RDLA152.156 Feed

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S1.5 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

In Session 6 you will complete a final project. Your final project is an opportunity for you to begin planning changes in your present or ideal classroom. All change starts with a vision. Begin with your philosophy and beliefs. Think about your present curriculum and the English Language Arts Standards you reviewed in Session 1 of this course and refer back to your online journal entry where you reflected on specific changes you might make to your current or future teaching practices to help students meet or exceed the standards. Decide on one instructional change that you would like to make, such as more emphasis on comprehension strategies, vocabulary, or phonics instruction or changing your classroom culture to foster students' ability and motivation to read and write. In the next sessions you will devise a plan for implementing this instructional change and ways to integrate the plan with your existing/future curriculum. In Session 2 you will learn about phonemic awareness and phonics and their role in effective literacy instruction.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Policies and Procedures

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Policies

Be respectful of your facilitator and fellow learners and offer appropriate feedback and comments.
If you plan to be away from the class for more than three days, notify your facilitator and any learners who may be affected by your absence beforehand.
Check current PBS TeacherLine terms of service regarding refunds and other policies.
Participate in course discussions/activities at least three times each week. Your first discussion communication should occur by the third day of the course. Your subsequent responses should occur naturally, move the conversation forward, and support the building of your online community. Your participation in discussions is crucial to the success of this course. Be ready to participate and contribute.
If you need support with technical issues, adjusting to online learning, understanding an assignment, or participating in the discussion forums, it is your responsibility to actively seek help until your needs are met.

Procedures

Following these procedures will help you to maximize your online learning experience and support the development of your learning community:

If you haven't done so already, complete PBS TeacherLine's free online learning orientation mini-course "Practice Learning Online with TeacherLine." Even if you have taken an online course through another provider, you should review this practice course to familiarize yourself with the PBS TeacherLine course environment.
Respond to the comments of others professionally and respectfully, keeping in mind that all communications are public.
Familiarize yourself with this course by exploring each section. By the second day of the course, you should have read the syllabus and e-mailed your facilitator with any questions or concerns.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.5 Alternative Project 1

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

This is the first of three alternative projects in this course. Remember, you should only complete this alternative project if you have chosen to do three alternative projects instead of one final project.

Performance Expectations for Phonemic Awareness and Phonics: Alternative Project 1

This project will enable you to synthesize your learning from Sessions 1 and 2. You may wish to review the assessment rubric for this alternative project before you begin.

Review the English Language Arts standards described in Session 1 and the research about phonemic awareness and phonics instruction described in Session 1.
Search the Web to investigate English Language Arts standards in a variety of states, including your own. (State standards are listed on each state's Department of Education Web site.) Use this Web Search Checklist if you are unfamiliar with making Web searches.
Using your Web search, develop a list of 4-6 performance expectations for student knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics for the grade-level students you teach or plan to teach.
Write up the performance expectations in a way that will allow you to gather evidence and observe student growth (measurable outcomes) and include the following information:
- A description of the demographics and learning needs of your students or the students you plan to teach.
- Grade-level appropriate aspects of phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge that address both reading and writing.
- A rationale from research justifying your expectations. Use the information from course readings, the Web search, and your professional experiences to support your rationale.
- Describe the process for evaluating student learning (e.g. work samples, student journals, anecdotal records, etc.)
Refer to the assessment rubric for this alternative project as a guide to you and then submit it to the facilitator.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Alternative Project 1: Performance Expectations for Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Performance Expectations for Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Rubric: Alternative Project 1
Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
© PBS. All rights reserved.
List of performance expectations	A list of 4-6 performance expectations for student knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics is not provided.	A list of 4-6 performance expectations for student knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics is provided at an identified grade level. The list includes developmentally appropriate literacy behaviors, but do not include measureable outcomes. And/or the statements do not reflect specific research from the course or the English Language Arts standards.	A clear list of 4-6 performance expectations for student knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics is provided at an identified grade level. The list reflects comprehensive and developmentally appropriate literacy behaviors that include measurable outcomes. The statements reflect specific research from the course and the English Language Arts standards.
Write Up	The write up for the performance expectations does not include: A description of the demographics and learning needs of students. Grade-level appropriate aspects of phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge that address both reading and writing A research-based rationale justifying the expectations. And a description of the process for evaluating student learning.	The write up for the performance expectations includes: A brief description of the demographics and learning needs of students. Grade-level appropriate aspects of phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge that address either reading or writing (but not both). A research-based rationale justifying the expectations. And a brief description of the process for evaluating student learning.	The write up for the performance expectations includes: A thorough description of the demographics and learning needs of students. Grade-level appropriate aspects of phonemic awareness and phonics knowledge that address both reading and writing. A clear research-based rationale justifying the expectations that also references readings from the course. And a clear and thorough description of the process for evaluating student learning that aligns with the performance expectations.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

"Skilled readers share certain attributes. For example, they are not only able to identify words accurately but also to recognize them instantly. This is important because readers who need to spend a significant portion of their time identifying individual words rarely have enough attention left over to focus on a text's meaning."

-- Kuhn

Overview

In the last session, you explored how research-based literacy instruction and English Language Arts standards shape reading curricula and teaching practices in Grades PreK-8. In this session you will learn the role phonics plays in learning to read and write through readings that include specific phonics-based instructional strategies and examine their effectiveness in supporting the development of phonemic awareness in young readers and students with diverse learning styles. As you complete the session, you will engage in discussions and reflections about phonics-based reading instruction and evaluate the teaching strategies and activities provided. At the end of the session, you will complete an assignment that will help you to prepare for the final project, or you will complete the first alternative project for this course.

Objectives

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the implications of federal legislation on literacy education and your role in achieving federal literacy goals.
Reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of inventive spelling in reading and writing development.
Identify and discuss adaptations to the Making Words - Word Patterns Interactive to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles.
Design a phonics, phonemic-awareness, or concept-of-print instructional activity for a specific group of students, using activity models provided in this session.
Develop a list of expectations for student knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics for a specific group of students and provide a rationale from research justifying your expectations. (Alternative Project 1)

If you haven't done so already, download and print the Assignment Checklist to keep track of your assignments for this course.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Session Summary and Schedule

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Session Summary

This course is divided into six sessions:

Session 1: Early Literacy Instruction
Session 2: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics
Session 3: Fluency
Session 4: Vocabulary and Comprehension
Session 5: Motivating Readers and Writers
Session 6: Planning Future Literacy Instruction

Each session includes readings, videos, interactive activities, journal reflections, and discussion questions. You should work through the sessions in order. The end of each session contains a self-assessment. Session 6 provides instructions for the final project, which you will complete and submit to your facilitator using email. Alternative projects are also offered at the end of Sessions 2, 4, and 6 and are based on topics learned in the preceding sessions. At the end of the session there may be a section called "Transforming Your Practices." Use the questions in this section to determine how your understanding and practices have been changed or adjusted as a result of working through the session activities. Both of these sections are for your personal reflection and do not require a response to your facilitator.

Schedule

It will take about 45 hours to complete this course. Each session should take approximately nine hours. If you find yourself spending several hours more than this in any given session, please contact your facilitator to make sure this is necessary to complete the given assignments.

Sessions 1-6 will be offered in succession.
You should expect to complete one session per week.
Your facilitator can adjust the schedule if a special circumstance arises.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Other Course Resources

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

On this page you will find additional resources that are not included within the various sessions of the course.

Web sites

Evaluating Internet Resources: An Annotated Guide to Selected Resources

PBS LearningMedia: English Language Arts and Literacy

Readings

Allington, R.L. (2001). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs. New York: Longman.

Bear, Donald R.; Invernizzi, Marcia; Templeton, Shane R.; Johnston, Francine, Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, 3rd Edition, (c) 2004. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1995). Inequality and access to knowledge. In J.A. Banks & C. A. M Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education. New York: Macmillan.

Hennings, D. G. Contextually relevant word study; adolescent vocabulary development across curriculum. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 4(3) pp. 168-180.

Invernizzi, M., Abouzeid, M. P., Bloodgood, J. Integrated word study: spelling, grammar and meaning in the language arts classroom. Language Arts, 4(3) pp. 185-193.

Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., and Griffen, P. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington. DC: National Academy Press, 1998: 3-13.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S1.4 Self-Assessment

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether you understand the concepts in Session 1.

Which of the following is an example of evidence-based reading instruction?
a. systematic phonics instruction
b. reading aloud to students
c. small-group instruction
d. emphasis on metacognitive strategies
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is supported by research as a way to facilitate English language learner's literacy development?
a. computerized reading programs
b. dialogue journal between student and teacher
c. frequent use of wordless picture books
d. support in developing their home language
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is an example of knowledge-based reading competencies?
a. knowledge of decoding strategies
b. procedural knowledge related to fluency
c. knowledge of sound and symbol relationships
d. background knowledge related to text vocabulary
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following best describes the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts?
a. content for the elementary and secondary curriculum
b. grade-level skills to be mastered
c. a tool for measuring reading achievement
d. a vision statement of high expectations for all students
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a strong predictor of a four-year old child’s third grade reading comprehension?
a. phonological awareness
b. use of a metacognitive strategy
c. phonemic awareness
d. vocabulary knowledge
e. all of the above
answer

Transforming Practices

Think about early literacy research, standards-based instruction, and the needs of students who have diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Based on what you learned in this session, identify at least one way in which you would change your teaching practices to address these issues.

Additional Resources (Optional)

A Tale of Two Schools: The Challenge,
Explore this collection of articles from PBS that highlight the history of teaching reading in this country, the role of race in education, and the current state of reading reform.

Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children Excerpt from International Reading Association and National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1998). Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children (A Position Statement). Available at www.reading.org. Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Citations

Au, Kathryn. "A Multicultural Perspective on Policies for Improving Literacy Achievement: Equity and Excellence."

References

Colorin Colorado, Vocabulary Development. Retrieved June 6, 2007, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/teaching/vocabulary

Excerpt from International Reading Association. (2002). What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction? (A Position Statement of the International Reading Association). In Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice (pp. 232-236). Used with permission.

For video: "Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion" using text in: "Stone Fox". Copyright, 1980 by John Reynolds Gardiner. Used by permission from the author.

National Council of Teachers of English and International Reading Association. (1996). Standards for the English Language Arts. 12-23. Used with permission of the International Reading Association. Copyright 1996 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Reprinted with permission. See website, www.ncte.org

PBS Parents, Guide to Reading and Language. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/

PBS Parents, Literacy Development from Age 5 to 6. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopment/literacy-5to6.html

"Reading and Reading Instruction for Children from Low-Income and Non-English Speaking Households." Future Child 22:2 (2012) 73.

"Where We Stand on Learning to Read and Write." Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 53:5 (2012) 593-607. Print.

All IRA articles are used with permission from the International Reading Association.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Assignment Checklist

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Task

Assessment

Complete: Pre-Course Evaluation Survey

Session 1

Task

Assessment

Getting Started

Reflect: Expectations

Reflect: Prior Knowledge

Discuss: Get to Know Each Other

Online Journal Rubric

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Understanding Early Literacy Research

Read: What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction?

Discuss: Understanding Early Literacy Research

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Designing Standards-Based Instruction

Read: Standards for the English/Language Arts

View: Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion video

Reflect: Appropriateness of English/Language Arts Standards

Online Journal Rubric

Meeting the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Read: Where We Stand On Learning to Read and Write

Read: Reading and Reading Instruction for Children from Low-Income and Non-English Speaking Households

Read: Vocabulary Development

Discuss:Understanding Early Literacy Research

Prepare for your Final Project

Reflect: Consider the role your state standards play in literacy instruction and changes you would make to your practices to help students meet the standards.

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Online Journal Rubric

Self-Assessment

Complete: Session 1 Self-Assessment

Session 2

Task

Assessment

Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness

Read: Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness

Discuss: Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Understanding the Role of Phonics

Read: "Concepts, Sounds, and the ABCs: A Diet for a Very Young Reader"

Read: The Pals program

Reflect: Consider the relationship of inventive spelling to reading and writing development.

Online Journal Rubric

Meeting the Needs of Individual Learners

Read: Key Areas of Instruction: Phonemic Awareness

Read: Key Areas of Instruction: Phonics

Read: "Everything You Wanted to Know About Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask)"

Read: "Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom"

Struggling Readers

Read: "Differentiated Instruction: Providing the Right Kind of Reading Support at the Right Time"

Explore: Decoding Activity

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Phonics Assignment

Complete: Phonics Strategy Assignment

Phonics Strategy Assignment Rubric

Self-Assessment

Complete: Session 2 Self-Assessment

Alternative Project 1

Complete: Performance Expectation for Phonemic Awareness and Phonics (Alternative Project 1)

Performance Expectations for Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Rubric: Alternative Project 1

Session 3

Task

Assessment

Developing Fluent Readers

Read: Fluency

Read: "Key Areas of Instruction: Fluency"

Read: "Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot!"

Discuss: Developing Fluent Readers

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Echo Reading and Fluency

View: Echo Reading video

Review: Example of a lesson plan

Discuss: Continue discussion on Developing Fluent Readers

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Identifying the Causes and Interventions for Reading Difficulty

Read: Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future

Read: Target the Problem! Fluency

Reflect: What are the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging students to read at a faster rate?

Who among students (in the lower elementary, upper elementary and middle grades) might benefit from fluency instruction?

What possible behaviors might these students display to signal that they need help with reading faster?

Online Journal Rubric

Reader's Theater

Read: "I Never Thought I Could Be a Star: A Readers' Theatre Ticket to Fluency"

Read: "Fluency Beyond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Reading."

Read: "Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud"

Modeling Fluency Assignment

Complete: Modeling Fluency Assignment

Modeling Fluency Rubric

Self-Assessment

Complete: Session 3 Self-Assessment

Session 4

Task	Assessment
Constructing Meaning through Social Intervention Watch: Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion video
Reflect: How do student-led discussions develop critical thinking? What is the role of the teacher in fostering conversations and social interactions of this type?
Comprehension Development and Instruction Read: "Toward an Understanding of the Development of Reading and Instruction Across the Grade Levels" Discussion: Comprehension Development and Instruction Read: Socio-Constructivist and Political Views on Teachers: Implementation of Two Types of Comprehension Approaches in Low-Income Schools Reflect: Think about how you might implement a multidimensional, developmental approach to teaching comprehension in your current or future curriculum, and whether or not the approach described in the preceding article would be feasible in your classroom/school environment.	Online Journal Rubric
Vocabulary Instruction Read: "Key Areas of Instruction: Vocabulary" View: Examples from "Between the Lions" Read: "Teaching Vocabulary Across the Curriculum" View: "The Modified Frayer Model: Vocabulary Instruction" video and its lesson plan Discussion: Vocabulary Development	Discussion Forum Participation Rubric Online Journal Rubric
Complete: Vocabulary Instruction Assignment	Vocabulary Instruction Assignment Rubric
Complete: Alternative Project 2	Alternative Project 2 Assessment Rubric
Complete: Session 4 Self-Assessment

Session 5

Task	Assessment
Comprehension and Writing Read: "Authentic Literacy Activties for Developing Comprehension and Writing". While reading, think about how the authors define an authentic reading and writing activity and how you might use writing for authentic purposes to increase your students' comprehension of informational texts. Developing Strategic Readers Read: "Text Comprehension" Read: "Supporing a Strategic Stance in the Classroom: A Comprehension Framework for Helping Teachers Help Students to Be Strategic" Watch: "Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills" Discuss: Developing Strategic Readers	Discussion Forum Participation Rubric
Motivating Readers and Writers Read: "When Kids Hate to Read". As you read think about some of the barriers to reading you have observed in your professional practice. Read: "Motivating Readers: Helping Students Set and Attain Personal Reading Goals". While you read, think about how you might use goal setting to motivate students to improve their reading. Read: "Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation"
Reflect: How can you turn reluctant readers and writers into self-driven, intrinsically motivated students? What strategies have you found to be successful with your students or believe might have potential? Reading as Problem Solving Complete: Prediction Activity Write: Predict what happens in the story. Before continuing the story, stop and make a prediction about what will happen. Give reasons for your prediction. Read the next section of the text and assess the accuracy of your prediction. Read: "Reading Comprehension: Asking the Right Questions"	Online Journal Rubric
Self-Assessment Complete: Session 5 Self-Assessment

Session 6

Task

Assessment

Planning Future Literacy Instruction: Final Project
Transforming Your Practice

Complete: Final Project: Instructional plan

Discuss: Review peers' instructional plans

Complete: Revise and implement instructional plan based on peer review

Planning Future Literacy Instruction Rubric

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Alternative Project 3

Complete: Literacy Log

Literacy Log Assessment Rubric

Look Back

Reflect: Acquired Knowledge

Reflect: Professional Goals and Expectations

Complete: Post-Course Evaluation Survey

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.3 Vocabulary Development

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Vocabulary refers to the meaning of words we hear and read and is a very important for comprehension. The extent of a child's word knowledge in kindergarten is a strong predictor of later school achievement.

Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary instruction should be connected to a meaningful reading experience. Recommended strategies for teaching vocabulary include the following:

Teach meaning of specific words (direct instruction)
Teach the word-learning strategies of structural analysis, considering words in context, and asking questions.
Provide repetition and multiple exposures to new words.
Use indirect instruction to expose students to word meanings in many contexts (songs, books, stories).

Watch Introducing Vocabulary to see how teacher Susan Christy describes and illustrates the strategies she uses to introduce new vocabulary in seventh grade social studies and address the needs of students with language challenges. As you watch, try to identify the strategies from above that are employed her.

This article describes how vocabulary instruction might be integrated into a balanced reading program. Read "Teaching Vocabulary Across the Curriculum” and think about how the approach to vocabulary instruction presented in the reading and in the video that follows differs from approaches to vocabulary instruction you experienced as a student or used in your classroom.

Watch the video "The Modified Frayer Model: Vocabulary Instruction." It shows a teacher and his 7th grade students using a vocabulary strategy based on the Frayer Model of vocabulary development. Notice how the strategy of building a concept map of a vocabulary term expands students' knowledge of the term as well as other vocabulary terms related to it.

The lesson you observed in this video comes from this lesson plan.

In this session, you have been participating in a discussion about a multidimensional, developmental view of comprehension. Consider the role of vocabulary instruction in developing comprehension. Return to the Comprehension Development and Instruction discussion and respond to the following:

Consider the role of vocabulary instruction in developing comprehension. Add to the conversation by discussing the value of engaging students in learning new concepts through "active processing" versus traditional approaches, such as using the dictionary, memorizing definitions, and reading a text and answering questions on a worksheet.

As you complete the rest of the readings and assignments for this session, you should go to the discussion forum at least three times to continue the discussion. Refer to the discussion rubric to review some expectations for participating in online discussions in this course.

Home-to-School Connection with PBS

You may wish to share the following Web links with your students' parents for ideas on how to develop vocabulary at home.

Grades 3-5:
Ruff Ruffman: WHOAler! Coaster

Grades 6-9:
Knowing Poe: Raven Review Lesson Plan

Grades 5-8:
"Pray Why Speakest Thou Thusley": Colonial House Lesson Plan

Vocabulary Instruction Assignment

For this assignment you will create a list or file of activities that use an active processing approach. You may wish to review the assessment rubric for this assignment before you begin.

Based on the information gained through the session readings and discussions, describe the criteria for effective vocabulary instruction.
Provide a list of 3-5 vocabulary activities that address the needs of a variety of students and that utilize the active procession approach.
Explain how the activities you listed meet the criteria for effective vocabulary instruction.
Submit your completed activities and explanation to your facilitator on the Assignment: Multidimensional Approaches for Vocabulary Instruction page.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.2: Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Select and implement instructional approaches based on evidence-based rationale, student needs, and purposes for instruction.

Implement and evaluate instruction in each of the following areas: concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, motivation, and writing.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S1.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

"There should not be a different set of standards for students of diverse backgrounds, but there should be recognition that these students may require more powerful instruction and additional time to meet the standards."

--Au

Overview

How has research-based literacy instruction impacted the way we teach reading? This session provides readings and a video that explore how research-based literacy instruction and English Language Arts standards shape reading curricula and teaching practices in grades PreK-8. As you complete the session, you will engage in discussions and personal reflections about the implications of research-based instruction and national and state standards for literacy education. At the end of the session, you will complete an assignment that will help you prepare for the final project.

Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Define your professional goals and expectations for this course in your online journal.
Explain your prior knowledge about how federal legislation and standards impact literacy education in your online journal.
Use course readings to discuss and explain the role of research in making decisions about effective literacy instruction for students in grades PreK-8.
Given an example of standards-based instruction, discuss whether or not the standards are appropriate for students in grades PreK-8 and the differences that need to be addressed relative to the students' ages and developmental backgrounds.
Formulate specific changes you would make to your teaching practice when applying English Language Arts standards and research-based reading instruction criteria and methods in your online journal.

Getting Started

Expectations

In this section, you will reflect on your expectations related to the course. You will examine your prior knowledge and experiences related to early literacy development, and identify some questions and areas of interest. In addition, you will meet the other learners with whom you will discuss the ideas presented in the course.

As you proceed through the course, it is advisable that you keep notes and jot down your observations in an offline journal, such as a notebook or word processing document. In addition, be sure to keep track of your reflections and responses to prompts. By doing so, you can refer back to them when participating in discussions and working on activities in upcoming sessions.

Reflect on the following prompts, and submit your responses using the Session 1 Online Journal.

What are your expectations for this course?

What knowledge and skills do you hope to gain?

How will this professional development experience shape your future instruction?

Prior Knowledge

If you wish to refresh your knowledge of cognitive development, or if you are transferring from teaching a different age group, you may find it useful to read a What Should Be Emphasized at Each Stage of Reading Development? By Louisa Moats and Carol Tolman on Reading Rockets.

Reflect on the following prompts, and submit your responses using the Session 1 Online Journal.

How do federal legislation and English Language Arts standards impact trends in education and instructional methodology? Draw from your teaching experiences, what you already know about the topic, and your questions and concerns to formulate some thoughts about what the implications may be for literacy instruction in Grades PreK-8.

Get to Know Each Other

Take a moment to introduce yourself to your fellow learners in the discussion board. Go to the Discussion Virtual Café. When you introduce yourself, include the following information:

Your name.

What grades and classes you teach (or plan to teach).

Why you are taking the course.

Any other relevant information about you and why you are studying effective literacy instruction.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Assessment Criteria (RUBRICS)

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

As a learner in this course, you will be required to:

Participate in discussions during each session.
Submit assignments at the end of each session.
Reflect on your learning in the online journal.
Submit a final project or three alternative projects.

Your overall performance will be determined by the facilitator. He/she will check that you have met all the course requirements and will also determine if you met the performance expectations for this course using the rubrics below

Discussion Forum

Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

Online Journal

Online Journal Rubric

Session 1

There are no activities that are assessed directly in Session 1 except for the discussion forums and online journal.

Session 5

There are no activities that are assessed directly in Session 5 except for the discussion forums and online journal.

Session 6

Planning Future Literacy Instruction Rubric: Final Project

Literacy Log Rubric: Alternative Project 3

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.7 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

You can use the information you learn in each session to help you plan your final project. Note: You should not wait until Session 6 to begin the final project. Session 1 presented information that explored how research-based literacy instruction and English Language Arts standards shape reading curricula and teaching practices in Grades PreK-8. In Session 2, you learned about research-based phonics instruction and how it fits into a classroom curriculum for literacy instruction. You also developed a strategy or activity on phonemic awareness and phonics instruction that you can use in your final project. In Session 3, you will learn how lack of fluency has a negative impact on reading development and examine strategies for increasing reading fluency. In Session 3 you will need to implement a reading fluency strategy with a student.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Multidimensional Approaches for Vocabulary Instruction Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Multidimensional Approaches for Vocabulary Instruction Rubric
Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
© PBS. All rights reserved.
Criteria for vocabulary instruction	Learner provides minimal guidelines for effective vocabulary instruction without providing adequate support from the readings or discussions in Session 4.	Learner provides criteria for effective vocabulary instruction and provides some support for the criteria from the readings or the discussions in Session 4.	Learner provides comprehensive criteria for effective vocabulary instruction and supports criteria with evidence from the readings and discussions in Session 4.
List of vocabulary activities	Learner provides a list of two or fewer vocabulary activities. The activities do not address the needs of a variety of students and/or do not utilize the active procession approach.	Learner provides a list of three vocabulary activities that address the needs of a variety of learners. The activities utilize the active procession approach.	Learner provides a list of four to five vocabulary activities that address the needs of a variety of learners. The activities utilize the active procession approach.
Explanation of match between vocabulary activities and criteria	Learner does not make any connection between the vocabulary activities and criteria for effective vocabulary instruction.	Learner makes a vague connection between the vocabulary activities and the criteria for effective vocabulary instruction.	Learner makes a clear connection between each of the vocabulary activities and the respective criteria for effective vocabulary instruction.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Phonics Strategy Assignment Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Phonics Strategy Assignment Rubric
Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
© PBS. All rights reserved.
Phonics strategy/activity	Learner fails to identify a phonics strategy or activity from the interactives or readings from Session 2 of the course. And/or learner fails to list the procedure and identify the materials for the strategy or activity.	Learner identifies a phonics strategy or activity from the interactives or readings from Session 2 of the course. Learner lists most, but not all of the procedures and/or materials for the strategy or activity.	Learner identifies a phonics strategy or activity from the interactives or readings from Session 2 of the course. Learner describes the phonics strategy or activity in detail, providing step-by-step procedures and a complete list of materials needed to complete the strategy or activity. Learner describes the phonics strategy or activity in sufficient detail to indicate that the learner understands the procedures that will be used.
Identification of instructional goals, objectives, and English Language Arts standards for the strategy	Learner either fails to identify the instructional goals, objectives, and/or English Language Arts standards for the strategy or activity and/or provides instructional goals, objectives, or standards that cannot be met by the strategy or activity.	Learner identifies one or two instructional goals and objectives and a partial list of English Language Arts standards that will be met by the strategy or activity.	Learner identifies at least three instructional goals, at least three objectives, and a complete list of state standards and English Language Arts standards that will be met by the strategy or activity.
Rationale for use of strategy with a specific group of students	Learner describes the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students. Learner states a rationale for the phonics strategy or activity without making a connection to instructional goals.	Learner describes the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students. Learner provides a brief rationale for using the strategy or activity.	Learner describes the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students. Learner provides a clear rationale for instructional decisions for using the strategy or activity with this specific group of students and demonstrates the connection between instructional goals for the students and the goals and objectives for the strategy or activity.
Process for assessing students	Learner fails to describe how the students will be assessed. And/or the assessment does not align with the strategy or activity.	Learner provides a brief description (one or two paragraphs) of how the students will be assessed. The assessment aligns with the strategy or activity.	Learner provides a brief description (one or two paragraphs) of how the students will be assessed. The assessment aligns with the strategy or activity. The learner also describes how the data gathered will be used to make future instructional decisions.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Peer Review Guidelines

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Use these guidelines in reviewing a peer's submission.

Reference the rubric when making suggestions.
Share at least one, preferably two aspects of the submission that reflect "satisfactory" criteria from the assignment rubric.
Share at least one, preferably two aspects of the submission that could be improved. Again, reference criteria in the rubric, identify specific areas in the assignment, and make recommendations to improve the areas that are highlighted.
Your choice of words should be objective, professional, and used to improve your peer's learning experience and possible future implementation. Short phrases such as "good job" or "needs improvement" are not sufficient. Your review should be clear and identify specific areas of the submission that are being addressed.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Reflection Paper Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
Lesson Implementation reflection	The learner does not discuss 1-2 things that worked, and did not work during the implementation of the lesson plan and what the learner would change in the plan or setup in the future.	The learner discusses 1-2 things that worked, and did not work during the implementation of the lesson plan and what the learner would change in the plan or setup in the future.	The learner discusses 3 or more things that worked, and did not work during the implementation of the lesson plan. The learner discusses what he/she would change in the plan or setup in the future.
Remediation or Extension	The learner does not include at least one remediation or extension activity in their lesson plan.	The learner provides one remediation or extension activity in their lesson plan.	The learner provides one remediation and one extension activity in their lesson plan, with detail and a brief explanation as to why this was chosen.
Use of technology	The learner does not discuss what technology was used and how it was selected for the lesson.	The learner mentions what technology was used and how it was selected the lesson.	The learner explains in detail what technology was used and how it was selected and used in the lesson.
Observation of student learning	The learner does not discuss what was observed about student learning during the lesson.	The learner discusses what was observed about student learning during the lesson.	The learner explains in detail what was observed about student learning during the lesson.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	Learner does not complete assignment and/or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	Learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S6.4 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Congratulations on completing the PBS TeacherLine course "An Introduction to Underlying Principles and Research for Effective Literacy Instruction (Grades PreK-8)." We hope that you have gained a strong foundation of research-based literacy instruction and that you have a better understanding of how to improve your students' phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics skills, and spelling development. It is also our hope that you can find ways to integrate the ideas, strategies, and activities into your lessons. Don't forget to take from this experience your learning from discussion board interactions and your online journal reflections. Please consider using other PBS TeacherLine online professional development courses, such as "Teaching Phonemic Awareness and Phonics" and "Teaching Reading Fluency" to increase your knowledge about other topics.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S6.2 Alternative Project

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

This is the third of three alternative projects in this course. Remember, you should only complete this alternative project if you have chosen to do three alternative projects instead of one final project.

Literacy Log: Alternative Project 3

The goal of this project is to envision the "ideal day" of a student who is participating in a research-based literacy program. Be sure to review the detailed assessment rubric for this project before you begin.

Choose a grade level and visualize a student, one you know or one you can imagine.
In one or two paragraphs, describe the characteristics and learning needs of this student.
Create a literacy log in a word processing document.
Write a log entry describing the ideal literacy experiences that the student may have as he or she progresses through the day.
After describing the learning experiences, identify the literacy skills and content areas that are addressed, along with the materials used.
When you have completed the literacy log, provide a rationale for the choices you made. Use the research and readings from the course to support your conceptualization of an ideal day of literacy instruction.
Create and save your literacy log using a word processing program.
Go to the Peer Review Forum: Alternative Project 3.
Create an introductory posting and attach your literacy log.
Review the literacy logs of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the assessment rubric and peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.
Make any necessary changes to your literacy log based on your peers' feedback. It is expected that you will consider the feedback presented by your peers and make modifications, as appropriate, before submitting your literacy log to your facilitator.
Submit your student description and final literacy log to your facilitator.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S6.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

In the past five sessions, you learned both theoretical and practical information about strategies which may be applied to achieve effective literacy instruction. This final session will provide you with the opportunity to pull together all the concepts you have learned during the course to design and implement a plan that represents instructional change.

Overview

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Use the knowledge gained through course readings, interactives, discussions, and videos to design a two-week literacy plan appropriate to the needs of classroom students.
Articulate a rationale for instructional changes incorporated into your two-week literacy plan.
Provide feedback on two literacy plans by engaging in a peer review activity on the discussion board.
Envision and create an ideal school day for a student who is participating in a research-based literacy program (Alternative Project 3).
Assess your learning in this course by comparing your prior knowledge and acquired knowledge in your online journal.
Analyze the learning experience in this course by reflecting about your professional goals and expectations.

If you haven't done so already, download and print the Assignment Checklist to keep track of your assignments for this course.

Planning Future Literacy Instruction: Final Project

Your final project will be completed and submitted to your facilitator during this session. Make sure you have spent time reviewing the text outlining the final project as well as the final project rubric.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S5.3 Motivating Readers and Writers

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Motivation as a Key Element

Motivation is a key element in all learning. Think about factors that influence motivation and successful strategies either from your professional practice or those you have observed and/or experienced that help to motivate reluctant readers.

Read, "When Kids Hate to Read" from Reading Rockets. This article is directed towards parents of reluctant readers, but has useful information for classroom teachers. As you read think about some of the barriers to reading you have observed in your professional practice.

Next, read "Motivating Readers: Helping Students Attain Personal Reading Goals.” In this article, Cabral-Marquez talks about the value of helping students to set and attain personal reading goals. While you read, think about how you might use goal setting to motivate students to improve their reading. You may wish to refer back to this reading and the following reflection as you complete the final project in Session 6.

Finally, read "Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation” from Reading Rockets. As you read, think about what you can do to motivate your students and how you could use PBS shows and interactive activities to motivate your students to read and write.

Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 5 Online Journal.

How can you turn reluctant readers and writers into self-driven, intrinsically motivated students?

What strategies have you found to be successful with your students or believe might have potential?

Reading as Problem Solving

Prediction is an essential strategy for constructing meaning. Students make predictions based on a variety of resources (e.g., prior knowledge, familiarity with text structure, imagination, logic, etc.). Before reading the next article, try your hand at prediction. Read the text below and then predict what will happen next, in the notes section of your online journal.

