instruction, literacy & inclusion Literacy, Letters, & Language: Embedding Opportunities for Students with Complex Communication Needs Summary: Comprehensive literacy instruction for learners with significant disabilities is a critical component of the formal instruc- tional years and beyond. This article will highlight embedded instructional experiences that teach alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, so learners can apply knowledge gained during explicit instructional experiences to the world around them. It is critical that language and literacy are the foundation for students to achieve independent, autonomous communication. A SHARED VISION ALL learners can learn to read and write. Comprehensive literacy instruction MUST occur for ALL learners with complex communication needs. If you educate and support learners with significant disabili- ties, you play an imperative role in their literacy development. You are a part of something special. You are a member of a life- changing team! When we have a shared vision of what our students are capable of learning, we believe in their ability to learn to read and write. We believe our students are entitled to high quality instruction that occurs across instructors and environments. We put no limits on their ability to learn literacy and language. We believe that their access to high quality instruction is not only their right, but one of the most important factors in achieving independence and autonomy in their adult lives. BACK TO CONTENTS L A U R E N S H E E H A N is a special education teacher with over fourteen years experience working with learners with complex communication needs. Currently, Lauren teaches in a public high school and also works as an adjunct instructor. Lauren has an undergraduate degree in special education, and dual master degrees in special education and curriculum and instruction. She also has a certificate in assistive technology. Lauren’s experiences include providing comprehensive literacy instruction, supporting learners who use AAC, alternative access and assistive technology use. Lauren has presented at local and national conferences on multiple topics in special education, literacy instruction and assistive technology. A S H L E Y L A R I S E Y is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and clinical educator. Ashley’s work experiences over the past 11 years include public and private therapeutic day schools, speech/language clinics, and early intervention. Ashley also serves as an adjunct clinical supervisor at Saint Xavier University and teaches a module specific to the use of technology in the field of Speech/Language Pathology. Ashley has extensive experience working with children and adults who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, and has presented at local and national conferences on AAC. February / March, 2022 | www.closingthegap.com/membership 3 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMERGENT VS. CONVENTIONAL LITERACY INSTRUCTION While all students are entitled to receive comprehensive literacy instruction, implementation will vary depending on the current skill set of the learner. When determining what instruc- tional strategies will be most effective in teaching literacy, we defer to the following four questions taken from Comprehen- sive Literacy for All (Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2020) to guide the decision making process. • Does the student understand that print has meaning? • Does the student know most of the letters, most of the time? • Does the student actively engage during shared reading? • Does the student have a means of communication and interaction? (Erikson & Koppenhaver, 2020) If answers to the above questions are all “yes”, then the student’s literacy instruction will include conventional literacy instructional strategies (guided reading, independent writing, independent reading, and word study). Additional information regarding conventional literacy instruction can be found in the resources section. However, if the answer is “no” to any of the above four ques- tions, emergent literacy strategies are recommended to estab- lish a solid foundation of skills. This will foster further literacy growth as students transition from emergent to conventional instruction as literacy skills continue to develop and evolve over time. Jane Farrall’s emergent literacy graphic organizer When working with emergent literacy learners, it is recom- mended that instructors spend 90-135 minutes daily using strategies, including shared reading, predictable chart writing, alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, indepen- dent writing, and self-selected reading. Of this, 20-30 minutes should be spent focusing on alphabet and phonological aware- ness skills. EXPLICIT VS. EMBEDDED INSTRUCTION When focusing on alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, it is critical to ensure that we include both explicit and embedded instruction throughout the day. Explicit instruc- tional strategies are those which follow a specified scope and sequence and are relatively short in duration (about 15-20 minutes). Explicit instructional strategies for alphabet instruc- tion include the explicit alphabet instructional routine (Jones, et al, 2013), which focuses on letter identification, letter sound identification, recognizing the letter within text, and producing the letter form. Letters are targeted throughout six instructional cycles (e.g. alphabetic order, frequency of use, order of sound acquisition). However, embedded instructional strategies, which will be the primary focus of this article, provide learners with context and meaning. It is often the application of embedded instruc- tional strategies where we see students make connections between what they are learning and its practical use within their immediate lives. We know from experiences within our instructional settings that learners require ongoing exposure, embedded