Teachers who teach families about The Science of Reading are doing kids a lot of good. Even if it’s just one school at a time.
Who Is This Great Teacher?
Meet Rosemary Shaver
One day last fall, I received an email from a teacher named Rosemary. She asked if I had a Study Guide for my book, Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen. Next, she asked if I would grant her permission to use what was on my website and some illustrations. At the time, I had no idea what she had in mind. I granted Rosemary permission, asking that she provide my name to what she was using since all materials are copyrighted.
I’ve come to find out that Rosemary is something else! She reached out to me again about a month ago, sharing the implementation of her ‘great idea’ (see below). Let me give you some background information, as Rosemary agreed to sit down with me for an interview.
Image from Rosemary Shaver used with permission
Rosemary is a supremely dedicated educator beginning her education career at Head Start. She first taught in Virginia, then Texas, and now teaches in South Carolina, Her first two years in South Carolina were spent as a second grade classroom teacher. She then assumed her current role as a Reading Interventionist, Grades K-5. Rosemary carries a large caseload of over 30 students, providing individual instruction all day and all week long. Trust me when I tell you it is rewarding, but intense work.
Mrs. Shaver’s classroom is on the hallway self-named as ‘Sunshine Lane’, working alongside the School Psychologist, Speech-Language Pathologist, herself, and the MLL (Multi-Lingual Learner) teacher. This is quite the foursome. Mrs. Shaver and her colleagues appreciate the proximity and convenience since many of the students are served by all of them, allowing for easy collaboration.
Rosemary’s Motivation
Rosemary teaches at Fair-Oak Elementary School, a rural school tucked away in Oconee County in Westminster, South Carolina. When she arrived at Fair-Oak, Rosemary felt bewildered and unfamiliar with the terms used in ELA (English Language Arts). At the time, Oconee County was a Balanced Literacy district; Rosemary was unfamiliar with this approach. Reading Recovery was used for intervention, with FastBridge fast becoming adopted.
Rosemary had learned about The Science of Reading (SOR) early on in her career as a PALS tutor in Virginia. Mrs. Shaver felt like an outsider coming in who had to ‘tread very lightly’ because the strategies she used were not the same as other teachers on her team. She dove deeper and learned as much as she could about FastBridge, using it for Tier 2 Intervention in her classroom–and now as Tier 3 intervention in her present role as Reading Interventionist. Rosemary teaches specifically targeting her students’ needs developing phonemic awareness, using a phonics based approach. The students then practice these newly taught skills with decodable readers.
Change in South Carolina’s Approach to Literacy Instruction–Here Comes LETRS
South Carolina’s schoolchildren’s lucky day occurred this past academic year, as Act 114 of 2024 mandated all Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education Teachers to enroll and complete LETRS training during the 2024-25 school year. LETRS is a suite of professional learning programs designed to provide a deep knowledge of literacy and language expertise in SOR. LETRS teaches the skills needed to master the foundational and fundamentals of reading and writing instruction. These include phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written language.
Of course, Rosemary is elated with the tide’s turning toward implementation of SOR as the basis for literacy instruction. In fact, a South Carolina Department of Education document contains several video clips touting positive literacy outcomes as a result of LETRS Professional Development. This document even has a ‘one-pager’ all about SOR. All this said, change takes time. Last year, her school had the staff read Burkins and Yates’ Shfting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom to prepare everyone and encourage change. Mrs. Shaver told me her district also has a new SOR based curriculum in all their classrooms and will be utilizing the UFLI Curriculum this summer as the core of their Summer Reading Camp.
What Is The Great Idea?
S.T.E.A.M. Night
Seizing upon the seeds of change, Rosemary and her colleagues, Dr. Herron (the MLL Program Specialist), and Dr. Owens, a third grade teacher, acted. They thought it would grand to introduce SOR to Families on S.T.E.A.M. Night. S.T.E.A.M. stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.” What better venue to introduce the brain science behind reading, spelling, and writing development to families?
