A Letter from Executive Director Dawn Miller
Twenty-some years ago when Kelly Griffith was teaching first grade, her class studied honeybees for a month.
“Anything and all things honeybee,” she said. “I used my standards. We did research together. We tasted honey on biscuits. We studied beeswax and candles and crayons.
“I had a beekeeper come in, and he brought them all little test tubes of honey to taste.
“We dissected honeycombs. We watched videos.
“And we read tons of different texts and different levels of texts about honeybees and flowers.”
A month later the Title 1 teacher came in to “DIBEL” the kids, or to administer a common test called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills.
Then one day both the Title 1 teacher and an administrator walked into Griffith’s classroom with the results. “What did you do?” they asked.
Griffith’s first graders, who had been grouped in her class because they struggled with reading, had “knocked it out of the park.”
By happenstance, one of the passages that the kids were tested on was about honeybees.
“That was powerful to me,” said Griffith. Now a coordinator for academic support with the West Virginia Department of Education, she co-leads the department’s “Ready. Read. Write.” initiative to improve reading skills across the state.
To many older readers the effort will look familiar – teach children to accurately sound out words, explicitly and systematically, using data to differentiate instruction. That is a big part of it, and it is based on decades of research illuminating how the brain learns to read.
At the same time, children must build knowledge and vocabulary with rich and fascinating texts and topics. For this knowledge-building work, everyone gets the support they need to access the same grade-level texts and topics regardless of decoding ability. That way, each child can enjoy and learn from the most interesting books and activities.
Just as Griffith’s first graders did all those years ago.
She wants community members and families to understand their role.
“Little things, like activities in the car or during bathtime can actually make an impact in how your child makes connections, and the knowledge they come to school with, which is a huge predictor of being a proficient reader,” Griffith said.
Reading aloud is an excellent way to give students opportunities to experience more challenging texts than they might be able to read on their own. Enter your classroom Read Aloud reader. Volunteers show up each week with another book or another chapter to enjoy together, full of rich vocabulary and complex ideas to explore, all while modeling reading for fun.
Or a nightly bedtime book. Or the books parents keep in the car or stroller for unexpected waits. Or any reading habit anywhere. Walks through parks or historical sites. Trying and discussing new foods or interesting documentaries.
“It’s not just decoding words,” Griffith said. “It’s having conversations. Digging in the dirt. Telling them what is in the dirt.
“I want families to hear that message, because I want them to know that they have an important role in their students’ literacy. The knowledge they bring to school helps with those literacy skills, even before they start reading on their own.
“I don’t know that I knew that even as a young teacher.”
Throughout this newsletter, you will find communities where the message has been received. Reading role models are carrying out their important role – at the Jackson County Fair, at an event for new and expectant mothers in Raleigh County, at Women and Children’s Hospital in Kanawha County, and in Read Aloud classrooms all over the state.