Prescribing Solutions to Literacy Challenges

According to the Reading Rockets web site (http://www.readingrockets.org/helping), 40% of children struggle with reading. In a class of 20 kids, that is 8 out of 12. Do you know how to help them? Do you know what to tell their parents? Imagine a child saying these words to you:

“I feel like I just use the same words over and over again in my writing.”
What is the problem?

“I don’t know how to sound out these words.”
What is the problem?

“I struggle to keep track of my thoughts while getting them down on
paper.”
What is the problem?

I have organized the fantastic resources from Reading Rockets, LDOnline and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) on my web site - bTcacTus.org.

Session Agenda We will identify Reading and Writing Challenges (Phonological, Word Decoding, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension, and general Writing Challenges) Explore Web Resources teachers can use to help children and recommend to moms and dads (FREE) Explore Firefox Add-ons that will help students *a 1:1 computing must (FREE) Explore Software and Hardware (Assistive and Adaptive Technologies) (some free and some cost money)

Interactive Session Web Site http://btcactus.org/

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter6.cfm

http://www.readingrockets.org/target

http://www.ldonline.org/article/12769

METSS, a Staff Development Model

On my web site, I have a slogan that says:

Teach People HOW to Learn and not What to Learn

Those words are core to my teaching philosophy and are synonymous with the mission statements and core values of many schools. When you teach people how to learn, they become empowered to learn by themselves, to share what they have learned with others, and are less afraid to try the next new thing. People who know how they learn best, will set higher expectations of themselves. Opportunities begin to unfold for them that were not expected as one's confidence grows.

As teachers begin to implement research based instructional strategies they can easily be caught up in all the new information, the new learning. They might not be able to see how these strategies work in the classroom.

Over the last eight years, I have worked with teachers from Grades K - 12 to integrate technology into their curriculum. I developed a systematic method that changed how teachers integrated technology in a slow, deliberate, confidence-building way. This method is called METSS. The acronym stands for:

• Model instruction
  
• Enable collaboration
  
• Teachers teaching with support
  
• Solo teaching
  
• Showcase
  

I first Modeled instruction so that teachers knew what to expect a good lesson or unit to look like. As teachers began to feel comfortable, I Enabled them to co-plan lessons with me; they brought me their own instructional objectives and I taught them. This action empowered them because they could see how technology and/or a new instructional strategy fits into their curriculum.

As the teacher’s confidence grew, Teachers began to teach their own objectives with technology and/or a new instructional strategy, while I support them with planning, resource finding and lesson observation. Through practice, Teachers became self-directed instructors with technology and/or a new instructional strategy because they knew how to teach, which led them led to them flying Solo, teaching without my support. In an effort to show best practices, promote my staff and publish student work, I Showcased their work on our district web site. At faculty meetings teachers spoke to fellow teachers about what they were doing and this led to other teachers asking me to start a METSS cycle with them.

100 Way to Say Very Good to Kids

Dr. Roger Firestein, one of my favorite professors of all time, created this list of words.