Once upon a time a poor woman lived with her daughter in a stone cottage not far from the queen's castle. The daughter was lazy and would not spin, and her lack of industry constantly annoyed the mother. One day, the mother lost her patience entirely and came at the daughter with a broomstick. The maiden cried out loudly. The queen happened to be driving by in a golden coach pulled by six white horses. When the queen heard the cries, she ordered her coachman to stop, swept into the house, and demanded to know why the mother was beating her daughter. The woman was ashamed to admit to having such a lazy daughter, so she said, "Oh, your majesty, I cannot keep the girl from spinning! She is always at the wheel, and I cannot afford all the flax that she demands daily!" "Well," said the queen, "I love the sound of a spinning wheel, and I have a fine supply of flax. Let me take the girl to my castle. She shall live in comfort and shall spin there to her heart's content." The mother agreed at once to this plan and so the maiden returned to the castle with the queen. There, the queen led her to three rooms, each filled to the ceiling with bundles of flax. "Now," said the queen, "you shall spin this flax for me. When you are finished, you shall have my eldest son for a husband. I know you are poor, but your industry is dowry enough. Would that more were like you, my dear!"

Before continuing the story, stop and make a prediction about what will happen. Give reasons for your prediction. Read the next section of the text and assess the accuracy of your prediction.

Distraught, the maiden paced back and forth. If she lived to be 100, she could never spin all that flax! Not knowing what else to do, she sat in the window and began to cry. Three strange women were passing by. One had a broad, flat foot; the second had a large lip that hung down over her chin; the third had an enormous thumb. They stopped and called to the maiden, "What ails you, my dear?" The girl explained her problem. The women agree to help her, on one condition. They said, "Will you promise to invite us to your wedding, introduce us as your cousins, and ask us to sit at your table and share your food?" The maiden agreed gladly, and the odd women came in at once and began to work. The first drew out the flax and worked on the treadle with her broad foot. The second moistened the thread with her large, protruding lip. The third twisted the thread with her gigantic thumb and rapped with her fingers on the table. Each time she rapped there fell a heap of beautifully spun flax. And so they worked, deftly threading, licking, and twisting, day after day. When the queen came to the spinning rooms, the maiden hid the women from sight and showed off their finished bundles as if they were her own work. The spinsters continued to work diligently until all the flax was spun. Then they took their leave, saying to the girl, "Do not forget what you promised, Child!" When the queen saw the completed work, she began at once to plan for the wedding. The prince rejoiced at the prospect of having such a clever and diligent wife. The queen came one day to discuss the guest list and to ask what names the bride wished to add. The queen had invited noble families, wealthy merchants, and kings and queens from neighboring lands. The maiden thought of how the three women would look amid such elegant company.

Make another prediction about what you think the girl will do next. Then reflect on your predictions. Were your predictions based mainly on the events that you read, your prior knowledge of fairy tale text structure, or your own personal experiences or imagination? Finally, comment on the effectiveness of prediction strategies for students at the grade level and/or reading level that reflect your interests.

This story comes from an article that addresses the value of using prediction to help students construct meaning as they read. Read "Reading Comprehension: Asking the Right Questions." As you read the article, you will also have a chance to see how the story ends and to check your predictions.

Home-to-School Connection with PBS

Read Aloud to Build Comprehension: This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Read a Story Book with Daniel and His Friends

Peg + Cat: Read Aloud Big Dog Problems with Peg

Martha Speaks: Read Along with Operation Ice Cream

Sesame Street: Story Book Builder

Return to your online journal. Review your responses and revise them as necessary by adding ideas and questions that have occurred to you up to this point in the course. Be sure that all of your responses are complete and free of grammatical and structural errors. Your facilitator will be assessing your journal reflections at the end of this session.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.2: Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Select and implement instructional approaches based on evidence-based rationale, student needs, and purposes for instruction.

4.2: Use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact students' knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.

Provide instruction and instructional materials that are linked to students' backgrounds and facilitate a learning environment in which differences and commonalities are valued (e.g. use literature that reflects the experiences of marginalized groups and the strategies they use to overcome challenges).

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Session Resources

2019-06-18T10:23:22-04:00

Here is an index of the readings you'll complete, the interactives you'll use, and the videos and their corresponding lesson plans that you'll view in this course. Details are included in the sessions. Use this page as a reference so that you can find a particular reading, interactive, or video quickly by clicking on the title.

Session 1: Early Literacy Instruction

Readings

The Standards for the English Language Arts (PDF)

What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction? (PDF)

Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children (PDF)

A Multicultural Perspective on Policies for Improving Literacy Achievement: Equity and Excellence (PDF)

Vocabulary Development (English / Spanish) (Web site)

Video

Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion

Video Lesson Plan - Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion
Illustrations Copyright (c) 1980 by Marcia Sewall. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Additional Resources (not required)

PBS Parents Literacy Development from Age 5 to 6 (Web site)

PBS Parents Guide to Reading and Language (Web site)

The Challenge of Standards (Web site)

A Tale of Two Schools: The Challenge (Web site)

Session 2: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Readings

Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness (PDF)

Concepts, Sounds, and the ABCs: A Diet for a Very Young Reader (PDF)

Everything You Wanted to Know About Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask) (PDF)

Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom (PDF)

"Report on Learning Disabilities Research" (Web site)

Interactives

Decoding Activity (Web site)

Additional Resources (not required)

Dog's Letter Pit

Alpha Pigs Lickety Letter Bingo

Rhyme Time Bingo

Wonder Red’s Freeze Dance Rhyming

Session 3: Fluency

Readings

Speed Does Matter In Reading (PDF)

Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future (PDF)

"Target the Problem! Fluency" (Web site)

I Never Thought I Could Be a Star: A Readers' Theatre Ticket to Fluency (PDF)

"Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud" (Web site)

Video

Echo Reading

Video Lesson Plan - Echo Reading Lesson Plan

Additional Resources (not required)

Arthur's Reading Tips (PDF)

Reading Rockets: Articles on Reading Fluency (Web site)

Reading 101: Fluency (Web site)

Session 4: Environmental Print, High-Frequency Words, and Word Families

Readings

Combining Visual Literacy, Text Understanding, and Writing for Culturally Diverse Students (PDF)

Toward an Understanding of the Development of Reading Comprehension Instruction Across the Grade Levels (PDF)

Vocabulary Instruction in a Balanced Reading Program (PDF)

Video

The Modified Frayer Model: Vocabulary Instruction

Video Lesson Plan - The Modified Frayer Model: Vocabulary Instruction

Additional Resources (not required)

"Target the Problem! Vocabulary" (Web site)

Learning Words and Their Meanings (PDF)

Reading for Understanding: Toward a Research and Development Program in Reading Comprehension (PDF)

Ruff Ruffman: WHOAler! Coaster (Web site)

Knowing Poe: Raven Review Lesson Plan (Web site)

Session 5: Motivation and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills

Readings

Explicitly Teaching the Reading of Nonfiction Texts (PDF)

"When Kids Hate to Read" (Web site)

Motivating Reluctant Readers and Writers (PDF)

Supporting a Strategic Stance in the Classroom: A Comprehension Framework for Helping Teachers Help Students to be Strategic (PDF)

Text Comprehension (Web site)

Video

Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills

Video Lesson Plan - Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills

Additional Resources (not required)

Creating Classroom Cultures that Foster Reading Motivation (PDF)

Reading Comprehension: Asking the Right Questions (PDF)

"Huck Finn in Context": Culture Shock Lesson Plans (Web site)

"Truman Capote: Other Voices Other Rooms": American Masters Lesson Plan (Web site)

Session 6: Final Project: A Case Study of an Emergent Speller

Additional Reading (not required)

Balanced Literacy Instruction: Addressing Issues of Equity (PDF)

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S3.5 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

You can use the information you learn in each session to help you plan your final project. Note: You should not wait until Session 6 to begin the final project. We strongly recommend you begin working on your project now. Session 3 presented instructional methods to improve fluency. You can combine these strategies with those you learned in Sessions 1 and 2 and incorporate them into your final project.

In Session 4 the focus of the readings, videos, and interactives will be on comprehension and vocabulary development.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S3.2 Fluency

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

In this section, you will learn about the concept of fluency instruction and some specific strategies to incorporate fluency skills into your instruction.

Developing Fluent Readers

Read, "Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot." In this article Rasinski expands the definition of fluency by adding "prosody” as a characteristic of fluency. As you read, think about why Rasinski includes prosody in his definition of fluency. Be prepared to talk about the characteristics of a fluent reader and the instructional activities that help develop fluency.

Supporting students who have difficulty with fluency is a challenge for PreK-8 teachers. Go to the Developing Fluent Readers discussion board and respond to the following prompt:

Describe students you have encountered who have difficulty with reading fluency and discuss possible causes.

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

Echo Reading and Fluency

Echo Reading is a reading fluency strategy that can be implemented when reading together with a student. Read the following excerpt about echo reading from Reading Rockets:

"This is another way to help a child develop confidence and fluency. Read aloud a line of text. Ask the child to read the same line. Continue taking turns reading and rereading the same lines. When the child begins to read with more expression and fluency, suggest that he read aloud on his own."

View the "Echo Reading," video to observe a teacher and a student demonstrating the echo reading strategy. As you watch, think about the feasibility and effectiveness of using echo reading as a strategy for building your students' fluency.

The lesson you observed in this video comes from the lesson plan.

Earlier in this session, you participated in a discussion about students you have encountered who have difficulty with reading fluency and discussed possible causes. Add to the Developing Fluent Readers discussion by responding to the following:

What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of using echo reading and other fluency activities with students at your grade level?

How might you adapt them for students with diverse learning styles, such as older students who have difficulty with fluency?

Home-to-School Connection with PBS

Watch Fluent Reading, a special documentary from Reading Rockets that explores what it means to be a fluent reader and demonstrates reading programs and instruction that supports learning at school and at home.
https://www.pbs.org/video/reading-rockets-fluent-reading/

Read the Signs
This song and video illustrate some of the functions of print in the environment, motivating kids to stop, look, and read.

Ten More Little Words
In this video segment from Between the Lions, a large dinosaur puppet teaches a class of monkeys about ten little words through a song. These words promote reading fluency and include: I, he, they, with, was, his, are, on, as, and for. This video segment provides a resource for Fluency and Phonological Awareness.

Reading Power Bingo!
Play this Super WHY! game, Reading Power Bingo, to practice identifying opposites based on hearing one of the words. Students are presented with a picture covered in words and as they select the word opposites, the picture is revealed!

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.2 Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Implement and evaluate instruction in each of the following areas: concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, motivation, and writing.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.4 Teaching Phonemic Awareness/Phonics

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Meeting the Needs of Individual Learners

For a brief overview of phonemic awareness and phonics, read these recommendations:

Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Introduction

As you read and watch, think about how you could use the Between the Lions show with your students.

Read "Everything You Wanted to Know About Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask)" (pp.338-344). In this article, the authors describe criteria for effective phonics instruction. As you read, think about how phonics instruction in your classroom or program meets these criteria and how you might implement the criteria in your professional practice.

Next, read "Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom." This article describes strategies for developing phonemic awareness. As you read, think about how you might develop a print-rich environment in your classroom.

Struggling Readers

"Children vary in the amount of phonics instruction they need and when they need it. Some children need very little phonics instruction, while others still benefit from phonics instruction in third grade. Many children with dyslexia benefit from phonics instruction even beyond third grade." (PBS Parents)

As you continue in this course think about the role differentiated instruction plays in helping students who have reading disabilities as well as those who are experiencing reading difficulties. Read "Differentiated Instruction: Providing the Right Kind of Reading Support at the Right Time." As you continue through the course, think about how you might differentiate instruction to improve students' phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Clues to Dyslexia from Second Grade On provides a concise overview of issues that students who struggle with dyslexia experience in learning to read. As you explore this article, think about how you could use this information to empathize with your struggling readers and to shape your future phonics instruction.

Teaching Phonics and Using Technology

Some phonics approaches begin with teaching students individual letters or groups of letters and then showing students how to blend these letters together to form words. Making words is a common activity for building knowledge about letters and sounds. Watch teacher Felicia Cumings-Smith guide a small group of students in "making word," starting with two letter words and building to five. In this video Mrs. Cumings-Smith models strategy in onset-rime phonics instruction in which children learn to identify the sound of the letter or letters before the first vowel (the onset) in a one-syllable word and the sound of the remaining part of the word (the rime).

Another strategy for helping students learn letter/sound relationships is working with word patterns. Teachers begin by teaching students words or word patterns and then adding letters to make new words.

Below is a list of technology integration ideas for Phonics and Phonemic Awareness activities. Select two or three activities to explore. As you learn about these apps or play the games, think about how the activities might be adapted for students with diverse learning styles.

Construct a Word - This interactive online activity from ReadWriteThink lets students match beginning and ending sounds to make a word.

Learning to the Core: Phonemic Awareness Fun with iPads and more! - Teacher and blogger, Amanda Aylin, shares her ideas for using ScreenChomp and neu.KidsDraw apps to give her students daily practice with Phonemic Awareness.

Making Words Kindergarten and First Grade - This app (available for the iPhone and iPad) comes with interactive lessons that build phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling.

Making New Words App for SMART Boards - Students recognize ending sounds and demonstrate blending of words.

Earlier in this session, you participated in a discussion about your role in teaching early literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness. Now that your understanding of phonics instruction has developed, reconsider your initial response. Respond to the following in the Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness Forum:

Think about the activity ideas listed above and describe how you might adapt one of them to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles, such as older students who are having difficulty with reading and writing.

Differentiated Instruction

Encourage students to use invented spellings as they work through "making words" activities. Some students need to think about sounds in words and usually do some form of segmentation in order to invent a spelling. Teachers may use magnetic letters or Elkonin boxes to help their students reflect on each sound in a word.
(Elkonin boxes are squares into which each phoneme of a word may be placed.)

Encourage older students to explore spelling patterns through word sorts and making words activities.

Phonics Strategy Assignment

Create a plan to implement the information from this session in your professional practice. You may wish to refer to the assessment rubric for this assignment before you begin.

Choose one strategy or activity from the interactives or readings on phonemic awareness and phonics instruction from this session.
Describe the phonics strategy or activity in detail, providing step-by-step procedures, and a complete list of materials needed to complete the strategy or activity. Your description should indicate that you understand the procedures that will be used.
Identify at least three instructional goals, at least three objectives, and a complete list of the state standards and English Language Arts standards that will be met by the strategy or activity.
In two or three paragraphs, describe the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students who will use the strategy or activity. Provide a clear rationale for instructional decisions for using the strategy or activity with this specific group of students and demonstrate the connection between instructional goals for the students and the goals and objectives for the strategy or activity.
Write a brief description (one or two paragraphs) of the assessment for the strategy or activity and include how the data gathered will be used to make future instructional decisions.
Submit your plan to the facilitator in the Assignment: Phonics Strategy dropbox.

Home-to-School Connection with PBS

Remember to involve your students' parents in the learning process. The following resources from Between the Lions are fun and educational online games that teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills and also connect to your students' favorite television characters from PBS. You may also wish to explore these resources and implement them in your own instruction.

Dog's Letter Pit
In this game from WordWorld, students practice letter-sound associations and phonemic awareness by helping Dog find letters that match sounds and spell words.

Alpha Pigs Lickety Letter Bingo
Play this Super WHY! game, Lickety Letter Bingo, to practice identifying letters based on hearing the sound that is associated with the letter. Students are presented with a picture covered in letters and as they select the correct letter, the picture is revealed!

Rhyme Time Bingo
Play this Super WHY! game, Rhyme Time Bingo, to practice rhyming your way to a prize! Students are challenged to pick which word rhymes with the given word and with each correct rhyming pair, a portion of a picture is revealed!

Wonder Red’s Freeze Dance Rhyming
Play this Super WHY! game, Freeze Dance Rhyming, to practice recognizing rhyming words! Students are given a word family and have to identify which words rhyme in order to keep Wonder Red dancing!

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.2 Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Implement and evaluate instruction in each of the following areas: concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, motivation, and writing.

Differentiate instructional approaches to meet students' reading and writing needs.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Introduction and Goals

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Introduction

In this course, you will learn the fundamental principles that inform research-based literacy instruction and reading instruction. These principles provide the foundation for past federal policies such as No-Child-Left-Behind and for more recent and current state and federal policies such as the Every Student Succeeds Act. The course presents topics introduced at multiple age/grade levels to demonstrate the increasing complexities of literacy acquisition. The topics include the research-based principles identified in the following:

The National Reading Panel-Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. This resource presents information about the explicit instruction of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
The RAND Report on comprehension. This resource offers data and research that examines and argues against linear-based definitions of the terms reading comprehension, development, and instructional interventions.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). This resource addresses issues related to helping students gain control over procedures for monitoring comprehension, for repairing misunderstanding, and for increasing interest and motivation to read for a variety of purposes.

