Does the student know most of the letters, most of the time?

Understand that text is made of letters and words?

Engage with books during shared reading?
Have a communication system?
No

Yes
Daily Interventions

Daily Interventions

Shared reading
Independent reading
Shared writing
Independent writing
(with access to full alphabet)
Alphabet & phonological awareness
Symbol-based communication
(with few exceptions)

Guided reading
Independent reading
Independent writing
Word study - (key words +
word work + word wall)
Communication with symbols
+ spelling

Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2013

(Answering yes to all of these questions doesn't mean that a student is conventional
but it does mean they are ready to move to the conventional set of interventions.)

Does your classroom have ALL students

who are Emergent or Conventional?
No

Yes
Daily Interventions

Daily Interventions

Combine the Emergent and

Conventional Interventions
Shared reading AND Guided reading
Alphabet & phonological awareness
during Word Wall & Making Words
Shared writing
Writing instruction (conventional only)
Self-selected reading
Independent writing

Use the list of Emergent OR

Conventional interventions

Erickson & Koppenhaver, 2013

We also need to make sure that every student with

complex communication needs has access to a
robust AAC system and that those around them
are supporting receptive and expressive language
development with that system.
Literacy and language development do not happen
in a vacuum, instead they feed into each other and
support the development of each other. We have to
make sure that language is being addressed for
literacy to continue to develop.