The journey to Literacy First will generate many questions! As we travel this path, we will create a living document housing the frequently asked questions about Literacy First implementation. The document will be housed on the shared drive of the HPS network for literacy, but is also posted below. As updates are made, they will be posted on the blog. The intent is to provide an avenue for sharing information in a uniform, consistent manner. Please speak with principals or literacy coaches to submit questions or gain clarity on the responses listed below.
1. What are the goals for the first chunk of Literacy First?
Literacy First is delivered in pieces or chunks to allow teachers the opportunity to master content. In an effort to minimize stress, there will be opportunities to practice with coaching before moving on. The first part of Literacy First focuses on three areas. MIRP, P.A.S.T. , and the Phonics assessment. Teachers should be implementing Monitored Independent Reading Practice in each K-2 classroom from the first days of school as appropriate for the age and grade level. The P.A.S.T. and Phonics assessments should also be delivered and utilized to drive instructional decision making right away. These three pieces should be the focus of the implementation for the first weeks of school.
2. What is the timeline for the assessments?
Each assessment will be delivered as outlined in the Literacy First Training. Teachers will be coached and have opportunities to practice the assessments before delivering them to students. Kindergarten teachers should not begin to assess using the P.A.S.T. until the third week of school or after September 13th. First grade and second grade will begin the delivery of the P.A.S.T. and Phonics assessments week two or on or after September 7th.
Assessments from that point will remain ongoing in nature with the understanding that the assessments must be delivered frequently enough to provide information for grouping and regrouping based on skills. However, there are specific checkpoints for data entry utilizing My Data First. Data Checkpoints will be held on September 24th, October 22nd, December 1st, January 14th, February 11th, March 11th, April 8th, May 13th, June 10th.
3. Which assessments will we deliver?
All teachers will deliver the P.A.S.T. assessment to students. The phonics assessment will be delivered to students who demonstrate mastery of rhyme, breaking words into syllables, deleting syllables, and recognizing the initial and final sounds in words as evidenced by the P.A.S.T.
4. How much of the assessments will be delivered?
Teachers will deliver all of the assessments to all students in K-2 this year in Hickory Public Schools. That means, for instance, that all second grade teachers are expected to administer all parts of the PAST to all students this year as we practice the assessment and gain confidence in the Literacy First process.
Phonics assessments will be delivered to students who are able to rhyme, break words into syllables, delete syllables and recognize the initial and final sounds in words.
5. Will we implement MIRP right away?
MIRP is an expectation and should be part of the schedule at every school. Monitored Independent Reading Practice should be implemented as soon as possible to encourage the students to get into the routine of reading independently while the teacher observes for specific skill deficits and mastery. The district guidelines for MIRP include adjustments in the time allotted for MIRP from grade to grade, allowing for developmental differences in students. Expectations also increase each nine weeks as students strengthen skills. Students who are able to accelerate more quickly may build to the goal of 20 minutes as needed. The key to MIRP is to monitor students by listening to a few students each day and supporting selection of books so they are operating within their ZPD (zone of proximal development.) This is an excellent time to pull in baggie books. Equally important is to maintain a log of books read during MIRP. Coaches will be sharing record-keeping systems with teachers.
Initially, Kindergarteners may work in pairs to take picture walks or tell the story to one another.
MIRP Expectations
6. Who will make copies of the assessments?
The HPS Department of Testing and Accountability will provide copies of the assessments for teachers. Copies of the PA and P.A.S.T. will be given to teachers by September 3rd.
7. When will we be trained on My Data First?
Literacy Coaches will train grade levels of teachers on My Data First. Literacy Coaches will receive training on September 10th and will provide the training as soon as possible after that time. Log-ins and passwords will be available at the time of training.
8. How often should we assess?
Initial assessment dates are provided as a guideline for teachers. The purpose of the assessment data is to determine areas of need for skill-based groupings of students. Students’ assessments should be ongoing in nature to provide classroom teachers with the information to respond to current student needs. While static dates have been provided for data entry, those dates are simply deadlines for data to be entered into My Data First. Teachers will assess as needed to determine the ZPD for each student so that instruction can be delivered at the appropriate zone of proximal development.
9. When do I give the Phonics Assessment?
When working with at-risk students, it is necessary to step back and evaluate the extent that the student has developed all the skills in their ears first. Sounds and letters are housed in two different parts of the brain. Before the Phonics assessment can be administered, students should be able to rhyme, break words into syllables, delete syllables and recognize the initial and final sounds in words. Refer to page 2-10 in the BOB for more information.
10. Can I still hang the alphabet on my wall?
You can still teach the letters, but understand that many of your students will not “get it” because they are not operating in their ZPD. Don’t worry if your picture cards have the letters on them. It is not necessary to “hide” letters. Just understand that many students, especially at-risk students, may not understand the letter-sound connection at first. Save that work for small group instruction. This question illustrates the importance of using the assessments to determine the ZPD prior to delivering instruction.
11. Can I still send home baggie books?
Absolutely, you may still send home baggie books, being sure to provide materials that are within the ZPD for each student.
12. What about classroom libraries?
We will be asking teachers to analyze classroom libraries soon. Teachers will be asked to count the total number of books in classrooms as well as the number of non-fiction titles in classrooms. Once the need is clarified, we will work toward building resources for the Literacy First process.
13. Is \buh\ acceptable for the \b\ sound?
Please note that \buh\ is an incorrect response for the \b\ sound. As discussed in Literacy First Training, we want to have students “clip” the sounds or shorten them to the appropriate sound. This applies to all sounds, not just \b\.
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