The topics and methods presented reflect:

The Standards for the English Language Arts jointly published by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association (1996).
The joint position statement of the International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children (1998).
The English Language Arts/Literacy Standards of the Common Core State Standards developed through the collaborative efforts of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (2010).
Standards for Reading Professionals: A Reference for the Preparation of Educators in the United States published by the International Reading Association (2010).

In this course, you will find an overview of the relationships among phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, and fluency. You will learn how self-regulation and motivation can enhance literacy. You will discover the developmental stages through which young students gain independence in the use of phonemic awareness, phonics, and word recognition. You will also study the increasing levels of complex skills required for students to increase their vocabulary and comprehension skills in Grades K-8, including the importance of writing skills that facilitate understanding increasingly complex text. In addition, you will explore the literacy needs of learners with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. You will learn strategies for supporting the learning of English Language Learners (ELL), students with learning disabilities, students from low-income environments, and students who struggle to become proficient readers. Upon completion of this course, you will have a strong foundation of research-based literacy instruction methods and activities to draw from as you transform your teaching practices to meet the specific needs of your students, the curricular goals of your school district, and your state standards.

The course specifically addresses the following:

The role of research in making decisions about effective instruction;
Issues related to the developmental stages and needs of students;
Concepts related to literacy development and instruction;
The relationships among phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, fluency, spelling, writing, vocabulary, comprehension, motivation, and self-regulation of literacy skills;
Use of criteria for selecting and assessing appropriate instructional strategies for specific student populations; and
Use of new classroom strategies to present literacy skills.

Standards addressed in this course are:

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

The following ISTE Standards for Educators align to this course:

1-Learner: educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.
Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks.
Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.

4-Collaborator: educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology.
Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.
Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally.
Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

5-Designer: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.
Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.

6-Facilitator: Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators:

Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings.
Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field.
Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems.
Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers released the CCSS in 2010. They are designed to ensure that students are prepared for entry-level careers, college success, and workplace training programs by the time they graduate from high school. The content of this course addresses the following CCSS (more details):

Reading Standards: Foundational Skills
Reading Standards for Literature
Reading Standards for Informational Text

The International Reading Association (IRA)

Standards for Reading Professionals: A Reference for the Preparation of Educators in the United States (2010). State departments and teacher education programs use these standards to design teacher preparation courses and monitor how well reading professionals are prepared to meet certification requirements in literacy. Professional developers use the standards to plan standards-based instruction for educators who want to improve their knowledge of teaching reading and writing to students in grades PreK-12. The standards selected for this course are intended for Pre-K and Elementary classroom teachers and address the following topics (more details).

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge
Standard 2: Curriculum and Instruction
Standard 3: Assessment and Evaluation
Standard 4: Diversity
Standard 5: Literate Environment
Standard 6: Professional Learning and Leadership

Goals

At the end of this course, you will have an understanding of:

The role of research and English Language Arts standards in making decisions about effective literacy instruction.
How to use strategies for meeting the needs of students who have diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (such as special education students, English Language Learners (ELL), and students from low-income environments) and students who struggle to become proficient readers.
Concepts related to phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, fluency, spelling, writing, vocabulary development, and comprehension.
Developmental stages of phonemic awareness and phonological awareness.
The relationship between phonological awareness and fluency.
Research-based comprehension strategies.
Concepts related to motivation and learning to read and write.
Concepts related to self-regulation of literacy skills.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s3q5

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Fluency Beyond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Reading

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s4q4

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Teaching Vocabulary Across the Curriculum

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s5q5

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

c: personal, meaningful and challenging
See: Motivating Readers: Helping Students Set and Attain Personal Reading Goals

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s5q2

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

c: a true communicative purpose
See: Authentic Literacy Activities for Developing Comprehension and Writing

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s3q1

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

b: meaningful, expressive reading
See: Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s4q5

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e: none of the above
See: Toward an Understanding of the Development of Reading Comprehension Instruction Across Grade Levels

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s3q4

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s5q1

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

c: comprehension monitoring
See: Supporting a Strategic Stance in the Classroom: A Comprehension Framework for Helping Teachers Help Student to be Strategic

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s1q3

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

d: background knowledge related to text vocabulary
See: Reading and Reading Instruction for Children from Low-Income and Non-English Speaking Households

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s3q3

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

a: It allows students to engage in repeated readings
See: Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot!
Fluency Beyond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Reading
I Never Thought I Could be a Star: A Readers Theatre Ticket to Fluency
Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.4 Alternative Project 2

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Vocabulary Standards and Instructional Implications: Alternative Project 2

This is the second of three alternative projects in this course. Remember, you should only complete this alternative project if you have chosen to do three alternative projects instead of one final project.

The goal of this project is to use knowledge you have gained about effective vocabulary instruction during Session 4 to analyze state and national standards and then to reflect on the instructional implications. You may wish to review the assessment rubric for this alternative project before you begin.

Review your state literacy standards and the national literacy standards.
Think about what you have learned about vocabulary instruction from the readings in this course. What aspects of vocabulary instruction are missing in your state standards and national standards?
Create a four-column chart in a word processing document. In one column, list the elements of vocabulary instruction that are addressed in national literacy standards; in the second column, list the elements that are addressed in Common Core State standards; in the third column, list the elements that are addressed in your state standards, and in the fourth column, list elements that are discussed in course readings but are not addressed by the standards.
Analyze the chart and the implications for your instruction. In one or two paragraphs, describe additional learning opportunities for vocabulary development that are not addressed in the standards and that should be included in classroom instruction. Support your analysis by using information you learned in Session 4.
Submit your chart and description to the facilitator.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S5.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

"It is only through sustained active engagement with text that students will encounter natural, genuine opportunities to integrate all the skills and strategies that comprise the reading process and lead to growth in reading."

--Cabral-Marquez

Overview

In Session 4 we explored reasons for reading difficulties and the relationship between vocabulary development and reading comprehension. In Session 5, we will consider the role of students' use of comprehension strategies and motivation on reading performance. We will read about ways to use authentic reading and writing activities to improve student comprehension.

Objectives

After completing this session, you will be able to:

Use course readings to identify and discuss instructional approaches that combine direct instruction with student-centered activities for the purpose of developing self-regulated, motivated learners.
Reflect on how educators can turn reluctant readers and writers into self-driven, intrinsically motivated students and what suggestions from course readings may assist in the process.

If you haven't done so already, download and print the Assignment Checklist to keep track of your assignments for this course.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.6 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

You can use the information and assignments you complete in each session to help you complete the final project in Session 6. Note: You should not wait until Session 6 to begin the final project. If you haven't done so already, you should review the criteria and assessment rubric for the final project.

In the next session, you will explore the impact of motivation on reading comprehension.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

"Comprehension "involves readers' cognitive, social, and linguistic experience both historically and currently. It occurs most successfully when a reader has a personally meaningful purpose for the reading and when the reader is provided a social context with instructional scaffolding."

--Patricia L. Anders

Overview

Now that you understand the importance of incorporating phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency in your instruction, how can you improve students' reading comprehension? We will explore this topic in Sessions 4 and 5. In Session 4, the focus of the readings, videos, and interactives will be on comprehension and vocabulary development. In Session 5, we will consider the role of comprehension strategies and motivation on students' reading performance. You will engage in discussions and reflections to evaluate the instructional approaches examined in Session 4. At the end of the session, you will complete an assignment in preparation for the final project. If you have decided to complete the three alternative projects in lieu of the final project, you will complete the second alternative project at the end of this session.

Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Explain and reflect on the development of reading comprehension and the use of critical thinking discussions across grade levels.
Use course readings to discuss and assess the multidimensional, developmental view of comprehension and its application to classroom instruction (e.g. close reading, high-level talk about text.)
Evaluate and discuss the role of vocabulary instruction in developing comprehension.
Create a file of vocabulary activities, each of which uses an active processing approach.
Analyze state and national standards and describe the instructional implications of meeting the standards. (Alternative Project 2)

If you haven't done so already, download and print the Assignment Checklist to keep track of your assignments for this course.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S3.4 Self-Assessment

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether you understand the concepts in Session 3.

Which of the following is a goal of fluency instruction? a. speed reading
b. meaningful, expressive reading
c. decoding skills
d. word study
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following best defines "prosody” in oral reading? a. using correct pronunciation
b. modeling appropriate phrasing
c. reading with an expressive voice
d. reading with accuracy and speed
e. all of the above
answer
What the most important reason Readers Theatre is an effective activity for improving fluency? a. It allows students to engage in repeated readings.
b. It involves acting out the meaning of text.
c. It encourages social interaction among students.
d. It promotes peer tutoring among students.
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following criteria would a teacher use to determine if a student is a fluent reader? a. self-monitoring of reading performance
b. automatic word recognition
c. text comprehension
d. rate of reading
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following types of texts could be the foundation for an effective Readers Theatre script? a. poems
b. folk tales
c. speeches
d. journals
e. all of the above
answer

Transforming Practices

What advice would you give to parents who are concerned about their child's lack of fluency? How would you transform your own teaching practices to help these students build fluency? Consider strategies that are appropriate for the student's grade level. Keep your ideas in mind for your final project.

Additional Resources (Optional)

Reading 101: Fluency
This Web page from Reading Rockets provides a brief definition and explanation of fluency and includes related articles and resources for further reading.

Citation

Klenk, L. and Kibby, M. W. "Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future." Handbook of Reading Research. Eds, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson & R. Barr. Vol. 3, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2000. 662-690. Used with permission.

References

Bafile, C. (2005). "Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud.” Reading Rockets. Web. 6 Mar. 2007.

Martinez, M., N.L. Roser, and S. Strecker, "I Never Thought I Could Be a Star: A Readers Theatre Ticket to Fluency." In Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice. 2002. 97-105. Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

PBS Kids, Key Areas of Instruction: Fluency. Web. 11 Feb. 2008.

Rasinski, T. V. "Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot!" The Reading Teacher. 2012. www.reading.org. Web. Used with permission of the International Reading Association. You shall also duplicate the copyright notice that appears in the Wiley publication in your use of the Wiley Material.

Readers' Theatre, "Fluency Beyond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Reading."

Reading Rockets, "Target the Problem! Fluency." Web. 6 Mar. 2007.

Reading Theatre, "Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud"

Worthy, J. & K. Broaddus. "Fluency Beond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Readint." The Reading Teacher. 55:4 2002 334-343.

Echo Reading Lesson Plan

All IRA material is used with permission from the International Reading Association.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S3.1 Introduction

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

"A hallmark of children who have difficulty in reading is a lack of fluency. Fluency is reading smoothly, without hesitation and with comprehension."

--Klenk and Kibby

Overview

In the last session you learned how to implement theory on phonemic awareness and phonics into your instruction. In this session you'll learn how fluency is another essential component of reading development. How can we identify reading problems and help struggling readers build fluency? This session includes readings and a video that demonstrate instructional methods to improve fluency. You will engage in discussions and reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of these instructional strategies and determine ways to incorporate them into your professional practice. At the end of the session, you will implement a reading fluency technique with a student and share your online journal reflections with your facilitator.

Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Discuss the possible causes for fluency problems in PreK-8 students and describe intervention strategies to improve fluency.
Given examples of fluency instruction, discuss the effectiveness of the activities and identify adaptations necessary to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles.
Reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging students to read at a faster rate and which students might benefit from fluency instruction.
Implement a reading fluency technique with a student and reflect on the experience.

If you haven't done so already, download and print the Assignment Checklist to keep track of your assignments for this course.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Course Design and Elements

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Course Design

The design and structure of PBS TeacherLine courses are based on best practices and current research that highlights the importance of online learning communities. This is not a self-paced course for a learner to complete in isolation. In fact, most new ideas are formed through collaboration with other participants. Some key course design features include:

Collaboration: Group interaction among learners and the facilitator is crucial to a successful online learning experience. The discussion board area allows you and your fellow learners to create a supportive community which fosters learning.
Scheduled Online Discussions: Discussions are initiated by your facilitator at scheduled intervals throughout the course. This allows you and your colleagues to focus on the same topic at the same time and engage in high-quality group discussions.
Asynchronous Communication: You and your fellow learners may not always log in to the course at the same time, but you will still have meaningful interactions. Discussion boards allow you to communicate, but at times that fit your varying schedules.
Purposeful Virtual Spaces: Some online communication is more appropriate than others, depending on the situation. In this course you will have academic, technical, and course-related discussions in the discussion board. You should share more personal information with your facilitator and other learners through e-mail.

Course Elements

The following list highlights the core elements in a PBS TeacherLine course. Having a solid understanding of how they work together, will help you to successfully complete your coursework.

Syllabus: An outline that lists course requirements, assessment criteria, course content, expectations, and other relevant information.
Assessment Rubrics: Your facilitator will evaluate your coursework and performance using rubrics found in the Assessment Criteria area. Familiarize yourself with the rubrics and refer to them often throughout the course.
Sessions: The course is divided into 6 sessions, each taking about seven-eight hours to complete.
Assignments: Within each session, you will be required to complete assignments that support the overall goals and objectives of the course.
Session Resources: This area provides a compilation of readings, interactives, video, and Web sites used throughout the course.
Assignment Checklist: A tool to help you manage your assignments.
Discussion Board: A tool used to support online collaboration.
Online Journal: A tool used to support self-assessment, reflection and professional growth.
Surveys: An area where you access online surveys for the course.

Course Icons

Resources from PBS television programs, pbskids.org and pbsparents.org -

Interactive- Discussion - Journal - Video -

Audio - Reading - Survey - Paper -

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Roles and Responsibilities

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

The following paragraphs describe the role of the online community, the role of a course facilitator, and your role and responsibilities as a learner. Please read this information carefully.

Role of the Online Learning Community

An online learning community is one that is created around an electronic learning environment like the one for this course. Members (facilitator and learner cohort) of this special community are expected to explore and reflect on various topics, socially construct knowledge through collaboration, openly share ideas with others, and provide support to each other.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Learner

As a member of this learning community you are expected to support the learning and professional development of your fellow learners. Specifically, you must:

Participate and actively engage in discussions with your fellow learners while contributing to the social construction of knowledge. The sooner you post your ideas and questions, the more time others have to respond and deepen the discussion.
Reflect on newly acquired knowledge and assess your own progress.
Create a time management structure that works for you and complete all assignments accordingly.
Be self-directed and self-motivated.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Facilitator

With the emergence of online learning communities, the roles of learners and instructors have changed from those found in traditional educational settings. Most significantly, in learning communities, facilitators help guide the group toward collaborative group learning, rather than providing traditional "teacher-led" instruction. Therefore, you can expect that your facilitator will:

Guide and support your learning of the subject matter.
Share his/her knowledge and experience, but also participate as a learner when he/she is not an "expert" on a certain topic.
Provide additional resources when appropriate.
Facilitate productive and collaborative discussions.
Establish a comfortable learning environment and help you with any problems or questions.
Provide feedback and assess your work:
- For the online journal activities and final project within seven days of submission.
- For participation in discussion forums.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s4q1

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

d: both approaches develop high-level thinking about text
See: Socio-Constructivist and Political Views on Teachers Implementation of Two Types of Reading Comprehension Approaches in Low-Income Schools

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s4q3

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

c: definitions may not be correct in a particular context
See: Teaching Vocabulary Across the Curriculum

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S5.4 Self-Assessment

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether you understand the concepts in Session 5.

Darlene is reading with her mother. The text reads, "The dog went into the field." Darlene, reading the text aloud, says, "The dog wants into the field." She pauses. Then she says, "Went into the field." This is an example of:
1. a. word calling
2. b. phonemic awareness
3. c. comprehension monitoring
4. d. fluency
5. e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a feature of research-based comprehension instruction?
1. a. Teachers use an explicit method of teaching comprehension strategies.
2. b. Students learn a repertoire of strategies.
3. c. Teachers make use of "teachable moments" within a lesson to demonstrate reading strategies.
4. d. Teachers place an emphasis on student self-monitoring.
5. e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is an example of strategic reading?
1. a. Student answers questions about an assigned chapter.
2. b. Student participates in a literature discussion group.
3. c. Student participates in a directed reading activity.
4. d. Student uses sticky notes to record thoughts and questions.
5. e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a feature of instruction that explicitly teaches reading strategies?
1. a. student implementation and practice
2. b. class discussion of problem solving approaches
3. c. demonstrations of strategies
4. d. flexible use and adaptation of strategies
5. e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is an example of a multidimensional view of motivation?
1. a. a book-rich classroom environment
2. b. opportunities for choice
3. c. opportunities for social interaction
4. d. reading-related incentives
5. e. all of the above
answer

Transforming Practices

How has the information in this session changed the way you view self-assessment? Based on the information, how might you use self assessment to set instructional goals for your students?

