Early Literacy Interventions #7: Dr. Tim Rasinski Resources

Resources.  We need them to be effective at what we do; we also need them to be easy and engaging for both student and teacher.  Which is why I am putting out this series of blog posts.  Every few days I am going to highlight a resource on our shared Early Literacy Interventions website to give you an idea of what's in it and how it can work.  Here's our website:

    Dr. Tim Rasinski is a "professor of literacy education at Kent State University" who specializes in research and education in early elementary reading and fluency best practices.  Dr. Rasinski speaks and presents to school districts, conferences, and literacy organizations all over the world. 
     I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with Dr. Rasinski, and his subject knowledge was evident and backed by vigorous research.  My favorite aspect of Dr. Rasinski's work is that he utilizes fun and engaging activities to teach words to students, including using songs, poetry, history, and different ways of thinking about words and where they come from.
   One of his most popular tools are Word Ladders (K-1, 2-3, 4-6).  The concept is a simple, fun, and engaging way to get students to dig a little deeper in how words are built.  I've included some word ladders in our Early Literacy site that I found online.


Don't forget to bookmark our Reading Interventions Symbaloo page for easy reference.  If you have another website you'd like me to add, feel free to email or leave a comment below.

Early Literacy Interventions #6: Solution Tree Free Book reproducibles

Resources.  We need them to be effective at what we do; we also need them to be easy and engaging for both student and teacher.  Which is why I am putting out this series of blog posts.  Every few days I am going to highlight a resource on our shared Early Literacy Interventions website to give you an idea of what's in it and how it can work.  Here's our website:

 


Solution Tree is an educational research and resource publisher that has made reproducibles from their trade books available for teachers to download free of charge.  Although Solution Tree is known mostly for their work with the DuFours in implementing Response to Intervention and Professional Learning Communities, I am finding a number of great resources for teachers on their website dealing with Literacy, Math, etc.
   Solution Tree does require a sign-in and password for anyone wanting to download materials from the site- I'm told it's to keep other people from downloading their materials and selling them elsewhere.  The sign-in is easy and free.
   Once signed in, feel free to search through the titles that are offered.  These books are all available for purchase, but you can also see chapters and topics from each book.  Also included are links to download and use reproducibles included in the books.
   This particular link on our literacy site links to the book, 40 Reading Intervention Strategies for K-6 Students by Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins, and has plenty of thinking strategy worksheets for teachers to use in literacy interventions or lessons.  Below is a video of how I navigate the site:

Don't forget to bookmark our Reading Interventions Symbaloo page for easy reference.  If you have another website you'd like me to add, feel free to email or leave a comment below.

Early Literacy Interventions #5: Six Types of Struggling Readers Doc from Prairie Lakes AEA

Resources.  We need them to be effective at what we do; we also need them to be easy and engaging for both student and teacher.  Which is why I am putting out this series of blog posts.  Every few days I am going to highlight a resource on our shared Early Literacy Interventions website to give you an idea of what's in it and how it can work.  Here's our website:

Prairie Lakes AEA Ed Services consultants have compiled a small list of free and easy to use resources for intervening on literacy skills for students in grades K-6.  The resources are all based on how a reader struggles as identified by the teacher.

Perhaps you have an Automatic Word Caller, where they are fluent, accurate, but struggle with a high level of comprehension?  Or maybe you notice a Slow Word Caller, where the student is accurate, but lacks fluency, expression, and phrasing?  This document has recommendations for both types of struggling readers, along with links to interventions directed to those specific needs.

I like many things about this document, including the implication of how to intervene with students that are great readers, and how to improve instruction using research-based intervention strategies.  Another nice aspect is that many of these strategies are available for teacher training at the University of Northern Iowa's Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy.  Motivated TLC Instructional Coaches would be well suited to look into this program for additional training.
 

Don't forget to bookmark our Reading Interventions Symbaloo page for easy reference.  If you have another website you'd like me to add, feel free to email or leave a comment below.

Early Literacy Interventions #4: AEA267 ELI Resources Google Folder

Resources.  We need them to be effective at what we do; we also need them to be easy and engaging for both student and teacher.  Which is why I am putting out this series of blog posts.  Every few days I am going to highlight a resource on our shared Early Literacy Interventions website to give you an idea of what's in it and how it can work.  Here's our website:



     AEA267, in an effort to assist teachers in providing Early Literacy Interventions, has built a number of resources addressing specific reading skills for grades K-6 in a shared folder.  The folder includes PDF lesson plans, worksheets, center activities, and other reproducibles for teaching specific skills in small group settings.
     Skills addressed include fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, assessment, and phonics/ phonemic awareness.  If you have questions about a specific lesson plan, make sure to contact AEA267 School Improvement specialists Patty Foster and Teri Boezinger.

Once you click on the purple "Early Literacy Resources" button, you'll be directed to a Google folder page.  I would recommended that you click the blue "Add to Drive" button in the upper right corner- this will automatically save all the files into your Google Drive to access anytime.

Don't forget to bookmark our Reading Interventions Symbaloo page for easy reference.  If you have another website you'd like me to add, feel free to email or leave a comment below.