Helping our Students to Internalize Reading and Writing Strategies

1. Getting them Ready for Success in College Helping our Students to Internalize Reading and Writing Strategies

2. MVHS Comparison – 2004-2007

3. Local Comparison – 2007

4. Overall Objective Develop in students the ability to read, write about, and discuss challenging texts in order to prepare them for the rigors of academic environments.

5. Learning Goals Teachers will… • become more skilled in analyzing texts for pedagogical purposes. • explore different purposes for reading and discussing texts. • continue to learn how to guide students into deep learning of texts using a variety of critical and analytical reading strategies. • learn various ways to engage students in academic performances.

6. Today’s Learning ObjectivesWe Will… • review current research on adolescent literacy. • explore the usefulness of rereading as a literacy strategy. • experience ways reading strategies can be used for purposeful rereading. • introduce templates and 3-part source/ argument statements.

7. Why Are We Here? High school graduates are not ready for college freshman reading tasks.

8. Here Is What We Know • The majority of students in California are reading below grade level. • Students enter into high school needing remediation in reading and writing. • Students continue to move through secondary education deficient in reading and writing. • Research tells us that students are college-prepared, but not college-ready.

9. A List of College Reading Tasks • Differentiate between main and subordinate ideas in texts • Clarify challenging material through rereading strategies • Predict the author's purpose using textual clues • Argue with a text; challenge what a text says • Apply prior knowledge to new ideas and information • Develop questions while reading and seek to find answers • Use context clues to understand unfamiliar words • Make predictions while reading • Summarize texts accurately • Comprehend ideas presented in a variety of texts and be able to see connections among them • Successfully read challenging texts without instruction or support • Approach texts with a variety of reading strategies • Identify key claims and evidence as it relates to the argument

10. A List of College Writing Tasks • Write papers that pertain to reading • Summarize ideas presented in non-fiction texts • Synthesize ideas from several sources • Analyze arguments • Critically analyze the ideas in texts

11. A List of College Reading Tasks • Differentiate between main and subordinate ideas in texts • Clarify challenging material through rereading strategies • Predict the author's purpose using textual clues • Argue with a text; challenge what a text says • Apply prior knowledge to new ideas and information • Develop questions while reading and seek to find answers • Use context clues to understand unfamiliar words • Make predictions while reading • Summarize texts accurately • Comprehend ideas presented in a variety of texts and be able to see connections among them • Successfully read challenging texts without instruction or support • Approach texts with a variety of reading strategies • Identify key claims and evidence as it relates to the argument

12. Let’s Talk About It Table Talk How can students succeed in high school (earn good grades, pass advanced classes, and complete all college requirements) yet enter post-secondary education deficient in reading and writing? What has caused this to happen?

13. One Model that Explains How Reading Deficiencies Develop

14. How Do We Reverse the Spiral?

15. What does research suggest we do to improve adolescent literacy instruction?

16. Center on Instruction: Five Recommendations • Provide explicit instruction and supportive practice in the use of reading comprehension strategies. • Increase the number and quality of open, sustained discussions of texts. • Set and maintain high standards for texts, conversations, questions, and vocabulary. • Develop instructional methods that increase student engagement with text and motivation for reading. • Teach essential content knowledge so that all students master critical concepts.

17. Research References ACT Inc. Aligning Postsecondary Expectations and High School Practice: The Gap Defined Policy Implications of the ACT National Curriculum Survey® Results. Washington, DC: ACT, Inc, 2007. Available online at http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/NCSPolicyBrief.pdf. Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senate. Intersegmental Academic Literacy: A Statement of Competencies Expected of Students Entering California's Public Colleges and Universities. Sacramento, CA: Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senate, 2002. Available online at http://www.asccc.org/Publications/Papers/AcademicLiteracy/main.htm. Olson, Booth Carol and Robert Land. “A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School.” Research in the Teaching of English 41 (2007): 270-303. Torgesen, J. K., Houston, D. D., Rissman, L. M., Decker, S. M., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J. Francis, D. J, Rivera, M. O., Lesaux, N. (2007). Academic Literacy Instruction For Adolescents: A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. Available online at www.centeroninstruction.org.

18. Think-Pair-Share Complete the following statement with a list of skills or abilities: When our students read texts, we want them to be able to… Ex. comprehend what they are reading.

19. Why are students not ready? • One of the Problems: Lack of proficiency in reading • Part of the Solution: professional development in reading instruction (RIAP) According to the CSU schools

20. Three Components of the CSU’s EAP Initiative • College Readiness Information and Testing at 11th Grade (Augmented CST) • The 12th Grade Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC): Curriculum (a-g approved) and professional development • Reading Institutes for Academic Preparation (RIAP): Professional Development for English and Content Area Teachers, 9-12 From the CSU schools website

21. “Regardless of a student’s major, the ability to formulate and analyze arguments, both orally and in writing, is absolutely essential to academic success … . We can develop these skills at the postsecondary level, but students need to get a solid foundation in these basics when they are in high school, or they will fall behind quickly in college.” --an English professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas From Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts. (2004). The American Diploma Project From the CSU schools website

22. “It is a myth that mathematics and math-dependent majors in college do not require strong reading and writing skills. Students have to be able to comprehend complex informational text so they can identify which mathematical operations and concepts to apply to solve a particular problem.” --An economics professor, San Francisco State University From Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts. (2004). The American Diploma Project From the CSU schools website

23. The RIAP Curriculum: Academic Literacy The inseparable skills of critical reading, writing, listening and thinking depend upon students’ ability to postpone judgment and tolerate ambiguity as they honor the dance between passionate assertion and patient inquiry. Academic Literacy: A Statement of Competencies Expected of Students Entering California’s Public Colleges and Universities, page 12. From the CSU schools website

24. CSU Studies show - • RIAP + ERWC = more than FOUR times the rate of improvement of all California high schools (13.6% vs. 3%). From the CSU schools website

25. How do we bring this to MMHS? • What we do already: • ERWC • RIAP • EAP • What we can do now: • Strengthen our school reading and writing culture to help students internalize strategies that will support them all their lives.

26. Rams Read and Write – Everywhere! • Common terminology • Consistent Strategies • Expectation that students will use these strategies • Strategies will be accessible to students independently (via the web)

27. Learn-to-Write vs. Write-to-Learn

28. How to bring this to MMHS teachers • Web Page • Strategies • Samples • Tips from teachers

29. Web Page • Reading Page • Writing Page • Link for each strategy

30. Each Strategy • Strategy Handout • Example of strategy in use • Suggestions and uses from content area teachers for each subject

31. Strategy Review - Annotation What is it? How to do it Variations

32. Sample of Annotation • Key words • Labels • Questions • Comments • Reflections • Connections

33. Strategy Review - SOAPSTone What is it? How to do it Generic Graphic Organizer

34. SOAPSTone Learning to Read Carefully and Critically

35. Not Just Summary • Reading should not be: • a series of facts • “Is this going to be on the test?”

36. Analysis of Text is Crucial Use the acronym S.O.A.P.S to begin. S = Subject O = Occasion A = Audience P = Purpose S = Speaker

37. What is the SUBJECT? • General topic • General Content • Overall Idea • Should be stated in a few words or short phrase

38. What is the Occasion? • Time • Place • Current Situation • What is the context that inspired the writing to happen???

39. Who is the Audience? • To whom is the piece directed? • May be one person, a small or large group • May be a specific person/group

40. What is the Purpose? • What is the reason behind text? • What is the author’s message/point? • So what??????

41. Who is the Speaker? • Who is telling the story? • What do we know about the author? • Male? Female? Age? Race? Personality? Beliefs? Values?

42. Tone • What is the authors attitude towards the subject of the piece? • How does he or she feel about it? • How does he or she fee about the audience?