It has been another busy month for the ORTIi Team.

• Website updates: Hopefully it is easier to find things! Check it out and let us know what you think! Here are a few highlights:
• We now have a guide to all our previous webinars and virtual conferences arranged by topic, so you don't have remember which event you attended that had that great session you want to watch again. The guide is on the website or here.
• We have arranged the Tools & Resources Tab to align with the ORTIi MTSS Framework. If you are looking for a particular meeting agenda or other tool, you'll find them here.

• Cadre 12: We had our first in-person training in a really long time! Our new districts kicked off 2 days of learning about and building Standards of Practice for Tier 1 instruction, assessment and data-based teaming.

• Continued planning of both the Reading Symposium and the Annual Conference.

• Updated the Tier 1 Foundations Facilitation Guide. Find it here. Oregon School districts who would like to meet with an ORTIi coach after using the facilitation guide to watch our Tier 1 MTSS modules are welcome to contact us about a facilitated team time - basically a consultation with one of us. Contact us to schedule a time.

• Site visits, site visits and more site visits! It has been great to be in schools all over the state, meeting with teams and observing awesome reading instruction!

In this month of gratitude, we are truly grateful for all the amazing educators we meet every single day who are working so hard to improve reading outcomes for their students. Thank you!

The ORTIi Team

Lisa, Beth, Carrie, Rachell, Sharyn, Matt and Ryan

Save the Date!

Another Exciting Event to Look Forward To!

The ORTIi Annual Conference

We are so excited to be back in person at The Graduate in Eugene in April. We hope you can join us!

Plan ahead now for two, learning filled days on April 4th and 5th. Topics include:

• The Science of Reading and effective instruction

• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

• Leadership

• Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Supports

• District Implementation Journeys

We will launch the registration immediately after the Virtual Reading Symposium on December 12th.

Registration will be $350.

What is a Tier 2 Intervention

(Audience: ALL)

Do you have questions about what is meant by a Tier 2 intervention? Check out this great "FAQ for Tier 2" document by Dr. Stephanie Stollar. She always explains everything so clearly. This would be a great resource for your MTSS handbook!

Click here to read the blog post

Want to Improve Children’s Writing: Don’t Neglect Their Handwriting

by Steve Graham

(Audience: Elementary) 

We have visited a lot of schools recently and noticed many students who need support with handwriting, especially in the upper grades. With explicit instruction and both specific positive and corrective feedback, students can quickly learn to write effortlessly (check out this photo of beautiful writing during multisyllabic word work!). This article by Steve Graham, recently recommended to us by Dr. Anita Archer, describes what effective handwriting instruction looks like. The article is from American Educator, Winter 2009-2010 so is an oldie but a goodie.

Click here to find the article.

Podcast Highlights

(Audience: ALL)

We continue to learn and grow in our understanding of evidence based instruction by listening to literacy leaders via podcasts. Which episodes are our favorites from the past few weeks? Here you go!

ED View 360: Why the “Science of Reading” Needs “the Science of Teaching: A Conversation Between 2 Literacy Leaders

S2:Ep 9

This interview with Dr. Anita Archer and Dr. Louisa Moats inspires us to embrace the power of continuous learning along with collective efficacy. These two amazing experts share the importance of understanding what and how we teach to ensure all students become literate. Click here to listen 

Literacy Talks: Can We End “the Reading Wars?

S4:Ep 7-10

The hosts of Literacy Talks; Stacy Hurst, Donell Pons, and Lindsay Kemeny share a thought provoking conversation focused on unpacking the content presented in the article “Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert” by Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle, and Kate Nation to shift our thinking and classroom practices. Click here to listen to the first episode

Amplify’s Science of Reading: The joy of reading aloud with Molly Ness

S8:Ep2

Molly Ness encourages us to relook at the power of read alouds for intentional instructional connections along with the linguistic, physiological, socioemotional, and motivational benefits across all subject areas. The podcast includes how to plan for many highly effective instructional strategies through the use of read alouds. 

Click here to listen

Remember these?

Supporting Literacy at Home

Guides in English and Spanish

(Elementary teachers)

We shared this resource from the MTSS for ELs website a few years ago, but wanted to remind people of this great resource for families who want to know how they can help their children in reading, whether or not they read in the language of instruction themselves. 

Click here to find the guides

ORTIi Resources

MTSS Components

Does your PD plan include staff training on the components of MTSS? Do you have new staff who are unfamiliar with MTSS? We've got you covered! There are facilitation guides for ALL modules.

Click here for the module page

If you are looking for specific meeting agendas or other resources that go along with the MTSS components, you can find them here.

ORTIi's

Professional Learning Resources

What do your current students need you to learn more about? Check out our library of content from from experts in the field of literacy instruction. View with your grade level team or as a school and discuss how what the presenter talked about relates to your school, your students and your practice.

Find the videos at the Professional Learning Tabs on our website.

The Science of Reading

Have you been asked to present some introductory information to your staff about the Science of Reading and don't know where to start? We created some slide decks you can use to start to build understanding about what science tells us about how we learn to read and how that science informs what and how we should teach reading and writing. These are not videos, so you will need to lead the sessions yourself and can customize them for your setting, but everything you need to get started is here. The topics include:

• What is the Science of Reading Anyway?
• Word Recognition
• Language Comprehension
• Explicit and Systematic Instruction
• Reading Assessment

Click here to find the Science of Reading PL Materials