instruction, and repetition with variety. Embedded instruction often occurs outside of the confines of tabletop classroom activities, which is what makes it so powerful. WHAT IS ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE AND PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS? Letters and language naturally occur during comprehensive literacy instruction. Knowing how we define alphabet knowl- edge and phonological awareness is necessary to identify what instruction your learners may need. Educators must know what skills are targeted within each. Just as we use the most common ingredients to bake a cake, educators must know the elements of alphabet instruction and phonological awareness. Alphabet knowledge is, “the ability to name, distinguish and produce the shapes, and identify the sounds of alphabet letters.” (Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2020) This includes: • letter identification • letter sounds • recognizing letters in text • producing letter forms. 4 www.closingthegap.com/membership | February / March, 2022 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved. BACK TO CONTENTS

Phonological awareness are, “skills that include recognizing and cognitively manipulating units of oral language such as word, syllabes, onsets and rimes.” (Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2020) This also includes rhymes and alliteration. When focusing on emergent literacy, our focus is often on shallow vs. deep phonological awareness skills. Deep phono- logical awareness skills examine the ability to recognize and manipulate the smallest units of spoken language, which are speech sounds (e.g. decoding and spelling), while shallow skills focus on greater units (e.g. words, syllables, onset, rimes). For the purposes of this article, we are focusing on shallow skills (Schuele & Boudreau, 2008). GETTING STARTED Learning environments are active, busy and curious. In order for embedded instruction to occur naturally throughout your setting, educators should consider the following: Purpose- Remember why your learner(s) need alphabet knowledge or phonological awareness instruction embedded into their day. Many learners need ample opportunities to work on targeted skills outside of the blocked, explicit instruction period. Emergent literacy learners need repetition, authentic learning experiences and access to literacy across environ- ments. Without purpose, we have no direction for what we do. Plan- Outline how you will embed alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness into your daily instructions and routines. Identify learner strengths and consider areas to strengthen. Use your trusted planning tool or lesson template and plan for embedded instruction to occur. We know there are many opportunities for impromptu and “on the spot” teaching to occur, however, we suggest you identify set times within a lesson, during the day or week when you can plan for embedded alphabet and phonological awareness instruc- tion. This will also help other staff understand when instruc- tion will occur. Working with other educators and related services? Co-plan with members of your team to maximize time, resources and targeted areas of need. This could look like weekly co-planning time between the teacher and speech-language pathologist (SLP) to identify letters and letter sounds to embed into instruction and therapy. Both educators can work on specific letters (teacher) and letter- sounds (SLP) that a learner may struggle with. Both educators then plan for embedded opportunities to target these skills to increase exposure in various contexts and purposes. During the planning process, you might identify instances in which multiple strategies would be appropriate for a learner. For instance, during a shared reading activity, you might iden- tify several examples of the letter of the day being used within the text. Examples of embedded instruction could include pointing to the targeted letter within the text, counting the syllables within target words, or counting the number of words within a sentence. Despite the differences in overall focus, we often find in literacy instruction that our work does not exist in a silo. There is a high level of overlap between skill sets and instructional strategies that are used to develop literacy skills. Prepare- Consider what materials and tools you will need. Individualize learner materials to provide alternative access, communication and positioning needs. Materials with high durability will provide for long lasting use. You want to spend less time creating materials and more time using them! Consider materials that can be used in a variety of settings and with multiple learners. Many settings have paraprofessional staff who can help with preparing materials. You can also look for help from parent volunteers or individuals looking to fulfill service hours. Learners can also be part of the process; this allows for learners to understand the purpose of the materials and tools if they are part of the development, creation and organization. Learners can then customize materials to increase engagement and excitement for their use! Alphabet materials on learner desk. Placement- Identify where you will store your materials that you have prepared. We recommend having quick and easy access to your prepared materials. Storage options can vary and having your tools ready increases the likelihood of others using them on a consistent basis. This can include physical items such as clear bins, rolling carts, command hooks, pocket charts, desk storage, clear page protector, whiteboards and much more. Place materials in locations where embedded instruction would occur naturally! You should also consider placement of digital materials. This can include shared Google drives, Jamboard, Book Creator and other technology-based resources. BACK TO CONTENTS February / March, 2022 | www.closingthegap.com/membership 5 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.

