1

Rights and Permissions

Submitting writers assure the journal that the works they provide for inclusion are their own and
present no infringements on any rights associated with them. Submitting writers assure that these
works are original and the property of the submitter (unless otherwise specified) and their
submission represents no violation of copyright or trademark or other variety of intellectual
property rights, anywhere. Submitting writers retain rights to their work, other than for inclusion
in this journal, for which they receive no compensation. All parties interested in reprinting or
republishing these works, in whole or in part, should contact the submitting writer directly. The
journal will not be responsible for rights issues or considerations associated with the works that
appear in it, which are the sole responsibility of the submitting writers. The sole purpose of the
journal is to promote the professional knowledge of educators, is free of any commercial
considerations, and does not seek to promote any products or services offered anywhere for
profit or other consideration.
Submissions
Those interested in submitting articles for inclusion in this journal should first submit a summary
to: literacyspecialinterest@gmail.com, putting the words Journal Article Summary in the
subject field of the email. On receiving feedback from the journal, prospective submitters may
complete and submit a full manuscript.

Editorial Committee
Mark Gura
Michele Haiken
BJ Neary

Table of Contents
1) Up Front
By Mark Gura Page 4
2) Read Something. Be Inspired. Act Page 5
By Erin Olson
3) The Digital Media Project Head Fake Page 9
By Mike Guldal
4) 100 Word Challenge: Improving Writing Through Online Feedback Page 13
By Julia Skinner
5) Show Film Classics to Engage and Enlighten Students in Text Faithfulness and
Historical Accuracy - Page 17
By Dr. Rose Reissman
6) Digitally literate youth: Supporting literacy development in 1:1 environments
Page 21
By Michael L. Manderino, PhD. And Paula M. Di Domenico, EdD.
7) Improving Word Study - Moving Beyond Paper and Pencil to
Transformative Educational Technology Page 32
By: Lynnea West and Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman

Up Front
This fourth issue of our PLNs journal is emblematic of the maturing marriage of Technology
and Literacy. Outreach for the articles included was achieved through ISTEs online community
resources. Communications between the authors whose work is featured here and the editorial
committee involved extensive refining of ideas and drafts and required a great many exchanges
that were accomplished through email and cloud-based documents. Publishing is handled using a
popular online virtual magazine platform as well as a document sharing resource. And finally,
notice to inform readers that this issue is available is accomplished through the PLNs blog,
Twitter, and the ISTE online community resources.
Research for most of the pieces included here involved online searches and many of them
include links to items that illustrate and give further information. Pretty much, the journals
creation and reader experience is a digital phenomenon in every respect.
Still, while all this can serve as a powerful illustration of how Literacy and Technology continue
to merge and become more interdependent, its useful to keep in mind that in many ways this
journal is much the same as journals published before the advent of communications technology.
True, as the Literacy network of ISTE, we are very much motivated to demonstrate appropriate
technology use. However, the decision to go digital and the value that provides here also has a
great deal to do with actual advantages that technology offers in doing a project like this. While a
great deal of energy and time was expended in the refining and presentation of ideas, little was
required to facilitate collaboration and the casual swapping of drafts and revisions, something
that comes with the territory of putting a journal like this together. Further, expense played only
a very minor role in any of this activity, if any at all. All involved in producing this issue were
freed up to concentrate on content and meaning and not on means; and for me this is a great
example of the liberating influence of technology on projects and practitioners.
This issue features the efforts of literacy educators, both those who specifically targeted the field
as a career destination and those who found themselves doing the good work of literacy
education unexpectedly. In these pages they share perceptions and discoveries about the use and
impact of video in educating todays students; relate how books, perhaps now more than ever,
can galvanize student attention and effort and move them to make a difference in the world; and
how digital resources can be tapped to foster the acquisition of literacy skills that otherwise
almost surely would go unlearned.
Collegially,
Mark Gura, President
Literacy Professional Learning Network of ISTE

Read Something. Be Inspired. Act.

By Erin Olson
The Challenge
The idea was born from a quest to redesign a novels course. Considering the new literacies and
their power, we know what we encounter and experience can incite emotion. That emotion can
inspire action; action that will transfer the readers reactions to the text into service benefiting
others. The course I designed empowered students to emotionally connect with their reading and
then create, design, and act. The action was inspired from their reading. This was a shift from the
traditional Read and Answer Questions style course to Social Action Inspired by Reading type of
course. With the redesigned course, my students used their reading as a springboard for service,
contribution, and creation.
What did students do?
With my support, students chose their reading. Students were encouraged, not required, to read at
least one book from the provided lists as well as choose a book of their own interest. I shared my
generated lists with students. The collection was gathered from a basic Google search and
created by, but not limited to, American Library Association, Library of Congress, NY Times,
Forbes, and Huffington Post. The lists included: books that changed the world, books every high
school student should read, books that are censored, books for the reluctant reader, best books of
all time, and books that address social issues. Knowing how to find a great read can be a
challenge for many students. So, in order to support their search, I showed students how I
personally find readings using Amazon, GoodReads, and Shelfari. As the course continued,
students, as part of class conversation, shared how and where they found their favorite readings.
Through the shared lists and through the supported self search for reading, students were
exposed to a variety of texts. With my suggestions, students were able to explore influential texts
they would have never otherwise tackled.
With my support, students set individual reading goals with their chosen books. Students looked
at their work calendars, examined their extra-curricular calendars, and considered the class time
they would have to read. Blogging was made an essential element in the redesigned reading
course. Students examined a few blogging platform options, examined blogging styles, and read
professional bloggers before choosing and creating their own blog. Their blog served as an
avenue to share their reading journey as well as provide a publishing platform for their
application of a taught concept.

What did I do? How did I structure, present, and facilitate the experience?
The first day of class I shared the challenge: Read, Be Inspired, Act, explaining their reading
would inspire something. That something was up to them. We talked about what readers outside
of school do: readers want to talk about their reading - readers experience emotions when
reading - reading can inspire creation - reading can inspire social action - reading can inspire
service. We discussed the reality of their reading experiences, and the barriers preventing a
relationship with reading. I wanted students to love reading. The design of the course supported
that quest.
At the start of every week, I taught a new reading lens, critique, and/or concept. I chose text that
all students could understand, so all students could think deeply about the text. I did not let
reading level be yet another barrier to thinking critically. For teaching the lessons, my criteria for
the text I chose was that it invited contemplation and conversation. For example, Kiplings If
spurred a conversation about what it means to be a man and what it means to be a father.
Students read Lou Gherrigs Farewell Speech and could not stop talking about perception.
After reading Tolstoys Three Questions students reflected on life, success, and their
contribution. I included world connections until bridging world connections became a natural
part of conversation. I introduced them to influential musicians, speakers, TED talks, novelists,
and poets. As a result, my students referenced and cited text when applying their learning. They
referenced world events-past and present-when discussing the text. Students understood text
citations and references helped them build credibility as writers. Students understood that
supplying textual evidence helped readers follow their thinking. Students also understood they
were accountable to the world for thoughtful, supported posts as their intended audience was not
me necessarily, but a community of readers. The following four days of the week were reserved
for reading, blogging, and independent conference time with me. I asked questions of students
that helped them see the issues addressed within the text. I asked questions of students that
helped them consider the contribution they could make. While the student chosen texts allowed
for an application of learning, the reading served a larger purpose. The text served as inspiration
for social action. The text served as inspiration for service.
What learning resulted? Assessment?
Students were not assessed on the number of books they read, nor were they assessed on the
number of pages consumed. Students were assessed on their weekly application of the taught
reading lenses, analysis, and/or critique. Students blogs were shared publicly, so other readers
could benefit from my students reflection. Since I am a connected educator, I gathered support
on Twitter from my professional learning network to be mentor bloggers to my students. These
professional bloggers (educators, administrators, travelers, website designers) gave feedback and
encouragement from the start. I continually shared students work via my social media channels,
so their publications reached an interested audience. I encouraged students to share their work
6

