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Providing Reading Interventions Grades 4-9

A new research guide titled Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9 was released recently from the Institute of Education Sciences that summarizes research-based instructional interventions for older students who struggle with reading. The report was written by a panel of reading researchers and practitioners, chaired by Dr. Sharon Vaughn after reviewing the research related to intervention instruction for older students.

Joan Sedita | May 5, 2022 | 0 Comments

The Mighty Paragraph

Sentences and paragraphs are the building blocks of writing. One by one, sentences combine ideas to make meaning. Sentences related to the same main idea are grouped into a paragraph. Then, one by one, paragraphs combine to become text. In 2020, I devoted two posts to sharing suggestions for developing sentence writing skills (see Part 1 and Part 2). This post will focus on paragraph structure.

Joan Sedita | April 5, 2022 | 4 Comments

Teaching Handwriting

A few years ago I developed The Writing Rope as a framework to organize the writing skills that are woven into skilled writing. One of the components is transcription skills, which includes spelling and handwriting. When students develop fluent handwriting skills, they can focus their attention on composing. Difficulty with handwriting can have negative consequences for later writing ability. Teaching handwriting should be an essential part of a writing curriculum.

Joan Sedita | March 1, 2022 | 11 Comments

Vocabulary: Templates for Teaching Words In-Depth

This post features two scaffolds that can be used to teach specific words: the Frayer and the Two-Column templates. Effective vocabulary instruction should combine direct and indirect approaches to developing students' vocabularies. Direct methods of vocabulary instruction include teaching strategies for learning new words such as analyzing word parts and using the context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. It also includes providing in-depth instruction for specific words. Research has shown that direct instruction of at least 400 words per year produces gains in vocabulary and comprehension (Beck et al., 2002; Biemiller, 2004). The Common Core State Standards (and similar state-specific standards) call for students to "acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases" (Language anchor standard #6).

Joan Sedita | February 3, 2022 | 0 Comments

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of meeting students where they are culturally and linguistically. It puts students at the center of instruction that validates and affirms students' identities and gives students from historically marginalized communities an equitable education experience. When culturally responsive educators validate and affirm students and bring them where they need to be academically, students are more likely to feel recognized, valued for their contributions, and eager to learn. (Hollie, 2017)

Joan Sedita | January 5, 2022 | 2 Comments

The Not So Simple View of Writing

Recently, I've been receiving questions about The Writing Rope framework for writing instruction that I developed in 2019, which is also part of the title of a new book that will be published in the summer of 2022. (Click here to read a related blog post). Some of those questions go something like this: "Is there also a Simple View of Writing?" in reference to Gough and Tunmer's 1986 reading model The Simple View of Reading. So I decided to focus this post on a model that started out as The Simple View of Writing (Berninger et al., 2002) but was then expanded to The Not So Simple View of Writing (Berninger & Winn, 2006).

Joan Sedita | December 2, 2021 | 4 Comments

What is advanced word study?

Keys to Literacy recently launched its newest professional development program: Advanced Word Study - Grade 4 and Beyond. Sometimes referred to as advanced phonics, instruction for advanced word study teaches students how to read and spell multi-syllable words by using a combination of word analysis that focuses on syllables, and structural analysis that focuses on meaningful units (morphemes - roots, prefixes, suffixes). Learning how to focus on morphemes also helps students determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Joan Sedita | November 2, 2021 | 3 Comments

The Science of Reading Comprehension

The term Science of Reading has been the focus of attention for several years (see my January, 2020 post). The term refers to the research that reading experts, especially cognitive scientists, have conducted on how we learn to read. This body of knowledge, over twenty years in the making, has helped debunk older methods of reading instruction that were based on tradition and observation, not evidence. Much of the discourse around instruction based on the Science of Reading tends to focus on the importance of explicit instruction for phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency. But what does the research tell us about effective instruction for comprehension?

Joan Sedita | October 3, 2021 | 1 Comment

Word Walls, Sounds Walls: What’s the difference?

A hot topic in the field of beginning reading instruction these days is the use of classroom "walls." Word walls, sound walls, spelling walls, morphology walls - so many different kinds of walls! Understanding the difference among these options, and the different purposes for using them can be confusing. To help clear up some of this confusion, here are some brief descriptions and examples of different types of walls:

Joan Sedita | September 1, 2021 | 2 Comments

Teaching the Schwa Sound in Unaccented Syllables

Schwa is one of those phonics concepts that can be really confusing to students as they learn to decode longer, multi-syllable words. The schwa sound is the most common vowel sound in the English language, accounting for 20% of all vowel sounds (Yule, 1996), and it often is the cause of spelling mistakes. The schwa sound is formed with a neutral mouth position, and it replaces a vowel sound in the unaccented syllables of multi-syllable words. It is sometimes called the “lazy” vowel.

Joan Sedita | July 28, 2021 | 5 Comments

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