Coaches SL Cookbook

CCA CoachesCookbook for Structured Literacy

What is Structured Literacy?

Semantics:Meaning

Foundational Skills

Explicit Instruction

Let's Get Cooking and Read!

Research

Syntax:Writing

SoRResearch-Based

Syllables and Morphology

Syntax:Writing

Structured LiteracyOverview

Foundational Skills

SL Definition:

Science of Reading:

Scarborough's Reading Rope

Typical Practices VS Structured Literacy

Structured Literacy at CCA

Semantics:Meaning

Research

Syllables and Morphology

Explicit Instruction

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Infographic

Toolbox

Timeline

Shifts

SB 801

Analysis

Watch

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Glossary

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Explicit Instruction

Structured Literacy Overview

Foundational Skills

Anita Archer Resources

0.59

The effect size (way to measure the strength or relationship difference in a study. Larger the size, more significant the impact) of explicit instruction is around 0.59, which is considered to be high-impact.

Semantics:Meaning

Research

Syntax:Writing

Syllables and Morphology

Resourceson Routines

When Does Explicit Instruction Occur? Early Elementary Grades (K-3): Explicit instruction is foundational, especially in phonics, decoding, and spelling, where structured literacy programs focus heavily on breaking down the elements of words and sounds. Grades 3 and Beyond: As students develop decoding skills, explicit instruction continues, but the focus shifts to higher-order skills like reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and critical thinking. This instruction is scaffolded and becomes more complex as students read increasingly challenging texts.For Students Struggling with Reading: Explicit instruction is ongoing and may be more intensive for students with dyslexia or other reading difficulties. These students may need targeted, explicit interventions to strengthen foundational skills and work on more advanced skills, such as reading comprehension and fluency. Summary: Explicit instruction occurs throughout the structured literacy process, starting with basic skills (phonics, decoding, phonological awareness) and continuing into more complex skills (vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and critical thinking). The timing of instruction is tailored to the developmental needs of students, with early grades focusing more on foundational skills and later grades on applying those skills to more complex texts.

Primary

Must Haves

Template

The Power of How

Learning is NOT a Spectator Sport

Perky Pace

Website

Secondary

Phonemic Awareness

Foundational Skills

Structured Literacy Overview

Explicit Instruction

Syllables and Morphology

Phonics

Fluency

Concepts of Print

Semantics:Meaning

Research

Syntax:Writing

Resources

Modeling

Elkonin Boxes

Decoding Marks

Activities

Must Haves

Video

Must Haves

Secondary

FS Must Haves

Timeline

Toolbox

Checklist

Elementary

Upper Elem.

Must Haves

Must Haves

Must-Have Concepts of Print in Structured Literacy:

1. Directionality: Reading from left to right and top to bottom.
2. Print vs. Pictures: Recognizing that print carries meaning.
3. Print Represents Speech: Understanding that written words represent spoken language.
4. Book Handling Skills: Knowing how to handle and orient a book.
5. Word Concept: Recognizing words as units of meaning separated by spaces.
6. Letter-Sound Correspondence: Knowing letters and their sounds.
7. Punctuation: Understanding the role of punctuation in text meaning.
8. Sentence Structure: Recognizing sentence boundaries (capital letters and punctuation).
9. Print Awareness in Context: Understanding print in the environment.

Morphology: Why and How

Syllable Soiree

ResourceKit

Ways to Teach

Six Syllable Types

• Improves word decoding by breaking down complex words into understandable parts.
• Enhances spelling through knowledge of common prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
• Boosts reading comprehension by helping students infer word meanings.
• Expands vocabulary by teaching students how related words share morphemic elements.
• Reduces cognitive load by allowing students to recognize and decode unfamiliar words more easily.
• Helps students tackle irregular words that don’t follow typical phonetic patterns.
• Facilitates language transfer across languages with shared morphemes.
• Supports academic success, particularly in higher grades where technical vocabulary is more common.
• Promotes metacognitive awareness about how words are constructed and how to decode or construct them.

Structured Literacy Overview

Explicit Instruction

Understanding the six syllable types in structured literacy is important because it provides a systematic framework for teaching students how to decode and spell words. Each syllable type represents a distinct pattern of vowel and consonant combinations that follows predictable rules for pronunciation and spelling.

