-
I think I was wrong about Phonemic Awareness
When I began this journey into learning more about literacy and language development (not too long ago), one of the first areas where I began sensing a tension in the field was around phonological awareness and the notion of instruction related to different “grain sizes.” We know that phonological awareness develops in a manner that […]
-
Phonology: How it Relates to Language and Literacy
I posted something on Twitter the other day (as I am wont to do far more frequently than write anything of deeper substance, alas) worrying that because the Simple View of Reading is a predominant model of reading (and may be therefore the basis from which some educators who are aware of it may primarily […]
-
Whole to Part to Whole
Oral language is baked into our brains. We are born to learn to speak. Similarly, reading our visual surroundings is second nature. Our eyes are neurally attuned to pick out fine-grained distinctions and patterns amidst the noise. But written language is something we graft onto our existing circuitry. Graphemes get bootstrapped onto our auditory and […]
-
Provide Our Students with Textual Feasts
In a webinar, Dr. Alfred Tatum discussed the need to provide our students with “textual feasts” to build their intellect, and the phrase and concept has stuck with me ever since. It resonated with me because there’s a very strong tendency, when serving our students who struggle with academic text (such as students learning English, […]
-
The Riches of ASHA
In my last post, I wrote about the riches of Speech-Language Pathology and what this domain of research and practice has to offer for all educators. I’d also like to highlight that relatedly, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and it’s publications has a lot to offer to those of us getting into the Science of […]
-
The Riches of Speech-Language Pathology
When I was a special education teacher, I also coordinated the IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) for my school, and served as the district representative at our IEP meetings, meaning that I had some part in most of the IEPs written in my building, whether I coordinated the gathering of information or facilitated the meeting with […]
-
Learning How Kids Learn to Read
Originally posted on Schools & Ecosystems:
You might assume I know something about teaching kids to read. I studied English at UCLA and obtained my master’s in education at The City College of NY. I taught special education grades 5-8 for 7 years, and I’ve supported schools and teachers throughout the Bronx with K-8 ELA… -
Welcome to the Language and Literacy Blog
Welcome to my new blog. My name is Mark, and I serve NYC schools. I’ve been blogging for some time over on Schools & Ecosystems, but my main focus these days is on language and literacy, rather than on the physical and social-ecological environments of schools. Plus, my writing has just totally petered out, so […]
Language & Literacy
Connecting research to practice in language and literacy teaching and learning.
Language & Literacy 