Early Childhood News
Quakertown Community School District
Fall Edition 2019
Contents
QCSD Primary News
- DIBELS 8
- Fundations
- Sensory Paths - Pfaff and Richland
- Parent Cafe Opportunity
Research Share
- Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris - Childhood Trauma
- Getting Reading Right
- The Path to Fluent Reading: A Developmental Timeline
Contact QCSD
QCSD Primary News
DIBELS 8 for Grades K-5
As a district, we have moved from using DIBELS Next to DIBELS 8 as our universal screening tool as well as for progress monitoring. Below is some information about the latest edition of Dibels, DIBELS 8. For more information about Dibels 8, please click here.
- New grade levels. DIBELS has been extended through the end of eighth grade.
- New composite scores. DIBELS composite scores has been overhauled to make them better than ever at predicting risk. Consistent subtests within grade. Subtests relevant to a given grade are offered at every benchmark period.
- New and revised subtests. DIBELS now includes word reading fluency and existing subtests have undergone extensive improvement efforts to maximize their usefulness.
- Expanding the safety net. DIBELS now offers a word reading fluency measure that can help to identify students with poor sight word and irregular word reading skills that other subtests miss.
- Expanding the utility. DIBELS forms now have items that progress in difficulty beyond risk cut-points that provide data teachers can use in planning instruction for all students.
Fundations
QCSD PreK-2 teachers have begun implementing a foundational skills program called Fundations.
Fundations® is a multisensory and systematic phonics, spelling, and handwriting program that benefits all students. Fundations is designed as a whole-class, general education program used for prevention purposes. Fundations is also being used as a strategic support intervention.
We are excited to continue our focus on building a strong foundation for our early literacy learners!
Sensory Paths
All Primary Students at Pfaff and Richland Take Brain Breaks on Sensory Paths
Imagine having a radio on really loud while trying to teach a child to read. It is nearly impossible, and you might even get a little anxiety, right?
The muscles tense, you might get agitated, start talking a little louder, maybe faster or slower, and then you can't even function to answer a question. What is happening to you is your body's response to a stimuli, but luckily you can turn the radio off, and your body adjusts.
Kids with sensory processing disorders can't just simply turn off the radio of their brain. They need a brain break. Their neurological pathways have essentially jammed, and must be cleared. By taking the sensory overloaded kid to our Sensory Path, they will complete a series of movements as they move through the path that are designed to release the blocked paths and allow the body and brain to refocus.
Sensory Paths support all students by providing brain breaks!
Here is some more information on the research out there about Sensory
Vestibular System and Proprioception: The Two Unknown Senses
https://blog.ochsner.org/articles/vestibular-system-and-proprioception-the-two-unknown-senses
SENSORY INTEGRATION
https://www.autism.com/symptoms_sensory_overview
More About SENSORY INTEGRATION
Parent Cafe Opportunity
Parent Wellness Plan: Quakertown Community School District in partnership with LifeSpan present this FREE Parent Workshop by Living Strong Consulting, LLC
PARENT WELLNESS PLANS: Creating an Emotional Safety Plan
We can't always control what is happening around us, but we can control how we react. Join us to learn strategies to create a wellness plan to maintain calm and emotional balance.
Join us on Wednesday, November 13th at the Quakertown High School from 6:00pm - 7:30pm for our Parent Cafe presentation.
Please RSVP (Register for a ticket) if you plan to attend.
Training Presented by
Living Strong Consulting, LLC
Research Share
Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris - Childhood Trauma
Early adversity dramatically affects health and learning across a lifetime.
How Do Kids Learn To Read, Education Week
For almost a century, researchers have argued over the question. Most of the disagreement has centered on the very beginning stages of the reading process, when young children are first starting to figure out how to decipher words on a page.
One theory is that reading is a natural process, like learning to speak. If teachers and parents surround children with good books, this theory goes, kids will pick up reading on their own. Another idea suggests that reading is a series of strategic guesses based on context, and that kids should be taught these guessing strategies.
But research has shown that reading is not a natural process, and it’s not a guessing game. Written language is a code. Certain combinations of letters predictably represent certain sounds. And for the last few decades, the research has been clear: Teaching young kids how to crack the code—teaching systematic phonics—is the most reliable way to make sure that they learn how to read words.
Click here to read more or click one of the links below.
Learning to Read vs. Learning to Speak
What Is Systematic, Explicit Phonics Instruction?
How Much Phonics Is Enough?
Do All Kids Really Need Phonics?
Can Cueing Strategies Help Students to Read?
How Should I Teach Phonics? Content and Sequence
Synthetic Phonics vs. Analytic Phonics—Which Is Best?
When Should Children Start Sounding Out Words?
Other Elements of Research-Based Programs
Reading to Infants and Preschoolers
Independent Choice Reading
Print vs. Digital Texts
More Resources
A Preview of Some Slides Below
QCSD Contact Information
Dr. Lisa Hoffman
Assistant Superintendent for Office for Teaching and Learning
215-529-2005
Erin Oleksa-Carter
Supervisor of Literacy and Arts
215-529-2015
Janet Pelone
Director of Pupil Services
215-529-2014
Kelly Cramer
K-12 Instructional Coach
215-529 -2664
Parent Information for Kindergarten Readiness
Doris Yurchak
QCSD Registrar
215-529-2023
Prior Early Childhood News Editions