Summary of Key Benefits of Teaching Morphology in Structured Literacy:

Syllables and Morphology

Foundational Skills

1. closed 2. open 3. Bossy "R"4. Vowel Team 5. Magic E "VCe" 6. Consonant -le

Semantics:Meaning

Research

Syntax:Writing

Lists 4-12

Word Sorts Word Webs Word Sums Word Matrices

Semantics:Meaning

Research

Explicit Instruction

Think Alouds

Monitoring Strategies

Comprehension Strategies

Inferencing

Vocabulary

Text Structure/Genre

Explicit Instruction

Syllables and Morphology

Foundational Skills

Syntax:Writing

Figurative Language

Building Background Knowledge

Structured Literacy Overview

Article

ES Info

Strategies

Instruction

Video

HS Activities

Relationships

Engagement

ES Strategies

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Vocabulary Video

Comprehension Video

Article

Instruction

Activities

Content Areas

Video

MS Example

Synonyms Antonyms Homophones Homographs Teach explicitly Use Word webs, frayer models, etc...

Instruction should include:

• similes
• metaphors
• idioms

Syntax: Writing

Research

Explicit Instruction

Syllables and Morphology

Foundational Skills

Semantics:Meaning

Writing Across Content Areas

Resources for Writing

Feedback in Writing

The Writing Rope:

Lookfors In Instruction

Checklist

Structured Literacy Overview

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GraphicOrganizers

SL Writing Strategies

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Upper ES

Examples

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Opinion Information Argument Top Down Web Scaffolds for the Writing Process Basic Five Paragraph Essay Paragraph Templates (Grades 3-12)

Research

Structured Literacy Overview

Explicit Instruction

Syllables and Morphology

Foundational Skills

Semantics:Meaning

Syntax:Writing

Researched Based Resources

11. Explicit and Systematic InstructionWhat it is: Fluency instruction must be taught directly, with specific strategies and goals. Teachers should provide clear guidance on how fluency relates to reading comprehension and why it is important.Why it matters: Fluency does not develop naturally for many students, especially those with learning difficulties. Explicit teaching ensures students know how to practice and monitor their progress.How to implement: Provide direct instruction on fluency skills. For example, demonstrate how to read a passage with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression. Teach students how to track their own fluency progress through self-monitoring.2. Repetition and PracticeWhat it is: Repeated practice with text helps build fluency. This involves reading the same text multiple times until students can read it with increased speed, accuracy, and expression.Why it matters: Repetition is essential for solidifying word recognition, improving reading speed, and increasing comfort with text. Fluency improves as students gain confidence with the text through repeated exposure.How to implement: Have students engage in repeated readings of short, manageable passages or sentences. After several readings, students should aim to increase their speed while maintaining accuracy. This could include activities like "round robin" reading, paired reading, or partner reading where students read the same passage multiple times.3. Proper Phrasing and ExpressionWhat it is: Fluency isn’t just about speed; it also involves reading with appropriate phrasing, expression, and prosody (the rhythm, tone, and intonation of speech). This makes reading more natural and enhances comprehension.Why it matters: Without proper phrasing and expression, even a fast reader may not be understanding the text. Fluent readers naturally group words into meaningful phrases and adjust their tone based on punctuation and context.How to implement: Model fluent reading with appropriate phrasing and expression, then provide students with opportunities to practice these skills. Encourage students to focus on punctuation marks (e.g., commas, periods, exclamation points) to guide their phrasing. Use echo reading (teacher reads a sentence, students repeat), choral reading (whole class reads together), and reader’s theater (students practice and perform short dialogues).4. High-Frequency Words and Sight Word PracticeWhat it is: High-frequency words (also called "sight words") are words that appear often in written text but don't always follow regular phonics rules (e.g., "the," "was," "said"). Mastering these words is essential for fluent reading.Why it matters: Struggling with sight words can slow down reading, as students have to stop and decode these words every time they encounter them. Fluency depends on being able to recognize high-frequency words instantly.How to implement: Provide regular practice with high-frequency words through flashcards, word walls, and sight word games. Integrate sight words into decodable texts and repeated readings. Ensure that students can recognize these words by sight to help speed up their overall reading pace.

