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Why should we use Accelerating
Literacy if we have a language arts adoption?
While publishers give districts
books and activities, those who have written for the adoption will not
be able to provide the coherent guidance for basic reading and writing
instruction nor an assessment articulation guide from preschool to sixth grade. Basal
publishers are not considered the curriculum driver. They are ONE of the
resources teachers may use to create the appropriate learning
environment for students who have a range of needs. AL training for
teachers is the foundation that creates district-wide continuity in
balanced literacy instruction and provides ease in monitoring assessment of all
preschool through sixth grade students. If a teacher has an understanding of how to teach children to read and
write, such as that given in AL, all the district needs to add are
quality books.
What is balanced, comprehensive
instruction?
AL presents the key components for
creating balanced literacy instruction. The handbook clearly defines and
presents how reading and writing instruction are balanced in the
classroom. From a strong theoretical and applied research base, AL presents the
student with literacy experiences on different processing levels. Since
the last language arts adoption, many students have not had solid guided
process reading and writing instruction. For example, they have too much
of one or two components (e.g., reading aloud and shared reading) and
none of others (e.g., guided process reading). AL presents each
component and discusses how each works together to get the power from
balancing the pieces. Teachers appreciate the organization,
thoroughness, and easy-to-use format of AL.
Monitoring and
assessment are useful, concise, and easily accessed for making
instructional decisions. Through recording triangular assessment data,
including teacher observations, district standards, and standard scores,
principals and district-level staff can be informed about every student
so support services can be targeted.
How does AL address phonics
instruction?
AL presents skill
development with literature and language-rich activities during
small group-guided process reading. AL goes beyond basic phonics instruction to provide
students with opportunities to use their phonemic, phonic, syntactic,
and semantic knowledge in daily Guided Process Reading groups. Districts
use their current phonics program or another basic one; integration of
skills in context; and daily reading and writing processing experiences
to provide a comprehensive, balanced approach to reading and writing
instruction. Each student is observed daily and formally monitored
quarterly in reading and writing portfolios as to their use of phonemic
and phonic knowledge or graphophonic strategies. Explicit feedback is
provided in shared reading and guided process reading/writing groups. In
these groups, students systematically practice their use of phonemes and
phonic skills in context.
Daily, systematic instruction in
each student's reading language is provided in Shared Reading featuring
rhymes, songs, predictable books, alphabet books, etc. Integration of
skills in the context of familiar and unfamiliar books promotes phonemic
awareness and print awareness as it relates to print tracking and
sound-symbol relationships, such as blending of letters and graphic
patterns of words. Written phonemic awareness develops when students
begin their formal writing and reading instruction. Since AL is a basic
handbook for reading and writing instruction, districts may use
additional resources for phonemic awareness activities out of context
and for additional spelling guidelines. Depending on a district's needs,
AL can be supplemented with professional resources.
AL offers districts staff
development support and choices. Workshops are provided for districts to
have their own trainers or teachers attend workshops we present. An AL
Coaches Conference is also provided to support implementation.
Instructional assistants and teachers may also be trained for tutoring
students in grades two through six. For those districts wishing to begin
a program for at-risk first graders, Early Literacy Intervention® may
be brought into the district for a reasonable cost.
Yes, the solution is an AL
District Trainer. The AL total immersion training has proven successful
to develop skilled trainers in just five days. AL presents a staff
development model with implementation guidelines. These guidelines are
used to structure ongoing teacher training, coaching (mentors and
administrators), and support training by the District Trainer.
AL offers ways to utilize a
school's current resources and personnel more effectively. It helps to
organize materials and books already in circulation and suggests
guidelines for future adoptions. It is a necessary, basic handbook on
reading and writing instruction.
Correcting spelling of basic
words begins with reading instruction in the guided process reading
groups in kindergarten or first grade. Grade expectations or standards are evaluated by students'
spelling in actual writing experiences. Students are asked to spell one
hundred words as quickly as possible with the goal of spelling fifty
basic words correctly by the end of first grade. As students' writing is
evaluated, their ability to apply spelling conventions is assessed.
Instruction is adjusted accordingly and attention to spelling is given
on a daily basis through interactive or modeled writing and student
guided process writing.
Students need to practice
comprehension and critical thinking on a daily basis in small, guided
process reading groups. A critical thinking taxonomy is used in reading
aloud, shared reading, and guided process reading. It requires the
student to analyze the text (through visual maps), interpret and compare
the text, and reflect on possible meanings as they apply to current
circumstances and issues. Extensions are planned for writing, listening,
speaking, and home-school connections.
In AL training, teachers are
instructed how to create a teacher resource book center and utilize
existing literature sets, trade books, enlarged text, and other
instructional materials. Teachers then pull material that is theme
related, grade level core, and/or appropriate literature for the
flexible group from a central teacher resource library to accommodate
students at different levels and to enhance instruction. Records are
kept of instructional books for each student. This list is placed in the
student's reading portfolio and is used during parent-teacher
conferences. Reading materials are continually assessed and additional
titles are considered as implementation occurs.
Intervention with one-on-one
tutoring is provided to students who are beginning to struggle and fall
behind their peers. First grade is the easiest place to close the
instructional gap that begins to develop among students. Teachers are
trained in the ELI program to provide students with print awareness,
effective use of sound/symbol relationships, graphophonic, phonemic,
semantic, and syntactic strategies for reading and writing, and
comprehension skills. With ELI, instructional techniques are quickly
transferred into classrooms and used with groups. Students receiving ELI
tutoring are given pre-and post-assessment. Their progress is recorded
using oral reading records, reading and writing stage analyses, and
writing portfolios. Teachers are provided with training, coaching, and
implementation support as they meet the challenges of teaching at-risk
students. An ELI manual and student tutoring guides accompany formal
training.
As an on-site alternative to
university-based Reading Recovery® and other similar programs, ELI
helps districts work within budget restrictions. ELI has a six-year
success record as a proven intervention program. Teacher training cost
is one-fifth of Reading Recovery® and less than one-third of the cost
per student.
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