Author: Tatyana Elleseff

Tatyana Elleseff MA CCC-SLP is a bilingual speech-language pathologist who specializes in working with multicultural, internationally & domestically adopted as well as at-risk children with complex communication disorders in a hospital, school, and private practice settings. She has been published in several magazines including Adoption Today, Adoption Advocate, Advance for Speech Language Pathologists as well as ASHA Perspectives on School-Based and Global Issues. She has also presented for a number of medical, academic and non-profit organizations as well as speech language hearing associations including Speechpathology.com, American Academy of Pediatrics: Council on Foster Care, Adoption and Kinship, New Jersey Taskforce on Child Abuse and Neglect, New Jersey, Long Island, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Wayne County, and Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Associations, New York City Department of Education, Greenwich Public Schools, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada as well as North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).
Posted on by — Leave a comment

How to Use the Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation (KAT) Framework to Improve Reading and Writing Skills of Struggling Learners

Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation (KAT) framework, developed by Wijekumar and colleagues, involves a systematic approach to teaching students how to comprehend and use text structures to enhance their reading and writing skills. Below is quick review regarding how SLPs can use it in therapy with reading and writing impaired learners.

1. Understanding Text Structures

Teach the Students to Identify the Overall Top-Level Structure of a Text:

o Focus on the four primary text structures: comparison, cause-effect, problem-solution, and cause-problem-solution.

o Use signaling words or discourse markers to aid in identifying the top-level structure.

o Apply these steps to all genres of text, such as expository, narrative, biography, and/or poetry.

2. Introducing Text Structures

Begin by explicitly teaching each text structure. Use the following steps:

  • Define and Explain: Start with a clear definition and explanation of each text structure.
  • Provide Examples: Show students examples of texts that use each structure. Highlight and discuss the organizational patterns and signal words.

3. Teaching the Identification of Text Structures

  • Reading Passages: Provide students with reading passages and ask them to identify the text structures used.
  • Use Top-Level Structures to Answer Multiple-Choice Questions:

o Apply the understanding of text structures to answer questions about the main idea or summary of the text.

  • Answering Inference Questions:

o Integrate the top-level structure, main idea, and prior knowledge to answer inference questions.

  • Developing a Summary:

o Add key details to each part of the main idea statement.

o Focus on the overall text structure and main idea to guide the selection of important details for the summary.

  • Using Graphic Organizers: Use graphic organizers to visually represent each text structure. For example, a cause-and-effect organizer might have boxes connected by arrows to show causal relationships.

o Signal Words: Teach students to recognize signal words associated with each text structure. For example, words like “because,” “since,” and “therefore” often indicate a cause-and-effect structure.

o Use a Consistent Sentence Stem:

o Based on the overall structure of the text, use sentence stems to generate the main idea statement.

o Example sentence stem: “The problem is ___. The solution(s) is/are ___.”

4. Practicing with Text Structures

  • Guided Practice: Engage students in guided practice activities where they identify and use text structures in reading and writing.
  • Collaborative Learning: Use group activities where students work together to identify and discuss text structures in various texts.

5. Applying Text Structures in Writing

  • Writing Assignments: Assign writing tasks that require students to use specific text structures. For example, ask students to write a cause-and-effect essay on a given topic.
  • Peer Review: Implement peer review sessions where students provide feedback on the use of text structures in each other’s writing.

Example of an Implementation Plan

Week 1-2: Introduction to Text Structures

  • Define and explain each text structure.
  • Provide examples and use graphic organizers.

Week 3-4: Identification Practice

  • Use reading passages for identification practice.
  • Focus on recognizing signal words.

Week 5-6: Writing with Text Structures

  • Assign writing tasks using specific text structures.
  • Conduct peer review sessions.

By following these steps, educators as well as SLPs can effectively implement the Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation (KAT) framework using text structures, thereby enhancing students’ reading comprehension and writing skills.

Select Research Findings

· Studies have shown significant improvement in reading comprehension for students using the KAT framework.

· The approach has been effective for 4th and 5th -grade students, including those at or below the 25th percentile in reading comprehension.

· The KAT framework has also shown success in improving comprehension for Spanish-speaking English learners and in content areas beyond language arts, such as science.

Conclusion

Incorporating text structure-based reading comprehension instruction into both group as well as individual therapy sessions can significantly improve students’ comprehension skills.

