School Literacy Plan

Donna Moore

Department of Education and Counseling, Longwood University

READ 680: Developing Literacy Leaders
Dr. Tammy Parlier
July 8, 2023
 2021-2022 School Year

School
County School
District
• Rural area • 1 elementary schools • Preschool – 4th grade
• 1300 total population • 1 middle schools • 553 student population
• White (50%) • 1 high schools
• Black (34%) • Students with
• Hispanic or Latino (6%) disabilities (13%)
• Two or more races (6%) • Families with income
below poverty level
(65%)

(National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.)

Literacy Need
XXX County Public Schools, Virginia
Elementary School
 PALS Data - October, 2022
Current Percentage of Previous
Grade Level Students Identified Grade Level *
Kindergarten 10% 82% PK experience
1st Grade 17% Kindergarten
2nd Grade 30% 1st Grade

* Data reflects the instruction of this grade level since the PALS assessment was given at the beginning of the school year.

● There is a weakness in phonological awareness in kindergarten

● There is an inconsistency of word knowledge skills across first and second grade especially in
the area of spelling.
● Observational data:
○ There is no published reading curriculum in place.
○ Since there is no set reading program there is a lot of inconsistencies across grade levels.

Literacy Need
Kindergarten – 2nd Grade
 (The Reading League, 2021)

Research
 General Information
• K - 3rd Grade Whole Group Instruction
• Intervention for K - 3rd Grade as well as an additional program for grades 4-12
• A whole class instruction that focuses on phonics, letter/sound correspondence and
contains a read aloud portion. It also incorporates writing and spelling into the
everyday reading instruction.

Tier 1 Instruction Tier 2 Instruction

• Whole class activities
• Small group differentiated instruction
• General classroom
• General Education Teacher
• This is a new program and would
cost about $10,000.00 per grade
level K-2.
• Intervention for all grades
• Can be in the general education
classroom or done with an
intervention teacher,
paraprofessional, or reading
specialist
• Is not included in the whole group
instructional program, so it would
incur an additional cost.

Possible Solution
Read Well (Really Great Reading Company, 2015)
 General Information
• Pre-K-3rd Grade
• Aligned with the Science of reading: phonological awareness skills, print awareness
skills, phonics and decoding, word attack, vocabulary development, fluency, oral and
written comprehension strategies, and writing skills and conventions
• Supplemental curriculum to literature-based language arts program

Tier 1 Instruction Tier 2 Instruction

• 30 minutes daily • Additional 30 minutes
• In general classroom • 3-5 times a week
• General Education Teacher • In or outside of general classroom
• Whole Class • General Education Teacher
• Purchase Fundations Classroom Reading Specialist
Set for 20-25 students that includes Paraprofessional
the Teacher’s Kit (minimum of Interventionist
$1,725 per classroom) and • Purchase Multi-Level Kit
repurchase of consumable materials
each year

Possible Solution
Fundations
(Fundations Pre-K to Grade 3: Grounded in the Science of Reading, 2023)
 General Information
• Pre-K-3rd Grade
• A whole group or intervention program that is aligned with the science of reading and
includes: phonemic awareness, visual/auditory/blending drills, new phonological
concept(s), word work, irregular word instruction, and text that is connected to the
phonological concepts

Tier 1 Instruction Tier 2 Instruction

• 30 minutes daily • Additional 30 minutes
• In general classroom • 3-5 times a week
• General Education Teacher • In or outside of general classroom
• Whole Class • General Education Teacher
• Purchase UFLI Foundations Teacher Reading Specialist
Manual ($70 plus $20 for shipping). Paraprofessional
Interventionist

Possible Solution
University of Florida Institute (UFLI) Foundations
(UFLI Foundations, n.d.)
 General Information
● Pre-K-2nd Grade
• a program of literacy instruction that is aligned with science-based reading research and
provides evidenced-based literacy instruction to students in kindergarten through grade
eight.” (VDOE, Recommended Core Instructional Program Guide 2023, 2023)
• Wonders offers a thorough grounding in foundational skills, including phonological/phonemic
awareness, phonics, spelling, structural analysis, high-frequency words, and fluency. Explicit,
systematic skills instruction is built from standardized routines and features a variety of cross-
media learning opportunities.

