Emergent Literacy

Emergent literacy recognizes that literacy development is a gradually emerging process, which for most individuals, begins long before formal instruction in reading and writing in school. We all learn about reading and writing through participation in many varied experiences with texts in social contexts with more capable readers and writers. Most important are social interactions with varied kinds of texts with caring adults (and peers)-and ongoing exposure to literacy materials in "print-rich" environments (e.g., books, charts, writing materials and tools, including computers). More proficient readers and writers (e.g., teachers, classmates, parents, siblings) serve an important role as they model how reading and writing work and support the participation of emergent literacy learners. We also recognize now that children's reading and writing skills develop concurrently and are connected; reading and writing are not separate processes or sequences (i.e., children need not learn to read before they participate in writing).

Emergent level literacy learners engage in a wide range of recognizable processes such as "pretend" reading, scribbling, and invented spelling before they demonstrate conventional reading and writing behaviors. While individuals develop abilities at different ages, all children's literacy development tends to proceed along a common broad continuum. Knowledge of this "broad continuum" helps us to recognize where individuals are in their literacy development (regardless of chronological age), and to notice early literacy behaviors. It is a critical reference to identify current student abilities-appreciating what students can do on their own at this time and what they can do with just the right kinds of adult /peer support.

Table 1: NYS Quality Indicator Review and Resource Guides for Literacy and Learners with Moderate/Severe Disabilities

Table 1

 (PDF Version of Table attached below)

YS Quality Indicator Review and Resource Guides for Literacy:Considerations for Learners with Moderate/ Severe Disabilities

Considerations for Assessing Learners with Moderate/Severe Disabilities

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Planning Frameworks for Literacy Programs

Flexible, Multi-Level Frameworks

Several authors have described helpful frameworks to guide classroom or team program development. Referencing a framework to plan instruction and routines can help to ensure balanced, comprehensive literacy learning opportunities for all students-- all day, all week long. Two examples of such literacy program frameworks are well articulated by Cunningham, Hall and Defee (1991) and Fountas and Pinnell (2001). Both of these examples emphasize coordinated opportunities for all learners to learn and practice many kinds of reading, writing, and language/word study throughout the daily and weekly schedule. The literacy routines reflect reading and writing for authentic purposes, and are by nature, flexible and multi-level. Below is an overview of literacy routines and features organized according to Cunningham's comprehensive, four blocks framework.

 FOUR BLOCKS LITERACY FRAMEWORK (Cunningham, Hall and Defee, 1991).

SELF SELECTED READING

• Teacher read aloud
• Mini lessons on self selected reading
• Students choose and read independently (or with support)
• Individual Student-teacher conferences about reading

GUIDED READING (including Shared Reading)

• Teachers select and match texts to groups of readers
• Teacher support before reading
• Teacher support during reading
• Flexible groups with teacher as coach
• Supporting the reading process
• Opportunities for response after reading

WRITING

• Writing Workshop format
• Mini lessons
• Students plan, develop and revise pieces of writing (for real purposes)
• Individual Student-teacher conferences about writing
• Author's chair

WORKING WITH WORDS

• Learn high frequency words
• Learn to decode and spell words needed for reading and writing
• Understand how words work
• Varied interactive activities (e.g., word walls, making words, using words you know)

 This type of flexible framework makes it possible to support the participation and literacy learning of a very wide range of students (including those with significant disabilities) within inclusive classes/ teams. Such frameworks can also be very useful for organizing your literacy program within your current special education context, even if you are not yet teaming with some or all of your general education partners for literacy (and some of your students with IEPs receive most literacy instruction in a special education classroom).

Reading Materials: Considerations for Accessible Texts

Whether you are choosing texts for intensive, individualized instruction, for shared reading, or for your classroom library for self-selected reading, it is important to include books in multiple formats that are accessible to learners with many characteristics.  

CONSIDERATIONS FOR MAKING PRINT BOOKS MORE ACCESSIBLE:

• Cut apart pages of picture books and laminate them, then reassemble to make them more durable. 
•  Separate page in books with "page puffers"--squares of foam (weather strip) glued or paper clipped to upper right hand corner of a book to make page turning easier.
• Create teacher-made or student-made books (using Powerpoint--Print slides on heavy stock or laminate/place pages in page protectors before assembling). These can include alphabet books, picture dictionaries, pattern texts, experience stories with digital photos or photos or graphics from the internet.

[ADD PHOTOS HERE OF PRINT BOOKS] 

• Record books (fluently but slowly) with a tape recorder or on the computer. Keep audio CD (from computer recording) or tape with text for listening centers. Students can listen and follow along with the text. (Paraprofessionals and adult/student volunteers can help with recordings.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR DIGITAL TEXTS

Electronic texts have many advantages because of their flexible formats. Many are interactive, text can be read aloud, some offer highlighting to support tracking, and in some cases, fonts and images can be magnified or changed to increase visibility. If digital texts do not have a read aloud feature, they may be read with screen reader software (e.g., Read Outloud).

INTERNET-BASED ELECTRONIC TEXTS:

(these links open in a new window) 

Special Education Technology British Columbia (SETBC): Free electronic book downloads  www.setbc.org/setbc/accessiblebooks/freebooksforyou.html

Starfall's Learn to Read Website www.starfall.com

Clifford Interactive Storybooks teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/

Eduscapes Electronic Books eduscapes.com/tap/topic93.htm#5

Animal Riddles www.learn-ict.org.uk/projects/primary/bigbooks/AnimalRiddle/bookcover.htm

Baglan's Big Books www.learn-ict.org.uk/projects/primary/bigbooks

Internet Public Library's Kidspace www.ipl.org/div/kidspace

The Accessible Book Collection www.accessiblebookcollection.org/SubProcess/subscribe.htm

Tumblebooks     www.tumblebooks.com

MAKE YOUR OWN ELECTRONIC TEXTS:

It is easy to create your own digital texts using MS Powerpoint, Boardmaker, or other software templates. You can use your own photos or images (e.g., photos, clip art) from other sources. Your electronic books can include animations and sound (including read aloud features). For more information and tips for making your own digital books, see these Downloads on Special Education Technology British Columbia site:

"Making an Accessible Book Tutorial (MS Powerpoint)"

"What Makes a Great Accessible Book?"

"Making Books Using Powerpoint and Digital Camera" 

www.setbc.org/setbc/accessiblebooks/freebooksforyou.html

SAMPLES OF TEACHER-MADE AND STUDENT-MADE ELECTRONIC TEXTS:

Writing Tools: Considerations for Engagement and Accessibility

Writing Tools and Adaptations

Computers and software can provide flexible, supportive models and environments for all writers, and are a must for emergent and early writers who have disabilities. Technology can support and prompt young authors to engage and increase their writing productivity, and can help them to produce attractive, sophisticated products in print or digital formats. The following are suggested tools for supporting emergent and early writers.

Word Processing and Presentation Software

Typical programs can be very useful for many student writers with or without support (e.g., a white board or word bank), changes in setting (e.g., large fonts), or to be used with other special software (e.g., word prediction or screen readers). Teachers can create templates and students or teachers can add graphics, photos, and for some, sounds and animations.

• MS Word
• Appleworks
• MS Powerpoint

Software for "Talking Word Processors"

As students type, the computer reads each letter, then each word and then each sentence aloud.

• Write: OutLoud (Don Johnston)
• Writing with Symbols (Boardmaker)

Word Prediction Software

As students type, computer software "guesses" the word they are attempting to spell (using syntactic and spelling clues). A list of possible words is offered. Students can scan the list and click on the whole word or enter its list number and the complete word will be entered into the text. Some programs include a read aloud feature so that students can "hear" each word read to them. (Or a screen reader that is enabled can read words aloud as well.)

• Co-Writer (Don Johnston)
• Skippy
• Quillsoft-Word-Q

 Planning Software for Organizing Ideas Before Writing

These programs allow the writer to create graphic organizers (which can switch to outline format with a click) to organize and recall ideas before writing (or speaking). Some include graphics libraries and can also import graphics or photos. Graphic organizers, outlines and text can be exported to a word processing program.

• Kidspiration (includes built in read aloud feature) 
• Inspiration
• Draft Builder (Don Johnston)

Software with Whole Word Writing Capabilities

Students can compose sentences by entering whole words with one click on a word or graphic rather than entering words letter-by-letter.

• Writing with Symbols
• Classroom Suite (Intellitools)

Hardware Adaptations

• Adapted keyboards (Intellitools)
• Adapted switches for mouse clicks and scanning/selection
• Touch screens
• Adapted mouse or trackball
• Alphasmart (portable keyboard with small screen and memory for word processing)

Low Tech Tools and Adaptations for Writing

• White board to present choices, word banks for shared writing
• Chairs and desks that fit the student and allow for good positioning
• Pencil grips
• Various writing tools (e.g., pencils, pens, markers, crayons, chalk, Magna doodle)
• Paper with raised lines
• Non slip matting for placing under papers ("Dycem")
• Slant boards

Classroom/Team Literacy Routines

Getting Started: Rich, authentic literacy routines

We describe these frameworks as "comprehensive" because all students have daily access to multiple kinds of literacy learning (i.e., guided reading, self-selected reading, writing, letter/word/language study). All students participate in reading, writing and responding to whole texts, individually and through interactions with other readers and writers. All students participate in both individualized instruction designed to help them become more capable readers and writers, and shared interactions around texts as a valued member of the classroom community. All students participate in teacher directed, peer activities and self-directed literacy routines. Our challenge is not to determine which students should participate in which activities, but rather how to design materials and supports that ensure access to all of the major literacy blocks for all of our students.

One of the ways we can best support student participation is to establish predictable daily routines. While the content may change (e.g., different books for read aloud or guided reading, new topics for shared writing of chart lists or stories), the ways that we introduce, facilitate and participate in these established class routines remain the same, supporting student comfort, confidence and participation. Many students will need time and instruction to learn how to participate in literacy (as well as other) routines. It makes sense to establish only a few new routines in the beginning and give students plenty of support to learn how to participate well before adding new routines. It may take the first 4-6 weeks of school before all of your literacy routines are in place. At the beginning of the school year, you may focus on read alouds, shared reading and shared writing (with the full group and smaller groups), and self-selected reading before you can establish your formal small instructional reading groups and other writing routines. Mini lessons (large and small group) in the beginning of the school year may focus as much on HOW to participate in routines as they do on reading and writing.

All students need comprehensive literacy programs. That is, all students should have daily experiences in reading whole texts and writing as well as learning about letters and words. Students need not master letters, letter sounds and sight words before they begin to participate in authentic reading and writing routines. Participating in enjoyable and purposeful reading and writing activities (with support) lays the critical foundation for learning about how print works--and can support growing understandings about language, letters and words. High quality literacy programs should include all of the following:

• Read aloud
• Self-Selected reading
• Guided reading and/or Shared reading
• Writing
• Phonemic awareness, Letter and Word work

Descriptions of these components and example routines for emergent and early readers (elementary and secondary) will be offered in the following sections:

Case Example: Individual Literacy Program Recommendations (Elementary)

Background

Rachel is an 8 year old second grader.at Morgan Elementary School. She is based in a 2nd grade classroom. A paraprofessional provides in class support to Rachel and two other students who have IEPs. Rachel receives pull out instruction from a special educator who serves 9 students who have moderate-severe disabilities (grades 1,2,3). A new special educator began serving Rachel in November, replacing a long term substitute teacher. Rachel has Down Syndrome and sometimes demonstrates challenging behaviors or refuses to participate in activities.

