Selecting Research-Based Instructional Strategies for K-7 Students With Learning Difficulties Martha J. Larkin, PhD 43rd Annual Conference of the Virginia State Reading Association March

The Problem  About 20% of students nationwide encounter reading difficulties before third grade  Nearly 40% of children read below grade level (Kame’enui, Carnine, Dixon, Simmons, & Coyne, 2002)  About 85% of students with a learning disability have a primary disability in reading and language processing. (IDA, 2007) 2

A Solution A mnemonic, READING, can help to evaluate powerful instructional strategies to use with diverse groups of elementary and middle school students who struggle with reading. 3

A Mnemonic Can Help Research-based Efficient and effective Applicable Doable Interesting Needed now Generalizable 4

Research-based No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Teachers are expected to use only research-based instructional strategies and intervene for every child as soon as a reading problem is noticed. Response to Intervention (RTI) (Bender & Larkin, 2009) 5

Research-based National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. ublications/summary.htm 6

Research-based  National Reading Panel (NRP) Report Alphabetics  Phonemic Awareness  Phonics Fluency Comprehension  Vocabulary  Text Comprehension  Teacher Preparation and Comprehension Strategies Teacher Education and Reading Instruction Computer Technology and Reading Instruction. 7

Research-based  Developed using concepts and/or information shown to be successful (i.e., achieve desired results) as indicated by studies reported in professional literature Credibility of source(s) reporting studies When research was conducted Appropriateness of study design and/or credibility of researchers Applicability to your students and situation 8

Efficient and effective  Efficient – works well without waste time is well spent effort is well spent  Effective – produces desired result achievement, may be assessed by test scores or other measures 9

Applicable  Applicable – put to practical use Does it “apply” to the lesson/ assignment? Does it have the potential to help? May not be “one size fits all”. May be used sometimes, but not others. 10

Doable  Do I have knowledge and skills time curricula/materials 11

Interesting To studentsTo teacher 12

Needed now  Does the student have the prerequisite skills?  Will this teach a skill or concept in a different way, supplement current instruction, provide extra practice, etc.? 13

Generalizable  Applying strategies learned in different ways and situations Same class, but different topic Other subjects and classes In the “real world” 14

Applying The READING Mnemonic  Select an instructional strategy or activity  Evaluate the selected strategy or activity using the READING checklist Does the strategy/activity meet most or all of the criteria on the checklist?  If yes, proceed with the strategy/activity.  If no, determine if the strategy/activity meets enough of the criteria to be beneficial to students. 15

Picture Sort (Beginning Letter/Sound) (Bender & Larkin, 2009) BbCcDd 16

Word Sort (Word Families) (Bender & Larkin, 2009) ed family ad family id family bedbadbid reddadkid 17

Word Sort (Consonant and Vowel Patterns) (Bender & Larkin, 2009) CVVCCVCC lookrest beatcamp 18

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Research-based NRP Report indicated that teaching students to manipulate phonemes in words was highly effective Joseph, L. M. & Orlins (2005) Reading Improvement Joseph, L. M. (2002) School Psychology Review article & (2000) Reading Research and Instruction article Joseph referenced other studies in her articles 19

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Efficient and Effective Can take as little or as long as desired or needed Can be done daily or several times a week Some preparation of word cards necessary (teacher may prepare for younger students while older students can make their own) Student effort is required 20

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Applicable Can be used with a variety of lessons and assignments Can help students who need practice with the targeted skill(s) Can be used with individuals, small groups, or large groups of students 21

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Doable You have just learned the basics (knowledge and skills) of using picture/word sorts. See Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2008 ;Bender & Larkin, 2009 for more ideas. You have time to teach word sorts because they only take a few minutes each day or several times a week You can use existing curricula and materials along with index cards, clip art, and markers to create word sort activities 22

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Interesting To students – picture/word sorts can be made game like. Also, each student can be involved and work at his or her own pace. To teachers – picture/word sorts can bring out a teacher’s creative side to create a variety of picture/word activities to target individual and group needs. 23

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Needed Now Picture/word sorts can be created or adapted for almost any lesson and can target a variety of different skills that individuals or groups of students need. 24

Applying READING to Picture/Word Sorts  Generalizable Picture/word sorting activities have the potential to be generalizable. Students may not always have cards to sort in many situations, but the sorting practice helps them to look for similar and different characteristics of pictures/words to help them categorize information. 25

Vocabulary Cartoons  Vocabulary Word with pronunciation and most common definition  Association Link Word – rhyming word or phrase that sounds like vocabulary word and links the two together  Mnemonic Cartoon - visually reinforces vocabulary and linking word  Caption – reinforces vocabulary and linking word in a sentence  Sample Sentences – use the vocabulary word in context and may give different tenses of it 26

Vocabulary Cartoons 27

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Your Turn 31

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References  Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnson, F. (2008). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.  Bender, W. N., & Larkin, M. J. (2009). Reading strategies for elementary students with learning difficulties: Strategies for RTI (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.  Burchers, S., Burchers, M., & Burchers, B. (1998). Vocabulary cartoons: Building an educated vocabulary with visual mnemonics (Elementary ed.). Punta Gorda, FL: New Monic Books. 33

References  Joseph, L. M. (2000). Developing first- graders’ phonemic awareness, word identification, and spelling: A comparison of two contemporary phonic instructional approaches. Reading Research and Instruction, 39,  Joseph, L. M. (2002). Facilitating word recognition and spelling using word boxes and word sort phonic procedures, School Psychology Review 31(1),  Joseph, L. M. & Orlins, A. (2005). Multiple uses of a word study technique. Reading Improvement 42 (2),

References  Kame’enui, E.J., Carnine, D.W., Dixon, R.C., Simmons, D.C., & Coyne, M.D. (2002). Effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners. (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill- Prentice Hall.  International Dyslexia Association. (2007). Dyslexia basics.  National Institute of Child Health and Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction /summary.htm /summary.htm 35

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