Recently, I joined an amazing group created by Dr. Stephanie Stollar! If you are involved with Higher Ed & Literacy Instruction, you should really consider signing up! I've loved these sessions and recordings to support my work with Pre-Service Educators at IUK. During our session with Anna Geiger, author of Reach All Readers, she shared some critical information for not only instructing our Pre-Service Educators, but some awesome things for us to consider as current practitioners. Recently, Dr. Archer presented for our state on the importance of "Rehearse, Retrieve"....and this session was another head-nod to keep on, keeping on with this intentional practice. Several of us begin class with the same old, "Do you remember yesterday...." and then we go into a 5-10 min Peanuts Teacher speech (blah, blah, blah) about all we worked on during our last class. Students listen and nod....maybe attending to the verbal summary...or perhaps nodding off until the actual lesson begins. I love the idea of starting class with a Retrieval Practice activity! It can be a 2 minute quick write (Brain Drain) or a pop-quiz of 5 questions. I always allow for my students to self-check and share afterwards. It isn't about taking a grade -- it is about the learning. Are students retrieving? Are they remembering? Are they connecting and building schema? Such a quick powerful suggestion to allow for authentic engagement.
Here are a few other great suggestions from this resource (huge fan of Anna's):
1. Interactive and Intentional Oral Language Development
One of the central strategies Anna Geiger emphasizes is fostering oral language development as a precursor to reading. She suggests that interactive conversations in the classroom—whether with the teacher, peers, or through structured group activities—help children build the vocabulary and language skills they need to succeed as readers. Teachers can use open-ended questions, encourage storytelling, and provide rich vocabulary experiences (like describing images or asking students to elaborate on ideas) to strengthen their verbal language skills, which are essential for both reading comprehension and fluency. See my blog post about Dr. Sonia Cabell's book about classroom discussions!
2. Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction
In Reach All Readers, this is integrated within a larger framework of supporting students as they learn to decode and understand the relationships between letters and sounds. Geiger advocates for small, manageable chunks of content where teachers help students understand phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondence, and word-building strategies. She also encourages the use of decodable texts in early literacy practice, allowing students to apply their knowledge of phonics immediately to authentic reading experiences. Be sure to check out my blog post about UFLI if you are looking for something to utilize for classroom instruction.
3. Differentiated and Scaffolded Literacy Instruction
Geiger recommends differentiating instruction to meet the varying needs of students, especially struggling readers. The idea of scaffolding comes into play here, where instruction starts at a higher level of support (like teacher modeling or group practice) and gradually moves toward more independent reading. This gradual release of responsibility allows students to feel supported while still being challenged, and ensures that learners of all levels are moving forward in their reading skills. See Stephanie Stollar's Facebook videos for more information about small groups in Tier 1! So good!
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