6. Timed Reading and Progress MonitoringWhat it is: Timed reading exercises track how many words a student can read correctly in a set period (e.g., one minute). This helps measure and monitor fluency progress over time.Why it matters: Timed readings provide valuable data for monitoring fluency development and pinpointing areas where students may need additional support. It also helps students see their own growth and gives them a concrete goal for improvement.How to implement: Conduct weekly or bi-weekly timed reading assessments where students read a passage for one minute. Record the number of words read correctly and track their progress. Provide targeted feedback on areas for improvement, and celebrate progress.7. Appropriate Text SelectionWhat it is: Fluency instruction requires carefully chosen texts that match students’ current decoding abilities. The texts should be decodable, meaning they contain phonetic patterns students have already learned, but still offer some challenge.Why it matters: If texts are too difficult (i.e., they contain too many unknown words), students will struggle with decoding and lose confidence. If the texts are too easy, they won’t provide the necessary practice to build fluency.How to implement: Use decodable readers and texts that are designed to reinforce specific phonics patterns. Texts should gradually increase in complexity as students’ decoding skills and fluency improve. Be sure to balance challenge with success by providing texts at the right level for each student.8. Comprehension IntegrationWhat it is: Fluency doesn’t exist in isolation—students need to understand what they are reading. Fluency instruction should be integrated with comprehension practices to ensure that students are not just reading quickly but also understanding the material.Why it matters: Fluency supports comprehension by allowing students to focus on meaning rather than decoding. If students are fluent but don’t understand the text, they won’t be able to derive meaning from what they read.How to implement: After practicing fluency with a passage, ask students comprehension questions to ensure they understand what they’ve read. Encourage students to summarize, retell, or discuss the content. Activities like "think-pair-share" or asking students to write or draw about the text after reading can promote understanding.9. Opportunities for Oral Reading PracticeWhat it is: Oral reading is essential for developing fluency, as it encourages students to practice reading aloud and helps them monitor their own expression and pacing.Why it matters: Reading aloud allows students to practice phrasing, accuracy, and expression. It also helps teachers monitor fluency and provide feedback.How to implement: Include regular opportunities for students to read aloud, whether individually, in pairs, or as a group. Activities like partner reading, choral reading, and guided oral reading with feedback are all effective strategies. In addition, incorporate reader’s theater, where students perform roles from a script to practice fluency and expression.10. Targeted Practice for Struggling ReadersWhat it is: For students who struggle with fluency, more targeted, individualized practice is essential. This might include extra time, smaller groups, or more focused fluency exercises.Why it matters: Struggling readers may need additional practice and support to build fluency, especially if they have underlying decoding or comprehension challenges.How to implement: Provide additional practice through one-on-one reading sessions, small-group instruction, or specialized fluency interventions. Use individualized timed reading, and offer texts that match students’ current skills and gradually increase in complexity as they improve.

1. Explicit and Systematic Instruction

• What it is: Phonics instruction should be clear, direct, and methodical, with specific goals and a logical sequence. Each phonics skill should be taught explicitly, and students should understand exactly what they are learning and why.
• Why it matters: Students need clear, step-by-step guidance to understand how sounds and letters work together. A systematic approach ensures they can build upon prior knowledge and progress at a steady pace.
• How to implement: Introduce new phonics patterns in an order that follows language structure, starting with the most common and useful patterns (e.g., short vowels, consonant-vowel-consonant words) before progressing to more complex patterns (e.g., digraphs, diphthongs, and silent letters).

2. Sequential and Cumulative Learning

• What it is: Phonics skills must be taught in a logical order, beginning with simple concepts and building to more complex ones. Skills should be reviewed and reinforced regularly to ensure mastery.
• Why it matters: Phonics is cumulative; each new skill builds upon the previous one. A structured approach ensures that students are not overwhelmed and have the necessary foundation to tackle more advanced concepts.
• How to implement: Start with single-letter sounds (e.g., CVC words like "cat," "dog"), move to consonant digraphs (e.g., "sh," "ch"), then to vowel teams and other complex patterns, gradually increasing in complexity.

3. Teaching Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence

• What it is: Teaching the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and letters or letter combinations (graphemes) is central to phonics instruction. Students should learn to decode (read) and encode (spell) using these correspondences.
• Why it matters: Understanding the connection between sounds and letters is crucial for both reading fluency and spelling accuracy. Phoneme-grapheme correspondence is foundational for word recognition and the ability to decode unfamiliar words.
• How to implement: Provide activities where students practice linking sounds to their corresponding letters (e.g., showing the letter "b" and saying /b/), using sound boxes or letter tiles, and reinforcing this through reading and spelling practice.

4. Multisensory Approach

• What it is: Using multiple senses—sight, hearing, touch, and movement—helps reinforce phonics skills and engages students more deeply in the learning process. This is especially helpful for struggling learners and students with dyslexia.
• Why it matters: A multisensory approach strengthens neural connections by engaging more than one sense, which helps with retention and understanding. This is especially important for students who struggle with auditory processing or have difficulty retaining phonics patterns.
• How to implement: Have students trace letters while saying the corresponding sound aloud, write words in the air with their fingers, use manipulatives like letter tiles or sandpaper letters, or clap out syllables while reading.

