Literacy Leadership Blog

News and reflections from experts and practitioners on the latest literacy research, events and daily practice

K-12 | Read to Achieve

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Overlooked Secrets of the English Language With Jean Rishel
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March 13, 2023 by User

Image of Jean RishelWhen asking U.S. educators to speculate on how much of the English language actually follows some sort of rule set, Jean Rishel sometimes hears answers as low as 10%. “This tells me that we need to help our population better understand how the English language is structured,” says the Level 5 Master Instructor for Multi-Sensory Education Institute (IMSE), who is an expert on these rules. It is a generally held belief among native English speakers that our vocabulary set is of the most rebellious and unpredictable, but despite exceptions, there are some fundamental rules to our words that, when understood, can help struggling readers unlock their comprehension

At this year's Spotlight on Dyslexia Virtual Conference, Rishel sat down with the Learning Ally community to share some overlooked insights about the structure of English words. She explains, "When we first begin teaching language to students, we start with phonics: the study of how letters and sounds work together. These rules are helpful when trying to pronounce our most common, one-syllable words, like “go”, “see”, and “from”. These base words often originate from Anglo-Saxon and Old-English vocabulary. As students get older, they can learn to combine these common bases to create compound words like “playground” or “armchair”.

But phonics can only take students so far. Rishel recommends that as early as first and second grade, students should be introduced to Morphology. Morphology is the study of the structure of words within our language. It focuses on the use of morphemes: meaningful units of language which cannot be further divided. Morphology can help older students to decode multi-syllabic words that can’t merely be interpreted with phonics. 

What is Morphology?

Morphology breaks down multiDefinition of Morphologysyllabic words into bases and common affixes. These smaller units of language help students build the meaning of bigger words. For example, if we were to break down the word “unpredictable” into morphemic parts, we’d get “un”, “pre”, “dict”, and “able”. “Un” is a common prefix, meaning “not”. “Pre” is also a common prefix meaning “before”, and “able” (sometimes seen as “ible”) is a common suffix and means “able to”. If we scramble these thoughts together, we get “not able to, before”. “Dict” is the last piece of the puzzle.

When dealing with morphology, we introduce base words that come from Latin and Greek backgrounds. Common Latin bases for students to start with include “rupt”, “tract”, and “aud”. Common Greek bases for beginners include “micro”, “tele”, and “bio”. In the example of “unpredictable”, “dict” is a Latin base. “Dict”, sometimes written “dic” means “to say”. When we combine this meaning with our affixes, we are able to fully decode the word. “Unpredictable” means “not able to say before”. 

This method of linguistic analysis can give students a very literal understanding of multi-syllabic words that they may encounter for the first time when reading independently. That’s why Rishel is pushing to bring Morphology back to the forefront of language education. She recommends that educators teach young students the common affixes, as well as the common Latin and Greek bases, the same as other vocabulary is taught. “You can do this with blending drills using flashcards,” she says, “Ask the children to write them down three times a week”. 

Rishel also recommends exercises in which students must break down words into their morphemic parts. Using different notations, such as underlining and circling, students can recognize and differentiate the bases, prefixes, and suffixes. 

For more information on the magic of Morphology, watch Jean Rishel’s full lecture by registering for Learning Ally’s Spotlight on Dyslexia on Demand.

Article by: Michael Manzi. Michael was a struggling reader. Now, he writes articles and blogs to promote research-backed literacy interventions for students across the education spectrum.


 

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National Audiobook Challenge Celebrates Record Numbers of Students Reading Across America

March 8, 2023 by User

For Immediate Release:

Learning Ally's 2023 Great Reading Games

March 8, 2023 - Princeton, NJ Learning Ally, a national nonprofit working with U.S. schools to strengthen reading outcomes and improve equitable access to grade-level books, has wrapped up its seventh annual Great Reading Games. The organization celebrated a record number of K-12 participants, more than 186,600 students who read more than 39 million pages in just seven weeks.

The finale of this award-winning audiobook challenge coincides with “Read Across America,” and is designed to support teachers who encourage at-risk students to read. Students with dyslexia and other learning barriers explore personal reading interests, while building foundational skills in vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. As a result, many students feel more empowered as independent readers and learners.

During the Great Reading Games, educators report deeper connections with students and positive academic outcomes, such as the ability for more struggling readers to read grade-level material, doubling reading frequency in just 50 days, and enhancing reading scores. Innovative teachers have also leveraged this event to enhance their teaching capacity, and to expand their class and school libraries with accessible books. Literacy leaders have implemented school-wide initiatives to create a culture of strong, inclusive readers, and taken steps to broaden their professional knowledge on the science of reading.

