Literacy Newsletter

This is the first literacy newsletter of the 2023-2024 school year. This newsletter aims to provide learning strategies for teaching all areas of reading and provide information regarding reading resources, interventions, and knowledge concerning structured literacy.

Have you heard all the buzz surrounding structured literacy lately? Perhaps you've wondered what all the excitement is about!

The International Dyslexia Association defines Structured Literacy as explicit and systematic teaching of all components of literacy. Explicit instruction means the teacher clearly teaches and models concepts and skills. Systematic instruction follows a scope a sequence that teaches skills in a progression from easiest to harder skills. Explicit and systematic instruction ensures students learn all necessary reading skills.

Structured Literacy occurs in six instructional areas. These are: sound-symbol relationships, phonology, syllables, morphology, semantics, and syntax. Below are some ways these are woven into comprehensive literacy instruction. Continue reading to learn how you are already incorporating structured literacy into your daily instruction, and to discover new ways to improve these skills.

• The basics of structured literacy
• What is structured literacy?
• Overview of Structured Literacy Video

Phonological awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the parts in spoken words. Phonology, is the study of the sound structure of spoken words. Students must have a strong foundation of phonological awareness to read. Phonology includes knowing the number of words in sentences, syllables in words, onset, rhyme, and rhyming. What is important about phonology is that it is all on the sound level. The written representation of the letters to the sounds does not happen during phonology.

Activities to Support Phonology Include:

• Clapping the number of words in a sentence
• Clapping the syllables in words
• Determine which words in a group of words do not rhyme
• Listening to nursery rhymes and poetry
• Click here for more fun activities.

Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Children must be able to do this in order to read.

Activities to Support Phonics Include:

• Sing a phonics song
• Phonics anchor charts
• Phonics flip books
• Letter tile activities
• Click here for more fun activities

Spelling patterns and decoding word parts is important in phonics and this includes knowledge of syllables. A syllable is a word or word part that has one vowel sound. Words that have more than one vowel sound are called multisyllabic.

The Six Syllable Types:

• Closed Syllables have a short vowel ending in a consonant. Ex. at, bug, tumble etc.
• Open Syllables end with a long vowel sound. Ex. so, pro/gram, mu/sic, etc.
• Silent e Syllables have a long vowel sound followed by a consonant then a silent e. Ex. cake, fine, cone, etc.
• Vowel Digraph Syllables contains two vowels that make one sound, the vowel digraph can be at the beginning, in the middle, or the end of the word. Ex. chair, each, tree, etc..
• R-Controlled Syllables have a vowel that is followed with an r, that changes the sound of the vowel. Ex. farm, circle, purple, etc.
• Final Stable syllables are found only at the end of multisyllabic words, they consist of a vowel followed by one or tow consonants then the letters l and e. They are pronounced by blending the first consonant with the l. Ex. fumble, wiggle, puzzle, etc.

Activities to Support Syllables Include:

• Segmenting by smashing playdoh
• Use Legos or unfix cubes to segment and blend syllables
• Marking syllable types
• Clapping syllables
• Syllable clipping with cards
• Click here for fun syllable games and videos.

Vocabulary is an essential component of comprehension. A reader must be able to understand words in context through syntax and semantics. In other words, the word “break” is a multiple-meaning word. Depending on how that word is used defines its meaning. For example:

Samuel took a break from his homework to play basketball. (noun)

Keon did not mean to break the vase. (verb)

Students must be explicitly taught multiple meaningful words and how syntax affects a word's meaning.

Activities to teach syntax and semantics to students:

• Sentence Structure
• Developing Syntax and Morphology
• Teaching Syntax Activities
• Word Sort Activities

Reading comprehension is the combination of understanding language and recognizing words. Comprehension is a complex process, and many factors allow one to comprehend what they are reading. One of those is developing background knowledge.

Background knowledge is a reader's understanding of concepts and situations associated with words read. When readers have prior knowledge in the subject area, they are able to make meaning from words and build upon what they know to comprehend the text.

Activities for building background knowledge:

• Visual and hands-on representation
• Making text connections
• Virtual field trips (many virtual field trips are available on youtube)
• Graphic organizers
• Click here for more fun activities.

Want to learn more about the connection between comprehension and sentence structure? Check out this article!

Fluency is the ability to speak, read, or write a language easily, well, and quickly. Accuracy, speed, expression, and comprehension are the four parts of reading fluency. Each part is important, and fluent readers can coordinate all four areas when reading. In order to be successful readers, students must be fluent.

Activities to build fluency

• Model with read-aloud time
• Practices for K-2 fluency
• Poetry reading
• Partner reading
• Quick Reads Tutorial Guide
• Hanging fluency anchor charts

Students learn best when they are engaged in their learning. Engagement means students are having fun and enjoying the process of learning. It is essential that we make literacy engaging and motivating for students. Doing these things doesn’t have to take extra work and lots of planning.

Activities to build fun and engagement:

• Complete a virtual field trip and connect to a story in ReadyGen

• Use a read-aloud to spark interest and extend listening comprehension

• Complete an art activity (Art of Education links are on the CDMs)

• Use literacy games

• Reader’s Theater or act out a story

• Practice reading recipes (special thanks to Activity Mom for these examples,) follow the directions, and enjoy the end results

• Reach out to Topeka Shawnee County Public Library and have them bring a set of books for your class

• Bring in a guest reader to read to your class

FastBridge and MAPS testing provide amazing data to help determine interventions and next steps for students. The reports from the testing in the two areas also provide methods for determining ways to group students for small-group instruction.

For example, FastBridge data provides information on letter names and sounds for kindergarten. The data marks students as at some risk or high risk. Students in those areas could receive targeted instruction in those areas. If kindergarten shows mastery of letter names and sounds, take those students and have them apply the alphabetic principle to decoding CVC words.

When looking at MAPS data, explore the reports that show students who have and have not mastered skills. MAPS will also show at which grade level within a given standard where a student is currently performing. Groups students by skills- reteach and also enrich students who have mastered a skill.

Kansas recently enacted K.S.An Act 72-36262 called the Kansas Every Child Can Read Act, which provides a legislative statement of intent regarding promoting academic achievement in schools to ensure that all students progress toward grade-level literacy proficiency, especially by third grade.

As a result, there are several new requirements pertaining to third grade. The first is the requirement to inform parents twice a year regarding their child’s reading profession. The second requirement is to report student interventions for third-grade students to the state. Topeka Public Schools is working diligently to meet the state’s new reporting requirements.

Click on the link to learn more about the Kansas Every Child Can Read Act.

Every Child Can Read Act

Quick Reads

QuickReads is a new resource that focuses on fluency and associated skills. The program contains a placement test and six levels: A-F. QuickReads improves reading fluency, reading comprehension, and content knowledge with nonfiction texts.

Please talk to your instructional coach to get the link to access the QuickReads folder.

QuickReads Placement Guide

High-Frequency Word List

Topeka Public Schools has a list of high-frequency words for grades K-2. The word list combines CR Success tricky words and Dolch sight words located within CR Success.

Use the link below to access the word lists you need for your classroom.

High-Frequency Word Lists

Decodables

Teaching and Learning purchased decodables for each elementary building. There are books from Little Blossoms and Jump Rope Readers. Decodables allow students to practice the phonics skills they've been taught. Decodables are not leveled by a reading level but instead are skills-based. For example, a book called Sam and Jan Lost a Hat would best align when short a is taught in the classroom.

Decodables can be used during small group instruction and literacy station time. Books can be read to solidify a new phonics skill or for additional fluency practice. The decodables are stored in the book rooms in each building.