News and reflections from experts and practitioners on the latest literacy research, events and daily practice
Welcome to Learning Ally's blog. You've come to the right place if you are an innovative teacher who wants to transform more struggling readers into grade-level achievers.
November 27, 2023 by User
Developing skilled readers is an ongoing process. Of vital importance is teaching young children how to learn to decode, enhance their vocabulary, and develop language comprehension skills. If students have not learned decoding skills by fourth grade, they expend a lot of unnecessary energy trying to understand what they read. As text becomes increasingly more complex, struggling readers will display more frustration and angst. This is a red herring for educators. Explicit reading instruction may still be necessary for many middle and upper grade learners.
In this blog, we recap a 2023 Spotlight on Dyslexia session with Mallary Lattanze and Missy Purcell, two educators who help us develop a roadmap to effective reading instruction based on the science of reading. Their session goes well beyond decoding and phonological awareness, and includes morphology, the study of the structure of words within our language.
Morphology refers to "the knowledge of meaningful word parts in a language (typically the knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and/or roots and base words)" (Foorman et al., 2016).
In Lattanze and Purcell's session, they drill down on differentiated instruction to ensure more students become skilled readers and writers through linguistic comprehension, written expression (including spelling), and automaticity, i.e., the more a new idea is reinforced, the easier it is for our brain to read fluently.
Common Risk Factors – The Red Herring
When middle and high school students aren’t reading well, we must look back at early reading instruction to determine what foundational skills are lacking and begin to identify common risk factors associated with not learning a specific skill set.
Risk factors may include differences in students’ social and emotional state, lack of learning confidence, differences in instructional and intervention approaches, and difficulties with transitional approaches from middle to high school.
Lattanze says, “A common error in teaching students with dyslexia is premature withdrawal from a specific skill set when the instruction ‘seems’ to be working. As an example, a student who is reading accurately but not fluently still requires explicit reading instruction using the concepts found in the Simple View of Reading.”
The Simple View of Reading
The Simple View of Reading is a formula based on the widely-accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension.
Word recognition includes phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, decoding, and sight recognition.
Language comprehension includes background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge.
According to the Simple View of Reading, an individual's reading comprehension is the product of his or her decoding skills and language comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). If any of these important concepts are missed, a student’s ability to comprehend what they read will suffer, leaving them to struggle long after students transition to middle and high school where “reading to gain knowledge’ is the primary goal.
The Benefits of Learning Morphology
As early as first and second grade, students should be introduced to morphology, focusing on the use of morphemes: meaningful units of language which cannot be further divided. Morphological awareness provides a powerful tool for improving many areas of literacy: vocabulary comprehension, reading aloud, spelling, phonological awareness, and the all-important reading comprehension. It can help older students decode multisyllabic words that cannot merely be interpreted with phonics. No matter where students are in their reading process, teaching morphology with explicit and direct instruction is beneficial.
Distinct Differences Between Listening and Reading Comprehension
Regarding multimodal learning, Purcell credits the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution for helping students with dyslexia read on grade level, and keep anxiety at bay. She says, “There are distinct differences between listening and reading comprehension skills,” and students with dyslexia benefit from using multiple modalities in the learning process. Listening comprehension helps to build metacognitive and foundational comprehension skills. From that point, students must move into monitoring their comprehension which further develops advanced comprehension of material.
The Importance of Teaching Self-Advocacy and Accommodations
These educators also emphasize that students must clearly understand the characteristics of dyslexia, and how it affects their brain processing skills. Purcell says, “Students must know how they are individually wired to learn. Engaging students with dyslexia in middle and high school to decode, spell with morphology, analyze vocabulary, and advance reading comprehension is paramount to reading mastery. Empower them to self-advocate for appropriate accommodations. Give them extended time, and continue to reinforce that they can be successful readers and learners at any age.”
Session On-Demand
You can listen to the full presentation on-demand in the 2023 Spotlight on Dyslexia platform until the end of the year, and earn CE Certificates.
