30. Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls | 2022 Literacy Symposium

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30. Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls: Why We Should and How To Do It
The presenters will discuss descriptive research that Dr. Miles has conducted which demonstrates some of the issues with word walls. Dr. Dahlgren will then discuss how sound walls and accompanying instructional methods should be used to articulate and distinguish between sounds and to strengthen sound-to-letter correspondences. The presenters will also share data on three action research projects that demonstrate the effective use of sound walls.
Katharine Pace Miles, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Dr. Miles’s research interests include orthographic facilitation and mapping, high frequency word learning, literacy assessment of students with special needs, and literacy instruction for young children that is both developmentally appropriate and grounded in the science of reading. She works closely with New York City’s Department of Education to support literacy initiatives that impact the city’s most marginalized students. In addition, Dr. Miles supports the alignment of early literacy programs with the field of reading science in an effort to close the research to practice divide.
Mary Ellis Dahlgren, Ed. D., is president of Tools 4 Reading. She is an experienced educator with more than 25 years in the field of education having served as a dyslexia therapist, elementary classroom teacher, international literacy consultant, and author. Additionally, Dr. Dahlgren served as a national LETRS trainer for 18 years until her retirement in December 2021. Dr. Dahlgren’s longstanding interest in early childhood and elementary education has compelled her to spend much of her career working directly with classroom teachers to embrace the science behind reading. She provides training on how to provide the best first instruction along with implementation of effective interventions for struggling readers.