, and his children for the passion with which he pursues his life's work. His own experience as an individual with dyslexia has deepened his understanding and sensitivity to the special needs of individuals with disabilities and the concerns of their families. His four decades of experience in the education sphere give him the depth of knowledge to support families to ensure their child's needs are being appropriately met by the programs and services provided in school. He is past-President of the International Dyslexia Association and was a founding member of the consensus committee gathered in 1992 to create the legal definition for dyslexia. He speaks about dyslexia on the national and international state, promoting awareness and advocacy. He, along with his wife, Georgette Dickman, won the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Dyslexia Association in 2012. He is currently a partner in the firm of Manes and Weinberg.
Categories: General
January 26, 2022 by User
January 26, 2022 PRINCETON, NJ —Learning Ally, a leading nonprofit education solutions organization working with U.S. educators to improve reading achievement, has appointed Dr. Molly Ness as Vice President of Academic Content. Dr. Ness will support the organization's Solutions Design team in the development and advancement of its early literacy and whole child framework.
Heather Wiederstein, Vice President of Solutions Design for Learning Ally, said, “Molly adds an inordinate depth of knowledge to our team. Her research on reading instruction, teachers’ instructional decisions, and dyslexia lends vital insight to the critical needs of educators. We are grateful for her expertise and passion for educators and students.”
Dr. Ness holds a doctorate in reading education from the University of Virginia. She is a former classroom teacher, as well as a leading researcher on the science of reading. For sixteen years, she was an Associate Professor in Childhood Education at Fordham University in New York, and is the author of four books and numerous peer-reviewed articles. In 2019, she began the End Book Deserts podcast to call attention to the issue of book access and equity. She serves on the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association and on the elementary advisory panel for Penguin Random House.
"It is an honor to join the team at Learning Ally," said Dr. Ness. "To work with an organization and collaborate with like-minded literacy advocates who truly care about the professional lives of teachers and the learning outcomes of students is a mission I am eager to be a part of."
LEARNING ALLY is a leading nonprofit education organization dedicated to equipping educators with proven solutions that help struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allow us to support more than 1.6 million students and 260,000 educators across the United States.
The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is our cornerstone award-winning reading resource used in more than 20,100 schools to help students with reading deficits succeed. Composed of high quality, human-read audiobooks, and a suite of teacher resources to monitor and support student progress, it is proven to double the rate of reading growth and designed to turn struggling readers into engaged learners.
Categories: Early Literacy, In the news, Press Releases, The Digital Age
January 17, 2022 by User
Are you ready to become a literacy leader in your school or community and smash the literacy divide? Subscribe to Dr. Terrie Noland's podcast, "Literacy Leadership," to join a growing community of like-minded individuals eager to transform literacy achievement in our nation.
Terrie’s podcasts are a place to “get real” about the literacy crisis and our need for change through relationship building, knowledge, empowerment, vulnerability, and intentionality. By coming together, we can influence others, and drive the belief that all children can be successful readers with the right mindset, leadership skills, structured literacy, and encouragement.
What listeners love most about Dr. Terrie Noland is her deep commitment to their personal and professional growth, and the rousing way she ignites a conviction through powerful storytelling, and real-life experiences working with educators across the country.
If you would like Dr. Noland to explore a topic related to your literacy initiative or help you influence others in your school to lead the literacy charge, message her, and thank you for sharing these podcasts with your team.
Best Literacy Leadership Podcasts of 2021
Literacy Leaders Use Audiobooks and Bust the Myths
Communication in Literacy Leadership
Let’s Talk about Literacy Leadership
Growth in Literacy Leadership
Literacy Leaders Know How to Influence Others and Drive the Science of Reading
Professional Learning at Learning Ally
In addition to the Literacy Leadership podcasts, Learning Ally offers professional learning courseware and accredited professional learning events to enhance knowledge of the latest neuroscience and best practices in the fields of reading science, early literacy, dyslexia, social and emotional considerations, and diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Our Spotlight Series event begins January 21st, 2022 on Early Literacy and the Whole Child. Register now!
Learn more about our mission.
Categories: Activities, dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, General, Learning Disabilities, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices, The Digital Age
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