Tier 1 Instruction Tier 2 Instruction

• 30 minutes daily • Additional 30 minutes
• In general classroom • 3-5 times a week
• General Education Teacher • In or outside of general classroom
• Whole class • General Education Teacher,
• Purchase Instructional Routines Reading Specialist or Coach,
Handbook, Reading and Writing Paraprofessional, or Community
Companion, Literature Anthologies, Literacy Volunteer
& High-Frequency, Word-Building, • Purchase Leveled and Decodable
Sound Spelling, & Photo/Vocabulary Readers, as well as ELL resources
Cards • Utilize Differentiated Genre
Passages

Possible Solution
 Wonders
● Provides a strong development of comprehension and background
knowledge to include word knowledge and integrates vocabulary
development and writing instruction through units organized
around big ideas.
● Phonics instruction is included as well to support the
development of phonological awareness.
● This program supports teachers to provide differentiated small
group instruction that aligns with whole group instruction.
● The teacher materials include a handbook, overview guide,
videos, and workshops. They are oriented to guide teachers to
effective implementation, including step-by-step guides and
consistent routines across instruction with example language for
corrective feedback.

Solution
Description
 Problem
The data from our school shows that 17% of
first and 3% of second grades were PALS
identified and were deficient in two or more
areas of word knowledge and spelling. 10% of
Kindergarten were deficient in two or more
areas of phonological awareness
Solution
Justification
Solution
The Wonders program will fulfill the areas of
need at our school for grades K-2 because
there is a weekly lesson plan for all six weeks
of each unit, as well as daily objectives, key
foundational skills, and progress monitoring.
Student outcomes for a typical week include:
Foundational Skills, which include:
Phonological/Phonemic Awareness;
Phonics/Structural Analysis/Handwriting;
Spelling Words; High-Frequency Words;
Decodable Text; Fluency; and Content Area
Learning. These weekly outcomes will
address those areas of word knowledge and
spelling.
 Required Materials Wonders Teacher Manual (Units 1-6), Instructional Routines Handbook, computer with internet access, interactive whiteboard,
student chromebooks, Reading and Writing Companions, Literature Anthology books, Leveled and Decodable Readers

Optional Materials Tier 2 and Tier 3 Digital Handbooks, Classroom Library Trade Books, Leveled-Reader Lesson Cards, Word-Work Practice Book,
Workstation Activity Cards

Included Materials Teacher Manuals, Digital resources for the teacher and students, Unit, Progress Monitoring, & Benchmark Assessments

Phonemic Awareness Word-Building, & Sound-Spelling Cards; Incorporates oral blending and segmenting drills with words that contain either
review content or warm-up content for the current lesson.

Visual Drill High-Frequency Word Cards, Visual Vocabulary Cards; Incorporate slides with word features/chunks and letters previously
taught for review. The teacher displays the slides and the student makes the sound or sound for the represented phoneme on the
slide; Teacher will flash high-frequency word cards, as well as photo/vocabulary cards

Auditory Drill Presented with a sound, students identify letters or letter combinations that represent that sound.

Blending Drill Students will use Elkonin or Dot and Arrow boxes to practice blending words; Students are presented with a sound, then they
repeat the sound and say the related letter(s) or letter combination(s).

New Concept During this portion of the lesson, the teacher uses the manual summary to introduce the new concept that will be learned in that
lesson and connects it to previous learning.

Word Work Word-Work Practice Book gives students the opportunity to practice grammar, spelling and vocabulary words; students complete
word chains and other word work activities outlined by the manual for each lesson.

