Thread
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">: Thank you for all the public and mostly private encouragement to share the story & video of S. Iāll give context, share video, then get into detail. Sept 2014- S enrolled as an 8th grader in the district where I was employed as a lit coach. She could not read. I began
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread"> assessing & providing her w 42 min of 1:1 instruction daily, even though direct service was not in my job description (more on that later). Nov 2014 video: S reading decodable text she chose from a selection that was consistent w our instructional focus skill (vce syllables).
May 2017 video: S reading a sophisticated YA novel with accuracy and comprehension. Itās about vampires!
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§š¾āāļø" title="Weiblicher Vampir (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Weiblicher Vampir (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">
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June 2017 video: A message to her favorite author (more on that later). I love to use this when folks tell me that intensive phonics instruction will kill a childās love of reading lollll! S learned to
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="ā¤ļø" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz"> reading *because* explicit phonics made books easier for her to enjoy.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">Iāll add more detail to the thread when I can over time. For now, here are the takeaways: a) Most word-level reading difficulties can be prevented w strong evidence-based instruction in primary. It was 100% unnecessary for S to have lost so many years of literacy. She responded
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">beautifully to the type of instruction that *all* students deserve bc science shows that it is most likely to be effective for 95% of students. b) If you think an older kid canāt read, say something. Do something. An English teacher noticed that S couldnāt read. She told a
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">sped tchr. The sped tchr told me. I figured out what she needed, then advocated for her to get what she needed. It wasnāt always easy, but we got there. Admin allowed me to work w her directly & made daily instruction fit into her schedule for 3 years. Her team of tchrs found
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">ways to support & assess her content learning without punishing her for having significant rdg & wrtg difficulties. Hereās an important thing to remember- Itās always easier to say something and do something when the 8th grader who canāt read is new to your school. Itās a bit
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">harder to notice and say something when the kid came up through your system. Iāll just let that sit there... c) Every MS and HS needs at least 1 teacher w expertise in providing instruction for long-term developing readers, or in Sās case, kids who did not have adequate
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">instructional opportunity. How do you find that person? Pure luck, mostly. It will be tough to find someone who is ready to hit the ground running. Admins will likely need to invest in PD and coaching to cultivate the expertise of someone on staff who is interested. Remember,
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">if much more than 5% of your population need this type of developmental word-level reading in MS or HS, its likely time to revisit primary instruction to prevent fires rather than putting them out later.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">d) The Master Schedule should not determine whether or not a student becomes literate. In other words, it should not have the power to increase a kidās probability of dropping out, being incarcerated, having clinical depression/anxiety, dying by suicide, being unemployed,
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">underemployed, having increased hospital visits, substance abuse/addiction, decreased life expectancy, or contributing to an unwanted pregnancy- all tied to low lit & illiteracy in teens & adults. It would be cool if they loved to read, too, but thatās less important than
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">*being able to read,* and they sure arenāt going to love it if they donāt know how to do it. I do a bit of volunteer advocacy work when I can. I have literally had principals/sped directors tell me that their āhands are tiedā bc of the Master Schedule. Bullshit. Figure it out.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š§µ" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">Thatās about all I can handle w this thread today but Iāll add more soon. The Master Schedule thing really elevates my blood pressure
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="š" title="Winking face with tongue" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face with tongue">. Getting dms w questions abt assessment & instruction details. Watch this space.
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