As a parent, you are the person who is most aware of your child’s growth and development. If you have a sense that your child is struggling to develop fundamental spoken language (listening skills, comprehension, speaking) or the abilities related to literacy – reading and writing – then trust your gut feelings and instincts. In our most recent Blog, Phonological Awareness was described as one of the early and fundamental skills in the development of literacy. Phonological Awareness skill has long-term impact on reading and writing proficiency. Phonological Awareness has to be a high priority as a teacher begins to teach literacy in the early grades. In this Blog, I want to provide you with an idea of what Phonological Awareness teaching might look like in a primary classroom. The framework in the PDF-File has a Kindergarten level classroom in mind. It may look somewhat different in an earlier Pre-K or a later Grade 1 classroom, but the same main pieces should be in place. As you know, a teacher’s schedule is always very tight, and teachers have to be creative and efficient to be able to get to all of the important areas of instruction. If you are a Teacher, plan how you might be able to put Phonological Awareness instruction into place in your classroom – you may spend some time at Circle Time, during Centers, during Choice Time, or even during Nap Time & transitions. If you are a Parent, please talk to your child’s teacher to learn how Phonological Awareness instruction is taking place in the classroom and how your child is doing. There may be experts within the school – perhaps your child’s teacher or another classroom teacher may be well-experienced. There may be other experts around the school who could be a resource, such as the Speech-Language Pathologist or a Special Education Teacher. I will be happy to answer any questions you have at Linguistic Foundations as well, so feel free to contact me. Thanks.  Early Phonological Awareness Instruction and Intervention is very important. It can help to prevent later difficulties. Be proactive! Your child only has these early learning chances once! There are many reasons that a young child can struggle to learn to read – some reasons are language-related and some are literacy-based. Very often, weaknesses in Phonological Awareness are a significant cause of literacy difficulties. Teaching phonological awareness in the early grades, especially in Kindergarten, is fundamental. As a parent, it is really important to know how Phonological Awareness is being taught to your child. Please open the pdf files to continue. Thanks You know that you are the First and Most Important Teacher you child will have. Kids don't come with owners manuals (I could have used one with my children!), so it's hard to know how to be a great parent, especially if your child seems to be quieter, thinking differently, or maybe struggling to remember information. In terms of early language and literacy development, the pdf file below has a few common sense tips. These activities can help your young child organize and solidify his/her knowledge. Be Patient (which can be tough sometimes) and Have Fun with these activities!  [This Blog post will focus on some of the basics of Phonological Awareness for young children. Some children may struggle to develop this skill in Kindergarten and Grade 1, and this Blog is meant to you help you understand what a child’s needs might be at these ages. The next Blog, which will be posted soon, will address older students who still may have Phonological Awareness weaknesses that are quietly but significantly impacting reading. At Linguistic Foundations we can help you now with these questions. Please contact us.]
There are many reasons that a young child can struggle to learn to read – some reasons are language-related and some are literacy-based. Very often, weaknesses in Phonological Awareness are a significant cause of literacy difficulties. Teaching phonological awareness in the early grades – especially in Kindergarten – is fundamental. As a parent, it is really important to know how phonological awareness is being taught to your child. Phonological Awareness is a purely language skill. It is a basic language component of the reading process. Phonological Awareness helps a student to hear and work with the sounds of words. It is often called a Lights-Out Activity, because it is about listening to sounds – no letters are involved, and a Kindergarten child needs 20 hours of teaching to be ready to read. Phonological Awareness describes a set of skills, which is built like a ladder, with skills from easiest to most challenging. These are some of the skills (starting with the most basic):
Research shows that each level of Phonological Awareness relates to Reading and Writing skills. For example,