Additional Resources (Optional)

Gambrell, L. B. (1996). Creating classroom cultures that foster reading motivation. The Reading Teacher, 50 (1). 14-25. Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Marshall, J. (1999). Explicitly teaching the reading of nonfiction texts. In J. Hancock (Ed.), The Explicit Teaching of Reading (pp. 97-111). Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Nessel, D. (1997). Reading Comprehension: Asking the Right Questions. Phi Delta Kappa. February, 1997. Used by permission from Phi Delta Kappa.

Citation

Dowhower, S.L. (2002). Supporting a strategic stance in the classroom: A comprehension framework for helping teachers help students to be strategic. In Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice (pp. 139-155). Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

References

Dowhower, S.L. (2002). Supporting a strategic stance in the classroom: A comprehension framework for helping teachers help students to be strategic. In Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice (pp. 139-155). Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Gibson, A., Gold, J. (2000). Text comprehension. The Tutor. Retrieved February 23, 2006 from http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/readingformeaning/helpfularticles_1.html

PBS Kids, Key Areas of Instruction: Text Comprehension. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/program/curriculum-k3.html#text

Strickland, D., Ganske, K., and Monroe, J. (2002). Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers: Strategies for Classroom Intervention. 3-6. Reprinted with permission of Stenhouse Publishers.

Svensen, A. (n.d.). When kids hate to read. Family Education Network. Retrieved February 23, 2006 from http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/readingformeaning/helpfularticles_2.html

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.6 Self-Assessment

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether you understand the concepts in Session 2.

During the shared reading of a big book, a student comments that he hears the word "cat" in caterpillar. The student is demonstrating:
a. phonemic awareness
b. phonological awareness
c. onset-rime
d. letter recognition
e. all of the above
answer
Danielle, a first-grader, writes the following in her journal: I kn rid mi bik (I can ride my bike). The student is demonstrating:
a. phonemic awareness
b. letter/sound recognition
c. concepts about printed language
d. letter name spelling
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is an example of phonemic awareness instruction?
a. Using alphabet flash cards, the students give the sound each letter makes.
b. Students find objects in the room that begin with a certain sound.
c. Students read along with the teacher during a repeated reading of a big book.
d. Students take turns using a pointer to touch each word as the class reads from a big book.
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is an example of phonics instruction?
a. recognizing rhyming words
b. using Elkonin boxes to segment sounds in words
c. using the word wall to find words that have similar spelling patterns
d. writing words from dictation
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a true statement about dyslexia?
a. Children outgrow reading difficulties related to dyslexia.
b. Children with dyslexia can be diagnosed through fMRI technology.
c. Children diagnosed with dyslexia have difficulty with decoding.
d. Children diagnosed with dyslexia should receive research based intervention.
e. all of the above
answer

Transforming Practices

How has the information presented in this session changed the way you think about the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in your students' reading development? How might you change your teaching practices as a result of the information in the session?

Citation

Kuhn.M. "Helping Students Become Accurate Expressive Readers: Fluency Instruction for Small Groups." The Reading Teacher. 58: 4 (2004) 338.

Birdyshaw, Deanna. "Differentiated Instruction: Providing the Right Kind of Reading Support at the Right Time.” PBS Teacherline, RDLA 152 An Introduction to Underlying Principles and Research for Effective Literacy Instruction. 2015.

References

"Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness" in CIERA report No. 21011-02.

Invernizzi, M. (2003). "Concepts, Sounds, and the ABCs: A Diet for a Very Young Reader." In D. M. Barone, L. M. Morrow. Literacy and Young Children: Research-based Practices. New York: Guilford Press. 140-156. Reprinted by permission of Guilford Publications, Inc.

The Pals Program. http://curry.virginia.edu/research/labs/pals

PBS Kids, Key Areas of Instruction: Phonemic Awareness. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/program/curriculum-k3.html#phonemic

PBS Kids, Key Areas of Instruction: Phonics. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/program/curriculum-k3.html#phonics

Stahl, S.A., Duffy-Hester, A.M., & Stahl, K.A.D. "Everything You Wanted to Know about Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask)." Reading Research Quarterly. 35 (1998) 338-355 . Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Tomlinson, Carol A. and Jay McTighe. Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design: Connecting Content and Kids. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Website: www.ascd.org

All IRA articles are used with permission from the International Reading Association.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s5q3

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

d: Student uses sticky notes to record thoughts and questions.
See: Supporting a Strategic Stance in the Classroom: A Comprehension Framework for Helping Teachers Help Student to be Strategic

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s2q5

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e: All of the above
See: Differentiated Instruction: Providing the Right Kind of Reading Support at the Right Time

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Lesson Plan: Session 1: Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

ELA Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions, (e.g. spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

ELA Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

CCSS RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

CCSS RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Third Grade Students

Goals

To apply comprehension strategies.
To participate as a knowledgeable, reflective, and critical member of a literacy community.
To integrate writing, listening, and speaking with reading comprehension.
To develop a depth of understanding of key ideas related to characters in narrative text.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

identify key ideas and themes from the text.
formulate hypotheses about characters' motives and feelings.
support their hypotheses using examples from the text.
participate actively in a literature discussion group.

Prerequisites

The teacher has modeled, with a read-aloud book, how to make hypotheses about characters by analyzing what the author tells the reader about the characters and what they do.

Students have been reading and discussing Stone Fox for a week and a half in a small group. They have explored key themes as they read the early chapters, discussing elements of setting, character, and plot that affect theme development. They have focused attention on relationships among characters and how the characters have changed over the chapters. Students have created character webs and diagrammed relationships among characters that emphasize how they perceive each other. Students have supported their opinions by going back to the text.

Materials

Copies of Stone Fox
Sticky notes
"What the Author Tells Us/Shows Us" chart to list hypotheses and evidence

Lesson Description

Students work in pairs to gather evidence about how Willy perceives Stone Fox. They turn the evidence they find into hypotheses about Stone Fox that can be confirmed or not as they read.

They use this evidence and the hypotheses they generated during their paired discussion as they participate in a small-group discussion and try to reach consensus about how Willy perceives Stone Fox and whether his perception is warranted.

Lesson Procedure

Students are asked to work in pairs to describe (generate hypotheses) how Willy perceives Stone Fox by finding evidence in the text that supports their descriptions or hypotheses.

They must use two types of evidence. One type of evidence is "what the author tells us" about Stone Fox and how Willy perceives him, and the other is "what the author shows us" through Willy's and Stone Fox's actions.

Students use sticky notes to mark the pages where they find evidence so that they can use it during small-group discussion. They also put a page number next to the evidence on the chart to help locate it quickly during discussions.

The teacher calls the pairs of students together to discuss their findings in a small group.

The teacher begins the discussion with, "How do you think Willy perceives Stone Fox and how do you know?" He/she encourages a pair of students to start the discussion by talking about one of their hypotheses. One student writes the hypothesis on the chart and then both students provide their evidence.

The teacher asks other students to agree or disagree and support their responses.

After several hypotheses have been shared, the teacher reminds students that sometimes the author specifically tells us about a character by having other characters describe him, but sometimes the author lets us form our opinion by watching what the character does. She asks the students to analyze their hypotheses and decide whether they are based mostly on what Willy thinks or what Stone Fox does.

Students compare the types of evidence they've found and pick the strongest hypotheses that the group can support.

Closure and Conclusion

At the end of the discussion, the teacher tells students to confirm or refute their hypotheses as they finish reading the book.

Follow-Up

During class read-aloud time, the teacher continues to model how to make hypotheses based on evidence provided by the author and how to confirm or refute the hypotheses.

How Willy Perceives Stone Fox	What the Author Tells Us	What the Author Shows Us

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.2 Constructing Meaning

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Constructing Meaning through Social Interaction

Think about the video "Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion" you viewed in Session 1 that showed a small-group discussion of a book and recall the comments of your peers on the discussion board. View the video again and as you watch, think about the following questions:

How do student-led discussions develop critical thinking?
What is the role of the teacher in fostering conversations and social interactions of this type?

Critique the instructional approach modeled in the video. Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 4 Online Journal.

What are the pros and cons of engaging students in this type of literature discussion?

To what degree are students at the early elementary levels, at the upper elementary levels, and at middle-school levels prepared to critically analyze fiction and nonfiction? You may focus your responses on the grade level that reflects your interests.

Think about your reflection as you engage in the readings in the next sections.

Comprehension Development and Instruction

In this article, Anders challenges not only traditional views of comprehension and comprehension instruction, but also offers another perspective on the National Reading Panel report and the Rand Report on comprehension. Read "Toward an Understanding of the Development of Reading Comprehension Instruction Across the Grade Level," (pp. 111-128). As you read, consider how Anders' perspective expands traditional views of comprehension development and instruction.

Consider what you have learned so far in this session and Anders' approach to reading achievement in the Comprehension Development and Instruction Forum.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a multidimensional, developmental view of comprehension for K-2 students? How might this differ for students in Grades 3-8?

Read "Socio-Constructivist and Political Views on Teachers: Implementation of Two Types of Comprehension Approaches in Low-Income Schools." As you read, think about the extent to which the two instructional approaches described by the authors reflect the characteristics of a multidimensional approach to reading comprehension.

Think about how you might implement a multidimensional, developmental approach in your current or future curriculum, and whether or not the approach described in the preceding article would be feasible in your classroom/school environment.

Differentiated Instruction

In an effort to aid students' comprehension, teachers include vocabulary activities in their instruction. Traditional vocabulary activities usually require students to use a dictionary to look up a list of words, write the definitions and then use the words in sentences. To enrich vocabulary instruction, ask students to first use target vocabulary words in sentences. Then ask the students to use a dictionary to confirm if their sentences used acceptable meanings of the words. For further instructional ideas, you may wish to explore the vocabulary instruction tips and tricks at "Target the Problem! Vocabulary" from Reading Rockets

For additional support for students who need vocabulary development visit "Martha Speaks" from PBS Kids. This program helps students experience learning new vocabulary in authentic contexts.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

4.2: Use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact students' knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.

Provide differentiated instruction and instructional materials, including traditional print, digital, and online resources that capitalize on diversity.

Provide instruction and instructional materials that are linked to students' backgrounds and facilitate a learning environment in which differences and commonalities are valued (e.g., use literature that reflects the experiences of marginalized groups and the strategies they use to overcome challenges).

5.2: Design a social environment that is low risk and includes choice, motivation, and scaffolded support to optimize students' opportunities for learning to read and write.

Demonstrate a respectful attitude toward all learners and understand the roles of choice, motivation, and scaffolded support in creating low-risk and positive social environments.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Discussion Forum Participation Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Participation in the discussion forums is critical for maximizing your learning experiences in this course. You are required to be part of an online community who interact, through discussion, to enhance and support the professional development of the group. Part of the assessment criteria for the course includes assessing the quality and quantity of your participation in the discussion forum.

Some characteristics we consider to be part of excellent discussion contributions are outlined below. Your facilitator will consider these characteristics when assessing the quality and level of your participation.

You should submit your initial post(s) early in the session, and your subsequent responses to the posts of other learners at timely intervals within the duration of the session. Keep in mind the goal is to have a dynamic discussion that lasts throughout the entire session.
Your posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting an "I agree" or "Good ideas" will not be considered adequate. Support your statements with examples, experiences, or references. You are, however, encouraged to be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short paragraphs. Keep in mind that your fellow learners will be reading and responding to you, too.
Make certain to address the discussion prompt(s). This does not mean you should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.
Discussions occur when there is dialogue. So, build upon the posts and responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure you revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other learners have posted to your initial responses.
When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when appropriate).
Your contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

This rubric point scale will be used to assess your work based on a 100 point scale that is cumulative throughout each session.

	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
	20/50 points	35/50 points	50/50 points
1st Visit: Initial Post (1 post)	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Does not create an initial post. And/or does not submit early in the session.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Creates an initial post.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Creates an initial post. Submits early in the session.
	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Post does not demonstrate evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Post demonstrates some evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Post demonstrates clear evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.
	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Post is not applicable to professional practice.	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Post is applicable to professional practice.	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Post is applicable to professional practice.
	5/15 points	10/15 points	15/15 points
Note: A reply is made in visits 2, 3, or 4 by using the 'reply' or 'add a new discussion topic' functions. Learners may earn the extra five points described in the Exemplary column of 3rd & 4th Visit in any message submitted after the Initial Post (1st Visit).
2nd Visit: Reply to Other Learner(s) (1 post early in the session)	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Does not reply to another learner. And/or does not submit the reply early in the session.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Replies to another learner.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Replies to another learner. Submits early in the session.
	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response does not demonstrate evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response demonstrates some evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response demonstrates clear evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.
	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is not applicable to professional practice.	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is applicable to professional practice.	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is applicable to professional practice. Response elicits responses and reflection for others.
	5/15 points	10/15 points	15/15 points
3rd and 4th Visit: Reply to Other Learner(s) (2 posts later in the session)	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Does not reply to a second learner. And/or does not submit the reply before the end of the session.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Replies to a second learner.	Criteria: Quantity and timeliness Replies to a second learner. Continues to participate in discussion threads until the end of the session.
	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response does not demonstrate evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response demonstrates some evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.	Criteria: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of content and applicability to professional practice Response demonstrates clear evidence of knowledge and understanding of course materials and content.
	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is not applicable to professional practice.	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is applicable to professional practice	Criteria: Generates learning within the community Response is applicable to professional practice. Response elicits responses and reflection for others. Response integrates multiple views or provides outside resources from others to take the discussion deeper. (+5 pts- once per discussion which will be added to the 3rd or 4th visit score)

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Web Search Checklist

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

The following Web search checklist was taken from Guidelines for Evaluating Web Sites, ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER, and appears in an abbreviated form below. Compiled from several sources, the checklist is a summary of criteria for evaluating Web sites; the more criteria a site meets, the more likely it is to be a valuable resource.
For more Information About ERIC, contact ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC. For the complete list of Web search guidelines from ERIC, visit www.ericdigests.org/1999-3/web.html.
The information in "Citations for Web Sites" has been taken from APA Online. For a complete set of guidelines for citing and referencing Web sites, visit APA Online at www.apastyle.org.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Verify that the Web site's important capabilities, such as graphics or animations critical to the subject matter, can be utilized with the technology you have available. Some sites require more advanced browsers.

• The web page should be stable, that is, consistently available.

• All the links and special features such as audios must be functioning with no error messages.

• If there is a fee for using the site, the site should provide a secure way to send payment.

PURPOSE

• A site's purpose should be clear, and its content should reflect that purpose, be it to entertain, educate, or sell.

• Advertising should not overshadow the content.

CONTENT

• A site's content should be comprehensible, appropriate, and of value to the intended audience.

• The information should be current, accurate, and regularly updated. A "last updated" notification is a useful feature.

• There should be enough information to make visiting the site worthwhile. Information on how often the site is visited may indicate its usefulness.

• Although there may be variations in how information is ordered, the organization should generally be logical.

• Sites that promote social biases (e.g., gender, racial, or religious biases) should be rejected or critically reviewed.

• Copyright information is useful if you anticipate copying a substantial amount of the content for dissemination.

• Links to more information on the topic should be provided.

• Graphics should be relevant and appropriate to the content.

AUTHORSHIP/SPONSORSHIP

• The name of the individual or group creating the site should be clearly stated.

• The Web site author or manager should provide contact information for users to make comments or ask questions.

• Where applicable, reference sources for information cited should be provided. See "Citations for Web Sites" below for guidelines on referencing Web Sites.

• Sites that clearly violate copyright statutes or other laws should not be linked, listed, or recommended.

FUNCTIONALITY

• Language used in messages and instructions should be clear, concise, and easy to understand.

• The skills required to use the site's features should be appropriate for its intended audience.

• Navigation within the site should be easily carried out. Required "plug-ins" or other helper applications should be clearly identified, and navigational buttons should be of a consistent shape and location.

• If a search function is available, instructions for conducting searches should be provided.

CITATIONS FOR WEB SITES

Bibliographical citations
Reference sources for information from online periodicals, journals, and newsletters should be cited in a bibliography accordingly:

Author's or authors' last name(s), first and middle initials, date of publication in parentheses. Title of article, title of publication in italics, volume number in italics, and page numbers. Retrieved [date of retrieval] from [URL of the Web site].

For example:

Frederickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, 117-123. Retrieved November 20, 2000, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html.

