February 2023
ORTIi News & Updates
Teaching Students to Love Reading

Do you remember the days when it was recommended that teachers should sit and read their own free-choice book during silent reading to model a love of reading? Did anyone actually manage to do this? Did it work?

In thinking about how many of us were once told that if we taught kids to love reading, they would become readers, I was reminded of this quote by Margaret Goldberg about what really did work - explicit and systematic instruction in all the areas you can see on the hearts above. She wrote, "Once they cracked the code, a love of reading began to flow. I was no longer trying to speak a love of reading into existence, I was watching my students discover it themselves." (Click here to read the March 2020 blog post on Reading Rockets).

Thanks for all you do for the students you serve! As you grow your own knowledge and skills in all the areas of evidence-aligned reading instruction, you will hopefully see students begin to love to read. Or not. They don't have to love reading, but it is their right to be taught to read proficiently.

Happy February from the ORTIi Team

Beth, Lisa, Nicole and Ryan
Video Now Available
ORTIi
Information Session
(Audience: Oregon District and School Leaders)

Thinking of applying for support from the ORTIi Project? Did you miss our info session? Don't worry! Get your team together and check out the recording of the session. Then contact us so we can let you know the next steps for applying for support.
The Science of Reading: The Podcast
Celebrating many meanings: Language comprehension and bidialectal students
with Jasmine Rogers
(Audience: All)

We have heard a lot about how to support students who speak Black English when it comes to decoding - the Word Reading portions of the Reading Rope. The most recent guest on the Science of Reading: The Podcast talks about Black English and the Language Comprehension strands. It was very interesting! This episode is one you could listen to multiple times because there are so many great quotes to ponder. Here is just one!

“A strength of children that are bidialectal is the similar strength to students that are bilingual—they have an ability to take language that is different from theirs and translate it. That right there is an asset.” —Jasmine Rogers

Connecting Black History to Joy
(Audience: All)

This Edutopia blog post by Hedreich Nichols shares many resources that connect educators to celebratory learning for Black History Month and beyond. There is something here for all age levels.
How to Teach Black History Month:
A Resource List
(Audience: All)

A recent EdWeek editorial has a fantastic list of resources including museum collections, books, podcasts and other resources for your own learning about Black History and for sharing with students.
The 8 Black Hands Podcast
What Does Black History
Mean to You?
(Audience: All)

In this 70 minute episode of the 8 Black Hands podcast, the hosts share a variety of opinions about Black History Month. They discuss what is important to learn and unlearn about Black history and what this means for schools. As always, they give listeners a lot to think about long after the episode is over. There are parts of this episode that may not be appropriate to listen to with children around.
In Case You Missed it!
Historical and Systemic Barriers to Equity
(Audience: All)

At our December Reading Symposium, Resha Conroy, the founder of the Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children spoke about the historical and present day barriers to equitable reading outcomes for Black children. If you have not seen this session yet, take some time to do so! You can also check out the Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children website here.

ORTIi is partnering with NWPBIS for a combined spring conference to meet all your MTSS needs: Building Equitable MTSS, Social Emotional and Mental Health, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and of course, READING.

Click here to access the conference information page, including registration information. We can't wait to see you all in person!
ORTIi Resources
For Your Professional Learning Needs
The TIER 2
Facilitation Guide is here!
MTSS Components

Does your PD plan for the year include staff training on the components of MTSS? We've got you covered!

We now have facilitation guides for the Overview, Family & Community Engagement, Tier 1 and Tier 2 Modules. Look for the Tier 3 facilitation guide 3 next month.


Still need to catch up on a session or two?
Check out the December Reading Symposium
video resource page HERE.
Science of Reading
Professional Learning

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