Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand

Sequence of Sessions

Overarching Objectives of this May 2013 Network Team Institute The purpose of this May 2013 Pilot Training/Network Team Institute is to provide a general understanding of CKLA-NY program and it’s

design, link CKLA-NY to the comprehensive model of language arts instruction, as discussed by the State, (i.e., the Three Pillar Model), and to support participants in beginning to use the Listening and Learning strand of materials.

High-Level Purpose of this Session The purpose of this session is to support participants in making connections between the idea of synthetic phonics and the instructional

design and key instructional features of CKLA’s Skills strand. Synthetic phonics is a systematic approach that emphasizes individual phonemes and oral language skills as underlying strong decoding. Instructional features of CKLA are highlighted to illustrate four specific design principles: 1. CKLA makes the complex relationship between sounds and spellings explicit. 2. CKLA teaches the most frequent and least ambiguous sounds first. 3. CKLA gives intensive practice in distinguishing sounds that are auditorily similar. 4. CKLA gives intensive attention to the oral language skills (blending/segmenting) which underlie strong reading and writing.

Related Learning Experiences This training is the first in a series of trainings on the use of CKLA-NY. It provides background knowledge that will be relevant to upcoming

trainings on implementing the Skills strand to occur at a future date.

Session OutcomesWhat do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this session? How will we know that they are able to do this?

1. Participants will be able to recognize and explain the four design principles underlying Skills.

2. Participants will be able to connect aspects of the Skills lessons to the various design principles.

Participants will demonstrate knowledge and skills related to the learning objectives through completed activities and in-session discussions.

Session Overview

Section Time Overview

Prepared Resources

All handouts listed are within the .zip file Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – Materials

Facilitator Preparation

Design Principle 1: CKLA makes the complex relationship between sounds and spellings explicit.

30 minutes

Consider the “sound-first” approach that guides the CKLA Skills strand.

Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – PPT; slides 3-15

Handouts:Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs (24_session8_Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs.docx)

Sound vs. Spelling Focus in CKLA (25_session8_Sound versus spelling focus inCKLA.docx)

Things You Hear and See (26_session8_ThingsyouHearandSee.docx)

Design Principle 2: CLKA teachers children the most frequent and least ambiguous sounds first.

20 minutes

Consider the rationale guiding the scope and sequence of spelling-sound patterns taught across K-2.

Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – PPT; slides 16-22

Handouts:Basic Code Activity (27_session8_BasicCode.docx)

Student Code Sheets (28_session8_studentcodesheets.pdf)

Design Principle 3. CKLA gives intensive practice in distinguishing sounds that are auditorily similar.

20 minutes

Consider relevant speech science concepts and how this guides the unit-by-unit organization of spelling-sound patterns taught.

Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – PPT; slides 23-28

Handouts:Minimal Pairs Lesson (29_session8_Minimalpairs.docx)

Code Load Practice (30_session8_CodeLoadsWKST.docx)

Kindergarten Unit 7 Student Reader Sample (31_session8_sethstories.pdf)

Section Time Overview

Prepared Resources

All handouts listed are within the .zip file Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – Materials

Facilitator Preparation

Design Principle 4. CKLA gives intensive attention to the oral language skills (blending/segmenting) which underlie strong reading and writing.

20 minutes

Consider tight link between oral and written language skills and how these are mutually reinforced in the Skills strand.

Session 8: Understanding the Design Principles of the Skills Strand – PPT 29-35

Handouts:Chaining Practice (32_session8_chaining.docx)

Session Roadmap

Section 1: Design Principle 1: CKLA makes the complex relationship between sounds and spellings explicit

Time: 30 minutes

In this section, you will help participants consider the “sound-first” approach that guides the CKLA Skills strand.

Materials used include: Powerpoint slides 3-15 Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs

(24_session8_Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs.docx) Sound vs. Spelling Focus in CKLA (25_session8_Sound versus spelling

focus inCKLA.docx) Things You Hear and See (26_session8_ThingsyouHearandSee.docx)

Time Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions (Please Note: Here we provide key ideas per slide. A full script is provided within the power point slides. To see these, select the “Notes” view).

GROUP

30 minutes

Slide 3 Key Point:1. Introduction to the first design principle.

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Slide 4 Key Points:1. These riddles illustrate the distinction between being focused on sounds-first

or letters-first.2. Participants will complete and reflect on the riddles.3. Riddles show how it can be challenging to take a ‘sound first’ approach to

words.

