Understanding Fundations Transcript

Slide # Narration Understanding Fundations Transcript 1 Understanding Fundations Welcome to Understanding Fundations: A Literacy Foundational Course. This is a self-guided session tailored for individual pacing. During this session you will have the opportunity to complete several checks for understanding and reflect on what you ve learned. Please be certain to listen to all commentary to ensure comprehension of the essential content within this session. 2 Objectives Here you see the session outcomes. During this session you will have an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of instructional principles that are the basis of Fundations, investigate the essential components of Fundations and how they are taught, as well as explore the resources available to support planning and lesson implementation through the Wilson Professional Learning Community also referred to as the PLC. 3 What is Fundations? Now we will take a closer look at the essential components of reading instruction and Fundations alignment with the BIG 5, CCSS foundational skills, and City Schools model for effective literacy. 4 The Big Five The Big Five areas of reading were established by the National Reading Panel(NRP) These components are explicitly taught during the Word Study Block 1. Phonemic awareness: ability to work with the smallest unit of sound, the phoneme. Skills include rhyming; segmenting words into syllables and sounds; substituting beginning, middle, and end sounds; and counting the number of sounds in words. 2. Phonics and Word Study: ability to decode words. Skills include knowing basic phonograms (e.g., sounds that letters represent) and applying them when reading text. Phonics instruction is a primary component of word recognition. 3. Fluency: ability to read text at a good pace and with appropriate phrasing (as compared to wordby word reading). Fluency is key to comprehension. If readers need to expend extensive energy into sounding out words, they may not have the needed brain power to understand what they are reading. 4. Vocabulary: ability to understand the meaning of words. Skills include knowing the meaning of common words as well as specialized vocabulary within content areas. 5. Comprehension: ability to understand what is being read. Comprehension is THE outcome of reading. Skills include a) identifying main ideas and supporting details for informational text; b) identifying setting, characters, problem, and solution for narrative text;. c) sequencing information; and d) analyzing text for meaning through text to self connections, text to text connections, and comparison and contrast of information across multiple text. Fundations activities address all five areas of instruction in an integrated approach that varies daily. The power of the program is that it overlaps skills and does not address these in isolation. 5 What does Fundations provide? The Fundations program provides research based activities and lessons to support students acquisition of the essential foundational skills for reading and spelling; structured, sequential, systematic and cumulative lessons, multi-sensory strategies and techniques, and scientifically validated strategies. 6 Skills taught in Fundations Now we will explore the skills taught within the FUNdations program. Fundations is designed to teach: Phonological Awareness with a focus on Phonemic Awareness and the Alphabetic Principle, Sound Mastery, and Forming Key Linkages: Letter Name, Formation, and Sound

Phonics Vocabulary High Frequency or Trick Words Fluency Comprehension Handwriting, Spelling and Punctuation which are the foundations for written comprehension. Students will have the opportunity to develop their automaticity of handwriting, spelling, and punctuation and capitalization 7 Principles of Instruction Fundations lessons include the following principles of instruction: Explicit teaching which is learned through modeling and demonstrations The series of lessons are systematic, sequential, and cumulative Most of the lesson activities provide students with the opportunity to engage in motor memory learning Repetition is embedded which provides students with multiple opportunities to practice 9 When is Fundations taught? In this section we will identify when Fundations is implemented during City Schools Model of Effective Literacy Instruction. 10 City School s Model of Effective Literacy Instruction Fundations is embedded into City Schools instructional model of effective literacy instruction and takes place during the word study/language acquisition block in Grades K-3. 11 Fundations in the Literacy Block This slide outlines the expectations for what is taught during the Word Study and Language Acquisition Block of the Model for Effective Literacy Instruction. Morning message is only explicitly taught in Kindergarten. Please note: The Word Study and Language Acquisition block in Grades K-2 should last no longer than 30 minutes. Kindergarten has an additional 15 minutes during this block for morning message. 12 Fundations in the Literacy Block The stars you see here indicate all of the components Fundations addresses. 14 How do I teach Fundations? In this section you will receive an overview of how to successfully implement Fundations lessons and explore the essential resources provided in the teacher s manual. The teacher s manual, along with the companion Prevention / Early Intervention Learning Community (PLC), provide the guidance necessary to teach Fundations successfully. We will deeply explore the PLC in a subsequent section. 15 Student Success Fundations is planned to make use of the gradual release of responsibility. Lessons and activities include: teacher demonstration, guided instruction/practice, collaborative learning, and opportunities for independent learning. Please take a moment to review the information on this slide. 16 Essential Sections in Teacher s Manual It is suggested that you tab your manual with post-it notes for easy navigation and access to the following sections: Online Support Log-In Overview/Introduction to Fundations Fundations Scope and Sequence Learning Activity Overview Orientation, Units, and Unit Resources Materials Set-Up 17 Learning Activities

