Over the past year I have been reflecting on my shifts in practice in relation to my literacy practice. You can see them all below:
- Structured Literacy Shift # 1 – Explicit Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 2 – Morphology Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 3 – Progress Monitoring
- Structured Literacy Shift # 4 – Positive Self-Talk
- Structured Literacy Shift # 5 – Oral Reading Fluency
- Structured Literacy Shift # 6 – Vocabulary Instruction
- Structured Literacy Shift # 7 – Structured Read Alouds
There have been many more shifts, as I continue to learn about better and best practices. However I named these shifts because they are the ones that stayed in my practice in lasting ways and had a significant impact on student outcomes. Each shift was not an add on, but rather a better understanding that literacy development extend beyond phonics instruction to include other areas such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, morphology, writing.
What kept me motivated was the way my students decoded unfamiliar words with more confidence. I heard it in their dialogue and use of language during discussions. I noticed it when they make connections across texts and ideas. These were not isolated successes. This was the result of sustained, intentional shifts in instruction.
Through these shifts, I learned that meaningful change in literacy instruction (or any practice for that matter) is not about constantly adding something new. It is about strengthening and refining what works. It will not work well the first time (and most of the time quite frankly, it did not). Engaging in critical dialogue with peers, collaborating with colleagues and experts, and reflecting on assessment data helped me to refine these practices over time.
These shifts are not an endpoint. They are a foundation that I will keep refining. I know there will always be more to learn, more to refine, and more to shift. But perhaps the more important question is not what else we can add, but what we are willing to stay with long enough to see real change?