This year’s top school winners are:

  • Roosevelt Elementary School, CA
  • Independence High School, IN
  • Patrick Francis Healy Middle School, NJ
  • Weirton Heights Elementary School, WV
  • Atascocita Middle School, TX
  • East Woods Intermediate School, OH
  • Atascocita High School, TX
  • East Orange STEM Academy, NJ
  • Vertical Skills Academy, CO
  • Dionne Warwick Institute, NJ
  • Renner Academy, TX
  • Mid Prairie Home School Education Center, IA

Dr. Terrie Noland, Learning Ally’s VP of Educator Initiatives said, “It’s always thrilling to wrap up another successful year of the Great Reading Games. When educators tell us, “I can’t believe how many students are now reading on grade-level,” or a particular student “shined” in this reading challenge,” or that schools have implemented a “read for 20 minutes a day initiative,” these are the best results we could hope for.”

Pre-made teacher resources for the Great Reading Games are ready to launch for educator members. Learning Ally’s app tracks students' reading activity on a sliding point schedule incentivizing students to read in and out of the school day. Students accumulate points in one of 12 brackets based on grade-level and school size. Top winners include schools, teachers and students, who can win digital gift cards and national recognition.

The Great Reading Games concluded in a celebrity livestream event to discuss the importance of reading to learn and reading for pleasure. This year’s guest author, Carmen Agra Deedy, wrote several bestsellers, including The Library Dragon, The Cheshire Cheese Cat, 14 Cows for America, and Wombat Said Come In! “Never give up…keep reading," was Agra Deedy’s parting message to students.

Learn more about the Great Reading Games.

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 million students and 445,000 educators across the United States.

www.learningally.org/educators. 800-221-1098.

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Disunity in Reading Instruction: The High Cost of Confusion
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March 6, 2023 by User

In this blog, we are discussing ‘three-cueing,’ and how this instructional strategy may not be as effective for beginning readers to learn how to decode printed text, especially for kids like Joey. 

Consider this scenario - Joey has a learning disability. His reading skills aren’t on grade-level. About 85% of his day is spent in general education. The remaining time, he spends in small group instruction. His general education teacher teaches the three cueing method prompting Joey to draw on context and sentence structure, along with letters, to identify words. 

In Joey’s inclusion class, his other teacher helps him decode words through an explicit, systematic approach with a scope and sequence to identify words through print to speech. When Joey goes home from school and tries to read to his little sister, he gets confused. Which method should his brain use to read the words in the story? He doesn’t know what to do. Consistency matters when it comes to effective reading instruction, especially for kids who need early intervention. Beginning learners cannot decipher which method is appropriate to use. 

Is Inconsistency in Reading Instruction Happening in Your School? 

Learning competing methods of reading instruction may be complicating Joey’s ability to learn “how to read” effectively, and causing self-doubt. Encouraging a child to look at a picture when they come to a tricky word, or to hypothesize or guess what word would work in the sentence, takes focus away from the word itself. This can interfere with the ability to use letter sounds to read through the word part-by-part, and their ability to recognize it more quickly the next time they see the word.  

One reason for low reading proficiency in many children today may be three cueing because this teaching methodology is missing constrained skills. Constrained skills must be learned early to initiate our brains’ ability to process  information. Examples of constrained skills are the alphabet, concepts about print, high-frequency word lists, and how to write our names. Phonics is considered constrained because once we have learned it, we don’t need to learn it again. 

The science of reading isn’t just about phonics, but phonics must be explicitly taught to ensure that the child can build on their knowledge agency through literature-rich interactive reading experiences, text-based vocabulary, and background information.

Consistency Matters

In a recent edWebinar with Dr. Terrie Noland, educators took a deep dive into disunity of reading instruction in schools, and how to implement a unified approach to instruction – one grounded in evidence-based practices aligned with the science of reading, brain-based learning, and whole child literacy – a concept that builds an ecosystem around the individual learner, taking into account not only their academic skills, but cognitive, social and environmental factors as well. “When a child is constantly flipping back and forth from this strategy to that strategy, their brains become fatigued,” says Dr. Noland. “That child needs consistency in early reading instruction." 

Dr. Noland recommends leading from where you are. 

  • Model literacy leadership by cultivating a shared understanding of the science of reading and brain-based learning. 

  • Build authentic relationships through credibility and humility. 

  • Encourage a curriculum, assessment and systems review to understand how reading is taught across all grade levels, and in all instructional environments of a school. 

