1. Early Intervention That WORKS!!! Phonological Awareness _____________________ Title I Director’s Conference March 10, 2009 Kathy Knighton (kknighto@access.k12.wv.us) West Virginia Department of Education Office of Special Programs Extended and Early Learning

2. Session Objectives To provide participants information on the importance of phonological awareness as ◦ Early teachable reading skill and ◦ Necessity for early intervention To provide an overview of the WVDE Phonemic Awareness Project and ◦ Impact on student achievement ◦ Relationship to RTI

3. Why Worry About Reading? 20% of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read. 80% of all referrals to special education involve reading difficulties (Kavale and Reese, 1992). The rate of reading failure for African-Americans, Hispanic, limited-English speakers and poor children ranges from 60% to 70%. 75% of children behind in reading in 3 rd grade remain behind through high school.

4. Poor readers are more likely to drop out of school. One-third of fourth graders who are poor readers come from college-educated families. 75% of children with oral language impairments are reading disabled in fourth grade. Children with language impairments are 6 times more likely to be reading disabled than peers. Effective prevention and early intervention programs can increase the reading skills of 85 to 90% of poor readers to average levels. (Lyon, 1997)

5. Why are we here? To improve children’s early reading achievement Poor phonological awareness ◦ Significant factor in the early reading achievement of many children. ◦ Good readers tend to have good phonological awareness. ◦ Poor readers tend to have poor phonological awareness. Through instruction…. ◦ Children’s phonemic awareness skills can be improved. Improvement in phonemic awareness skills ◦ Leads to greater reading achievement.

6. Why Focus on Phonemic Awareness? Longitudinal studies of reading acquisition have demonstrated that… ◦ the acquisition of phonemic awareness is highly predictive of reading success. ◦ At the kindergarten level, phonemic awareness abilities appear to be the best single predictor of successful reading acquisition. Without direct phonemic awareness instructional support…. ◦ 25% of middle-class first graders and substantially more children from less literacy–rich backgrounds will evidence serious difficulty in learning to read and write.

7. Phonological Awareness Ability and Reading Achievement Torgesen and Mathes, 2000

9. Phonological Awareness The ability to analyze the the sound units (phonemes, syllables) of language. ◦ metalinguistic skill NOT hear, NOT discriminate Phonemic awareness critical to early reading ability.

10. Phonemic awareness Phonological awareness Phonological awareness – a broader term; analyze the overall sound structure of words. ◦ What rhymes with cat? Which word is longer – watermelon or house? Phonemic awareness – a more narrow term, analyze the specific sounds in words. ◦ What sound does box start with? Tell me the three sounds in the word cat. Terms are often used synonymously.

11. Phonological Awareness Phonemic Awareness Phonemic Awareness Phonological Awareness

12. Phonological Phonics Awareness Focus: sound structure of words Intervention tasks involve identifying, segmenting, and manipulating the sounds in words, without reference to the letters that represent the sounds Achievement: ability to segment a spoken word into its component sounds (a metalinguistic skill); ability to combine sounds into words Focus: print representation of sounds and words Intervention tasks involve identifying, categorizing the print symbols (i.e., letters) that are used to represent speech sounds Achievement: ability to represent a spoken word in print with conventional sound-symbol correspondences; ability to create a spoken production of a written word by “sounding out” the written word

13. LINKING: Phonemic Awareness and Phonics and Reading Phonemic Awareness Phonics READING Phonological Awareness

14. If a child has phonological awareness, he/she can …. Segment sentences into words Segment words into syllables Rhyme words Match words with same sounds Segment and blend sounds

15. THE BIG QUESTION ……. THE BIG QUESTION……. What effort is necessary for the child to acquire a foundation of phonological awareness that enables him or her to benefit from formal classroom reading instruction?

