Unit 1 Bridge to Practice

Unit 1, Session 1

Select three case study students whom you believe struggle with oral language or class participation.

Create a folder for each student selected.

Complete the first column of the Daily Schedule Routines Worksheet. (The Daily Schedule Routines Worksheet can be found on page 10 of the LETRS EC book.) 

Unit 1, Session 2

Complete the Early Literacy Checklist for each of your case study students. Include it in their folders.

In your journal, reflect on how you will use the information in this session to obtain the data you need to make instructional decisions.

Unit 2 Bridge to Practice

Unit 2 Session 3

Identify speech sounds that each of your case study students has not learned to say, and list example words on the Early Literacy Checklist for each student.

In your journal, write a paragraph about your ability to identify speech sounds in words.

Ask yourself what you are currently doing to build phonemic awareness with students. In your journal, describe 2–3 activities you could add to your daily routine to improve phonemic awareness. 

Unit 2 Session 4

Select a children’s book that is unfamiliar to your students. Identify potentially unfamiliar vocabulary words and sort them into Tier 2 and Tier 3 categories.

Practice reading the book aloud using prosody to convey meaning.

Review each case study student’s level of oral language development, using the Early Literacy Checklist.

In your journal, record your impressions of these students’ levels of oral language development.

Unit 2 Session 5

Assess the stage of oral language development for each of your case study students, using the Early Literacy Checklist. Record your conclusions in their files.

Assess each child’s stage of narrative development. Record your conclusions in their files.

Unit 2 Session 6

Select a children’s book, plan the vocabulary, and use the Repeated Reading Worksheet to plan the first, second, and third reads.

Do the first, second, and third read.

In your journal, reflect on how the repeated reading of this book deepened your students’ understanding of the story. 

Unit 3 Bridge to Practice

Unit 3 Session 7

In your journal, reflect on how phonological representation relates to vocabulary learning, and on ways you currently facilitate phonological development in your classroom.

Observe each child in your case study, and note something they said that illustrates their developing phonological processing system.

Create an activity that stimulates phonological awareness. Try it with your class and record the outcome and possible future adjustments in your journal.

Unit 3 Session 8

In your journal, reflect on how you may include phonological awareness activities in your daily routine.

In your journal, record your evaluation of your program’s assessment practices.

Use the Early Literacy Checklist to determine the level of phonological awareness for each of your case study students. Compare the results to the age-appropriate benchmarks.

Try one rhyming and one blending/segmenting activity introduced in this session with your class. Record the outcome and possible future adjustments in your journal.

Unit 4 Bridge to Practice

Unit 4 Session 9

In your journal, reflect on your current alphabet instruction, how the research discussion supports it, and what changes you will implement.

For each child in your case study, determine the number of uppercase and lowercase letter names the child knows, and compare it to the benchmarks.

Update the Print Awareness section of the Early Literacy Checklist based on where your students are now.

Add at least one visual enhancement to your classroom.

Choose a sequence that you are not using to present the alphabet, and prepare and present a lesson using that sequence. In your journal, record how it went and what you might change next time.

Unit 4 Session 10

 In your journal, reflect on your current expectations and instruction on writing.

Collect a message-writing and name-writing sample from each child, and determine how each sample compares to the data, based on the child’s age.

Update the Print Development section of the Early Literacy Checklist based on where your students are now.

Summarize each student’s current literacy skills, strengths, and potential concerns.

Plan and use the Picture Story/Word Story Strategy with a small group. In your journal, write about what went well and what you might do differently next time.

Download the Early Literacy Checklist