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Science-Based Reading Education, Family help

Family Engagement to Push for Science-Based Reading Education

While educators and legislators are essential in strategic efforts to boost literacy, families play an equally vital role in a child’s reading journey. This week, we discuss the importance of families and parents in supporting lifelong literacy, as well as strategies that can be employed outside of the classroom to supplement a child’s reading education.

 

As discussed in last week’s newsletter, both regional and national literacy efforts are focused on retraining educators and urging legislators to fund science-based literacy programs based on phonemic awareness, vocabulary expansion, and other foundational skills. While teachers should have knowledge of structured literacy instruction and data to help them address students’ reading challenge areas, the push for science-based reading instruction does not stop in the classroom. Ideally, parents and families have access to the knowledge and opportunities that will help their children become better readers, in tandem with up-to-date classroom instruction.

Family help in education

In a panel discussion hosted by the Seattle Times’ Education Lab on November 16th, the panelists spoke to the importance of familial involvement in students’ reading success. Fundamentally, the panelists framed literacy as a systemic issue, emphasizing that it takes a whole system - inclusive of educators, legislators, and families - to do the work of reading education. In addition to training school staff in science-based reading practices, panelist Paul Gordon, superintendent of the Wenatchee School District in Central Washington State, also urged families to ask questions about the data and philosophies that underpin their students’ reading curricula.

 

Of course, family engagement also depends on transparent and proactive communication from educators. Parents can ask questions and provide feedback about their child’s reading instruction, but schools and districts must also clearly explain the language and purpose of their literacy screening reports and reading instruction to families. Intentional conversations between families and educators should begin early and continue throughout the school year to support a student’s reading progress, encouraging both families and educators to reflect on a student’s reading improvement, obstacles, and actionable goals.

 

Regardless of a school district’s specific reading curriculum or a student’s overall academic confidence, experts wholeheartedly agree that families can best support their kids by exploring their non-traditional literary interests and reading with them at home. According to Frank Serafini, a professor of literacy education and children’s literature and expert on the science of reading, non-traditional reading materials are an excellent resource for skilled readers who are less interested in assigned classroom content. Examples include plot-driven and highly visual content such as graphic novels, magazines, or humorous series that are less likely to be assigned in the classroom. As long as the content is age-appropriate, the goal is to broaden children’s literary options while promoting continual usage of science-based reading strategies taught in the classroom.

science-based reading

Families can explore their children’s literary interests by simply reading with them at home. Danielle Moore, a first-grade teacher at Midlothian’s Baxter Elementary School, says that reading at home helps parents better understand their child’s overall progress and unique challenges. Critically, Moore acknowledges the difficulty of allocating extra time for reading, particularly as a working parent with multiple children; but these extra minutes pay dividends in the long-term, fostering an early love of reading in children while motivating families to remain involved in their children’s education.

Family help

Take-Aways:

  • In response to COVID-19 and years of poor reading instruction in the United States, reading experts are urging both educators and families to recognize the importance of science-based reading practices.
  • In recent panels focused on the science of reading and overall declines in U.S. students’ reading performance, experts emphasize the role of families in helping students overcome challenges and meet their literacy goals.
  • In addition to asking questions and learning about their child’s reading curriculum, parents can foster their child’s appreciation for reading by exploring non-traditional literary material and reading with them at home.

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Phonics Reading Games:

Phonics reading Games

Introduction:

Phonics is the building block to develop effortless reading among children with fluency, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.  Breaking the words into their constituent sounds aids the children in understanding and build up their literacy skills. Phonic reading games and activities are designed to assist in developing fluency in young students.

Phonic sounds assist the children in identifying and recognizing the alphabet more quickly and easily.  Identification and reading of phonics is an integral part of children’s language development and learning. If learning is combined with games, it becomes more engaging and interactive for the child.

Easy Reading Games

Interesting reading games for young learners will help them grab the concepts and sounds easily.  Henceforth, today we will discuss some of the phonic reading games for young learners. Let’s begin:

 

Begin with the anchor Charts:

It is rather the best way to teach tough concepts simply. Keeping them around the students will enable them to identify the letters with sounds independently. When we talk about phonics, there is much to learn about them. Post anchor charts in the classrooms to guide them to get familiar with the new letters religiously.   This is also a way to develop confidence among them.

Phonics Reading Games

Beginners love to put words to the test both in terms of silent E on end and without. This equally helps them to memorize some of the basic yet important rules such as silent E, vowels blends, consonants,  and much more. The different sound of the letter C is tricky, and thus, students may struggle with it. Therefore, use the anchor charts to recognize such words falling in this category.  They also get familiar with the hard and soft letters like C and G.

