Literacy

1. Literacy Writing and Spelling

2. A Short History • Reading and writing are relatively recent human accomplishments. ( 5000 years) • Humans have communicated with spoken language traditions for more than 30,000 years. • The biological pre-disposition for mastering spoken and written language differs greatly in humans. ( Shaywitz)

3. “Writing is not language, but merely a way of recording language by visible marks.” Leonard Bromfield, linguist The majority of the world’s languages have no writing system at all. ( They have preserved their history through oral memorization)

4. The English Language • Known as a deep orthography ( orthography refers to the writing system that represents sounds) • Spelling units correspond to • Sounds ( phonemes and syllables) • Meaning ( morphemes) • Spelling patterns of English can be categorized by language of origin ( Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek)

5. Anglo Saxon Origins • Oldest layer of language • Includes most common and compound words • Spelled as they sound with long and short vowel sounds • Most consonant/vowel- sound symbol correspondence. • 100 most frequently used words • “Glue words” (the, a, and, you, would)

6. Greek Origins • Modern scientific and mathematical terms tend to be derived from Greek morphemes. • Sounds: y for i (gymnasium) ph for f ( photo, phone) ch for k (chorus) • Combined forms make English words: Microscope, photosysnthesis

7. Latin Origins • Words are constructed around a root whose meaning is modified through the addition of prefixes and suffixes (pro-ject-tion) • Prefixes: un, mis, re, sub, pre, de, con … • Roots: struct, flect, mit, dict, duce… • Suffixes: ment, tion, sion, tious, • Plurals: crises, …

8. Modern English • Adopted words from other languages • ex.) Spanish: plaza, chocolate French: bayou, levee Italian: pizza, cello Despite all of these layers of language, English remains a predictable and rule - based system. ( Moats- Speech to Print)

9. Spelling/Decoding Continuumto include layers of language K- Phoneme awareness, letter names, letter sounds 1- Anglo-Saxon consonant and vowel sound-spelling correspondences 2- More complex Anglo-Saxon spelling patterns 3- Syllabication, compounds, and word endings ( inflections) 4- Latin Based-prefixes, roots, and suffixes 5-6 More complex Latin based forms 7-8 Greek combining forms (Marcia Henry)

10. Skills Young Writers Need to be Taught • Letter formation • Alphabet knowledge • Sound-symbol correspondence • Spelling word study • Handwriting fluency • Sentence composition • Linking sentences into paragraphs

11. Teaching Spelling Needs to include teaching of: • Sounds • Symbols • Syllables • Morphemes ( units of meaning) • Memory techniques • History of Language • Self-monitoring strategies

12. Teaching Spelling, continued • Teach awareness of sounds and their sequences in words. PA- tapping • Sight words: A few at a time - 3-5 per week • Emphasizespelling patterns and correspondences • Use word sorting, dictation , sentence writing speed drills, and proofreading to teach HOW TO SPELL

13. Special Techniques for Spelling • Use pictures and stories to help students make a connection between sounds and symbols. ( Look at the food, Plow the snow, Trout soup, Ozzie has an awesome auto, Point at the boy, etc. ) • Teach tricks… Take Tom or you’ll have to row the boat ( tom-or-row), Wed- NES ( Nintendo entertainment system) day= Wednesday.

14. Special Techniques cont. • Build memory for non-phonetic words by teaching visualization strategies. * • Teach a line spelling technique. • Allow students to be challenged with more difficult words sometimes. • Create a spelling notebook with high use words and pattern words. • Teach “Best and Rest” vowel choices

15. Spelling- Understanding the 6 syllables • Some commercial programs are very explicit in teaching the six syllables for reading and spelling: Wilson, Open court, Rewards, Lindamood-Bell LIPS, F.A.S.T.. , Megawords. • Syllable knowledge is the basis for reading instruction as well as phonetic spelling. Even in non-phonetic spelling, a student will use sounding out strategies as well as rule/memory applications.

16. Spelling Assessment • Formal ( Woodcock Johnson IV, Brigance, Test of Written Spelling, ) • Informal- Primary Spelling Inventory • Words Your Way ( CD) • Gorton Spelling list • Spellography Spelling Inventory • Primary spelling Inventory

17. Sample test activity • Directions for Spellography test practice. • Look at each word the student wrote. Circle any elements that the student got correct. • If correct, give one point in next to last column. • When done tally up the elements in each row. • Code ( R- Y, G) or color code as stated on the sheet. • Evaluate strengths and weaknesses with your table partner.

18. How would you evaluate Phillip’s spelling needs ?

19. Writing Instruction- Putting it all together • Writing is an essential component of a comprehensive literacy program. • When students write about experiences and ideas, they engage both personal and objective meanings of the deepest level. • Writing and promotes critical thinking reasoning. • It is a true metacognitive task.

20. Why is writing so difficult? • Readers are not necessarily writers. • Writers have to use the four processors critical for word recognition: • ( Phonological, Orthographic, Meaning, Context) • Writing draws upon other languages, motor memory, attention and executive functions (Planning) and background.