via their social media channels. Many students continued conversations about their reading
through the commenting feature on their blogs with professionals they have never met. These
connections and comments were motivating, and these conversations began what I could have
never planned for: not just literacy learning activities, but life-changing literacy experiences.
The midterm exam for the redesigned course was for students to choose one of the independent
readings from the quarter that could inspire service. Since this quest was given from the start,
students discussed weekly what their reading might inspire. Grades were not based on the service
or contribution themselves, but for the students ability to connect to the text and explain how the
reading inspired the service they generated. Students captured the process of creating and
implementing their inspired action through their choice of media: photography, videography,
and/or writing. Capturing the process from idea to implementation was important for meaningful
reflection. Students reflected on their service, sharing their contribution on their blog as well as
sharing their journey. Students presented their connections and contribution with their
classmates.
I encouraged students to consider their life, their passions, their reading, their heart, and then
think how they could make a difference. I was amazed. After reading Kite Runner, Katie wanted
to contribute to an orphanage. She connected with a local non-profit, Love Takes Root, which
was helping an orphanage in Haiti relocate after it was devastated from the hurricane. Katie held
a fundraiser at our school. Working with the high school administration, Katie organized a
teacher jeans day where teachers could pay to dress casually. The proceeds went to buy supplies,
and Katie also contributed a significant amount of her own money to purchase journals and
various school supplies. She boxed and sent the items to Haiti. Less than a year after Katie read
and was inspired by Kite Runner, she went to Haiti with Love Takes Root helping the orphanage
move to their new location. Calvin, another of my students, read Norman Borlaugs The Man
Who Fed the World, and his passion for farming combined with his reading prompted him to
build garden planters for the elderly who could no longer kneel down in their gardens. His
original design included a wood burned quote from the book along with his initials etched in the
wood. He donated the planters along with soil and seed. When Calvin presented his work to his
classmates, he showed photos from the building process. It was heart-warming to see several of
his classmates in the photos helping Calvin build the garden planters. Savannah, still another
student, read Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. She was inspired to raise awareness about self-harm.
Her campaign to bring attention to the issue was not limited to our school, but expanded by her
social media connections to reach further. She was even a guest blogger for Choose2Matter
creator and student advocate, Angela Maiers. Nearly 500 people commented on Savannahs post.
Some students donated their time and some donated their talent. In the two years I taught the
course, every student made a contribution inspired from their reading. Every student read. Every
student made a difference in their community and in their world. All of this happened because
7

students were supported, were given choice, and had a purpose beyond answering low-level
comprehension questions. I honored their talent and time by designing an opportunity worthy
of their talent and time. After all, as an adult reader I have never finished a book in hopes of
rushing to a worksheet packet.

Erin Olson serves as an instructional technology consultant with Prairie Lakes Area Education
Agency. A former middle school language arts for three years at Storm Lake St. Marys and high
school English for seven years in the Sioux Central school district, Erin continues to share her
love of designing meaningful curriculum as co-creator of the Connecting Creativity series,
monthly literacy and tech-infused quests. Erin also serves as a co-organizer of #1to1techat.
Erins work has been featured and discussed in the New York Times as well as CNN News. She
has been nationally recognized for her work as a connected educator, including being named in
2012 as one of the connected educators that the New York Times Learning Network
admires. Creator of the genius hour project, Read, Be Inspired, Do Something Inspiring, Erin
presents regularly about the importance of empowering students through service and about
eliminating learning barriers through global classroom connections. Erin bridges the worlds of
technology and literacy to facilitate greater student voice and choice. In 2012 and 2015, Erin was
nominated for a Bammy award because of her work to inspire students to make a difference. Erin
advocates for the power of student contribution, explaining, I do not want my students to be the
best in the world, I want them to be the best FOR the world.
Contact the author: mrseolsonteacher@gmail.com

The Digital Media Project Head Fake

By Mike Guldal
Many of you know what lol means, but did you know that abbreviations such as lol were
created to keep overage costs low for those who first used SMS (short messaging service or
texting) technology on their smart devices? In fact, at its inception, these abbreviations were
called leetspeak (I urge you to read the linked text, here). The trouble is that children of our
current digital age are losing the ability to write because of a very real problem that has resulted
from initial exposure to this leetspeak; belief that texting abbreviations as a legitimate language
form that is appropriate to use in all situations and contexts permeates their thinking. My
students constantly and inappropriately slip into using these abbreviations, something that
wouldve resulted in failure for most of us when we were students. After seeing firsthand the
kind of writing that inner city kids are composing today, I felt it was critical to make literacy
issues a major priority in my technology class, while simultaneously addressing the technology
curriculum and making it as fun as possible.
Im a technology teacher working for the New York City public school system for the past five
years. One of my major inspirations in pursuing a teaching career was Dr. Randy Pausch. Prior
to considering a teaching career, I did not know Dr. Pauschs story and sadly, before I could get
an opportunity to possibly meet him, he passed from pancreatic cancer. While deliberating about
making a major career change to teaching, and after hearing about Dr. Pauschs story, I
researched him further and came across what I imagine is his greatest legacy, his Last Lecture.
Id like to talk about one particular concept that he discussed in his last lecture with regard to
teaching.
One of Dr. Pauschs approaches to teaching was using the head fake commonly used in sports
(faking one direction and throwing the ball in a different direction). He employed this approach
in his academic lessons, and it was a powerful analogy for me. I remember pausing the lecture at
this point and attempting to recall if I have ever experienced this. Luckily, I remembered a
couple of teachers who were just as inspiring to me as Dr. Pausch that helped to shape the person
I am today. It was those teachers who really changed my attitude about learning, acquiring
information and my attitude towards education in general.
Before I became a teacher, I was a systems/network administrator for many years in various
corporate and entertainment related environments. Long before I became a classroom teacher, I
employed this method of teaching to colleagues in private industry; it only makes sense that it
bled into my classroom today.
Here is an excerpt of Dr. Pauschs lecture explaining his head fake approach using Alice,
which is a drag and drop programming resource, useful in teaching java programming:
So Alice is a project that we worked on for a long, long time. It's a
novel way to teach computer programming. Kids make movies and
9

games. The head fake, again, we're back to the head fakes. The best
way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're
learning something else. the head fake here is that they're learning
to program but they just think they're making movies and video games.
I try to do this in my high school classes. Currently I am teaching two high school classes (in
addition to three middle school classes where I have elected to use GameSalad Creator, which is
another SDK {software development kit} disguised as a drag and drop development kit). In a
nutshell, this means its a visual method to programming versus strictly writing code. This is
great because with this visual method young people arent automatically turned off to the
drudgery of memorizing code or theory (yet again, another head fake).
I have been experimenting with teaching the process of filmmaking in my high school classes.
Given the 45 minutes allotted to a high school class, this may seem like an impossible task.
Already you may be thinking that generation Z students have incredibly short attention spans,
and they are simply so busy trying to control their own hormones that it would be impossible for
them to concentrate sufficiently on what seems like such a complex assignment. I have managed
to put together an instructional approach that yields some positive results. Though filmmaking
involves numerous stages, I chose to take on just the following three with my students:
Treatment, Storyboard, and Motion Picture.
Lets take a look at the first stage of the lesson I am conducting with my high school group: The
Treatment. This module of the semester long assignment is aligned with the New York State
(pp. 54 - 56) and Common Core (pp. 7, 10, 42 47) English Language Arts Standards, as well
as the New York State Technology Standards. I didnt purposely plan to address those standards
from the outset; I simply focused on what I felt I should be teaching. In the treatment, students
not only have to come up with a creative story, but they have to follow a specific format, and
build a story that they can transform in the second stage of the course. Writing a treatment poses
several problems students have to deal with, the first being the ability to read and understand the
assignment parameters, and deliver the required response to the best of their ability following a
structured model.
While most students are confident and creative enough to write their own stories, some opt to use
a story they have read and transform it into a treatment. This is not necessarily confined to a
literary work. Students have also used sports articles, and short stories for their projects. One
student transformed a poem. All of these are acceptable responses within the parameters of the
assignment (especially if the student has an IEP). I believe placing the learning burden on the
student not only gives them ownership of the assignment but it essentially makes them do what
we teachers always want them to do - think critically!
After theyve created their treatments and these have been graded and approved, they engage in
the second stage of film making, transforming their stories into storyboards. They either choose
to produce these storyboards by physically staging them using their friends and classmates as
actors and shooting pictures of them, or they can manually draw the characters and action of
their treatment. They digitize them so that they can manipulate these drawings in a digital work
environment on their computers. This stage/module, the storyboard is also quite difficult to do
10

(Ive met adults who have a hard time with this) and its amazing to observe a student who is
adept at making this part of the assignment come to fruition. I am including some pictures of
some of the student artifacts here so you can get an idea of whats involved in this part of the
project.