There are a total of 18 interactive learning activities that engage students in learning. A different combination of activities are used in each lesson. Each learning activity includes modeling, guided and independent practice. There is a Learning Activity Overview section located in the front of your teacher s manual right after the Fundations Scope and Sequence. The In a Nutshell section provides you with an overview of the activity, what teacher and student materials are needed for the activity along with the estimated time for activity implementation. Please note: it is essential to try your best to adhere to the estimated time for each activity. Doing this will ensure you are able to implement all recommended activities as outlined in the Fundations daily plan during the time allotted for word study/language acquisition. The synopsis section of the Learning Activity Overview summarizes the learning activity. This section explains the step by step procedures for the identified learning activity. Under Differentiation you can review suggested strategies for at-risk, struggling, or advanced students. The Activity Cue section highlights what the teacher does and says during each step of the learning activity. 18 Planning for Each Day Let s take a moment to review key structures and best practices to prepare for successful implementation of Fundations. In order to maximize instructional time, be sure to establish routines and efficient transitions between activities in addition to planning for post activity sequences for students. You can locate resources for lesson extensions on the PLC. It is also essential that you take time in advance to read the daily lesson prior to implementation, write out your plan (the PLC provides a fillable and printable template), review the daily activity procedures, and determine step by step directions to guide students during transitions. 19 Unit Overview Before implementing each unit, please take time to review the unit overview. In this section, you will find the new concepts that will be taught during the unit, planned/estimated time you will spend on the unit, and the weekly sequence of letters taught during each week and day throughout the unit. This section provides an overview of the essential learning that will take place during the unit. You will also find suggested strategies for differentiation for all learners. The standard sound cards are one of your essential instructional tools. This section provides a visual of how your standard sound cards should be arranged in the classroom prior to the start of the unit. The cards displayed will continue to grow throughout the course of the year, so please be sure to select a space that is visible for all students and where there is enough space for continuous additions throughout the year. All of the teacher and student materials needed to implement the unit are listed in the Getting Ready section. Included are tips for material preparations, suggestions for home support, and which learning activities you should review and practice prior to starting the unit. 20 Student Learning Plan The Student Learning Plan outlines the activities taught daily for the duration of the unit. The units vary in length but generally last between two to three weeks.

21 The Daily Plan This section of the daily plan specifies which activities are included in the student learning plan for the day. It also identifies what teacher and student materials are needed for the lesson. Each learning activity for the daily plan is outlined here. Drill Sounds/Warm Up is an activity that occurs almost daily. It is essential to make sure you review lesson activity and sound demonstration videos on the PLC, which we will explore in the next section, to ensure you are comfortable with correct letter sound pronunciation and activity implementation. There is a unit assessment located at the end of each unit which is designed to formally asses student mastery of the skills taught. If a student or group of students does not score at least 80% mastery on any given item, these students will need additional support with the assessed skill. It is highly recommended you provide additional support during the small group/guided and independent practices portion of City Schools Model of Effective Literacy Instruction. If 80% of your class does not score 80% or higher on the unit assessment, take time to identify which skills need to be retaught to the entire class. Identify which activities or lessons within the unit address these deficits and spend time re-teaching identified skills prior to moving on to the next unit. It is essential to regularly formally and informally diagnose which skills your students need additional support with and tailor instruction appropriately. A Unit Test Tracker is available on the PLC. This online resource allows you to track individual student mastery as well as to evaluate the readiness of your class to move on. You will learn where to locate this resource in the next section. You will see various tips located throughout the teacher s manual. Please take the time to read the tips, as they provide useful information and suggestions for instruction. 22 Unit Resources Located at the end of each unit is a section titled Unit Resources. Take some time to tag each of these pages throughout your teacher s manual. You will need access to this section while planning for daily lessons. Any time the daily plan asks you to select sounds, words, sentences, etc you must always select these items from the Unit Resources. Out of these choices, you should be sure to select items you know your students need more practice or support with. The Unit Test Answer Key is always located on the Unit Resources page located at the end of each unit. This section also provides the scoring rubric so you know the weight of each item. 24 Exploring the Online Professional Learning Community (PLC) Now we will take some time to explore the various resources available for you on the Online Professional Learning Community. The PLC provides extensive, "real-time" lesson and activity demonstrations. Teachers have the opportunity to watch Fundations lessons being taught in a classroom. Multiple interactive resources allow teachers, for example, to hear the correct pronunciation of sounds, model proper "sound tapping, and straightforward letter formation. These videos provide on-demand support for teachers implementing the program. Please take advantage of these wonderful resources online. 25 Resources Wilson provides a Professional Learning Community online which provides teachers with access to activity demo lessons, lesson plan templates that can be completed online and printed, access to printable materials, unit test trackers and additional items for support. You can access these resources at www.wilsonacademy.com. We will now walk through how to gain initial access to the PLC. 26 Accessing the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In order to gain access to the PLC, first locate the access code located on the first page of your teacher s manual.

