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.
September 8, 2022 by User
September 8, 2022 Princeton, NJ– Learning Ally, a leading nonprofit education solutions provider working to improve reading outcomes in U.S. schools, has won a 2022 Tech & Learning “Back to School” Award of Excellence in Primary Education for its new Excite Reading.™
Excite Reading™ is a Prek-2nd Grade supplemental reading program that takes a holistic approach to early childhood literacy. It is grounded in research-based learning principles integrated with Learning Ally’s Whole Child Literacy™ practices. A library of engaging ebooks are curated into coherent, thematic text sets and paired with standards-based lesson plans to help teachers bridge the gap between a child’s emerging decoding and comprehension skills. The program will build a deeper context of subject matter through rich vocabulary, language, and comprehension practice, while encouraging curiosity and wonder in young learners.
Heather Wiederstein, Vice President of Solutions Design for Learning Ally, said, “Early childhood is an essential time to build foundational reading skills– both word attack and comprehension of texts– for all students. It is imperative to provide extra support for students who need more preparation, who may be entering the early grades with limited word or background knowledge exposure or have an undiagnosed learning disability. Excite Reading™ does both well and supports a joyful culture and community of reading in the classroom.”
Excite Reading™ stories come from Learning Ally’s rich e-library of vibrant, culturally responsive titles to engage emergent readers through human narration. Using authentic contemporary literature, children can explore exciting themes such as gardens, insects, communities, and the arts, crossing important domains to learn about science, art, and history. Learning activities extend reading at home with families, and make important social and emotional connections with prompts for valuable discussion. Corresponding teacher guides drive instruction to a higher level of discourse using relevant vocabulary to express questions, answers, and ideas to stimulate critical thinking.
“Thank you Tech & Learning for acknowledging Excite Reading™ as a beneficial instructional resource in primary education,” adds Ms. Wiederstein. “The nation’s drumbeat is loud for using evidenced-based principles in the science of reading to improve reading outcomes. Ending the literacy divide and improving reading outcomes is what our organization is best known for.”
Excite Reading™ also won a 2022 Readers’ Choice Award by SmartBrief on EdTech. This award celebrates early educational products making a lasting impact on the education industry through innovative solutions, the latest technology, and pioneering problem-solving.
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.
Read more information about Excite Reading™
Visit Learning Ally School Solutions or call 800-221-1098.
Categories: Awards, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, General, In the news, Press Releases, Reading Strategies for K-12
August 29, 2022 by User
Advancing her district’s mission for whole child literacy across all grade levels is a quest Flora Encarnacao, the Superintendent of Schools for the Kearny School District in New Jersey, achieves with great purpose. Ms. Encarnacao is a 2022 recipient of Learning Ally’s Winslow Coyne Reitnouer Excellence in Education Award, an award that recognizes exemplary educators.
Nominated for her pedagogical knowledge on various literacy programming initiatives, Ms. Encarnacao is a compassionate and respected administrator and teacher known for her effectiveness in addressing students’ academic, social and emotional needs, and for her years of research, experience, and mastery of ‘what works’ to improve literacy for all.
When evaluating programming, Ms. Encarnacao looks for product qualities that follow the Readers and Writers Workshop model and those that address collaboration and discourse among students. She is a proponent of accessible and culturally-diverse texts that covers a wide range of personal interests. She believes in building up classroom libraries to make a vast selection of books available, including accessible curriculum, all types of literature, and many genres to broaden students’ reading experiences and to make reading enjoyable.
“As students get older, it can be hard to get them to enjoy reading, especially if it is a struggle for them,” she says. "Which is why access to Learning Ally’s Audiobook Solution across all grade levels for all students, including middle and high school, is a terrific resource.”
“Students struggle for varied reasons. It is up to the educators to find out why and to find another way, another format, another approach to help them become successful. Listening through technology is very appealing to many students, and for those that struggle, a great way to unlock the door to reading. The human-read audiobooks are a very enjoyable experience in real story-telling,” says Ms. Encarnacao.
She believes computer robotic voices can be a distraction for struggling readers, and human-read audiobooks are pleasing to the ear. “The reader can immerse themselves in the content and characters of the story without the frustration of trying to decode words. It is a game changer for students trying to learn during the pandemic, and especially for those who are dyslexic, visually-impaired and ESL. We have seen students who hated to read cultivate a love of reading. We’ve observed a rise in their personal libraries and book selections. Parents call us excited about the ease of accessibility of texts/novels for their children. Most importantly, we’ve prevented learning gaps and learning down time. Our students feel good about themselves as learners. This is our district goal of whole child literacy at its best.”
On behalf of the Learning Ally organization, we congratulate Flora Encarnacao for her exemplary service to improve literacy for all learners.
