In this session, teachers will analyze their class summary data, looking for patterns in the class composite and subtest scores. They will also look at individual student scores to determine which students need additional practice in which specific foundational skill. Teachers will make instructional decisions for whole-group ELA and small-group intervention time based on their student’s strengths and weaknesses.

During this session, teachers will learn about six school characteristics that support effective reading instruction (e.g., a 90-minute Tier I reading time, data collection/progress monitoring, teacher beliefs about students’ reading ability, etc.). After discussing all six characteristics and writing strengths and weaknesses about each on sticky notes, teachers take a “gallery walk” of all their notes and discuss which characteristic they believe would be most impactful. Teachers choose one and write a goal for themselves to work on it.

During the first part of this session, teachers will examine their classroom data. They will compare results from Beginning of Year (BOY) to Middle of Year (MOY), and go in-depth into everything that is available to them on the Amplify platform (data analysis, goal setting, learning activities, etc). During the second part, teachers will discuss the difference between automaticity and fluency. They will practice strategies they can use with students to reinforce both skills. Lastly, teachers will discuss progress towards meeting the goal identified in the School Characteristics session.

In this session, teachers will learn the importance of the reading/writing connection. They will learn an evidence-based activity for writing called Sentence Combining. Teachers at all grade levels can use Sentence Combining to teach multiple writing skills (writing complete sentences, using transition words correctly, writing complex sentences, etc).

During this session, teachers will learn ways to intensify Tier 1 instruction including increasing opportunities to respond, giving corrective feedback, providing specific praise, using routines, etc. Teachers will examine activities in their teaching materials to determine ways to make the lessons more intense. Teachers will review several scenarios analyzing progress monitoring data.

During PD #7, teachers will expand upon the data analysis they learned in PD #2. Using their students’ data, teachers will determine which foundational skills students need to practice more. Teachers will analyze students’ data to decide if they are struggling with automaticity/fluency or with accuracy and use the data to form small groups. Lastly, teachers will figure out the instruction needed for students in each group. This PD will conclude with teachers considering which students to progress monitor and how often.

Slow Responders or Non-Responders

In this PD option, teachers will practice with sample data then use their own classroom data to identify students whose data is not showing growth. Teachers will discuss using a problem-solving model to analyze data and ensure their students’ growth. They will learn and practice using error corrections as one of the most important ways to help a child master weak or missing skills.

Teaching Irregular Word Reading and Spelling

In this PD option, teachers will discuss the difference between common terminology such as high frequency words, irregular words and heart words. They will discuss how orthographic mapping is an essential brain process for connecting the sounds students hear to the letters they see/write. Finally, teachers will learn and practice strategies for teaching students to read and to spell irregular words.

Vocabulary

In this PD option, teachers will discuss the importance of vocabulary instruction, how a person’s vocabulary impacts their comprehension, and which words are the most impactful to teach. Teachers will experience what it feels like to learn an unknown vocabulary term and what practices are most effective in making the term their own. Lastly, teachers will learn and practice how to identify critical attributes of vocabulary words, provide thought-provoking, and interactive activities so students learn vocabulary words at a deeper level, and how to assess vocabulary words.

During PD #9, teachers will be introduced to the integrated theory that supports reading comprehension and written composition. Teachers will learn how vocabulary instruction supports comprehension. They will learn how to support listening comprehension through dialogic reading and reading comprehension through paragraph shrinking. Following the dialogic reading and paragraph shrinking lessons, teachers will practice writing questions that support the dialogic reading strategy and shrinking sample paragraphs.

Module 10 was built with an eye on the future. Having had WORDS support for two school years, the WORDS team is looking to support schools as they move forward into the next steps of their learning journey. Topics of this module include a brief summary of materials covered, continuous improvement strategies, and vetting informational sources.