Presented by Cheryl Lundy Swift, M.Ed., Professional Learning Director, Learning Without Tears; and Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, Ed.D., Consultant and Author

Sponsored by Learning Without Tears

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In the years following the report of the National Reading Panel (2000), many schools were mandated to provide research-based instruction in the five pillars of reading: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

In this edWebinar, we briefly address how theoretical shifts of the last 20 years have caused instructional shifts in primary classrooms. As teachers, we often feel like we have to do it ALL. We discuss how to treat reading development holistically, with key elements consistently emphasized (e.g., vocabulary/language development, comprehension), while our time with other processes (e.g., phonological awareness, phonics, fluency) takes on greater or lesser importance depending on student needs (Kuhn & Stahl). Specific tools and techniques are identified within each developmental stage (e.g., reading material, instructional protocols).

At the end of this session, you can:

• Identify the ways that theoretical pendulum swings influence classroom literacy instruction, often detrimentally
• Identify the basic characteristics of readers in the emergent, novice, and transitional stages
• Recognize the traits and examples of developmentally appropriate phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction for emergent, novice, and transitional readers

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to teachers, education technology leaders, and occupational therapists of the kindergarten through elementary levels.

About the Presenters

Cheryl Lundy Swift received a Master of Education in administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University and has been a dedicated educator for over 20 years. Cheryl currently serves as Learning Without Tears’ Professional Learning Director. She has worked in leadership and executive roles for various educational organizations including public schools, post-secondary institutions, and education companies including several leading tutoring and supplemental education service companies. Cheryl is an award-winning educational leader, curriculum developer, motivational speaker, and trainer. She served as the lead curriculum developer for Learning Without Tears’ Get Set for School’s Language and Literacy curriculum, which received an AEP Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2017, Cheryl was awarded the Investor Bank’s Educator of the Year Award. Cheryl is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership from Kean University in Union, NJ.

Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, Ed.D. is a literacy consultant and author who focuses on translating literacy research into practice. Formerly, she was Clinical Professor in Literacy Education at New York University, where she taught graduate courses and served as Director of the NYU Literacy Clinic. Before entering academia, Dr. Stahl taught in public elementary and middle school classrooms for over 25 years. In addition to publishing articles in academic journals, she is a co-author of Developing Reading Comprehension: Effective Instruction for All Children in PreK-2; Expanding Reading Comprehension in Grades 3-6; Assessment for Reading Instruction (4th Ed.); Reading Assessment in an RTI Framework; and Reading Research at Work: Foundations of Effective Practice. She specializes in reading acquisition, comprehension instruction, reading intervention, and literacy assessment. Currently, Dr. Stahl partners with educators as a consultant to support their efforts to improve reading achievement, especially for students with reading difficulties.

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Learning Without Tears’ mission in today’s changing learning landscape is to ensure that the path to student success remains simple and fun. We provide child-friendly, hands-on, innovative instruction for early learning, handwriting, keyboarding, and writing strategies, and our programs reach more than 31 million students in Pre-K through fifth grade.