  • Evaluate current schedules and how literacy is being taught throughout the day to introduce more reading time in every class. 

  • Grow your own knowledge, and build collective efficacy. 

  • Use positive affirmations, ‘We’re a team! We’re doing this together for the kids!

Shared Understanding Builds Foundations for Higher Learning

Inconsistency of reading instruction delays comprehension to move to complex text. Dr. Noland references the work of Emily Hanford, Executive Producer and Correspondent for American Public Media (APM). Her latest podcast “Sold the Story, How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong” investigates four authors, and a publishing company that have made millions selling curriculum that relies on three cueing - now a disproven theory of reading instruction.

“There is no blame game here,” says Dr. Noland. “Just a call for consistency to ensure baseline fundamental skills are taught to learn ‘how to read’. This will reduce confusion in teaching' methods, and compound essential reading skills that build on our reservoir of agency, create automaticity in reading, and cement the ability for lifelong learning.”

Listen to this edWebinar for a Continuing Education Certificate. 

Ready to influence others? Read this blog, “Flipping the Script on Low Reading Outcomes - Learn to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Aisle.” 

Learning Ally’s Professional Learning Services

Our Professional Learning Services are designed to strengthen educator’s instructional capacity, so they can deliver a deeper, richer learning experience and promote better academic outcomes. Our nonprofit partners with families, schools, and districts to share research, encourage new pathways to leadership, and expand instructional and teaching knowledge.

Valerie Chernek writes about educational best practices through the use of technology and the science of reading in support of teachers, children, and adolescents who struggle with learning differences. 

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Building Reading Resolutions for the New Year
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February 27, 2023 by User

 

2023 Literacy Learning Landscape 

If you had a crystal ball, what would you envision for literacy in 2023?

  • Comprehensive early reading development focused on phonics, linguistics, and language-based skills.
  • Oral language as the bedrock of early literacy.
  • Reenergizing the joy of reading by providing authentic, culturally relevant text, and not limiting children to leveled text.
  • Using recovery act funds to address COVID learning loss. 
  • Schoolwide shifts that encourage every teacher to be a “reading” teacher.
  • High quality, high dosage tutoring programs. 
  • Professional learning in the science of reading and brain-based learning.

If you are predicting a learning landscape like this, you are in agreement with three of our brightest experts on literacy, Dr. Molly Ness, Dr. Katie Pace Miles, and Natalie Wexler. These incredible thought leaders gave their predictions in a recent Learning Ally webinar to explore the 2023 literacy landscape

You can register to view their full presentation and conversation at no cost on-demand to learn about: 

  • Early learning instructional skills. 

  • Cognitive load theory and working memory, and how they relate to learning to ensure students are reading comprehensively.

  • Views about artificial intelligence for learning.

  • The importance of teaching writing, and much more. 

We’re touching on the high points here, but encourage you to view the webinarMiles, Ness, Wexler headshots

Take a Broader Lens to Literacy Instruction

Our thought leaders describe early reading instruction as a “symphony” of essential reading components that must be taught simultaneously to ensure all children become successful readers. Hear them take a deep dive into reading instruction best practices and discuss encoding, high-frequency words, opportunities to read and listen to complex text, the importance of conversation, text-based vocabulary, background knowledge, constrained and unconstrained skills, and encoding.

Learn how the brain’s conscious memory works to take on new information for recall, and how modulating a heavy cognitive load with linear outlines acts as a roadmap for learning. Also learn why the more knowledge we have in long-term memory, the better capacity we have for reading,

Learn about the exciting shift of “all” teachers becoming “reading teachers” to reinforce reading skills in every subject area to build agency knowledge. Learn approaches to do this in your own class that might include read-alouds/think-alouds of complex text, discussions focused on the chosen text, and staying on the topic for longer periods of time to deepen  comprehension. 

Hear why too much instruction in phonics for decoding, and not enough language-based skills for comprehension or vice versa won’t move the needle on reading mastery.

Covid Relief Funds 

Dr. Miles discusses the use of federal Covid relief funds in the most effective ways with planned goals and measured outcomes to remediate the most vulnerable student populations. Schools must capture what approaches worked and what did not. These funds end in September 2024. 

High-Quality, High Dosage Tutoring 

Explore why tutoring programs are becoming more prominent in schools to address learning loss. Research by the Annenberg Brown University demonstrates a clear need for evidence-based tutoring programs delivered with fidelity three to five days a week by highly qualified tutors to meet the rigors of learning and relearning important skills. In many teaching universities, literacy professors are now embedding tutoring programming into pre-teachers’ field practices. 

