Transforming lives through learning POLAAR Marion Cochrane, Development Officer for English and Literacy, Dyslexia Conference, Saturday 24 th October, 2015

Wider context / background

A staged model of intervention CHILD OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT EARLY LITERACY ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT Developing literacy skills in the P.1 class THREE MINUTE TEACHER ASSESSMENTS MORE DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS Observation Action

Observation Action Observational Appraisal Linked to Action Key predictive factors (reading) Letter naming * Phonological awareness* Word recognition Language comprehension Rapid naming speed Phonemic decoding Motivation and Persistence Computer Assisted Assessment Book Availability Writing CHILD OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT EARLY LITERACY ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT

Early Literacy Environment Assessment Aspect s of Literacy Development Where Are We Now?Where We Want to Get To Letter Naming and Sound Identification 1.Do staff give all children opportunities to explore, discuss and identify letters and print in a variety of formats?  The evidence based programme in place uses a multi-sensory approach to identify and apply knowledge of upper and lower case letters, their corresponding sounds, phonemes appropriate to the stage and their corresponding phonemes. 1.Do staff explicitly teach all children letter naming?  Through a variety of well planned activities, children are given many opportunities to see, hear and discuss upper and lower case letters, phonemes and graphemes appropriate to their stage of learning. 1.Do staff help all children to link phonemes to the written equivalent (graphemes)?  The classroom environment (walls/display areas) reflects this approach and is stimulating, referred to daily and changed on a regular basis to sustain motivation. (See appendix 2 for further ideas).

Observing the child and taking action

Child Observational Assessment Each item can be scored from 1 to 4 from left to right. Letter Naming (I enjoy exploring and playing with the patterns and sounds of language, and can use what I learn LIT 0-01a / LIT 0-11a / LIT 0-20a.) When shown letters they have been previously taught, can the child say the correct sounds? Not at all With lots of support With a little supportPerforms Independently When shown letters they have been previously taught, can the child say the correct letter names? Not at all With lots of support With a little supportPerforms Independently

Language Comprehension (I listen and watch for useful or interesting information and I use this to make choices or learn new things LIT 0-04a). Actions 1.Can the child follow instructions of increasing complexity?  I use approaches, games and priming to encourage careful listening, especially to key words.  I use pictures/illustrations/role play to support comprehension.  I make sure children understand all the words and phrases. I model their use in a variety of contexts and encourage children to use them.  I show pupils how to create mental imagery while they are reading/listening to extend and monitor their comprehension. 2. Can the child ask and answer questions about everyday experiences?  I ask questions that encourage children to give explanations, give opinions, and make predictions about what they are listening to/reading. I use a think aloud, modelling strategy to teach this.  I invite children to relate what is happening in a story/a topic being studied to their own experiences and knowledge. Child observational assessment with actions

Three minute assessments THREE MINUTE ASSESSMENTS Letter sounding Word recognition Phonemic blending Observation Action CHILD OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT EARLY LITERACY ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT

Three minute assessments

More detailed investigation THREE MINUTE ASSESSMENTS MORE DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS Observation Action CHILD OBSERVATIONAL ASSESSMENT EARLY LITERACY ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT

Transforming lives through learning Professional Discussion 1 – The Literacy Environment

Transforming lives through learning Professional Discussion 2 – Child Observational Assessment with Actions

Transforming lives through learning Professional Discussion 3 – Three minute assessments

Transforming lives through learning Question time?

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