11

In the last part of the project, I have my students take their storyboards, and transform them into
a moving image. This is the stage where I let them loose to use their own technology (iPhones,
Android devices) and shoot their story by involving their classmates, spending their own precious
personal social time actually doing work. Its both fascinating and heartening to watch them
working on shooting things when they arent in my class. Their decision to devote their own time
to my assignments, even when they dont have to, is a clear indication that Ive struck a nerve.
The head fake has worked!
So what is this all about? I believe in todays society, with the advent of mobile technology and
social media such as YouTube, and in order to be appropriately and successfully competitive, we
must adjust our methods of education. Globalization and world competition should be the
proverbial flint stone that strikes the spark of educational adaptation and adjustment. In the same
way that technology is subject to Koomeys Law, Education and the instructors themselves must
find ways to stay relevant, provide variety in the methodology of their instruction, be cutting
edge and forward thinking in order to surprise their students.
Todays teachers have to shed their fear of technology and embrace it. I had no idea how to do
this project until I started implementing it, and I have only become better at it because I have
omitted that which did not work and further developed that which did. I was a novice with the
technology to the same extent you would be if you chose to implement this project in your class.
Many educators might miss how this semester long assignment I described above is aligned to
literacy. However, communication equals literacy, and I am teaching students how to
communicate their thoughts not with traditional text, but through the stages and processes of
filmmaking. Granted, I may conduct a lesson here and there about some of the tools they are
going to be using during the semester such as Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Comic Life, and other
software packages, but understanding shot angle, perspective, and storytelling are the real
lessons here. Bottom line is, students walk into my class thinking theyre going to learn
technology and they walk away becoming better communicators and better storytellers. Thats
my giant head fake gift to them.
But can you see the head fake Ive done here for you, the readers of this piece? Its simple: even
though technology can be scary for teachers who may not be comfortable using it; this article is
designed to help them understand they can, in fact, make it part of their classroom practice. By
focusing on the craft of film making teachers can learn to handle and gain confidence in using
the technology needed to support students in relevant and engaging projects, as students learn
important literacy skills.
I am an engineer and certainly not an English teacher. However, I chose to address a very serious
literacy problem through the focused use of technology, assigning my students a project that uses
technology without making technology the focus. I believe all teachers can approach their subject
in innovative ways like this, letting todays media technology motivate and engage their students
in projects of high educational relevance. When kids are swept up in learning activities that
promise digital median fun, but actually engage them in literacy learning they likely would avoid
through traditional lessons, thats the head fake that truly makes a difference.
12

Mike Guldal (MS Instructional Technology) is an alumni and recent graduate of the Touro
Instructional Technology program. In the private sector, he was a systems and network engineer
with several years experience working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. He is
credited for co-producing various song titles that were released globally and has some notable
credits in this field. While this is his first literary publication, Mr. Guldal plans to continue his
own education so that he may continue his quest to educate and be educated.
Twitter: MGdal
Email: mystagee@gmail.com

13

100 Word Challenge: Improving Writing Through Online Feedback

By Julia Skinner
100 Word Challenge (100wc) is a simple weekly writing challenge for pupils under 16 that is
having a HUGE impact on writing in classrooms across the world!
Each week on 100wc.net a prompt is set. This can be part of a sentence, a picture or five
individual words. Using the prompt, the pupils produce a creative piece of writing in just 100
words. Once written, it is published on a blog then linked to 100wc.net where magic happens!
A team of volunteers from across the world visit and leave supportive comments. They come
from a variety of backgrounds and are often connected to the schools that enter. This means that
the audience is extended from one classroom teacher to the world. The young writers have a
purpose for writing which not only encourages them to keep writing but motivates them to write
better each time.
The idea originated from a need to improve the visits that I was getting on my new blog The
Heads Office http://theheadsoffice.co.uk/ When you first start out in this medium of writing,
the height of the graphs and state of your stats is paramount! I had taken part in something
similar as a grown up and thought it would adapt to children fairly easily. Using my developing
PLN on twitter, I made sure that teachers would engage with it and I made the commitment that
if the young writers wrote for me I would write for them in the form of a comment. I was
delighted as the numbers increased. But when I was faced with commenting on 150 a week I
had to find an alternative.
Going back to twitter I appealed for volunteers to join me and Team 100 was born. I designed a
set of guidelines which explains the process and provides a consistent approach to commenting
and each member has 5 numbers to comment on each week. They keep the same numbers and
visit 100wc.net each where the list with corresponding numbers can be found. They click the link
which takes them to the childs post, comment and submit.
The impact 100WC has had has been quite staggering especially considering the original
intention! Teachers tell me that it has engaged the most reluctant of writers in their class. Being
only 100 words, it doesnt sound like much so they will engage with the task despite it being
writing, an activity often disliked by these students.
To then receive a comment from someone on the other side of the world will certainly provide a
WOW moment that almost guarantees their wanting to write and take part again. For the high
fliers, having to hone their skills to just 100 words rather than pages can be as challenging as
making a start so the challenge covers the full ability range in a classroom making it an ideal
14

resource for teachers. Some have used it to teach editing skills by pupils swapping pieces to be
improved by a colleague; 100 words are an ideal size for this type of activity.
By linking it to blogging, the challenge brings writing into the realms of social media and
provides the essential audience. It also supports other curriculum areas. One of the philosophies
of 100WC is for pupils to visit other posts. This provides an ideal teaching point of how to
constructively critique someones work. The rule for both adults and children is for the
comments to always be positive and polite with suggestions for some improvement if
appropriate. Teachers have found this aspect really powerful in extending their pupils writing
experiences so that they consider themselves as authors with a huge audience rather than a pupil
trying to please one teacher, who is, in the words of one pupil paid to read their work!
This use of the internet allows an opportunity to teach e-safety without the need for a separate
lesson. It has also provided many opportunities for schools to link with each other therefore
bringing global links to lots of classrooms.
From a very small and simple start, 100 Word Challenge has become a global project that has
impacted on learning in a variety of ways. It is completely free to schools to take part and
hopefully simple to use. For those emerging writers, 5 Sentence Challenge found at fivesc.net
provides all the same support and is also opening up the world of writing that previously had
seemed so threatening, boring and pointless.

