Session 1: CKLA and the Three Pillar Model
Goals and Outcomes
Overarching Objectives of the July 2014 Network Team Institute












Participants will be able to identify the Three Pillars of a comprehensive ELA program
Participants will be able to name the two strands of CKLA and connect these strands to the Three Pillar Model.
Participants will be able to explain the significance of starting instruction with the most frequent or least ambiguous sounds.
Participants will be able to describe how the Skills strand provides students with intensive practice that enables them to build
reliability and automaticity.
Participants will be able to describe how the domain structure of the Listening and Learning strand supports children’s
comprehension and background knowledge.
Participants will be able to identify at least two ways the Listening and Learning materials support vocabulary learning
Participants will be able to define quality and fidelity of implementation as general constructs
Participants will be able to identify evidence of quality practice within the implementation of the Listening and Learning strand
Participants will be able to identify indicators demonstrating adherence to and appropriate dosage/exposure within the Skills
strand.
Participants will be able to identify evidence of quality practice within the implementation of the Skills strand.
Participants will identify key points that they should discuss with parents at a back-to school night to support informationsharing and messaging to parents about CKLA.
Participants will be able to identify tools within CKLA for home-school connection, including parent letters and take-home
materials.
High-Level Purpose of this Session

This session will make an explicit link between the Three Pillar Model and the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
program. This session will serve as a general orientation to the Three Pillar Model, why it’s needed, and how the CKLA
program and Guided Reading & Accountable Independent Reading (GRAIR) exemplify the characteristics of each pillar.
Related Learning Experiences

This one day training is designed to support administrators who intend to implement Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
in the coming school year. The training will focus on the role of instructional leadership and tools available to administrators,
or other designated instructional leaders, in supporting CKLA implementation. Participants will develop a deep understanding
of the guiding instructional design principles around which the two strands of CKLA ( Listening & Learning and Skills) were
created. “Lessons learned” from the field will also be shared, and participants will have an opportunity to reflect on the
instructional implications. Participants will also examine the structure of lessons (from both strands), and identify how the
CCLS are addressed. Finally, participants will be provided resources to facilitate home-to-school connections about CKLA.
This includes a turnkey presentation for a back-to-school night, answers to key frequently asked questions, and a highlight of
embedded curricular materials to support connections between the home and classroom.
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of
this session?
In this session participants will be able to:
1. Identify the Three Pillars of a comprehensive ELA
program
2. Name the two strands of CKLA and connect these
strands to the Three Pillar Model.
How will we know that they are able to do this?

Completion of Cloze Activity
Session Overview
Section
Time Overview
Prepared Resources
Facilitator’s Preparation
Section 1: Introduction
11
to the Three Pillar Model min.
Introduction to the Three Pillar Model:

Looking at the reading problem and how to
solve it by “overwhelming it.”

Section 2: Pillar 1—
Foundational Skills and
Small Group Instruction
8
min.
Examining reading deficits and why

elements built into the Skills strand (i.e.,
systemic and explicit instruction,
opportunities for practice and development
of automaticity) are needed.
Section 3: Pillar 2—
Read-Alouds and
Shared Interactive
Reading
16
min.
Examining the need to expose students to 
varied and sophisticated syntax and rich
vocabulary as well as provide opportunities
to build background knowledge. All of
which are incorporated in the Listening and
Learning strand.
Section 4: Pillar 3—
Guided Reading &
Accountable
Independent Reading
(GRAIR)
3
min.
Examining student choice and how teachers 
support students during GRAIR
July2014_ Principals
_Session1_ThreePill
arModel_Cloze
Section 5: Reflection
6
Reflection: What are two things participants 
want to better understand about CKLA
July2014_ Principals
_Session1_ThreePill
July2014_Principals_ May be helpful to review:
Session1_ThreePilla
 Liben White Paper - On
rModel_Cloze
Merging the CCSS with
July2014_ Principals
Existing Literacy
_Session1_ThreePill
Practices
arModel_LibenWhite

Early Warning! Why
Paper
Reading by the End of
Third Grade Matters. (
July2014_ Principals
Annie E. Casey
_Session1_ThreePill
Foundation)
arModel_Cloze
(http://www.aecf.org/re
sources/early-warningwhy-reading-by-theJuly2014_ Principals
end-of-third-grade_Session1_ThreePill
matters)
arModel_Cloze
 Hart, B. & Risley, T.
Meaningful Differences
in the Everyday
Experiences of Young
American Children.
Baltimore, MD: Paul H.
Brookes, 1995.
min.
arModel_Reflection
Session Roadmap
Section 1: Introduction to the Three Pillar Model
Time
Slide #/Pic of Slide
Slide 2
Time: 13 minutes
Script/Activity directions Grouping
WG
1
minute
Slide 3
WG
Key Points:
Review objectives for
session
1
minute
Slide4
Key Points:
Frame session indicating
participants will:
 examine the Three
Pillar Model (what is it)
 take a look at why this
model is needed.
WG
2
Slide5
minutes
Key Points:
 Designed by Student
Achievement Partners
(SAP), this is the NY
model of the
comprehensive literacy
P-2 program that
embodies the idea of
WG
2
Slide 6
minutes
‘what it means to have
ELA curricula aligned to
the CCSS’
 Although some
characteristics are
familiar, one should
also see shifts in a
movement away from
‘some of this and some
of that’- to deep,
intensive, focused
instruction for each of
the areas of needed
development.
 The three pillars of a
comprehensive literacy
program for P-2
includes:
o Pillar 1-foundational skills
and small group
instruction.
o Pillar 2 -- read
alouds and shared
interactive reading,
o Pillar 3 -- Guided
and Accountable
Independent
Reading (GRAIR).
Key Points:
 For 60 years we have
been trying to solve
this problem.
WG