We have found that having access to both paper-based and digital tools, at any given time, ensures for flexible implementa- tion. Alphabet cards on command hook. Letter board next to smartboard. 6 www.closingthegap.com/membership | February / March, 2022 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved. BACK TO CONTENTS ALPHABET INSTRUCTION (EMBEDDED LEARNING EXPERIENCES) A variety of strategies can be used to support embedded alphabet instruction. ALPHABET BOOKS Alphabet books bring a variety of options into embedded instruction. They provide opportunities to highlight letter names, letter-sounds and upper and lowercase letters in print. Use learner data from your explicit instruction to drive your selection of books. A learner who is challenged with the letters g, p and q would benefit from alphabet books that provide multiple opportunities to read those letters, locate in print and hear letter-sound relationships. If a learner needs more access to uppercase and lowercase letter instruction, select a text that has multiple proper nouns that provide increased access to uppercase letters on each page. Alphabet books can be created with a student using their preferences and interests. There are many apps that allow for learners to create their own, such as Pictello, Book Creator or Story Creator. Other platforms include Google Slides, Jamboard or Powerpoint. Learners can add their own photos or select photos and images online. A learner who struggles to identify the letter p could write a book using photos from a cooking experience. A photo of them pouring the pancake mix can be added with text under the image. Other photos and text you can add include a pan or plate. This provides multiple purposes for a text to be read, all while creating opportuni- ties for embedded alphabet instruction. You can also access readily available alphabet books on Tarheel Reader (https:// tarheelreader.org/) by searching for a targeted letter. You can create your own account and write your own books that can be accessed using a variety of methods (switch, touch screen, keyboard) and across multiple settings (school, home, commu- nity). Alphabet book targeting the letter i using Google Slides with an animated polar bear GIF.

GAMES Learners of all ages enjoy game-based learning. Embedded instruction can occur in familiar games (Bingo, Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune) or by creating your own games. Survey your students to identify preferred game experiences. Some games require adaptation to make accessible but the overall idea is to allow for embedded instruction to occur naturally within the context of a game. Your learners may not realize you are working on letter identification or recognizing specific letters in print during all the fun! Bingo game targeting uppercase letters using template from Lessonpix. BACK TO CONTENTS Chain Reaction game on Powerpoint targeting the initial letter g. If you have a learner who enjoys computer-based games, you could use a PowerPoint game template such as Chain Reac- tion (https://www.rusnakcreative.com/gameshows) to identify action words that begin with the letter g. Providing embedded experiences with the use of first letter cueing is a helpful repair strategy for individuals who use AAC. NAMES Learner names provide authentic and personalized embedded alphabet instruction. Think about your current setting. How many times do your learners read, identify or spell their names? Erickson and Koppenhaver (2020) share, “there is no other single word that is more personally relevant” for our learners to have access to in print. Use names to point to letters as you read (both individual, peer or staff names), identify the uppercase letter at the beginning or initial letter-sounds. The number of opportunities we have access to leaner names can provide endless access to embedded letter identification. Interactive name graphic using Canva. February / March, 2022 | www.closingthegap.com/membership 7 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.