Spelling Word-Building Cards, Sound-Spelling Cards, Digital Foundational Skills Lessons, and the Word-Work Practice Book allow
students the opportunity to practice new, and previously learned spelling words.

Connected Text/Dictation Sentences Decodable passages and sentences that can be used for fluency practice, comprehension work, dictated sentences, or time in text
exposure. These passages incorporate reviewing high frequency words and the word feature that was taught within that lesson.

Solution
Methods, Materials, Techniques, and Strategies
 Focus: Implementation of the instruction fidelity across kindergarten through
second grade with strategic implementation and reinforcement of the Wonders
program.
● School climate:
○ Reading specialist, school administration, and grade level team leaders will
promote consistency and motivation between and within grade levels.
○ The program is connected to the science of reading research, data, and steps
to implementation will be presented clearly.
● Implementation of UFLI:
○ Leadership team will receive initial and ongoing professional development
from the company.
○ Teachers will receive initial and ongoing professional opportunities from the
leadership team as well as modules.
○ Required materials will be distributed prior to the start of the school year.
○ Literacy Block (120 minutes):
- 30 minutes of basic program foundations
- 30 minutes of language arts/reading focus
- 60 minutes of differentiated instruction for small groups

Solution
Process of Implementation
 Focus: Train all Literacy Specialists, aids, and reading teachers K-4.

● Literacy Specialists attend online introductory training.

● Literacy Specialists meet with team leads to introduce them to the
program. This will include a program overview, sample lessons, as well as
an introduction to the online training options that are available to all.
● All reading teachers will next be trained, with Literacy Specialists leading
the training. Team leads that have gone through the training will and can
assist with the training, providing insights and ideas based on things that
they have discovered.
● Schoolwide expectations will be set, with Administrators on board to
encourage fidelity to the program.

Professional Development
Description
 Focus: Continue to provide support during implementation to
keep teachers focused on the needs of the students and the
strengths of the program.

● Literacy Specialists and team leads will meet monthly to discuss

the program. The discussions will focus on:
1) How is the usage of the program by all teachers?
2) What issues/problems are seen?
● As needed, Literacy Specialists will hold PD in order to assist
teachers with issues that are seen and need to be addressed
● Literacy Specialists and Administrators will observe classrooms to
monitor for usage to help find ways to improve school-wide.

Professional Development
Throughout the year
 Focus: Motivate teachers to consistently use a new program to
provide continuity within classrooms.

● There was no established reading program so teachers were responsible for

creating their own lessons and ensuring alignment.
● Teachers and administration will have a better understanding of the
implementation process of the program and will not have to create their own
lessons.
● Wonders provides systematic and explicit with a logical scope and sequence with
many resources.
● Wonders leadership team will help with teacher motivation and support.
● Training will occur during contract hours.
● Ongoing support will be provided by the reading specialist and school
administration.
● Regular observations will take place to help ensure the consistent
implementation of the program takes place. .

Professional Development
 Before:
● Assist with determining the leadership team with grade level
representation
● Work with school administration to professional development plan
● Distribute necessary materials
● Work with the company representative to address needs
During:
● Collect and analyze data for observations
● Model and co-teach lessons as needed
● Assist in data meetings and ongoing professional development
● Schedule and attend gradle level and vertical planning meetings
and schedule peer observations as needed
After:
● Provide annual training for new teachers
● Provide additional training for returning teachers as needed

Professional Development
 End of the 23-24 Summer of 2024 Pre Service week of August - November November - June
School year 23-24

The leadership Leadership team Leadership team will Additional grade level Additional grade level meetings will be
team will be will review the meet with all meetings will be held to held to continue to outline the
selected to assist different resources teachers to share continue to outline the implementation for the fourth quarter.
with and meet with the resources and outline implementation for the
implementation company expectations of the second and third quarter. A final meeting will be held to review the
representative. implementation plan. success and challenges of the program to
assist with changes for the upcoming year.

