By Age 7
True or False: There has been a cultural shift in early education that literacy skills hold greater value in future academic success.
True. Allyn states that developing foundational experiences in phonics, alphabet knowledge and print awareness enhances children's ability to navigate more complex processes in later years.
What is "Pre-K For All?"
Pre-K For All is Universal Pre-K program in New York City, started in 2014.
What is Allyn's solution to the continuing decrease in reading scores?
"Meaningful, in-class early literacy instruction" through an evidence based curriculum.
How does Allyn describe a young learner who has learned to sound stretch, being able to apply this skill to create and write their own rhymes, stories, and songs as they feel empowered in the rules and functions of language?
"Phonics Genius"
What is the key to unlocking the magic of literacy?
Play.
At what age does language comprehension indicate future reading performance?
3
Allyn's team provided how many hours of intensive professional development to educators serving over 30 000 students in NYC?
12 hours.
The 3rd grade barrier impacts these future successes:
Academic success and social success
Young learners find magic in developing literacy skills, but what does Allyn consider the "missing ingredient" in many young learners literacy experiences?
Meaningful writing practice.
True or False: Allyn believes that a learning environment can either value play OR value learning.
False. Allyn's approach states that it's not an either/or situation, but rather the best practices in early literacy instruction are made up of joyful, play-based and experiential learning.
What types of materials contribute to a language-rich environment in the early years?
A) Books
B) Paper and pencil
C) Labels and signs with words and pictures
D) All of the above
D) All of the above. Offering language rich environments encourages children to build and scaffold on their critical cognitive skills, such as forming and exploring questions, seek expanded vocabulary, and to think deeply about their readings
From 2019-2022, students missed significant amounts of in-school learning due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results showed what trend when students returned to class:
A) Reading scores were impacted negatively
B) Reading scores were impacted positively
C) Reading scores were not impacted
A) Reading scores were impacted negatively. NAEP found that in reading scores, both 4th and 8th grade scores dropped by an average of three points. As of 2024, these scores are continuing to drop.
By grade 3, students who attended Pre-K are 29% more likely to:
A) Be able to write clearly
B) Exceed expectations for reading
C) Need reading interventions
B) Exceed expectations for reading
Decodables:
A) Offer a measured and predictable step-by-step approach to introducing individual sounds or "building blocks" that strategically increase in complexity as the reader progresses
B) Are only used for learners who are struggling to read
C) Help children to see themselves as capable and confident learners who can demonstrate their skills in their everyday reading and writing practices
D) A and C
D - Decodable's are powerful literacy tools that support steady learning of english literacy skills.
What is the most important tool in children's literacy development?
A structured and literacy-rich play-based environment.
What are the three foundational skills associated with success in reading and writing?
A) Speaking, Listening, Scribbling
B) Saying the Alphabet, Recognizing their name, Able to flip through a book
C) Phonological Awareness, Print Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge
C) Phonological Awareness, Print Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge. These are the backbones to future literacy success for early learners.
True or False: 3rd Graders (apprx 7y/o) who attended the Pre-K for all program did not show any difference in standardized testing performance than those who did not attend.
False - 3rd graders who attended the program were seen to have performed better on standardized tests than those who did not
What are the three aspects Allyn states are the focus on combining with foundational reading and writing skills to yield positive literacy outcomes before 3rd grade?
Joy, Experiential Learning, Play
In what ways does Allyn describe the impact of building agency through play on literacy development?
A) Building character, imagination, practicing spelling and neat handwriting
B) Allowing children to direct their stories during play encourages using sound stretching skills, vocabulary building, and learning complex language rules in order to control what happens in the beginning, middle and end of their play.
B
The two halves of multifaceted literacy are:
A) Reading is breathing out, writing is breathing in
B) Reading is breathing in, writing is breathing out
B - Reading is breathing in, and writing is breathing out; Allyn states that writing is the partner of forming connection and knowledge through reading.
To intentionally read-aloud means:
A) To read books out loud and ask questions after the book is complete
B) To ask students to take turns reading out loud
C) To read out loud, ask guided questions and role model how to use text features such as illustrations or font changes to gather details, and to reread passages as conversation builds
C) An intentional real-aloud encourages modelling reflection and facilitating discussions throughout the text, rather than at the end to help students in building a strong foundational understanding of the text.
When evaluated in 2020, what impact did Pre-K for All have on racial/literacy performance differences?
The achievement gap had decreased significantly for Hispanic and Black students compared to white students when children were enrolled in the program.
What day did Allyn say was coming?
"That we will expect children to be reading and writing by the end of Kindergarten"
What are the last two keys of Allyn and Morrell's 4 Keys that promote and encourage writing as a critical piece in early literacy learning?
1. Sounds and letters
2. Print Fluency
3.
4.
3. Meaning-Making - Using writing to create ideas, apply knowledge, and deep dive into their own ideas as complexity increases.
4. Power of Story - Learner-directed and written stories using a foundation rooted in the child's own knowledge.
We don't often hear about celebrating these, but Allyn recognizes their "messy" magic as children experimenting with their newfound language skills as they develop in real-time:
Mistakes!
Celebrating mistakes plants the seeds that mistakes are not negative in the learning process, but a sign that a child is learning. It sets the foundation of everyone's go to saying, "practice makes perfect!"