Julia Skinner is a retired head teacher in Bristol, UK. Her headship experience of over 13 years
was in schools in areas of social deprivation. Although ready to retire from headship she soon
found she wanted to continue her work with education.
She founded 100 Word Challenge at the end of 2010 to encourage youngsters to write and link
across the world with each other. The blog 100 Word Challenge (100wc.net) has had thousands
of visitors since it began and is having a huge impact on writing in classrooms across the world.
It was shortlisted for the Global Impact Award from NAACE.
15

Julia is passionate about governance and since her retirement she has been chair of several
governing bodies often brought in following poor judgements on governance from Ofsted
inspections. She is currently chair of a Primary academy.
She has presented at a number of conferences in England including the Sunday Times Festival of
Education and works closely with teachers across the world via visits to schools and social
media.
Contact the author: jskinner675@gmail.com + @theheadsoffice

16

Show Film Classics to Engage and Enlighten Students in Text

Faithfulness and Historical Accuracy
By Dr. Rose Reissman

One essential approach for English Language Arts and History/Social Studies teachers is to
engage their students as readers of important content in those subjects. And the way this plays
out currently should be of particular interest to those observing, participating, and coaching
teachers as they transition to 21st Century realities of instruction. Going digital and setting their
students up as critics of digital versions of the print or topic/event content will immediately get
the student immersed.

How so? Imagine setting 7th and 8th grade students up and preparing them for a movie outing to
see Ava Duvernays Selma by asking them whether an historical film has to be accurate if it is
not a documentary, but presented as a feature film?

Or how about having 8th grade students studying Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird, anticipate
its movie version (which is almost always totally unfamiliar to them as are its stars and its place
in cinema history. Keep in mind that todays millennial 8th graders have, most probably, never
heard of Gregory Peck or seen the award winning film version. Will having students become
judges of authenticity versus history reality and text faithfulness of a digital version, fully
engage them in deep talking to the text, peer discussion, reflective writing and critical thinking of
a higher order. Bet your cyber popcorn, it will. Better yet, they will be inculcated in habits of
critical media viewing and reflective print analysis. This, from being engaged in an instructional
routine that involves both platforms of content, which will inform and enrich each other.
Skeptical? Perhaps thats understandable, considering that even though you can now routinely
include showing digital excerpts of documentary or feature film versions of print literary texts in
your classroom using a laptop, your students have not been extraordinarily captivated by
classroom multimedia use. Not surprising, since it is so routine to them. But watch what
happens, when you start by throwing out issues that adult media and literary fans passionately
debate.
So before taking students to an actual movie theater to see an historical centered drama (an
extremely common school excursion) or a film based on a literary or Young Adult classic, you
have studied with them, pose the higher order thinking question Since this a feature film that
claims to be connected with an actual historical event or to be based on a printed book which
has been widely read, to what extent does it truly convey the facts or stick to details of the text?
Further, expand the question and the students opportunity to exercise their critical skills, by
17

posing the following considerations:

What if the actual details of the events do not translate well to the screen or would make an
accurate historical account boring or un-engaging for the audience?,
Is the director allowed to take dramatic license and run with it? Is this OK if the goal is
getting a broader audience engaged in the key themes of the event or personality, even though
what is dramatically depicted isnt strictly true?, and
Will the deliberate use of artistic license excite the audience to go back and to do necessary to
find out what really happened?
A good example of this would be a film like Selma in which the director, Ava Duvernay, has
deliberately changed key chronology of Dr. Kings life and had the film build up an adversarial
relationship between President Johnston and Dr. King, something that was not factual.
In this case, did the mission of the director, which was to emotionally captivate those not familiar
with the towering struggles of African Americans to attain voting rights during the sixties in the
south, justify her changing the chronology and facts of that struggle? Are students of American
History and the general public motivated enough to actually research the true historical facts?
A bigger question yet is, if the film actually gets its audience to care about the issues of voter
rights, racial discrimination, and peaceful non-violent protest, does it matter that it is
deliberately inaccurate? Doubly relevant, as these issues are front and center in 2015.
In the case like the current, 2015 film Selma, give the students a chance before they see the film
to air their views as digital citizens on this key issue of inaccuracy in terms of historic
chronology and details in a feature film. After their initial response, show them footage of the
actual Selma March and the actual LBJ speech on the Voting Rights legislation where he eyes
the camera and says We shall overcome. Then let them go online to research the controversy
themselves and note the print and media blogs that have weighed in on the historicity and
accuracy of the film and whether in this case directorial license was taken too far. Then, take
them to the film and have them react emotionally to the slow motion segment in which nonviolent marchers are beaten and pummeled (on film this results in immediate death, but in
reality, it took a week.) Then, have them consider how the director folds in authentic
documentary and television footage with her own and the effect of that technique.
Is there a definitive, single, correct judgment about this abiding issue that generally pops up in
any historical film teachers happily take their students to or screen because it connects with a
social studies issue or content? Answer, No! There are many answers, expressing varying
degrees of student agreement or disagreement with directors decisions. Students can even create
their own blogs, ongoing discussions focused on historical accuracy, which can support comment
on not only movies, but also television shows and even music videos for a political purpose or
rap songs about a protest or hot issue. Students can dialogue on or debate issues and become
Siskel and Ebert style critics of such media issues

18

In parallel fashion, many classics by authors such as John Steinbeck, John Green, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, John Knowles, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and Harper Lee often have not only one
film version, but sometimes three or more as well as spin-offs or spoofs. As is the case with the
1960 classic written by Harper Lee, who did the screenplay for the Robert Mulligan film of
1962, students in 2015 can be asked to read the opening section the first five print pages of the
book, and as digital citizens explain how they, as film makers would open an effective film
version of this work, as well as anticipate how the director of the actual film did it. Their
response might be further prompted by asking them what song theyd suggest be used to
accompany the films opening scene or credits.
Students can also suggest actors who would fit the roles well. Many of the classic film versions
of school stand-by works that are studied in the middle grades and high school could do with an
updated version. Updating and remaking classic films is part of the film industrys business
model and having students consider, after viewing a film version of a classic, such as Mulligans
Oscar winner of 1962, how it could be updated with todays actor and directorial talents is very
much an authentic exercise. This activity would work for argument writing.
Students can also argue for or against a directors taking license to change key plot sequence or
character age or appearance. The recent film version of The Giver directed by Phillip Nonce in
2014 was panned by many critics and readers of the print work for aging its twelve year old hero
to a 17 year old teen. Although the author, Lois Lowery, said she was okay with this script
change and others, many readers were repulsed by this departure from the sacrosanct plot of a
key work of Young Adult literature. Were they right? There is no single correct response, but
students can argue these points as an ongoing community of literati following digital film
versions on their blogs. Of course, those particularly apt at this critical text analysis can also
aspire to be part of media works companies which buy digital film and TV and web rights to
books to start and use the text to create film versions.
Todays digital native students have unprecedented access to movies and take full advantage of
this to indulge viewing habits that are omnivorous and insatiable.
Tap that and direct their viewing and thinking with targeted text and history issues to fuel
writing assignments that are relevant and exciting and unite students as a community of informed
readers and digital citizens.

19

About the Author: Dr. Rose Reissman is a veteran English Language Arts educator who
founded the Writing Institute Program currently based in Ditmas IS 62. Under the leadership of
Barry Kevorkian, Principal, 18 educators collaborate with Dr. Reissman to produce literacy
projects. Mr. Downes (Head Advisor), Ms. Xavier (ELA Editor), and Dr. Reissman are faculty
advisors for the Ditmas Bulldog Buzz, a student newspaper that reports on local neighborhood,
New York State and International News as it affects the students lives as citizens of the world.
Contact the author: roshchaya@gmail.com

Resources:
Entertainment Weekly: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/03/fact-checking-selma/
Fair Blog
http://fair.org/blog/2015/01/08/its-critics-of-Selma-who-are-distorting-civil-rights-history

20

Digitally literate youth: Supporting literacy development in 1:1

environments
By Michael L. Manderino, PhD.
Northern Illinois University
And by Paula M. Di Domenico, EdD.
Leyden Township High Schools
Introduction
The rise of 1:1 computing in classrooms has transformed the teaching and learning
landscape in K-12 settings. Concurrently, rigorous learning standards have placed literacy at the
center of instruction (CCSS, 2010; NGSS, 2010, NCSS, 2013). These standards specifically
include language about the role of technology in literacy development but do not clearly
articulate how to integrate technology use and literacy instruction (Phillips & Manderino, 2015).
For example, the Common Core anchor standards illustrate the complexity of fostering literacy
development in a digital environment. They read: Integrate and evaluate content presented in
diverse media and formats, Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish
writing and to interact and collaborate with others, and Gather relevant information from
multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and
integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism (CCSS, 2010). Each of the standards
makes clear that online and offline literacy practices are required to meet the standards.
Technology use and literacy instruction are two sides of the same coin. We refer to this
intersection as digital literacies. Phillips and Manderino (2015) define digital literacies as as the
use of digital tools to consume and produce knowledge as well as the mindset and competencies
needed to make choices, interact, and engage in an open, networked society. In this article we
propose five elements that students need to make digital literacies amplify literate practice for
adolescents:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Students need to be able to read and make meaning from a wide variety of text types.
Students need to synthesize multiple texts quickly and proficiently.
Students need to engage in critical literacy to evaluate and integrate online texts.
Students need to engage in collaborative meaning-making.
Students need opportunities to compose content for a wide audience.