For all of its importance as an essential early literacy skill, Phonological Awareness very often does not receive the instructional focus it needs. A child who struggles to develop phonological awareness will need core instruction with the entire class, as well as small group or individual intervention as needed. She may need more than the 20 hours recommended by the National Reading Panel. Ask your child’s teacher how Phonological Awareness instruction is done in the classroom. You should ask about all of the skills mentioned above, and you should also find out if there is a specific program or curriculum that is used. Also find out how phonological awareness is tested and how testing helps the teacher decide what to teach. In 2000, the National Reading Panel (part of the National Institute of Health) completed a study of all the research that had been done on reading development over the years. They published their studies in several ways – two of the best publications are linked here, one is a parent guide and one is for teachers. Don’t be intimidated by the teacher guide – it is very readable and can give a parent a lot of great information! https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/Documents/PRFbrochure.pdf https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/prf_k-3/Documents/PRFbooklet.pdf Feel free to contact Linguistic Foundations with any questions you might have. Thank you.  If you are a parent or teacher, and you are involved with a child who is struggling to develop language, reading, or writing skills, you may have many questions. If your child is very young, you may wonder if she is developing slowly in these areas but will eventually catch up. If you are a parent, you might have gut instincts about your child’s development, but you may be hearing a different story from her teachers at school. You might wonder if your child’s struggles are caused by attention problems or anxiety, and are not really learning issues. The first best way to get a handle on these questions – so you can best help your child – is to learn about her learning strengths and weaknesses. If you are worried specifically about literacy – reading and writing – testing and assessment can answer many questions. There are in-depth test procedures that are available to you and your child, which can identify her strengths and weaknesses in all areas of literacy and language. A child who has several areas of weakness may be identified with Dyslexia or a Language-based Learning Disability. To recognize these kinds of learning profiles in your child is the first step to build a teaching program that can help your child learn in a way that is most effective for her. Your child’s school may offer in-depth testing that can target all necessary areas. If not, testing outside the school may be the next step. How do you know what this testing should consist of, so that you can best understand how your child learns? Two organizations – the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) – have deep understanding of reading, writing, and language development, as well as disabilities in these areas. Both organizations have created overviews, which explain what is needed in a testing protocol to identify Dyslexia and other language-related disabilities. These two documents are included below. I feel like they are both really well-written, and they give you all the information you need to take the next step forward. Linguistic Foundations can provide your child with testing that falls well within the guidelines of both IDA and ASHA. We also have experience in developing a teaching plan that can address the unique strengths and weaknesses of your child. Please contact Linguistic Foundations with any questions you may have. Thank You. 
 The five most recent Blogs by Linguistic Foundations focused on the Teaching Standards for Teachers of Reading and Writing, which has been created by the International Dyslexia Association – https://dyslexiaida.org. The International Dyslexia Association is the voice of the Dyslexia community – students, teachers, family, researchers, administrators – and is committed to improving instruction and the quality of education for all students diagnosed with Dyslexia. These Teaching Standards can guide teachers to identify all of the domains of Language and Literacy that are needed for a child with Dyslexia – or any student – to become a proficient reader. These five Blogs have addressed the most important areas of teaching and learning – Phonological Awareness, Phonics/Word Reading, Reading Fluency, Comprehension, and Vocabulary. For each of these Teaching Standards, I organized the information into tables that I hope a parent or teacher can use to learn to recognize the important teaching approaches that need to be happening in the classroom. The tables are provided below. I thought that a parent could use these tables as a guide to be able to discuss the teaching needs of his/her child with the classroom teacher or specialist. I think a parent could also use these pages during classroom observations. Use these resources to learn what effective instruction may look like and to determine the level of expertise that is actually present in a child's classroom. If you have any questions, please contact me at Linguistic Foundations. I will be happy to speak with you. If you have specific concerns about your child, I can give you an overview of our testing process as a way to identify Dyslexia, Language-based Learning Disability, and other language-related issues. Thank You! 