Categories: Audiobook Library, Curriculum & Access, Education & Teaching, Educators, Learning Ally “How-To Use”, Learning Disabilities, Reading Strategies for K-12, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices
August 22, 2022 by User
Students who have lost the desire to learn are a challenge for all teachers, but teaching students who are on the verge of dropping out of school or already in juvenile trouble can be an arduous task. It’s a challenge that Deborah Hanson, relishes and does impeccably well as an English Language Arts & Reading teacher for the Austin ISD’s Alternative Satellite Campus at Travis County Day School in Texas.
In her teaching approach for adjudicated youth, Mrs. Hanson focuses on student-centered learning, characterized as “whole child literacy,” a helpful framework, and one of the main reasons why she was chosen as a 2022 recipient of Learning Ally’s Winslow Coyne Reitnouer Excellence in Education Award; an award that recognizes exemplary educators.
For over 30 years, she has touched the lives of hundreds of at-risk students, including those in foster care, high school dropouts, incarcerated juveniles, ex-offenders, and displaced workers.
“Adjudicated youth are not representative of the general student population,” says Mrs. Hanson. She believes every student is a learner, but her students do not believe that. They are in restricted environments. They lack self-esteem. They are typically poor readers and writers. “They have been failed by our education system, and they have failed themselves,” she says. “In fact, they have learned failure. It is not easy to break through the failed experiences, trauma, and turmoil that most of them have endured.”
In Texas's Region 13 reading specialist program, Mrs. Hanson teaches disengaged youth to work independently on their reading skills. She assesses each student individually. Then she provides targeted interventions with fidelity, along with encouragement, understanding and emotional care.
Student-Centered Learning
Mrs. Hanson recalls her own childhood. There were no books in her house. Her parents did not read to her, and English was not the primary language spoken at home. Her early memories were fraught with failure in and out of school. Fortunately, she was brought up in the era of the Head Start program – a much needed program in today’s education system.
To break through her students’ reading barriers, Mrs. Hanson uses Learning Ally’s extensive library of human-read audiobooks. “I want my students to be active readers. I want them to enjoy a pastime of reading that every child and adult deserves. If I can get them to read just one book to escape their feelings of doubt and failure, I can open their world. I’ve seen the results.”
In every class, students receive 45 minutes of dedicated reading time while listening to audiobooks of rich literature and culturally relevant stories that have familiar protagonists. Mrs. Hanson wants them to read books that reflect their own experiences, mistakes, and misfortunes. She encourages students to get comfortable with a book, discuss ideas, and share viewpoints.
“The first time I heard a student say, “I just read an entire book,” it was exhilarating! Giving students books where they can do character analysis can potentially change their view on how society sees them. Audiobooks give them opportunities to be “out in the free” world through stories.” The term “out in the free” is a description that incarcerated youth are all too familiar with.
Through active listening of human-read audiobooks, Mrs. Hanson’s students improve fundamental skills in vocabulary and comprehension. They think critically. They read other content like music lyrics and movie subtitles. They read to understand, be informed, and entertained.
Teachers are a “Sea of Heroes”
Mrs. Hanson knows that evidence-based reading instruction based on the science of reading, combined with providing instruction with social and emotional learning methodologies, motivates students at-risk to read with engagement and proficiency.
Throughout her teaching career, language development has stood out as the biggest challenge, specifically reading and writing proficiency. “It has become my focus and passion to provide my students with access to tailored reading and writing instruction, positive reinforcement, and sufficient support so that they can see results. This approach enables more students to see their future differently. They are inclined to invest in their learning process, just as I have invested in their education and success.”
Many teachers are feeling unsupported due to unprecedented demands, the pandemic, and discrimination. Mrs. Hanson says, “I want to encourage all educators to stay focused on the student. We are a “sea of heroes,” indispensable and capable of changing the world.”
On behalf of the Learning Ally organization, we congratulate Deborah Hanson and all 2022 winners for their exemplary service to improve literacy for all learners.
Categories: Awards, Education & Teaching, Educators, Student Centric Learning, Teacher Best Practices
August 15, 2022 by User
Making connections between essential early reading skills and mathematical concepts is a wonderful way to engage children while introducing them to the idea that words and numerical expressions have a symbiotic relationship for cross-curricular learning. Each discipline is critical for learning success and information processing. In reading, letters form words that symbolize objects, attributes, or actions. In mathematics, numbers symbolize amounts, patterns, or relationships.
Creating a Rich Learning Environment
During our Spotlight on Dyslexia 2022, Dr. Antony T. Smith and Dr. Allison Hintz, both associate professors of mathematics education at the University of Washington Bothell, talked with educators about how to create engaging learning experiences through read-alouds and discussions using children’s literature.