About Presenters
Missy Purcell is a former teacher, a wife and mother. She is a convert from a balanced literacy approach, and now works to encourage educators across the country to embrace the science of reading.
Mallary Lattanze is a former K-2 classroom teacher, dyslexia interventionist, Orton-Gillingham trainer, a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Licensed Dyslexia Therapist. She began her mission to find the best literacy instruction to help students with learning differences after struggling as a diagnosed dyslexic in public schools. Mallary is also a Texas regional chair with the Academic Language Therapy Association, and sits on the board of directors for the Houston Branch International Dyslexia Association.
Categories: Brain Based Learning, Curriculum & Access, Education & Teaching, Educators, English Language Learners, Professional Development, Reading Strategies for K-12, Teacher Best Practices
November 13, 2023 by User
Multisensory – Multimodal…You’ve probably heard of these terms, and possibly applied them to your teaching approaches, but there are distinct differences that we may not be fully aware of.
In this blog, we are recapping a Literacy Leadership webinar with Dr. Terrie Noland and Dr. Whitney Lawrence, Director of Performance Management and Data Services, ESC Region 11 in Texas. Dr. Lawrence is a recognized thought leader on multimodality of critical literacy that promotes social justice and action. As an educator with dyslexia, Lawrence has dedicated her fields of interest to the delivery of effective multimodal strategies that support students who might have difficulty accessing language and literacy through traditional forms of learning. Listen now to build a shared understanding of these terms, and learn how to apply proven strategies with the goal of fully developing comprehension skills in readers of all ages, especially those who struggle to read.
What is Multimodal Literacy Instruction?
Multimodal literacy instruction is the interplay among diverse modes that carry meaning and messages. We use these modes to construct our understanding of the information shared. You can categorize them into five modes.
Linguistic mode is the delivery of written and spoken text. It is the way words are organized in sentences and paragraphs, and the development and coherence of words and ideas. (Writing poetry for example.)
Gestural mode is interaction between people and the movement of language. It is how we interpret our words in facial expressions, hand gestures, body language. This mode carries an outlet to communicate meaning. (Putting a hand up to mean “stop,” for example.)
Visual mode is the imagery we “see” in our communications such as colors, shapes, fonts. (Think of the emojis or the color red.)
Spatial mode implies the arrangement of elements that carry meaning. (Think about physical closeness between people or objects. Space carries meaning.)
Auditory mode is focused on sounds, ambient noises, the tone of your voice, even silence. (When we are silent, how does that make us feel?)
So multimodal literacy refers to the interplay of all of these modes in which we can construct meaning. You can develop meaning-making practices using these five modes and with diverse forms of texts, picture books, paintings, images, space and sound. (Think of human-read audiobooks for example.) Another example of multiple modes of communication and representation is an informational book that contains images, charts, and graphs coupled with written text. For learners with different modal preferences, this type of learning can be very effective.
Differences between Multimodal and Multisensory
Multisensory refers to the use of multiple senses in the learning process. This could include visual or auditory, tactile or our kinesthetic senses. (Kinesthetic is relating to a person's awareness of position, movement, or sensation. Think of touch for example.) Multisensory teaching might involve using manipulatives such as blocks or beads in a math activity or using music to help students remember information.
A multimodal approach to literacy and language recognizes that it is through the selection and orchestration of many diverse modes that we create effective learning. To make meaning, we must design, reframe, create and recreate our teaching approaches.
As literacy leaders – whether we are teachers, coaches, specialists, tutors, or administrators, we can take a broader perspective of literacy and language that applies multiple modes of instruction. As we do that, we open more space and opportunity for learning experiences that are centered on meaning and communicating, which we all know is the goal of any literacy and language development experience.
We hope you will listen on-demand to the entire Literacy Leadership webinar in which Dr. Lawrence delves deeply into various approaches and best practices to create multimodal learning experiences.
Everyone can apply a shared understanding of multimodality – whether you are an administrator looking through the lens of a teacher, or a teacher looking through the lens of a student, and so on.
