Voyager Sopris Learning EDVIEW360 Podcast Series

Bringing the Science of Reading to Light Using MTSS: One School's Story
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) offers the framework for implementing the science of reading. Improving reading outcomes for all students requires building leaders who create the right conditions for learning, including designing systems for data-based decision-making, assessment, scheduling, and grouping.
We hope you’ll join this interesting presentation when our experts share how and why reading outcomes improved in a high-needs elementary school through the alignment of instructional systems and student data. There is so much to be learned from this school’s success, and these presenters will walk you through the details.
Attendees will learn:
- About the MTSS framework and implementing the science of reading
- How to use assessment data for systems change and student improvement
- The role of building leaders in creating the systems, structures, and processes for designing MTSS to improve reading outcomes for all students
- The challenges and successes of the school’s principal as she helped transform reading for elementary students
The Human Heart Characteristics of Teachers
When we look at the profession of teaching, three bodies of knowledge are necessary:
- Knowledge of the content to be taught
- Knowledge of effective instructional practices
- Knowledge of how students learn
But underlying these essential bodies of knowledge are the characteristics of teachers we must celebrate on this Valentine’s Day. What makes a great teacher? What sets some apart from others? Who lives on in the memories of their students?
In this webinar, Dr. Anita Archer will explore the characteristics as she reflects on the teachers she has known during the past 56 years of her career. Dr. Archer will share stories of the “greats” and their heart characteristics: passion, intention, order, tenacity, compassion, and JOY. We’ll also discuss the recent teacher exodus and what teachers need to stay committed to the classroom.
Please join us to celebrate the human hearts of teachers.
Transforming Reader Identity: Positive Approaches to Literacy for Older Readers
Older readers often have a fixed sense of what reading means (as seen in the work of researcher and author Dr. Peter Johnston), how often reading occurs in their daily lives, and if they like reading at all. As educators, we sometimes have a lot to work against in terms of family dynamics, negative feelings of self as reader, and the sense that “it’s too late.” Even adults who share their stories of striving in reading sometimes carry a sense of negativity about these emotions and experiences. Our goal is to curb that.
This insightful presentation will help teachers and administrators understand it’s never too late, and there are applicable strategies that can address reframing, motivation, and helping all readers see themselves as more than their challenges. Research proves that early intervention is key, and there are concrete ways to help middle and high school students make gains and improve literacy and confidence.
In this presentation, our expert will share:
- How to develop a framework for success
- Ways to take what is known and tackle what is unknown
- New ways to frame literacy
- Why educators must consider both assets and needs students bring with spoken language, social and cultural awareness, writing and composing, and real-life uses for the content we teach
- Why specific, systematic instruction is needed, going from part to whole
- How instructors can refresh skills for older readers as needed and pay attention to the areas of most significant and critical need by taking what students are already familiar with and adding to it (especially important for working with English Learners)
Math Standards, Research, and the Making of a Curriculum: Evidence-Based Practices from the IES Guide
It has always been a game of catch up. New math standards often appear before there’s enough research to support them. Fortunately, we are a decade out from the last major changes to standards at the state and national levels. Research is catching up, particularly at the elementary and middle school levels.
This presentation will describe findings from a recent federal research synthesis that gives specific guidance for students who struggle in the elementary grades. These findings also have implications for middle school students. Finally, the presentation will provide examples of how standards and research have been embedded in a middle school intervention curriculum.
Participants will learn:
- Why there is an understandable gap between standards and supporting research
- Key recommendations supported by high-quality research for math interventions and elementary and middle school
- What these recommendations look like in an intervention curriculum
We hope you’ll join us!