Each of these elements will be discussed, and relevant examples of classroom instruction that
supports students digital literacies development will be examined.
21

Multiple online text types

While just about the entire body of human knowledge is available online, it also comes in
a variety of representations. Traditionally, students in school have read predominantly printbased texts with audio-visual texts treated as ancillaries. In an online environment, reading often
involves reading written word along with flash-animation, videos, hyperlinks, pictures, etc. It is
critical that students be able to closely and critically read multiple text types as students will need
to be able to use those texts to construct meaning. Text types include images, videos, audio, and
text in multiple combinations. To support the reading of varied text types, researchers have
argued that we need to teach students how to consume those texts. Specifically, students need to
learn a meta-language about audio-visual texts (Serafini, 2014; Unsworth, 2006). That is,
students need to learn the language used to comprehend audio-visual texts as it is different than
the comprehension of traditional texts. For instance, attention to elements of sound, color, shape,
and orientation all are critical to extrapolating the message of visual text types. Just as students
are taught text structure in order to help unlock meaning in print-based text, teachers also need to
provide students with access to the structures of online text to help them understand the content,
as well as analyze the choices the authors made in order to create an effect for their audiences.
Using teacher directed think-alouds is one way to teach the complex ways to read
multiple text types. Teachers can share their thinking about an authors use of color, animations,
images, sound, and text features as they interact with varied text types in front of students. This
modeling can support students later interactions with texts. Asking students to produce texts in a
similar manner to the published examples may also support their understanding of how the
features of various text types work together to create meaning.
Other supports might include pairing textual and visual representations of the same topic
(e.g. a recorded speech and its written transcript) or lead students through a Google image search
of a topic such as the water cycle (Manderino, 2015). Because there are so many representations
of the water cycle, opportunities abound for discussing the affordances and limitations of each
representation so that students have tools to use to engage in this type of critique. Once students
have an understanding of how to access and talk about varied text types, they will also need
instruction in synthesis and multiple text comprehension.
Synthesis of online texts
When assigning students print-based texts, we often treat the reading of that text more
singularly. Often, we ask students to work through a single text and then perhaps reading others
from a text set or read a new text the next day. In an online environment, however, reading
multiple texts becomes simultaneous. Consider the number of texts embedded on a single
webpage as well as the host of links that lead the reader to other texts. While we would agree
that all reading is intertextual, school based reading of print-based text has been treated more
singularly; therefore, students will need support in learning how to consume and then synthesize
multiple texts.
22

Research has consistently demonstrated though that people struggle to synthesize

multiple texts (e.g. Stahl, Hynd, Britton, McNish, & Bosquet, 1996; Wolfe & Goldman, 2005).
Therefore we need to engage kids in specific strategies for reading and comprehending multiple
texts. There are a few multiple text synthesis strategies that can be applied to online contexts.
Three possibilities include Synthesis Journals (McAlexander & Burrell, 1996), Multiple Text
GIST (Manderino, Berglund, Johns, 2014), and I-Charts (Hoffman, 1997). In one study, students
who used a synthesis notetaker (Multiple Text Gist) and had to synthesize visual texts wrote
higher quality essays compared to those who did not use the notetaker (Manderino, 2007). These
traditional synthesis notetakers can be used with Google docs, include hyperlinks, and have
visual resources pasted in.
By providing students with instruction in how to synthesize these texts as well as tools
and strategies will foster the synthesis process, teachers can help students feel prepared to engage
with these multiple text types online. Blendspace (www.blendspace.com) (see figure 1) is a tool
that can support student synthesis by providing a platform for the curation of multiple Internet
sources around a single topic.

Figure 1. Blendspace for multiple source curation around the topic of Fair Trade

23

While working to read to synthesize multiple texts, students also need to learn to be judicious
about the texts they select and need to effectively support their inquiry.
Critical Media Literacy
Traditionally, teachers have been the gatekeepers of information through their textbooks
and supplemental handouts. 1:1 environments remove those gates and open up an endless
amount of text. While the Internet is replete with sources, many are unauthored, unvetted, and
unreliable. It is critical for students and teachers to not approach reading as merely an act of
consumption but one of critical analysis. Critical online source evaluation (McVerry, 2011) is
necessary in the selection process of texts that will ultimately need to be synthesized. Evaluation
of texts for bias, credibility, trustworthiness, and accuracy are critical for text selection and use.
Supports for students online source evaluation include rating sources for their bias, usefulness,
and accuracy. Figures 2 & 3 illustrate one way in which teachers can support students as they
engage in critical online source evaluation. Students in this example are reading a number of
documents about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident including videos and audio speeches. In figure 2, a
clip from the Academy Award winning documentary, The Fog of War, is embedded into a
Google site with other sources. Students watch the video and then complete an online source
evaluation form in Figure 3.

Figure 2. The Fog of War clip from YouTube

24

Figure 3. Online source evaluation of the Youtube clip

25

The above example is a historical source but also a media source that needs to be
examined. Critical evaluation of the source is required but so is an examination of the media
itself. Questions of who produced the film, who uploaded it to YouTube, and why it was
produced are vital to reading online. This approach is often referred to as critical media literacy
(Morrell, 2013). A critical reader online could be said to be more engaged as a citizen.
Criticality is not simply transmitted from teacher to student. It is learned through social
participation and collaborative sense making. While it is important to evaluate potential bias,
credibility, and accuracy, it is also important to help students navigate the web that is
ideologically constructed.
By creating assignments that provide students with the opportunity to engage in activities
that allow students to critically consume texts and the media environment in which they are
produced, teachers can take advantage of the plethora of texts available on the web. Furthermore,
critical media literacy approaches encourage students to create their own media texts, thus
providing opportunities for students to challenge media stereotypes.
Collaborative meaning making
1:1 environments create opportunities for powerful collaborations across time and space.
While a plethora of tech tools can engender collaboration, they are meaningless if only used
because they are collaborative tools. Tasks designed to be collaborative are more important that
the tool. For example, a blog with no audience is a word-processed essay. A wiki with no
collaboration is a poster with digital glitter and glue. Begin your instructional design process
with your learning objectives and task design that require collaborative meaning making. Then
select the tool to deepen that collaboration. Several examples are included in figure 3.

Standard

Learning
Objective

Task

CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of
a story, drama, or
poem from details in
the text, including how
characters in a story or
drama respond to
challenges or how the
speaker in a poem
reflects upon a topic;
summarize the text.

After reading
several stories,
students will be
able to describe the
theme and explain
how the characters
in the story of their
choice responds to
the challenges
associated with the
theme.