16. THE ANSWER ? THE ANSWER? Nothing … ◦ the child comes to school reading ◦ the child comes to school on the cusp of reading Whatever we’ve been doing for the last umpteen years Explicit phonological awareness instruction ◦ classroom-based instruction in kindergarten ◦ small group intensive instruction at the end of kindergarten or beginning of first grade

17. Implications from Research Best practice, evidence-based practice ◦ All children should receive PA instruction as part of literacy instruction in the early grades, esp. kindergarten ◦ Children who do NOT have an adequate foundation of PA  require intensive PA intervention (e.g., small group), end of kindergarten, beginning of first grade

18. What phonemic awareness instruction will and won’t do? DO……. ◦ Benefit students who don’t figure it out on their own ◦ Benefit especially students who are having problems learning to decode words WON’T DO….. ◦ Ameliorate deficits in vocabulary and reading comprehension (language comprehension )

19. Key Findings from Research Phonemic awareness……… ◦ Can be taught and learned. ◦ Instruction helps children learn to read. ◦ Helps children learn to spell.

20. Phonological Awareness Instruction: A Collaborative Statewide Project Initiated by the West Virginia Department of Education 2001

21. Why are we doing this ? No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ◦ Individual child is focused ◦ Scientifically-based research reading instruction Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ◦ Prevention  Pre-referral ◦ Response to Intervention (RTI)  Tiered Instruction  Implementation in Elementary Schools ◦ Reading scientists now estimate that 95% of all children can be taught to read at a level constrained only by their reasoning and listening comprehension abilities. (Moats, 2000)

22. Who are the children we anticipated would benefit ? All children benefit from instruction that reflects best practice Children lacking early literacy experiences Children needing an extra push Children with speech/language disabilities Children with learning disabilities

23. PROJECT GOALS To increase ◦ Number of students reading on grade level by the end of the third grade ◦ Professional educators’ knowledge base of the importance of phonemic awareness in the reading program. To provide professional educators with ◦ Strategies to successfully teach and thus promote student mastery of phonemic awareness. ◦ Appropriate intervention strategies when student mastery has not been met. Utilize the phonemic awareness early intervention technique in additional school sites

24. What was the rationale for program development ? By teaching specific phonemic awareness skills to kindergarten and first-grade children…. ◦ Provide them the opportunity to “catch up” to their peers before they experience failure. One-on-one training is highly effective but not cost efficient. ◦ Training must be effective and cost-efficient and time-efficient. ◦ Group instruction can be effective and efficient. Group instruction can meet the needs of individual children by providing ◦ Child-sensitive instruction ◦ Multiple learning opportunities ◦ Review of previously presented skills Educational practice needs to reflect research-based practice.

25. Rationale… … Many materials are available for phonemic awareness training, but….. ◦ Little guidance as to how to effectively implement comprehensive, systematic, intensive training with children. ◦ Textbooks Phonemic awareness training must be…… ◦ Adequate in scope, intensity and duration. Materials and programs must…… ◦ Explain “how to teach” skills as well as describe activities. Intensive, early intervention can….. ◦ Prevent reading difficulties.

26. Project Collaboration Collaboration with university researchers. ◦ Dr. Melanie Schuele  to plan the project  to in-service the professional staff ◦ Evaluation: Dr. Laura Justice Collaboration across WVDE to fund and coordinate the project. ◦ Reading First ◦ Special Education ◦ Title I Collaboration with local county school districts to implement the project.

27. WVDE Pilot Project Selection of School Sites Schools: 15 Sites Selected ◦ Funding Application Process Criteria ◦ Administrative Support ◦ School Commitment ◦ Geographic Considerations ◦ Representative Cross Section of Schools School Teams ◦ Classroom Component:  Kindergarten/First Grade Teachers ◦ Intensive Intervention:  Speech-language pathologist  Title I teacher  Special Educato r

28. Training School Teams trained by Dr. Schuele. ◦ Intensive – 5 days Two strands of instruction/intervention. ◦ (1) Classroom based instruction:  Kindergarten/First Grade  Material: Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum ________________________________________________ ◦ (2) Small group intervention  Low-achieving first graders  Low-achieving kindergartners  Material: Intensive Phonemic Awareness Program (IPAP) Book IPAP Materials Box box Evaluate child outcomes. ◦ Kindergarten classrooms ◦ Small group intervention participants

