School Literacy Plan

Sharon Almond, Matthew Gold, Donna Moore and Tonya Reed

Department of Education and Counseling

Longwood University

READ 680: Developing Literacy Leaders

Dr. Tammy Parlier

July 8, 2023
Literacy Needs:

Cumberland County Public Schools is located in a small, rural area of central Virginia.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the total student population of Cumberland County Public

Schools is 1307 with 50% White, 34% Black, 6% Hispanic or Latino, and 10% two or more

races. There is only one elementary, one middle and one high school in the county. Among the

children in the three elementary schools 13% are considered to have a disability and 67% of the

families have an income below the poverty level. The elementary school has preschool through

fourth grade and has a total population of 553 students.

The PALS data collected in May, 2023, from the elementary school includes

Kindergarten through second grade. Since we are using PALS data from the end of the year, the

data is a reflection of the current year's instruction. All of the students in first and second grade

who were identified were deficient in two or more areas of word knowledge, with most of them

in the area of spelling. All of the students in kindergarten who were identified were deficient in

two or more areas in phonological awareness, Based upon the end of the year data 10% of

kindergarten students qualified as identified in PALS. Based upon the end of the data 17% of

first grade students qualified as identified in PALS. Based upon the end of the year data 3% of

second grade students qualified as identified in PALS. This data shows inconsistency in word

knowledge across the first and second grade levels and phonological awareness in kindergarten.

Through observations, it has been noted that the division-based program being implemented is

not being implemented consistently across grade level classes. Therefore, the focus of the

literacy plan will be instruction focused to promote consistency amongst kindergarten through

second grade.
Possible Solutions

Solution #1
McGraw-Hill Wonders
The Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2022, and

expanded in 2023, requires that “each local school board shall provide a program of literacy

instruction that is aligned with science-based reading research and provides evidenced-based

literacy instruction to students in kindergarten through grade eight.” (VDOE, Recommended

Core Instructional Program Guide 2023, 2023) McGraw-Hill Wonders is an evidence-based

literacy program, based upon science-based reading research, and is among the list of

recommended core instructional programs by the Virginia Department of Education. Wonders

offers a thorough grounding in foundational skills, including phonological/phonemic awareness,

phonics, spelling, structural analysis, high-frequency words, and fluency. Explicit, systematic

skills instruction is built from standardized routines and features a variety of cross-media

learning opportunities. Assessment-informed differentiation and a combination of small, and

whole-group lessons, offer multiple opportunities to meet students where they are, and propel

them to success. Wonders presents a sequence of research-aligned learning activities in its grade-

level placements, sequences of instruction, and instructional guidance across phonemic

awareness, phonics/decoding, and text reading fluency. The program provides explicit, research-

based lessons in vocabulary and other language skills. Research shows that reading and writing

are reciprocal skills that strengthen one another. Wonders provides focused writing instruction

that will aid in addressing the deficits of word knowledge (primarily spelling) and phonological

awareness in the grades of K-2. The program also provides support for differentiation of

instruction, to include scaffolding and extensions of the lesson within the curriculum, to address

those same deficits. Finally, Wonders offers online professional development resources, and on-
demand, 24/7 support. This professional development is self-paced, and if done by everyone on

the reading team in the K-2 grades, would promote consistency of instruction, which in turn

would yield better outcomes for students.

Solution #2
Fundations
Fundations is a supplemental, research-based program designed to reduce reading and

spelling failure for students in kindergarten through third grade. A structured literacy approach to

foundational skills grounded in the Science of Reading. It is used as a ‘prevention’ program in

general education classrooms (Tier 1) to give all students a strong foundation. It provides daily,

explicit, and systematic instruction in the essential areas needed for proficient reading and

spelling, including phonological awareness, phonics, word and syllable study, vocabulary, sight

word instruction, fluency, and spelling and sentence writing practice. Fundations offers repetition

and feedback to students and is multi-sensory, hands-on, and motivating to the students. This

program would help with spelling, phonological awareness and word study which is a need at

our school for grades K-3.

