First thought…

1. First thought… • “Find your place on the planet. Dig in, and take responsibility from there.” • Gary Snyder • Poet

2. Why are secondary texts difficult?Secondary Literacy 1 Philippe Ernewein Literacy Specialist www.rememberit.org

3. Facts About Literacy • “So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that some states use grade-level reading statistics as a factor in projecting future prison construction.” • Bob Chase, former President, NEA

4. Facts About Literacy • “To compete in the global information economy, young people today need literacy skills far more advanced than have been required of any previous generation. The fastest growing jobs make the highest literacy and education demands.” • Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to Adolescent Literacy, 2005

5. Facts About Literacy • “Forty percent of high school graduates lack the reading and writing skills that employers seek, and almost a third of high school graduates who enroll in college require remediation.” • Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to Adolescent Literacy, 2005

6. Secondary Literacy Connections • “Many struggling readers have failed more often than they have succeeded in the past, so now they figured, ‘Why try?’” (13) • Shannon Dingle, RGV ’03 6th-8th Grade Special Education Wake County Public School

7. Secondary Literacy Connections • “I was shocked that my students reached high school without mastering the basic skills of reading and writing. My first year, the majority of my students read on a third to fifth grade level, and a class could range from pre-primer to 9th grade.” (1) • Bernard Weber Mississippi Delta ’03 9th Grade Global Studies

8. DO NOW • In your journal, reflect in writing for a few minutes on one or more of the facts presented about literacy.

9. What are we learning? • Our definition of literacy • Different components of reading • Steps toward comprehension • Different texts make different demands on readers • Specific demands posed by texts in specific content areas

10. Agenda • DO NOW • Introduction • New Material • Teaching Literacy is Our Job • Reading Comprehension • What makes texts difficult? • Examples & Practice • Close/Journals

11. So what? • Journal responses • The achievement gap is a literacy gap. • Every teacher must be literacy teacher. • Teaching literacy is our job.

12. Name tents • Signing in • Toolkit • Journal

13. Our definition of literacy • “The ability to read, write, spell, listen & speak.” • “Visually represent.” www.ncte.org

15. Teaching Literacy Is Our Job. • Artifact: Michael’s Science Test • CM Binder: page XXXX • Think/Pair/Share • What is keeping Michael from having success with this material? • Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

17. Michael’s Science TestBiology: grade 10Question 8: Open Response • Some large predatory fish causes the presence of absence of this evolutionary process. • The wrasse look like the blenny because

18. Think/Pair/Share • What is keeping Michael from having success with this material? • Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

19. The Blenny The Wrasse

20. Share • Does literacy play a role in learning “stuff”? • Does literacy help us assess knowledge in content classes? • Does this assessment tell us much about what Michael may or may not know? • Which skills does Michael need to be able to read the questions? • Which components go into Michael being able to write an answer? • What role might fluency play?

21. So what about reading comprehension? • Each component of reading is at play here: • Decoding • Fluency • Vocabulary • Comprehension Strategies • Background Knowledge • Engagement

22. So what…to be successful? • All these components need to be in place for our students to be able to demonstrate what they know in science and all other content areas.

23. Don’t Let the Blenny Fool You

24. Reading Comprehension • Research, CM’s experiences indicate the following: • Minority of our students will struggle with decoding words • bottom strands • Some will struggle with fluency • to tie the bottom strands together • Most will struggle to comprehend content area text • tying the top strands together

25. LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION Skilled Reading- fluent coordination of word reading and comprehension processes BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE STRUCTURES VERBAL REASONING LITERACY KNOWLEDGE SKILLED READING: fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension. increasingly strategic WORD RECOGNITION PHON. AWARENESS DECODING (and SPELLING) SIGHT RECOGNITION increasingly automatic The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading (Scarborough, 2001) Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.

26. The Breakdown • A minority of our secondary students will struggle with decoding • Some will struggle with fluency • Most of our students will struggle to comprehend content area text

27. Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process CM Binder: page 105 RAND Model, 2002

28. How might texts, readers and activities/purposes differ?

29. What makes texts difficult? • Vocabulary usage • Some text use figurative language while others use technical terms • Background knowledge • Assumptions made by text • Organization and format • Some texts have headings or diagrams • Level of engagement • Some text loved by 12 year olds, others by 16 year olds, some may be disliked by all

30. ISAT: connections & applications • Vocabulary Usage • Spanish I Objective #19: SWBAT describe foods using 5 adjectives in their singular and plural forms using the phrases ¿Cómo es/son _____? and Es/son _____. • How might vocabulary usage create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

31. ISAT: connections & applications • Background Knowledge • African American History Objective SWBAT analyze the contributions and accomplishments of West African societies prior to slavery. • How might background knowledge create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

32. ISAT: connections & applications • Organization & Format • Biology Objective SWBAT use experimental data to create a line graph. • How might vocabulary usage create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

33. Level of Engagement • Translating “I’m bored”

34. Content Area Groups • CM Binder: page XXXX • Identify the demands these texts make on readers and complete the middle column of the output hand-out. • Complete “Text Demands”

35. Text Demands Graphic Organizer

36. Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process Today’s Session RAND Model, 2002

37. Pair Practice: how would you teach it? List ideas for teaching each of the four text demands you identified in the third column of the handout

38. Pair Practice: debrief • What was challenging about this process? • What has this process taught you about how to start planning literacy instruction?

39. What did we learn?

40. The Bottom Line • Literacy has many components, each of which is essential to achievement. • Teaching students the specific skills and knowledge they need to read to understand text is your content area is critical.

41. Why is Literacy important? • Achievement Gap = Literacy Gap • Our students’ access to college and careers hinge on their advanced literacy skills. • Teaching literacy is our job.

42. Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course • Core Session 1: Why are Secondary Texts Difficult? • Core Session 2: Reading Purposefully and Strategically • Core Session 3: Building Comprehension Before, During, and After Reading

43. Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course • Core Session 4: Integrating Informal Writing • Core Session 5: Teaching Vocabulary • Core Session 6: Decoding and Fluency

44. Differentiated & Placement-Specific Sessions: • The Formal Writing Process • How to Read Non-fiction Texts • Motivating Struggling Readers • Literacy Diagnostics

45. Check-out • www.rememberit.org • Journal returned • Hand-out turned in • Exit Slips completed