Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 2:
- There is no gatekeeper for education; we just have to make sure we do not rely on results from single studies.
- "The best teachers know that it is up to them to find out what their students know and do not know, what students can and cannot do, and what students are confused about, and then to teach those concepts and skills." This came from a paragraph referring to primary teachers. I wonder if primary teachers 'have more time' to do this for each of their students because they have a smaller class size compared to secondary teachers. How would secondary teachers do this with the 100+ students they are responsible for?
- "Teachers who stick to only one approach, method, or published program may be missing out on other ways of teaching ..." This reminds me of StoryTown that my district adopted at the elementary level. It started out being a great tool to increase students' reading scores, but eventually the teachers felt it was too 'cookie-cutter' for their students who didn't fit the average mold.
Effective Reading Instruction
* Explicit Instruction: Not just looking at a sentence/word in a book, but modeling, demonstrating, or clearly explaining a concept or skill. Tyler does this when he teaches his students about word parts each week. (These are not always connected to a passage.)
* Targeted Instruction: Assessment is the essence of targeted instruction - using data from ongoing assessments to help steer instruction to the needs of the students. Independent, instructional, and frustration -level texts. I definitely have a student who concerns me; I feel the texts that seem to be at his frustration level are a level of difficulty that should be at an independent level for him. "Success is a strong motivator" - yes!
* Intensive Instruction: My building has classes for students such as Corrective Reading and Reading Strategies. Additionally, ELL students are able to take an ELL-centered Reading class. All of these classes are in addition to the required classes all students must take.
Feedback
* Specific Praise: Praise must be specific and authentic. Our building spent some time on this last year (and a review this year) using the BoysTown model on praise. We are challenged to maintain a 4:1 ratio of specific/authentic praise versus negative/constructive corrections.
* Scaffolding: It is designed to help students complete a task that they would otherwise not be able to successfully accomplish independently. This is temporary! I think so many teachers want success for students, that they forget that the scaffolding needs to be limited and eventually removed from supporting a student, in order to help them head toward independent success. (This is an issue in my building with the seventh grade teams.)
* Corrective Feedback: Key -keep a neutral tone. Don't jump the gun on providing corrective feedback, wait a few seconds to see if the students will notice the error on their own. I made a conscious effort to do this during my first couple of years of teaching, and now it happens automatically. It is rather rewarding to witness students identifying their own error and being able to correct it.
Role of Assessment
* Screening: Short and quick - done at the beginning of the year or when a new student joins the school. "For students who are beyond the initial stage of reading instruction, brief assessments of oral reading fluency are surprisingly effective tools for quickly screening for reading difficulties." Should these quick one-minute oral fluency evaluations be completed by another student/partner, or a teacher?
* Diagnosis: Find strengths and weaknesses of a students, an use that to guide instructional decisions. We use an assessment called MAP testing. All students take this assessment at the beginning if the year; it breaks the results down into very specific information that can easily guide any classroom instruction.
* Progress Monitoring: This should be done at regular intervals over an extended period of time. Does this HAVE to be done on a weekly basis, would monthly, or bimonthly, etc. be sufficient?
* Evaluating Outcomes: "Students who can meet the standards independently are much more likely to thrive without further reading intervention." NeSA (Nebraska State Assessment) of Reading, Writing, Math, and Science is used in our district for this.
Serious Reading Difficulties include: Decoding Problems, Comprehension Problems, and Processing Problems.
A Three-Tiered Model of Intervention: This reminds me of the Response To Intervention (RTI) model. Tier 1 is quality classroom instruction. Tier 2 includes intensive reading instruction offered individually or in small groups in addition to the regular classroom instruction. Tier 3 is an intensive intervention delivers in smaller groups or individually, and for longer periods of time during the day.
SAILS Model: (standards, assessments, instruction and interventions, leadership, and sustained school-wide commitment)
* Standards are clear and public expectations. There is no gray area - students know what is expected of them.
* Reading Assessments: includes screening and diagnostic assessments. Principals, or other instructional leaders in the building review the results and discuss with the teacher to view patterns of growth.
* Instruction and Intervention: "Effective teachers are self-reflective and adopt a problem-solving approach when students experience difficulty. Effective teachers of struggling readers provide both accommodation and instruction." Thankfully, I feel like the majority of the staff in my building already do this. I have worked hard to remind them that they possess the skills to do this, but always offer assistance and suggestions when needed. The mindset is to do "what is best for kids." -Absolutely the mindset of our entire district!
* Leadership: "A common characteristic of all schools that have effective school wide approaches to reading success is the presence of an instructional leader." While our building principal works with data, and communicates results to staff, our building lacks someone who helps problem-solve, go into classrooms for coaching, or provide professional development. I am well aware that we are lacking a true instructional leader/coach for our building.
- "The best teachers know that it is up to them to find out what their students know and do not know, what students can and cannot do, and what students are confused about, and then to teach those concepts and skills." This came from a paragraph referring to primary teachers. I wonder if primary teachers 'have more time' to do this for each of their students because they have a smaller class size compared to secondary teachers. How would secondary teachers do this with the 100+ students they are responsible for?
- "Teachers who stick to only one approach, method, or published program may be missing out on other ways of teaching ..." This reminds me of StoryTown that my district adopted at the elementary level. It started out being a great tool to increase students' reading scores, but eventually the teachers felt it was too 'cookie-cutter' for their students who didn't fit the average mold.