Solution #3
UFLI

UFLI Foundations is a program developed at the University of Florida. It is research-

based and evidence-based, and focuses strongly on decoding. The program has designed lessons

which will begin with letter-sound correspondence for all letters, and the scope and sequence

will work through to suffixes and affixes. The program is done daily, and each lesson is broken

into two separate days. The first day will begin with review and will include phoneme work,

blending, segmenting and more depending on where within the program the lesson falls. The day

will conclude with a new topic. On the second day, the newly introduced topic will be reviewed,
followed by further word work practice, irregular words, and a connected text. There is a writing

and spelling component as well, as the class will follow along with the teacher. The program can

be done in whole group and/or in targeted small groups to focus on and enhance any missing

skills that are identified in struggling readers. Using this program from Kindergarten through 2nd

grade would give all students in the school the same foundational work in learning the way

words are formed, spelled, and sound. Use could continue in older grades for any students still

struggling with any of the decoding skills. This program would help with the phonological

awareness seen in Kindergarten at our school.

Solution #4
Voyager Sopris Learning - Read Well
Read Well research based program that is a whole-class program that also provides

differentiated small group instruction. This program focuses on phonics instruction in pre-

kindergarten-third grade. This program focuses on all aspects of word knowledge instruction to

include phonics, phonological awareness, decoding strategies and letter/sound awareness. The

lessons are developed to be conducted daily and take around 15-20 minutes to complete for

whole class instruction. Small groups are provided differentiated instruction and at the end of the

end of each unit allows for student movement if needed. The lessons are also integrated with

science and history content. Each lesson includes decoding strategies, stories and skill work to

help develop previous and current skills. Voyager Sopris Learning also has an intensive

intervention program that builds on the current content for grades K-3. In addition there is an

intervention program from grades 4-12. This would help address the literacy needs at this school

by creating consistency with instruction amongst grade levels. It would require all teachers to use

the same terminology, scope and sequence, and explicit and systematic teaching methods. This

program would be new to the school so we would have to go through the adoption process.
Research has shown that the program and strategies demonstrate a strong and measured impact

on improving students outcomes when implemented with consistency. However, with consistent

implementation in the grade levels will be one of our primary concerns. Providing the

appropriate professional development and progress monitoring will be required to ensure that all

teachers are using the program appropriately.

Solution

Description

Wonders provides a strong development of comprehension and background knowledge to

include word knowledge and integrates vocabulary development and writing instruction through

units organized around big ideas. Phonics instruction is included as well to support the

development of phonological awareness. Due to both of these components being key pieces, we

are able to address the word knowledge and phonological awareness needs at our school.

Students have ample opportunities to interact with vocabulary as well as writing opportunities

across a variety of genres. This program supports teachers to provide differentialed small group

instruction that aligns with whole group instruction. The teacher materials include a handbook,

overview guide, videos, and workshops. They are oriented to guide teachers to effective

implementation, including step-by-step guides and consistent routines across instruction with

example language for corrective feedback.

Justification Statement
 The data from our school shows that 17% of first, and 30% of second graders were PALS

identified, with a deficiency in two or more areas of word knowledge and spelling. Ten percent

of Kindergarten students were deficient in two or more areas of phonological awareness. The

Wonders program will address these areas of need at our school for grades K-2. The program

has a weekly lesson plan for each of the six week units, as well as daily objectives, key

foundational skills, and progress monitoring. Student outcomes for a typical week include:

Foundational Skills, which include: Phonological/Phonemic Awareness; Phonics/Structural

Analysis/Handwriting; Spelling Words; High-Frequency Words; Decodable Text; Fluency; and

Content Area Learning. These weekly outcomes will address those areas of word knowledge

and spelling.

Methods, Materials, Techniques, and Strategies

Wonders offers a thorough grounding in foundational skills, including

phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, structural analysis, high-frequency words,

and fluency. Explicit, systematic foundational skills instruction is built from standardized

routines and features a variety of cross-media learning opportunities. Assessment-informed

differentiation and a combination of small- and whole-group lessons ensure that every student

has the building blocks needed for literacy success.

The curriculum provides a consistent close-reading routine–read, reread, and integrate–

with a range of text-dependent questions that challenge the implicit and explicit meaning of each

text. The questions and tasks allow for surface, deep, and transfer learning at a variety of levels.

When students close-read, they actively engage with complex texts by thinking critically

and digging deeper. As students read and reread the shared-reading texts in Wonders for
different purposes, they learn to annotate, ask and answer questions, discuss the text with

partners, and apply what they are learning about genre, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing.

