Reading Teachers Lounge

Shannon and Mary talk about coping behaviors that struggling readers use to hide the "big secret" that they can't read. They share details about students' actions that teachers can look for in the classroom to gather more insight about their learners. Some tactics that are labeled as troublesome are actually deflection tactics that struggling students use to mask their learning deficits. Come join the conversation! Do the children in your room display these behaviors? We think you'll recognize many of your kids in these examples.


Resource Links:

1. Struggling Reader Behavior Checklist
2. Why Millions of Kids Can't Read and What Better Teaching Can Do About It
3. 45 Questions to Encourage Student Reflection and Growth
4. Instructional Level versus Independent Level
5. Selecting Just Right Books
6. Hi-Lo Books High Interest/Low Readability Books

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Mary and Shannon discuss Dyslexia. There are a lot of misconceptions that are due to lack of training. Many teachers are somewhat familiar with dyslexia and may even say that they have previously taught students with dyslexia. However, the reality is that almost 20% of the population struggles with dyslexia and may or may not be formally diagnosed. Find out more about dyslexia and join the conversation. Are you wondering what you can do to keep your classroom "dyslexic-friendly?" We have plenty of ideas!

Resource Links:

1. Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
2. Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
3. Dyslexia in the Classroom: What every teacher should know from IDA
4. 8 Things Every Teacher Should Know about Dyslexia
5. Teachers Don't Understand the Depth of Dyslexia
6. Letter Fed Gov Guidance on Dyslexia 2015
7. APM Reports Educate: Hard Words by Emily Hanlon
8. Dyslexia Simulation - Dyslexia Training Institute
9. Learning Ally
10. An interview with Patricia Polacco (children's author) about her struggle with dyslexia

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Are you teaching sight words in your classroom? Parents, are you supporting your child's practice in learning sight words? It's important to have a large bag of tricks. Listen as Shannon and Mary discuss many different ideas for parents and teachers to reinforce multiple practice turns for students as they are gaining automaticity in reading and spelling sight words.


Resource Links:

1. Red Words 
2. Sight Word Stories by Margaret Hillert
3. Structured Word Inquiry Webinar
4. Sight Word Phrases
5. Sight Word Parking Log
6. Sight Word Guess Who
7. Shannon's Sight Word Teaching resources

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Shannon and Mary discuss the final pattern of the six syllable types: 'consonant+le'.  Listen and join the conversation as they review CLOVER (closed, consonant + le, open, vowel teams, magic-e, and r-control syllable types). Find resources for how to teach syllables in your classroom and some clever tricks to reach your struggling readers. If you have students in your classroom who still haven't "cracked the code", come learn some strategies that will help you reach readers with phonics-based reading instruction.


Resource Links:

1. FCRR Speedy Syllables activity
2. Curated Syllables Youtube clips playlist
3. Wiley Blevins upper grade phonics book
4. How to Teach Syllables 
5. The Literacy Nest CLOVER syllables
6. Shannon's Syllables Teaching Units & Lesson Plans

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Vowel teams are combinations of vowels (two or more) that make one sound. When students begin learning about vowel teams they have to demonstrate an understanding of sound symbol relationship where multiple vowel teams represent a single sound. This developmental decoding milestone is quite complex and is a critical step that students must take on their journey to mastering syllable patterns. Shannon and Mary will walk you through some of the important steps in teaching readers vowel teams.

Resource Links:

1. The Literacy Nest Tips for Teaching Vowel Teams
2. Curated Vowel Teams Youtube clips playlist
3. FCRR Same but Different activity
4. FCRR Vowel Digraph Baseball activity
5. Words Their Way Within Word text
6. Pat Cunningham Looks Right strategy
7. Pat Cunningham Brand Name Phonics (unit within the text)
8. Vowel Team Word list with pictures (made by Shannon)
9. Electric Company video link (from the end of the episode)
10. Shannon's Vowel Team Lesson Plans & Activities

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Shannon and Mary discuss how they discovered the importance of teaching phonics instruction and syllable division to help their student begin to crack the code of reading. Throughout the episode they will talk about strategies and activities that include multi-sensory phonics instruction for teaching r-controlled vowel patterns.

