A Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy

1. A Comprehensive Approach toBalanced Literacy Presented by Dr. Edwina Frasca-Stuart Director of Staff & Program Development Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22

2. Welcome! Bristol Borough School District K-8 Literacy Initiative

3. Goals: • K-8 articulated and aligned language arts curriculum • Assessment Plan • On-going, sustained professional development • Monitoring of progress

4. Design • Internal/External Consultant Model • BB & BCIU • Driving Team • School Improvement Team • Teacher Leaders • Literacy Research • Assessment guiding instruction • Systems Level Implementation • Systems Change Research

5. Systems Level Implementation Systems Level of Implementationand Subsystemsof Schools Teaching andLearning Administration Students SchoolBoard Parents FinancialStructure ProfessionalDevelopment PDE/Governor

6. The Big Question: What is Balanced Literacy?

7. What is Balanced Literacy? Turn to the person next to you. Based on your experience and background knowledge, generate an answer to this question. Two-minute Discussion

8. Balanced Literacy A comprehensive approach to balanced literacy is based on how the brain becomes a reading and writing brain. It involves the integration of reading and writing as interrelated processes.

9. Balanced Literacy This is a complex, multi-faceted process.

10. What do you think? Anticipation Guide (T/F) • Reading is a natural process, analogous to learning to walk and talk. • Oral language provides the foundation for learning to read. • Learning to read is culturally-based.

11. TRUE or FALSE 1.Reading is a natural process, analogous to learning to walk and talk.

12. The Reading Brain • There is no biological imperative for reading. “We were never born to read.” • Reading processes are mapped onto the speech and visual areas of the brain.

13. Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brainby Maryanne Wolf, page 3. It took roughly 2000 years for the rewiring of the brain for reading to occur. Today our children need to reach those same insights about reading in roughly 2000 days.

14. The Language Pathway Speech Broca’s Area Processing of Syntax Motor Cortex Production of Speech Wernicke’s Area Comprehension of Words Thalamus Auditory Cortex

16. The Reading Pathway • Engaging in a conversation - uses all macro and microstructures of the brain. • It is important for teachers to know this process. • Additional structures needed for reading and writing: • Visual cortex - visual configurations • Visual features of the word; however, does not recognize it as a word • Using an existing visual extraction system • Angular gyrus- connects visual stimuli to phoneme recognition

17. The Reading Pathway Reading Broca’s Area Processing of Syntax Wernicke’s Area Comprehension of Words Angular Gyrus Written words translated into sounds of words Thalamus Visual Cortex Recognition of visual pattern of a word

19. ANTICIPATION GUIDE 1. Reading is a natural process, analogous to learning to walk and talk. Answer: FALSE

20. TRUE or FALSE 2. Oral language provides the foundation for learning to read.

21. Lots of Talk • The role of oral language ages 0 – adulthood is critical to reading… • Oral vocabulary leads to reading vocabulary. • Rhythm of language • Patterns of language • Meaning • Syntax • The role of phonemes • Playing with language • Read alouds

22. Meaningful DifferencesHart & Risley,1995 • After decades of collaborating to increase child language vocabulary, Betty Hart and Todd Risley spent 2 1/2 years intensely observing the language of 42 families throughout Kansas City. Specifically, they looked at household language use in three different settings: 1) professional families; 2) working class; 3) welfare families.

24. Oral Language & Adult/Child Relationships High Quality Learning Environments: Adult/child interactions is the single most important factor in the assessment of quality in early childhood education. The kindness of the relationship and the amount of “good” conversation that occurs in the classroom determines the level of positive effect for our students. Getting it Right From the Start: A Principal’s Guide to Early Childhood Education Marjorie L. Kostelnik & Marilyn L. Grady This remains true throughout adolescence (middle school and high school)

25. Adolescence School connectedness is a powerful predictor of adolescent health and academic outcomes. National School Climate Center Center for Social and Emotional Education National Center for Learning and Citizenship at the Education Commission of the States

26. Teacher/Student Relationships A school’s climate “is probably the best predictor of whether a school will have high achievement” - more so than socioeconomic status of students or the school’s past levels of achievement. Clete Bulach Associate Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership University of West Georgia

27. ANTICIPATION GUIDE • Oral language provides the foundation for learning to read. Answer: TRUE

28. TRUE or FALSE 3. Learning to read is culturally-based.

29. Neural Connections “Neurons that fire together, wire together!” The Role of Culture Concepts About Print Directionality The Role of Explicit Instruction It is only by neurons making connections with one another that learning can occur.

30. Example Directionality And Neural Pathways

31. Directionality Left to right Vertical Right to left

32. ANTICIPATION GUIDE 3. Learning to read is culturally-based. Answer: TRUE

33. Balanced Literacy In conclusion, even though the brain was not designed to be a reading/writing brain,it has the amazing potential to become one. RECIPE: Explicit, deliberate instruction is required!

34. The Problem and Context • 20% of students have significant reading problems. • Most reading failure is unnecessary. • Teaching Reading is a job for an expert. “Teaching Reading is Rocket Science.” Moats, 1999

35. The Solution to the Problem Quality Instruction and Immediate Intensive Intervention

36. Bristol Boro Literacy Initiative • Systems Change • Standards and Assessment Anchors • Components of Balanced Literacy for K-8 • Room Arrangement • Learning Environment • Management of Instruction • Assessment: Formative and Summative

37. Focus of Instruction • Common Core State Standards • English Language Arts • Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects

38. What exists at the moment… • PA Academic Standards • Reading, Writing, Speaking, & Listening • Mathematics • Science & Technology & Engineering Education • Environment & Ecology • Civics & Government • Economics

39. What exists at the moment… • Geography • History • Arts & Humanities • Health, Safety, & Physical Education • Family & Consumer Sciences • World Languages (Proposed) • Career Education & Work

40. As of July 1, 2013…. • Common Core State Standards for • English Language Arts & • Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects • Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

41. As of July 1, 2013…. • History • Arts & Humanities • Health, Safety, & Physical Education • Family & Consumer Sciences • World Languages (Proposed) • Career Education & Work

42. As of July 1, 2013…. • PA Academic Standards for • Science & Technology & Engineering Education • Environment & Ecology • Civics & Government • Economics • Geography

43. Our Prior Knowledge How many college courses, in-service courses, workshops have you had in Reading and Writing?

44. Components of Balanced Literacy Let’s talk for a while about the components of Balanced Literacy.

45. - The Language Arts Wheel

46. The elements aretaught in anintegrated fashionthrough the use of: Developmental Instruction • Differentiated Instruction Scaffolded Instructionbut are eachassessed independently of each other Design Elements of the Language Wheel

47. Writing Word Study Fluency TheLanguageArtsWheel- Language Development- Accuracy- Word Study- Fluency- Comprehension- Metacognitive- Spelling- Writing Spelling Metacognitive LanguageDevelopment The RWSL Standards The eight key instructional components above led to the creation of the graphic organizer known as the Language Arts Wheel.

48. Language Arts Wheel These key areas are Non-negotiable. They are taughtin an integrated manner.

49. Language Arts Wheel However, they are assessed separately. Assessing the elements separately assures that all 8 elements are taught.

50. Each design element of the Language Arts Wheel can be considered to be a Curriculum Strand