The new special educator recognized that Rachel had few opportunities to read and write for meaninigful purposes and that most of her literacy instruction consisted of isolated Edmark activities, word work and tedious copying on worksheets. The general education teacher implemented many rich literacy routines in the 2nd grade classroom, but the former special education sub sent individual "folder" work for Rachel. Below are ideas for revisions to Rachel's literacy program.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Broaden and Enhance Rachel's Literacy Routines

As previously mentioned, Rachel would benefit from a broader range of daily literacy experiences, including shared and guided reading, read aloud, shared and guided writing, independent reading, and word work (i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, sight words). Below are suggestions for how the current literacy program can be expanded within the existing schedule to address Rachel's changing needs as a literacy learner.

• Shift familiar routines to practice sessions in second grade with teaching assistant.
• Use instructional time to focus on the processes of reading and writing whole texts

Rachel's current special education instruction has focused on creating a solid foundation in letter and word knowledge. Rachel needs to continue this focus, but most of it can be shifted to practicing letter patterns (phonemic awareness and phonics activities) in the general education classroom with the teaching assistant. I would recommend that these activities not be paper and pencil worksheets, but more practice with manipulatives (e.g., making and breaking onsets and rimes). It would be beneficial if a weekly focus on patterns (rimes, blends, digraphs) were consistent for both word work and spelling. It is suggested that Rachel shift to learning the 37 most common rimes rather than segmenting and blending isolated letters and phonemes. Given her learning rate and style, she can move along more efficiently and have more tools for word solving if she learns and recognizes how common rimes work in a variety of words (If you know tell, you know bell!) Instructional time in word work should shrink to a small part of her special education session within a broader lesson frame (that connects this knowledge to reading and writing whole texts). Isolated practice can happen in routines with the teaching assistant in general education. Also, Rachel's love of music might be considered here. There are a number of commercial tapes set to music and rhythm that provide practice in letter sounds (including vowels). These might become a self directed center for Rachel in her general education class.

Guided Reading. Rachel should have opportunities everyday to work with her classroom teacher as well as her special educator in small group structured guided reading at her developmental level. First, she can benefit from two guided reading sessions every day, even if one is only 10-15 minutes long (in general education). Secondly, this sends a message that the classroom teacher is also Rachel's reading teacher. I predict she will be very motivated to work in a small reading group "like her classmates." Thirdly, she would benefit from one session that includes more capable peers as models. While I realize that her classmates are developing readers, one peer (different each day or week) could join Mrs. Smith (2nd gr teacher) and Rachel as a model and active participant for this 10-15 minute session. This peer could help demonstrate how readers talk and think about texts before during and after reading. There would be another voice to model and support fluent reading. Having another peer would help the teacher set and keep a productive pace and flow. If Rachel does not respond or participate, as the teacher, I can shift attention to the other student and keep the lesson moving. The regular class session could be very short and focused-brief book intro including activating background knowledge and previewing some pictures and words, guided oral reading with teacher support and coaching for processing skills (or structured shared reading), brief post reading discussion and response.

Rachel could read the same new book in both the general education classroom and in special education each day. (She should read a new book for guided reading every day.) The special education session could be expanded to include instruction on word work, word solving and comprehension strategies and a brief writing connection. (20-30 minutes). The following lesson frame (from Tancock, "A Literacy Lesson Framework for Struggling Readers") is recommended for Rachel's special education instruction in reading to ensure intensive and comprehensive instruction in both the processes and skills for reading:

Familiar reading (5 minutes): Re-read familiar books from previous guided reading lessons, Re-read charts, song words (shared, echo reading, independent reading) to practice fluency, sight words, strategies.

Work Work (5 minutes) Practice making and breaking onsets and rimes, noticing common "chunks," making "new words" (If you know had, then you know sad...)

Guided Reading (10-15 minutes) (or for Rachel at this stage, it may be structured shared/ echo reading of new text--fiction or non fiction)

Book Intro: Introduce new book of the day; give brief summary, activate background knowledge, picture walk, preview patterns and point out repeating; locate some unfamiliar (and unsolvable) words IN text (e.g., names, unusual vocabulary)

Focused Strategy Instruction Model how good readers solve unknown words with a think-aloud. Have Rachel "play the teacher" to model strategies (look at the picture, read it and say the first sound...) Model how good readers self monitor (Read a sentence with semantic error and ask Rachel to raise her hand if it does "not make sense." Model re-reading and "fixing up.")

Coach/ Support During Reading Have Rachel echo read or attempt new text. Coach for word solving and self- monitoring and give feedback. Have Rachel read the book once more (choral, echo, or independently).

Post-reading - Writing Connection (5 minutes)Talk briefly about the book (with look backs if needed. Favorite part? Favorite character? Cut up sentences (Lift lines from text and have written on sentence strips. Read first. Cut up and mix up. Have Rachel rearrange in order and re-read (with a model if necessary.) Discuss and chart story elements w/ teacher as scribe (who-characters, where-setting, what happened- Problem & solution). Or complete a writing extension activity using pattern sentences to continue the theme of the book.

Guided writing WITH TECHNOLOGY.

Ms. Maple (special education teacher) very recently received some recommended software for writing with Rachel and has had some initial training. When I visited she was ready to begin implementing this software. There is currently no adaptive keyboard. This should be located or ordered as soon as possible so that it will be available for fall at the beginning of the school year next fall.

As previously noted in the report from Rachel's Assistive Technology assessment (12/05), she needs an adaptive keyboard and whole word software for writing. While Rachel's handwriting is neat, she fatigues quickly and requires much fine motor effort. This drains energy and attention she needs for the writing process. Rachel should do most writing on the computer. Rachel was quite limited in her ability to locate letters to type on a standard keyboard. As advised in her Assistive Technology assessment report, she would benefit from an adapted keyboard at this time.

Rather than schedule separate sessions in assistive technology, computer use should be integrated into daily writing sessions. This involves learning new skills in both the writing software and moving forward with the writing process. Given the complexity and priority of writing (with technology), this should become a daily routine in special education for 20-30 minutes. Of course whatever she writes will be read and re-read for more reading practice as well.

Rachel has made good progress working with sentences, mostly in cloze formats and word banks (e.g., spelling sentences, journal sentences. This can continue as a homework activity to practice spelling and sight words. With software and computers, she can now move into shared writing to compose longer whole texts of 3-4 related sentences. Journal writing is one example from Rachel's current program that relates to this kind of writing about her experiences. I would recommend continuing this journal activity within the writing session, and use technology to help Rachel preplan her ideas and compose her sentences on the computer. Perhaps this journal activity could be expanded to twice a week. The other days, Rachel could work on sentences that will become a short pattern picture book (with clip art, web or digital photos) related to content units (e.g., Frogs and Toads) or other experiences (e.g., My Friends). These "books" could become part of Rachel's reading bin for familiar and shared reading, and could build background knowledge for content units.

Rachel needs a lot of prewriting support to generate and organize ideas. One suggestion is Kidspiration software (free 30 day trial download available) to create webs which can be transferred with a click to an outline mode. This software also has read aloud features and integrated clip art. Rachel may need teacher support (e.g., white board) to spell words for her web or outline in order to get ideas down quickly. The outline view then prompts the writer about what she wanted to write about for each sentence. Rachel may be creating pattern sentences at this point. For example, after planning with a web on a white board about her family, we completed a shared writing activity with cloze sentences where she constructed pages of pattern text about her family. The incomplete pattern sentences had been typed into a template on Powerpoint. As Rachel copied each name (from her web) to complete the sentences, she would go back and re- read her new slide before moving to the next. At the end, she re-read all four slides. This kind of scaffolding (prewriting and templates for pattern sentences) can be used to help Rachel construct stories and "books" about her personal experiences, extensions of books she has read or content topics. This can be done using whole word writing software on the computer to maximize her output in the area of composition at this time and empower her as a writer.

Case Example: Individual Literacy Program Recommendations (Secondary)

Rebecca is a 15 year old high school student who has moderate cognitive disabilities. At the request of her parents, a consultant was invited to observe Rebecca in her current school program and to make program recommendations. Below are recommendations related to literacy, many of which were implemented in her program the following year. While Rebecca read at an early second grade level at the end of elementary school, her middle and high school special education programs had departed from regular opportunities to engage in reading and writing.

Recommendations for Addressing Rebecca's Literacy Needs

Rebecca needs a high quality, comprehensive literacy program to support her individual literacy development. The focus must be instructional and activities should emphasize reading and writing for authentic purposes. Rebecca also needs to develop self-directed literacy skills and behaviors to prepare her to use her skills in various school and non-school settings. Literacy skills are critical in our culture. Increased literacy abilities can have a significant impact on Rebecca's current and future opportunities for meaningful participation at school, home, work, in the community and for life long learning. The research on literacy emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach that addresses various skills and purposes for reading and writing.

Components of a comprehensive literacy program for Rebecca

• Guided reading including word work (20 minutes/ day from a skilled reading TEACHER)
• Self directed literacy activities (20 minutes/ day, monitored by teacher or TA)
• Supported reading and viewing (30-60 minutes a day in general education classes w/ TA monitoring/ support)
• Focused writing (40 minutes, 3 x/week, planned by teacher, + daily opportunities in gen ed classes)
• Self selected writing (30-40 minutes 2x/week)

Guided reading.

Given her early developmental reading level (early 2nd grade), it is a priority for Rebecca to receive intensive expert reading instruction every day (20 minutes/day, possibly one-on-one unless there is another reader at the same instructional level). This means individualized instruction in the processes of reading based on Rebecca's current abilities and needs as a reader. Word work could also be addressed within her guided reading lessons, through 3-4 minutes of focused instruction in need areas through activities such as "making and breaking words" before or after reading whole text.

Self directed literacy activities.

Rebecca's program should include daily opportunities for independent reading (20 minutes a day, she chooses independent level texts). Rebecca should participate daily in supported reading or viewing activities as well. She should have access to informational and other challenging texts with necessary supports (e.g., screen reader software). This may occur in general education classes when other students are completing independent reading or writing. Digital texts provide a flexible format that supports access (e.g., digital books, internet articles, websites, scanned magazine articles or book selections). Laptop or classroom computers should also have "screen reader" software for Rebecca to access challenging digital texts with a read aloud feature. For viewing, she could access slide shows, videos, and websites related to her content unit topics or interests-with screen reader to access text or captions if necessary.

Focused and self selected writing.

Rebecca should have daily opportunities to write for authentic purposes (e.g., focused writing for her content classes, self selected writing such as journaling and lists, and writing for personal communication such as email, notes, cards). Rebecca should have a computer available for all writing. This can be a personal laptop that has all of her necessary settings and software. (Or she could use desktop computers if there is a computer available in each general education class and the special education classroom-and if ALL computers have the necessary software).

It is recommended that she learn to utilize several types of software to support the writing process and to support her output to construct meaningful texts. It is recommended that Rebecca learn to use Inspiration/ Kidspiration to support her prewriting and drafting of writing pieces for various purposes. It is also recommended that Rebecca learn to use word processing and presentation software such as MS Powerpoint with graphics, photos and text. With this software, she can construct slide shows, photo essays and print or digital texts (even talking books). This type of program can be utilized for content class projects related to Rebecca's individual, modified goals in general education classes and to reinforce content (e.g., content vocabulary). Rebecca should also be required to use her developing keyboarding skills for all writing activities. She should not be allowed to do "1 finger" typing. This year's team has introduced Rebecca to word prediction software (Co-writer). It is not yet clear whether this software is useful for Rebecca. It would be appropriate to continue to teach Rebecca the purpose of this software and support her use of it within authentic writing projects.

