Effective Literacy Instruction Walpole McKenna Vs. Word Study By: Natasha Haskins

Problematic Issue Inconsistent instruction was being delivered A new reading program was implemented – Walpole McKenna Program focused mainly on phonics Previous components were eliminated – Word Study Guided Reading

Walpole McKenna Sharon Walpole & Michael C. McKenna Program model intended to be used to plan & deliver differentiated reading instruction Model of differentiation is not the same as guided reading Belief: “Youngsters who have acquired a full range of word recognition skills benefit from the guided reading approach; however…… Children who are not yet proficient decoders should have small-group time used in other ways” p. 3

Walpole McKenna (cont.) Walpole McKenna approach supports Chall’s idea that “a child must pass through discernable stages in route to proficiency.” p. 3 Challenging reading instruction provided according to these stages: More skills focused – phonetic skills Vocabulary and Comprehension Fluency and Comprehension Word Recognition and Fluency Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition

Literacy Interwoven threads working together Oral Language & Stories Writing Reading Spelling or Orthography WTW p. 1

Word Study Purpose: Helps achieve mastery in recognizing, spelling & defining specific words Why teach word study? Develop a general knowledge of English Spelling Learn the regularities, patterns & conventions of English orthography/spelling needed to read & spell Increases specific knowledge of words – spelling & meanings

*EFFECTIVE WORD STUDY INSTRUCTION* Word Study (cont.) Becoming fully literate – dependent on fast, accurate recognition of words & their meanings in text Also depends on fast accurate production of words in writing so that readers & writers can focus attention on making meaning. Vital aspect to any literacy program - teach necessary skills, engages interest & motivation to learn about how words work *EFFECTIVE WORD STUDY INSTRUCTION*

Spell The Word

Instruction Sequence Word Study Walpole McKenna Initial/Final consonants bed cat Short vowels ship Blends & Diagraphs br, tr, sh, ch Long Vowels oa, ai, a-e Other Vowels oi, ow, ar, er Inflected Endings -pping, ed Syllable Junctures rr, tt Unaccented Final Syllables er, le, en Harder Suffixes -ure, -tion Bases or Roots pos-, civil- Basic Alphabet Knowledge (ABC’s) Letter Sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ Letter Patterns -at -ag -ap Blends & Digraphs bl, cl, fl, sl sh, ch, th R-control ar, er, ur, ir, or, ur Vowel-Consonate-e cute Long Vowel Teams ai, eigh, ay

Statistics

Statistics

Solution Literacy block that includes: Reading – Using Readers Workshop Approach (Debbie Miller) Writing – Incorporated into Reading; Writer’s Notebook Word Study – Words Their Way Walpole McKenna will be used as a remediation resource.

3 Year Literacy Improvement Plan Word Study Consistent Instruction Recorded PD opportunities - Friday during Common Planning Meeting 30 mins. Word Their Way Spelling Inventories – Primary, Elementary, Upper-Level Word Sort – Open Sort Word Hunt Hopping Frog Game

Word Sort Word Hunt Hopping Frog Game

3 Year Plan (cont.) Reading - Readers Workshop Approach – “Reading With Meaning” by Debbie Miller (Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades) Writing – Writer’s Notebook

Effective Literacy Plan: Improve student learning Overview Effective Literacy Plan: Improve student learning Comprised of all components needed to provide concrete literacy instruction: word study, reading & writing (oral language, stories, reading, writing, orthography) Best Practices Teacher led by modeling Students engage with scaffolding from teacher Students practice for mastery

References Bear, D. R, Johnston, F., Invernizzi, M., Templeton S. (2012). Words Their Way. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Miller, D. (2002). Reading With Meaning. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Walpole, S, McKenna, M. C. (2009). How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction Resources for Grades K-3. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.