Wonders emphasizes the importance of reading and writing every day. The curriculum

offers the following explicit instruction for writers: Analytical Writing Lessons, Writing Process

Lessons, and Grammar Lessons. Analytical: Students write about what they read. They read

texts closely and use text evidence to support their ideas and conclusions; Writing Process:

Students learn to write using a six-step writing process: Expert Model, Plan, Draft, Revise, Edit

and Proofread, and Publish. The steps of the writing process can be applied to all types of

writing. Grammar lessons are explicitly and systematically taught each week, and scaffolded

instruction allows every student to then practice applying these skills to their own writing.

Wonders provides scaffolded instruction to help children grow as writers. Wonders features a

collection of differentiated resources and instructional practices. In the Teacher’s Edition,

educators will find embedded support for ELL students, students who may need Tier 2 support,

and advanced learners. Wonders provides focused Tier 2 intervention that may help readers who

are reading below grade level proficiency or who are not meeting learning standards. It offers

Approaching-Level Readers as well as On-Level Readers for those Tier 2 students. Informed

by data, the curriculum provides intervention for some and enrichment for all by accommodating

learner variability through: small-group instruction, scaffolded instruction and resources,

independent work, leveled readers, and decodable readers. The Instructional Routines

Handbook provides teachers with valuable information about classroom supports and routines.

In addition to the Wonders Teacher’s Edition, the Wonders Data Dashboard helps track student

progress toward skill mastery and suggests grouping and recommended lessons for targeted
instruction. The Data Dashboard is driven by the results of integrated assessments, classroom

observations, and interactive teacher rubrics, using data to help drive instruction.

The Wonders Teacher’s Manual does an excellent job of guiding the teacher as he/she

addresses the whole child. From Habits of Learning, to Social Emotional Learning, English

Language Learners, and Classroom Culture, the Teacher’s Manual is an explicit guide to help

each teacher get the most from the curriculum. The manual addresses Teaching Through Genre,

Foundations of Rigor, and Differentiation of Instruction. It includes a suggested weekly lesson

plan for all six weeks of each unit, as well as daily objectives, key foundational skills, and

progress monitoring. Student outcomes for a typical week include:

Comprehension/Genre/Author’s Craft; Writing; Speaking and Listening; Language

Development; Research and Inquiry; and Foundational Skills, which include:

Phonological/Phonemic Awareness; Phonics/Structural Analysis/Handwriting; Spelling

Words; High-Frequency Words; Decodable Text; Fluency; and Content Area Learning.

Process of Implementation

With the focus of implementation of the instructional fidelity across kindergarten through

second grade the strategic implementation and reinforcement of the Wonders program will be

necessary. To create accountability the reading specialist, administration team, and grade level

representative (leadership team) will work together to promote a climate of consistency and

motivation with literacy instruction among teachers. Teachers will receive professional

development and required materials to prepare and have ample planning time prior to the start of

the school year. The implementation plan will include at least a 120-minute literacy block of

instruction in each kindergarten through second grade classroom. The literacy block will be
made up of the following components: 30 minutes of basic foundations the focus will depend on

the grade level, 30 minutes of language reading focus, and 60 minutes of differentiated small

group work to address individual student needs. The 60 minutes of small group work will

provide the opportunity for tier 2/tier 3 intervention support as well as on grade level instruction

while others have independent work to complete. These elements will help to meet the literacy

needs as outlined above.

Professional Development Plan

Description of Plan

The school Literacy Specialists will be required to attend a “Wonders Initial Training”

Zoom course to enhance their understanding of the program. The Literacy Specialists will then

lead a training for all team leaders by grade level, providing an overview of the program and a

sample lesson. In addition, they will provide an overview of the online support and training that

is available through the program, allowing for teachers to explore on their own how to increase

their understanding and knowledge of implementation. Next, all teachers K-2 and reading

teachers from grade 3 will be required to attend training. In this training, led by the Literacy

Specialist and supported by the lead teachers, teachers will see a sample and learn about the

program that is being implemented. Expectations will be set for teachers and fidelity to the

program will be encouraged.