EXAMPLE SCHEDULE FOR RECOMMENDED LITERACY COMPONENTS

Class Period Activities
Special Education: Reading(40 minutes/day, 5x/week)

• Intensive, focused Guided Reading w/ word work (20 minutes w/ TEACHER)
• Self-directed reading routines (e.g., Independent reading 3-4 days, supported reading 1-2 days) (20 minutes)
• Special Education: Writing (40 minutes/day, 5x/week)
• Focused writing instruction following writing process and using technology (e.g., content writing product for regular class; 40 minutes 5 days/week;Teacher for minimum of first 20 minutes, then possibly TA)
• Self selected writing (40 minutes, 2x/week, Teacher for minimum of first 20 minutes, then possibly TA)

General Education Classes (3 per day) (likely daily for at least part of class period for most general ed classes)

• Supported reading or viewing in class as an adapted or alternate activity, and/ or
• Focused writing in class on unit topic, using technology, as a modified activity

Special education instruction in literacy is recommended two periods per day. One period should be devoted to reading instruction and activities and the other to writing instruction and activities.

READING PERIOD: example activities and schedule

Guided reading with TEACHER including word work (20 minutes, every day)
Independent reading or viewing, supported reading w/ TA or teacher support initially, then moving toward independent routine (20 minutes/ day)

Guided Reading (20 minutes/ day) Given her early developmental reading level (2nd grade), it is a priority for Rebecca to receive intensive expert reading instruction every day. "Intensive" means a focused guided reading session, including:

• initial performance assessment to determine instructional text level and processing priorities (e.g., comprehension strategies, learning to read silently and self monitor)
• appropriate INSTRUCTIONAL level reading materials, unfamiliar texts
• powerful individualized instruction that focuses on teaching and supporting Rebecca's application of good reader strategies for word solving and comprehension with various texts (e.g., mini lessons with teacher think alouds, scaffolded instruction to model and support Rebecca's use of new strategies) 
• ongoing assessment (e.g., through running records every 2-4 weeks)

"Expert" instruction means that Rebecca should receive this instruction from a teacher who has professional preparation in the reading process and in teaching reading to struggling readers-particularly guided reading. This may be a special educator or a reading specialist. The moment-to-moment decisions that occur during guided reading instruction (e.g., monitoring strategy use, when to prompt, how to support) make it impossible for a teacher to "pre-plan" this session for a teaching assistant to deliver.

Independent reading. (20 minutes every other day)

There should be various texts and genres available at Rebecca's independent reading level. Perhaps she could have her own book basket or book box with 5-10 choices (including familiar books from guided reading). She could keep a record of what she reads independently.

Viewing or supported reading (20 minutes every other day).

On alternate days, Rebecca could access more challenging digital texts with screen reader software on the computer. These could be scanned texts or commercial digital texts or bookmarked websites. Choices could include age appropriate topics or content related topics. Another possible activity would be viewing computer or digital resources to build background knowledge for content class topics. For example, Rebecca could view "Brainpop" videos that relate to a content class topic. Many videos are available for science and health topics. (www.brainpop.com)

WRITING PERIOD: example activities and schedule

Writing process instruction for focused or narrative texts (40 minutes/ day, 3 days / week ; Special education teacher should provide this instruction for at least half of the period-20 minutes)
Self selected writing

Writing process instruction.

During this session, the instructional focus would be on helping Rebecca learn to use writing software and apply pre, during and post writing skills with support. Topics from general education classes can be used for pieces to reinforce vocabulary and individual goals. For example, Rebecca could use Inspiration or Kidspiration software to construct a graphic organizer on a content unit topic using key vocabulary. She can then use this to write key sentences. She can edit and revise sentences. Finally she could sometimes construct a Powerpoint presentation (or "book") by matching her sentences with relevant photos or graphics (gathered by TA, available to Rebecca to view and choose from). She could work on such a project in class and during writing in the resource room 3 days a week. (These "texts" could also be available for her to re-read during independent or supported reading.)

Self selected writing

Two days a week, Rebecca could choose her own purposes and writing products. For example, she might have a template and ideas/ guiding questions to prompt personal journal entries. Or she might construct a note or greeting card for a friend or family member. She might choose to construct a photo essay on a personal topic with photos she takes at school or home or that she gets from other sources (e.g., My Favorite Classes, Fun Facts about Dogs). This activity could incorporate the recommendations from Feeney and Judge to "improve Rebecca's ability to produce and comprehend narratives..." (p.25)

Certainly Rebecca (and a teaching assistant, if involved) would need to learn these writing routines including the formats and software, under the guidance of a special educator. It is not recommended that all new routines begin in September, but that new routines are taught, practiced and new ones added incrementally.

Candidate Literacy Project

This is a sample candidate literacy project for SPE 525. It begins with a Program at a Glance, which provides succinct information about the student, Kelly. What follows is the initial literacy assessment, then literacy lesson plans and reflections.

                                                            Program-at-a-Glance

            Student: Kelly                                                                                   Grade: 3

Assessment of Current  Literacy Skills

Through conversations, observations, and conducting some informal literacy assessments, I have gathered data on Kelly's literacy abilities and needs. I conducted a running record and a sight word checklist. The results of these assessments are on the following pages. According to Kelly's special education teacher, Kelly is working at an instructional level at the first grade. They use QRI's for assessments and they use a Fountas and Pinnell scale to determine the levels of their texts for guided reading.

Kelly currently has a guided reading session every day for 30 minutes with 5 other students. After observing a couple of these sessions I realized that I would want to do my guided reading lessons in a one-on-one situation. Each of the students that are in her reading group have IEP's. I was not comfortable in developing lessons that would target each individuals needs. I wanted to focus all my attention on Kelly and create lessons in which she would be able to read texts with me. In her current situation she was following along listening to others read. Sometimes she wasn't even on the same page. I wanted to give her some individualized lessons.

Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends.

Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words. These are all things that I worked on with her.

Running Record Analysis

I decided to conduct a running record on the first read of the text The Mitten. I wasn't so much looking to see what the ratios and accuracies were as much as I wanted to see how Kelly was using meaning, syntax, and visual cues. It was very interesting. First off, Kelly had problems reading the text from left to right and skimming back to the line that was underneath. She started to read all over the page. I stopped her and told her that she should use her finger to point to the words so that she could see the words she needed to read. I definitely saw this as something she needed to work on. To help Kelly increase her comprehension, voice-print match should be taught and practiced. This will be a lesson I do with her.

I learned a lot about Kelly's reading strengths and weaknesses. Most of the errors that Kelly made she used visual cues. She is very strong at looking at the beginning of the words. She definitely identifies the beginning of words. She has no problem with that. It is a good start in trying to decode unknown words. She just needs to work on looking at the endings of words.

When Kelly changed some of the words, she had a 50% chance in having the sentence still make sense. Sometimes the changes would work, but other times it wouldn't and she never tried to correct any errors. This tells me that she does not self-monitor. She may be reading the words to just read words. She may not comprehend the story. I'll definitely want to ask her comprehension questions throughout stories that she reads during the guided reading lessons.

This was a nice quick way to see what kind of cues and strategies she uses while she reads. It has also helped me to see what she needs to work on to help her become a better reader.

Sight Word Analysis

Kelly's IEP has her identifying first grade sight words. The school district in which Kelly resides in has their own sight word recognition lists. Kelly's special education teacher gave me a copy of the kindergarten and first grade lists. They are all on index cards. I decided to test Kelly to see how many first grade sight words she could identify. I started the testing knowing that when I reached 10 words that she identified wrong, I was going to stop because I didn't want her to become frustrated. I was surprised to see how quickly the testing went. We only went through the fist 19 words for the first grade and had to stop because she had missed 10. I expected her to know more because she was reading at an instructional level of the first grade.

Since I was so surprised, I decided to see how many words Kelly could identify off the Kindergarten sight word list. She did very well with this list. She was able to correctly identify 25 out of 30 words. After looking over the words that Kelly wrongly identified, I noticed a big pattern. It appeared that Kelly was omitting the ends of words.  The words that she said had the same first and second letters that were on the list. She just changed the ending. This helps me in determining what I can help her with during word work. If she is not looking at the ends of words, the she needs to practice looking at and identifying the letters at the ends of words.

I also need to find texts that have these words in them and use them for the guided reading lesson books.

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LESSON PLANS AND REFLECTIONS

Literacy Lesson #1

Date: March 12, 2008

Student: Kelly

Group Size: one to one

Abilities: Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends.

Priorities: Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words.

Objectives:

• Kelly will be able to increase her voice-print matching by pointing to the words as she reads.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by looking for picture cues with little support.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by sounding out the first letter or blend of the word.
• Kelly will be able to retell the story on her own and then with the use of the story.
• Kelly will be able to write the order of events by looking back in the story by completing a worksheet during the writing section of the lesson..
• Kelly will be able to match the correct beginning blend with its ending to match a picture during word work.

Guided Reading:  The Mitten F&P Level D

Pre-reading: Focused Mini Lesson

Sometimes when I read, especially if there are a lot of words on a page, I lose the place where I am at. When this happens I get all confused and forget about some of the things that I have read. Good readers try to stay focused on what they are reading and it helps them figure out what the book is telling them. There are a lot of ways good readers stay focused. One way is that they use their fingers to point to the words as they read. When they do this, they know that they are reading the right words in the order the author wrote them. I'll show you what I mean.

Let's take a look at this page. I'm going to point to the first word on the page. As I read along, I'm going to move my finger so that the word I am saying is the word that I am pointing to.

"Squish, squash, squeeze. Ah." See how I did that? I'll show you one more time (repeat).

Okay, now you try it.

When we read this story in a minute, we are going to point to the words as we read them, just like good readers do.

Pre-reading: Book Intro

Let's look at the cover. Can you read me the title?

Where do you think this story is going to take place? During what season is it? How do you know?

Let's go ahead and look at the pictures.

As we take a picture walk, I will ask Kelly what the animals are and what she thinks they are doing and why.

During Reading:

Now you are going to get a chance to read this book to me and we are going to see if your predictions were right. Remember, as you read to me, point to the words as you say them. Also, if you come to a word that you don't know you can always look to see if the picture can help you, or you can try sounding the word out, starting with the first letter. Good readers always have special strategies to help them when they get stuck on a word. Let's begin.

As Kelly reads I will support her by making sure she points to the words as she reads them. I will try to do this with as little support as possible. I will also support her if she gets stuck on an unknown word. I will give her some wait time to see if she can figure it out by herself. If there is no attempt I'll prompt her to look at the picture. If the picture doesn't help, I'll have her look at the initial consonant and have her begin to sound the word out.

Comprehension:

I will ask Kelly to recall whatever details she remembers about the story and I will scribe them for her. I will also ask her to recall what animals she remembers seeing and reading about. I will also scribe this list for her.

Writing:

I will support Kelly in completing a worksheet that orders the events in the story based upon the animals that crawled into the mitten. She will use the book to determine the order in which the animals crawled into the mitten (see worksheet).

Word Work:

Kelly will work on the beginning blends of two consonant sounds. She will identify a picture, determine the beginning blend and then match the blend up with the correct ending. She will then write the word under the corresponding picture (see worksheet).

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Literacy Reflection #1

I was pretty happy on how well my first literacy lesson went. I had some ideas on what Kelly's abilities and needs were, based on her IEP and just observations of what I have seen so far. I decided to do a structured guided reading lesson with Kelly one on one. Normally Kelly is in a guided reading group made up of five people. The peers that are in her group all have IEPs and need different modifications. At this time, I did not feel comfortable with creating a lesson that would meet each individual members needs. I know that I will have to do that in the future, but I really just wanted to concentrate on creating a literacy lesson that would benefit Kelly's needs and help her in becoming a better reader. I also chose to do the lesson where she would normally have a guided reading group lesson done (literacy room).

I thought that the flow of the lesson was really good. Kelly transitioned to each new section fairly well. I did not anticipate taking any breaks, but realized that during the writing section, Kelly was going to need a break. I then used the idea of a water break, as a driving force on completing the writing piece. Ultimately, this lesson took about 45 minutes. For me that is not a long time. I can stay focused on the task at hand. However, it is difficult for Kelly. She becomes distracted and loses focus easily. That is something that I am going to have to take into consideration as I plan my next lessons. I should have adequate and appropriate breaks for Kelly to take.  When we took the water break, it was only for a couple of minutes and then she came back and continued right on with what I had planned next.