Resource Links:

1. R-Controlled Spin game from FCRR
2. GREAT Youtube video clips to introduce & practice the sounds!
3. The Literacy Nest article about r-controlled vowels
4. Smitten with First R-controlled Friends
5. The Measured Mom Gem r-controlled game
6. Pat Cunningham Looks Right Strategy
7. Pat Cunningham Making Words activity
8. The Measured Mom FREE Elkonin boxes
9. R-Controlled word list and pictures (made by Shannon)
10. Shannon's R Controlled Vowel Teaching Units & Lesson Plans

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Mary and Shannon describe how they teach long vowels to their struggling readers. They share their favorite resources and routines for conducting phonics lessons. Are you challenged by your struggling readers? Do you need some casual professional development without sitting in the media center? Come join the conversation and start implementing new strategies tomorrow!

Resource Links:

1. FCRR Long & Short Vowel Picture sort 
2. Long Vowels Videos Playlist
3. Free Reading.net Decodable passages
4. The Literacy Nest Syllable game
5. The Literacy Nest Long Vowel Clip Cards
6. FCRR Short and Long Vowel Word sort
7. Shannon's Long Vowels Lesson Plans and Activities
8. Long Vowel Foldable *created by Shannon*
9. CVC to CVCe word list *created by Shannon*
10. Short and Long Vowel Soccer reading center & lesson *created by Shannon*
11. Short and Long Vowel Soccer Boom Cards digital game *created by Shannon*

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Shannon and Mary discuss background and strategies for teaching short vowels. You will learn facts and tidbits about literacy and why short vowels make their short, unique sounds. Hint! It has to do with the consonant next door. Learn about multi-sensory phonics based games and strategies for teaching struggling readers in your classroom. In the show notes you will find links to the resources we enjoy and use with our students.


Resource Links:

1. FCRR Short vowel reading center 
2. FCRR Real & Nonsense word center 
3. FCRR CVC make words & pictures 
4. Really Good Stuff teaching guide with short vowel word family pictures 
5. Orton Gillingham Educator's Guide *
6. The Multisensory Language Triangle 
7. Short Vowels Videos Playlist
8. The Measured Mom vowel picture sort 
9. Short Vowels practice game on Boom Learning (created by Shannon)
10. Short Vowel Word Family lists 
11. Vowels and Consonants Teaching Presentation (created by Shannon)
12. Short Vowels foldable 
13. Shannon's Short Vowel Teaching Units & Lesson Plans

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The process for identifying a specific learning disability such as dyslexia is complicated in the public school setting. In this episode Mary explains the RTI (Response to Intervention) process. She also breaks down how a student is eligible for special education in the public school. Key take away is ensuring that the student is receiving appropriate instruction to remediate their decoding struggles. Strong Tier 1 and 2 instruction is necessary to determine whether the student has a learning deficit or a learning disability.

Resource Links:

1. What to Expect at an IEP Eligibility Meeting
2. Response to Intervention
3. Intervention Central
4. 13 Conditions Covered Under IDEA
5. How Does the Reading Brain Work? (video)
6. RTI pyramid "triangle"
7. Struggling Readers Checklist

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You've completed the benchmark assessments. You have done what has been asked of you by the administration. But really...what does that MAP score mean? Can you explain it to your students? Is it valid? Can you help your students set meaningful goals with the data? Are you just doing what is asked to get by, or are you really able to interpret and utilize the data for meaningful support? Shannon can help you! We have both been there! It's honest talk about data. We are here to help you work smarter and not harder.

Resource Links:

1. Parent Toolkit from NWEA (makers of MAP test)
2. NWEA Professional Learning for Teachers
3. RIT to Concept Document *need NWEA login*
4. Shannon's free MAP Quadrant Reflection document

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