Empowering Gen Z... Leading and Learning in the 21st Century

  Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction The most recent report from our National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2019) showed that nationwide 66% of our 4th students scored below proficient in reading. The highest-performing state showed 55% below proficiency. We know from decades of research how students learn to read, how to assess to identify those at risk, and what and how to teach so that the majority of our students can be successful, and systematic and explicit phonics instruction is a critical part of building literacy .  Phonological awareness is the foundation for orthographic mapping, which in turn is critical to meaningful reading. “ Orthographic mapping is the brain’s process of linking sounds to letter sequences that establishes a memory of printed words, turning unfamiliar words into familiar words.” Students must “learn to read” before they can “read to learn” and need explicit and systematic teaching. ” Unfortunately, many of our students do no...

  Who knew early literacy was this detailed.....? Elementary Understanding print awareness, phonological awareness, and alphabet knowledge is critical in understanding the development of early literacy skills. We have learned so much in this course.  The instructional strategies discussed in these tutorials address younger students, K-2.  What was your biggest takeaway? Middle School( and anyone else that felt these concepts were not applicable) Please read this 11-minute article addressing the concerns of literacy gaps in older students.  What are your biggest takeaways?  We look forward to reading your thoughts! Next up..... Systematic and Expicit Phonics:) Schedule Rebecca Minerd and Monelle Dalman

  Phonemic Awareness is our goal......... (Middle School): Please read Phonological Awareness and Intervention and Phonological Instruction for Older Students .  (Elementary): Please view Cox Academy’s Early Literacy: Lessons 1-4. Then, both (Middle School) and  (Elementary) please respond to the following prompt: “Mastery of every skill on a phonological awareness continuum is not the goal; phonemic awareness is. Even if you have to scale back to teaching larger sound units, never stop teaching phonemes. Instead, do both simultaneously.” - (Cox Academy) What are you currently doing for phonemic awareness instruction in your classroom [to promote reading and vocabulary skills]? Based on what you’ve learned so far, will you be making any changes? Why or why not?   Rebecca Minerd and Monelle Dalman