21. Writing is a Juggling Act Higher level thinking Lower Level Skills Letter formation Sound-spelling links Recall of sight words Use of punctuation and capitalization Monitoring of symbolic accuracy • Logical connections among ideas • Control over genre structure • Maintain purpose and goal • Keep audience in mind.

22. What good Writers Do • Plan their writing • Generate ideas, set goals, organize ideas • Translate ideas into written words • Generate text, transcribe ideas onto the page • Review and Revise what is written • Read as audience, repair, improve, proofread

23. Children are different • Beginning writers must acquire many skills before they can handle higher level composing tasks. • Letter formation • Spelling • Spacing • Etc. • Each Subcomponent has a developmental path that needs to be taught.

24. Rubrics for describing writing

25. Roadblocks to Writing • Poor background knowledge • Limited vocabulary • Lack of proficiency in English • Lack of imagination or experiences • Motor control issues • Lack of motivation • Disorganized thoughts

26. Strategies for getting started • Springboard: Story, illustration , object, photograph, story starter. • Explore and develop background knowledge. • Provide a model of the type of writing. • Brainstorm ideas and put into a list: verbal, graphic, pictorial representations. • Organizational plan: web, story frame, graphic organizer, sequence chart, outline of ideas. • Self- Instruction strategies : checklist

27. Translating the ideas into print • Generating language – What point do you want to make? Select good words, translate the ideas into sentences. Connect ideas within sentences and between sentences. • Transcription: Putting words into conventional symbols: (letters, punctuation marks, spelling, fluency and accuracy)

28. Review-Revision • This occurs during and after writing. • Revision happens at every level: • Word choice, • Sentence Structure • Overall organization • Elaboration or deletion of ideas • Print symbols

29. Important Distinctions Writing a Story (Narrative) Providing Information (Expository) Introduction- What to expect and what information will be shared Body- Development of details, reasons and facts Conclusion - Ties it all together • Beginning- Pulls the reader into the story • Middle – Development of story line. • End – The story comes to a close.

30. Accordion Paragraphsfrom Step up to Writing

31. Prompt: • Using this accordion method, write an expository paragraph on one of the topics below using all of the folded spaces on your sheet. • 1. Describe your perfect summer (ie- summer 2010.) • 2. Tell what you would change about your first year as a teacher. • 3. Why is it important to have a sense of humor?

32. Other Writing ideas: • Color code the sentence types for instruction : • Green-topic sentence • Yellow- Reasons, details ,facts, key concepts. • Red- Stop and explain with evidence or examples. • Green- Go back to your topic- restate, don’t add new information, use synonyms.

33. Use Graphic Organizers • Webs, lists, outlines, categories and details. • Fill in the blanks or finish the sentences. • Beginning- middle – end guides • Brainstorm sheets –Question words, vocabulary, HOTS ( Higher order thinking skills) • Have Word banks available • Work from a Writers’ Folder with topics of interest listed in the front.

34. Handwriting • Developmental in nature- teach systematically • Involves sensory feedback and timing • Needs to be accurate and automatic • It is a linguistic task ( brain stores images in the language center) • Teach letters with their names AND Sounds • Satisfactory writing fluency means producing cursive alphabet in 20-30 seconds. ( max)

35. Writing CBM’s Scoring writing samples 1. Count the total number of words written (TWW) 2. Count the total number of words spelled correctly (WSC) 3. Count the total number of Correct Writing Sequences (CWS)

36. Total Words Written (TWW) TWW is the number of words written regardless of spelling or context. The scorer underlines each word and records the total number of words written. Words are defined as any letter or group of letters including misspelled or nonsense words that have a space before or after them.

37. Words Spelled Correctly (WSC) Count the number of correctly spelled words, regardless of context. Circle incorrectly spelled words. Calculate WSC by subtracting the total number of circled words from the TWW

38. Correct Writing Sequences (CWS) Place a caret ^ to mark each set of correctly spelled words that you determine to be acceptable within the context of the written phrase. Take into account punctuation, syntax (grammar), semantics (meaning), spelling and capitalization

39. Questions: How does this information inform your instruction? How does this information relate to the data team process?

40. Determining a goal for one year (annual review): Find the grade level on the AIMSweb chart where the baseline CBM score is closest to the 50th percentile. (It must be between the 25th and 75th percentile.) Set a goal using the score that is one grade level plus one season higher

41. Determining a goal for a shorter instructional period: Calculate growth expected Rate of improvement per week (from table) times 1.5 times number of week=total growth given instructional period (Rate of Improvement: Spring Score minus Fall Score36 weeks ROI also appears in a separate column on AIMSweb Growth Table) Total growth expected plus baseline CBM score = target Score for this instructional period

42. Charting progress: Plot baseline CBM score and target (goal) Draw aim line between first and last points Provide instruction

43. Plot progress monitoring CBM scores Assess at least once every three weeks; best practice is once per week Determine Points of Most Significance (POMS) Make frequent instructional decisions/modifications based on student performance on CBM measures Continue to chart progress