Discussion Questions

1.Skills for Foundational Language

Centers are one way to develop language skills in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

View the video, REACH Workshop Series Oral Language.

REACH Workshop Series Oral Language

Links to an external site.

How could you use centers to develop oral language skills for students?

How are students developing phonological awareness during these activities?

What language skills do children develop in literacy centers?

2.High-Risk Populations for Atypical Language Development

Students developing atypical language patterns are at risk for developing reading and writing delays. Reflect on the students you have worked with or are currently working with who are either at risk of or identified as having atypical language development.

What are your experiences working with dual language learners?

What are your experiences working with children with atypical language development?

How might you differentiate instruction for a dual language learner and a student with processing deficits? Why?

3.Instructional Strategies to Develop Reading Comprehension

Many students read text without understanding what it is they just read. Students with learning disabilities often have processing deficits which result in difficulty reading and comprehending text. Graphic organizers are a great strategy for both increasing vocabulary and reading comprehension.

How would you use graphic organizers to assist in vocabulary development in struggling readers?

How can you provide instruction using graphic organizers to develop reading comprehension skills for your struggling readers?

4.Betsy Van Deusen MacLeod describes the benefits of using literacy centers as “providing both a physical and social context for learning.”

In their article describing the value of learning centers at the high school level, Moritz and Holmes note: “When students worked on individual and cooperative projects in the centers, they were engaged with the content at deeper, more meaningful levels. The learning centers contained multisensory and differentiated activities that helped meet the diverse range of student interests, ability levels, and needs.”

What is your experience with literacy centers?

How can literacy centers be used to gather data and create comprehensive and data-informed instruction?

How could you differentiate instruction in a literacy center to provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions for struggling readers?