            The other part of lesson that did not go as I planned was the word work section. In my lesson, it states that Kelly would write the word on the line under the picture. After writing two of the words, I felt like I was starting to lose Kelly. She was starting to fidget more and she needed more verbal prompting and cueing. I decided then to give her a choice. I asked her if she wanted to write the words or cut the pieces out and glue them together. She chose to cut and paste them. I figured that the objective of the word work was to identify the beginning blend of the word and that the writing of the word was just a secondary objective. Identifying the beginning blend was more important than writing it.

            After we cut them up, I realized Kelly was struggling with the endings of the words. She was doing great with picking out the beginning blends but was struggling with identifying the endings. Since we decided to cut them out, I realized that I could pick out a couple of endings for her to choose from. Once I limited it down to two options, she had an easier time in identifying the correct ending. She just did a fantastic job.

            The focused mini-lesson went better than I thought it was going to be at first. I did a lot of talking in explaining the voice-print match. From what I have observed from Kelly, she appears to only hear half of what is being said. I wasn't sure she focused on what I was saying. I'm glad that I decided to show the example of me doing the voice-print match twice. I then decided to do a physical prompt with her before letting her do it independently. I think it was the right thing to do. By doing it with her, I knew that she would have a better understanding. She still needed a little help in solving the words, but she pointed to the print just fine. It was a good mini-lesson to do with her. It will definitely be something that I continue to do with her for the next few lessons.

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Literacy Lesson #2

Student: Kelly

Group Size: one to one

Abilities: Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends.

Priorities: Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words.

Objectives:

• Kelly will be able to increase her voice-print matching by pointing to the words as she reads.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by looking for picture cues with little support.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by sounding out the first letter or blend of the word.
• Kelly will be able to retell as much of the story as she can without looking at the book.
• Kelly will be able to write a paragraph about how she builds a snowman.
• Kelly will be able to recognize the last letter in words and sort them into correct column during word work.

Guided Reading:  One Snowy Day

Pre-reading: Focused Mini Lesson

Do you remember what we learned that good readers do? (point to words as they read)

We are going to keep doing that every time we read now. It will help us keep track of where we are. Today we are going to learn how to figure out an unknown word by sounding it out. When we sound out the letters in a word that we don't know, sometimes we can figure it out. Watch me as I try it.

Pg. 8 & 9: Rabbit gave up a carrot. Skunk _________. I don't know this word. When I look after the word it say "the hat". I just don't know what this one word is (point to it).I'm going to try and sound it out. What does o say? /o/ f... off. I think I have part of the word, off. Let me keep going off..rrr...d. Offer...d. Offered. I think I have it. Let's put it into the sentence and we'll see if it makes sense.

Skunk offered the hat. What do you think? It looks right and sounds right, and it makes sense. I think I figured out the word. Sounding out the letters helped me figure out a word I didn't know.

Today you will get the chance to do that. Whenever you come to a word you don't know, we'll try to sound it out together and see if we can't figure it out.

Pre-reading: Book Intro

What do you like to do on a snowy day? I'll scribe a list of what she says.

What animals do you see on the cover? What do you think they would do on a snowy day? I'll also scribe these answers too.

The title of the book is called One Snowy Day and the author is Jeffrey Scherer. What does an author do?

Let's take a picture walk? What animals do you see on this page? What is the bear picking up? Branches. What letter does branches begin with? Listen to the sound the beginning makes, b. Do you see the word branches on either of these pages?

We'll continue the picture walk I will lead the discussion towards words that are in the text that Kelly can pick out.

Do you think this story is fiction (fake) or nonfiction (real)?

During Reading:

Now you are going to get a chance to read this book to me and we are going to see if your predictions were right. Remember, as you read to me, point to the words as you say them. Also, if you come to a word that you don't know you can always look to see if the picture can help you. If the picture doesn't help you, we will try to sound it together. Go ahead and read, starting with the title.

As Kelly reads I will support her by making sure she points to the words as she reads them. I will try to do this with as little support as possible. I will also support her if she gets stuck on an unknown word. I will give her some wait time to see if she can figure it out by herself. If there is no attempt I'll prompt her to look at the picture. If the picture doesn't help, I'll tell her to try to sound it out. I'll give her high support to start off with since this is a new strategy.

Comprehension:

I will ask Kelly to recall whatever details she remembers about the story and I will scribe them for her. I will also ask her to recall what animals she remembers seeing and reading about. I will also scribe this list for her.

Writing:

I will have a worksheet that Kelly and I will complete together. It will require her to make a text to self connection. In a paragraph, she will describe how she makes a snowman. I will scribe this for her, because I want to get her details and story down. When she is done I will have her read what I have scribed

Word Work:

Kelly has a good grasp on beginning sounds, but ending sounds are a little harder for her to recognize. Today's lesson will have Kelly putting pictures of words under the correct letter column that the words end in.

Words w/ -b                     -f                               -g                                  -m                            -r

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      Lesson #2 Reflection

            Today's lesson went very well today. The book introduction was interesting. I had asked her what she thought the animals on the cover of the book did on a snowy day. She didn't really take it as an implicit question. She answered by what she saw on the cover of the book. She said that a bear would hike in the snow and that a rabbit would eat in the snow. She didn't know what a squirrel would do in the snow. I just thought it was interesting because she not making any connections to what she knows about animals during the different seasons. I would think that she would know some basic knowledge about these animals, so it makes me think that she's not making a lot of text-to-world connections.

            During reading I decided to not say anything about pointing to the words as she read. During the mini-lesson I reminded her that we used our fingers last time to point to the words as we read them. She started to do it at first but then a few pages in she stopped pointing and started to skip over words. I gave her a verbal reminder to use her finger and she did. She used it for the rest of the story. I think it is going to be important for me to verbally remind her every time we read to point to the words because I think it will increase her comprehension. She still has a hard time focusing on the words and reading from left to right. Without voice-print match, she will read words out of order and will skip all over the page.

            I noticed today that Kelly relies heavily on the picture cues. One of the sentences in the story was, "Bear picked up the branches". The illustration was of a bear holding a branch. Kelly substituted the word branches for stick. The meaning and structure of the sentence held together, but the visual cues weren't even close. I liked how she used the picture cues, but it seemed as if she didn't look at the word at all. I stopped her and asked her to look at the last word again. She didn't say anything, so I asked her what the first letter was. She was able to identify it, so I then asked her what another name for a stick might be that starts with a b. She didn't have an answer, so I was able to help her break the word down on the white board. We discussed what blend sound br made, then she identified the word an after, and then when I pulled the ch blend out, she was able to say the word. I think it helps her see the word in isolation. I think it is because she works with sight words in isolation a lot.

            The word work portion of the lesson was kind of a mess. I focused this part of the lesson on looking at the ending consonant of words. The words ended in the letters b, f, g, m, and r. I used boardmaker so I had pictures with the words. The words had the last letter off of it. Kelly was very focused on looking at the first letter of the word and placing it in that letter column. An example was she put bear in the b column instead of the r column. She did this with quite a few. I had to keep stressing that she needed to look at the last letter. I eventually asked her to spell the word to me. Once she spelled it and said the last letter correctly, she was able to place it in the correct column. I know that her IEP has her working on looking at the beginning sounds and letters of words, so I'm not sure if her doing that so much made this activity difficult or if it was because I didn't explain in a good way what I wanted her to do. Regardless of why it was difficult, it is definitely something she will work on again. The endings of words are just as important as the beginnings. I will definitely do another activity that focuses on the endings of words in a future lesson.

            In my next lesson I would like to create a PowerPoint book with her. I've been thinking about doing one on safety because it is a concern of her mothers. I still want to read a text and work on the skills of voice-print match and sounding out letters in words. A lesson on possibly chunking words or maybe self-monitoring will also be considered. These are all skills that will help Kelly become a better reader.

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Literacy Lesson #3

Date: April 2, 2008

Student: Kelly

Lesson: Shared Reading 1:1

Abilities: Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends. Kelly is able to retell a story that is read to her with decent accuracy.

Priorities: Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words. Kelly also needs to increase her comprehension skills.

Objectives:

• Kelly will be able to use picture cues with little support to try and solve unknown words.
• Kelly will be able to sound out unknown words with moderate to high support.
• Kelly will be able to demonstrate voice-print match by using her finger to point to the words as she reads them.
• Kelly will be able to restate important information about certain topics during the story. This information will be scribed into a graphic organizer for her.
• Kelly will be able to take the information she gathered in the graphic organizer and use it to create sentences about the chosen topics.

Shared Reading: Home Safety by Nancy Loewen

Pre-reading: Focused Mini Lesson

Kelly has been working on voice-print match for a few lessons. The book that we will be reading together today has a lot of lines of print on some of the pages. This will be overwhelming for her, so I am going to use a bookmark to help us keep track of what line we are on. I will still encourage Kelly to use her finger to point to each individual word.

Kelly has had one lesson on sounding out words. I am going to do that again with her today. I will first show an example and then I will have some preselected words for her to try and solve. She will be solving the words in isolation.

Pre-reading: Book Intro

Today we are going to read a book about home safety. Take a look at the cover of this book. Do you think these two animals are being safe? Why or why not?

Can you think of anything that could make you safe in your home?

Let's go ahead and look at some of these pictures.

During the picture walk, I will ask Kelly different questions to activate her background and to help her make some connections to the text.

Now, before we read this book together, I have one more thing I want to show you. As we read this book we are going to fill sheet out. It has six different topics in it. Read the topics. As you learn about things you can do to be safe at home, I'll help you write the new things you learn in the boxes. We'll use this later on to help us write our own sentences about these topics.

During Reading:

This book is above Kelly's instructional level. The reason I chose this book is because Kelly's mother is very worried about Kelly's safety. It is a big concern for her. I've decided to read some of the pages to Kelly and then have her read some of the pages to me with support. Through different observations, I've noticed that Kelly comprehends more of a story when it is read to her. I'm looking for her to be able to pick out the important facts about home safety.

As Kelly reads I will give her little support in making sure that she points to the words as she reads them. I will support her if she gets stuck on an unknown word. I will give her some wait time to see if she can figure it out by herself. If there is no attempt I'll prompt her to look at the picture. If the picture doesn't help, I'll ask her what else she could do. I'll point to the first letter in the unknown word to see if she attempts to decode the word on her own. I'll give her high support after she has identified the first letter and the sound that goes with it. I will then have her look at the following letter and support her in sounding the word out. After she has decided on what she thinks the word is, I'll ask her if it makes sense when it is read in the sentence.

Comprehension:

Throughout the book, I will be stopping Kelly to see if there is anything that she wants me to write in the graphic organizer. I will ask her leading questions to get her thinking about what she had heard or read.

Writing:

Once the graphic organizer is complete, we will create sentences to go along with each of the topics. These sentences will be scribed by me. I will show Kelly that the sentences we create will be placed in a book of her own that she will be able to read on the computer.

Word Work:

I have made no plans for word work because I believe that this lesson will take a long time and there will be no time left for this section.

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Lesson 3 Reflection

            I have mixed emotions on how I think this lesson went. After completing lesson, I felt that it didn't go the way I was hoping. When I got home, I watched the tape and my feelings changed. It didn't look like the lesson had gone as roughly as I thought it did. I thought that the mini lesson was good. I knew that Kelly was able to pick out the first letter of words and sound that letter out. I wanted to take it one step further and have her continue looking at the next few letters and sound them out. It will definitely be a lesson that will have to be reviewed and worked on. I almost think Kelly would benefit from just looking at the first two letters and getting used to identifying these letters to help her solve words.