Select one of the stories

studied in class. Collaborate
with your team to:
1. Determine the main
message.
2. Consider how the
character responds
to challenges
presented in the
story
3. Present your work
4. Return to your
character
26

Collaborative Tool(s)
Brainstorming:
Students use a shared
Google doc to collect
ideas with group and
determine how the
author shares the
message
Writing:
Students collaborate
using Storyboard that to
sketch out how the
character responds to the

presentations at the
end of the semester
to see if your are
ready to improve
your fifth grade
presentation

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.7.2.B
Develop the topic with
relevant facts,
definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or
other information and
examples.

After studying
water conservation
in class, write an
informative text
that explains
changes people can
make to help
conserve water.

You are now an expert on

water conservation! You
are going to help your
community conserve water
by creating a pamphlet that
explains at least three
different ways people can
conserve water in their
homes. Prepare your
pamphlet for a specific
audience (select one we
discussed in class: (parents
association; community
welcome packets for new
residents; Earth day
celebrations). Once you
have completed a draft of
your pamphlet, collaborate
with a classmate to engage
in peer-revision.
Once you have revised your
pamphlet, share your
pamphlet with the audience
you selected.
27

challenges in the story.

(e.g. expand on an
important scene)
Demonstrating:
Students choose among
the following
presentation tools
(dependent upon
experience with and
ease of use of the tool)
- Share the
storyboard that
students created
using Storyboard
that
- Create a
PowToon!
- Present using
Animoto
Use Lucidpress to create
an online brochure.
Share your project with
a friend to engage in
peer-revision.
Share resources with
appropriate audiences.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.RH.910.7
Integrate quantitative
or technical analysis
(e.g., charts, research
data) with qualitative
analysis in print or
digital text.

Given the
opportunity to
complete a lab
report, students will
be able to integrate
quantitative
analysis with
narrative
description of the
charts and tables
used using digital
texts.

After completing your

garden lab wherein you
determine the best soil
properties for growing the
vegetables you selected,
create a multi-media
presentation to share your
findings and sell the soil
to the audience you
identified (garden blogs,
community group, garden
store).

Determine audience and

post multi-media
presentation to the
appropriate group
online.
Select from the
following presentation
tools:
-

Datacopia
Google sheets

Figure 3. Examples of collaborative tools to support collaboration

Writing for publication
These collaborative engagements also have the power to be shared with the widest
audience possible. Online content creation (OByrne, 2013) means that students have the ability
to create and share a variety of productions such as digital storytelling, blogging, video creation,
tweeting, etc. Publication moves from an audience of one (the teacher) to potentially a global
audience. If we are to truly value what young people have to say, then we need to provide
opportunities to share their voices, cultivate their ideas, and grapple with local and global
problems. As students construct digital texts to share, it is important to support their composing
process rather than simply assigning digital writing. Students need to be taught the writing
process, effective communication practices for given genres, and provided opportunities for
feedback and revision.
For example, teachers can engage students through each part of the writing process,
including studying mentor texts to determine how to appropriately use tone and style to reach the
intended audience. A teacher who is attempting to show students how to communicate using a
Blog would provide those students with a series of blogs to review. The teacher could show
students how to determine the purpose and audience of the blog and engage in a reverse outline
to determine how the author builds content related to his or her topic over time. That is, the
students could read a progression of several blogs and record how one topic builds on the
previous topic to engage readers. The students could also study how to find an appropriate
audience for his or her blog by examining how professional bloggers reach out (e.g. Twitter,
linking to similar blogs). Once students understand how to write in the identified medium, the
teacher can help the student craft and then publish his or her blog throughout the course.
Conclusion

28

The principles described above are intended to serve as categories of digital literacy
practices and are not mutually exclusive. Integrating powerful digital texts and tools with robust
literacy practices provides opportunities for students to cultivate 21st century skills for a
knowledge economy. As we conceptualize digital literacy practices, we see students embodying
them by:

Reading multiple forms of text

Writing in a variety of mediums
Speaking to the widest audience possible
Listening to global perspectives

As digital texts and tools continue to proliferate, it is increasingly necessary to provide

multiple opportunities for students to develop their digital literacies skills. It is equally important
for teachers to have opportunities for robust professional development for digital literacies
instruction as they also need experience engaging with and creating the texts they are helping
their students produce and consume. This is important as teachers rely on their knowledge of
texts and tools, their own experiences with texts and tools, and their curricular resources when
planning for instruction (Di Domenico, 2014). Thus, if teachers do not have access to these tools
and the resources and support in learning how to use them, it is unlikely that digital literacy
instruction will be effectively incorporated into instruction. Digital literacy instruction that is
supported with robust professional development then can support students ability to read not
just the word but the world.

Michael Manderino, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of literacy education at Northern Illinois

University in DeKalb, IL. His research focuses on the intersection of digital and disciplinary
literacies. Michael is a former high school social studies teacher of 14 years and a school-wide
literacy coach prior to coming to NIU. Email him at mmanderino@niu.edu or follow on Twitter
@mmanderino.
Paula Di Domenico, Ed.D, is a secondary disciplinary literacy coach at Leyden District 212 in
Franklin Park, IL and serves as an adjunct instructor of graduate courses in literacy education at
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL and Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Prior to her
work as a secondary disciplinary literacy coach, Dr. Di Domenico was a high school English and
developmental reading teacher. Email her at pmdidomenico@gmail.com or follow on
Twitter @LeydenLiteracy

References
Di Domenico, P., (2014). High school teachers disciplinary literacy knowledge: A mixed29

method study. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest. (3681928).

Manderino, M. (2015). Reading and understanding in the digital age: A look at the critical need
for close reading of digital and multimodal texts. Reading Today. 32(4).
Manderino, M., Berglund, R. L., & Johns, J. L. (2014). Content area learning: Bridges to
disciplinary literacy. 4th Ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
McVerry, J. G. (2012). New literacies: Online reading comprehension, online collaborative
inquiry, and online content construction. Connecticut Reading Association Journal. 1(1)
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)
Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013).
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & the Council of Chief State
School Officers (2010). Reaching higher. The Common Core State Standards Validation
Committee. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CommonCoreReport_6.10.pdf

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
OByrne, W. I. (2013). Online Content Construction: Empowering Students as Readers
and Writers of Online Information. In K. Pytash, & R. Ferdig (Eds.) Exploring
Technology or Writing and Writing Instruction (pp. 276-297). Hershey, PA: Information
Science.
Phillips, N.C., & Manderino, M. (April, 2015). Access, equity, and empowerment: Supporting
digital literacies for all learners. UIC research on urban education policy initiative policy
brief. Volume 4, Book 3. http://cfl.uic.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/UIC_PolicyBriefBook_3.pdf
Serafini, F. (2013). Reading the visual: An introduction to teaching multimodal
literacy. Teachers College Press.
Stahl, S., A., Hynd, C., Britton, B., McNish, M., & Bosquet, D. (1996). What
happens when students read multiple source documents in history? Reading Research
Quarterly 31(4), 430-456.
Unsworth, L. (2006). Towards a Metalanguage for Multiliteracies Education:
Describing the Meaning-Making Resources of Language-Image
Interaction. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 5(1), 55-76.
Wolfe, M.B., & Goldman, S. (2005). Relations between adolescents text processing and
30

reasoning. Cognition and Instruction, 23(4), 467502.