We know so much but
we haven’t done
enough to take what
we know and use it.
We have addressed
the problem but not
overwhelmed it. And
for some kids that
means we haven’t
done enough.
Slide 7
3
minutes
Key Points:
 Programs have
generally touched on
all- or most of thesebut done so by
prioritizing a few to
the detriment of
WG

o
o
o
o
o
others.
We can’t do that- it
can’t be “either or”. It’s
“both and”—Equal
pillars for all areas.
Decoding: Taking
written symbols/letters
and translating into
words
Fluency: Speed,
accuracy of reading
(also ability to read
with feeling and in a
way that conveys
meaning)
Syntax- ability to
express and
understand complex
forms of language.
Not just grammar, but
using clauses to
refine, expand, and
detail out ideas.
Vocabulary- words
and networks of
words.
Background
knowledge- what you
know on topics and of
the world and being
able to bring that in at
needed time to
enhance
understanding and
form connections
o Engagement and
Choice- engagement
in texts and
opportunity to select
texts of interest
2
Slide 8
minutes
Key Points:
Review where decoding,
fluency, syntax,
vocabulary, background
knowledge, and
engagement/choice fall
within the pillars.
WG
Section 2: Pillar 1—Foundational Skills and Small Group Time: 8 minutes
Instruction
Time
Slide #/Pic of Slide
2
Slide 8
minutes
Script/Activity
directions
Activity:
Complete Cloze for
Pillar 1
Grouping
(WG, I)
Key Points:
Being systematic in our
approach allows us to be
the most efficient at
targeting practice, and
practice--when focused
intensely on what is being
learned--will lead to
automaticity.
1
minute
Slide 9
Key Points:
The text complexity
WG
demands of the standards
make the development of
accurate and automatic
decoding abilities in these
early grades even more
essential, as students will
be asked to read
significantly more complex
text once they enter third
grade and ever after.
1
minute
Slide 10
Key Points:
WG
(Slides 10 & 11)
Research on remediating
reading difficulties—
particularly newer RTI
research—shows that
extended and focused
practice can significantly
reduce those who are
struggling with reading
and that practice is a
necessary, important
part of supporting
struggling readers.
(Denton et al., 2006;
Vellutino; (Scanlon, 1999);
(Bus et al 1999; Stuebing,
et al., 2008).
2
minutes Slide 11
Key Points:
WG
(Slides 10 & 11)
Research on remediating
reading difficulties –
particularly newer RTI
research- shows that
extended and focused
practice can significantly
reduce those who are
struggling with reading
and that practice is a
necessary, important
part of supporting
struggling readers.
(Denton et al., 2006;
Vellutino; (Scanlon, 1999);
(Bus et al 1999; Stuebing,
et al., 2008).
2
minutes Slide 12
Key Points:
WG




CKLA provides
abundant, readily
available, easily
implemented
opportunities to
provide the necessary
time and attention for
all students to decode
with automaticity
It does so with a
variety of activities as
well as engaging
‘leveled’ readers
Addresses fluency
directly, carefully, and
in an engaging manner
All of these activities
are grounded in
research
Section 3: Pillar 2—Read-Alouds and Shared Interactive Time: 16 minutes
Reading
Time
Slide #/Pic of Slide
Script/Activity
directions
Grouping
2
Slide 13
minutes
Activity:
Complete Cloze for
Pillar 2
Key Points:
 Through Pillar 2,
teachers read aloud
rich text while
students engage in a
range of speaking
and listening
activities.
 Students have the
opportunity to build
knowledge within
and across topics,
and teachers have
the opportunity to act
as guides to the
world for their
students.
 Reading, whether
instructed, heard
read aloud, or
accessed
independently,
cannot be limited to
just informational
text, stories, poems,
or any one type of
text. This broadened
definition of text
types is an
(WG, I)

1
minute
opportunity to
engage all learners
in every classroom
as they discover the
universe of text types
and topics.
But, there is far more
opportunity inherent
in Standard Ten than
students exercising
their own full range
of reading choices.
There is room within
it to return the
reading of scientific
topics and social
studies to the early
elementary
classroom, allowing
early childhood
educators to bring
the wider world into
their classrooms.
With these rich topics
come opportunities
for the rich ideas,
vocabulary and
syntax that comprise
“complex texts.”
Slide 14
WG
Key Points:
•
•
1
Slide 15
Expanding student
vocabularies cannot
primarily be done
from texts early
readers are able to
read themselves.
Students need to be
exposed to varied
and sophisticated
syntax and rich
vocabulary.
Key Points:
WG
minute
2
Research suggests
students grasp and retain
words when provided
incremental and repeated
exposure in a variety of
contexts.
Slide 16
Key Points:
WG
minutes