            Going into the lesson, I planned on reading one page and then having her read a page. Usually every other page just had two sentences on it. There were a couple of times where there was a lot of print when she would have read. At one point I read a page and then Kelly went to read the next page, but I stopped her. There were about five lines of print and I knew it would be a lot for her, especially since there were some difficult words. Looking back on that moment, I wish I hadn't have stopped her. She was ready and wanting to read and I stopped her. I can't believe I did that! I should have let her read at least a sentence or two and then asked her if she wanted to continue or if she wanted me to read the rest. I will never make that mistake again.

            Thinking about the words that Kelly had to solve, I don't think I supported her in using the sounding out word solving strategy like I planned on. Some of the words were advanced for her and I didn't want her to get frustrated so I just told her a lot of the words. Towards the end of the story, I found it to go smoother if I had Kelly repeat the words, or echo, what I had said. That wasn't the way I had planned to do it, but I didn't want her to get frustrated or to lose her interest.

            Since there was so much content in the book, I was pleased with the graphic organizer I had created and how I utilized it. Once we read about one of the topics, I would discuss it with Kelly. I had to use a lot of leading questions, but I don't think that is a bad thing. She was still answering the questions on her own. It definitely helped her remember what she had read. We didn't get to the writing part that I had planned in my lesson. We spent a lot of time reading together and talking about what we read. I'm just going to move the writing part to my next lesson because we are going to create a PowerPoint book with the information we read about on safety.

            I am really looking forward to creating the book with Kelly. I showed her what we were going to do on Friday and she seemed interested. I don't know how much she uses a computer (I've never seen her on one) but it will be an interesting and fun lesson to do with her.

Literacy Lesson #3 Part 2

Date:  April 4, 2008

Student: Kelly

Lesson: PowerPoint Creation

Abilities:  Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends. Kelly is able to retell a story that is raed to her with decent accuracy.

Priorities: Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words. Kelly also needs to increase her comprehension skills.

Objectives:

• Kelly will retell the story Home Safety by looking at the pictures of the text.
• Kelly will review the graphic organizer created in the last lesson.
• With support and by using the graphic organizer, Kelly will be able to create sentences that explain how to be safe at home.
• Kelly will be able to use a computer to type these sentences by looking at the word on paper and transferring it to the screen by typing the letters.
• Kelly will be able to record her voice on the PowerPoint.

Familiar Read:

Kelly will review the story Home Safety and the graphic organizer created in the previous session.

Guided Reading:

Due to the length of time that will be used to create this PowerPoint book, Kelly will not be reading a new text today.

Writing:

After reviewing the book and discussing the graphic organizer, I will assist Kelly in creating sentences that can go in her story. One of my goals is to create sentences where she will be able to read them independently. Kelly will get a copy of this book when it is completed.

I will scribe sentences for Kelly so that she can look at the words to help her type them. I will let her look at the book so that she can get ideas in helping her create the sentences. Once we have the story created, Kelly will transfer the written words to the computer by typing them. I will assist Kelly in finding the letters because I do not think that she had a lot of experience on a computer.

Once the PowerPoint is created, I will assist Kelly in recording her voice to the story. I have not used a microphone before and I have never created a recorded PowerPoint book so this will be a new experience for me. I'm not sure how it is going to go, but if I'm excited and positive about it, Kelly will be too.

Word Work:

Throughout the writing of the story, I will ask Kelly to spell words that I know she is familiar with. This will help her in recalling letters and the sounds that they make. It will be good practice for her. The words that she won't know how to spell, I will make their sound and she will have to identify the letter that I am sounding out.

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Reflection #3 Part 2

            What a learning experience for both Kelly and me! There were some good things and there were some bad things. I am so glad I decided to spend the entire time just focused on this lesson. It would have been nice to read a new text, but we used all the time I had. It was quite the process to create this book. The good thing is that Kelly was really into this lesson. When she saw what we were going to do she was very excited. She couldn't wait to get her own copy and we hadn't even made it yet.

            The creations of the sentences for the book were a lot harder than I imagined it would be. Kelly knew what she wanted to say about each topic and was awesome in telling me what we should say about being safe. She recalled a lot of information from just looking at the pictures. I found it to be extremely difficult to write the sentences at her independent level. I didn't realize how hard it would be to bring myself down to a level where she would be able to read this book independently. I wanted to make the text simpler, but couldn't. By the time we finished creating the sentences the book was at her instructional level, rather than at her independent level.

            There is a good and a bad side to this. The bad side is that she won't be able to read it independently until she has read it repeatedly with someone else. The good thing is that she will have a chance to use some of the literacy skills that we have been working on. When it came to the recording of the book I had to restart it three different times. Kelly was a little scared at first to talk into the microphone. I showed her how it worked, recorded my voice, and then played it back to her. Once I did this she was fine. She struggled to read some of the words so I ended up having her echo phrases of the sentences after I read them to her. Unfortunately, you can hear my voice a little bit, but I didn't know what else to do. I thought it would be better to have her hear her voice in a fluent read, than to help her correct words she identified wrong. I'm not sure if there was anything else I could have done with the short amount of time we had spent together. If I was her teacher, I would read the book with her every day (familiar read) until she could fluently read it independently and then I would have her record her voice. Unfortunately, I didn't have that kind of time to do that.

            The typing of the sentences was interesting too. Kelly had a hard time finding the keys, so I supported her by telling her what line they were in. Once I had the keys narrowed down to just one line, it was easier for her to find them. I ended up having her type a sentence and then I would type a sentence. She didn't get frustrated if she had a small break from the typing. When I typed, I had her read the words to me and it helped her in identifying some of the words. I was able to use some word solving skills as we typed the story.

            Even though the creation of this PowerPoint book didn't go as smoothly as I was hoping, Kelly enjoyed creating it. I can't wait to give her a laminated copy of it. I saved it to my thumb drive and then placed a copy of it in her teacher's computer. She was going to share it with her class after lunch. I can't wait to find out on my next visit how the class reacted to it. She was very proud of the work she did.

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Literacy Lesson #4

Student: Kelly

Date: April 11, 2008

Group Size: one to one

Abilities: Kelly is an emerging reader who is at an Instructional Level of Grade 1. She is currently independently reading books leveled C based on the Fountas and Pinnell scale. Kelly is working with support on books that are leveled D. Kelly has some strong background knowledge about topics, especially cats, dogs, and dancing. Kelly uses strong picture cues when trying to solve unknown words. She also uses pictures to help her retell a story that she has read. She is beginning to identify the first letter in a word and sound it out to help in solving unknown words. She is also beginning to sound out blends.

Priorities: Kelly becomes easily distracted which can cause her to lose her place. She also tends to skip words and look around a page a lot. Kelly needs to increase her fluency rate by becoming less distracted and more focused on the print of the page. Her voice to print match needs to increase. Kelly also needs to begin learning and using more strategies to help her solve unknown words.

Objectives:

• Kelly will be able to increase her voice-print matching by pointing to the words as she reads.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by looking for picture cues with little support.
• Kelly will be able to solve unknown words by sounding out the first letter or blend of the word.
• Kelly will be able to begin self-monitoring skills by checking to see if what she reads makes sense.
• Kelly will be able to recall the characters and setting of the story.
• Kelly will be able to create her own sentence that follows the repetitive text of the story. She will then be able to put the sentences back in order after they have been cut up.
• Kelly will be able to recognize ending letters and blends during a word work activity.

Familiar Read:

Kelly will have the choice between two previous books that she has read. Her choices are The Mitten or One Snowy Day. Kelly will read these out loud with no support from me. I am going to do a running record to collect more data on Kelly's reading strengths and needs.

Guided Reading:  I Love Mud and Mud Loves Me F&P Level D

Pre-reading: Focused Mini Lesson

You have been doing some awesome reading the past two weeks. We have also learned a couple of things. When we point to words as we read them it helps us keep track of where we are. Also, when we come to a word that we don't know, we look at the first letter and try to figure out what the word could be.

Today, we're going to listen to what we read and check to make sure that what we are reading makes sense.

Pg.10: I'm going to read this sentence and I want you to listen and watch what I do. "Sam, why is there sand in your pillow?" He has sand in his pillow!! Well, that doesn't make sense. I see that he is in his bedroom and it looks like he is on his bed, but he doesn't have a pillow in his hands. I'm going to takes a look at that word again because it doesn't make sense to me. I will point to the word sneaker. Well, this is definitely not pillow because pillow starts with a p and this word starts with an s. Let's see. Sn..eee..k..ers. Sneakers! Let me read the whole sentence again. "Sam, why is there sand in your sneakers?" That makes more sense. It looks like he's holding a sneaker in the picture.

It's important to make sure that we listen to ourselves read because we want to make sure that what we read makes sense.

Pre-reading: Book Intro

Before I show Kelly the book, I am going to ask her what she thinks boy's would love. I will scribe a list on the whiteboard.

I will then show her the book and read her the title. I will tell her that we are going to read about what this boy, named Sam, loves. I will point out to her that the text is repetitive and will have the same words on each page.

During the picture walk, I will have Kelly tell me what it looks like this boy loves and I will scribe this list next to hers. We will then compare the list of what she thought, to the list that she discovered during the picture walk.

During Reading:

Now you are going to get a chance to read this book to me. Remember, if you come to a word that you don't know you can always look to see if the picture can help you. If the picture doesn't help you, look at the first letter and see if you can't figure it out. Also, try and listen to what you say and think about if it makes sense.

As Kelly reads I will give her little support in making sure that she points to the words as she reads them. I will also support her if she gets stuck on an unknown word. I will give her some wait time to see if she can figure it out by herself. If there is no attempt I'll prompt her to look at the picture. If the picture doesn't help, I'll ask her what else she could do. I'll point to the first letter in the unknown word to see if she attempts to decode the word on her own. I'll give her high support after she has identified the first letter and the sound that goes with it. I will also be listening to see if she is self-monitoring. If she reads something wrong and it doesn't appear as if she will correct herself, I will directly ask her if what she read made sense. I'll read it back to her and ask her the question again. We will then figure out the word(s) that were read wrong the first time and correct them.

Comprehension:

I will ask Kelly to recall the characters and setting of the story without looking back to the book. I will also ask Kelly what her favorite part of the book was. I will ask her to tell me what things Sam loved.

Writing:

I have a copy of the repetitive text on paper. "Sam , why is there ________ in your ________?" and "Sorry, Mom, but I love _________ and __________ loves me". Kelly will fill in the blanks with her own ideas. I will have the list from the introduction of things she thought boys might love to help her come up with some ideas. Once she has filled in the blanks (I'll scribe), I'm going to cut the pieces up and she will have to put them back in order and glue them onto another page. She will then have the chance to illustrate it.

Word Work:

Kelly will play the game Candy Shop. This game will help Kelly in identifying the ending letter or blends of words.

   Sam,   why   is   there

__________   on   your

___________?                                                      

 Sorry,   Mom,   but   I love  ______________

and   ______________

loves   me.                                                                             

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Lesson 4 Reflection

            I had a lot of fun with this lesson and I think Kelly did too. This was a fun book to read. I decided to try a new skill today that focused on her starting to self-monitor her reading. I talked about how good readers listen to themselves as they read to make sure that what they read makes sense. I did an example and she laughed at me!! By looking at the picture she knew that the sand wasn't in his pillow. I pointed to the word sneaker and asked her what letter the word began with. After that I asked her what pillow started with and she was able to identify the letter. He first said shoes but I had her look at the word again and showed her how shoes were spelled on the whiteboard. She looked at it for a couple of more seconds and then came up with the word sneaker.

            She had fun with the story and relied on the pictures heavily. Whenever she read something that didn't make sense I would read it back the way she said it and asked her if it sounded right. When I read it, she said that it didn't make sense, but when she read it she didn't seem to notice. It makes me think that she may be reading the words to read words, but not so much for meaning. Kelly still needs to improve her comprehension and would probably benefit from short stories with a lot of comprehension questions asked throughout. The self-monitoring skills will need to be taught and practiced for a long period of time.