Reading Fluency: The Key for Comprehension
We all know that fluent reading is an important goal for our students to achieve but how do we develop fluency and how do we help those who struggle?
Join us for this informative session with respected author and researcher Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, who will share an updated and functional definition of reading fluency. The presentation will also include research-supported fluency instruction strategies that you can apply to your own classroom teaching, the updated compiled ORF norms (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 1992; 2006; 2017) will be shared.
You’ll enjoy Hasbrouck’s motivating style as she provides an opportunity for attendees to reflect on how fluency supports reading comprehension and how it should fit into a comprehensive and effective reading program for all students.
Attendees will:
- Learn the most accurate definition of the complex skill of reading fluency
- Gain an understanding of the current research
- Receive practical guidance for assessing and developing students’ fluency
- Learn new, specific skill-development activities
Building a Reading-Writing Connection in the Classroom
Interested in improving your literacy teaching and discovering creative new ways to get students excited about writing? Join teacher and science of reading advocate Hannah Irion-Frake for this applicable webinar! Our presenter will explore the reading-writing connection and will share ways you can appropriately increase the amount of writing students do in your classroom. The presentation will span the strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope and will include strategies for writing related to both word recognition and language comprehension.
We hope you’ll join us as Irion-Frake illustrates how writing can strengthen reading instruction. You’ll learn:
- How opportunities for writing can strengthen students’ reading development
- Classroom-friendly strategies to increase opportunities for students to write
- Science of reading best practices for classroom implementation

Accurate Math Assessment: Informing Systemwide Support
As schools across the country implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, an integration of data and instruction is necessary to support all students and ensure success. Specific to math, a schoolwide or districtwide system should include various components, such as different types of assessment for different purposes, multiple levels or tiers of support, and available resources. Accurate assessment data is necessary to examine the effectiveness of instruction at each tier of support. This informative presentation will describe how to utilize math assessment data within a data-based, decision-making framework to evaluate instruction from a systems-level perspective.
Attendees will learn:
- Why it’s important to conduct systems-level problem solving
- How assessment fits into the MTSS framework
- Ways to use math screening data to evaluate their system of support in math
We hope you’ll join us!
The Power of Prevention: The Critical Need for Assessment
Reading failure can be prevented in almost every learner.
In this webinar, Dr. Ruth Kaminski, co-author of Acadience Reading K-6 (formerly known as DIBELS) will discuss what we know about the prevention of reading failure. She will share practical advice about methods to prevent reading failure, all of which are grounded in the science of reading, with an emphasis on the role of assessment.
As a result of participation in this webinar, attendees will:
- Become familiar with a prevention-oriented model of reading failure
- Learn practical strategies for preventing reading failure
- Understand the critical role of assessment in the prevention of reading difficulties.

When Accurate Assessment Leads to Excellent Instruction: Aligning Curriculum with the Science of Reading Using Acadience Reading K–6 and Voyager Passport
Universal screening is an essential element of schoolwide literacy models for implementing the science of reading and aligning it to curriculum. Screening with Acadience® Reading K–6 efficiently indicates skill level on the essential early literacy skills—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension. Giving the assessment is only the first step. Educators need to know how to interpret the data and link assessment to curriculum and instruction that improve reading performance.
In this useful session, participants will see examples of the common patterns of risk captured by Acadience Reading K–6 as displayed in the Acadience® Learning Online platform. Our presenters will share how the assessment results can lead to targeted lessons within the Voyager Passport® program. Examples of specific lessons will illustrate the instruction needed by students with each risk pattern.
Attendees will learn:
- The features of Acadience Reading K–6 as a universal screening assessment that indicates the five essential components of reading
- Which skills to target for science of reading-based instruction as displayed in the Acadience Learning Online platform
- The common patterns of data for students who are at risk of reading failure
- Targeted lessons within Voyager Passport that meet the needs of at-risk students
- How to pair assessment results with specific lessons and activities within Voyager Passport
Integrate Literacy, Behavior, and Social Emotional Learning: Strategies for Educators
When working with fragile readers, we are working with fragile young people. Learn what you can do to combine scientifically based literacy strategies, research-based behavioral strategies, and social emotional learning to lift a child’s spirit, give them an environment in which they feel safe to learn, and enhance learning, achievement, and future opportunities. Plan your reading-intervention strategy, and what you can do to help students "catch up," feel confident, and hold their heads high.
During this webinar, you’ll learn how to:
- Support self-awareness and build relationship skills
- Teach behavioral skills for literacy building and employability
- Improve reading skills and enjoy the ensuing confidence
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