ROAD TO THE CODE Benita Blachman Eileen Ball Rochella Black Darlene Tangel

How was this program developed? Began with a study in 1987 (Blachman) to develop activities for 1 st grade children having difficulty in reading Lessons were modified and expanded Grant from the National Center for Learning Disabilities

Structure Program is intended for small groups of students in Kindergarten and First Grade who are struggling with beginning literacy skills. There are 44 lessons to be done for 20 minutes four times a week.

Adaptable The program can be easily adapted for individual differences. The manual gives specific examples to make lessons more challenging for some or more review for other students. Teachers can introduce the program at different points in the year, depending on the needs of the students.

Pacing Proper pacing is crucial for the success of students. Optimal pacing requires a balance among activities. Each child should be able to demonstrate a high rate of correct responses.

Prerequisite Skills Children need to have some knowledge of word and syllable segmentation One to One Correspondence K-PALS by Mathes,Menchetti,&Torgesen (Sopris West) Phonemic Awareness in Young Children by Marilyn Adams. (Paul Brookes Publishing)

Materials Significant set-up is required using the masters provided. Cutting, coloring, and laminating can be time consuming. Need to gather some materials that are not provided such as a puppet, fishing pole, and lunch bags.

Getting Started Eight letters (a,m,t,i,s,r,b,f) Use only short vowels / / indicates that you use the letter sound Underlined letter refers to letter name Bold print suggests dialogue to use with students

Comstock-Green Meadow Kindergarten 03/04 & 04/05

Comstock-Green Meadow First Grade

Richland Elementary First Grade

Manual Preview Introduction Lessons Materials

Phonological Awareness Critical factor in learning to read Awareness of segments in speech Without this awareness it is difficult to understand how the alphabet works

Phonological Awareness Children must become aware that speech can be segmented into : words syllables phonemes

Lessons Each lesson has three parts. 1. Say-It-and-Move-It 2. Letter Names and Letter Sounds 3. Phonological Awareness Activity

Say-It-and Move- It Phonemic Segmentation- done everyday Designed to heighten awareness of phonemes in spoken words 5-7 minutes Children repeat target word and then move 1 disk for each sound Students say the word blended

Letter Name and Sound Instruction Explain to the students-all letters have both a name and a sound 5-10 minutes

Letters and Sounds Activities Letter introduction Hand clapping Alphabet books Trace in the air Sound Bingo I’m thinking of a word Concentration Go Fish Sound Boards

Phonological Awareness Practice Practice Activities Sound Categorization by rhyme / initial sounds How Many sounds ? Fix-It Elkonin cards Let’s Fish Post Office Save the Rabbit

Helpful Hints Flat stones or gems for “Say-It–and- Move-It” Lots of teacher modeling When modeling make sure you turn your card upside down so that students see it left to right Elkonian cards in a binder Consider laminating the materials A small file box works well for sound categorization cards

Progress Monitoring How do you know if it’s working ? Is the program working for all students ? Are they on the trajectory to success ?

Factors to Consider Program match to student Fidelity of implementation Group size Number of days Length of lesson Repeat lessons

Keep the Goal in Mind