            I did ask 3 comprehension questions at the end of the story and I didn't allow her to look back in the book. Kelly was able to tell me her favorite part, where the story took place, but she needed a little help with the characters name. I found that a little surprising because his name was mentioned in the repetitive text every other page. Once I told Kelly that it began with an s she remembered his name.

            Kelly enjoyed creating two more pages for the book. I had Kelly think of something that was messy and she came up with markers all on her own. She also decided that having markers on her hands occurred often. I love how she made a connection to herself. Once I filled in the missing words I cut the sentence up and mixed the words up. I had the book sitting out on the table and after looking at the words she took the book and opened it up. She randomly picked a page and looked at the words. She used the print in the text to help her put the sentences back in order. I just sat back and watched her. She decided to look back at the story to help her. I think it was great that she did that. It was amazing.

            The game was a lot of fun too. It was a good game to play because not only did it concentrate on the endings of words, but because there were no pictures Kelly had to use other strategies to try and solve the words. It was great to see her sounding words out and making good attempts at solving the words. These types of activities would benefit Kelly.

Candidate Literacy Project II-Assistive Technology Application

This is a sample candidate literacy project for a student with significant disabilities who uses assistive technology to communicate and to participate in literacy lessons. The candidate incorporated use of various assitive technology (Go Talk 9, Big Mack Switch, use of digital text and creation of PowerPoint books) throughout her literacy lessons.

See attachments below for accompanying assitive technology instructional materials.

Sample Candidate Literacy Project

Assisitve Technology Applications

Rationale

When I began working with Adam, I quickly realized that he had so much potential in reading; more than I had originally anticipated. I began this practicum by observing and then slowing working my way into lessons. Through my observations and reading his IEP I discovered that he was working on his letters and sounds, and very few sight words. Although he is not yet reading sentences, he's getting there, but I wondered if he could do more. Due to his physical and communication limitations it is a challenge to get him reading, but there are ways.

I chose to build on what he had been learning in his program. We worked with the sight words he knows, plus a few more that I felt he could learn quickly, and he did! I also gave him the opportunity to actually hold a book and be engaged in it, rather than just being allowed to look at the pictures. I worked with the speech pathologist and borrowed her Big Mac many times to allow him to read parts of books by using the switch; he loved it! I created sight word cards with not only the words on them, but also pictures, and put a light blue background in the background to help him with his visual needs. I also added some comprehension questions at the end of reading to assess him in this area, which I had not seen done before. I knew that the questions would be very basic, but had confidence that he could do it, and I was right. He really enjoyed the lessons I taught him, and I hope that I have showed his teachers that he has so much more potential and they continue pushing him to reach his potential.

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STRUCTURED SHARED READING LESSON PLAN

STUDENT: Adam      BOOK: What Time is it Mr. Crocodile by Judy Sierra

Some relevant student characteristics

Adam is a happy first grade student, who loves to read books. He has Cerebral Palsy and Cortical Visual Impairment which affects his ability to retain information at times. He is legally blind and requires books with large text and pictures. Due to his physical impairments he has difficulty grasping items, turning pages, and writing, among other fine and large motor skills. Adam also uses speaking devices since he does not verbally communicate his wants and needs at this time. Adam is able to answer yes/no questions with verbal prompts, for example, "Yes or no Adam, do you like bananas?" This lets him know what he is expected to answer. At this time, he is able to recognize all lower case alphabet letters and sounds, and is working on recognizing upper case letters. He is also able to recognize some basic sight words such as, see, I, me, my, a, and go. When asked, and at times given verbal and physical prompts to point, Adam will point to an object on a page in the story.

Some sample Reading Lesson Objectives for this/ these student:

1.) Adam will be able to participate while reading the book What Time is it Mr. Crocodile by activating a Big Mac Switch to read the repetitive line.

2.) Adam will be able to engage in the story by pointing to pictures and responding to questions when prompted.

3.) Adam will be able to identify beginning sounds for the words, monkey, crocodile and banana by placing post-its with this letter written on them underneath the correct picture.

4.)  Adam will be able to identify whether or not he enjoyed the story by bingo stamping a picture with verbal prompts and physical assistance to use the bingo stamp.

• Book Intro

*Adam has previously read this story with me, but not while using the Big Mac Switch. I had engaged him in a picture walk prior to this reading.

1.) Allow Adam to activate the switch so he is able to hear the recording prior to reading.

2.) Before reading, I will introduce the book to Adam saying reminding him that it is a book about a Crocodile who makes plans during the day to eat monkeys.

3.) Ask Adam if he would eat a monkey by saying, "yes or no Adam, would you ever eat a monkey?"

4.)  Tell Adam we are going to read and find out if the crocodile eats the monkey.

• Support during reading

1.)   While reading, I will prompt Adam to turn the pages himself.

2.)   After turning each page, Adam will activate the Big Mac Switch reading the line, "What time is it Mr. Crocodile?" He will be prompted and given wait time to do this if needed.

3.)   With physical prompts, Adam will use his "reading finger" to follow the text from left to right.

4.)   I will ask Adam to point to objects within the pictures or point to body parts that are mentioned (I.E. head).

• Discussion

Prior to reading, I will ask questions to prepare him for reading such as, "This is a book about a crocodile wanting to cook up some monkeys and eat them for dinner, would you ever eat a monkey? I will ask Adam if he is ready to read the book.  During reading, I will ask questions to keep him engaged, such as point to the crocodile, point to the moon; can you show me your head? Do you like bananas? Do you have friends? After reading the book, I will ask Adam if he enjoyed the book by saying, "Adam did you like the book yes or no?"

• Writing Connection

Using Boardmaker, I have created a sheet that will allow Adam to identify beginning letter sounds for the words, monkey, crocodile and banana. Given a choice of two letters, Adam will choose which letter each word starts with by choosing the correct post it and placing it (with physical assistance) underneath the correct picture.  With physical prompting, Adam will write his name on this paper as I say each letter to him.

I have also created a note home to Adam's parents telling them about the book we have read and inviting them to read it at home with him. Part of the note includes three choices as to how Adam liked the book (I loved it, I liked it, or I didn't like it at all). Adam will read the letter with me by using his reading finger, and will also sign his name at the bottom of the letter.

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Structured Shared Reading Lesson Reflection

As I was deciding to do a lesson with Adam, I decided on a shared reading lesson that would allow him to participate by using a Big Mac switch. The school had a book fair a few weeks ago and I bought a book, What Time is it Mr. Crocodile ; I thought would be perfect for him because the print was large enough and the pictures were as well.  I chose to read the book with Adam a few times before writing a lesson with him to be sure it was something he was interested in and could see well; luckily Adam loves the book.

Due to his disability, Adam struggles with writing, turning pages, and holding the book; he also needs things to be on a slant which allows him to view the pictures. After teaching the lesson, I feel that it went pretty well and I did everything I had hoped for.

I was very comfortable while teaching the lesson, but also realized that I should have chosen a book that had more predictable text. The line "What time is a Mr. Crocodile" was on every page and was said immediately after turning the page, but the text that came before the repetitive line was not always the same. If I had thought of it I would have chosen a book that said something predictable; for example, "The monkeys said, what time is it Mr. Crocodile?" This way, Adam would have heard "the monkeys said" which would have been his cue to hit the Big Mac switch. Once I realized this was a problem, I became a bit uncomfortable knowing that I was going to have to give him more prompts that hoped for. Regardless of becoming a bit uncomfortable for this reason, overall, the fluency and pacing of the lesson I thought went well.

Adam's special educator asked me to use the other special education room, which was empty,  for the lesson because she had some things going on in the room that could have possibly been a distraction to the lesson; therefore there were not any other students in the room. My role for this particular shared reading lesson was to read every other page while Adam read the repetitive line. I tried not to give him any prompts to do so, but as I said before, he needed more than I had hoped because there was no reoccurring text that cued him to say his line. I also assisted him in turning the pages, but found that he is getting to be pretty good at doing so himself! He is reaching for the page fluffers and doing much better at turning the page slowly so he doesn't rip the book. I was proud of him! I gave reinforcements throughout the book which I have found really encourage Adam to continue doing well.

Overall, Adam responded very well to the lesson. Unfortunately he had seemed much more excited to do the lesson the first time. We began the lesson around 9:00, but because the speech teacher had schedule changes, she came in unexpectedly and took Adam so we had to stop. When he came back he was still willing and ready to read, but did not seem as excited to read the book, I think he was thrown off by having to stop the lesson to leave. For the most part Adam actively participated, but toward the end I could see he was beginning to get tired and seemed to participate more passively, by putting his head down on the book, saying "No!" to questions asked and needing more prompts to read his line.

For the month or so that I have been working with Adam I have done many literacy lessons with him and have always had him turn his own pages, which I don't think he gets the opportunity to do often. Allowing him to turn his own pages keeps him actively engaged and I think he enjoys being allowed to participate in ways that most kids get the opportunity to. I also liked the letter home. Adam got very excited when I said we were going to send a not home! He always enjoys hearing and talking about his mom and dad. I was worried that he was going to choose that he didn't like the book at first because he seemed as though he was leaning that way. Once I repeated the choices of how he liked the book, he chose that he loved it. Adam likes to press buttons and loves using the bingo stamp, and wanted to stamp all of the pictures, but I still think it's a good idea to get him used to using things like this. The only thing that I would do differently in a shared reading lesson of this kind would be to choose a book that allows him to predict the repetitive line.  I would also like to experiment with different extensions. I would consider a put and paste with letter sounds or rhyming words. Overall I think the lesson went well and look forward to doing more, possibly some sort of guided reading lesson with him.

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STRUCTURED SHARED READING LESSON PLAN

STUDENT: Adam         BOOK: The Box by Jessica Martens (PowerPoint)

Some relevant student information:

Adam is a happy first grade student, who loves to read books. He has Cerebral Palsy and Cortical Visual Impairment which affects his ability to retain information at times. He is legally blind and requires books with large text and pictures. Due to his physical impairments he has difficulty grasping items, turning pages, and writing, among other fine and large motor skills. Adam also uses speaking devices since he does not verbally communicate his wants and needs at this time. Adam is able to answer yes/no questions with verbal prompts, for example, "Yes or no Adam, do you like teddy bears?" This lets him know what he is expected to answer. At this time, he is able to recognize all lower case alphabet letters and sounds, and is working on recognizing upper case letters. He is also able to recognize some basic sight words such as, see, I, me, my, a, and go. When asked, and at times given verbal and physical prompts to point, Adam will point to an object on a page in the story.

Some sample Reading Lesson Objectives for this/ these student(s):

*Adam will be able to read and follow along with a PowerPoint book that uses print to speech.

*Adam will turn the pages at an appropriate time using the mouse.

*Adam will be able to answer comprehension questions by placing the correct picture/word underneath the question after it is read to him.

*Adam will decide whether or not he enjoyed reading the book by completing a note home using a bingo stamp.

• Book Intro

*Begin by practice with sight words. These sight word cards also have pictures on them and most may be new to Adam. This activity serves as word work and are also some words he will see in the reading.

Prior to reading, I will tell Adam he is going to read a book about a person who gets a box in the mail. Inside the box there is something blue and he is going to read and find out what it is. We will read/listen to the book almost all the way through; we will stop reading right before we find out what is in the box. I will prompt Adam to point to what he thinks is in the box by having three pictures. One of the teddy bear, of a blue heart, and one of a blue smiley face. Adam will point to what he thinks is in the box and I will tell him we are going to read from the beginning to find out. This will provide him with the opportunity to begin making predictions.

