Park City's Resource For Children with Dyslexia
Parents, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham · November 11, 2019 · Link to original article
Good overview of the importance of teaching phonics explicitly. Students need decoding skills to read unfamiliar words.
“Without decoding skills, children could not read made-up words such as Harry Potter’s “quidditch”. Nor could they read unfamiliar names (of places such as Oodnadatta) or medication names (such as azithromycin) as these have no other cues to guide the reader to pronunciation.”
Parents, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham · March 30, 2020 · Link to original article
What should effective classroom reading instruction look like? This article reviews aspects of reading instruction including phonics, decodable readers, vocabulary and background knowledge.
“If children can’t master phonics, they are more likely to struggle to read. That’s why researchers say explicit, systematic instruction in phonics is important: Teachers must lead students step by step through a specific sequence of letters and sounds.”
Research & Science, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · March 21, 2020 · Link to original article
“What I’d like to focus on here, however, are the ways in which Calkins’s discussion of phonics reveal a startlingly compromised understanding of the subject for someone of her influence and stature.”
General, IEPs & 504 Plans, Parents, Professional Development & Conferences, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers, Utah News · May 15, 2019 · Link to original article
The Utah State Board of Education published a Dyslexia Handbook in 2018. PC READS Executive Director, Elissa Aten, participated in the taskforce that drafted this important document. It is a resource for educators and parents and we encourage all to read and share it!
General, Parents, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · August 22, 2019 · Link to original article
“In 2015, 37% of students in 12th grade were proficient or advanced in reading.”
One of our favorite reporters, Emily Hanford, is back with another insightful audio documentary about reading instruction and the continued need to ensure that the science of reading is understood by educators and put to practice in classrooms.
Too many students have been “taught” how to read using insufficient strategies or programs, such as three-cuing, MSV (meaning, structure & visual), whole language and balanced literacy.
“These poor reading habits, once ingrained at a young age, can follow kids into high school. Some kids who were taught the cueing approach never become good readers. Not because they’re incapable of learning to read well but because they were taught the strategies of struggling readers.”
National News, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · July 18, 2019 · Link to original article
The ILA and the IDA have not always seen eye-to-eye and there was particular debate over the ILA’s 2016 Research Advisory on Dyslexia (link below). So, we are happy to see that the ILA has published a brief (link below) on the importance of explicit and systematic phonics instruction.
EXCERPTS:
The question of whether to include phonics instruction has been resolved.
The answer is yes. Although phonics can be taught in different ways, research supports instruction that is explicit and systematic.
LINKS
Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Instruction (2019 ILA Literacy Leadership Brief)
Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · June 15, 2019 · Link to original article
We often post about the importance of using Structured Litearcy in classrooms and why we are so pleased that the Park City School District has implemented it through the use of Wilson Fundations in all K-3 classrooms. Here is a great article from the International Dyslexia Association explaining what Structured Literacy is why all schools should use it. Additional resources are included at the end of the article
Parents, Park City School District Articles, Park Record Articles, PC READS in the News, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · April 5, 2019 · Link to original article
PC READS is very thankful for the PCSD Interventionists who started this program at McPolin Elementary School! And, we are proud to be supporting educators through our Professional Development Grant Program. #elevatingliteracy
Interventionist Amy Warren, featured in this article, received a PC READS grant for Wilson Level 2 Coaching Sessions and shared the following: “I am so thankful for PC READS because they help to make education accessible at every level. PC READS supports teachers by giving them opportunities for trainings and professional development and, in turn, teachers are able to use that information and experience to better serve and support their students.”
General, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · March 7, 2019 · Link to original article
“Unfinished learning around literacy” is a reason the PC READS provides Professional Development Grants to educators in the Park City area. Thank you to all the educators who continue to learn! And, thank you to The Hall Family Fund for your support of this important program!
EXCERPT: Educators urgently need a national movement for professional learning about reading. We should declare a No Shame Zone for this work—to make it safe for all educators to say, “I have unfinished learning around literacy.”
General, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham · February 23, 2019 · Link to original article
A wonderful infographic showing the need and effectiveness for Structured Literacy.
General, National News, Research & Science, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · October 26, 2018 · Link to original article
This article is based upon author Emily Hanford’s audio documentary for APM Reports, “Hard Words: Why Aren’t Kids Being Taught to Read?”
Excerpt: “There is no excuse for this. Colleges of education have to start requiring that their faculties teach the science of reading. Children’s futures depend on it.”
Thank you to our PCSD K-3 teachers who are putting the science of reading back into the classrooms through Wilson Fundations!
General, National News, Parents, Research & Science, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · September 10, 2018 · Link to original article
What can you do over the UEA break? PLEASE take the time to read or listen to this article & the follow-up we will post, too. PC READS advocated for changes to our PCSD elementary reading curriculum for several years based upon the science of reading & is proud to be a partner on the initiative that brought Wilson Fundations to our classrooms! And, our Professional Development Grants are supporting educators as they learn more about the science of reading.
A FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE ARTICLE:
By some estimates, one-third of America’s struggling readers are from college-educated families.
But without explicit and systematic phonics instruction, many children won’t ever learn to read very well.
“There are thousands of studies,” said Louisa Moats, an education consultant and researcher who has been teaching and studying reading since the 1970s. “This is the most studied aspect of human learning.”
There is no debate at this point among scientists that reading is a skill that needs to be explicitly taught by showing children the ways that sounds and letters correspond. “It’s so accepted in the scientific world that if you just write another paper about these fundamental facts and submit it to a journal they won’t accept it because it’s considered settled science,” Moats said.
You can find schools and school districts across the United States that are trying to change reading instruction the way Bethlehem has, but according to Moats, ill-informed, ineffective reading instruction is the norm. “The gap between science-based ideas and practices and those most often used in our classrooms remains very wide and persistent,” she wrote in a recent article.
National News, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers, Videos · April 30, 2019 · Link to original article
Great video from Education Week about the importance of ensuring that teachers understand the science of reading, including links to additional reading. “By 2021, every elementary and special education teacher in the state of Arkansas must be proficient in brain-based research on reading.”
Research & Science, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham, Teachers · January 9, 2019 · Link to original article
General, National News, Research & Science, Structured Literacy & Orton-Gillingham · January 2, 2019 · Link to original article
Emily Hanford, Senior Correspondent for APM Reports, highlights how the science of reading is being taught to teachers in Bethlehem, PA.
“The Bethlehem district has invested approximately $3 million since 2015 on training, materials and support to help its early elementary teachers and principals learn the science of how reading works and how children should be taught.”
If you find our information helpful, please consider supporting PC READS through a monetary donation.
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