This is the second post in guest contributor Emily Carley‘s five-part series “Neuroinclusive Spaces for All! When Access to Literacy Affirms Identity and Feels Like Belonging.” Read her previous post here.
Developing a sense of belonging begins with relationships. Learning to read and spell is complex, and it takes years to become proficient.
Children must engage routinely in the challenging tasks of mastering foundational phonological skills. For children struggling to learn to read, this learning can look and feel very different from their peers. A child who displays avoidant behaviors about books may be a dyslexic child with unmet learning needs.
Preparation for creating a community of belonging
My first task is to build trust and safety. Establishing an inclusive environment for literacy learning begins with belonging. One way to start is by creating a set of agreements with group members of all ages that support social emotional success, and academic engagement.
In the image above, you can see a set of agreements for a small group that will be used to support individual reading instruction with students in the middle grades. Keeping the focus on what each person wants to feel and accomplish helps make the conversation highly specific toward achieving both the student and the instructor’s goals: proficient reading, spelling and writing skills. It is equally important to value the skill of listening and asking clarifying questions during the process of collective agreement making. Be curious about one another, and be kind!
As shown in this next image, the instructor also contributes to the process. Contributions from every member of the group help folks get to know one another in a kind, respectful manner with a clear focus.
Agreements are posted and opportunities are taken to return to the statements when a social emotional challenge occurs, or an accomplishment toward a goal is achieved. For example, to ensure we each feel heard and we are efficient with our time, we will learn each other’s communication preferences and invite each other in, as well as call out talk-overs or outbursts kindly as they occur.
Understanding why these moments happen creates valuable opportunities to practice social-emotional learning, which can be woven into community development. This will be the focus of the third post in this series.
Emily Carley, M.Ed. HQVTED & Specialized Literacy Professional Lic. PK-12
With more than 20 years experience in public education, 15 as a dedicated early elementary
classroom educator in Vermont public schools, Emily is a master educator PK-12. She’s an
Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator & Associate Certified instructor skilled in Structured
Linguistic Literacy. Emily teaches graduate courses, supports fellow educators with joy,
connection and persistence so all can learn to read. She is founder of The Literacy Spark, LLC
and a full-time public school district literacy specialist. Emily is a certified Educating Children
Outdoors (ECO) educator and published author, trained in RULER (Brackett, PhD)
social/emotional intelligence and is a neurodiversity & inclusion educator. Emily’s instruction is
scientifically-based, systematic, explicit, multisensory and emotionally sound for all ages. She is
an unwavering advocate for dignity in education.
Emily enjoys seeking her own new experiences: watercolor painting, pruning untamable fruit
trees and finding world’s best coffee in little-known shops when travelling.