31

Improving Word Study - Moving Beyond Paper and Pencil to

Transformative Educational Technology
By: Lynnea West and Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman
If you are reading this journal, you probably wont disagree with the statement that in
schools, literacy is the key to success in all content areas of instruction. However, in
order to develop fully as a reader and understand text, fast and accurate recognition of
words, their meanings, and use of words in writing are absolutely crucial determinants of
success. These ensure that readers and writers are fluent and confident in the process of
creating the understanding of what a text is intended to convey. Comprehension and
making meaning are the overarching goals of all pillars of literacy practices in education.
(Taberski, 2010). An integral aspect of any well-designed literacy program, therefore, is
word study. Word study is the integration of spelling, phonics and vocabulary
instruction. (Bear 2012). In a sense, word study teaches learners how to look at words so
that they can construct an understanding of how written words work.
Through a review of relevant research we discerned six key components in research
based practices for word study including systematic instruction, explicit instruction,
making connections, repeated exposure, comprehension of material read silently or orally
and accurate oral reading of connected text. Current word study instruction practices are
labor intensive for teachers and are drab experiences for learners. Are there educational
technologies that can support this crucial area of literacy learning and establish a more
satisfying experiences for students?
This article describes research based instructional practices and the connections between
the Words Their Way model and VocabularySpellingCitys (a popular digital tool for
teachers and students) affordances for word study instruction. For the purposes of this
article, affordances are defined as the value added characteristics and learning
opportunities that are enhanced or would otherwise not be possible without the
educational technology tool (OBrien & Voss, 2011; Beach & OBrien, 2012). First we
will explore the key components in research based practices for word study. Then we
will investigate the key components in research based practices for word study within the
Words Their Way model and through the affordances of VocabularySpellingCitys
educational technology tool. Beyond this, this article hopes to uncover the research
based components of word study instruction and the value-added of teacher efficiency
and learner engagement in word study when the VocabularySpellingCitys tool is used in
conjunction with the Words Their Way model. We will conclude by sharing how you

32

can create engaging and efficient research based word study in your literacy program by
using VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction with the Words Their Way model.
Traditional Spelling Instruction:
In order to provide some context for what is exactly word study, it helpful to articulate
what traditional spelling instruction has typically been present in the elementary school
experience. Traditional spelling practices have a single set of words for the class that is
given by the teacher to all students. Each set of words is determined not by level of
readiness of the student, but by grade level standards or curriculum. Children are
generally taught by a particular rule such as, when two vowels go walking, the first one
does the talking. Students are taught these words in isolation and as a separate subject
area of the school day. Children often are assigned activities such a rainbow words
that have students copying and rewriting the words in different colors or completing
spelling workbook pages. Words Their Way attempts to modify these instructional
practices to word study that incorporates spelling patterns with meaning in context. This
is done through a developmental approach as students progress along a continuum.
Our Approach:
In attempting to discern research based practices for word study, we conducted a review
of the relevant research literature. Employing the research information gathered in the
literature review we utilized Strauss and Cobins data analysis strategy called constant
comparative method coding (1990). Through the data coding process we identified six
key components for vocabulary, phonics and spelling instructional practices (1)
systematic instruction, (2) explicit/direct instruction, (3) making connections, (4)
repeated exposure, (5) comprehension of material read silently or orally, and (6) oral
reading of connected text (Bear, 2012; Bear, D. R., 2000; Dole, Sloan & Tratthen, 1995;
Ewell, P. T., 1997; Harris & Hodges, 1995; Neuman, S. B, & Wright, T. S., 2013;
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; Rinalid, Sells, &
McLaughlin, 1997; Tomeson & Aarnoutse, 1998; White, Graves, & Slater, 1990;
Woolfolk, A., 1998; Zemelman, 2012). Research identifies that effective words study
instruction utilizes these six components for readers and writers to recognize words and
make meaning with text. Using these key components as our research backbone we
evaluated Words Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity.
Words Their Way:
Words Their Way is a research based developmental model (Henderson, 1990;
Templeton & Bear, 1992; Templeton & Morris, 2000). It provides an instructional
framework that has students progress along an orthographic continuum. This continuum
outlines the developmental progression: alphabetic principles, consonant sounds, short
vowel sounds, consonant blends and digraphs, long vowel spelling patterns, r-controlled
33

vowels, more complex consonant patterns, diphthongs and less common vowel patterns,
inflectional endings, syllabication, homophones, consonant alternations, vowel
alternations, affixes and root words and etymologies.
An initial student spelling inventory (assessment) of words places students in an
orthographic developmental stage category for study based on their demonstration of
word pattern mastery. Students develop an understanding of word patterns, the
exceptions to the rules and the systematic phonics embedded in spelling patterns through
word sorts. Word sort activities facilitate cognitive processes of comparing and
contrasting features of words into categories. Learners examine, discriminate and make
critical judgements about speech sounds, spelling patterns, and meanings (Bear et al.,
2012, p. 2). A word sort contains a group of words with specific patterns, such as vowels
or blends or meanings, that students categorize based upon feature similarities and
differences. The Words Their Way continuum model is a series of word sorts divided
into four categories of orthographic stages. Word sorts from all orthographic
developmental stages include spelling by regular patterns and irregular spelling patterns,
often referred to as oddball words.
Words Their Way instruction should include meaningful explicit instruction, for
example, explaining that a certain vowel pattern in words can be seen and heard through
modeling how the sounds are different. The letter a in the word cake does not make
the same sound as the letter a in the word cat. Word study should have group and
individual work, as well as embedded practice. For example, students in a word study
group could work to do the initial identification of the word pattern in a group of words,
and then apply the words to their own individual sentence writing. Also, when students
make pattern and word connections within their readings, this helps them recognize their
words in context throughout the learning day.
The major benefit of the Words Their Way model is that it provides systematic, explicit
instruction of word patterns. However, in order to make this happen, it is necessary to
assess each child in a class, and identify which word list is appropriate for him/her from
the orthographic continuum, prepare and provide activities for working with the words
each week. This can be a daunting and extremely time consuming administrative task for
most classroom teachers.
VocabularySpellingCity:
VocabularySpellingCity is an educational technology tool designed to support the
learning of words and their meanings. The delivery of the word study practice includes a
website application and an App for mobile devices making it virtually platform agnostic.
There is a free version of the tool and a subscription service. There are spelling, phonics,
34

vocabulary, writing and language arts activities for K-12 cross-curricular word study.
The site has many features to promote engagement in word study and aims to save
educators time. VocabularySpellingCity can automate the delivery of word study
learning activities, spelling tests and provide immediate feedback about the student
performance to guide data-informed instruction. VocabularySpellingCity aspires to
provide students with engaging games to motivate study and promote academic success,
(Retrieved from http://www.spellingcity.com).
We found that the most important way that the tool of VocabularySpellingCity can be
used is in the ease of administration of Words Their Way developmental word study
model.
VocabularySpellingCity is
not part of a Words Their
Way model, it is a
transformative educational
technology tool.
VocabularySpellingCity has
(with a paid subscription) the
Words Their Way systematic
word lists pre-loaded into the
program.
Synergy of Words Their
Way and
VocabularySpellingCity:
Practitioners cannot
effectively address all of the
key components in research
based practices for word
study as a standalone. Our
findings conclude that it is
only when Words Their Way
is used in synergy with the
affordances, like those
designed in the resource
VocabularySpellingCity, that
optional word study practices
occur.
Figure 1 outlines our
findings.
35

