It Is Possible!

Positive Communication and Literacy Outcomes for ALL

Children

Sally Clendon, PhD Senior Lecturer

Speech and Language Therapy Programme Massey University

Jane Farrall, MSpEd, MSPAA Speech Language Therapist

Spectronics

A Traditional/Readiness View of Literacy

•  Literacy is learned in a predetermined sequential manner that is linear, additive, and unitary.

•  Literacy learning is school-based. •  Literacy learning requires mastery of certain

prerequisite skills. •  Some children will never learn to read.

Reading

Speaking

ReadinessSkills

Writing

Listening

Traditional Model of Literacy Learning (Erickson, 1999)

A Current/Emergent View of Literacy

•  Literacy is constructive, interactive, recursive, and emergent.

•  Literacy is a process that begins at birth and perhaps before.

•  Emergent literacy is “…the reading and writing behaviors that precede and develop into conventional literacy”.

•  Emergent literacy is appropriate for all children.

Augmentative Communication/

Speaking

Reading

Listening

Writing

Oral and Written Language Development ( Koppenhaver, Coleman, Kalman & Yoder, 1991. Adapted from Teale & Sulzby, 1989)

Emergent Literacy

•  Emergent literacy behaviours are fleeting and variable depending on text, task, and environment.

•  The functions of print are as integral to literacy as the forms.

Means of Communication and Interaction

Communication at any level, intentional or not, must be

encouraged.

Language Comprehension

Word Identification

Silent Reading Comprehension

Print Processing Beyond Word Identification (Slide from Erickson and Koppenhaver, 2010)

The Four Blocks •  Guided Reading •  Self Selected Reading •  Writing •  Working with Words

•  Created by Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy Hall •  http://www.four-blocks.com/

Guided Reading

Guided Reading

•  Primary purposes are to assist students to: – Understand that reading involves thinking and

meaning-making. – Become more strategic in their own reading.

•  Must use a wide variety of books and other print materials.

•  Listening comprehension is not a replacement for the reading done in this block.

Purposes for Reading

•  Developing readers have not learned to set their own purposes for reading.

•  If a purpose is not set, the implied purposes are “read this to remember everything and read this to guess what I am going to ask you”

•  Purposes should be broad enough to motivate processing of entire text.

Guided Reading •  A book for guided reading is usually read and re-

read through the week. •  Different purposes for reading it are set each

day. •  Students can participate in the reading and in

setting these purposes as they become more skilled.

•  Build confidence. •  Help students become independent.

Three Part Guided Reading

•  Before – background knowledge, personal connection making and purpose setting.

•  During – reading / listening for bulk of allocated time.

•  After – follow-up and feedback related to pre-reading discussion. Also, related writing, drama, singing, etc. Connecting new to known.

Three Part Guided Reading

•  Before – background knowledge, personal connection making and purpose setting.

•  During – reading / listening for bulk of allocated time.

•  After – follow-up and feedback related to pre-reading discussion. Also, related writing, drama, singing, etc. Connecting new to known.

Guided Reading Books

•  Those you already have •  Information from the www •  Created books on topics of interest in

PowerPoint, Clicker 5, Boardmaker Plus, Boardmaker Studio

•  Tar Heel Reader •  Start-to-Finish Books

Mr  Potato  Head's  Big  Adventure!  by Hgiunta

This  is  Mr  Potato  Head.  

He  used  to  have  a  girlfriend.  Un;l  he  got  dumped.  

He  was  so  upset,  he  didn't  know  what  to  do.  

He  tried  online  da;ng,  but  that  was  unsuccessful.  

Then  he  decided  to  let  off  some  steam  by  going  dancing.  

He  had  too  much  fun  and  lost  his  nose,  ears  and  moustache!  

He  went  shopping  and  all  he  could  find  was  a  Transformers  costume.  

But  a  talent  scout  found  him  and  decided  to  put  him  in  the  new  Transformers  movie!  

He  starred  in  the  movie,  went  to  the  premiere  and  met  lots  of  fabulous  people!  

He  had  become  a  movie-­‐star  and  never  thought  about  his  old  girlfriend  again!  

Repe;;on  with  Variety    

To  learn  a  skill  and  generalise  it  across  contexts,  instruc;on  must  provide  repe;;on  of  the  skill  in  a  

variety  of  ways  

Self-selected reading

Self-selected reading

•  Primary purposes are to assist students to: – Understand why they might want to learn. – Become automatic in skill application. – Choose to read after they learn how.

•  It isn’t self-directed if you don’t choose it yourself.

•  You can’t get good at it if it is too difficult.

Self-selected reading for students with disabilities

•  Need to make books accessible to ALL students

•  Many children with disabilities have fewer opportunities to practice than their peers and when they do are often passive participants (Koppenhaver and Yoder, 1992).

Creating custom books

•  Books with familiar photos can be more meaningful and motivating for many children

•  You can make older content with simple text •  Students can get involved in book creation

Tar Heel Reader

•  http://tarheelreader.org/ •  Lots of simple books on a wide variety of

topics suitable for older students (and students of all ages)

Created bookshelf in iBooks

Writing

Writing

•  Students who write become better readers, writers and thinkers.

•  Writing without standards. •  Learn in classroom writing communities:

– Write for real reasons – See others do so –  Interact with peers and teachers about written

content, use and form.

Writing and Reading

•  Without a pencil writing doesn’t improve •  Without writing, reading development will be

limited •  If a student doesn’t have a pencil, you need

to find one!

Writing With Alternative Pencils CD

•  • 

• 

• 

Developmental Spelling Stages •  Print has meaning (emergent writing) – scribble,

numbers, letter-like strings, letters •  Visual Cue – read/spell in environmental

context, tuned to distinctive visual features •  Phonetic Cue – sound it out, “glue to print” (initial

sound, initial + final, initial, medial + final) •  Transitional – rule based e.g. putting past tense

on every verb •  Conventional

Personal Connection

The power of starting from the things children

love the most!

Working with words

Working with Words •  Primary purpose is to help students become strategic

in reading words. •  Make words instruction:

–  Words based –  Experience based –  Age-appropriate

•  Should result in students who read and write –  More –  More successfully and independently –  With greater enjoyment

Successful early reading instruction

•  Decoding (phonics) and sight word instruction •  Frequent opportunities to read and re-read

easy, interesting and motivating books. •  Frequent opportunities to write for personally

meaningful reasons using invented spelling and no standards

•  Frequent experiences reading a book with an adult for enjoyment and understanding.

Word Wall

•  Used to teach words that you don’t want students to have to work to decode or spell

•  Learning not exposure – about learning 5 words not being exposed to 20

•  Need/want/use vs. curriculum driven direct-instruction

Word Wall Content Basics

•  High frequency words •  Generative patterns e.g. at, can •  High utility e.g. name, TV favourites •  Spelling demons I.e. words which are often

misspelt

Word Wall Use Basics

•  5 words a week –  Issue is deep, thorough knowledge

•  Cumulative list – On the wall until every kid consistently spells

word correctly without looking •  Introduce homophones in separate weeks,

not all at once •  Daily 10-minute activities

Daily Activities

•  Mind Reader –  It’s on your word wall –  It’s a one beat word –  It begins with w –  It’s an action word –  It rhymes with bent

Making Words

•  Cunningham and Cunningham (1992) •  Scaffolded program to encourage people to

become confident about making individual words.

•  Teaches students to look for spelling patterns in words and recognise the differences that result when a single letter is changed.

QRI3  Results  

Willans Hill Four Blocks