• Support during reading

With minimal prompts, Adam will read through the book independently (after the book intro), turning the pages at appropriate times and staying engaged in the book. If he begins to turn the page before it is read, I will verbally or physically prompt him when to turn the page. I would like to see Adam read the book as independently as possible. I will stand back and watch him and only give prompts as needed.

• Discussion (What will you say/ask to have a CONVERSATION about the book?)

Prior to reading, Adam will make a prediction as to what he believes is in the box. After reading, Adam will decide if he liked or disliked the book by using a bingo stamp to make his decision.  He will do this in a letter being sent home to his parents.

• Writing Connection

After reading, Adam will complete a worksheet involving comprehension questions. I will read the question to him and give him three choices for the answer. Adam will choose the picture/word that is the correct choice and place it in the box with minimal physical/verbal prompts.

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Shared reading (PowerPoint) reflection

Today I taught a shared reading lesson to Adam, and think that it went very well.

I am working on giving him more independence and not as many prompts, just to see what will happen. Things are going well. I implemented the lesson just as planned, and I think that Adam really enjoyed the lesson.

I wanted to give Adam some sight word cards to read, since it is rarely done for him, and I believe he can do it. This lesson had the potential of not going well because it was right after a week's break, and he was just getting back into the swing of things. I started the lesson feeling very comfortable, knowing, I was going to let him read the book himself, and it was possible things would go poorly because of the break. However, things went extremely well, Austin did great! He was very engaged in the book, and did a pretty good job on the comprehension questions. The only part that made me feel uncomfortable and didn't exactly go as planned was reading the sight words. I gave Austin a choice of two sight words. I made sure to tell him what each word was, and then asked him to give me one. He got the first word right, but then began to fall apart a little bit. I am not sure if it was because the words were on cards, rather than on his Go Talk (where they usually are) or because he has never seen the words and pictures together or possibly because of the long break. I quickly realized that he was becoming frustrated, and decided to only give him a few sight words and move on. He did great while reading the PowerPoint book. He was very engaged, and was saying "no" along with the text to speech. Adam would have read that book over and over if possible!

The lesson took place in the special education room. We were the only ones in there, mainly because if some of the other students see a computer being used, they tend not to be able to focus. As I mentioned, my role in this lesson was to see how much Adam could really do. I gave a lot of prompts, verbal and gestural, while reading sight words. I introduced the book quickly, and then let him use the mouse and go through the book. I was nervous that he would click too much and I would have to interfere, but he did so great!! I gave some prompts for the comprehension questions. I gave him two choices for each question, repeated each question at least two times, and helped him to place the picture under the correct question. I also helped Adam to fill out the letter home to his mom and dad.

Adam was definitely an active participant during this lesson, except for the sight words; I would say he was somewhat of a passive participant during this portion of the lesson.  He became distracted during the reading of the sight words, and was looking at the computer, knowing that he would be working on it. While reading the story, he was extremely engaged, following along, reading the words he could say, and turning the page only when appropriate. I was so impressed. 

Overall, I think the entire lesson worked well. I would only change a couple of minor things. When doing the sight words, next time, I will only plan to have him read a few, and I will have the computer out of sight while doing this. I would definitely keep the PowerPoint book the same since he enjoyed it so much and benefited from it so much. The comprehension questions went well, the only thing I would do next time, would be to make the paper bigger. When he put the answers down, you could no longer see the questions. I was very happy with the outcome of the lesson!

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Discussion of Progress

Adam has made so much progress in the short time I have spent with him! When I began, he was working on learning his capital letters, and some letter sounds. I was so lucky to see him begin to improve on these skills. I actually taught him four capital letters. It took a while for him to learn them, but he did pick up on them. When I began working with Adam he had learned about five sight words, to add to that, he now knows, play, like and to. Adam has been engaged with books, is able to turn pages, and reads lines using the Big Mac switch. I also wanted to get him reading more PowerPoint books and books on tumblebooks.com. However, I was nervous at first because of his fascination with clicking the mouse.  However in the last couple of weeks I worked with him, he became accustomed to using the mouse and it wasn't such a big deal, which means he was paying more attention to the books and clicking at the appropriate time.  He is now completing comprehension questions with little prompts and making choices as to which books he would like to read and how he liked them. I am so proud of Adam and the improvement he has made.

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See attachments for assistive technology instructional materials:

Boardmaker Boards for Word Work and Literacy Comprehension activities

Power Point Book

Note Home to Parents

Course Assignment: Literacy Project Description

The following is a required course assignment for candidates enrolled in SPE 525, Educational Planning for Students with Severe Disabilities. Candidates complete this project in conjunction with a weekly field practicum which involves tutoring a student with significant disabilities.

COURSE ASSIGNMENT

Literacy Instructional Program

With prior approval from professor:

3a. Assess and determine your student's current literacy skills and the resulting instructional program you will be using with them. Use informal literacy assessments provided in class, or if you have taken SPE 514/515, conduct a QRI or running record to determine current abilities/needs. Ask your cooperating teacher what the student's current literacy level is and what their abilities (what they can currently do) and priorities (what they need to learn) are in literacy. Give a brief narrative account of your assessment and provide a rationale for the literacy program you will be doing (Structured Shared Reading or Guided Reading).Students who have taken SPE 514/515 are expected to conduct Guided Reading sessions. (5 points)

3b. Teach the literacy program for at least (3) different sessions using lesson formats presented in class. Provided detailed lesson plans and reflections (see below). Record progress (data based and anecdotal) of your profile student with regard to literacy priorities and objectives. Provide data sheets and narrative of student's progress. Provide actual instructional materials or photos of materials that you used for your instruction (books, PowerPoint books, website addresses with specific activities) (5 points)

3c. Provide (2) videotaped lessons of your instructional program. Obtain copy of written permission (photo release) and include with project. Provide reflections and analyses of your instruction and teacher decision making. Reflect on each session in detail (SEE BELOW) Reflections should be at least 2-3 double spaced type written pages per lesson. (10 points) Reflect on your teaching: Answer these questions in narrative format after each session:

• Did I implement my program as planned?
• How effective was I in my instruction? (your comfort level, fluency, prompts provided,  timing, pacing and flow of lesson).
• Were the materials engaging? Choice of text appropriate? Would you change or continue with this level of text?
• How did my student respond? Were they active participants? Passive? Give examples.
• What worked well? What didn't? What would you do differently next time? What would you continue to do?

Remember to include all your instructional materials with your project (copy front covers of books, Boardmaker boards, word work activities. PowerPoint books)!  

Course Syllabus: SPE 525 Educational Planning for Students with Severe Disabilities

SPE 525
Educational Planning for Students with Severe Disabilities
Spring 2008

Dr. Amanda Fenlon Class: Phoenix Continuing Ed. Ctr. E-mail: fenlon@oswego.edu Mondays 4:30-7:30
Office Hours: By appointment Office: 250A Wilber Hall
Phone: 638-1081(H)

NEED FOR ACCOMMMODATIONS: NEED FOR ACCOMMMODATIONS: If you have a disabling condition that may interfere with your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Disability Services Office (315-312-3358; 183 Campus Center,
http://www.oswego.edu/student/services/disabilities/

REQUIRED TEXTS (Campus Bookstore or Kraftees, www.amazon.com , www.half.com ):

Snell, M. & Brown, F. (2006) Instruction of students with severe disabilities. 6th Edition
Upper Saddle River: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall. ISBN #0-13-114335-2

Erickson, K. & Koppenhaver, D. (2007) Children with disabilities: Reading and writing the four blocks way. Greensboro: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company. ISBN#978-1-60022-125-5

Recommended text:
Giangreco, M.F, Cloninger, C.J., & Iverson, V.S. (1998). Choosing outcomes and accommodations for children: A guide to educational planning for students with disabilities. (COACH-2) 2nd Edition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes. ISBN #1-55766-323-8

Other required readings in PDF format provided by instructor (obtain disc from Dr. Fenlon)

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This required course will address knowledge and skills educators need to plan individualized programs for students with severe and multiple disabilities. Emphasis will be on teaching and supporting students within regular classes and typical school activities, based on a vision of adult participation in typical community activities and settings. Representative topics included learning characteristics of students with severe disabilities, program planning and IEP development, assessment and instructional planning in foundation skills for typical routines, communication, assistive technology, supporting participation and progress in the general education curriculum, social skills and facilitating peer relationships.

PRACTICUM: This course includes a required school-based practicum of 25 hours. Placements are in elementary classrooms that include students with severe disabilities. Practicum hours are flexible, as long as you can meet expectations for hours and participation and work with your cooperating special education teacher. You will have a focus student from your practicum site for required course projects. Details of practicum activities and projects will be discussed and clarified in class.

REQUIREMENTS:
Attend all classes.
Complete 25 hours of approved field experience.
Complete required readings prior to class for which they are assigned.
Participate actively in class activities, including "home group" work.

REQUIREMENTS continued
Apply course concepts related to educational planning for students with severe disabilities and your professional role as a special educator in class activities and field experience projects.
Complete and hand in all assignments by stated due dates. (Grades for assignments that are late will be reduced.)
PLEASE NOTE: Students are responsible for having a back-up (hard copy, not just on computer disk) of each assignment. Print two copies, or photocopy your papers before turning them in.

LAPTOP COMPUTER RECOMMENDATION Boardmaker (Mayer & Johnson, 2007) software will be available as a six month "lab copy" to everyone in the class. This commercially made software is one of the premier visual tools developed to facilitate the learning of students with severe disabilities. In order to register a lab copy and to take full advantage of the software, it is recommended you have access to a laptop computer for portions of the class. PLEASE SEE DR. FENLON IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS RECOMMENDATION

ASSESSMENT AND GRADING POLICY
Your final course grade will be determined by your grades on course assignments, test and projects. Factors, which will lower your grade, include missing class, lack of preparation and/or inadequate participation in class activities, including group work.

Students will not be allowed to revise papers or projects for the purpose of raising grades. Because the project components are indicators of key competencies you will need as a special educator (and for student teaching), the instructor may ask you to revise a component if you have not demonstrated acceptable competence in this area. If this is the case, no grade will be assigned until the project is revised. Only one revision will be accepted from an individual. Revised projects will receive a grade no higher than "B-". Demonstration of proficiency in each competency area and every project is necessary to qualify for student teaching (SPE 591)-not just and overall passing "average" grade across projects. Course grades will not be assigned until field experience hours are complete and documented.

