Get Ready! Soar - PROGRAM SAMPLER

English Learners (ELs) who are not literate in their home languages, as well as ELs whose home language is not alphabetic, will need instruction in the foundational literacy skills of English . These foundational skills include print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, and word recognition . ELs need systematic instruction and multiple opportunities to practice these skills (August, Shanahan & Escamilla, 2009) . • Directionality English is read from left to right . The horizontal arrangement of print is a critical component of written English . Directional tracking involves looking at and processing letters in this order (Student Achievement Partners, 2017) . Some ELs’ home languages are not oriented this way (e .g ., Arabic is read from right to left) . Get Ready! includes an introductory unit in which students can practice directionality both visually and in writing . • Letter-sound recognition Some ELs’ home languages (e .g ., Chinese) use a logographic system with characters that symbolize words or morphemes . These students will need work isolating, identifying, and manipulating sounds . They will also need to learn sound-symbol associations and patterns . Students will also need to learn to write the 26 letters of English, using both uppercase and lowercase . The introductory unit presents these and offers multiple opportunities for practice . The Practice Book also includes exercises to reinforce this . • Phonics and Phonemic Awareness Once students can process both letters and sounds, they can put them together to form written words . This process of decoding is reinforced in the Phonics section of each unit . ELs can use their phonics skills to support their emerging reading skills . This means practicing blending and decoding within the context of meaningful text . Get Ready! offers Decodable Readers to assist with this process . References August, D ., Shanahan, T ., & Escamilla, K . (2009) . English language learners: developing literacy in second- language learners—report of the national literacy panel on language-minority children and youth . Journal of Literacy Research , 41(4), 432–452 . Student Achievement Partners . (2017) . ELA / Literacy: Foundational Skills . Available at https://achievethecore . org/category/1206/ela-literacy-foundational-skill Get Ready! in your classroom • Ensure that students who need to develop foundational skills in English complete the introductory unit . Offer multiple opportunities to match oral sounds and words to print . Use visual depictions as reinforcement . Use available audio segments to reinforce sound-symbol associations . • Incorporate hands-on activities to support multisensory and kinesthetic learning . Add manipulatives, such as letter tiles or magnets, sound boxes, or counters . ELs can also create their own materials using art supplies, a computer, or tablet . • Help students make connections between their home language and English . Have them notice sounds that are the same or similar . Teach what cognates are, so they can be used as assets . • Include sufficient time for informal assessments . Observe as students are doing oral or written tasks or reading Decodable Readers . Document your observations . Then reteach in small groups to address the needs of ELs who are not progressing and/or those who have been absent (Student Achievement Partners, 2017) . Txx FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY