Wilkinsburg School District Literacy Development Framework May 2011

1. Wilkinsburg School District Literacy Development Framework May 2011 Instruction, Vocabulary and AssessmentMelissa Andrews, Amy Divoky, Lucas Furlow and Mia Jackson

2. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Five Universal Instructional Design Principles • Scaffolding Cues, prompts, hints, modeling, direct instruction • Active Engagement Guided notes, teacher prompting, chunking, differentiated supports, activate prior learning, teamwork • Meta-cognition Thinking aloud, teacher explaining steps to a solution, verbalization, documentation of individual thinking

3. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES cont’ • Modeling Concept of skill clearly described, steps are explicitly modeled, think aloud utilized, cueing, questioning, checking for understanding throughout, teacher looking for concrete examples; imitation, task analysis • Explicit Instruction Frequent student response, consists of essential design components, delivery components, appropriate pacing, adequate processing, monitor responses, provide feedback, explicit instructional design components, adequate wait time

4. Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement Before • Questioning (teacher and/or students) and Discussing, • Brainstorming • Extended Brainstorming + Categorizing + Mapping: • Previewing Text • Writing • Enacting • Constructing • Viewing

5. Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement During • Teacher-directed • Students independently

6. Before, During, and After Model for Effective Engagement After • Discussions • Enactments • Oral Presentations • Writing • Reading • Constructing • Viewing

7. Vocabulary Development • Rich vocabulary instruction requires the learner to process words, think about words, interact with words in some way and with others to promote comprehension facilitation.

8. General Principles for Instruction • Select challenging words: teach “above” not below spoken language knowledge. • Do not always select words contained within the text: select words that the text is about – “idea” words. • Use multiple contexts and rich examples for the students before expecting them to use the words at all.

9. Choosing words based on Tiers • Tier 3: Low-frequency words • usually specific to an academic domain & best learned in the related content area, such as isotope, photosynthesis & psychologist. • Tier 2: High-frequency words • important for capable language learners to have in their vocabulary, such as remorse, capricious, distinguished, & devious. • Tier 1: Basic Words • rarely need to be taught, such as hair, always, dress, & laugh.Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002)

10. Assessment • Four types of assessment • Diagnostic • Formative • Benchmark • Summative

11. Diagnostic Assessment Definition: PDE/SAS definition “Ascertains, prior to instruction, each student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills. Establishing these permits the instructor to remediate students and adjust the curriculum to meet pupils’ unique needs.” • Examples: Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT); Teacher-created diagnostics • How often? Three to four times per school year

12. Formative Assessment Definition: Inform ongoing classroom instruction so that adjustments to instruction can be made • Examples: Teacher-selected, Classroom, assessments, Response cards, White boards, Random selection • How often? Every day, every class period

13. Benchmark Assessment Definition: Determine how well students are progressing toward demonstrating proficiency on a set of designated grade-level curriculum content standards • Examples: Acuity, 4-Sight • How often? Usually four times per school year

14. Summative Assessment Definition: Determine the degree to which students have mastered a designated set of curriculum content standards • Examples: PSSA, Keystone Exams, End of Unit/Chapter Tests, District End of Course Exams • How often? Varies depending on the assessment