Riddle Answers:1. Jacques Cousteau2. Moby Dick3. I love you4. Dr. Suess5. The Sound of Music

SG/WG

Slide 5Key Point:

1. Practice the distinction of sounds and spellings. Work as a small group and debrief as a whole group.

2. This part of the activity focuses on the distinctions within a cluster.3. Note that for many this may be a shift as some programs do teach some of the

patterns we call ‘blends’ as single sounds.

Answers per CKLA program:At = 2 soundsTip – 3 soundsCape = 3 soundsSlip = 4 sounds

SG/WG

Slide 6 Key Point:1. Practice the distinction of sounds and letters.2. This introduces the idea of a digraph.

Answer:Pluck = 4 soundsBrush = 4 soundsThinner = 4 sounds

Slide 7 Key Points:1. What we have been doing through the practices is essentially becoming sensitive

to clusters versus digraphs.2. Clusters are two sounds, represented by two letters (one letter a sound). They

appear back-to-back but both sounds are said.3. A digraph is a single sound, that is represented by two letters.

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Slide 8 Key Points:1. Reinforce the difference between clusters and digraphs.2. Note that the column on the right populates via animation.3. This ‘categorization’ process is done as an individual activity and then group

debrief.

Handout:Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs (24_session8_Distinguishing Consonant Clusters and Digraphs.docx)

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Slide 9 Key Points:1. This activity helps raise awareness to the distinctions in instructional language

that need to be kept clear when instructing in sounds and spellings as distinct (though related) ideas.

2. This slide sets the focus for participants as they go into watching the following demonstrations.

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Slide 10 Key Points:1. Participants will focus on evidence of the sound/spelling focus within the

instructional language of the lesson.2. The demonstration will be given to the whole group and time in small groups will

be given to consider the evidence.Note: There will be a video link to this demonstration for turnkey purposes.

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Slide 11 Key Point:1. Debrief on key points regarding the language of instruction in this section of the

lesson.

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Slide 12 Key Points:1. Participants will focus on evidence of the spelling-focus within the instructional

language of the lesson.

Note: There will be a video clip of this demonstration. If doing this demonstration live, facilitators may want to use a large flip chart paper to illustrate aspects of the lesson.

WG/SG

Slide 13 Key Point:1. Debrief on key points regarding the language of instruction in this section of the

lesson.

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Slide 14Key Points:

1. This can be done as a table or individual activity to help participants sum up key ideas regarding instruction in sounds and spellings.

Handout:Things You Hear and See (26_session8_ThingsyouHearandSee.docx)

SG/I

Slide 15

Key Points:1. Answers to the activity.

Section 2: Design Principle 2: CLKA teaches children the most frequent and least ambiguous sounds first.

Time: 20 minutes

In this section, you will help participants consider the scope and sequence of the CKLA Skills strand.

Materials used include: Slides 16-22 Basic Code Activity (27_session8_BasicCode.docx) Student Code Sheets (28_session8_studentcodesheets.pdf)

Time Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions (Please Note: Here we provide key ideas per slide. A full script is provided within the power point slides. To see these, select the “Notes” view).

GROUP

30minutes

Slide 16 Key Points:Transition

Slide 17 Key Points:1. Definition of basic code.

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Slide 18 Key Points:1. Participants consider their own background knowledge and approach to the

code and use this to consider the vowels they would see as part of the ‘basic code.’

2. Table activity.

HandoutBasic Code Activity (27_session8_BasicCode.docx)

SG

Slide 19 Key Points:1. Debrief on the ‘basic code’ for CKLA.2. The basic code teaches a single spelling pattern for each of the 18 distinct

vowel sounds in English.

WG

Slide 20 Key Points:1. Participants consider the rationale for how CKLA defines the basic code.2. They examine the impact of teaching the least ambiguous, most frequent

spelling patterns first.

Slide 21 Key Point:1. Activity debrief illustrating change in text over 9 weeks in Kindergarten and

the power of teaching the most frequent, least ambiguous spellings for every sound of English in Kindergarten.

2. Optional slide.

Slide 22 Key Point: Summary slide1. Every relationship (between a sound and spelling) is made to be explicit and is

introduced gradually to help children achieve mastery in some spelling patterns before others are introduced explicitly.