Once the school year starts, the Literacy Specialist will hold monthly meetings with lead

teachers to assess the implementation. As needed, the Literacy Specialist will host Professional

Development training sessions on elements of the program that will need more training, or

corrections to previous training sessions. These will be based on questions from staff,
administrative observations as well as procedures noticed by the Literacy Specialist. The

Literacy Specialist and Administration will monitor word work and oral language, grammar

components, documentations of student progress, and a writing component.

Training and Supplementary Materials

In addition to the aforementioned materials in bold italics, the reading series includes Digital

Tools and Resources for the teacher and students, Mini Lesson Resources, Teacher Resources,

Small-Group and Guided Reading Resources, Resources for English Language Learners, and

Assessments. Examples of just a few of the supplementary resources are as follows:

● Digital Tools and Resources

· Digital Planner
· Ready-to-Go Presentations for the white board
· Enrichment Lessons & Activities for students to do on their
Chromebook

● Mini Lesson Resources

· Student Reading and Writing Companion
· Literature Anthologies
· Sound-Spelling Cards
· Visual Vocabulary Cards
· Word-Building Cards
· High-Frequency Word Cards

● Teacher Resources
· Teacher’s Manual
· Digital Professional Development
· School-to-Home Support

● Small-Group and Guided Reading Resources

· Workstation Activity Cards
· Classroom Library Trade Books
· Leveled Reader Lesson Cards
 · Independent Online Practice

● ELL Resources
· Newcomer Teacher’s Guide
· Newcomer Cards
· Language Development Cards
· Language Development Practice
· Language Transfers Handbook

● Assessments
· Unit Assessments
· Progress Monitoring Assessments
· Benchmark Assessments
· Online Assessments

Professional Development and Support

Wonders online professional development resources provide self-paced, on-demand, 24/7

support for your successful implementation. This will be used as a resource to the reading

specialist training. Wonders professional development is accessible from the Digital Teacher

Workspace and includes guides and resources such as:

· Interactive eLearning Modules

· Model Classroom Instruction Videos
· Author and Coach Videos
· Pre-curated Workshops
· Research-Based White Papers

Self-Paced Learning Modules

● The Wonders Basics module provides an overview of the Wonders curriculum,

instructional path and resources, classroom set-up, and placement testing to inform small-
group instruction.
● The Manage Small Group Time module includes model classroom videos and coaching
videos that support teachers in organizing and managing small-group workstations and
instructional time.
Video Support

● Model lesson videos show experienced teachers delivering Wonders lessons in real
classrooms.
● Author videos and coach videos address research-based best practice teaching approaches
in key instructional areas, such as English language learners, dual language classrooms,
and social emotional learning.

Digital Help

● The Digital Help tab includes over 60 tutorial videos and PDFs to support teachers in
using the instructional support assets in the digital Teacher Workspace.

Motivation for Change

In the past, staff at this school have been asked to create their own English Language Arts

curriculum, but due to the struggle of finding their own resources and mixing multiple program

components the staff has not had a consistent vertical program across all classrooms and grade

levels. The administration allowed the teams and teachers to determine the best way to

implement it in each of their classrooms. This provided teachers with the opportunity to

implement their own style and priorities in their classroom and this limited the amount of

consistency in the instruction. Since teachers struggled finding resources there is a difference of

feelings among the teachers toward having their own program. Due to the mixed feelings of

using their own curriculum and the new implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act it is

appropriate to switch to the Wonders program. This will provide everyone with a new start that

includes resources and an outline of expectations for each day. It is essential that the whole staff,

including the administration, be given the purpose based on research and school data for word

knowledge instruction with the Wonders program. Wonders provides many of the same

components that the teachers have been using but provides a more sequential plan for
implementation and also vertically aligns the information in grades K-2. Wonders is aligned to

the Science of Reading and has multiple resources that are at the teachers’ fingertips. These

resources will assist the teacher so that they do not have to search for different activities that may

align and have easy access to those that do align. The tone set by the leadership team and

reading specialist of the school to use the Wonders program as it is intended is crucial to the

success of the literacy program at the school. To assist with implementation a representative

from each grade level will be selected to be on the leadership team. The teacher who is selected

from each grade level to help guide their team using the program will also be important in

keeping the moral of the implementation in a positive view for the success of the students.