 

Color the Starting sounds:

The majority of the children begin learning phonics by mastering the initial sound of words. Making your kids color in the starting words with the matching sounds will help them learn new concepts. Therefore, try the fun coloring pages.

Beginning sounds

When a child looks at the letters and says their sounds, similarly, they see the picture and color the initial word, which develops the learning of the first word. This ultimately assists in developing reading skills go the future as well.

 

Construct the chart of beginning sounds:

Beginning sounds charts is the ideal resource to make rhyme or while working on word families with the young learners. Here it is significant to note that for rhyming words, it is vital to know the beginning sounds in the whole process.

Reading Games - Phonics

One of the easiest ways is to utilize the chart to take, for example, ‘an’ and then go through the chart like b-an, c-an, t-an, p-an, f-an, r-an, v-an, m-an, and much more. The charts not only help to get familiar with the rhyming words, but it is also a 1 page and a simple resource to assist the kids with spelling at the starting level.

 

These charts include almost 55 different beginning sounds with comprehensive word making.  These charts may include consonants, blends, digraphs, even the harder sounds.

 

Slap the letter sounds to recognize:

It is a fun game for beginners that involve great attention-catching element as kids physically get involved in them.  Slapping with a fly swatter will help them in recognition of the phonics. It is an equally interesting activity that holds the attention of the young learners as they learn the concepts while playing with the letters and alphabets.

Reading Games for Children

Walk the word game:

This is one of the best activities for active or hyperactive learners. This makes them happy and keeps moving while getting used to the new alphabet. By doing this, kids get to use their whole bodies to practice identifying the sounds along with blending them.  This is one of the simple and easy play games.

Phonics Reading Games

Write the words in sidewalk chalk, and then walk, hop or skip along with them. Ask the child to begin at the side you begin reading at. After that, make them step on every letter and say the sound. This is pretty simple but productive to learn new concepts by prompting or testing them during play.

 

Just swap spelling games:

The basic idea is to begin from the top and spell the very first word with letter tiles.  You keep moving on the game board and swap out one letter, for instance, cat to can. Moreover, you can also swap the last letter. If learners pay attention to the letters, they will know which letter is being swapped or exchanged.

Phonics Reading Games for Children

Students can move from one box to the other, the change of one letter brings in the new world represented by the picture. This may be a real challenge for the young learners, but mind testing technique to make them learn the words.

 

Compete at blends and digraphs bingo:

Bingo games are fun that assist them in helping the early readers to master the blends and digraphs. They struggle to differentiate between the blends, vowels, and single consonants.

Reading Games:

Conclusion:

With different Online phonic reading games, your child will recognize by just listening to the sounds of the words.  Give your child a head start at phonics and reading proficiency with our designed games.

Reading Teacher.com facilitates that young learners will have a blast mastering the toughest and tricky phonic concepts.  With the beautiful animation and exciting challenges, the beginners will get involved in them. These kindergarten and 1st-grade phonic reading games are the perfect way to empower your kids with reading skills.

Phonics Reading Games

Learning to read is an overwhelming task, especially when letters don’t always make a similar sound.  Our collection is developed by professionals to meet the specifications of kindergarten to grade 1 learners. Our sole objective remains to introduce the beginner to the world of letters and sounds and the relationship easily.  With audio, visuals, and phonic games, your child will have fundamental reading and spelling skills that will go a long way with him. This strengthens your familiarity as they immerse in delightful animation quest and story problems.

Start Teaching Reading for Free Now!

Access Level 1’s four interactive stories and the accompanying supplemental resources to teach elementary students how to read. No credit card is needed. Join the 42,635 teachers and students using our reading program.

Teachers in Training for the Science of Reading

Teachers in Training: Train Teachers in the Science of Reading

A growing number of reading teachers are returning to the classroom – or the Zoom room – and assuming the role of student, learning how to revamp their literacy curricula and teaching strategies to meet the needs of their youngest readers. This week, we examine school districts that are working to train teachers in the science of reading, equipping them with data-driven tools and literacy tutors to restore foundational reading skills among all students.

 

A renewed emphasis on training teachers in reading science has led to major shifts in U.S. school districts: among them, Stanly County School District in North Carolina, where the composite pass rate for all students, defined as a level 3 or above, was 48 percent in 2019, almost 10 percentage points lower than the state average. In 2020, it fell to 37 percent. In response to this decline, the county’s elementary and pre-K teachers will soon complete the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), a state program that provides teachers with research, knowledge, and skills based on the science of reading to achieve literacy among all students, even those with dyslexia and other reading challenges.