Internal citations
Reference sources for information from online periodicals, journals, and newsletters within your paper accordingly:

Indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in the text. Always provide page numbers for quotation. Note that the words "page" and "chapter" are abbreviated in such text citations.

For example:

(Cheek & Buss, 1961, p. 332)
(Shimamura, 1989, chap. 3)

For electronic sources that do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number using either the paragraph symbol, if available, or the abbreviation, para.

For example:

(Myers, 2000, P5) (Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Lesson Plan: Session 5: Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

ELA STANDARD 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g. sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

ELA STANDARD 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

CCSS RF.1.4c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

First Grade Students

Goals

To apply word recognition strategies.
To use self-monitoring strategies to self-correct.
To integrate writing, listening, and speaking with reading comprehension.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

self-correct while reading connected text.
apply a variety of word recognition strategies while reading a text.
employ mnemonics to recall word recognition strategies.

Prerequisites (Context)

The teacher has modeled a variety of word recognition strategies and has encouraged students to apply them when reading on their own. The teacher has worked one-on-one with students in the past to coach them to select and use strategies. The teacher has assessed the students and provided them with a book at their instructional level. The teacher modeled using a strategy bookmark and the clunk card during previous lessons.

Materials

Leveled book
Bookmark with list of known strategies
Clunk cards

Lesson Description

The teacher introduces a leveled book at the instructional level of the student. She begins by reminding the student of strategies that he/she can employ confidently. The student reads the book out loud and the teacher prompts him/her to use strategies when necessary.

Lesson Procedure

The teacher shows the student the cover of the book and reads the title aloud. She then spends a few moments activating prior knowledge and asking the student to make a prediction about what will happen in the story.

The teacher then does a “book walk,” going page-by-page through the book, talking about the pictures and introducing key vocabulary words such as plays, sings, and other key words that may be unfamiliar to the student. She also introduces high frequency words such as when and she that the student has not been introduced to previously.

Before handing the book to the student, the teacher asks the student to think about the strategies he/she will use for unfamiliar words. If the student cannot name all of the known strategies, the teacher calls attention to the bookmark and asks the student to name the strategies listed there. Then the teacher places the bookmark on the table where the student can see it. She reminds the student that he/she can turn over the clunk card to help with unfamiliar words while the student reads.

The student begins to read. When he/she stumbles on a word and does not quickly self-correct, the student goes to the bookmark and selects a strategy to use. Sometimes the student tells the teacher what he/she is using, and sometimes the teacher prompts him/her to tell her.

When the student miscues and does not self-correct, the teacher waits until the student finishes a page and then points out that she thought something was not right. She does this by turning over a clunk card and asking the student to go back and find the miscue.

After the student finishes the book, the teacher asks what part the student thought was the best or funniest.

Then the teacher reminds the student of the strategies he/she used and compliments the student on strategies that he/she used independently. The teacher may also point out a word that the student struggled with and asks the student to talk about a different strategy he/she might have used.

Closure and Conclusion

The teacher sends the student back to his/her seat with the book and asks him/her to read it again silently during independent reading time. The teacher suggests the student take the book home to read to someone.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s1q4

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

d: a vision statement of high expectations for all students
See: Standards for the English Language Arts "

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s1q1

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

e. all of the above
See: What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction? "

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s1q2

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

d: support in developing their home language
See: Where We Stand on Learning to Read and Write "

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S6.3 Look Back

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Acquired Knowledge

Go back to your journal entries and read your response to the "Prior Knowledge" question you answered in Session 1.

Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator.

What have you learned and what skills have you acquired from the course? Identify the essential ideas and strategies you gained from this course and how you plan to incorporate them into your current or future classroom.

Professional Goals and Expectations

Reflect on what you learned from the assignments, articles, discussions, and the journal reflections you completed during this course.

Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator.

How does this learning experience compare with your goals and expectations?
Were there any professional goals you were unable to achieve? Why? How do you plan to address these areas of professional development in the future?

Post-Course Evaluation Survey

Complete the Post-Course Evaluation Survey. The information from the survey is very important, as it will help PBS TeacherLine evaluate and improve courses.

Additional Resources (Optional)

"Balanced Literacy Instruction: Addressing Issues of Equity"
In this reading, Kathryn Au speaks to the political and instructional issues facing teachers and students in Title 1 schools. She discusses five dimensions of balance that educators and policymakers need to consider in strengthening instruction for students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Citation

Au, K.H. (2002). Balanced literacy instruction: Addressing issues of equity. In Cathy M. Roller (Ed.), Comprehensive Reading Instruction Across the Grade Levels: A Collection of Papers from the Reading Research 2001 Conference. Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S5.2 Comprehension Strategies

2019-06-18T10:23:23-04:00

Comprehension and Writing

The authors of the article you will read next make the argument that engaging students in authentic reading and writing activities results in comprehension growth. As you read "Authentic Literacy Activities for Developing Comprehension and Writing," think about how the authors define an authentic reading and writing activity and how you might use writing for authentic purposes to increase your students' comprehension of informational texts.

Developing Strategic Readers

In this section, you will learn how to implement a multidimensional approach to reading comprehension and how to develop strategic readers.

Read, "Text Comprehension" from Reading Rockets which discusses the definition of text comprehension and some strategies to help students read interactively. As you read, think about how you could communicate this information to parents.

Next, read "Supporting a Strategic Stance in the Classroom: A Comprehension Framework for Helping Teachers Help Students to Be Strategic." In this article, Dowhower presents a framework for embedding strategy instruction into literature discussions. As you read, think about how her framework relates to Anders' discussion of a multidimensional view of comprehension development and instruction and consider how you might integrate the framework into your own instruction.

The following video, "Strategy Instruction and Self-Regulation of Literacy Skills," presents an example of guided reading. As you view the video, notice the methods used by the teacher as she guides her 1st grade student in applying the strategy of self-monitoring comprehension. The focus is on miscues and oral reading errors. The lesson you observed in this video comes from this lesson plan.

Go to the Developing Strategic Readers discussion board for this session and contribute to the conversation by talking about the instructional challenges of developing strategic readers. Discuss ways you could scaffold instruction to provide experiences that develop strategic reading using the following questions as a guide for your comments:

How would you balance direct instruction and modeling with opportunities for student application and independent practice?

How would you motivate students to apply strategies independently?

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

Differentiated Instruction

Students who struggle with reading difficulties benefit from being explicitly taught specific strategies to help them monitor their own reading progress. The success rate of these strategies improves when there is a strong and consistent home and school connection. Read about how to begin a home and school collaboration and strategies for specific reading comprehension strategies on the "Responses" page of the Misunderstood Minds Web site from PBS. As you read, think about a specific student with whom you have worked who would benefit from these strategies and ideas.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.2: Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Implement and evaluate instruction in each of the following areas: concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, critical thinking, motivation, and writing.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S4.5 Self-Assessment

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether you understand the concepts in Session 4.

Which of the following is a feature of effective vocabulary instruction?
a. uses language activities as the primary means of word learning
b. uses teacher-directed instruction
c. develops a conceptual base for learning new words
d. provides opportunities for practice and application
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a characteristic of a research-based comprehension program?
a. involves students in planning and problem solving activities
b. uses visual representations such as maps and charts
c. provides explicit instruction
d. views comprehension as an active social process
e. all of the above
answer
A sixth-grade student uses a storyboard to organize information on archaeology for a class assignment. This is an example of:
a. a visual literacy approach
b. direct instruction
c. vocabulary instruction
d. code switching
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is a feature of the Modified Frayer Model for vocabulary development?
a. develops conceptual understanding
b. uses narrative text
c. emphasizes definitional knowledge
d. develops contextual word knowledge
e. all of the above
answer
Which of the following is the most reliable indicator of comprehension development?
a. age
b. grade level
c. ability level
d. developmental stage
e. none of the above
answer

Transforming Practices

Look back at the discussion forum for this session and your online journal entries. Which activities from the session did you find most effective for your current or future students? How will you incorporate these activities into your teaching practices?

Additional Resources (Optional)

Explore the following articles if you have time. They may be useful as you complete your final project, but they are not required.

Snow, C. Reading for understanding: Toward a research and development program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: RAND (pp.11-28). Copyright (c) RAND 2002. Reprinted by permission. Related documents on RAND website: www.rand.org

Learning words and their meanings. In Word power: What every educator needs to know about teaching vocabulary. Stahl, S. & Kapinus, B. Copyright 2001. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Reprinted by permission of the NEA Professional Library.

Citation

Ganske, D.S., Sinatra, R., Beaudry, J.S., Stahl-Gemake, J., & Guastello, E.F. (1990). Combining visual literacy, text understanding, and writing for culturally diverse students. Journal of Reading, 33, 612-617. Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

References

An Interview With Joanna Williams. (n.d.). Retreived February 23, 2006, from http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/readingformeaning/meettheexperts_1.html

Anders, P.L. (2002). Toward an understanding of the development of reading comprehension instruction across the grade levels. In Cathy M. Roller (Ed.), Comprehensive Reading Instruction Across the Grade Levels: A Collection of Papers from the Reading Research 2001 Conference (pp. 11-132). Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

PBS Kids, Key Areas of Instruction: Vocabulary. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/program/curriculum-k3.html#vocabulary

Rupley, W.H., Logan, J.W., & Nichols, W.D. (2002). Vocabulary instruction in a balanced reading program. In Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice (pp. 114-124). Used with permission of the International Reading Association.

All IRA articles are used with permission from the International Reading Association.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s4q2

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Toward an Understanding of the Development of Reading Comprehension Instruction Across Grade Levels

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s5q4

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Authentic Literacy Activities for Developing Comprehension and Writing

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S2.2 Roles of Phonemic Awareness/Phonics

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness

Read the article "Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness." As you read, notice how the concepts of print, letter naming, and phonemic awareness support early literacy development and identify the instructional practices that promote acquisition of these skills.

Federal legislation, such as the No-Child-Left-Behind Act, sets the goal of enabling all students to read at grade level by the end of third grade and is based on the research described in Session 1 of this course. Go to the Discussion Topic: Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness to answer the following questions:

Should the focus on phonics instruction (phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency) end in 3rd grade or should it continue into Grades 4-8? What are the implications for ending phonics instruction in 3rd grade or continuing it into the middle grades?

How might phonics instruction look different in Grades 4-8? Is it possible to build a curriculum continuum in which phonics instruction transitions to spelling and vocabulary instruction? What curricular areas might benefit from continued instruction related to the alphabetic principle, decoding, and fluency

As you complete the rest of the readings and assignments for this session, you should go to the discussion forum at least three times more to continue the discussion. Refer to the discussion rubric to review some expectations for participating in online discussions in this course.

Understanding the Role of Phonics

Keep in mind the concepts presented about phonemic awareness and your initial thoughts about the implications the federal legislation has on your instruction as you read the next article: "Concepts, Sounds, and the ABCs: A Diet for a Very Young Reader." This article examines key features of early literacy development, such as phonological awareness, metalinguistic awareness, concepts of word, invented spellings, and phonics. The reading will also expand on characteristics of the early literacy curriculum that support the needs of students with diverse learning styles.

Read "Concepts, Sounds, and the ABCs: A Diet for a Very Young Reader." As you read, notice how the concepts of print, letter naming, and phonemic awareness support early literacy development and identify the instructional practices that promote acquisition of these skills. NOTE: The link to the PALS program at the Curry School of Education has been updated since this article was published. PALS may now be found at http://curry.virginia.edu/research/labs/pals.

Consider the relationship of inventive spelling to reading and writing development. What are the pros and cons of encouraging students to use letter names to represent the sounds in words (i.e., to use inventive spelling)? Upload your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 2 Online Journal.

Do the pros outweigh the cons, or vice versa, when you consider the relationships between use of phonics, inventive spelling, and the development of phonemic awareness, metalinguistic awareness, and other print concepts?

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

1.1 Understand major theories and empirical research that describe the cognitive, linguistic, motivational, and sociocultural foundations of reading and writing development, processes, and components, including word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Explain language and reading development across elementary years (e.g., word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections) using supporting evidence from theory and research.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S3.3 Interventions for Reading Difficulty

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Identifying the Causes and Interventions for Reading Difficulty

A key component to remediating reading difficulties is the ability to identify the causes for the reading difficulty. In this section you will read about the possible causes of reading difficulties and learn strategies for remediation.

Read "Re-Mediating Reading Difficulties: Appraising the Past, Reconciling the Present, Constructing the Future," (pp. 1-11). As you read, focus on research-based factors related to reading difficulties and the instructional interventions that prevent, as well as support, struggling readers. (You may experience a long download time with this 56 page article.)

Next, read, "Target the Problem! Fluency." This article from Reading Rockets provides different examples of fluency problems from the student's, parent's and educator's perspectives. The article also includes specific strategies and ideas for addressing fluency difficulties. As you read, think about how the information from the articles in this section will help you contribute to the discussion for this session.

Reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging students to read at a faster rate. Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 3 Online Journal.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging students to read at a faster rate?

Who among students (in the lower elementary, upper elementary, and middle grades) might benefit from fluency instruction? What possible behaviors might these students display?

Reader's Theatre

Read the following articles to learn about how to use Readers' Theatre to promote fluency. The first article focuses on Readers' Theatre for young readers and the second expands the use of Readers' Theatre to older readers. As you read, evaluate this activity and think about ways you might use Readers' Theatre to improve your students' reading fluency. Read "I Never Thought I Could Be a Star: A Readers' Theatre Ticket to Fluency."and "Fluency Beyond the Primary Grades: From Group Performance to Silent, Independent Reading."

Next, read, "Reader's Theater: Giving Students a Reason to Read Aloud" from Reading Rockets. This article discusses the benefits of Readers' Theater and also includes tips for how to find and use different scripts with students. As you read, think about different stories from your classroom library you could adapt into a script.

Modeling Fluency Assignment

In this session, you learned about a variety of techniques for helping students develop reading fluency. For this assignment, select one of these techniques and try it out with a student.

Select a technique that you read about in this session.
Try out the technique at least once with each student.
Write one page on the experience. Use the following questions to guide your writing:
- Which technique did you select?
- Describe the procedure you used in detail (What text did you use? What preparation did you do ahead of time?)
- How fluent was the student? What evidence do you have to back up your assessment?
- Did the student improve at all? How do you know?
- Would you use this technique again with the student? Why or why not?
Remember to refer to the Modeling Fluency Rubric as you complete this assignment.
Submit your completed Modeling Fluency assignment to your facilitator as a word processing document.

Return to the Session 3 Online Journal. Review your responses and revise them as necessary by adding ideas and questions that have occurred to you up to this point in the course. Be sure that all of your responses are complete and free of grammatical and structural errors. Your facilitator will be assessing your journal reflections at the end of this session.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

1.3 Understand the role of professional judgment and practical knowledge for improving all students' reading development and achievement.

Use multiple sources of information to guide instructional planning to improve reading achievement of all students.

2.2 Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.

Select and implement instructional approaches based on evidence-based rationale, student needs, and purposes for instruction.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Lesson Plan: Session 4: The Modified Frayer Model: Vocabulary Instruction

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

ELA Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

ELA Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

ELA Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

ELA Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

CCSS RL.7.3: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and commutative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g. alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

Seventh Grade Students

Goals

To develop strategies for building vocabulary.
To expand conceptual knowledge of key ideas.
To build schema for key content area concepts.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

create a Frayer Model using a vocabulary term.
discriminate among examples and non-examples of the concept being defined.
describe the attributes of the vocabulary term and justify their decisions by participating in a class discussion.

Prerequisites (Context)

The class is about to begin a study of types of government. The teacher wants to assess his students’ prior knowledge.

Materials

List of government types
Large sheets of chart paper

Lesson Description

The teacher models completion of a modified Frayer Model for definition and then gives pairs and triads of students a word to define using a modified Frayer Model. Students share their definitions when they are finished.

Lesson Procedure

The teacher uses an overhead projector to demonstrate a modified Frayer Model for defining concepts.

The teacher draws a circle in the center of a transparency, fills in a topic word, and ask students to recall what they know about the topic.

The teacher draws a line up from the circle and draws a box. He labels the box “General Category/Genus” and asks students what genus or broad category does the topic word belong to. The students answer and he writes the response in the box.

The teacher draws a line down from the circle and draws a box. He labels the box “Characteristics” and asks students to give specific characteristics of the topic word.

The teacher draws a line to the right of the circle and draws a box. He labels it “Examples” and asks students to give examples of the topic word. He writes the examples as students provide them.

The teacher draws a line to the left of the circle and draws a box. He labels it “Non-Examples” and asks students to give examples that are similar to the topic word but do not directly apply to the topic word. Students list examples that do not fit the description of the topic word.

