Last year was quite a journey, and we are deeply thankful to keep serving fellow educators, parents, and their amazing children.
Outreach and Education
In March of this year, Sara and Jen presented their 2023 IDA talk “Grammar Foundations for Writing” for the Science of Reading group. They discussed the fact that the current move toward scientific investigations in word study has produced an increase in the understanding of words, their morphology, etymology, and phonology, but often, the study ends with the investigation of the word. Less often, the study continues into the use of the word in context. The talk offered educators a way to introduce learners of various ages to the foundations of English grammar so they can investigate not only the structure of words but the structure of their use. Jen and Sara hope to present more talks for this group in 2025.
Jen’s speaking engagements continued in April with her guest lecturing again for Dr. Kristen Secora’s special education PhD students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville on the topic of “Scientific Word Inquiry and the Importance of Morphology in Literacy Instruction." Jen always enjoys sharing information with the students about how to scientifically investigate the interrelationship between morphology, etymology, and phonology. It is so important to educate the up and coming literacy professional about how our writing system works!
Literacy Dr continued to offer drop-ins for all learners in 2024. We host a parent/teacher drop-in “Wednesdays with Literacy Dr” from September to May and a student drop-in June through August. Summer of 2024 was our 5th season of student drop-ins, and this fall we are starting our 5th year of “Wednesdays with Literacy Dr.” We welcomed several new regular attendees this past year, and we love interacting with so many different members of our community.
Over the summer, Jen and Sara hosted a booth at the Southeastern Homeschool Expo in Atlanta. They were able to speak to a variety of attendees about how to use word study to work with their homeschoolers and answer all kinds of questions about teaching reading and spelling. It is always fun to get out into the community and meet new people and spread the word about how the English writing system works.
This year, there is a new addition to our video library, “Are we confusing spelling with pronunciation?”. The video was a fun exploration of how different accents have no bearing on how we spell words, despite the commonly held belief that spelling is simply speech in print.
Staff Professional Development
Internally, Literacy Dr therapists participated in two outstanding sessions of professional development this year.
Michelle Yancich, Pace Academy ‘s Upper School Latin teacher, dove into more of our Latin questions this past March. Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in classics from Yale University and a master’s degree in Latin from the University of Georgia. We’ve studied with Michelle many times over the past few years, and we love continuing to dive into Latin deeper each time we meet with her. Maximas gratias tibi agimus, Michelle!
Marie Foley (Marie Foley Reading and the Making Sense of English Using Structured Word Inquiry Facebook group) presented on using Canva to create lessons that use visuals to activate background knowledge in order to help students access a better understanding of the writing system. Marie not only showed us how she creates her amazing visuals but also showed us how to engage students in the creation process. Co-creating visual booklets can help retain and retrieve the information being taught. Thank you so much for sharing your creative talents with us, Marie!
Blog Posts
Three new blog posts were added to our library, each written by Sara Lee. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy Sara’s gift with words. Each post is no longer than a 5 minute read.
Here's to a new year filled with the joy of learning!
Jen & Sara
ความคิดเห็น