Structured Literacy Implementation: A Checklist for School Leaders
As a school leader, making sure your literacy instruction aligns with the principles of Structured Literacy is essential for fostering educational equity and improving student outcomes. This is a checklist to help you evaluate and implement Structured Literacy practices in your school.
What Literacy Educators Should Do:
☑ Provide Explicit Instruction: Clearly explain new concepts, guide practice, and provide immediate feedback.
☑ Teach Reliable Spelling Patterns: Focus on spelling patterns and rules to build foundational word recognition skills.
☑ Deliver Systematic and Cumulative Instruction: Follow a logical sequence based on prior knowledge.
☑ Use Multisensory/Multimodal Learning: Engage multiple senses to reinforce learning.
☑ Apply Diagnostic and Responsive Teaching: Adjust lessons based on student progress and feedback.
What Literacy Educators Should Avoid:
⊗ Expecting Students to Learn Through Exposure: Avoid relying on students to grasp new concepts intuitively.
⊗ Focusing Solely on Memorization: Do not limit spelling instruction to word lists without teaching patterns.
⊗ Using Random or Disjointed Sequences: Ensure all lessons are connected and follow a logical progression.
⊗ Limiting Instruction to One Modality: Engage multiple senses to accommodate different learning styles.
⊗ Ignoring Student Feedback: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach; adjust instruction based on ongoing assessments.
Take the crucial step of aligning your school’s approach with Structured Literacy principles to unlock the potential of every learner through research-proven methods.
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