Add some fun into the mix by creating personalized letter posters, name cards or graphics using Canva (www.Canva. com). Creating opportunities to write their name for a variety of purposes (attendance, volunteer choices, lunch orders and more) increases embedded instruction. Standard writing tools or alternative pencils can be used. To learn more about alterna- tive pencils, visit the Center of Literacy and Disability Studies, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (https://www.med. unc.edu/ahs/clds/alternative-pencils/). Volunteer sign-up board using alternative pencils. ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT Letters are everywhere! So much variety of print can be found within our educational environments and community settings. Environmental print appears on signs, labels and logos. When our learners bring their attention to environmental print, we model that letters have a purpose in our world. We are actively involving our learners in these experiences, rather than rote instruction in isolation to simply match a picture to picture. We draw attention to the letters we see, to the sounds letters represent and to the context in which we read print. Draw attention to the letters in the EXIT sign when you walk in the hallway, point to letters on the logo of a pretzel snack at lunch or read student created posters advertising the Home- coming dance. SCAVENGER HUNTS Allow students to actively explore and seek letters. Scavenger hunts provide a similar approach as environmental print, but instead, target individual letters, groups of letters, letter-sound representations or uppercase and lowercase letters. Scavenger hunts can be used to provide movement breaks during the day. Consider working with your Occupational or Physical Therapist 8 www.closingthegap.com/membership | February / March, 2022 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved. to plan for scavenger hunts during therapy. Use fun tools such as clipboards, sticky notes, stickers or occluders. Scavenger hunts also create collaborative learning opportunities. Learner using stickers during a letter scavenger hunt within a Dynamic Learning Maps familiar text. Leaners reads a Readtopia (Building Wings) graphic novel, from Working Together/ The Gold Bug unit, while identifying uppercase letters (LessonPix bookmark) within a text. BACK TO CONTENTS

Having access to tools and materials that support alphabet instruction is imperative. LessonPix (www.lessonpix.com) is an online resource for custom made learning materials for educa- tors and parents. Lessonpix templates support a wide range of literacy learning. Learners read a page within a Readtopia graphic novel to identify the letter B. The bookmarks are used for scavenger hunts within a text. Many times, we think learners must move and “go” on a scavenger hunt, but consider ways you can embed this strategy quickly into your classroom. (Read- topia, by Building Wings, is a comprehensive literacy curriculum that is designed for learners with complex needs. To learn more about Readtopia, visit the Don Johnston website at www. donjohnston.com.) PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS (EMBEDDED LEARNING EXPERIENCES) RAPS AND RHYMES Songs are a great way to bring awareness to rhyming words, but it can also be challenging for educators to identify songs that are age respectful when targeting these skills with older learners. Raps can be used in place of nursery rhymes to teach phonological awareness skills like syllableness, rhymes, and alliteration. One of the biggest challenges with using music is that we cannot control the tempo - when listening to a song with higher beats per minute (BPM), educators can have trouble bringing attention to some of the aspects of phonological awareness within a song. However, when we create our own music and raps, we can control the pacing to slow the tempo down and increase emphasis on a specific aspect of phono- logical awareness. I am cold/bold/old rap created within google slides. The iPad iOS apps Rap Maker and Auto Rap by Smule offers background music that can be used to create custom raps. Within the previous example, the focus is on the letter I (embedded alphabet knowledge), with additional attention being given to the rhyming words bold, cold, and old. A bitmoji of the classroom teacher is used with the letter I in ice to high- light letter sound correspondence. Poetry can also be used to highlight the connection between rhyming words. One of the benefits of focusing on rhyming words within text is that students can see the similar visual features between rhyming words (e.g. rime -ell is highlighted through markup tools in the words shell and well. A Thanksgiving poem from Animated Step by Steps (Dr. Carol Goossens) BACK TO CONTENTS February / March, 2022 | www.closingthegap.com/membership 9 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.

