My Learning Journey
My drive to create a hub for supporting literacy intervention came from my learning journey throughout elementary school and middle school plus my current inquiry in grad school. As an elementary and middle school student, I struggled with decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling). This reality left me feeling discouraged and disappointed in myself as a learner. Reading become a chore and my lack of motivation led to negative behaviors.
Thankfully, my parents had my best interest in mind. In grades 5 to 7 I was fortunate to be a student at Sylvan Learning followed by The Reading Foundation. I am proud that my struggles have led me here.
When I first started as a literacy teacher, my passion to create deeper learning opportunities for my students drove me to collect a variety of engaging resources. The resources were exciting but I seemed to only be focus on single skills during my literacy times with my students. Could I change that? Could I tackle more than 2-3 skills per lesson? Could I create a well rounded literacy lesson that promoted literacy growth and success for my students?
These questions led me yearning for more answers and theory behind what a well rounded literacy lesson looks like. With the support of colleagues, friends and professional readings, I found myself on a path to create a program that is promoting deeper learning and reading success for all.
I am now excited to be sharing this program with you in the pursuit to change the way literacy teachers deliver tier 2 instruction to struggling readings. This program has been modeled after the success of MacqLit, Orton-Gillingham, the science of reading and the research of teaching English Language Learners and students to who speak English as a Second Dialect.
I am feeling blessed to have found my path back to literacy. I hope this becomes a helpful tool.
Kilpatrick, D. A. (2021). Equipped for reading success: A comprehensive, step-by-step program for developing phoneme awareness and fluent word recognition. Casey & Kirsch Publishers.
Main, S., & Konza, D. (2017). Inclusive reading practices for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students in Australia. (pp. 177-194). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620170000011012
Scull, J. (2016). Effective literacy teaching for indigenous students : Principles from evidence-based practices. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 39(1), 54-63.
Wheldall, K., Bell, N., Wheldall, R., Madelaine, A., Reynolds, M., & Arakelian, S. (2019). A small group intervention for older primary school-aged low-progress readers: Further evidence for efficacy. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 36(2), 35-40. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2019.15