Drs. Smith and Hintz have worked in a wide range of settings from school-based learning experiences to public libraries, to community-based organizations. They co-authored the book, Mathematizing Children’s Literature Sparking Connections, Joy, and Wonder, Through Read-Alouds and Discussion.
Student-Centered Approach
Drs. Smith and Hintz are proponents of student-centered or whole child learning, in which teachers use evidence-based reading instruction grounded in the science of reading to develop early reading skills, while deepening knowledge of mathematical concepts and nurturing children’s identities as literacy and mathematical sense-makers.
Early reading skills include word recognition, language comprehension, decoding, background knowledge, and vocabulary. The professors encourage teachers to use dynamic, interactive read alouds from multicultural children’s literature to incorporate conceptual learning, as well as the application of skill. Read-alouds feature real-world contexts through discussion, input, active listening, and automaticity through repeated readings.
Recommended Categories of Books
Over years of research, the professors identified children’s literature that provide vibrant opportunities for young learners to notice, wonder, and experience joy in reading mathematics stories through different lenses. They found books where mathematics might appear in a work of children's literature in a way that brings mathematics alive in the stories.
These types of books generally fall into three categories:
text-dependent books, where the plot and math are central to the story;
idea-enhancing books, where the story could stand alone without discussing mathematical concepts, but if teachers do, it makes the story more interesting and rewarding; and
illustration-exploring books where visuals enhance the story in a playful context, and help make connections with children’s own lives. This is a kind of story where children “think like a mathematician.”
Are you ready to expand your instructional approach to empower early learners to think in mathematical ways?
Register for this lively and informative session, now on-demand. Learn specific book titles recommended by Drs. Smith and Hintz, and delve into modeling stories that can help you better understand the children you learn with and the knowledge they bring from their home communities. Build and strengthen their fundamental reading and mathematics skills, while preparing them to become critical thinkers.
Learning Ally’s 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.
Categories: Authors for Access, Books, Authors, & Movies, Curriculum & Access, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, Reading Strategies for K-12, Teacher Best Practices
August 8, 2022 by User
At Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School in New York City, first grade teacher Maria Arcodia noticed that children in her early education classes who struggled to read could hold broader conversations and comprehend spoken words, but could not grasp the full concepts of stories with printed text.
As the mother of a child with a visual impairment and dyslexia, she fully understood the emotional toll that children who struggle to read experience without the necessary instruction and support. Her son struggled throughout elementary and middle school, until he was given a reading accommodation in high school where he could listen to curriculum and stories through human-read audiobooks.
“The combination of seeing the text, hearing it spoken correctly aloud, and the ability to manipulate the page format and rate of speed made it easier for him to understand what he read,” said Ms. Arcodia. When she saw the difference that human-read audiobooks made in her son's life, she knew it would help many more younger children in her own classroom.
Multisensory Reading Approach
In her classes, Ms. Arcodia assists each child to log in to Learning Ally and choose their first book. Sometimes it is a book that they always wanted to read, but felt it was too tricky until they were given accessible text.
After downloading the book to the digital bookshelf, her students choose their preferred background color, font color, size and spacing of print and speed of audio playback. They learn to use advanced features like how to bookmark a page, find definitions and synchronize their bookshelves. "At this point, they get really excited about the tool and the freedom to read independently at their leisure," says Ms. Arcodia. She also helped parents and caregivers become familiarized with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution and why it is beneficial in helping to improve children's reading skills. Parents appreciated having the reading resource at their school, and to see their child’s reading enthusiasm and progress.
Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School saw early education success too.
Teachers could more easily collaborate across grade levels to develop, track, and adjust a student’s IEP plans.
More students bridged the gap between their ability to decode words and their intellectual capability to understand what they heard, deepening their vocabulary and content knowledge.
English language learners could learn content along with reading and speaking skills.
More students could access the same content as their peers, and gained confidence to learn grade-level content.
Children who spoke Spanish, but may not have known how to read in their native language, could access grade-level content, while seeing and hearing the words spoken aloud with correct intonation and prosody.
Ms. Arcodia summed up her experience saying, "Giving children an opportunity as early as possible to listen to human-read audiobook stories was a winning strategy for our school, our students and their families, and our teachers."
New Excite Reading™
For children to truly understand what they read, research shows that skilled reading requires not only word recognition and decoding, but also language comprehension, including background knowledge and vocabulary. Learning Ally’s new Excite Reading™ for children in Pre-K to Grade 2 focuses on building comprehension by encouraging the joy in reading with authentic children’s literature read by human narrators, and by helping children explore ideas and build skills with lessons that prompt rich discussion and model best reading practices.
Download a free e-book and accompanying teacher guide now.
Categories: Assistive Technology, Curriculum & Access, dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education & Teaching, Educators, Learning Ally “How-To Use”, Learning Disabilities, Reading Strategies for K-12, Teacher Best Practices
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