Professional Learning A Must

More administrators and teachers are recognizing the need to update their professional knowledge in the science of reading and brain-based learning instruction. 

In addition to this webinar, you might want to review Learning Ally’s professional learning services, our Spotlight Series events, and the new, award-winning Effective PreK-6 Brain-Based Literacy Instruction programming. 

About the Presenters

Dr. Molly Ness, V.P. of Academic Content, Learning Ally is a former classroom teacher, a reading researcher, and a teacher educator. She holds a doctorate in reading education from the University of Virginia, and spent 16 years as an associate professor at Fordham University. She is the author of four books and numerous peer-reviewed articles about dyslexia, comprehension, and teachers’ instructional decisions. She began the End Book Deserts podcast to bring 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.

Natalie Wexler holds a BA from Harvard, an MA in history from the University of Sussex, and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of The Knowledge Gap…The Hidden Cause of American’s Education System and How to Fix It.  She has written articles and essays for a number of publications, including the New York Times, The Atlantic, and the Washington Post. She is a senior contributor to Forbes.com focusing on education, and has been interviewed on TV and radio shows and podcasts, including Morning Joe, and NPR’s On Point and 1A. 

Katie Pace Miles is an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College City University of New York. Dr. Miles’ research includes orthographic mapping, high frequency word learning, reading interventions and literacy instruction that are both developmentally appropriate and grounded in the science of reading. She is the academic advisory for Reading Rescue, an evidence-based intervention for the first and second grade students. She is the author of Reading Ready, an explicit and systematic word reading curriculum for kindergarten and first graders. She is also the founder and principal investigator of CUNY Reading Core, which improves pre-service re-service teacher training, and provides high dosage free tutoring to historically underserved New York City students. 

Valerie Chernek writes about educational best practices through the use of technology and the science of reading in support of teachers, children, and adolescents who struggle with learning differences. 

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Share the Love Event...Learning Ally Communities Spread Joy and Appreciation to Educators
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February 18, 2023 by User

Love was certainly in the air this Valentine's Day, and the Learning Ally community made sure to share it far and wide! In a heartwarming event called Share the Love, the Volunteer Nation Community and the Learning Ally Educator Community joined forces for the second year to spread love and appreciation to educators.

Maria Lelie

With the help of nearly 50 employees and volunteers, Volunteer Nation community members were paired up with educators and tasked with sending them a special valentine. Led by Learning Ally’s Elizabeth Zwerg and Maria Lelie, the event was born from a desire to bring much-needed TLC to educators at a time when morale is low and attrition is high. 

Zwerg, a former educator, knows firsthand that this time of year can be tough for teachers as they slog through testing season and anxiously await the warmer months. That's why the Share the Love event is so important: to show educators that they are valued and appreciated for the transformative work they do every day. And WOW, did the love and connection flow! 

Volunteers went all out to create special packages for their matched educators, complete with ribbons, chocolates, bows, original poems, and love letters. “We are so grateful for our community of volunteers and their endless energy to spread joy and support wherever they can,” says Lelie. 

Hundreds of emails flooded in from excited volunteers like Kelly Lucero, who couldn't wait to deliver her special goodies to their assigned educator, and educators like Amy Burns, who stated, “I've been teaching for almost 30 years, so please hear me...I appreciate being appreciated! I'm such a fan of Learning Ally and promote it all of the time. The webinars are awesome! I learn and apply things after every single one of them! Learning Ally is what teachers need like we've never needed beforNelda Reyes, Educator standing in front of sign Dream Bige.”

Of course, the event wasn't just about material gifts. Volunteers also sent e-cards and heartfelt messages to educators all over the world, including those as far away as Ecuador. The impact of all that love was palpable: as Dr. Terrie Noland, VP of Educator Initiatives at Learning Ally, says, "Love Boomerangs!" 

The Share the Love event demonstrated just how much love can come back to us when we put it out into the world.

It's no surprise that the event was a huge success. In just two short years, more than 130 matches have been made between volunteers and educators. Even the Executive Leadership Team at Learning Ally got in on the fun this year, with each member matched to their own Educator Community Ambassador.

Margaret Mead said, "Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world." 

That's exactly what the Learning Ally community has done with the Share the Love event. By coming together to show their appreciation for educators, they've made a real difference in the lives of those who dedicate themselves to shaping the minds of the next generation. Love really does have the power to change the world, and the Learning Ally Communities and staff are leading the charge when it comes to building relationships and creating connections. 

Written by: Maria Lelie & Elizabeth Zwerg

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