29. Workshop Content What is phonological awareness? Relationship of phonological awareness and reading. Outcomes from phonological awareness interventions. Instructional Methods

30. Program Design Classroom- Based Phonological Awareness Instruction ◦ Instruction provided to all children in kindergarten and first grade classes. ◦ Incorporated into classroom daily activities. ◦ Teacher or collaboration w/ SLP or Title I ◦ Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum ◦ Data Collected ______________________________________________________ Intensive Phonological Awareness Training Program (IPAP) Small Group Instruction: (6 students) Fall: First Grade Spring: Kindergarten Three 30 min sessions/week for 12 weeks Letter names/sounds reviewed each session Weeks 1-3: Rhyme Training Weeks 4-8: Initial Phoneme Segmentation Weeks 7-9: Final Phoneme Segmentation Weeks 10-12: Word Segmentation and Blending Data Collection

31. Training Materials Classroom Program Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum ◦ Brookes Publishing Company Activity Implementation Record ◦ Kindergarten and First Grade Resource Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers ◦ Brookes Publishing Company Intensive Program Intensive Phonological Awareness Program (IPAP) Manual ◦ Dr. Melanie Schuele ◦ IPAP Implementation Record Forms IPAP Materials Box ◦ All materials to implement IPAP Resource Sounds Abound: Listening, Rhyming, and Reading ◦ LinguiSystems

32. Assessment: Pre and Post Intervention Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA) PALS ( Phonological Awareness Screening) Invented Spelling Task Alphabet Knowledge and Letter-Sound Knowledge Task DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)

33. Tier 1: Classroom-Based Phonological Awareness Instruction Kindergarten and First Grade Best practice: Build a foundation of phonological awareness in all children ◦ Identify those children who struggle and need further intervention Daily instruction provided to all children regardless of performance level or risk status ◦ 15-20 Minutes/day Material: Phonemic Awareness In Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum ◦ Suggested Sequence of Instruction ◦ Cost-effective

34. Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum Sequence of Activities and Teaching Descriptions ◦ Simple to Complex Tasks Listening Games Rhyming Words and Sentences Awareness of Syllables Initial and Final Sounds Phonemes Introducing Letters and Spellings Adams, M., Foorman, B., Lundberg, I., & Beeler, T. (1997). Phonemic awareness in young children: A classroom curriculum. Baltimore: Brookes.

35. Tier 2 Intervention Small Group Intensive Intervention Children who have not mastered phonemic awareness as a result of classroom instruction. DIBELS Small group instruction (6 students) Fall: First Grade Spring: Kindergarten Teach a foundation of phonological awareness to include phonemic awareness and segmentation Materials: Intensive Phonological Awareness Manual Instructional Materials Kit

36. Small Group Intervention Tier 2 Instruction Intensive Phonological Awareness Program (Schuele & Dayton, 2000) ◦ Recommended Time: ◦ 18 hours: 30 min, 3 days per week, 12 weeks ◦ Interventionist: SLP, Title I Reading, Special Education, Reading Specialist ◦ Small Group Instruction (6 students) ◦ Fall: First Grade ◦ Spring: Kindergarten

37. Intensive Phonological Awareness Program Week 1-3: Rhyme Week 4-6: Initial Sounds Week 7-9: Final Sounds Week 10-12: Phoneme Segmentation and Blending Letter names/sounds each session Review Activities

38. Learning Disabilities Some children, despite their participation in a preventative phonemic awareness instructional intervention, fail to acquire word reading skill within the “normal” range. ◦ Estimates 2% to 6% of population Intervention for Learning Disabled students: ◦ Provide more extensive instruction individually or in small group settings. ◦ Recognize that gains in reading will require more instruction and more reading time than most children. Tier 3 Instruction

39. WVDE Project: Two Tiered Instruction in Kindergarten September to May: Implement classroom supplemental curriculum September: Evaluate all K children in classroom January: Evaluate all K children in classroom. Identify 6 low achievers February to May: Implement small group intervention with low achievers May: Evaluate all K children in classroom SeptemberMay.