 Vocabulary knowledge is the area of language that we can easily recognize as an important skill in becoming a successful student. A great deal of our vocabulary is related to our experiences in the world, so we always want to expose a child to as much about the world as we can. As a child gets older, however, vocabulary growth becomes more dependent on reading. The more she reads interesting material, the more her vocabulary will develop. A student who is struggling to read is at risk to have her vocabulary lag behind. More importantly, she is at risk to not reach her own potential as a learner! Learning vocabulary in school depends on several factors. One important and obvious factor is to help a student to improve reading skills so she can access rich vocabulary. Another important factor is the manner that a classroom is organized so that a student has multiple and consistent opportunities to learn new vocabulary. This Blog by Linguistic Foundations continues to present the Teaching Standards for Teachers of Reading and Writing, which has been created by the International Dyslexia Association – https://dyslexiaida.org. These Standards can guide teachers to identify all of the domains of Language and Literacy that are needed for a child to become a proficient reader. It is a very comprehensive set of standards, and this Blog post focuses on the Vocabulary Standard! As always, please send feedback to Linguistic Foundations, and call or email us if you have any questions at all. In addition, contact us if you have any concerns or questions about your child’s development in reading, writing, or language. Our testing is designed to identify language-based learning disabilities, including Dyslexia. Thank you very much. GO PATS!! 
 The recent Blogs by Linguistic Foundations beginning on November 5th have presented the Teaching Standards for Teachers of Reading and Writing, which has been created by the International Dyslexia Association – https://dyslexiaida.org. These Standards can guide teachers to identify all of the domains of Language and Literacy that are needed for a child to become a proficient reader. It is a very comprehensive set of standards! In these Blogs, I have tried to adapt the information of these standards to be practical for families and teachers (and myself). What should these standards look like in the classroom? In this Blog today, I organized a table, which is adapted from the Text Comprehension Standard. It is attached below. This table describes the different skills and strategies that a student needs to effectively understand text and how these skills might be put into place in a classroom. Being able to understand a text does not depend on a single skill. A student needs to have Language Processing skills and the ability to Read Fluently. A student who is struggling to understand text that she reads may be having difficulties with Language Processing, with Reading Fluency, or in both of these areas of ability. Linguistic Foundations can target each of these areas through our testing. We can determine a student’s specific areas of strength and weakness and identify if a Language-based Learning Disability (including Dyslexia) is present. If you have any questions about text comprehension or any other language-literacy related topic, please contact us at Linguistic Foundations. Thank you very much.
  In the most recent Blogs here at Linguistic Foundations, I presented an adaptation to the Standards for Teachers of Reading created by the International Dyslexia Association. In the PDF file below, I adapted the Teaching Standard that addresses Reading Fluency. Reading Fluency is a complicated component of reading; I hope this PDF provides practical and useful information. Reading Fluency is a fundamental skill of reading. Reading Fluency is the flow of reading that reminds us of natural spoken language. For student to be able to understand what she reads to the best of her ability, she needs to read accurately, and with an easy flow. The photo above is a well-researched document created by Jan Hasbrouck and Gerald Tindal (2006) (and used by the Read Naturally organization) that allows teachers to recognize how fluently a student reads. However, to recognize that a student is not a fluent reader does not give an easy road map to help her become more fluent. Reading is a complex mix of Language and Print-Related skills. Many components lead to fluent reading, starting from when a student is very young. Strong Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Language Experiences are crucial both at home and at school for a young child. As a student gets older, Automatic Word Reading instruction – both through decoding and sight word knowledge – needs to be in place. Language experience needs to continue to be strong, because the flow of reading emerges from the natural rhythm of language. At later ages, fluency depends on the Word Attack of Multi-syllable Words, as well as an understanding of the meaning of more complex Sentence Structures (and how those sentences blend into Paragraphs). For a young student who is identified as at-risk to be Dyslexic, she needs to receive specific differentiated instruction that emphasizes the above areas of need. If a student is identified later as Dyslexic, the specific areas in which a student struggles needs to be identified, so that instruction can double back and target those needs. Please contact Linguistic Foundations if you have any questions or feedback related to these Blogs. If you recognize weaknesses in your child’s reading, writing, or language skills, I will be happy to speak with you about her profile. Our testing can describe your child’s profile of learning; identify Language-based Learning Disability (including Dyslexia); and help you to create an instructional plan to present to your child’s teaching team. Have a great Holiday Season!! Thank you. Hasbrouck, J. & Tindal, G. A. (2006). Oral reading fluency norms: A valuable assessment tool for reading teachers. The Reading Teacher. 59(7), 636-644.
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