2. The sound becomes the anchor of instruction and this is what is meant by a ‘sound-first’ approach.

Section 3: Design Principle 3. CKLA gives intensive practice in distinguishing sounds that are auditorily similar

Time: 20 minutes

In this section, you will have participants consider the idea of minimal pairs and how this idea guides the grouping of sound-spellings taught within a unit.

Materials used include: Slides 23-28 Minimal Pairs Lesson (29_session8_Minimalpairs.docx) Code Load Practice (30_session8_CodeLoadsWKST.docx) Kindergarten Unit 7 Student Reader Sample

(31_session8_sethstories.pdf)

Time Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions (Please Note: Here we provide key ideas per slide. A full script is provided within the power point slides. To see these, select the “Notes” view).

GROUP

20Minutes

Slide 23Key Point:

1. Definition of synthetic phonics and the organizing principles of CKLA.

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Slide 24 Key Points:1. Table activity to consider how and why these sounds may be easily confused

by children.2. The ‘minimal pairs’ appear at the left. After the activity, you can bring the

reasons for why sounds listed may be confusing forward through animation.3. Focus on the acoustic reasons these sounds are similar as this is important to

how CKLA teaches sounds/spellings.

SG

Slide 25 Key Points:1. Consonants are tricky sounds to hear because of their acoustic properties.2. Conduct an exercise to explore these acoustic properties.

WG

Slide 26 Key Points:1. Place, manner, and voicing define sounds.2. Sounds that only differ in voicing are called cognates. These are the trickiest

often for young children.3. CKLA helps children distinguish these sounds, as well as make other fine

distinctions, through direct instruction and practice through reading and writing activities.

4. The facilitator walks participants through an analysis of the place, manner, voicing for each pair, mirroring language that is used with children in CKLA materials.

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Slide 27 Key Points:1. CKLA explicitly instructs children in making difficult distinctions between

minimal pairs.2. Individual reflection on the language used in this section of the lesson.3. There will be a short live demonstration.4. Video will be available of this demonstration for turnkey.

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Handout:Minimal Pairs Lesson (29_session8_Minimalpairs.docx)

Slide 28 Key Points:1. Consider how the readers support children’s learning of the code.2. Examine the readers with a focus on understanding how they support practice

with minimal pairs.Handout:Code Load Practice (30_session8_CodeLoadsWKST.docx)

Kindergarten Unit 7 Student Reader Sample (31_session8_sethstories.pdf)

SG

Design Principle 4. CKLA gives intensive attention to the oral language skills (blending/segmenting) which underlie strong reading and writing

Time: 20 minutes

In this section, you will have participants consider the relationship between blending/segmenting and reading/spelling and how CKLA fosters this connection.

Materials used include: Slides 29-35 Chaining Practice (32_session8_chaining.docx)

Time Slide #/ Pic of Slide Script/ Activity directions (Please Note: Here we provide key ideas per slide. A full script is provided within the power point slides. To see these, select the “Notes” view).

GROUP

20Minutes

Slide 29Key Points:

1. This is the fourth design idea.2. It represents another critical way that oral language and speech science is at

the heart of the instructional approach within CKLA.

WG

Slide 30 Key Points:1. Exercise where you ask participants to spell the word hydrocarbonaceous (the

word is not showing).2. Bring up the word via animation and ask participants to consider their spelling

and the process the used to spell the word correctly of close to this answer.3. At the heart of spelling is the oral language skill of segmenting.

WG

Slide 31 Key Points:1. Blending is the oral language skill underlying reading.2. Segmenting is the oral language skill underlying spelling.3. Ask participants to discuss these ideas in their own words with a partner.

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Slide 32 Key Points1. CKLA supports children’s oral language skills of blending and segmenting.2. The demonstration of blending shows participants how CKLA supports oral

language skills of blending and segmenting in a multi-sensory way.3. Video of this short demonstration will be available for turnkey.

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Slide 33 Key Points:1. Chaining demonstration.2. The words selected and the process of chaining encourage children to draw

upon the oral language skill of segmenting and encourage children to take a sound-first approach to considering spellings.

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Slide 34 Key Points:• Have participants practice the chaining process, noting how the instructional

language is grounded in a firm base of oral language skills (e.g., blending/segmenting).

Handout:Chaining Practice (32_session8_chaining.docx)

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Slide 35 Key Point:1. Reflection on the design principles.

Use the following icons in the script to indicate different learning modes.Video Reflect on a prompt Active learning Turn and talk

Turnkey Materials Provided

Additional Suggested Resources