Literacy Leader Pathway
This credential validates the teacher's exceptional skills in fostering early literacy development. These teachers employ a wide range of pedagogical strategies to encourage reading and writing skills and to inspire a love for literacy in their students. (15 Contact Hours)
Task 1: Training Videos/Materials Reflective Response #1
Learning Plan:
Review the Science of Reading
Read the introduction provided and watch the video called “Difference between phonemic awareness and phonics.” Refer to the Skill Routines listed; pick one routine you’d like to learn more about or that is brand new.
What is Phonological Awareness/Phonemic Awareness?
Phonological Awareness is a broad skill that includes hearing, isolating, discriminating, and manipulating individual sounds or sound combinations. This includes identifying syllables, words, onsets, and rimes. Phonemic awareness refers to the specific ability to focus on and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. All children should receive phonemic awareness instruction within their early literacy core. Some students may require additional instruction regardless of age.
Difference Between Phonemic Awareness and Phonics
Skill Routines
Substituting Phonemes Routine
*Courtesy of Florida Reading Research Center and Wisconsin RTI Center
Read the introduction and watch the corresponding video called, “The Simple View of Reading.” Refer to the Instructional Routines listed; pick one routine you’d like to learn more about or that is brand new.
What is Phonics/Decoding?
Phonics is the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. Children's reading development is dependent on their understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language.
Instructional Routines
Task 2: Training Videos/Materials Reflective Response #2
Learning Plan:
Read the following introduction and watch the corresponding video called, “Fluent Reading.”
What is Fluency/Syntax?
Fluency is the ability to read orally with accuracy, speed, and expression in order to demonstrate effortless reading.
Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences. Fluent reading of phrases and sentences is essential to the learning process. According to Wolf (2001), fluency directly contributes to three critical learning outcomes:
Retention: the ability to perform a skill or to recall knowledge long after formal learning/training has ended,
Stamina: the ability to maintain performance levels for extended periods of time, and
Generalization: the ability to combine and apply what has been learned to perform more complex tasks creatively and in new situations.
Introduction to Fluent Reading
Refer to the Instructional Routines listed; pick one routine you’d like to learn more about or that is brand new.
Instructional Routines
Task 3: Reflective Response #3
Teacher Choice
Consider what you have learned in the two previous tasks. Please seek out at least one additional webinar, video training, blog post, or website related to literacy education.
Task 4: Reflective Response #4
Engaging with Contemporary Educational Research
Please examine the Science of Reading document introduced in Task 1. It outlines the Science of Reading and the Simple View of Reading philosophies.
Please read this study that explores common strategies to encourage reading for pleasure.
Task 5: Peer Observation Form
Peer Observation
With the intent to create a collaborative and supportive culture at Patriot Preparatory Academy, each teacher is asked to complete three peer observations during the school year. For this task, please focus one of your peer observations on the topic of your selected micro-credential. For example, does the teacher utilize the information you have learned so far in your micro-credential study? Could the information you have learned be beneficial to the classroom you observed?
✏️Task 5: Peer Observation Form
Task 6: Culminating Activity
Lesson Plan Development: Applying Micro-credential Learning
Having pursued a micro-credential, you have engaged in focused, specialized learning. To bridge the space between this knowledge acquisition and its practical classroom application, please demonstrate your understanding in the form of a comprehensive lesson plan. By creating a lesson plan that directly applies what you've learned, you are not only showcasing your mastery but also preparing yourself to provide enriched experiences to your students.
Guidelines:
Lesson Objective: Clearly state the main objective of the lesson. What will students know or be able to do by the end of the lesson?
Alignment with Micro-credential Content: Detail how the lesson reflects specific concepts, skills, or strategies you acquired during your micro-credentialing journey. This should be a clear demonstration of your mastery of the content.
Instructional Procedures: Outline step-by-step procedures for the lesson. Include introductions, main activities, groupings, methods, and any differentiation strategies you plan to employ.
Materials and Resources: List any materials, technologies, or external resources that will be required for the lesson. Highlight any that directly relate to or were recommended during the micro-credential program.
Assessment and Evaluation: Describe how you will assess student understanding and the success of the lesson. Incorporate any innovative assessment techniques or tools you encountered in your micro-credentialing program.
✏️Task 6: Culminating Activity, Lesson Plan Development