About Whitney Lawrence
Dr. Lawrence taught at the elementary level for 10 years and was an instructional specialist at an elementary school in North Texas. She holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy from the University of North Texas, and is currently the Director of Performance Management and Data Services at ESC Region 11. Her areas of interest are multimodality, critical literacy, and curricula that promote social justice and social action.
Categories: Assistive Technology, Education & Teaching, Professional Development, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices, Webinars
October 30, 2023 by User
In a recent End Book Deserts podcast, Dr. Molly Ness, V.P. of Academic Content for Learning Ally, spoke with Kathleen Ryan Mufson, V.P. of Global Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy and President of the Pitney Bowes Foundation, to learn about her corporation’s commitment to education and literacy.
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Pitney Bowes is a century-old American icon. The company enjoys a rich legacy of innovation as the inventor of the first postage meter, and is today a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics and financial services.
There is another extraordinary aspect of Pitney Bowes you may not be familiar with − the company’s abiding interest in literacy for all children. Throughout its history, Pitney Bowes has supported efforts to help transform the lives of tens of thousands of children by helping them to achieve academic success and healthier lives. These efforts pave the way to prosperous futures.
Through its many partnerships and alliances, leadership and funding, and large contingent of employees volunteering as reading mentors, the mighty Pitney Bowes has fostered a positive reading culture in homes and schools across America by distributing free books to children in need.
A Focus on Early Literacy
“Reading is the foundation to all learning,” says Ryan Mufson. “This is why we place a special emphasis on early literacy and work diligently with our partners to open opportunities for all children to become lifelong readers.”
The Pitney Bowes Foundation’s efforts have carved many pathways to literacy success by partnering with other national literacy leaders, such as Reading is Fundamental (RIF) via their Share the Message to Read program; Read to a Child, a national mentoring and literacy nonprofit founded on the belief that every child deserves to be read to regularly by a caring adult; and United Way’s Reading Buddies program, where employees provide written words of encouragement and stuff teddy bears that will become a young child’s reading buddy. Ryan Mufson also credits Pitney Bowes employees who visit classrooms and museums regularly to read aloud and do craft activities with children. They help them select their very own book from a wide array of choices offered by RIF, a welcoming touchstone of their commitment to literacy.
“When a child can write their name in their first book and take it home, it is a magical experience,” comments Dr. Ness. As an early educator, she recalls Pitney Bowes coming to her school, and the transformative nature she saw when children got to select a book of their own to take home from the table. “It was inspiring!”
Literacy and Volunteering - A Smart Investment
“Investing in literacy – whether with time or money - is a smart investment,” says Ryan Mufson. “Our employees thoroughly enjoy the volunteer activities we do as a literacy-focused company. I personally mentor a first grader who I hope will be a successful reader and future leader someday.” She describes a chance meeting with a young woman who recalled her own childhood memory with a Pitney Bowes reading mentor. “She changed my life,” she told Ryan Mufson.
Distributing books to children in need not only impacts the receiver, but also the volunteer. “These activities create purpose for us,” shares Ryan Mufson. “Volunteering can bring calm to daily life. It can expand one’s view of community or different cultures. Our volunteers feel uplifted as they describe their experiences reading with a child. They are humbled. Literacy is so vital to our society and everything we do. The simple act of reading to a child is powerful and enriching; it changes all of us for the better. I encourage everyone to do it.”
In the interview, Dr. Ness asked a final question…”What is one book that had a profound impact on you? Ryan Mufson’s response was Moby-Dick. “I grew up in New York City and the story took me on a journey through the watery parts of the world as Melville would describe it. It was filled with poetry, humor and horror and gave me a glimpse into the power of great writing. Growing up, I would start most summers by reading passages from Moby-Dick, and as with all great books, I would learn something new with each reading.”
Categories: Activities, Authors for Access, Curriculum & Access, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, General, Student Centric Learning, The Digital Age, Volunteerism
October 23, 2023 by User
Learning Ally, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of struggling learners, is proud to announce the launch of an inspiring and thought-provoking podcast miniseries hosted by Dr. Terrie Noland, Learning Ally’s VP of Educator Initiatives.
