The summary of ‘UFLI Foundations: Progress Monitoring and Differentiation’

The video discusses a webinar by YouFly Foundation on progress monitoring and differentiation, emphasizing effective instruction through explicit teaching methods, logical sequencing, and ample practice opportunities. It highlights the importance of interleaved practice for long-term skill retention and the significance of varied and repeated practice in learning. The importance of intensive intervention, tiered instruction, and progress monitoring in structured reading programs is emphasized. The speaker suggests organizing lessons for effective teaching, conducting spelling assessments, planning small group support based on individual needs, and providing personalized support for students. Engaging activities, progress monitoring, and tailored interventions are key strategies for teaching students effectively.

00:00:00

In this segment of the video, Alyssa Ricky introduces the webinar on progress monitoring and differentiation by YouFly Foundation. She provides logistical information about contacting the publisher, mentions the recording will be available on the YouFly YouTube channel, and instructs participants to use the Q&A feature for questions. Dr. Holly Lane, an author of the YouFly Foundations program, explains effective instruction focusing on explicit teaching with clear explanations and systematic planning. She emphasizes the importance of using recommended teacher language and provides a sample lesson demonstration to illustrate explicit instruction.

00:05:00

In this part of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of logical sequencing and building on prior knowledge in effective instruction. They liken the process to a builder following a blueprint to ensure the house is constructed correctly. The scope and sequence in the program are highlighted as essential elements for students to acquire knowledge progressively. The key feature of effective instruction discussed is providing plenty of opportunities for students to respond, which aids in skill application through practice. Different types of practice, such as blocked and interleaved, are explained, with interleaved practice being more effective for long-term retention of closely related skills. The importance of varied and repeated practice in learning new skills, such as driving or playing an instrument, is also emphasized.

00:10:00

In this segment of the video, the importance of practice in reading skills is emphasized. The program discussed incorporates practice extensively, such as practicing the sound of ‘short I’ multiple times across lessons. The video also highlights the significance of interleaved practice and providing specific praise and corrective feedback to students. The goal is to ensure students receive ample practice and feedback to improve their reading skills effectively.

00:15:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the importance of correct practice for ingraining correct behaviors in memory. They emphasize that practice makes permanent and outline the key components of effective instruction and intervention, including explicit and systematic teaching, opportunities to respond, behavior-specific praise, and corrective feedback. Effective intervention is described as intense, often involving smaller groups or one-on-one instruction with more practice opportunities and time spent on instruction. The speaker introduces the concept of tiered instruction, with tier one focusing on explicit instruction and guided practice, tier two including more practice and opportunities to respond, and tier three providing even more support. It is highlighted that intervention should be provided by individuals with the most skills, discouraging assigning untrained volunteers or paraprofessionals to struggling students. The importance of explicit, systematic, and intensive intervention is stressed for applying these principles in UFLY Foundations lessons, which are organized into eight steps and divided across different lessons.

00:20:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the structure of lessons for day two of teaching a new concept in a structured reading program. The key points include quick reviews of concepts introduced on day one, practice reading and spelling regular and irregular words, reading sentences, writing sentences, and reading a decodable passage. The emphasis is on organizing the week’s lessons to focus on Friday’s review and assessment sessions. The suggested structure for Friday reviews includes using day two slides for concept review, decoding and encoding practice, spelling practice, and conducting assessments. Additional activities such as using word chains, manipulative letter practice, electronic wordwork mat, and virtual blending board are also suggested for Friday review sessions.

00:25:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of reviewing challenging concepts and incorporating progress monitoring assessments into lessons. Progress monitoring can involve benchmark assessments to evaluate if students are meeting established criteria and instructional assessments to see if students are learning the taught material. The speaker suggests using spelling tests as a way to assess both encoding and decoding skills regularly and efficiently. They explain that spelling tests can provide valuable insights into students’ language skills, emphasizing the connection between spelling and reading. Additionally, the speaker mentions that the Youth Life foundations program includes a section on progress monitoring with recommendations for spelling tests as assessments.

00:30:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the process of conducting spelling assessments with students. They mention starting with simple tasks like dictating words and sentences to assess spelling abilities. The focus is on using New Concept points for assessment to evaluate how students are doing with specific concepts rather than traditional total points scoring. The speaker emphasizes planning instruction based on the assessment results for review and remediation during the reading block. They recommend identifying students who need review or remediation, deciding on instructional focus, format, and time needed for support, with the ultimate goal of increasing opportunities for student response. The assessment data helps in determining the level of support needed for different students, ranging from intensive support to minimal support or no additional support required based on mastery of concepts.

00:35:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of planning enrichment activities, not just reviews, for all students including those consistently scoring proficiently. They discuss providing advanced word study activities and language comprehension support for students needing extra help. The transcript also touches upon utilizing various support resources such as co-teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, and older students to assist struggling students. The importance of targeting specific areas where students need help rather than providing blanket support is highlighted for effective small group instruction. The use of home practice sheets and ongoing skill review is recommended for different levels of student needs. Additionally, the speaker suggests analyzing individual student performance on specific concepts to tailor support more effectively.

00:40:00

In this segment, the main points are about organizing small group support based on individual concept needs and considering different formats for support such as peer practice and independent practice. It emphasizes the importance of keeping students engaged and learning during group rotations, incorporating skill review activities, and providing additional practice for accuracy and automaticity. The segment also discusses using word cards and game boards for practice, engaging students with decodable texts, and the importance of students hearing their own voice while reading.

00:45:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the importance of phonological representation when reading, mentioning that young kids may struggle to read silently until around second grade. Whisper phones are suggested as a helpful tool for this. Additionally, the video covers the use of decodable texts and literacy center management for early elementary students. The importance of routines, simplicity, differentiation, as well as preferential seating and accommodations for spelling activities, are emphasized to support students’ learning effectively.

00:50:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the importance of personalized support for students in small group settings. They emphasize the need to allocate time based on individual student needs rather than dividing it equally among all students. The speaker suggests varying time allocations, such as 10-12 minutes for some students, 5-8 minutes for others, and possibly no supplemental support for some. The lesson plans are designed to introduce new skills and concepts, followed by review and interleaved practice, aiming towards mastery over time. The importance of assessment data and progress monitoring for making informed instructional decisions is also highlighted. The speaker concludes by mentioning resources available for further clarification and support, including a Facebook group for the participants. A question about placement tests is addressed, recommending the use of phonics surveys and following the suggested scope and sequence provided in the manual for effective teaching.

00:55:00

In this segment of the video, a second-grade teacher is seeking advice on how to address students who have not yet mastered alphabet lessons in first grade. The expert suggests providing tier two or tier three interventions for these students in addition to core instruction. For students needing light support, alternative forms of alphabet review lessons (e.g., 35a, 35b, 35c) are recommended for additional practice. These modifications aim to cater to students needing various levels of reinforcement. Additionally, the expert highlights the importance of giving extra review for students who require it, especially for second-grade teachers encountering this scenario for the first time.