Effective Reading Instruction
* Explicit Instruction: Not just looking at a sentence/word in a book, but modeling, demonstrating, or clearly explaining a concept or skill. Tyler does this when he teaches his students about word parts each week. (These are not always connected to a passage.)
* Targeted Instruction: Assessment is the essence of targeted instruction - using data from ongoing assessments to help steer instruction to the needs of the students. Independent, instructional, and frustration -level texts. I definitely have a student who concerns me; I feel the texts that seem to be at his frustration level are a level of difficulty that should be at an independent level for him. "Success is a strong motivator" - yes!
* Intensive Instruction: My building has classes for students such as Corrective Reading and Reading Strategies. Additionally, ELL students are able to take an ELL-centered Reading class. All of these classes are in addition to the required classes all students must take.
Feedback
* Specific Praise: Praise must be specific and authentic. Our building spent some time on this last year (and a review this year) using the BoysTown model on praise. We are challenged to maintain a 4:1 ratio of specific/authentic praise versus negative/constructive corrections.
* Scaffolding: It is designed to help students complete a task that they would otherwise not be able to successfully accomplish independently. This is temporary! I think so many teachers want success for students, that they forget that the scaffolding needs to be limited and eventually removed from supporting a student, in order to help them head toward independent success. (This is an issue in my building with the seventh grade teams.)
* Corrective Feedback: Key -keep a neutral tone. Don't jump the gun on providing corrective feedback, wait a few seconds to see if the students will notice the error on their own. I made a conscious effort to do this during my first couple of years of teaching, and now it happens automatically. It is rather rewarding to witness students identifying their own error and being able to correct it.
Role of Assessment
* Screening: Short and quick - done at the beginning of the year or when a new student joins the school. "For students who are beyond the initial stage of reading instruction, brief assessments of oral reading fluency are surprisingly effective tools for quickly screening for reading difficulties." Should these quick one-minute oral fluency evaluations be completed by another student/partner, or a teacher?
* Diagnosis: Find strengths and weaknesses of a students, an use that to guide instructional decisions. We use an assessment called MAP testing. All students take this assessment at the beginning if the year; it breaks the results down into very specific information that can easily guide any classroom instruction.
* Progress Monitoring: This should be done at regular intervals over an extended period of time. Does this HAVE to be done on a weekly basis, would monthly, or bimonthly, etc. be sufficient?
* Evaluating Outcomes: "Students who can meet the standards independently are much more likely to thrive without further reading intervention." NeSA (Nebraska State Assessment) of Reading, Writing, Math, and Science is used in our district for this.
Serious Reading Difficulties include: Decoding Problems, Comprehension Problems, and Processing Problems.
A Three-Tiered Model of Intervention: This reminds me of the Response To Intervention (RTI) model. Tier 1 is quality classroom instruction. Tier 2 includes intensive reading instruction offered individually or in small groups in addition to the regular classroom instruction. Tier 3 is an intensive intervention delivers in smaller groups or individually, and for longer periods of time during the day.
SAILS Model: (standards, assessments, instruction and interventions, leadership, and sustained school-wide commitment)
* Standards are clear and public expectations. There is no gray area - students know what is expected of them.
* Reading Assessments: includes screening and diagnostic assessments. Principals, or other instructional leaders in the building review the results and discuss with the teacher to view patterns of growth.
* Instruction and Intervention: "Effective teachers are self-reflective and adopt a problem-solving approach when students experience difficulty. Effective teachers of struggling readers provide both accommodation and instruction." Thankfully, I feel like the majority of the staff in my building already do this. I have worked hard to remind them that they possess the skills to do this, but always offer assistance and suggestions when needed. The mindset is to do "what is best for kids." -Absolutely the mindset of our entire district!
* Leadership: "A common characteristic of all schools that have effective school wide approaches to reading success is the presence of an instructional leader." While our building principal works with data, and communicates results to staff, our building lacks someone who helps problem-solve, go into classrooms for coaching, or provide professional development. I am well aware that we are lacking a true instructional leader/coach for our building.
Choice Article:
Using Literature for Children and Adolescents for Intermediate Language Acquisition
Article first published online: 3 JAN 2012
DOI: 10.5054/tj.2011.259957
Brief Highlights of the Article and connections/thoughts:
The overarching theme of this text is that the simplicity (in language/vocabulary) of children and adolescent literature is not a negative quality. In fact, by providing a text that has an "independent" level of reading (as per Chapter 2 for this week) helps a student focus more on the texts. Additionally, explicit vocabulary instruction was not needed for children's literature (for children through adult-aged readers), as the language was learned incidentally.Focus on students' interpretation of a text, and not some prepackaged interpretations.
How could I use this as a Reading/Literacy Coach?
I would like to use the graphic from the text that show how children's and adolescent literature can provide the same applications of literature for language learning, as popular literature, or literature from the Canon. English Language Arts teachers like to challenge students to read texts; reminding them of this graphic, and reiterating what was mentioned in Chapter 2 about reading levels (independently, instructional, and frustration), may help them realize that providing for various students' needs and differentiating their content will not hinder learning outcomes when focusing on: language acquisition, language awareness, or literary awareness.