Students will be expected to demonstrate positive and professional attitudes toward the education of students with disabilities while involved in fieldwork assignments and during class time. Examples of professional, positive attitudes include
• Being prompt and prepared for both class and field placement.
• Using "growth-paradigm" language and practices when discussing or writing about students with disabilities and their families (i.e. people-first language, positive and educationally relevant information).
• Being aware of and respectful of confidential information regarding students and families.
• Demonstrating culturally sensitive and respectful interactions with students, staff that serve them and families of students with disabilities.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

A. Plan meaningful ways for students with severe disabilities to participate and
make progress in the general curriculum within general education classes (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE, SOCIAL JUSTICE);

B. Plan adaptations and supports (including considerations for assistive
technology) to maximize the participation of students who have severe disabilities within general education classes and other school activities (AUTHENTIC LEARNING, KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE);

C. Utilize context-based assessment strategies (e.g., task analysis/ecological
inventory, discrepancy analysis) to identify abilities and needs and to plan instruction and support in general education classes and other typical school routines (AUTHENTIC LEARNING, KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION);

D. Plan instruction to address individual foundation and functional skills (e.g., literacy, communication, social skills, time management, money handling, personal care) within general education classes and typical school routines (AUTHENTIC LEARNING. SOCIAL JUSTICE);

E. Utilize effective instructional strategies while teaching specific skills for
participation in general education settings and other typical routines (e.g., errorless learning, backward chaining, highlighting natural cues, nonverbal and verbal prompts, generalization strategies (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE);

F. Describe basic health considerations and practices related to positioning,
eating and mobility for students who have physical disabilities and relate these to typical classroom and school routines (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE, COLLABORATION);

G. Describe basic augmentative communication practices for students who have
limited communication abilities and relate these to typical classroom and school routines (SOCIAL JUSTICE, KNOWLEDGE, AUTHENTIC LEARNING, TECHNOLOGY);

H. Describe key components of and process for developing an individual "Proactive Behavior Support Plan" for a student who has challenging behaviors (i.e., prevention, teaching, crisis intervention) (KNOWLEDGE, REFLECTION, SOCIAL JUSTICE);

I. Identify and describe strategies for facilitating social participation and student relationships between students with and without disabilities in general education classes and typical school activities (SOCIAL JUSTICE, COLLABORATION);

J. Plan effectively with parents and multidisciplinary teammates (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, general educators), to understand individual needs and to integrate services and supports throughout daily school routines and settings (COLLABORATION, LEADERSHIP);

K. Train other team members (e.g., general educators, paraeducators) in necessary techniques and strategies to teach and support students with severe disabilities within general education classes and typical school activities (COLLABORATION, LEADERSHIP);

L. Describe (in writing) Present Levels of Performance, abilities and needs for a students with severe disabilities for the IEP (KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE);

M. Write IEP goals and benchmarks that address individual needs for a student with severe disabilities and relate these to New York Learning Standards and performance indicators for severe disabilities (AUTHENTIC LEARNING, KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE).

N. Develop practical formats for sharing key student and program information with teammates (e.g., all general educators, paraeducators) in brief written form (COLLABORATION, AUTHENTIC LEARNING);

O. Use technology (e.g., Boardmaker software, WWW, listservs) to identify resources and information to enhance program planning for students who have severe disabilities (TECHNOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE);

P. Identify and describe advocacy strategies to be utilized in developing new or improved models of service provision for students with severe disabilities (COLLABORATION, LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL JUSTICE);

Q. Identify and be able to facilitate the use of various community resources and supports for students with severe disabilities and their families (technology resource center, respite and family support organizations) (COLLABORATION, AUTHENTIC LEARNING).

R. Identify and be able to use strategies to both enhance learning; and to build partnerships with families of students with severe disabilities from diverse cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds (SOCIAL JUSTICE, COLLABORATION, KNOWLEDGE).

SPE 525
Educational Planning for Students with Severe Disabilities
Mondays, 4:30-7:30 @ Phoenix Continuing Education Center
Spring 2008

Dr. Amanda Fenlon Office: 250A Wilber Hall
E-mail: fenlon@oswego.edu Phone: 638-1081(h)
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1/28
• Course overview and objectives
• History of Education for students with severe disabilities-THEN and NOW
• Current trends and guiding principles of quality programs
• Special Educator roles and responsibilities in educating students with severe disabilities
• Who are the students with severe disabilities? Learning characteristics and support needs
Readings: Highlight syllabus and field placement requirements
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2/4
• Who are the students with severe disabilities? Learning characteristics and support needs
• Developing partnerships with families and determining priorities to guide curriculum and program development, Person-Centered Planning, visioning for the future
• Meaningful Assessment
• Environmental/Ecological Inventories
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, Chapters 1-3
Assignment Due: Homework test questions #1
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2/11
• Identifying Curriculum content and teaching routines
• Partnerships with families
• Using COACH (Choosing Options and Accommodations for Children)
Readings:
1. COACH, pgs. 3-115
2. Fenlon, A. (2005). Activities to empower parents as collaborators in their children's education. In Ruggiano-Schmidt, P. (Ed.), Preparing Educators to Communicate and Connect with Families and Communities. Boston: Information Age Publishing.
Guest Presenter: Parent of a student with significant disabilities
ASSIGNMENTS DUE: Quiz #1 on Readings & Field Practicum site and student description to Dr. Fenlon for confirmation
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2/18 NO CLASS-PUBLIC SCHOOL BREAK WEEK
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2/25
• Designing and Implementing instructional programs
• Teaching procedures and methods (Use of prompts and cues, effectively reinforcing students' performance, Shaping, Fading reinforcers and prompts, Error correction, teaching for generalization).
• Data collection and Measurement of student performance, analysis and instructional program evaluation
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, Chapters 4-5
2. COACH, pgs. 168-180.
3. Erickson & Koppenhaver, pages 1-12.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Homework Test Questions #2
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3/3
• Literacy instruction (Sample literacy blocks, Shared reading)
• Communication and Assistive Technology Supports to maximize participation
• Boardmaker software & visually assisted communication, Social Stories
1. Snell & Brown, Chapters 11 & 12
2. Crosier, S. & Sileo, N. (2005) Encouraging positive behavior with social stories: an intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders. Teaching Exceptional Children, (37), 7, 26-31.
3. Erikson & Koppenhaver, pages 13-40.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Quiz #2 on readings, BRING LAPTOP!!
Guest Presenter: Ms. Cristy Bobbett, Boardmaker Introduction
3/10
• Literacy instruction (Self-Selected Reading & Guided Reading)
• Math and Money handling instruction
• General education curriculum access using UDL principles
• Using functional activities to address academic skills
Readings:
1. Erikson & Koppenhaver, pgs. 40-84.
2. Snell & Brown, Chapter 13
3. Ford et al. (2000) Chapter 8: Money Handling. The Syracuse Community Referenced Curriculum Guide, Fourth Edition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
ASSIGNMENTS DUE: PROJECT #1-GATHERING STUDENT INFORMATION AND DETERMINING CURRICULAR CONTENT &
School routine/Boardmaker project proposal to Dr. Fenlon
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3/17
• More Literacy (Writing and Word Work) and math instructional programs
• Touch Math
• General education curriculum access using UDL principles
• Classroom and curricular adaptations and modifications for maximizing general education classroom participation
• Individual Education Plan goals and benchmarks
Readings:
1. Krickson & Koppenhaver, Pgs. 85-131.
2. Downing, J. & Eichinger, J. (2005) Creating learning opportunities for students with severe disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Exceptional Children(36) 1, 26-31
3. Stafford, A.(2005) Choice making: A strategy for students with severe disabilities, Teaching Exceptional Children (37),6, 12-17.
4. Cushing et al. (2005) Access to the general education curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Exceptional Children (38), 2, 6-13.

ASSIGNMENTS DUE: 1st videotaped lesson (school routine) with lesson plan and reflection & Homework Test Questions #3
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3/24
• Assistive technology and Augmentative communication
• Facilitated Communication
• Software to enhance success and participation within general education
• Embedding IEP goals throughout the school day/ Student Scheduling matrices
Readings:
1. Assistive Technology readings provided by Dr. Fenlon.
2. COACH 119-207.
3. http://soeweb.syr.edu/thefci/General.htm Read "Facts About Facilitated Communication" by Douglas Biklen, Ph.D. http://soeweb.syr.edu/thefci/ and general information about the Facilitated Communication Institute
Guest presenters: Enable Assistive Technology staff
MEET AT: Enable 1603 Court Street, Syracuse-455-7591.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: IEP goals & objectives packet
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3/31
• Accommodating motor disabilities and sensory processing needs
• Collaborating with related service providers
• Integrated therapy
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, Chapter 8
2. Sensabilities (PROVIDED BY DR. FENLON)
3. Giangreco, M., McEwen, I., Fox, T. & Lisi-Baker, D. (2002) Assisting students who use wheelchairs: Guidelines for school personnel. In Quick Guides to Inclusion 3: Ideas for Educating Students with Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes publishing.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: 1ST Videotaped Literacy lesson & plan and reflection due & Quiz #3 on Readings
Guest Presenter: Occupational Therapist
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4/7
• Basic health considerations related to positioning, mobility, eating
• Special health care procedures
• Teaching Self-care skills
• Instruction for home and community
• Self-management and self-instruction strategies
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, Chapters 7, 9, & 14.

ASSIGNMENT DUE: Homework Test questions #4
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4/14 NO CLASS - PUBLIC SCHOOL BREAK
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4/21
• Facilitating Social Relationships and Friendships
• Peer support strategies, Circles of Friends, MAPS
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, Chapter 10
2. Causton-Theoharis, J. & Malmgren, K. (2005) Building bridges: Strategies to help paraprofessionals promote peer interaction. Teaching Exceptional Children.(37), 6, 18-24.
3. Carter, E. et al (2005) Effects of peer support interventions on students' access to the general curriculum and social interactions. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (30),1, 15-25.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: PROJECT #2 DUE-Instruction in a School Routine using Boardmaker Software (HAND IN RUBRIC WITH PROJECT)
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4/28
• Alternate Assessment for students with severe disabilities
Readings:
• The Learning Standards and Alternate Performance Indicators for students with Severe Disabilities (SED publication).Go to: www.vesid.nysed.gov/ , go to publications, and then select Alternate Standards for Students with Severe Disabilities.
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Homework Test Questions #5
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5/5
• Advocacy Strategies
• Community Resources/Agencies
• Promoting Self-Determination
• Future expectations

5/5 continued
Readings:
1. Snell & Brown, pgs. 589-590, and Chapter 16
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Project #4 Student Program analysis and recommendations
Guest Presenter: Exceptional Family Resources
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5/12
• Course evaluation and wrap up
• Sharing instructional programs

ASSIGNMENTS DUE: Project #3-Instructional Program Design and Implementation (HAND IN RUBRIC WITH PROJECT), & Completed Field Hours Sign Off Sheet
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Candidate Performance Rating
MSED Special Education

Name _____________________________________ Date____________________

Rater (Cooperating Teacher /Faculty member) _____________________________ Course(s) ________________

1. Dispositions

___ Interprets disability issues from a "strengths-based" social justice perspective-rather than a
"clinical deficit-oriented" perspective.
___ Demonstrates respect for students, families and colleagues who represent diverse characteristics
(e.g., cultural, racial, ethnic, linguistic, social class, disability characteristics, family structures)
___ Uses people-first language when referring to individuals with disabilities
___ Comments and student descriptions are strength-based and holistic.
___ Comments about families are supportive and respectful
___ Comments, reflections, analysis reflect an advocacy perspective.
___ Interactions with students are positive and respectful
___ Performance and effort consistently demonstrate enthusiasm for the profession

2. Professional Commitment

___ Attends full sessions and is prepared for all classes and field work.
___ Participates actively and appropriately in small and large group class activities.
___ Collaborates effectively with other candidates, faculty and staff.
___ Continually assesses personal planning and teaching performance in relation to student progress

3. Foundational knowledge and skills

___ Written work reflects acceptable standards for the profession.
___ Demonstrates ability to organize time, tasks and materials.
___ Written work demonstrates ability to reflect and analyze for a variety of purposes.
___ Sound knowledge of curricular planning(e.g., standards based units, assessments, lesson plans)
___ Sound knowledge of literacy and math development and instruction for most elementary learners
___ Effective management strategies to support student engagement and learning.

4. Special Educator Competencies for Planning and Decision-Making

___ Strength-based assessment and planning
___ Ongoing assessment that considers a variety of informal and formal sources
___ Proactive, positive individualized supports for typical school and class contexts
___ Responsive, individualized instructional planning
___ Effective instruction
___ Program planning (e.g., IEPs, schedules, grouping)
Comments may be attached to this document.

Literacy Text: Erickson & Koppenhaver (2007) Children with Disabilities: Reading and Writing the Four Blocks Way

This is an excellent text to be included as required reading in a methods course for preparing special educators to teach literacy to students with the full range of learning characteristics, including those with moderate and severe disabilities.

Erickson, K. & Koppenhaver, D. (2007) Children with Disabilities: Reading and Writing the Four Blocks Way

Carson-Dellosa Publishers

www.carsondellosa.com