Emergent Literacy

Pick 2-3 of the following questions and reflect on them in the Comments: 1) How would you define emergent literacy in plain English? 2) Why does it matter particularly in special education? 3) What might it look like in classrooms? 4) What are some key principles? 5) How does it differ from reading readiness? Your comments are due no later than Sept. 5.

Welcome and Introductions

Welcome to the Fall 2010 RE 3900 blog on literacy instruction and assessment for students with disabilities. Our focus throughout the semester will be on how to teach reading and writing to all of the students you (will) serve in your future and current classrooms. To get started, and to make sure you have successfully found this blog, please reply to this post no later than Sept. 5 with a brief introduction in "Comments" below. You'll find my intro there already. Looking forward to learning with you.

Remaining Questions

Looking over your notes, readings, the blogs, and your classroom experiences, what questions remain for you about teaching reading and writing to children with disabilities? Please post by April 18, so that there is time to assist.

Reading Fluency

By March 29, post one thing you understand better about teaching reading fluency from reading either Ch. 6 in Rasinski or Ch. 4 in Allington. Post one question you have about teaching reading fluency.

Letters, Sounds, and Words

By March 24, please post one thing you understand better about teaching letters, sounds, or words from reading Ch. 5 on Word Recognition in Rasinski. Then post one question you have about teaching these skills. For example, can you see how this applies to the population you plan to teach some day?

Ch. 4: Early Intervention (Effective Reading Strategies)

By March 1, post a reflection here about one of the strategies from Ch. 4 in Effective Reading Strategies. What is it about this strategy that makes it particularly important to you as a teacher, or to the kind of classroom you hope to have, or to the kinds of students you hope to teach? What makes it "powerful"?

Linking the Bridge to Emergent Literacy Best Practice

After you've completed the assignments for our virtual class meeting, Feb. 10, think carefully about the best practice recommendations of the position statement you read. How could the Bridge Assessment help you implement best practices in your own classroom. Please give two specific examples. Optional additional task: If you have any questions about the tasks for Feb. 10, ask them here.