As schools and districts shift to evidence-based literacy practices, they need to attend to reading’s twin component in literacy instruction: writing. Research demonstrates that reading and writing are intimately connected and can be taught together.
In this free event, we’ll review some of the research about the connections between reading and writing, what we know about structured writing approaches, and how one district began using writing to supplement its new curriculum and build students’ background knowledge.
First time K-12 Essentials Forum attendee? Learn more about our virtual forums.
Agenda
2:00pm ET
Welcome and Introduction
We’ll review key takeaways from recent reporting on writing and the science of reading.
2:20pm ET
Industry Perspective: Why We Need Structured Literacy in the Early Grades
Content provided by Lexia Learning
The science of reading tells us structured literacy is the best way to help students achieve literacy and accelerate learning. But why is it so important, especially for the early grades? Join us to discuss the value of early literacy and how the science of reading supports lifelong learning.
The science of reading tells us structured literacy is the best way to help students achieve literacy and accelerate learning. But why is it so important, especially for the early grades? Join us to discuss the value of early literacy and how the science of reading supports lifelong learning.
Liz Brooke
Chief Learning Officer,
Lexia Learning
Liz Brooke, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer of Lexia® Learning. In this role, she is responsible for setting the educational vision for the company’s language and literacy products, including the adaptive blended learning (ABL) strategy. Dr. Brooke has been with the company for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Lexia, she served as the director of intervention at the Florida Center for Reading Research. She has been working in education for more than 25 years. Dr. Brooke has worked in hospital, university, and school settings as a speech-language pathologist researcher, and she began her career as a first-grade teacher. She has been published in several scholarly journals and books. Dr. Brooke shares Lexia’s mission of changing lives through the power of language and literacy education, and it continues to be the driving force behind all of her work.
2:30pm ET
Panel Discussion: How does Writing Intersect with Reading?
Studies conclude that teaching writing can bear dividends for reading, and vice versa. Hear from researchers and practitioners about the connections, including how “encoding”—the act of recording sounds into print—can benefit foundational skills, and why students benefit from a structured, modeled approach to teaching sentences and paragraphs.
Sarah Schwartz is a reporter for Education Week who covers curriculum and instruction.
Christina Cover
High School Special Education Teacher,
NYC Public Schools
Christina Cover is a first year Special Education teacher at a NYC Department of Education transfer high school in the Bronx. Before becoming a teacher, she served with the AmeriCorps program City Year and worked on the campaign and in the office of Assembly Member Khaleel M. Anderson in Queens as Communications Coordinator. Outside of teaching, she works on a podcast called Problem Posing about education policy in New York. She believes that literacy is an urgent modern civil rights issue.
Dana Robertson
Associate Professor of Reading and Literacy,
School of Education at Virginia Tech
Dana A. Robertson is an Associate Professor of Reading and Literacy in the School of Education at Virginia Tech. He is also currently a Board Member-at-Large for the International Literacy Association (ILA), where he serves as Chair of the ILA Research Committee and was a co-author for ILA’s Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals (2017). He is a former elementary classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and literacy coach and conducts research focused on classroom and coaching discourse, reading and writing challenges, and literacy professional learning and whole school literacy improvement.
3:15pm ET
Industry Perspective: Translating the Science of Writing into Actionable Practices in Schools
Content provided by Voyager Sopris Learning
Discover strategies to improve reading and writing outcomes by placing writing at the center of instruction. Reading and writing are reciprocal processes that build and support each other. When writing is leveraged as a tool to raise overall ELA and content mastery outcomes, schools see powerful gains. Joins us to review the latest research and get specific guidance on highest-yield writing instruction practices your schools can use immediately.
Discover strategies to improve reading and writing outcomes by placing writing at the center of instruction. Reading and writing are reciprocal processes that build and support each other. When writing is leveraged as a tool to raise overall ELA and content mastery outcomes, schools see powerful gains. Joins us to review the latest research and get specific guidance on highest-yield writing instruction practices your schools can use immediately.
Leslie Laud, Ed.D.
Instructor,
Bank Street College of Education
Leslie Laud, Ed.D., teaches at Bank Street College of Education in New York City and has taught students how to write for nearly 20 years as a classroom teacher. She has previously worked for the U.S. [KK1] Department of Education, has researched and developed writing instruction methodology, and now serves as a nationally recognized writing-staff instructor and consultant to hundreds of schools. Dr. Laud is also the co-principal investigator and recipient of a multimillion-dollar government grant awarded to Providence College to conduct the Education Innovation and Research Scale Up Study 2022-2027, an empirical research study about structured ways to teach sentence writing.
3:25pm ET
One District’s Writing Journey: A Case Study
After selecting a new English/language arts curriculum, a Tennessee district took a hard look at whether its writing instruction was up to snuff. Ultimately, it concluded that students needed to be writing about the content they were learning in their classes, rather than more typical reflection assignments. Learn how the district made the shift, and how it supported teachers along the way.
Caitlynn Peetz is a reporter for Education Week who covers school district leadership and management.
Scott Langford
Chief Academic Officer,
Sumner County Schools
Frankie Skinner
Chief Academic Officer ,
Sumner County Schools
3:55pm ET
Industry Perspective: Spelling: An Essential Element of Reading and Writing Instruction
Content provided by Wilson Language Training
Spelling instruction doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Due to time constraints, many educators may not consider it as high a priority as reading or writing. However, as developing readers learn the rules and structure of the English language, reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding) reinforce each other when taught reciprocally. Studies show that integrated decoding and encoding instruction sets foundational skills for writing and leads to gains in phonemic awareness, alphabetic decoding, word reading, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. Join us to explore why spelling is critical when teaching students how to read and write.
Spelling instruction doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Due to time constraints, many educators may not consider it as high a priority as reading or writing. However, as developing readers learn the rules and structure of the English language, reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding) reinforce each other when taught reciprocally. Studies show that integrated decoding and encoding instruction sets foundational skills for writing and leads to gains in phonemic awareness, alphabetic decoding, word reading, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. Join us to explore why spelling is critical when teaching students how to read and write.
Deardra "Dee" Rosenberg
Senior Director of Literacy Solutions and Educator Success,
Wilson Language Training®
Dee Rosenberg has more than 40 years of experience as a classroom and special education teacher, and as the head of a school she cofounded for students of all ages with dyslexia. Additionally, she served as director of an education center where she consulted with school districts, provided professional learning, and trained educators on the science of reading, dyslexia, assessment, early intervention, and the improvement of general education literacy. As a learning disabilities teacher consultant (LDT-C), Dee is an educational diagnostician who ensures quality literacy instruction, curriculum, and individualized education programs (IEPs). She coauthored a state dyslexia handbook and is a certified trainer of various programs including the Wilson Reading System® (WRS) and Fundations®.
4:05pm ET
Interactive Session: Building Writing Support Across the Elementary Grades
What are creative ways that writing can support and enhance reading instruction from kindergarten through 5th grade and beyond? We’ll hear your ideas and brainstorm some new ones.
4:20pm ET
Closing Thoughts
