# Comprehensive Literacy for All Excerpted from Comprehensive Literacy for All by Karen A. Erickson Ph.D., David A. Koppenhaver Ph.D. ## Teaching Students With Significant Disabilities to Read and Write by **Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D.** Center for Literacy and Disability Studies Department of Allied Health Sciences University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and ### David A. Koppenhaver, Ph.D. Department of Reading Education and Special Education Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina ## About the Authors ### Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D. Director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Professor in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and the Yoder Distinguished Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ### David A. Koppenhaver, Ph.D. Professor in the Department of Reading Education and Special Education at Appalachian State University. ## Foreword Thirty years ago, I would ask graduate students and workshop participants consisting of speech-language clinicians and teachers of children with significant disabilities, “How many of you believe the persons for whom you are providing services can learn to read and write?” Purchasers of Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students With Significant Disabilities to Read and Write are granted permission to download, print, and photocopy the lesson outlines in the text for educational purposes. ## Table of Contents - About the Downloads vii - About the Authors ix - Foreword David E. Yoder xii - Acknowledgments xiv - Introduction xvi - **Section I: Core Understandings** 1. All Children Can Learn to Read and Write: A Theoretical Rationale 3 2. Establishing the Environment for Successful Literacy Learning 15 - **Section II: Building a Foundation for Literacy** 3. Alphabet Knowledge and Phonological Awareness 33 4. Emergent Reading 49 5. Emergent Writing 63 - **Section III: Learning to Read and Write** 6. Comprehensive Literacy Instruction: A Research-Based Framework 87 7. Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Instruction 99 8. Self-Directed Reading: Supporting Motivation and Fluency 119 9. Writing 141 10. Decoding, Word Identification, and Spelling 163 - **Section IV: Implementation** 11. Using… ## Introduction More than 25 years ago, we (Dave and Karen) sat down for the first time to talk about our mutual interest in teaching students with significant disabilities to read and write. This book is our collaborative effort to record today’s solutions. ### What This Book Is and Is Not We aim to help families, educators, and clinicians teach children with significant disabilities to read and write, keeping ideas as practical as possible. Our goal is to assist all students in learning to read and write. ### What Literacy Is and Is Not In this book, we refer to literacy as print literacy, which encompasses reading and writing traditional orthography, or alphabet letters, for meaningful purposes. This focus is intended to ensure that all students are given an opportunity to learn and contribute to the print that surrounds us. --- ## Core Understandings ### Emergent Literacy Emergent literacy explains how individuals with even the most significant disabilities begin to progress toward becoming independent readers, writers, and symbolic communicators when given appropriate support and experience over time. ## Theoretical Models of Emergent Literacy 1. **Knowledge Areas**: Comprised of print concepts and functions, writing, letter, sound, and word knowledge, and language comprehension. 2. **Processes**: Inside-out and outside-in processes refer to what children understand about the contexts of reading and writing, and what they comprehend about translating print into sound or vice versa. 3. **Organizational Knowledge**: Understanding of functions of print, self-perceptions of learning, procedural knowledge, oral language knowledge, and metalinguistic skills. ### Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Instruction Comprehensive emergent literacy instruction is required to address the diverse needs, understandings, and backgrounds of individuals with significant disabilities. ### When is Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Instruction Appropriate? It is important to provide comprehensive emergent literacy instruction as soon as a child is born, with experiences that include engaging with books, communication, and exploration of print. --- ### Shared Reading Shared reading seeks to increase student engagement and interaction during reading experiences. Effective adult language responses should promote interaction or model language. ### Shared Writing Involves adults scribing messages that students dictate about their experiences, aiding literacy learning through predictable text structures that address personal interests. --- ### Independent Reading and Writing Time for independent reading and writing is crucial for applying literacy knowledge, building confidence, and developing habits to become lifelong learners. Opportunities for adaptation and personalization are essential. --- ### A Final Note: The Beginnings of Literacy Emergent literacy understandings represent important initial steps in learning to communicate symbolically and develop independent reading and writing capabilities. --- ### Recommended Readings and Resources Further readings and resources are provided to deepen understanding of emergent literacy in students with significant disabilities.