Mrs. Shaver, and Drs. Herron and Owens donned their ‘brain thinking caps’ and got to work to make their idea a reality. They first had to speak with their principal, who loved their S.T.E.A.M. Night SOR idea. That’s where Calling All Neurons! came in handy. Rosemary stated, “S.T.E.A.M. Night was my chance to target the parents to let them know what SOR is all about, and what their children’s teachers are doing with the strategies their children are coming home and talking about.”
Teaching Families About ‘The Science of Reading’
Rosemary told the families, “Your child is very lucky to be here at this moment. It’s an exciting time to be in our school district.” So true.
Mrs. Shaver demonstrated the following phonological awareness task with parents:
Say ‘band’, now say ‘band’ without the /n/. Silence for a moment, and the parents’ response: ‘bad’. Mrs. Shaver then asked them to say ‘band’ and ‘bad’ again, listening for the difference in the sound represented by <a>. She then asked why, followed by blank stares. Next, Rosemary explained the variance in the short ‘a’. It is due to the tongue’s preparation for the nasal /n/ which follows the /a/ in ‘band’. One surprised parent replied, “WHOA…I never knew that.”
I shared a similar tale, whereby I would ask students to say ‘ache’. Then I asked them to state the second sound in ‘ache’. Students who were totally dependent upon visual cues (who knew how to spell ‘ache’) often responded with /ch/ as in ‘chick’. The second sound in ‘ache’ is /k/. These students were not using their auditory channels efficiently as part of the literacy process. Thus, the visual-auditory neuronal networks were far weaker than is optimal.
Rosemary then asserted, “Back in the day, we used nursery rhymes to ‘spark those neurons’. Many parents don’t know how to engage with kids in the same ways.” Again, no truer words spoken.
What Parents Are Saying and Doing
While their children were busy with ‘hands on activities’ with Dr. Owens, Mrs. Shaver and Dr. Herron spoke with families. They distributed a brochure about SOR, my book, and a flyer detailing what families can do at home. The parents were super excited and interested according to Rosemary. I have no doubt this was the case.
While flipping through Calling All Neurons!, one Dad said: “If I would have known all this as a kid, I probably would have lasted longer in a Spelling Bee!” Mrs. Shaver’ response: “You know, I’m with you. Our language is not as unexplainable as everyone has always said.”
The audience of my book includes children 8+ years old, parents/caregivers, and educators. In fact, I’ve always thought of my book as a bit like Sesame Street. That’s because it designed for children, but has appeal and humor for an older crowd as well.
Making Connections Is Where It’s At—A Recipe for Success!
Literacy Connections
Becoming a skilled reader, speller, and writer allows us to make many connections with others. This one illustration from my book, Calling All Neurons! is the best illustration I know of illustrating all the many connections even just 1 word creates.
Image ©Lori Josephson 2024
Rosemary’s Connections with Students and Teachers
Let me tell you, Rosemary Shaver knows how to make connections! Here are some of her gems:
- “If I were a classroom teacher, i would use this book as a read aloud.”
- “Don’t put a ceiling on a kid. Kids can grow up to become anything they wish. We need to give them the tools to do so.”
- “The first thing I have to do is spend time building a relationship and helping my students gain confidence before I can even start teaching them…they need to develop the mindset to learn.”
Rosemary’s Connections with Me
Finally, Rosemary and I connected with each other immediately. We speak the same language–it’s all about connecting to kids and their families. When asked what she most enjoyed about Calling All Neurons!, she immediately started to talk about the design of the neurons. “The design is so helpful because it helps to know ‘who’s who’ and ‘what’s what’. The color coding really works.” In addition, Rosemary noted how helpful it is to have the book broken up to make it easier to read and understand. She said, “You can read a couple of pages…then stop, then pick it right back up again.” Calling All Neurons!, because it is not tied to any particular curriculum or program, is accessible to all.
Let me share one last item. Rosemary shared one of her favorite books with me entitled The Invisible String. This delightful story helps readers understand that connections remain even when people are physically separated. Rosemary gifts this book to each of her students at the end of each school year.
Screenshot by Lori Josephson
Kudos to Rosemary, her team, and to all the Rosemarys who have ‘their boots on the ground.
Featured Image used with permission by Rosemary Shaver