Celebrations & Bright Spots
Teachers in the Bellevue Independent School District Find Unit and Lesson Internalization Beneficial
Teachers at Grandview Elementary in the Bellevue Independent School District are experiencing firsthand the benefits of engaging in unit and lesson internalization to increase their effectiveness as they implement a new high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) for reading and writing this school year.
 The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning developed the Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document to support districts in effective implementation of a strong local curriculum anchored in HQIR. Starting with the Reading and Writing Unit Internalization Protocol allows teachers to understand how each lesson coherently fits into the unit's overall design. The steps and questions included in the protocol support “intellectual preparation” for teaching a unit/module from a HQIR and provide a structure for developing understanding of how the standards, tasks and assessments operate within the arc of learning. The Reading and Writing Lesson Internalization Protocol guides teachers in preparing to teach individual lessons from a HQIR. Here’s what Grandview teachers are saying:
“Internalizing the unit/lesson removes the cognitive load, so I can focus on the students and meeting their needs.”
- Katie Phillips, 2nd-grade teacher
“While internalizing, I realized I needed to rehearse a phonics lesson I had never taught before and needed to think about it from the student perspective.”
- Brooke Doughtery, 3rd-grade teacher
"When looking at the unit assessment, I realized I had spent too much time on a portion of the learning. This made me aware of my pacing and lesson focus."
- Ashton Pitzer, 2nd-grade teacher
“Internalizing the lesson allows me to see where students will have to show understanding, and I can see where those opportunities circle back around multiple times for formative assessment opportunities.”
- Lisa Taylor, 3rd-grade teacher
Structured Literacy Beyond Early Literacy Instruction: Developing Skilled Middle and High School Readers Webinar Series, Session 1 Materials and Recording Now Available
 Do you know middle and high school teachers supporting students who are not yet skilled readers? If the answer is yes, the Developing Skilled Middle and High School Readers Webinar Series for grade 6-12 teachers and instructional coaches may be of interest. This series shows how the structured literacy practices that are transforming early literacy instruction in Kentucky - as a result of the Read to Succeed Act (SB 9, 2022) and the Kentucky Reading Academies’ LETRS professional learning - can positively impact middle and high school reading and writing instruction.
Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, learning materials will be posted on the adolescent structured literacy webpage to provide evidence-based strategies and practices for developing skilled middle and high school readers and writers. These include:
- Monthly recordings of webinar sessions;
- Corresponding participant guides.
To help us support literacy development at every grade level, share this information with grade 6-12 teachers and instructional coaches.
Please contact the ELAteam@education.ky.gov with questions.
ICYMI: DEL Releases Literacy Coaching Handbook
KRS 158.806 requires the Kentucky Department of Education to “create a literacy coaching program.” The Literacy Coaching Handbook outlines the goals, roles, expectations and resources of Kentucky’s literacy coaching program that launched July 2023. The handbook provides guidance to State Literacy Coaching Specialists (SLCS), SLCS partnership schools and local education agencies interested in developing or refining coaching models of their own. The handbook along with other early literacy resources can be found on the KDE Early Literacy webpage.
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