Useful Resources:

Select References:

  1. Hudson, A.K., Owens, J.K., Moore, K.A., Lambright, K. & Wijekumar, K. (2021). “What is the Main Idea?”: Using Text Structure as a Framework for Accelerating Strategic Comprehension of Text. Reading Teacher, 75(1), 113.
  2. Meyer, B.J.F., & Wijekumar, K. (2018) Comparative Signaling Words Generated for Expository Texts by 4th – 8th Graders: Variations by Reading Comprehension Levels and Text Structure Strategy Intervention, Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, , 31,9: 1937-1968.
  3. Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B.J.F., Lei, P. (2012). Large-scale randomized controlled trial with 4th graders using intelligent tutoring of the structure strategy to improve nonfiction reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Technology Research and Development. 60, 987-1013.
  4. Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2017). Web-based text structure strategy instruction improves seventh graders’ content area reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(6), 741-760.
  5. Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B.J.F., Lei, P-W, Hernandez, A., August, D. (2018). Improving content area reading comprehension of Spanish speaking English learners in Grades 4 and 5 using web-based text structure instruction. Read Writ (2018) 31:1969–1996.
  6. Wijekumar, K., Graham, S., Harris, K.R., Lei, P., Barkel, A., Aitken, A., Ray, A., & Houston, J. (2019). The roles of writing knowledge, motivation, strategic behaviors, and skills in predicting elementary students’ persuasive writing from source material. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal.
  7. Wijekumar, K., Beerwinkle, A., McKeown, D., Zhang, S., & Joshi, R. M. (2020). The “gist” of the reading comprehension problem in grades 4 and 5. Dyslexia: An International Journal of Research and Practice
  8. Wijekumar, K., Graham, S., Harris, K.R., Lei, P., Barkel, A., Aitken, A., Ray, A., & Houston, J. (2019). The roles of writing knowledge, motivation, strategic behaviors, and skills in predicting elementary students’ persuasive writing from source material. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal.
  9. Wijekumar, K., Hudson, A.K., Lambright, K.L., Owens, J.K., Binks-Cantrell, E., Beerwinkle, A.L., (2023). Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation (KAT) Using Text Structures. The Reading League Journal.
Posted on by — Leave a comment

SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists Review and Giveaway

In 2020 I reviewed a product kit (instructional guide and cards) from SPELL-Links™ Learning By Design, Inc. entitled Wordtivities: Word Study Instruction for Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading. Today, I am reviewing a companion to that product kit: SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists. This 180-page guide contains sets of pattern-focused word lists for whole class, small group, and 1:1 word study instruction purposes. Each grade-level word list supports the simultaneous development of pattern-specific phonological (sound), orthographic (letter), and semantic morphological (meaning) skills. The aim of this guide is to systematically address spelling, reading, speaking, and listening all together by developing a neural network for literacy and language.

SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists are useful for students 5+ years of age who have or are in the process of developing the following knowledge and skills:

  1. Letter-name knowledge
  2. Alphabetic letter writing ability
  3. Mastery of early phonological awareness (PA) skills by being able to segment words into syllables, understand and create rhyming words, and isolate sounds in words
  4. Basic concept knowledge of directionality (left/right; top/down)

The book is organized by patterns and grade levels (K-6 grade) and by the instructional focus. For each pattern, word lists are organized to support a specific instructional focus: phonological code, orthographic code, morphological code, storage and retrieval of orthographic representations, and writing application.

The Word Lists feature 128 patterns across grades K through 6. The number of patterns taught at each grade level ranges from 9 (K) to 25 (grades 4 and 5).

Here’s an example of a 4th-grade instructional overview:

Overview of Weekly Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Pattern: Prefixes pre- (before); mid- (middle); post- (after) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Pattern: Prefixes over- (above, more than); super- (superior, exceeding); under- (below, less than);
sub- (under, subordinate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘lb, ld, lf, lk, lm, lp, lt, lth, lve, lse’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘rd, rf, rm, rn, rp, rt, rsh, rch, rth, rve, rge’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Pattern: ‘l, r’ Clusters ‘rse, rce’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Pattern: Homophones Set 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Pattern: Suffixes -ion, -ation, -ition (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Pattern: Suffix -ment (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Pattern: Suffix -en (V, ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ Clusters ‘nd, nt, mp, mph, nth, nch, ngth, nge’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ Clusters ‘nk, nc’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Pattern: ‘m, n, ng’ clusters ‘nce, nse’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Pattern: Homophones Set 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Pattern: Syllabic-r Vowel Sound as in bird, father . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Pattern: Suffix -ward (ADJ, ADV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Pattern: Unstressed Vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Pattern: Syllabic-l Vowel Sound as in bottle, pencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Pattern: Suffix -al (ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Pattern: Suffixes -able, ible (ADJ) …………………………………………….. 109
Pattern: Suffix -ous (ADJ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Pattern: Suffixes -ive, -ative, -itive (N, ADJ)………………………………………. 111
Pattern: Suffix -ure (N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Pattern: Contractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pattern: Prefix tele- (far); micro- (tiny) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Pattern: Prefixes mono-, uni-, bi-, tri-, quad-, oct- (number affixes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Pattern Review