The inaugural episode sets the stage for an engaging journey into the world of literacy leadership, featuring three esteemed co-hosts who embody the values of knowledge, wisdom, and continuous growth: Linda Diamond, co-founder of CORE and author of Teaching Reading Sourcebook, Dr. Tim Odegard, Murfree Chair of Excellence and Professor of Psychology at Middle Tennessee State University and Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Dyslexia, and Dr. Tracy Weeden, CEO of Neuhaus Education Center.
Listeners are welcomed with open arms as the host, Terrie Noland, introduces the overarching mission of the Change-Makers miniseries: to bring together visionary leaders from across the United States to engage in conversations about the essence of literacy leadership. Noland highlights the importance of leaders who "know the way, show the way, and go the way" and aspires to create a space where such leaders can come together and share their insights.
Three distinguished co-hosts address the current status of the literacy landscape:
“We are on the brink of a transformation in the field of literacy education,” says Terrie Noland. “With the Change-Makers miniseries, Learning Ally aims to empower listeners to take away actionable strategies and models of leadership that can be applied in classrooms, schools, districts, communities, states, and in life.”
Miniseries guests include: Kareem Weaver, Dr. Allison Peck, Dr. Art Cavazos, Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Dr. Rebecca Tolson, Dr. Robert Sahli, Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, Dr. Stephanie Stollar, Sonya Thomas, Resha Conroy, and Ameer Baraka. The guests share their profound insights, aspirations, and visions for the future of literacy leadership. They stress the urgency of aligning efforts to ensure that every student has the opportunity to read and succeed.
The official launch of this podcast miniseries takes place at Neuhaus Education Center’s Unlocking Literacy conference on October 24, 2023.
Listeners can expect hard-hitting questions, in-depth conversations, and the emergence of new leadership paradigms as they embark on this enlightening journey alongside these influential change-makers. This miniseries promises to be a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, parents, and anyone passionate about advancing literacy and education in our society.
The Learning Ally Literacy Leadership Podcast is available on major podcast platforms. New episodes of the Change-Makers miniseries will be released weekly.
About Learning Ally:
Learning Ally is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting literacy by providing audiobooks, software, and support services to individuals who struggle with reading. Their mission is to empower students and adults to reach their full potential by providing access to a wealth of educational content in accessible formats. By offering comprehensive solutions for individuals with reading disabilities and learning differences, Learning Ally strives to create a world where everyone can access and enjoy the written word.
Categories: Activities, Authors for Access, Brain Based Learning, Curriculum & Access, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Press Releases, Professional Development, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices, The Digital Age, Whole Child Literacy
October 19, 2023 by User
Learning Ally, a national nonprofit working with schools and families to improve literacy across the country, is celebrating its 75th year in service to educators and emerging and struggling readers.
The organization began in 1948 as Recording for the Blind when Anne T. Macdonald led the New York Public Library’s Women’s Auxiliary to record textbooks on vinyl phonograph discs as a service for soldiers who had lost their sight in WWII.
Today, Learning Ally supports over 615,000 U.S. educators with award-winning solutions from PreK-12th grade, to enable millions of students to become independent, engaged readers, regardless of background or learning difference.
Learning Ally’s legacy and recent innovations encompass:
“We are grateful to our community of educators, donors, volunteers, corporations and foundations who support our work,” said Andrew Friedman, CEO of Learning Ally. “Our mission continues as we seek to drive sustainable and transformational impact, so that all children have equal opportunity to read, learn and achieve to their highest potential.”
On Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 6 to 8:30 PM, the organization will host a 75-year celebration at their central office, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, to thank the dedicated employees, donors, volunteers, and supporters of its ‘literacy for all’ mission.
About Learning Ally
Learning Ally is a leading education nonprofit dedicated to empowering 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 2.3 million students and 615,000 educators across the United States.
Categories: Activities, General, In the news, Press Releases, Student Centric Learning, The Digital Age
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