 

LETRS contains eight units of study, each consisting of six to eight sessions, and is taught over the course of two years. During this time, teachers complete a total of 140 to 160 hours of work and learn critical concepts, including the foundational role of phonics in early literacy. Noting the volume of work required to complete LETRS, Stanly schools plan to implement extra time to complete training during staff meetings as well as professional development sessions. The scientific focus of LETRS is not limiting: if anything, educators at Stanley are eager to engage students with non-traditional reading materials and are encouraged to incorporate their unique teaching styles into LETRS-based curriculum, modifying and adapting to meet the needs of individual students and classrooms.

Teachers in Training for the Science of Reading

By optimizing teacher training to meet the immediate needs of students, elementary schools hope to ease the journey and increase the long-term success of both students and staff. Making literacy training accessible and applicable for teachers is key to the sustainability of these initiatives. Given federal relief money for extra K-2 supports and virtual literacy interventions, schools such as Rehobeth Elementary in Alabama are employing Title 1 classroom aides and paraprofessionals to work with students in and outside the classroom, in addition to training core teachers in the fundamentals of reading science.

Science of Reading

These recent efforts demonstrate the importance of both scheduling and funding to provide adequate support and training for teachers in the science of reading. While the details can be challenging, investing in well-trained teachers is a worthy cause: at Rehobeth, second graders improved their reading scores by 60 points from last fall to spring after boosting staff training and tutoring sessions, according to schoolwide data. Recent research from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance additionally suggests that while literacy interventions work at any grade, introducing interventions and tutoring in kindergarten through second grade is optimal to minimize the developmental and financial costs of reading remediation at higher grade levels. Kymyona Burk, a national reading expert who pioneered a Mississippi-based reading retention program in similar to Rehobeth’s, ultimately urges schools to “invest in people.” This investment includes teacher training and literacy curricula based on the science of reading, utilizing federal COVID aid to listen and respond to the needs of reading teachers, and helping students recover the foundational K-2 literacy skills that will pave the way to lifelong reading.

Teachers in Training for the Science of Reading

Take-Aways:

  • Stanly County School District in North Carolina and Rehobeth Elementary in Alabama have both implemented plans to train teachers in the science of reading, focusing on foundational skills such as phonemic awareness and decoding.
  • In North Carolina, the statewide teacher training program known as LETRS will equip teachers with science-backed strategies to improve reading success among all students, even readers with dyslexia and other learning challenges.
  • Prioritizing teachers and literacy tutors trained in the science of reading is key to the long-term success and sustainability of literacy curricula, particularly as classrooms continue to recover skills lost during virtual instruction.

 

 

5 Strategies to Train Teachers in the Science of Reading

As the science of reading has progressed, so have the tools for teaching it. Here are some strategies for teachers to use in their classrooms to promote reading and improve student achievement.

Strategies for Teachers

There are many strategies for teachers to use in their classrooms to promote reading and improve student achievement. One way is to use a reading-friendly classroom, which features a positive reading environment. This could include an article on a wall that students are encouraged to read or being given the opportunity to select a book they want to read. Teachers should also incorporate phonics into their lessons by teaching students how letters make different sounds and words can be changed by adding small spelling changes like changing “man” to “men.” Repetition is another way teachers can help with reading skills. Students should be exposed to the same material over and over again which will help them remember what they have learned in class. Lastly, educators should encourage children who have difficulty with reading comprehension by teaching them strategies for dealing with difficult texts like summarizing sentences or looking at pictures with captions for additional information about the text.

Strategies for Parents

Although we have many different strategies for teachers, it’s important to remember that parents play a large role in the development of their child’s reading skills. Here are some ways that parents can help their children with reading:

1. Provide your child with plenty of books and magazines with words they are likely to know

2. Go on daily walks or take car trips to expose them to new words

3. Get involved in your child’s school and encourage other parents to do the same

4. Read aloud to your child every day, even if it doesn’t last long

5. Encourage your child to read out loud to you

Strategies for School Leaders

1. Implement a reading culture in your school.

2. Create a supportive environment for reading.

3. Provide access to a wide variety of texts and materials

Implementation Suggestions

1. Teach letter combinations and phonemes.

2. Use multisensory instruction to make the connection between visual and auditory cues.

3. Provide a guided reading experience with a focus on comprehension, not just decoding skills.

4. Use explicit teaching strategies to support struggling readers through reading comprehension exercises that closely align with their needs.

