I’ve been looking forward to attending my third OGA conference. Tutoring and teaching life have been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time for professional development. I love teaching, but I love learning from others just as much. Since I want to keep my certificate current, this conference helped me carve out some much-needed time for PD!
I was also excited to see that the Academy opened up new avenues for obtaining CEUs (credits applied toward recertification). It’s great to know that I could have saved money by choosing approved books, podcasts, and free access videos. Maybe I’ll take that route next year and put the conference funds toward a new monitor or document camera.
Below is a summary of a few standout sessions I attended:
Session: Scope & Sequence: More Than Phonics
Speaker: Cheryl Urbanczyk
There are so many literacy skills—phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, morphology, writing structure, and more. It can feel overwhelming. The goal isn’t to throw everything at a student and see what sticks, but rather to carefully select and prioritize what each student needs most.
That’s where a structured and sequential (S&S) approach makes all the difference. The Aligned Academics scope and sequence is rooted in language—not just in what students see or say, but in how our language system functions. It’s alphabetic and phonetic. Sound-symbol connections aren’t memorized; they’re explicitly taught. Students build an understanding of English from the ground up.
Session: Exploring Orthography Through the Morphophonemic Lens
Speakers: Kari Lott and Megan O’Dell
Note 1:
According to Seidenberg and McClelland’s research, the brain engages four processors during reading:
- Phonological – speech sounds
- Orthographic – print and graphemes
- Meaning – vocabulary at the word level
- Context – interpreting meaning based on usage
Effective reading instruction must support all four. A weakness in one can disrupt the entire process.
Note 2:
English is a morphophonemic language—meaning its spelling reflects both sound (phonology) and meaning (morphology). According to Louisa Moats in Reading Gets a Bad Rap, 90% of English words can be taught using phonics. The remaining 10% can typically be explained through etymology or meaning, with only about 4% being true irregularities.
Note 3:
Using writing composition helps determine a student’s stage of writing development. The five stages are:
- Pre-Communicative: Random letters/symbols (e.g., “EDPQLE” for parking)
- Semiphonetic: Some sound-symbol understanding (e.g., “P” or “pr”)
- Phonetic: Most phonemes represented logically (e.g., “prkeng”)
- Transitional: Begins applying conventional spelling patterns (e.g., “parcking”)
- Conventional: Applies standard spelling consistently (e.g., “parking”)
Note 4:
Literacy includes both reading and spelling. There are:
- 44 phonemes (the smallest units of sound)
- 250+ graphemes (the smallest units of writing to represent sounds)
Spelling follows patterns and conventions, like “ay” in play, “y” in spy, and “dge” in ridge.
Session: Exploring Orthography Through the Morphophonemic Lens
Speakers: Kari Lott and Megan O’Dell
Note 1:
According to Seidenberg and McClelland’s research, the brain engages four processors during reading:
- Phonological – speech sounds
- Orthographic – print and graphemes
- Meaning – vocabulary at the word level
- Context – interpreting meaning based on usage
Effective reading instruction must support all four. A weakness in one can disrupt the entire process.
Note 2:
English is a morphophonemic language—meaning its spelling reflects both sound (phonology) and meaning (morphology). According to Louisa Moats in Reading Gets a Bad Rap, 90% of English words can be taught using phonics. The remaining 10% can typically be explained through etymology or meaning, with only about 4% being true irregularities.
Note 3:
Using writing composition helps determine a student’s stage of writing development. The five stages are:
- Pre-Communicative: Random letters/symbols (e.g., “EDPQLE” for parking)
- Semiphonetic: Some sound-symbol understanding (e.g., “P” or “pr”)
- Phonetic: Most phonemes represented logically (e.g., “prkeng”)
- Transitional: Begins applying conventional spelling patterns (e.g., “parcking”)
- Conventional: Applies standard spelling consistently (e.g., “parking”)
Note 4:
Literacy includes both reading and spelling. There are:
- 44 phonemes (the smallest units of sound)
- 250+ graphemes (the smallest units of writing to represent sounds)
Spelling follows patterns and conventions, like “ay” in play, “y” in spy, and “dge” in ridge.
Session: Enhancing Executive Function Skills within the OG Lesson
Speaker: Sarah Takeuchi, FIT/OGA
Executive functioning skills must be taught in context—at the point when students actually need them. These skills can be divided into two groups:
- Foundational: response inhibition, working memory, emotional control, flexibility, sustained attention, task initiation
Advanced: planning, prioritizing, organization, time management, goal-directed persistence, and metacognition (the last to fully develop)
Session: Artificial Intelligence and Dyslexia: What Do We Need to Know?
Speaker: Nanci Shepardson
Note 1:
We received an 11-page handout packed with resources. Honestly, it will take hours to explore. I’m excited to dig in and learn more about the ways AI can support my students. That said, I also felt overwhelmed—it was a reminder that too much information at once can lead to overload.Note 2:
Can AI detect dyslexia? A 2021 study by Radford, Richard, and Mathieu found that dyslexia can be detected using AI analysis of audio recordings of students reading real and nonsense words. Reaction times and reading fluency were key indicators.
AI Tools Shared During the Session:
✍️ Writing Support:
- ChatGPT – Great for creating decodable texts and SRSD model essays
- Ryter – Writing assistant with tone options and a plagiarism checker
- QuillBot – Rephrasing, citation generation, grammar checking
📖 Fluency Support:
- Oral Reading Fluency (beta) – Tracks CWPM, errors, pauses, and recommends practice texts
- Reading Coach – Integrated with Microsoft 365’s Immersive Reader
📚 Decoding Support:
- Seeing AI – Reads text aloud through your phone camera
- LitLab – E-reader with over 1,000 decodable texts or custom uploads
🧠 Executive Function / Organization:
- Goblin.tools – Helps break tasks down step by step
📸 Vocabulary Support:
- Craiyon / Gencraft – Image generation tools to support expressive language
📑 General Academic Support:
- Magic School – Lesson planning, assessments, IEP tools
- Magic Student – Teaches AI literacy to students
- Diffit – Creates differentiated instructional materials
- Brisk Teaching – Feedback, quizzes, and lesson planning tools
- Claude – AI assistant for collaborative learning and vocabulary practice
📓 Research Support:
NotebookLM – Explains complex research or notes in plain language and even turns them into a podcast!
This year’s conference reminded me how much I still have to learn—and how grateful I am to be part of a community of educators and specialists committed to doing this important work well. Here’s to another year of growing alongside our students.