Another key component of the success of the implementation of the Wonders Program will be

ensuring that time is provided for the teachers to review all materials and resources prior to the

start of the school year. In addition to time to review, time will also be needed to allow them to

meet with their grade level to outline the expectations for the program and how they will meet

these expectations. Ongoing support will be available to the school staff through the Wonders

online support as well as the reading specialist.

Reading Specialist role before, during, and after Implementation

Before implementation, the literacy reading specialist will assist with the selection of grade

level Wonders representatives for the leadership team. The reading specialist will coordinate and

plan for the professional development, assist with distributing materials to faculty, and facilitate

the Wonders training with the company representative and support team. During implementation,

the reading specialist, with the school level administrators, will collect and analyze data from
classroom walk-through observation and use that data to decide on adjustments and support

needed for each individual classroom. The reading specialist will be available to provide

modeling and co-teaching sessions on an as needed basis to assist with the implementation of the

program with fidelity. Additionally, the reading specialist and intervention team will assist with

data meetings along with the administration team to assist each grade level with the analysis of

student growth over time. In addition to individual grade level planning additional vertical

planning will be part of the leadership team’s responsibilities. Peer-observations will be

scheduled each semester to provide teachers with collaborative experiences, constructive

feedback, and to improve the implementation consistently and increase fidelity of the program

and the vocabulary used across grade levels. After the first year of implementation, the reading

specialist will provide updated annual training to returning staff and the initial training to new

teachers and staff to assist with the implantation of the Wonder’s Program.

Timeline for Implementation

End of the 23-24 Summer of Pre Service August - November - June

School year 2024 week of 23-24 November

The leadership Leadership Leadership team Additional Additional grade

team will be team will will meet with grade level level meetings will
selected to assist review the all teachers to meetings will be held to continue
with different share resources be held to to outline the
implementation resources and and outline continue to implementation for
meet with the expectations of outline the the fourth quarter.
company the implementation
representative. implementation for the second A final meeting will
plan. and third be held to review
quarter. the success and
challenges of the
program to assist
with changes for the
upcoming year.
 Leadership Individual grade PALS data will PALS mid year data
team will work levels will meet be collected and will be reviewed to
with the to review the reviewed so that determine if
reading resources and students can be adjustments to
specialist and outline the first grouped groups need to be
building quarter of appropriately. made.
administrative instruction.
team to
determine how
to best share
information.

Additional data The leadership team

points will be will meet to review
collected to feedback from the
determine if teachers to plan
adjustments to additional
groups need to professional
be made. development for the
new school year as
well as plan the
professional
development for
new teachers.

Assessment Plan

At the start of the year, a diagnostic assessment will be given to students. Periodically

throughout the year, Wonders has built-in assessments that can be used. The Wonders website

has many resources on how to use the assessments and the assessment data, all of which will be

shown to the teachers through professional development training. Students will still be assessed

with PALs throughout the year as well, providing insights into how the program is affecting

student learning in the classroom. Formative assessments will be conducted throughout the year

by both reading instructors and literacy specialists to pinpoint need and help assist grouping

students for small-groups. In the beginning, assessment monitoring will focus on checking for
improvements in phonological awareness with Kindergarten students in addition to vocabulary

acquisition in older students.

Teacher progress will primarily be monitored by Literacy Specialists. The program

implementation includes 2 hours per day of instruction, which should be noted on lesson plans

and timed so that Literacy Specialists can choose to assist and monitor implementation for

potential future training sessions. Administrator walk-throughs will also be used to help

encourage teachers to apply to the program, which will help provide buy-in and give proper

assessment due to fidelity to the program.

 References

August, D., Bear, D. R., Dole, J. A., Echevarría, J., & Fisher, D. (2020). McGraw-Hill

Wonders Teacher’s Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

Commonwealth of Virginia. (2023, May). Recommended Core Instructional Program

Guide 2023. Virginia Department of Education.

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/18672/6380410543

86730000

McGraw-Hill. (2023). Literacy Curriculum for Elementary: Wonders. McGraw Hill.

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/microsites/MKTSP-

BGA10M0/wonders.html

Voyager Sopris Learning.(2023). ReadWell. https://www.voyagersopris.com/docs/default-

source/literacy/read-well/readwell_brochure_2021.pdf?sfvrsn=24c05b52_14.