[jmaddox80]

in reply to: Tracking Student Progress #3838

Some of the skills that I track for fluency include the number of words the student is able to read correctly within a time frame, using expression while reading, and retelling the story/passage. I use DIBELS scores as a pre-assessment, then complete progress monitoring to help me pace the lessons I will teach in small groups with my students. I always inform my students of where they are and I have them help create a goal. We refer back to their goal when it is time to progress monitor and we update their progress. It is pretty awesome to see first graders invested in the number of words they read correctly or when they compliment each other on expression. I also provide sentence stems to encourage students to talk to each other about their reading. They use the sentence stems to provide compliments to each other and to reflect on what they are doing well and what they want to improve on. I love it when they take these sentence stems and use them with each other when working in centers.

[jmaddox80]

in reply to: Dyslexia & Structured Literacy #3837

I enjoyed getting a more detailed explanation of what Dyslexia is and what it is not. There are misconceptions out there and I was surprised to see my own misconceptions. I was surprised to find out that close to 20% of students in the U.S. struggle with dyslexia. That is 1 in 5 students. As teachers (general education and special education), the need for training on how to identify that a student may have dyslexia and strategies to help them overcome what they are struggling with.

We use a program called 95% for our phonics instruction. It follows the order of syllable types and it teaches our students the rules for each syllable type. It is a great program, when used with fidelity. The program walks through many of the strategies that were mentioned in this lesson, including sound syllable mapping, segmenting sounds in a word, changing sounds, etc. Incorporating gestures for different syllable types will be beneficial for my students, while also finding ways to practice sounds/syllables in a manner that matches their preferred learning style. I think the activities I will use will depend on which strategies are the most engaging and successful for the students in my class.

[jmaddox80]

in reply to: Your Phonics Instruction Strategies #3736

1. It depends on my students. I teach special education and I have students from kindergarten to 5th grade. They are each at different points in their ability for reading and understanding phonological awareness. The majority of my students still need the foundational skills, but do best with a multisensory approach. They need explicit instruction, repetition, immediate feedback, and different strategies to help them progress through the continuum of phonological awareness and reading skills.

2. Using real objects has always been an engaging strategy for my students. Using items and having students match the beginning sound to a cup with a letter on it is an example of a strategy to use that incorporates real objects. Playing fly-swatter games, using playdough, and rhyming activities are always a hit with all grade levels that I have worked with. I think it is important to continue to use a multisensory approach, even as the students get into the upper grades.

[jmaddox80]

in reply to: Teaching Phonological Awareness #3735

1. I incorporate phonemic awareness into the beginning of my ELA lessons. I use phonemic awareness as a warm up so my students are are hearing words broken into parts and manipulating sounds to create words or to change words. Phonemic awareness helps in both reading and writing. I have found that when I try to skip the 5-7 minute phonemic awareness warm-up, my students struggle more when it comes to their reading and writing. Over the years, I have found that phonemic awareness is the foundation and we must follow the scope and sequence to ensure that we are moving through the skills in a way that allows our students to build on their understanding of words and their sounds. My district currently uses 95% as the phonics curriculum. It is a scripted program that provides the the amount of time for each phonemic awareness activity, along with the specific words that should be used.

2. There are many ways to make teaching phonological awareness a multisensory event. Stomping the syllables, putting the left out out for the onset and the right hand out for the rime, touching your should for the beginning sound, elbow for the middle sound, and wrist for the ending sound, and smashing a small ball of playdough for each sound in the word are fun ways to include multiple senses.

3. I don’t have any questions at this time.

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