Words Their Way can be used without VocabularySpellingCity, but adds great value.
The conjunction of the two programs makes learning about words much more engaging
and efficient process for both students and teachers. In addition, and quite importantly,
VocabularySpellingCitys affordances in the delivery of Words Their Way provides the
audio format for hearing the words. Furthermore, the words are represented auditorily in
sentences which provides the verbal pronunciation and the meaning and context of the
words. Students can hear words to develop understanding in terms of how the words
should be used. VocabularySpellingCity also has writing activities which enable
students to actually create the contextual meaning for the words in their developmental
sort. This is most critical for students to develop deeper meaning of the words as
generated by context that is relevant to their own particular frames of reference.
Traditional paper and pencil program approaches to word study do not provide a
component for students to hear an auditory example of words, except in the teachers
initial explicit instruction. Once the explicit instruction is complete, the students work
with the words in groups or independently. This leads to many opportunities for students
to incorrectly pronounce or articulate the words. When repeated articulations are
incorrect, the errors become fossilized and more challenging to correct. Essentially,
without an oral/audio component in the instruction and practice, the words are rendered
into a two dimensional object, rather than a rich representation of meaning both in
written and spoken context.
With VocabularySpellingCity, the delivery of Words Their Way model of systematic
instruction becomes extremely efficient as the word lists are readily available and easily
assigned to individual students. To fully understand the impact on word study of Words
Their Way and VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction, consider the life cycle of a
students word work. A students learning from using both Words Their Way and
VocabularySpellingCity activities might look very different than a word study
experience with only the paper pencil options.
The teacher can assign words from the Words Their Way spelling inventory in
VocabularySpellingCity. A student could be assessed on the orthographic continuum
using the Test Me feature. The inventory is quickly administered and independently
completed. The results are immediately processed for both the student and the teacher.
Both the student and teacher are aware of the results. The traditional paper and pencil
approach often takes 45 minutes of student class time and about three hours of teacher
time to complete the correcting of the inventory assessment and assigning of word sort
lists. This process of assessing, determining appropriate levels and assigning word sorts
is a very short life cycle compared to how the paper and pencil process might work. The
36

tools in VocabularySpellingCity affords students to be working with words at the correct

developmental level more quickly, more often, with more performance feedback.
In a traditional Words Their Way model, the teacher would need to create paper copies of
the particular word sorts for each student. In any given classroom, there might be as
many developmentally different levels of word sorts as the number of students in the
class. Most teachers become overwhelmed at the management of six or more different
groups of paper word sorts and appropriate activities, and therefore create (at the MOST)
four to six groups of different word sorts. In essence, it is better than a traditional single
spelling list, but nowhere near the personalized level of instruction available with
VocabularySpellingCitys affordances.
Then, in a paper/pencil model a student would have a notebook or paper packet of
activities to complete using the word sorts assigned to them. The teacher would need to
make individual paper copies for each student and then distribute the paper copies with
the designated practice activities. This developing and distributing process often
consumes several hours each week, generates a paper storm and is wasteful with human,
financial and ecological resources. Traditional Words Their Way instruction, although
research based and effective, is a massive undertaking - even for the most organized of
educators. With VocabularySpellingCity, the words are assigned to the student in a click
of a button and the activities of working with the words are already developed in the tool,
in full color and with highly engaging animation that also includes immediate feedback
about their progress with the word sort list. The student sees and hears this information
instantly and does not wait days for the teacher to check their sorts and listen to the
student read the words aloud. This eliminates the habitual loss of the paper word sort
cards, spelling the words inconsistently in practice packets of paper, or pronounce them
incorrectly. The student is seeing the words, hearing the words and creating an
understanding of the words. The teacher is then able to use the time saved on
administration and enhance the explicit instruction of words and their meanings.
Implications:
Moving beyond the snack of phonics and spelling, through the appetizer of vocabulary and into
the meals meat of word study our research has indicated the following implications for
embracing educational technology to reimagine literacy instruction. This article aimed to
uncover the research based components of word study instruction and the value-added of teacher
efficiency and learner engagement in word study when the VocabularySpellingCitys tool is used
in conjunction with the Words Their Way model. We found that for the most effective
instructional approach for word study learning, and in order to implement all six of the key
components in research based practices for word study, neither Words Their Way, nor
VocabularySpellingCity in isolation are sufficient. We shared examples of how you can create
37

engaging and efficient research based word study in your literacy program by using
VocabularySpellingCity in conjunction with the Words Their Way model. Based upon our
findings, we propose that it is when educators operate them in concert that the synergy of
optimal conditions for word study learning occur. VocabularySpellingCity is the only resource
we've found that has the capacity to be paired with the Words Their Way approach to accomplish
the goals of spelling, phonics and vocabulary instruction. As educational technologies emerge
and evolve, it is essential to use a critical eye toward the specific tool affordances when making
decisions about instructional practice.

38

References:
Balmuth, M. (1992) The Roots of Phonics: A historical introduction. Austin, TX: ProEd.
Beach, R., & OBrien, D. (2012). Using iPad and iPhone apps for learning with literacy
across the curriculum. Available from http://www.appsforlearningliteracies.com/
Bear, D. W., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2012). Words their Way:
Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn &
Bacon.
Bear, D. R. (2000). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling
instruction. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill.

Bear, D. & Templeton, S. (1998) Explorations in Developmental Spelling: Foundations

for Learning and Teaching Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher,
52, 222-242.

Beck, I. (2006). Making sense of phonics: The hows and whys. New York, N.Y.:
Guilford Press.

Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing Words to Life Second Edition
Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2nd ed.). New York, New York: The Guilford Press.

Berninger, V. W., Abbott, R. D., Nagy, W., & Carlisle, J. (2010). Growth in
Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6. Journal of
Psycholinguistic Research. doi:10.1007/s10936-009-9130-6

Ehri, L. (2005). Learning to Read Words: Theory, Findings, and Issues. Scientific Studies
of Reading. doi:10.1207/s1532799xssr0902_4

39

Ewell, P. T. (1997). Organizing for learning: A new imperative. AAHE Bulletin.

Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. (2001) Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.

Henderson, E. H. (1990). Teaching Spelling (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Invernizzi, M. & Hays, L. (2004) Developmental-Spelling Research: A Systematic

Imperative. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 2-15.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the
National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the
scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction:
Reports of the subgroups (NIH Publication No. 00-4754). Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.

Neuman, S. B, & Wright, T. S. (2013). All about words : increasing vocabulary in the
common core classroom, preK-2.
OBrien, D. G., & Voss, S. (2011). Reading multimodally: What is afforded? Journal
of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(1), 75-78.
Smith, N.B. (2002) American Reading Instruction. (special edition). Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.
Stahl, S. A., & Nagy, W. (2006). Teaching word meanings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.

Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research (Vol. 15). Newbury
Park, CA: Sage.

Taberski, Sharon. (2010) Comprehension from the Ground Up. Heinemann/JD: n.p.
Print.
40

Templeton, S., & Bear, D. (Eds.). (1992). Development of orthographic knowledge and
the foundation of literacy: A memorial Festschrift for Edmund H. Henderson. Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Templeton, S. (2004). The vocabulary-spelling connection: Orthographic development

and morphological knowledge at the intermediate grades and beyond. In J. F. Baumenn,
& Kameenui, E. J. (eds.), Vocabulary instruction: Research to practice (p. 118-138).
New York; Guilford Press.

Templeton, S. & Morris, D. (2000). Spelling. In M. Kamik, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson,

& R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (vol. 3, pp. 525-543). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Templeton, S. (2002) Effective Spelling Instruction in the Middle Grades: Its a lot more
than memorization. Voices from the Middle, 9 (3), 8-14.

VocabularySpellingCity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spellingcity.com

Zemelman, Steven, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur A. Hyde. (2012) Best Practice: Bringing
Standards to Life in America's Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Print.

41

Lynnea West (@lynneawest) is an i-Learn Specialist for the Eden Prairie Schools in Eden
Prairie, Minnesota. The i-Learn team supports over 600 teachers early childhood - 12th grade.
This district level leadership team works with Professional Learning Communities to embed the
4Cs, technology and innovation into instruction through job embedded coaching and
professional learning opportunities. She is currently enrolled in the PhD program at the
University of Minnesota in the College of Education and Human Development focusing in
Learning Technologies.
Email: krien002@umn.edu

Tiffany Nielsen-Winkelman is a graduate instructor, as well as a research and training assistant,

at the University of Minnesota. She is a PhD student with a dual major in Learning
Technologies and Literacy. Tiffany employs her experience in elementary and early childhood
education to support technology integration through professional development and research. Her
research interests focus on the links between transformative technology integration, literacy
instruction, teacher development, and student learning.
E-mail: niels561@umn.edu
Twitter: @tnwlearning

42