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Heartland AEA Literacy Newsletter

January 2021

Heartland AEALiteracy NewsletterJanuary 2021

Data Based Decision Making

With winter assessments underway and a strong mid-year response needed due to the challenges associated with the COVID pandemic, we begin our newsletter by highlighting considerations for data analysis and response to the data.


Why do we do data reviews?

  • Utilize Data-Based Decision Making as a critical component to implement MTSS
  • Design high-quality instruction for students across the school day
  • Analyze literacy data, create an instructional response, document action steps, and set monitoring cadence
  • Determine the health of your core instruction related to student strength and need
  • Help inform instruction at all tiers
  • Collaborate and be efficient with your resources


Think Abouts for Implementing Data Responses

  • Universal Tier - Robust core instruction focused on high-leverage instructional practices
    • Classwide/Gradewide response, as appropriate

  • Tier 2 interventions are standard, small group, supplemental instructional sessions for students with similar error patterns that have not adequately responded to universal instruction.
    • Match instruction to student need

  • Tier 3 interventions are individualized for learners to address severe and persistent learning or behavior difficulties and designed using individualized diagnostic assessment information.

    • Collaborate with colleagues to create an explicit package for instruction


  • What structures will support data analysis and response? (Consider Building Leadership Team, Administration, Teacher Leaders, Grade level teams, Title 1/Special Education/English Learners) Process/Protocol for review that includes:

    • Document who is going to do what

    • Document when it will be done

    • Document how long and when a review of progress will occur

    • Determine any implementation support needed, including monitoring of fidelity


Contact your literacy consultant to assist with processes and procedures around data analysis.

Corresponding with Parents and Guardians
As you are getting ready to correspond with parents and guardians around student performance, whether through student reports or parent-teacher conferences, here are a few resources to share to assist with supporting literacy at home.
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Tips for Parents

In this resource are a few tips that parents/guardians can do at home to help children improve their literacy and reading skills.


You can print these using the link above or contact Heartland AEA Creative Services to order. (250 copies = $18.08)

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Fluency and Comprehension

This resource around fluency and comprehension supply parents with strategies to use at home with any text.


You can print these using the link above or contact Heartland AEA Creative Services to order. (For 250 bookmarks with these strategies = $9.61)

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Read Aloud Questions

These resources around questions to ask with Literature or Informational text have questions to ask before, during, and after reading.


You can print these using the link above or contact Heartland AEA Creative Services to order. (250 copies = $35.38)

Wanting to learn more about text complexity and how it can assist with increased student performance?

This three-part series can be done on your own time or during a typical PLC time. Learn the importance of considering text complexity for your students and your instruction as well as implementing with resources provided.
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Foundational Skills Practice

To develop their foundational skills in reading and writing, students need practice. All students will need some practice, and many students benefit from lots of practice opportunities—likely more than your curriculum provides. Achieve the Core has some examples and resources you can use to supplement your kindergarten or Grade 1 foundational skills instruction. For each, consider how you will adapt the content of the activity to match student needs and your scope and sequence to reflect current or previously taught skills that require additional practice.

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10 Key Policies and Practices for All Schools (With Strong Evidence of Effectiveness from High-Quality Research)

The Meadow’s Center for Preventing Educational Risk (MCPER) has distilled the latest research findings for various content areas into top 10 lists, which describe the most important practices and policies, according to high-quality research, that should be in place in every school.
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Adolescent Literacy

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has “A Call to Action: What We Know About Adolescent Literacy Instruction” which is good research-based information on the complexities of adolescent literacy for both secondary students and their teachers.
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10 Ways to Improve Tier One Reading Instruction

Stephanie Stoller created a list of actions, descriptions, and where to learn more.

Iowa Reading Research eLearning Modules K - 12

Last month we suggested taking the Dyslexia Modules from the Iowa Reading Research Center. This month we'd like to suggest the Effective Vocabulary Instruction After Reading: Frayer Model Module. There are 2 versions with customized content for different grade levels. These modules are free for all Iowa educators. Check them out to learn more about improving your vocabulary instruction.
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Significant Reading Problems

Sharon Vaughn and Jack Fletcher share how preventing reading difficulties is about making sure every child is exposed to reading instruction that is sufficiently explicit and customized to support the acquisition of foundational skills within a language-rich learning environment that promotes vocabulary and background knowledge.
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Course - Comprehensive Literacy for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

This course is based on the book Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write (January 2020) by Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver. The focus is on emergent literacy and the class starts on January 25th. #189839 HL - Comprehensive Literacy for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (Graduate Level)
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Resources to order from Heartland AEA

Routines for Emergent Literacy and Routines for Conventional Literacy (For students with significant cognitive disabilities) are available to order through Heartland AEA Creative Services. The routines in these books are based on the work of Karen Erickson and David Kopenhaver. For more information, consult their 2020 book entitled, Comprehensive Literacy for All" Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write.
Click on map to connect with your Literacy Consultant
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Heartland AEA website
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