The weekly instruction will look as follows:

  1. Monday-Tuesday: Review of Phonological and Orthographic Codes (these word pattern lists are organized into 3 groups to support differentiated instruction)
  2. Wednesday–Thursday: Morphology
  3. Friday: Mental Orthographic Representations and Application to Sentence Writing

The book comes with access to digital Materials Library, which contains access to the following materials:

  • List of pattern-loaded stories
  • SPELL-Links™ Pattern Inventory & Analysis Tool (PIAT)

The appeal of the product for me is that it offers numerous group-based opportunities for the solidification of evidence-based instructional practices.  The book comes with very detailed implementation instructions. A variety of daily activities allow students to further advance their abilities in the areas of prefixes and suffixes, numerous homophones and clusters, unstressed vowels and even contractions. The kit also offers several appendices that review the spelling rules for word roots prefixes and suffixes, as well as detailed recommendations for pattern-loaded reading materials. To me, the appeal of this curriculum is rather multifaceted. It continues to be very difficult to find an evidence-based group instruction curriculum, and Wordtivities Word Lists once again fit the bill for it. Because it focuses on skills integration of spelling, reading, speaking, and listening it allows the students to engage in contextually based opportunities to become better listeners, speakers, readers, spellers and writers.

You can find this kit for purchase on the SPELL-Links™ Learning By Design, Inc. Store HERE.

And now for the fun part. Want to win your own copy of SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists? Enter to win here: I want to win SPELL-Links Wordtivities Word Lists! | Learning By Design They’ll send one lucky person a copy of SPELL-Links™ Wordtivities Word Lists. Entries are accepted until 3/1/24 at 5 pm CST. The winner will be notified by email.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

In Search of Evidence in the Era of Social Media Misinformation

Tip: Click on the highlighted words for further reading.

Social media forums have long been subject to a variety of criticism related to trustworthiness, reliability, and commercialization of content. However, in recent years the spread of misinformation has been steadily increasing in disproportionate amounts as compared to the objective consumption of evidence. Facebook, for example, has long been criticized, for the ease with which its members can actively promote and rampantly encourage the spread of misinformation on its platform.

To illustrate, one study found that “from August 2020 to January 2021, misinformation got six times more clicks on Facebook than posts containing factual news. Misinformation also accounted for the vast majority of engagement with far-right posts — 68% — compared to 36% of posts coming from the far-left.” Facebook has even admitted in the past that its platform is actually hardwired for misinformation. Nowhere is it easier to spread misinformation than in Facebook groups. In contrast to someone’s personal account, a dubious claim made even in a relatively small group has a far wider audience than a claim made from one’s personal account. In the words of Nina Jankowicz, the disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, “Facebook groups are ripe targets for bad actors, for people who want to spread misleading, wrong or dangerous information. “

Continue reading In Search of Evidence in the Era of Social Media Misinformation
Posted on by — 4 Comments

Dear SLPs, Don’t Base Your Language Intervention on Subtests Results

Tip: Click on the bolded words to read more.

For years, I have been seeing a variation of the following questions from SLPs on social media on a weekly if not daily basis:

  • “My student has slow processing/working memory and did poorly on the (insert standardized test here), what goals should I target?”
  • “Do you have sample language/literacy goals for students who have the following subtest scores on the (insert standardized test here)?”
  • “What goals should I create for my student who has the following subtest scores on the (insert standardized test here)?”

Let me be frank, these questions show a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the purpose of standardized tests, the knowledge of developmental norms for students of various ages, as well as how to effectively tailor and prioritize language intervention to the students’ needs.

So today, I wanted to address this subject from an evidence-based lens in order to assist SLPs with effective intervention planning with the consideration of testing results but not actually based on subtest results. So what do I mean by this seemingly confusing statement? Before I begin let us briefly discuss several highly common standardized assessment subtests:

Continue reading Dear SLPs, Don’t Base Your Language Intervention on Subtests Results
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Free Literacy Assessment Resources for SLPs

A few years ago I wrote a post, which offered a compilation of FREE literacy resources for parents and professionals. Today I would like to expand upon my previous article by providing professionals with a compilation of free literacy assessment tools.

Assessment tools tend to be expensive. Few professionals have unlimited budgets to purchase the myriad of tests needed to appropriately assess a host of skills associated with reading, spelling, and writing. Below is a list of helpful free materials to assist SLPs on tight budgets testing children with suspected reading, spelling, and writing deficits.

