The Tolman Hourglass Figure: Orthography
Connecting Assessment to Tolman’s Hourglass Figure
Why the Quality of Literacy PD Makes all the Difference
Dr. Tolman on the EDVIEW360 Blog:
As a young girl, I remember “traveling” to faraway places, living vicariously as I enjoyed the Bobbsey twins’ adventures. Reading became my getaway, my solace, and my joy. Sometimes, I imagine how different my life would have been if I had struggled to learn to read. Perhaps that’s why my passion today is literacy research and helping teachers reach all students.
How can this be done? By developing teacher expertise through quality literacy PD.
Read the full article here!
Working Smarter, Not Harder
Working Smarter, Not Harder
What Teachers of Reading Need to Know and Be Able to Teach
In my 27+ years of involvement in public education, I have never met a teacher that did not care deeply about each and every one of his or her student’s reading skills. As a Special Education teacher within elementary, middle, and high school settings, I, along with my peers, spent countless hours and sleepless nights preparing and delivering lessons with the hope of improving students’ reading skills. As I worked harder, I watched my students’ reading skills improve at a frustratingly slow rate; however, their progress never completely reached the grade level for which they strove. In searching for the answers to student reading success, I was left with the continual feeling that there was something more that could be done. Yet, even with over two decades of experience and the title of M.Ed., I could not identify what was missing in my reading instruction. Having not learned what I needed to know in my first two degrees, I was determined not to let that same mistake happen again. Consequently, before I began my doctoral work, I queried numerous national reading experts in an attempt to identify what I needed to learn.
Over time, I came to understand that I had been missing a fundamental understanding of the scope and sequence of skills necessary to include within effective reading instruction. The often-quoted “five core components” of reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, are inarguably crucial components. Until I studied this field in an in-depth manner, however, it was not always clear to me exactly what skills should be included within these components. Along with this is the necessary knowledge of exactly what we mean by these components, how these skills are translated throughout the grade levels, and what components should be emphasized, with what intensity, for which students. This information has enabled me to “work smarter, not harder” to increase the reading skills of students. I share the following outlines of these skills in the hopes that you, too, can use this knowledge to improve student reading achievement. We can make a difference in the lives of so many students!
Download the full article: IDA article – working smarter, not harder
The Relationship between Teacher Knowledge and Effective RTI: When We Know Better, We Do Better
Welcome to LETRS with Co-Authors Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Carol Tolman
What is LETRS all about? Check out this video!
Voyager Sopris Learning’s 2018 Online Literacy Symposium
Dr. Tolman along with Dr. Moats will lead this year’s Voyager Sopris Learning’s 2018 Online Literacy Symposium. The symposium will take place July 9-10th. For more information, click here.
Recent Article by Dr. Carol Tolman
You can find a list of Dr. Tolman’s articles here.
Author Talk with LETRS Co-Author Dr. Carol Tolman
Author Talk with Dr. Tolman!
Author Talk with LETRS Co-Author Carol Tolman from Voyager Sopris Learning on Vimeo.