In their study, Hart
and Risley obtained
permission at birth to
follow a group of
children as they
developed through
the preschool years.
The researchers
deliberately studied
children from
different
socioeconomic
levels—professional
families, working
class families, and
welfare families.
Researchers visited
these families at
home, once a month,
from birth through the
preschool years.
During each monthly
visit, they videotaped
interactions with the
children and their
families. They
accumulated
extensive data over
several years.
Researchers found
significant
differences among
the children and
1
minute
Slide 17
families in a number
of variables:
o The sheer number of
words that different
children heard;
o The richness of the
language heard;
o The emotional tone
(positive or negative)
of the language
heard.
Key Points:
WG
 Hart and Risley
documented
significant differences
in the number of
words children heard
according to
socioeconomic level.
 The vertical axis of
this graph represents
the number of words
heard; the horizontal
axis represents the
children’s age during
each observation
period. The children in
the professional
families consistently
heard significantly
more words than
children in the other
SES families.



While children in
working class families
heard fewer words
than those in
professional families,
they still heard more
than the children in
welfare families, who
heard the least of all.
The implications of
the Hart and Risley
study are enormous.
Extrapolated over
time to the point at
which children enter
kindergarten, Hart and
Risley have estimated
enormous differences
in the vocabulary
development of
children of different
socioeconomic levels.
“In four years, an
average child in a
professional family
would accumulate
experience with
almost 45 million
words, an average
child in a workingclass family 26 million
words, and an
average child in a
welfare family, 13
million words.”
4
Slide 18
minutes
Activity:
 Ask participants to
read silently. Turn
to the person next
to them to share
their takeaways.
 Share Key Points
 Ask WG if they
have anything to
add (based on
takeaways they
shared with their
partner)
Key Points:
It is important to consider
read-alouds as a primary
vehicle for expanding
vocabulary and
addressing text
complexity and syntax in
(WG, I, S)
the early grades.
1
Slide 19
Key Points:
WG

minute
1
Slide 20
The texts selected
and developed for
Listening and
Learning readingalouds develop
content knowledge,
contain rich academic
words, and, especially
in the informational
domains, contain
complex syntax as
well.
Key Points:
WG
•
minute
•
The “4th grade slump”
a term coined by
researcher Jeanne
Chall, supports this
notion. The slump
refers to the trend in
which students who
appeared to be doing
fine suddenly start to
struggle.
Tests in earlier grades
are heavily focused
on testing early
reading skills (e.g.,
decoding). By fourth
grade, testing shifts to
reading
comprehension and
word meaning.
WG
1
Slide 21
Key Points:
minute


Background
knowledge is
closely tied to
comprehension
Students build
background
knowledge
through coherently
sequenced readalouds through
Listening and
Learning as well
as through
increasing volume
of reading (texts
on a variety of
topics) during
GRAIR.
WG
1
Key Points:
minute
Slide 22



1
minute
Slide 23
Studying a topic
for a sustained
period enables
students to
systematically
build knowledge
and domain
vocabulary.
The knowledge
children develop
around topics in
the early grades
should then be
expanded and
developed in
subsequent grade
levels to ensure
an increasingly
deeper
understanding.
This lays the
foundation for
students’ reading
and understanding
of increasingly
complex texts on
their own in
subsequent
grades. (see slide
23.)
Key Points:
 Domain knowledge
WG

Section 4: Pillar 3— Guided Reading & Accountable
Independent Reading (GRAIR)
Time
Slide #/Pic of Slide
builds cumulatively
across grades.
The knowledge
students learn in K
serves as a
prerequisite for the
knowledge they will
learn in first grade and
so forth.
Time: 3 minutes
Script/Activity
directions
Grouping
1
minute
Slide 24
Activity:
Complete Cloze for
Pillar 3
Key Points:
GRAIR allows for
student choice and
opportunities for
additional reading time
and building of stamina
and persistence.
(WG, I)
Slide 25
2
minutes
Section 5: Reflection
Key Points:
 Student choice
from other leveled
texts or other
books at
independent level
 GRAIR can be
used as a time for
small group
instruction (e.g.,
providing targeted
instruction to
support specific
student needs)
Time: 6 minutes
WG
Time
Slide #/Pic of Slide
1
minute
Slide 26
5
minutes
Slide 27
Script/Activity
directions
Highlighting how CKLA
and GRAIR align to the
Three Pillar Model
Grouping
Key Point:
Participants reflect on
what they want to learn
I
WG
more about (develop a
clearer understanding of)
as we focus the reminder
of the training on the
design principles,
materials, and makeup
of the CKLA program.
Turnkey Materials Provided
July2014_Teachers_Session1_ThreePillarModel_PPT