First, let us briefly review a few essential components involved in skilled reading, which are:

Continue reading Free Literacy Assessment Resources for SLPs
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Quality Assessments for Students with Suspected/Confirmed “APD”

Recently I wrote a blog post offering a free handout for parents and professionals entitled, “Deconstructing Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) for Parents and Professionals: Informational Handout“. While it was incredibly well-received, it resulted in numerous professionals asking the same questions:

  1. How do we help students with “APD?
  2. What constitutes a good quality assessment for a student with “APD”?

Today I would like to answer the above questions by providing further helpful information and links for parents and professionals seeking evidence-based assistance for students with suspected/confirmed “APD”.

Continue reading Quality Assessments for Students with Suspected/Confirmed “APD”
Posted on by — 6 Comments

Deconstructing Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) for Parents and Professionals: Informational Handout

The diagnosis of auditory processing disorder (APD) has long been steeped in significant controversy. I have been writing about the serious issues surrounding it for a number of years. Today I am expanding upon the posts I wrote in the past on this subject by adding a link to a handout for parents and professionals succinctly summarizing the current controversies relevant to APD in a 2-page handout. You can download it from my online store for FREE, HERE

What are some key takeaway points from that handout?

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a condition that is often characterized by difficulty processing orally presented information. Reported symptoms include but are not limited to, the increased processing time to respond to questions, requests for frequent repetition of information, difficulty following directions and attending to speech, difficulty keeping up with class discussions, difficulty listening in noisy environments, difficulty maintaining attention on presented tasks,  difficulty remembering instructions and directions or verbally presented information, as well as poor/weak phonemic awareness, reading, spelling, and writing abilities affecting the student’s social and academic performance. Frequent recommendations for the above difficulties include referral to an audiologist once the student is typically 6-7 years of age in order to undergo auditory processing testing.

Continue reading Deconstructing Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) for Parents and Professionals: Informational Handout
Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Science of Reading Literacy Certificate for SLPs: FAQs

In August 2021, the CEU Smart Hub (Powered by the Lavi Institute) has launched a new certificate program: The Science of Reading (SOR) Literacy Certificate for SLPs.  Because of the multitude of questions we have received in advance of the certificate rollout (Financial Disclosure: I am a 50% partner in the CEU Smart Hub/Power Up Conferences), I am writing this post today in an attempt to answer some of the commonly asked questions regarding this certification.

Who is the certificate for? The certificate is open to SLPs who are interested in gaining in-depth knowledge in the areas of assessment and treatment of children with language and literacy disorders. This certification offers not just continuing education hours in the advanced practices pertaining to the assessment and treatment of literacy but also a final examination and 2 lengthy in-depth projects requiring professionals to appropriately and comprehensively design assessment plans and treatment goals to work with literacy impaired clients. Continue reading The Science of Reading Literacy Certificate for SLPs: FAQs

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Review of Wordtivities by SPELL-Links

Image result for wordtivities"Today I am reviewing a newly released (2019) kit (instructional guide and cards) from the Learning By Design, Inc. entitled Wordtivities: Word Study Instruction for Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading.

The 101-page instructional guide was created to address the students’ phonological awareness, spelling, reading, vocabulary, and syntax skills by having them engage with sounds, letters, and meanings of words. The lessons in the book can be used by a variety of instructional personnel (teachers, SLPs, reading specialists, etc.) and even parents as a stand-alone word study program or in conjunction with SPELL-Links to Reading & Writing Word Study Curriculum.

The activity book is divided into two sections. The first section offers K-12 student activities for large groups and classrooms. The second section has picture card activities and is intended for 1:1 and small group instruction. Both sections focus on reinforcing 14 SPELL-Links strategies for reading and spelling to stimulate the associations between sounds, letters, and meanings of words. Continue reading Review of Wordtivities by SPELL-Links

Posted on by — 8 Comments

Comprehending Reading Comprehension

Image of three books open on a table with stacks of books in the background.How many parents and professionals have experienced the following scenario? The child in question is reading very fluently (Landi & Ryherd, 2017) but comprehending very little of what s/he is reading.  Attempts at remediation follow (oftentimes without the administration of a comprehensive assessment) with a focus on reading texts and answering text-related questions. However, much to everyone’s dismay the problem persists and worsens over time. The child’s mental health suffers as a result since numerous studies show that reading deficits including dyslexia are associated with depression, anxiety, attention, as well as behavioral problems (Arnold et al., 2005; Knivsberg & Andreassen, 2008; Huc-Chabrolle, et al, 2010; Kempe, Gustafson, & Samuelsson, 2011; Boyes, et al, 2016;   Livingston et al, 2018). Continue reading Comprehending Reading Comprehension