5. Decoding and Encoding Practice

• What it is: Students need ample practice both decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) words. Decoding helps students read words fluently, while encoding reinforces their understanding of letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns.
• Why it matters: Phonics isn’t just about reading words—it’s equally important for spelling. Mastery of both decoding and encoding strengthens students’ overall literacy skills.
• How to implement: Use decodable books (books that primarily use phonics patterns students have already learned) for reading practice, and provide spelling exercises that focus on the specific phonics patterns being taught. For example, if students are learning the "ch" digraph, have them practice reading and writing words like "chip," "chicken," and "chalk."

6. Phonics Patterns and Word Families

• What it is: Phonics patterns (e.g., consonant-vowel-consonant words, digraphs, vowel teams) and word families (e.g., "cat," "bat," "hat") help students recognize common structures within words.
• Why it matters: Recognizing patterns and word families helps students read and spell more efficiently by recognizing groups of words that follow similar rules. It also reduces the cognitive load when encountering new words.
• How to implement: Teach common word families (e.g., “-at,” “-in,” “-op”) and focus on specific phonics patterns (e.g., “sh,” “ee,” “ea”). Have students practice reading and spelling a variety of words that follow these patterns.

7. Frequent Review and Reinforcement

• What it is: Regular review of previously taught phonics skills is essential for ensuring retention and building automaticity.
• Why it matters: Phonics is a skill that requires repeated practice to become automatic. Without frequent review, students may forget or confuse previously learned patterns.
• How to implement: Incorporate daily or weekly review sessions where students practice previously learned phonics patterns through reading, spelling, and dictation exercises. Use flashcards, word sorts, and spelling quizzes to reinforce these skills.

8. Explicit Teaching of Sight Words

• What it is: While phonics teaches how to decode regular words, some high-frequency words (like “the,” “was,” “come”) don't follow typical phonics rules and need to be memorized as sight words.
• Why it matters: Sight words are essential for fluent reading. A student’s reading progress can be hindered if they struggle with common irregular words, which don’t conform to typical phonics rules.
• How to implement: Teach sight words explicitly, often through repetition, flashcards, and contextual reading. Students should practice reading and spelling sight words frequently, in addition to phonics instruction.

9. Interactive and Engaging Activities

• What it is: Phonics instruction should be engaging and interactive to maintain students' interest and promote active learning.
• Why it matters: Active engagement with phonics concepts makes learning more meaningful and helps students internalize the rules. When students are actively involved in learning, they are more likely to retain the information.
• How to implement: Use games, word-building exercises, interactive reading, and writing activities. For example, students can play word sort games, do phonics-based crossword puzzles, or complete dictation exercises with words from the patterns they are learning.

10. Continuous Assessment and Progress Monitoring

• What it is: Regular assessments allow educators to gauge whether students have mastered specific phonics skills and to identify areas that need further instruction.
• Why it matters: Ongoing assessment helps ensure that students are making progress and that instruction is aligned with their current needs. Early identification of gaps in phonics knowledge can prevent later struggles in reading and writing.
• How to implement: Use formative assessments like phonics quizzes, dictation exercises, and word sorts. Monitor students’ progress in decoding and spelling, and adjust instruction based on their individual needs. Informal assessments (e.g., having students read decodable passages) can also provide insight into their phonics abilities.

11. Targeted Instruction for Struggling Learners

• What it is: Phonics instruction should be adapted to meet the needs of students who are struggling, including those with dyslexia or other learning disabilities.
• Why it matters: Students who struggle with phonics require more intensive, individualized instruction. Without targeted support, these students may fall behind and develop poor reading habits.
• How to implement: Provide extra time for practice, smaller instructional groups, and specialized strategies (e.g., using explicit, multisensory techniques). Use diagnostic assessments to pinpoint specific areas of difficulty and adjust instruction accordingly.

Explicit Instruction

• What it is: Phonemic awareness should be taught directly, with clear explanations and modeling. Students need to know exactly what they are learning and why it’s important.
• Why it matters: Students, particularly those with learning differences, benefit from clarity and step-by-step guidance when developing phonemic awareness.
• How to implement: Use activities where you model how to isolate, blend, segment, and manipulate sounds. For example, say a word aloud and demonstrate how to break it into individual sounds (e.g., "cat" = /k/ /æ/ /t/).