5. Create engaging lessons using high-interest text to keep students engaged in the learning process.

Start Teaching Reading for Free Now!

Access Level 1’s four interactive stories and the accompanying supplemental resources to teach elementary students how to read. No credit card is needed. Join the 42,635 teachers and students using our reading program.

Science-Based Reading Interventions

The Midlothian Model: Science-Based Reading Interventions using Phonics-Centered Literacy

As classrooms continue to learn and grow in the era of COVID-19, researchers and educators are noticing major changes in literacy levels – and students’ reading scores are reflecting their observations. In the spring of 2021, a national analysis of the test scores of 5.5 million students found that students in each grade scored three to six percentile points lower on a widely used test, the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), than they did in 2019. Even before the pandemic, nearly two-thirds of U.S. students were unable to read at grade level, and numerous studies have documented poor reading progress among U.S. students during the pandemic. Fortunately, certain school districts are implementing science-based reading interventions to reverse these trends. In today’s newsletter, we continue our discussion of reading science, focusing on remarkable efforts at Vitovsky Elementary and other Midlothian public schools where research-backed interventions bridge key gaps among struggling readers.

Science-Based Reading Interventions

While producers of major reading curricula have recently announced changes in their lesson plans to reflect current science, school leaders in the Midlothian school district have championed small-group learning and science-driven phonics instruction for the last five years. At Vitovsky Elementary, where nearly 60 percent of students come from low-income backgrounds and a quarter are learning English, the decision to implement science-based reading interventions five years ago was one of necessity, not educational experimentation. Texas students’ reading scores have long lagged behind other states’ scores: in the last decade, the state’s reading performance in fourth and eighth grades hovered in or near the bottom 10 states, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress or “The Nation’s Report Card.” Inevitably, teachers fear that reading performance will only be worsened by the pandemic, prompting a recent Texas law that pulls from the already-active Midlothian model. The legislation requires that all public schools offer intervention for students lagging behind in literacy, detailing 30 hours of focused tutoring or matching with highly rated educators for students who failed Texas tests.

Reading Interventions

At Vitovsky, reading teachers express gratitude that early reading interventions are already embedded into their school culture. On their campus, where more than 120 children in fourth and fifth grade alone require the elevated level of tutoring after failing at least one state reading exam, building in early-morning reading instruction is no easy feat. And while masks are essential, they also complicate phonics instruction. Behind a mask, youngsters and teachers cannot see each other’s mouths, teeth, and tongues as they form sounds, presenting unexpected challenges for instructors and students – especially those learning English as a second language. Logistically, the fulfilment of the recent Texas legislation is complicated without adequate funding, scheduling, and ample tutors to support teachers, especially in small and rural school systems. While educational leaders hoped that their feedback about these barriers would catalyze changes to the bill, Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, chair of the public education committee, said the Texas governor did not express interest in changing the law and did not indicate any plans to call another special session to address the issue.

 

Despite these setbacks, schools are still working to prioritize literacy and help kids recover with the support of volunteers and nonprofits that promote science-based literacy. Many teachers are also eager to attend “reading academies” focused on science-backed strategies, re-training them to teach students about the core sounds that make up words based on research about the way our brains decode written language. Educators remain optimistic that students – not just in Midlothian, but in any state – can bounce back from the literacy lags of COVID-19. Since implementing research-based and phonics-centered literacy interventions five years ago, Midlothian’s reading scores have consistently beat the state and regional averages. Vitovsky, the district’s elementary school with the highest poverty rates, has stayed relatively in line with the state on standardized tests in recent years. Across departments, subject matter, and state lines, teachers – and, hopefully, legislators – are called to recognize the necessity of literacy. Ultimately, literacy must be regarded as a life skill: not only does it allow students to read and enjoy literature, but it also empowers them to access and navigate “the language of social studies, science and knowledge,” said Sharon Vaughn, director of the Meadows Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Science-Based Reading Interventions

Take-Aways:

  • On average, U.S. students’ reading performance has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, as reflected in recent state and national test scores.
  • Noting these trends, the Midlothian Public School District in Texas provides a glimpse into what science-backed reading interventions can look like for schools with state funding, scheduling support, and training for teachers.
  • Phonics-centered, research-driven interventions at Midlothian have correlated with increases in their students’ state scores, offering hope that young readers can bounce back after the pandemic with science-backed instruction.

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