27 Accessing the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Type in the URL www.wilsonlanguage.com/register and enter in your access code. 28 Accessing the Professional Learning Community (PLC) If you receive the error code This code has already been redeemed, please contact Wilson customer service at 1-800-899-8454 for assistance. They will be able to assist by resetting the code for you. 29 Accessing the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Once you have logged on to www.wilsonacademy.com, click on Prevention/Early Intervention icon located on the left hand side of the page. 30 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Once you are on the Prevention/Early Intervention Learning Community Site, select the Second Edition icon located in the middle of the page. 31 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In the middle of the page, you will see the What s New section. Please check this section frequently for any updates or new materials that have been added to the PLC. 32 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In order to view animations, organized unit by unit, of visual and auditory representation of Fundations letter sounds and keywords, click on the Sound Demonstrations icon located on the left hand side of the page. Before implementing any Fundations lesson, it is essential to view the sound demonstration videos located on the PLC for your grade level to ensure correct sound pronunciation and keywords for any letters being taught. 33 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) If you d like to access printable activity strips, as well as fillable and printable learning plan templates for lessons, click on the Learning Plans tab on the left hand side of the page. 34 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In order to watch videos that provide visual representation of activities in action please click on the Activity Demo Videos tab located on the left hand side of the page. The Activity Demonstration Videos are very helpful to view while preparing for your daily lessons. You are able to view sample videos of specific activities being taught. 35 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In the Level 1, Levels 2 & 3 Tapping/Marking Demos section you have access to videos that provide demonstrations for how to tap and mark syllable types and sounds. Please take some time to review these videos to support with correct sound and syllable tapping and marking prior to implementing lessons. 36 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In the Intervention section, also located on the left hand side of the page, you will have access to tools to support individualized instruction to meet students needs. There are also materials to support multi-level classrooms and to progress monitor students progress on skills taught in Levels K and 1. 37 Navigating the Professional Learning Community (PLC) In the Unit Test Materials section you have access to fillable individual and class unit test trackers to monitor how students are progressing. Remember, the goal is for 80% of your class to score 80% or higher on each unit assessment. The Unit Test Trackers are a great resource to use to track individual student mastery as well as to evaluate the readiness of your class to move on to the next unit. 38 Additional PLC Resources We ve briefly explored some of the resources available to you on the PLC. The PLC offers additional resources, some of which include but are not limited to: print materials, teacher preparation tips and

implementation checklists, teaching and classroom tips and expert tips. We highly recommend taking time to explore the various resources available to you on the PLC in order to ensure effective Fundations implementation in your classroom throughout the year. 40 Next Steps Now that you have a deeper understanding of Fundations and resources available to support planning and implementation, please be sure to take the opportunity to explore the PLC to gain a deeper understanding of Fundations in action. Be sure to review and practice sound and key word pronunciation and activity procedures prior to implementing lessons. Also, remember to administer the unit assessments to measure student progress, identify areas of improvement, and plan for re-teaching during either whole group or small group as needed.