SHARED READING When we review the strategies used to support learners in emergent literacy instruction, shared reading has a distinct focus separate from alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness. The focus within shared reading is interaction, and helping students learn to actively engage throughout the shared reading experience. There are many helpful trainings available to support educators in guiding students during shared reading (CAR and CROWD models: https://www.share- dreader.org/professional-development/). Unite for Literacy (www.uniteforliteracy.com) is a free online and app based resource that contains a large library of short picture books that come in more than 50 languages. Many of the texts within Unite for Literacy contain repetitive lines (e.g. “Where do ______ sleep?”“I can help _____.”) Repetitive lines can be helpful in providing learners with repetition with variety and allow focus on the fill-in phrase. For example, syllableness can be targeted for the different words used to fill-in the repeti- tive text (e.g. “Do you like crickets?”). Learners can pat, clap, fist bump, or high five the number of syllables with each fill-in word. Epic Books (www.getepic.com) is a resource that is free to educators which contains a large library of books, videos, and audiobooks which can be filtered by age, reading level, genre, language, and more. Using the search tool, books can be located by focusing on a specific aspect of phonological awareness. While your comments about the text might initially be student led and driven, you can then expand upon those to include targeted comments focusing on aspects of phonolog- ical awareness (e.g. “I hear four words that start with “l” (focus on the sound it represents versus the letter) Ü Leroy, lizard, long, leap.” PREDICTABLE CHART WRITING Predictable chart writing, while a separate instructional strategy, can be used in conjunction with both alphabet knowl- edge and phonological awareness activities. A predictable chart with the sentence stem“I found all the _____” Day two (re-read the chart) is a great time to review the chart with a particular focus in mind. This might be a letter, word, or concept of print. This step can be easily overlooked in practice, but in our experience, can be one of the most important steps within predictable chart writing in terms of honing on specific skill sets. When we review the chart which contains a similar sentence stem (e.g. Bugs are ____), we can take these opportu- nities to focus on aspects of phonological awareness including counting the number of words in each sentence, identifying the number of syllables within the fill-in phrase, looking for rhyming words, or highlighting instances of alliteration. Raps and chants can also be used to re-read the chart. Note: While the above examples are specific to phonological awareness, shared reading and predictable chart writing also provide multiple opportunities to embed alphabet instruction. Within both components of comprehensive literacy instruc- A sample text from a book within Unite for Literacy. A cricket appears on the page with the text, “Do you like crickets?”The word “crickets” is underlined in red. A sample text from a book within Epic books that focuses on alliteration. 10 www.closingthegap.com/membership | February / March, 2022 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved. BACK TO CONTENTS

tion, educators can identify options for embedded instruction targeting letter identification, letter sounds, recognizing letters in text and producing letter forms. During shared reading, atten- tion can be drawn to an uppercase letter C in a character’s name or the initial /c/ sound can be articulated when read within the text. We can highlight this by saying, “I hear that /c/ sound for c in the word catch,” as we point to the letter, or word, in print. During predictable chart writing, an abundance of opportuni- ties are available as we write the chart, re-read the chart and write our book. Multiple exposures to the chart provide for various work with letters when write the chart (“We can bring money, money starts with m,”) letter-sounds when re-reading the chart (“I hear an /m/ sound in money,”) or producing the letter by typing on a keyboard when creating a book. CLOSING THOUGHTS: In our experiences teaching older learners in high school, many of whom are considered emergent literacy learners, we hear time and time again from parents and students alike that one of the most important goals they have is to learn to read and write. We have also seen far too often that teams have “thrown in the towel” on teaching literacy by the time that students enter their high school years. However, we know that when given comprehensive literacy instruction using a team- based approach, that students CAN learn to read and write, despite their age, disability, or diagnosis. It truly is life changing. RESOURCES AND REFERENCES: Erickson, K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. (2020). Comprehensive literacy for all: Teaching students with significant disabilities to read and write. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.. Jones, C.D., Clark, S.K. & Reutzel, D.R. (2013). Enhancing alphabet knowledge instruction: Research implications and practical strategies for early childhood educators. Early Child- hood Education Journal, 41, 81-89. Schuele, M., & Boudreau, D. (2008). Phonological awareness intervention: Beyond the basics. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 39, 3-20. WEBSITES: Canva: www.canva.com DLMPD: www.dlmpd.com Tarheel Shared Reader: www.sharedreader.org AAC Intervention: www.aacintervention.com Animated Step by Steps: www.animatedstep-by-steps.com Epic: www.getepic.com Tarheel Reader: www.tarheelreader.org Unite for Literacy: www.uniteforliteracy.com Lessonpix: www.lessonpix.com UNC Chapel Hill, Alternative Pencils: https://www.med.unc. Rusnak Creative, Powerpoint Game templates: https://www. rusnakcreative.com/gameshows) Don Johnston, Readotpia: www.donjohnston.com Apps: Pictello: (https://www.assistiveware.com/products/pictello) $19.99 Book Creator: (https://bookcreator.com/) $2.99 Story Creator: (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/story-creator- easy-story-book-maker-for-kids/id545369477) Rap Maker/ Auto Rap: free trial and subscription based https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rap-maker-recording- studio/id1478616650 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autorap-by-smule/ id524299475 edu/ahs/clds/alternative-pencils BACK TO CONTENTS February / March, 2022 | www.closingthegap.com/membership 11 ClosingTheGap © 2022 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.