The teacher organizes the students into pairs or triads.

He gives each pair or triad a term to define from the following list: democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, parliamentary, totalitarian. He tells them to define their term using the Frayer Model.

Students fill in the Frayer Model first on notebook paper and then transfer it to chart paper.

Students share their definitions with the rest of the class. Students who defined the same term compare their definitions.

Closure and Conclusion

The teacher leads the class in a discussion comparing and contrasting the different forms of government.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Final Project Rubric: Planning Future Literacy Instruction

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

This final project is designed to be a culmination of your learning from the course.

The alternative projects are three discrete projects that collectively assess your understanding of the course content. If you choose to do the alternative projects, the assignments can be found at the end of Sessions 2, 4, and 6. The alternative projects can be done instead of the final project.

In the course you are expected to draw from the readings, videos, and interactives provided in the sessions, as well as from additional resources you have accessed and gathered from the Web, from professional colleagues, and from your own professional experiences. By synthesizing the course content and your own teaching experiences into the final project or the alternative projects, you will have successfully achieved the objectives and goals of the course.

Consider the following criteria for your final project. Your facilitator will be looking for evidence of these criteria when assessing the quality and level of your final project.

Provide specific references to course readings and other media that support your instructional goals and the needs of your students.
When relevant, add to the project by including prior knowledge, work experiences, references, Web sites, resources, etc., giving credit as appropriate.
Your final project (and responses from other learners in the course) should be well-organized, complete, and free from grammatical and structural errors.

Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.
Rationale for instructional change	An explanation of one instructional change the learner would like to make is not provided. And/or the rationale for the instructional change does not include: A summary of the research that supports the change. A statement of how the change fits with the learner’s beliefs about effective literacy programs. A statement of how the change fits with district/school goals for the students’ grade level. And a statement of how the change fits with the specific learning needs of the students.	An explanation of one instructional change the learner would like to make is provided. The rationale for the instructional change includes: A summary of the research that supports the change. A statement of how the change fits with the learner’s beliefs about effective literacy programs. A statement of how the change fits with district/school goals for the students’ grade level. And a statement of how the change fits with the specific learning needs of the students.	A clear explanation of one instructional change the learner would like to make is provided. The rationale for the instructional change includes: A comprehensive summary of the research that supports the change that includes specific references to course resources. A statement of how the change fits with the learner’s beliefs about effective literacy programs with relevant references to prior knowledge, work experiences, etc. A statement of how the change fits with district/school goals for the students’ grade level. And a statement of how the change fits with the specific learning needs of the students. There is a clear connection between the instructional change and the rationale.
Outline of instructional plan	An outline of an Instructional Plan that includes instructional goals, objectives, and the state or local standards and benchmarks that the activities will address; an outline for a two-week plan of instruction that scaffolds student learning; and a description of the ways in which the plan is integrated within the curriculum is not provided.	An outline of an Instructional Plan that includes some (but not all) instructional goals, objectives, and the state or local standards and benchmarks that the activities will address; an outline for a two-week plan of instruction; and a brief description of the ways in which the plan is integrated within the curriculum is provided. The instructional activities described will not scaffold student learning.	An outline of an Instructional Plan that includes all the instructional goals, objectives, and the state or local standards and benchmarks that the activities will address; an outline for a two-week plan of instruction that scaffolds student learning; and a comprehensive description of the ways in which the plan is integrated within the curriculum is provided.
Description of resources	A list of resources (e.g. books, videos, Web sites, manipulatives, etc.) that will be used during the two-week plan is provided, but does not describe how the resources are needed to reach instructional goals. And/or a description of professional development activities and resources (e.g. colleagues, workshops, professional journals, articles, etc.) is not provided.	A list of resources (e.g. books, videos, Web sites, manipulatives, etc.) that will be used during the two-week plan, including a general explanation of how the resources are needed to reach instructional goals is provided. A description of professional development activities and resources (e.g. colleagues, workshops, professional journals, articles, etc.) is provided, but only a minimal explanation of how they will be useful in refining the plan for change is included.	A full list of resources (e.g. books, videos, Web sites, manipulatives, etc.) that will be used during the two-week plan, including a general explanation of how each resource is needed to reach instructional goals is provided. The explanation includes how the resources will be obtained. A description of professional development activities and resources (e.g. colleagues, workshops, professional journals, articles, etc.) is provided with a clear explanation of how they will be useful in refining the plan for change.
Process for evaluating students	A description of how student learning will be evaluated is not provided. And/or the learner does not describe methods for ongoing reflection or revision of instruction.	A description of how student learning will be evaluated (e.g. work samples, anecdotal records, tests, etc.) is provided, but the connection between the instructional activities and evaluation is not clear. The learner briefly describes methods for ongoing reflection and/or revision of instruction.	A detailed description of how student learning will be evaluated (e.g. work samples, anecdotal records, tests, etc.) is provided and the connection between the instructional activities and evaluation is clear. The learner clearly describes methods for ongoing reflection and/or revision of instruction.
Peer Review	Learner does not create an introductory posting and fails to attach the two-week plan of instruction.	N/A	Learner creates an introductory posting and attaches the two-week plan of instruction.
Peer Review	Learner does not review the plans of instruction from at least two other learners and/or fails to provide feedback.	Learner reviews the plans of instruction from at least two other learners and provides feedback.	Learner reviews the plans of instruction from at least two other learners and provides feedback. The feedback reflects the Peer Review Guidelines.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S1.2 Research-Based Instruction

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Understanding Early Literacy Research

Research-based early literacy instruction is the focus of national educational policy and has implications for literacy development in grades PreK-8. As you read "What Is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction?" think about how scientifically-based research reflects issues related to teaching and learning in our classrooms.

Go to the Discussion Topic: Understanding Early Literacy Research to discuss the following questions with your colleagues.

Based upon the reading and your experiences, what would you consider to be the most important research-based factors in helping students develop literacy?

What implications do these factors have for instruction as students progress through the grades?

Provide a concrete example from your experiences to support at least one of your responses. Then read and constructively comment on two peers' postings. As you complete the rest of the readings and assignments for this session, you should go to the discussion board at least two or three times to continue the discussion. Refer to the discussion rubric to review some expectations for participating in online discussions in this course.

Designing Standards-Based Instruction

What do you think are the three or four most important issues to be considered when designing literacy programs for students in Grades PreK-8? Keep these issues in mind as you read about English Language Arts (ELA) standards and watch a video that shows a standards-based classroom activity.

Read about the national English Language Arts standards in "Standards for the English Language Arts." As you read, think about the knowledge and skills that have been described and the rationale for including them as a foundation for designing English Language Arts instruction.

The following video, "Character Analysis: Small Group Discussion," presents a small group discussion in which 3rd grade students are analyzing aspects of characterization and offering insight into an author's craft. The teacher leads the students in a discussion about one character's perception of another character's motives and feelings. As you view the discussion, think about the English Language Arts standards that are being addressed.

The lesson you observed in this video comes from the Character Analysis Small Group Instruction lesson plan. (Illustrations Copyright (c) 1980 by Marcia Sewall. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.)

Write about the English Language Arts standards that are demonstrated by students in the video. Consider the prompt below, then compose your response in a Word document for submission to your facilitator using the Session 1 Online Journal.

Based on what you saw, think about whether or not the standards are appropriate for students in Grades PreK-8. Comment on the differences that need to be addressed relative to the students' ages and developmental backgrounds.

Home-to-School Connection with PBS

Many educators share the curriculum learning standards with their students' parents and guardians. However, not all educators share resources that discuss the challenges of meeting the standards and how the standards are related to tests with parents. You may wish to share the following resources with your students' parents so they can be more informed about the educational climate regarding learning standards.

The Challenge of Standards
This Web site from Frontline: Testing our Schools discusses who should set the standards for schools and the challenges of creating the right standards for students.

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

2.1 Use foundational knowledge to design or implement an integrated, comprehensive, and balanced curriculum:

Explain how the reading and writing curriculum is related to local, state, national, and professional standards.

2.2 Use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections:

Select and implement instructional approaches based on evidence-based rationale, student needs, and purposes for instruction.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s2q2

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

e: all of the above
See: Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Online Journal Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

The PBS TeacherLine online journal is used to facilitate the documentation of knowledge you are constructing throughout the course. It will help you take control of and direct your own learning experience, identify what you have learned, what questions you have, and what you would like to know more about. You should not only reflect on knowledge gained through materials and discussion, but also new ideas to explore, feedback from others, and the impact and possible change in professional practice.

In the sessions that have journal items, you will be prompted to write reflections in response to one or two specific questions. These questions will encourage you to use the course content, your prior knowledge, and your experience to craft your responses. Bring your current classroom responsibilities into your reflections when appropriate. Your facilitator will review your reflections and provide feedback based on the rubric presented below.

Reflection is an opportunity to construct knowledge and meaning from your work. It is one of the most valuable activities you will perform in this course. Consider the following suggestions when you are crafting your responses in the online journal. Your facilitator will be looking for evidence of these suggestions to assess the quality of your reflections.

Your reflections should be written during the session in which they are being addressed. Keep in mind that the main purpose of this exercise is to help you construct meaning and self-assess your progress.
Your reflections should be thorough and thoughtful. Support your ideas by using examples, readings, experiences from your own professional practice, other course work, etc.
Your reflections should be within a range of 2-5 paragraphs.
Your reflections should address the question or problem. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to think about your thinking and your learning. Make sure your reflections have depth and reflect critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis.
Your reflections should be complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.
The "Getting Started" and "Look Back" entries are not assessed.

	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
Demonstrates content knowledge, understanding and application gained from assignments	Reflections show very little evidence of understanding course content knowledge, or application of content in professional practice.	Reflections demonstrate understanding of course content knowledge and application of content in professional practice using prior knowledge when applicable. Reflections include critical thinking and synthesis.	Reflections demonstrate understanding of course content knowledge and application of course content in professional practice using prior knowledge and other resources when applicable. Reflections include critical thinking and synthesis. Reflections connect course concepts with other concepts in the subject matter area.
Completion of reflections and timeliness	The learner does not complete reflections and/or does not submit reflections on time.	N/A	The learner completes reflections and submits them on time.

Unsatisfactory

Satisfactory

Exemplary

Demonstrates content knowledge, understanding and application gained from assignments

Reflections show very little evidence of understanding course content knowledge, or application of content in professional practice.

Reflections demonstrate understanding of course content knowledge and application of content in professional practice using prior knowledge when applicable.

Reflections include critical thinking and synthesis.

Reflections demonstrate understanding of course content knowledge and application of course content in professional practice using prior knowledge and other resources when applicable.

Reflections include critical thinking and synthesis.

Reflections connect course concepts with other concepts in the subject matter area.

Completion of reflections and timeliness

The learner does not complete reflections and/or does not submit reflections on time.

N/A

The learner completes reflections and submits them on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Professional Development Resources

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

On this page you will find professional development resources that are not included within the various sessions of the course.

Web sites

NAEYC, National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

International Literacy Association
http://literacyworldwide.org/

Literacy Research Association
http://www.literacyresearchassociation.org/

National Council of Teachers of English
http://www.ncte.org/

American Educational Research Association
http://www.aera.net/

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Lesson Plan: Session 3: Echo Reading and Fluency

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

CCSS RF.4.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Fourth Grade Students

Goals

To practice fluent reading.
To develop meaningful phrasing.
To model competent reading.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

use appropriate phrasing and expression in oral reading by echoing the teacher.
use the echo reading strategy to self-assess their own oral reading.

Prerequisites (Context)

A student has been struggling with reading fluency. The student has demonstrated a halting, word-by-word reading style with limited phrasing that suggests the student does not comprehend the text being read aloud. The student has already read the book several times and has discussed its content. The student has taken this book home and feels comfortable with the content as well as the individual words. Therefore, decoding is not an issue. The focus is on developing fluent reading.

Materials

A familiar book at the student’s independent reading level

Lesson Description

The teacher takes the student aside for ten minutes of individual instruction, using a book that has been part of previous instruction. The teacher models fluent oral reading as the student follows along in the text, repeating phrases when the teacher pauses. Thus, the student “echoes” the teacher’s phrasing and fluent reading.

Lesson Procedure

The student and teacher sit side-by-side at a table with the book placed between them so that they can both easily see the text.

First, the teacher defines echo reading and explains how it will help the student be a better reader and how it will make reading more enjoyable.

The teacher says: “Today, we are going try echo reading. Do you know what an echo is?”

The student responds with an example or explanation of an echo.

The teacher explains that, “When we read, the author wants us to hear the message in his words in our heads, and it helps us to hear it when we read with feeling. That way we read the message like the author hears it in his head when he writes it, and that makes it more fun to read. It also makes it more enjoyable for people to listen to when we read it out loud.”

The student and teacher discuss the book they have been reading in class. They talk about the parts the student likes best, and the teacher asks the student to find a part he would like to read.

The teacher says she will read a short part with feeling, and tells the student to follow along and read the same part with the same kind of feeling.

The teacher reads the first phrase with expression, pausing just long enough for the student to read it before she goes to the next phrase.

The student attempts to repeat each phrase after the teacher.

They follow this procedure for one or two paragraphs.

Then the teacher says to the student, “Let’s think about the way we read this part.” The teacher then reads the same part, word-by-word, and then asks the student, “Which way sounded better? Which way sounds like what the author wants to say?” The teacher and student have a conversation about which way sounds best. The teacher emphasizes that the first time they read with feeling; they chunked the words into phrases and it sounded more real. The second time the teacher read one word at a time, and it didn’t sound like the way we talk or like the way the author wants us to read.

The teacher invites the student to continue echo reading for the next several pages.

The teacher ends the lesson by asking the student to select a part of the story to read out loud. When the student finds the page, the teacher says, “First, read it in your head and think about how the author would want you to say this. When you are ready, read it out loud to me.”

They talk about how good it sounds, how it sounds like talking, and how it is easier to hear what the author wants to say. If the student had difficulty with the phrasing, the teacher encourages him to read it again until he thinks it sounds good.

Closure and Conclusion

The teacher says, “Later, when we have partner reading time you can read your book to your partner. When you read it with feeling and phrasing, the listeners will enjoy hearing you read.”

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S1.3 Individual Learners

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Meeting the Needs of Individual Learners

Read "Where we Stand on Learning to Read and Write." While you read, think about the learning environment needed to teach young students to read and write and how this environment might differ for students at different grade levels.

Many classroom learners vary along multiple dimensions, such as race and ethnicity. The term, "diverse students" is sometimes used to describe students of certain socioeconomic groups. The next reading addresses issues related to equity in educational opportunities for diverse students.

Read "Reading and Reading Instruction for Children from Low-Income and Non-English Speaking Households". As you read, think about how you might differentiate your instruction and adapt the learning environment to enable students with diverse cultural backgrounds to meet your state and national standards for literacy.

Students who are learning English as a second language are more likely to become readers and writers of English when they are already familiar with the vocabulary and concepts in their primary language. Include in your classroom non-English materials and resources that will support students' first language while they acquire oral proficiency in English. Read "Vocabulary Development" from Colorín Colorado for more effective strategies for improving ELLs' vocabulary development and reading comprehension. This article is also available in Spanish.

As you complete the readings for this session, you should go to the Discussion Topic: Understanding Early Literacy Research to continue the discussion on literacy instruction. Refer to the discussion rubric to review some expectations for participating in online discussions in this course.

Review the research-based factors you identified as important for developing literacy and the impact these factors have on instruction. Continue with the discussion and expand on how you would alter your original ideas to address the needs of diverse students.

Prepare for the Final Project

To prepare for the final project, think about the role your state standards play in literacy instruction. Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 1 Online Journal.

How do you use your state standards to help guide your reading curriculum?

What specific changes might you make to your current or future teaching practices to help students meet or exceed the standards?

IRA Standards for Reading Professionals

4.1 Recognize, understand, and value the forms of diversity that exist in society and their importance in learning to read and write.

Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of urban, suburban, and rural environments on local culture, language, and learning to read and write.

4.2 Use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively impact students' knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity.