40. WVDE Project: Two-Tiered Instruction in First Grade September to October: Implement classroom supplemental curriculum August/September: Evaluate all first grade children in classroom. Identify 6 low achievers September to December: Implement small group intervention with low achievers December: Evaluate low achievers August, September and October.

41. Children Need …. Initially to realize that words are composed of sounds. Initially to experience simple tasks of paying attention to sounds in words (e.g., rhyme). To move gradually from simple to more complex phonological awareness tasks, culminating in phonemic awareness tasks. Phonemic awareness to benefit from later decoding or phonics instruction. T0 BECOME SUCCESSFUL READERS!!

42. Evaluation Question: Kindergarten Classrooms What improvement in phonological awareness do kindergarten children exhibit as a result of consistent classroom based instruction? ◦ classroom with supplemental instruction vs. classroom with NO supplemental instruction

43. PALS-K Word Recognition

44. Children Below Benchmark End of Year Add-OnRegular Rhyme 26%41% Beginning Sounds 9%20% Alphabet Knowledge 26%30% Letter Sounds 61%66% Spelling 4%16% Concept of Word 44%57%

45. Evaluation Question For kindergarten and 1st grade students who are identified as deficient in phonological awareness, what improvement in phonological awareness is realized as a result of a small group, 12-week intensive intervention program?

46. TOPA – First Grade

47. TOPA – Kindergarten Change across 12 weeks

48. Developmental Spelling First Grade Change Over 12 Weeks/first grade

49. Alphabet Knowledge Kindergarten Change Across 12 Weeks

50. Letter Sound Knowledge Kindergarten Change Across 12 Weeks

51. Developmental Spelling Kindergarten Change Across 12 weeks

52. School Year 2007-2008 All Reading First Schools RTI Project Schools 200+ Elementary schools

53. WEST VIRGINIA FIRST GRADE IPAP DIBELS SCORES 2007-2008 September ResultsPSFNWFTotal Benchmark32%19%26% Strategic50%45%48% Deficit18%36%27% January ResultsPSFNWFTotal Benchmark76%32%54% Strategic21%50%36% Deficit3%18%10%

54. WEST VIRGINIA KINDERGARTEN IPAP DIBELS SCORES 2007-2008 January ResultsISFPSFNWFTotal Benchmark24%20%22% Strategic56%36%35%42% Deficit20%46%44%36% May ResultsPSFNWFTotal Benchmark73%45%54% Strategic26%29%27% Deficit12%26%19%

55. School Year 2008-2009 High Needs Task Force Recommendation All Elementary Schools by 2009 RESA Training Each Summer RTI Specialist Available Technical Assistance Document School Selection of IPA Students Use of Dibels (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)

56. QUOTABLE QUOTES FROM IPAP Wiley Ford Elementary, Mineral County “This was my first experience with the IPAP. I was very impressed. The student enjoyed it and made great progress for the exercises in the program.” Jamie Hill Special Ed IPAP Teacher Fort Gay Elementary, Wayne County Teachers and parents have come to me and said they have seen major improvement with these kids.” Crystal Young. IPAP instructor Point Pleasant Primary, Mason County We really believe that the emphasis on Phonemic Awareness in kindergarten and early first grade is making a difference in the reading success of our students. Lois Jones, Title I,PA Instructor

57. MORE QUOTES Ceredo Elementary, Cabell County They all have shown great improvement. I’m so proud of them! Christine Kelly, M. Ed, CCC – SLP Rosedale Elementary, Fayette County No funding for DIBELS in the first grade, so we are only doing kindergarten. Ted Dixon, Principal Vienna Elementary, Wood County We have very much enjoyed the IPAP program and can see how beneficial the program has been for our children. I am anxious to see if we get the same progress as we prepare to start the program with kindergarten. Lana Barlett, IPAP instructor, first year

58. Thank you!!! Kknighto@access.k12.wv.us