Leadership team Individual grade PALS data will be collected PALS mid year data will be reviewed to
will work with the levels will meet to and reviewed so that determine if adjustments to groups need to
reading specialist review the resources students can be grouped be made.
and building and outline the first appropriately.
administrative team quarter of
to determine how to instruction.
best share
information.

Additional data points will
be collected to determine if
adjustments to groups need
to be made.
The leadership team will meet to review
feedback from the teachers to plan
additional professional development for the
new school year as well as plan the
professional development for new teachers.

Implementation Timeline
 Student Assessment Faculty Assessment

Summative: PALS Triannual Data, beginning ● Lesson plan evidence

of the year diagnostic, Wonders built-in
assessments
Formative: Focus on phonological awareness in
Kindergarten and word knowledge in third and
fourth grade..
● Instructional walk evidence
● PLC data meeting cooperation
● Peer collaboration
● Attendance at PD held by Literacy
Specialists

Implementation Timeline
Assessment Plan
 Category
Basic foundation skills
for oral language is
included in every lesson
plan
Word work and oral
language are observed
by the principal / literacy
coach during classroom
observations.
A grammar component is
included in leach lesson
plan.
Student achievement in
the area of
comprehension is
documented on a weekly
basis.
A writing component is
connected to the lesson
each day
Implementation Timeline
Program Evaluation Rubric
4 3
Basic Foundation skills for oral
language are consistently included
in lesson plans across grade levels.
Word work and oral language are
consistently observed by the
principal / literacy coach during
classroom observations.
A grammar component is
consistently included in lesson plans
across grade levels.
Student achievement in the area of
comprehension is documented
consistently on a weekly basis.
A writing component is connected
consistently to the lesson each day
Basic Foundation skills for
oral language are often
included in lesson plans
across grade levels.
Word work and oral
language are often observed
by the principal / literacy
coach during classroom
observations.
A grammar component is
often included in lesson
plans across grade levels.
Student achievement in the
area of comprehension is
documented often on a
weekly basis.
A writing component is
connected often to the
lesson each day
2 1
Basic Foundation skills for oral
language are sometimes
included in lesson plans is
inconsistent.
. Word work and oral language
are sometimes observed by the
principal / literacy coach during
classroom observations.
A grammar component is
sometimes included in lesson
plans across grade levels.
Student achievement in the area
of comprehension is
documented sometimes on a
weekly basis.
A writing component is
connected sometimes to the
lesson each day
Score
Basic Foundation skills for oral
language are rarely noted in
lesson plans.
Word work and oral language
are rarely observed by the
principal / literacy coach during
classroom observations.
A grammar component is rarely
included in lesson plans across
grade levels.
Student achievement in the area
of comprehension is
documented rarley on a weekly
basis.
A writing component is
connected rarley to the lesson
each day
 Strategy #1: The literacy coach will lead monthly PLC
meetings with the leadership team so that they can meet
weekly with grade level teams. The Protocol for Examining
Data from the National School Reform Faculty Materials will
guide the discussions.

Strategy #2: The literacy coach and building level

St
administration will meet weekly to review observation
documentation to determine the fidelity of implementation. The
Data Action Model protocol will be used to generate
discussions on the information presented from the
observations.

Implementation Timeline
Sustainability
 References:
August, D., Bear, D. R., Dole, J. A., Echevarría, J., & Fisher, D. (2020). McGraw-Hill

Wonders Teacher’s Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

Commonwealth of Virginia. (2023, May). Recommended Core Instructional Program

Guide 2023. Virginia Department of Education.

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/18672/63804105

4386730000

McGraw-Hill. (2023). Literacy Curriculum for Elementary: Wonders. McGraw Hill.

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/microsites/MKTSP-

BGA10M0/wonders.html

Voyager Sopris Learning.(2023). ReadWell.

https://www.voyagersopris.com/docs/default-source/literacy/read-well/readwell_brochure_2021.pdf?sfvrsn=
Thank you!