Provide differentiated instruction and instructional materials including traditional print, digital, and online resources that capitalize on diversity.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s2q4

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

e: All of the above
See: Everything You Wanted to Know about Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s1q5

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

d: vocabulary knowledge
See: Reading and Reading Instruction for Children from Low-Income and Non-English-Speaking Households "

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s2q3

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

b: Students find objects in the room that begin with a certain sound.
See: Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Alternative Project 3: Literacy Log Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Literacy Log Rubric: Alternative Project 3
Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
© PBS. All rights reserved.
Description of student	Learner does not provide a description of the characteristics or learning needs of the student being followed in the instructional log.	Learner briefly describes the characteristics and learning needs of the student being followed in the instructional log.	Learner clearly describes the characteristics and learning needs of the student being followed in the instructional log in one to two paragraphs.
Literacy Log description	Learner creates a log that does not describe the student’s learning experiences or the literacy skills addressed.	Learner creates a log that lists the learning experiences of the student, but only briefly addresses the literacy skills addressed.	Learner creates a log that describes the learning experiences of the student throughout the day. The log is detailed and clearly identifies the literacy skills addressed.
Rationale for instructional experiences	Learner does not provide a rationale for selection of the literacy experiences listed in the log. And/or the rationale is not supported by the research and readings from the course.	Learner provides a rationale for the selection of the literacy experiences in the log. The rationale is only minimally supported by research or readings from the course.	Learner provides a comprehensive rationale for selection of the literacy experiences listed in the log. The rationale is clearly supported by research and readings from the course.
Peer review	Learner does not create an introductory posting and fails to attach the literacy log.	N/A	Learner creates an introductory posting and attaches the literacy log.
Peer review	Learner does not review the literacy logs of at least two other learners and/or fails to provide feedback.	Learner reviews the literacy log of at least two other learners and provides constructive feedback.	Learner reviews the literacy log of at least two other learners and provides constructive feedback. The feedback reflects the Peer Review Guidelines.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Modeling Fluency Assignment Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Criterion	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
Selection of instructional method or technique	Learner does not select an instructional method or technique for improving reading fluency from a reading found in Session 3 of the course.	N/A	Learner selects an instructional method or technique for improving reading fluency from a reading found in Session 3 of the course.
Description of procedure	Learner provides a vague description of the procedure used.	Learner describes the procedure used, but either does not provide details about text(s) used or does not include advanced preparation information.	Learner provides a thorough description of the procedure used; including details about text(s) used and advanced preparation.
Analysis of student's reading fluency	Learner provides a vague description of the student's reading fluency and level of improvement.	Learner provides an analysis of the student's reading fluency but fails to describe level of improvement and/or omits evidence of assessment.	Learner provides a thorough analysis of the student's reading fluency and describes level of improvement, along with evidence of assessment.
Evaluation of technique	Learner does not evaluate the technique.	Learner evaluates the technique used, but provides a brief rationale for his/her evaluation	Learner evaluates the technique used and provides a detailed rationale for his/her evaluation, including a discussion of possible future use of this technique.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	Learner does not complete assignment and/or does not submit assignment on time	N/A	Learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s2q1

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

b: phonological awareness
See: Concepts of Print, Letter Naming, and Phonemic Awareness Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Final Project: Planning Future Literacy Instruction - Transforming Practices for Your School

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Your final project is a way for you to begin planning to make changes in your present classroom or your "ideal" classroom. All change starts with a vision. Begin with your philosophy and beliefs. Think about your present curriculum and the English Language Arts standards you reviewed in Session 1 of this course. Decide on one instructional change that you would like to make, such as more emphasis on comprehension strategies, vocabulary, or phonics instruction; or changing your classroom culture to foster students' motivation to read and write. Devise a plan for implementing the new practices and ways to integrate the plan with your existing/future curriculum in your district. Describe your students' specific needs and how the instructional changes will benefit them. The next section will give you more specific guidelines for developing your final project.

Description and Guidelines for the Final Project

Your specific task is to write a final report and design a two-week literacy lesson plan. You are expected to use what you have learned throughout Session 1-5 as well as course readings. Use APA format for citations and to document references. Your final report should be about 700-750 words in length. You should refer to the final project rubric before you begin. Use the following outline as a guide to write your report.

Instructional Change
Decide and explain one instructional change that you would like to make.
Rationale for Instructional Change
- Provide a rationale for the instructional change you have selected. Summarize the research that supports the change you want to make.
- State how the change fits with your beliefs about effective literacy programs.
- State how it fits with district/school goals for your grade level.
- State how it fits with the specific learning needs of your students.
Outline of Instructional Plan
- Clearly state your instructional goals, objectives, and the state or local standards and benchmarks that your activities will address.
- Outline a two-week plan of instruction that scaffolds student learning.
- Describe ways in which your plan is integrated with your curriculum.
Description of Resources
- Include a full list of resources, a general explanation of how the resources are needed to reach instructional goals, and your plan for obtaining them.
- List colleagues and district/building personnel who could offer advice and support.
- List professional books, articles, workshops, district/building in-services, Web sites, etc. that may help you refine your plan for change. Use this Web Search Checklist if you are unfamiliar with making Web searches.
Process for Evaluating the Students
- Describe methods for evaluating student learning, such as student work samples, student journals, anecdotal records, and so forth.
- Describe methods that would help you engage in ongoing reflection and /or revision of your instruction.

Peer Review

For this activity, you will go to the discussion board to share your lesson plan with your fellow learners who will provide constructive feedback. You will also review and provide feedback to their lesson plans.

Create and save your two week plan of instruction using a word processing program.
Go to the discussion board and enter Session 6: Discussion Forum 1.
Create an introductory posting and attach your two week plan of instruction.
Review the plans of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the final project rubric, plan elements (see above), and the peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.
Make any necessary changes to your lesson plan based on your peers' feedback. It is expected that you will consider the feedback presented by your peers and make modifications, as appropriate, before submitting your lesson plan to your facilitator.
Submit your final lesson plan to your facilitator.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: s3q2

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

c: reading with an expressive voice
See: Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot!

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Alternative Project 2: Vocabulary Standards and Instructional Implications Rubric

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Vocabulary Standards and Instructional Implications Rubric: Alternative Project 2
Assignment or Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Exemplary
© PBS. All rights reserved.
Vocabulary standards chart	Learner creates a chart that lists some of the aspects of vocabulary instruction addressed in state and national standards. The chart does not make apparent connections among the content of the columns and therefore does not demonstrate understanding of the concepts.	Learner creates a four-column chart that lists: National standards related to vocabulary instruction Common Core and /or State standards relating to vocabulary instruction and Aspects of vocabulary instruction that are discussed in the course, but not addressed in state or national standards. The chart is not organized so that the connections among content can be clearly identified.	Learner creates a four-column chart that lists: National standards related to vocabulary instruction, Common Core and /or State standards relating to vocabulary instruction, and Aspects of vocabulary instruction that are discussed in the course, but are not addressed in state or national standards. The chart is organized and the standards synthesized so that connections can be clearly seen among the content of the columns.
Analysis of chart	A description (in one or two paragraphs) of additional learning opportunities for vocabulary development that are not addressed in the standards and that should be included in classroom instruction is not provided. And/or the description does not reference any course resources.	A description (in one or two paragraphs) of additional learning opportunities for vocabulary development that are not addressed in the standards and that should be included in classroom instruction is provided. The description does not reference any course resources.	A description (in one or two paragraphs) of additional learning opportunities for vocabulary development that are not addressed in the standards and that should be included in classroom instruction is provided. The description includes references to course resources.
Completion of assignment and timeliness	The learner does not complete assignment or does not submit assignment on time.	N/A	The learner completes assignment and submits it on time.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: S5.5 Look Ahead

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

In the next session, you will complete your final project for the course. At this time, you should review the components of the final project and post any questions in the Assignment discussion forum.

Wiki Page, RDLA152.156: Literacy Log Example

2019-06-18T10:23:24-04:00

Time	Learning Experience	Literacy Skill Addressed
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
1:00
2:00
3:00

Discussion: Virtual Café (Open 24/7)

2019-07-01T19:47:05-04:00

Virtual Café

Come in, have a cup of virtual coffee, introduce yourself, and get acquainted with your fellow learners! When you introduce yourself, include the following information:

your name,
what grades and classes you teach (or plan to teach),
why you are taking this course, and ...
your favorite books of past or present!

This forum is available 24/7 anytime you feel the need to come in and build relationships with your colleagues in this course as well as discuss and share whatever is on your mind!

~Erin

Assignment: Discussion Topic: Understanding Early Literacy Research

2019-07-06T16:35:08Z

Due:

Assignment: Session 1 Online Journal

2019-07-06T16:35:54Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.

Journal Entry Prompts for Session 1: (You will submit all of the answers to your journal prompts in one-word document.)

What are your expectations for this course?
What knowledge and skills do you hope to gain?
How will this professional development experience shape your future instruction?
How do federal legislation and English Language Arts standards impact trends in education and instructional methodology? Draw from your teaching experiences, what you already know about the topic, and your questions and concerns to formulate some thoughts about what the implications may be for literacy instruction in Grades PreK-8.
Based on what you saw, think about whether or not the standards are appropriate for students in Grades PreK-8. Comment on the differences that need to be addressed relative to the students' ages and developmental backgrounds.
How do you use your state standards to help guide your reading curriculum?
What specific changes might you make to your current or future teaching practices to help students meet or exceed the standards?

Please upload your online journals here.

Journal Entry Prompts for Session 1: (You will submit all of the answers to your journal prompts in one-word document.)

What are your expectations for this course?
What knowledge and skills do you hope to gain?
How will this professional development experience shape your future instruction?
How do federal legislation and English Language Arts standards impact trends in education and instructional methodology? Draw from your teaching experiences, what you already know about the topic, and your questions and concerns to formulate some thoughts about what the implications may be for literacy instruction in Grades PreK-8.
Based on what you saw, think about whether or not the standards are appropriate for students in Grades PreK-8. Comment on the differences that need to be addressed relative to the students' ages and developmental backgrounds.
How do you use your state standards to help guide your reading curriculum?
What specific changes might you make to your current or future teaching practices to help students meet or exceed the standards?

Assignment: S2.3 Discussion Topic: Understanding the Role of Phonemic Awareness

2019-07-10T20:57:44Z

Due:

Should the focus on phonics instruction (phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency) end in 3rd grade or should it continue into Grades 4-8? What are the implications for ending phonics instruction in 3rd grade or continuing it into the middle grades?
How might phonics instruction look different in Grades 4-8? Is it possible to build a curriculum continuum in which phonics instruction transitions to spelling and vocabulary instruction? What curricular areas might benefit from continued instruction related to the alphabetic principle, decoding, and fluency.
If your intent is to receive exemplary credit for your submissions, you will need to post clear and specific course content to support your conclusions in this forum. (Please read over my Discussion forum tips as well as the Discussion Forum Rubric before posting your initial post!) Thank you!

~Erin

Should the focus on phonics instruction (phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency) end in 3rd grade or should it continue into Grades 4-8? What are the implications for ending phonics instruction in 3rd grade or continuing it into the middle grades?
How might phonics instruction look different in Grades 4-8? Is it possible to build a curriculum continuum in which phonics instruction transitions to spelling and vocabulary instruction? What curricular areas might benefit from continued instruction related to the alphabetic principle, decoding, and fluency.
If your intent is to receive exemplary credit for your submissions, you will need to post clear and specific course content to support your conclusions in this forum. (Please read over my Discussion forum tips as well as the Discussion Forum Rubric before posting your initial post!) Thank you!

~Erin

Assignment: Session 2 Online Journal

2019-07-13T16:08:03Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.

Note: This Journal prompt has been confusing to learners in past courses; I have revised the prompt to read as follows:

Revision:

What is the relationship between the development of phonemic awareness, phonics, and inventive spelling? What are the pros and cons of allowing students to use inventive spelling? Optional: Is there an age or grade level limit in allowing students to use inventive spelling?

~Denise

Please upload your online journals here.

Note: This Journal prompt has been confusing to learners in past courses; I have revised the prompt to read as follows:

Revision:

~Denise

Assignment: Session 3 Online Journal

2019-07-18T15:59:14Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.

Assignment: Discussion Topic: Developing Fluent Readers

2019-07-18T18:22:43Z

Due:

Describe students you have encountered who have difficulty with reading fluency and discuss possible causes.

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

Describe students you have encountered who have difficulty with reading fluency and discuss possible causes.

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

Assignment: Assignment: Modeling Fluency

2019-07-19T21:16:14Z

Due:

Upload the Modeling Fluency Assignment here.

Assignment: Discussion Topic: Comprehension Development and Instruction

2019-07-25T20:26:29Z

Due:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a multidimensional, developmental view of comprehension for K-2 students? How might this differ for students in Grades 3-8?

Assignment: Assignment: Phonics Strategy

2019-07-26T17:20:21Z

Due:

Upload Your Session 2 Assignment in this Drop Box...

Phonics Strategy Assignment

Create a plan to implement the information from this session in your professional practice. You may wish to refer to the assessment rubric for this assignment before you begin.

Choose one strategy or activity from the interactives or readings on phonemic awareness and phonics instruction from this session.
Describe the phonics strategy or activity in detail, providing step-by-step procedures, and a complete list of materials needed to complete the strategy or activity. Your description should indicate that you understand the procedures that will be used.
Identify at least three instructional goals, at least three objectives, and a complete list of the state standards and English Language Arts standards that will be met by the strategy or activity.
In two or three paragraphs, describe the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students who will use the strategy or activity. Provide a clear rationale for instructional decisions for using the strategy or activity with this specific group of students and demonstrate the connection between instructional goals for the students and the goals and objectives for the strategy or activity.
Write a brief description (one or two paragraphs) of the assessment for the strategy or activity and include how the data gathered will be used to make future instructional decisions.
Submit your plan to the facilitator in the Assignment: Phonics Strategy dropbox.

Upload Your Session 2 Assignment in this Drop Box...

Phonics Strategy Assignment

Create a plan to implement the information from this session in your professional practice. You may wish to refer to the assessment rubric for this assignment before you begin.

Choose one strategy or activity from the interactives or readings on phonemic awareness and phonics instruction from this session.
Describe the phonics strategy or activity in detail, providing step-by-step procedures, and a complete list of materials needed to complete the strategy or activity. Your description should indicate that you understand the procedures that will be used.
Identify at least three instructional goals, at least three objectives, and a complete list of the state standards and English Language Arts standards that will be met by the strategy or activity.
In two or three paragraphs, describe the grade level, skill level, and special needs and/or cultural backgrounds of the students who will use the strategy or activity. Provide a clear rationale for instructional decisions for using the strategy or activity with this specific group of students and demonstrate the connection between instructional goals for the students and the goals and objectives for the strategy or activity.
Write a brief description (one or two paragraphs) of the assessment for the strategy or activity and include how the data gathered will be used to make future instructional decisions.
Submit your plan to the facilitator in the Assignment: Phonics Strategy dropbox.

Assignment: Assignment: Multidimensional Approaches for Vocabulary Instruction

2019-07-26T19:16:30Z

Due:

Upload the Multidimensional Approaches for Vocabulary Instruction Assignment here.

Assignment: Session 4 Online Journal

2019-07-26T19:17:24Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.

Assignment: Session 5 Online Journal

2019-07-31T17:25:48Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.

Assignment: Discussion Topic: Developing Strategic Readers

2019-08-01T00:53:43Z

Due:

How would you balance direct instruction and modeling with opportunities for student application and independent practice?

How would you motivate students to apply strategies independently?

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

How would you balance direct instruction and modeling with opportunities for student application and independent practice?

How would you motivate students to apply strategies independently?

Justify your statements by referring to the readings and examples from your professional practice.

Discussion: Help (Open 24/7)

2019-08-06T16:33:38-04:00

Help (Open 24/7)

Having trouble understanding what to do in the assignments? Need some help on technical issues? Or additional tips on how to be successful in this course. This is the place to post your questions or refer to tips, procedures, and guidelines to help guide you through each Session and all of the course.

~Erin

Discussion: Peer Review Forum: Alternative Project 3

2019-08-06T18:42:26-04:00

Create an introductory posting and attach your Literacy Log.
Review the logs of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the alternative project rubric, log elements, and the peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.

Discussion: Peer Review Forum: Final Project

2019-08-06T22:40:44-04:00

Create an introductory posting and attach your two week plan of instruction.
Review the plans of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the final project rubric, plan elements, and the peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.

Assignment: Peer Review Forum: Final Project

2019-08-07T11:55:07Z

Due:

Create an introductory posting and attach your two week plan of instruction.
Review the plans of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the final project rubric, plan elements, and the peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.

Create an introductory posting and attach your two week plan of instruction.
Review the plans of at least two other learners and provide constructive feedback. Use the final project rubric, plan elements, and the peer review guidelines to guide your feedback.

Assignment: Final Project or Alternative Project

2019-08-07T11:56:09Z

Due:

Upload the Final Project or Alternative Projects here.

Assignment: Session 6 Online Journal

2019-08-08T01:27:07Z

Due:

Please upload your online journals here.