2. Sound Isolation

• What it is: The ability to isolate individual sounds in words. This includes identifying the beginning, middle (vowel), and ending sounds in words.
• Why it matters: Being able to isolate sounds is an essential precursor to more complex phonemic tasks like blending and segmenting.
• How to implement: Have students listen to a word and identify specific sounds. For example, ask, "What is the first sound in the word 'dog'?" or "What is the last sound in the word 'bat'?"

3. Sound Blending

• What it is: The ability to blend individual sounds together to form a word.
• Why it matters: Blending is crucial for decoding, as it helps students sound out words while reading.
• How to implement: Say the individual sounds slowly (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/) and have students blend them together to say the whole word ("cat"). Start with simple, consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words and gradually move to more complex words.

4. Sound Segmentation

• What it is: The ability to break a word into its individual phonemes.
• Why it matters: Segmentation is a critical skill for spelling and writing because it helps students understand the individual sounds in words that need to be written down.
• How to implement: Say a word and ask students to break it into its individual sounds. For example, say "dog" and have students identify and say each sound: /d/ /o/ /g/.

5. Phoneme Substitution

• What it is: The ability to replace one phoneme with another to make a new word.
• Why it matters: Phoneme substitution helps students understand the fluidity of sounds in words and improves their ability to manipulate sounds.
• How to implement: For example, say the word "cat," and ask students, "What word do you get if you change the /k/ sound to /h/?" (Answer: "hat").

6. Rhyming and Onset-Rime Awareness

• What it is: The ability to recognize and generate rhymes and to identify the onset (the initial consonant or consonant cluster) and rime (the vowel and any following consonants) in words.
• Why it matters: Rhyming and onset-rime awareness help with early word recognition and phonological awareness, providing a foundation for decoding and spelling.
• How to implement: Practice identifying and producing rhyming words (e.g., "cat," "hat," "bat"). Also, have students identify the onset and rime of words (e.g., for "stop," the onset is /st/ and the rime is /op/).

7. Phoneme Addition

• What it is: The ability to add sounds to a word to create a new word.
• Why it matters: Phoneme addition helps students understand how adding a single sound can change a word, and it supports spelling and word formation.
• How to implement: Ask students to add a sound to a word. For example, “What word do you get if you add /s/ to the beginning of ‘pot’?” (Answer: “spot”).

8. Progressive and Sequential Development

• What it is: Phonemic awareness skills should be introduced in a logical, incremental order, beginning with simpler tasks (e.g., sound isolation) and progressing to more complex tasks (e.g., phoneme substitution and manipulation).
• Why it matters: Students need to master foundational skills before moving on to more complex tasks. This ensures that they build a solid foundation for later reading and writing skills.
• How to implement: Start with simple tasks like identifying the first sound in words and progress to more complex tasks like segmenting and substituting sounds. Review and reinforce earlier skills as you introduce new ones.

9. Repetition and Practice

• What it is: Phonemic awareness must be practiced frequently and in varied contexts.
• Why it matters: Repetition helps students internalize phonemic skills and move from conscious practice to automaticity.
• How to implement: Incorporate regular, short activities that focus on phonemic awareness. For example, start each session with a 5-10 minute warm-up activity that targets a specific phonemic skill.

10. Multisensory Techniques

• What it is: Using multiple senses (sight, sound, touch) to engage students in phonemic awareness activities.
• Why it matters: Multisensory activities help reinforce learning, especially for students with dyslexia or other learning differences. Engaging multiple senses strengthens neural connections related to phonemic awareness.
• How to implement: Have students tap out the sounds in words on their desks or use manipulatives (e.g., counters or blocks) to represent each sound. Alternatively, students can write words in the air while saying the sounds aloud.

11. Oral Language Activities

• What it is: Phonemic awareness activities should often involve spoken language, as it allows students to focus on sounds in a way that written words cannot.
• Why it matters: Phonemic awareness is primarily an auditory skill. Having students engage in verbal exercises helps strengthen their ability to recognize and manipulate sounds.
• How to implement: Encourage activities such as clapping to the number of syllables in a word, repeating words to emphasize different sounds, and engaging in rhyming games.

12. Progress Monitoring and Assessment

• What it is: Regularly assess students' phonemic awareness skills to monitor progress and identify areas of need.
• Why it matters: Ongoing assessment helps you track student development and adjust instruction as necessary. Early identification of phonemic awareness gaps can prevent future reading difficulties.
• How to implement: Use informal assessments like sound isolation drills, blending exercises, and phoneme segmentation tasks. Use the data to inform instruction and provide targeted interventions when needed.