With the upcoming implementation of the VLA (Virginia Literacy Act) there is a lot of new jargon that may be confusing to parents and laypersons who do not have a background in education. Below a list of definitions to help parents understand the intricacies of this new Act.
Literacy: Having the skills to read and write. The goal of reading is to be able to understand (comprehend) what one reads. Children need to be able to:
- Decode –blend sounds together to read words
- Encode – spell words
- Understand and use language
As children’s skills improve in these areas, they develop fluency and comprehension.
Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction: Structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching that:
- Are based on valid evidence consistent with reading research.
- Are utilized in general education through intensive reading intervention.
- Build mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling and reading fluency.
- Increase students’ reading, vocabulary, oral language and comprehension.
- Are able to be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students.
Structured Literacy: Explicit, systematic teaching that focuses on:
- Phonological awareness
- Word recognition
- Phonics and decoding
- Spelling
- Syntax (grammar) at the sentence and paragraph levels
Phonological Awareness: crucial skills that are necessary for reading and spelling success. It includes the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words. Some examples include identifying words that rhyme, segmenting a sentence into words, identifying the syllables in a word. The most sophisticated — and last to develop — is called phonemic awareness.
Phonemic Awareness: the ability to notice and work with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This includes blending sounds into words, segmenting words into sounds, and deleting and playing with the sounds in spoken words.
Screener: An assessment tool used with all students within a grade level to identify specific students at risk for poor outcomes.
Statewide Literacy Screener: All VA school divisions Grades K-3 will now use the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System (VALLSS). The previous screening tools, PALS Pre-K and PALS K-3, will no longer be used.
Student Reading Plans: will be developed for students whose results on VALLSS place them in the High-Risk category, consisting of goals and objectives individualized to the student based on his or her scores. Student Reading Plans will last one year and will be determined by the beginning of the year VALLSS data.
Citation: Jeanine Cyrwus retrieved from Virginia Department of Education; International Dyslexia Association; Fairfax County Public Schools Equitable Access to Literacy; Reading Rockets; UVA Updated: July 9, 2024