Explore AIM Institute’s Literacy Coaching Model Tools.
AIM Integrated Literacy Model
Classroom Observation Protocol
Purpose: The Classroom Observation Protocol is a checklist of word recognition and language comprehension instructional indicators. It provides insight into Tier I instructional quality, helps teams understand variations within curricular and classroom practice, and formatively assesses areas in need of additional coaching.
Note: Not all practices will be recorded during a single observation session.
Word Recognition
Ideal Implementation Unacceptable Variation
Integrated Foundational Skills
□ Targets phonemic awareness through isolation, segmenting, and blending activities (<5 minutes); letters replace sounds once taught (by mid-KG on)
□ Targets phonological sensitivity of larger language structures (>5 minutes); letters are not included to replace sound units (by mid-KG on)
□ Makes connections to students’ primary languages (shared/novel sounds, letters, syllables), including English language dialects and varieties, and honors dialectal variations
□ Fails to inquire or draw attention to similarities or differences in students’ primary languages (shared/novel sounds, letters, syllables), and shames dialectal variations
□ Follows a phonics scope and sequence from simple to more complex concepts (systematic and cumulative)
□ Does not follow a phonics scope and sequence from simple to more complex concepts (not systematic and cumulative)
□ Explicitly provides phonics (reading and spelling) instruction that includes a gradual release of responsibility (I Do, We Do, You Do)
□ Incidentally provides phonics (reading and spelling) instruction that may include the use of three-cueing (meaning, syntax, and visual) to read unfamiliar words
□ Explicitly teaches foundational writing skills: letter formation, directionality, and word spacing using verbal descriptors
□ Fails to provide explicit handwriting instruction when introducing new letters or incidental cues when reviewing spelling work samples
AIM Integrated Literacy Model
Classroom Fidelity Inventory Language Comprehension
Purpose: The Classroom Fidelity Inventory is a comprehensive checklist for evaluating effective structured literacy instruction. It provides insight into Tier I instructional quality and can be used to support a robust coaching model.
Note: Not all practices will be observed during a single observation period.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is a person’s mental lexicon comprised of the words whose meanings are understood and can be accurately used for receptive and expressive purposes in speech and print. The breadth, depth, and accessibility of word meanings facilitate both comprehension and expression of thoughts. Word meanings can be taught through both direct and incidental instruction. The instructional planning process must begin with appropriate selection of words to be explicitly taught, with consideration for factors like (1) usefulness, (2) potential for growth, and (3) critical for understanding. Students also need to be explicitly taught independent word learning strategies to determine or infer the meanings of unknown words in text, since independent reading is a primary source of word learning.
Inventory of Observed Practices
Intentional On-Purpose Instruction
□ Chooses appropriate words for direct instruction (considering usefulness, potential for growth, and/or critical for understanding) that are connected to the current topic/unit
□ Provides direct instruction through an explicit vocabulary routine:
□ Asks students to listen and repeat the word
□ Discusses structure of word (e.g. part of speech, syllables, stress, morphemes)
□ Supports understanding with visual representations and/or gestures
□ Provides a student-friendly definition
□ Provides and/or elicits examples from students (e.g., within home language(s), other text(s), and personal experiences)
□ Engages students in at least one activity that focuses on semantic relationships, such as:
□ Identification of synonyms/antonyms
□ Semantic gradients
□ Categorization
□ Multiple meanings
□ Concept maps
□ Visual/physical representations
Incidental On-Purpose Instruction
□ Engages in incidental, point-of-contact teaching while reading aloud
□ Incorporates academic language in directions and/or conversations
□ Provides discussion opportunities that foster use of learned vocabulary words
Independent Word Learning Strategies
□ Provides explicit instruction and/or practice in using:
□ Morphemes
□ Context clues
□ Dictionary skills
Notes and Action Steps
AIM Integrated Literacy Model
Classroom Fidelity Inventory
Word Recognition
Purpose: The Classroom Fidelity Inventory is a comprehensive checklist for evaluating effective structured literacy instruction. It provides insight into Tier I instructional quality and can be used to support a robust coaching model.
Note: Not all practices will be observed during a single observation period.
Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is an awareness of the speech sounds of our language. It encompasses an understanding that spoken language is made up of words, syllables, onset-rimes, and individual sounds or phonemes. This skill, being able to identify and work with individual sounds in words, is called phonemic awareness, and is the most critical to instruct for early literacy development. It is a subcomponent of phonological awareness and is an essential prerequisite to understanding that the sequences of individual sounds in spoken words are represented by sequences of printed letters on a page.
Inventory of Observed Practices
□ Targets one or two phonemic awareness skills per lesson:
□ Phoneme isolation- beginning, final, medial
□ Blending
□ Segmenting
□ Models right to left; students view left to right
□ Scaffolds student learning through the use of oral production, tokens, and/or letter tiles with the goal of grapheme integration as soon as possible
□ References articulatory features of phonemes to support sound production
□ Anticipates potential phonemic errors and pre-corrects confusions (e.g., similar short vowel sounds, nasalization, affrication)
□ Includes multiple modalities (e.g., hand motions, tapping, movement, use of manipulatives)
□ Uses words in oral language that students know or the teacher incidentally defines to enhance meaning
□ Makes connections to students’ primary languages, including English language dialects and varieties, and honors dialectal differences
□ Provides immediate, targeted corrective feedback in a supportive manner