Supports for Literacy Leaders Me Read? And How! and GAINS Spring 2010

1. Supports for Literacy LeadersMe Read? And How! and GAINSSpring 2010

2. Agenda

3. Read the quotation on the card. Share, with a partner, what the quotation means to you. Mix and Mingle Introduce yourself to others around the room Share the message on your card Form small groups around connecting ideas MINDS ON:Making Connections

7. ACTION: Tour of Me Read? And How! Ontario teachers report on how to improve boys’ literacy skills

8. Preparing for “The MRAH Tour” • 1. Think about actual experiences you have had with boys and literacy, either at school or at home. What are a few images that come to mind? • What do you know already about boys’ • literacy from Me Read? No Way! 2004? • 3. Share your responses with one table partner.

9. Images of Boys and Literacy

10. And for Writing

11. ‘Twas ever thus! “And then the whining schoolboy With his satchel and shiny morning face Creeping like a snail Unwillingly to school.” William Shakespeare

12. Current View “Male youth mentally absent from school and disengaged academically are more often than not, disaffected and struggling readers. These students contribute to one of the most persistent and ubiquitous achievement gaps found in America.” Brozo, 2002

13. EQAO OSSLT

14. Current Context • Me Read? No Way! 2004 • The Boys’ Literacy Teacher Inquiry Project 2005-2008 • The Road Ahead, 2009 Consultant’s Report www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/RoadAhead2009.pdf • Me Read? And How! 2009

15. Key Features • About the Resource Guide • available electronically on the Ministry of Education website: • http://www.edu.gov.on.ca. • Available in hard copy from www.serviceontario.ca/publications

16. Key Features Organized into 6 sections: • Quotations –voices of students, teachers, principals, and parents • Strategy Recommendations – key strategies • Putting Strategies into Practice – school stories • Try This! – quick tips and suggestions • What the Literature Says – recent research • Reflections –questions to use to deepen understanding and application

17. Strategies for Success 13+1=14 Strategies • Have the right stuff • Help make it a habit • Teach with purpose • Embrace the arts • Let them talk • Find positive role models • Read between the lines

18. Strategies for Success 13+1=14 Strategies(cont’d) • Keep it real • Get the Net • Assess for success • Be in their corner • Drive the point home • Build a school-wide focus • Split them Up NEW!!!!!

19. “The MRAH Tour”Instructions • You each have a PASSPORT with your “Strategy Destination” - ONE of the FOURTEEN strategies. • You are invited to visit that “Strategy Destination” in your copy of MRAH, to sample the information in that section and to answer THREE QUESTIONS on the post-its provided.

20. “Strategy Destination”Questions • Question #1.What ONE idea at this strategy destination did you like best? (BLUE) • Question #2.What are TWO challenges in implementing this strategy? (ORANGE) • Question #3. Are there professional development needs for teachers/ principals/board leaders? Are they different for each constituent group? (YELLOW)

21. “The MRAH Tour” Your Own Time - 20 min. Explore your own “Strategy Destination” 5 min. Respond to each question on a colour-coded post it.5 min. Discuss with a partner your responses on each other’s “Strategy Destination”. 5 min. Post your “Notes” on the matching “Strategy Destination” wall chart.

22. “The MRAH Tour” 10 minutes Full Group Sharing of the Fourteen “Destinations”

23. Strategy Recommendations #3 Teach with Purpose Understanding boys’ learning styles At Bishop Allen Academy, teachers structured their 76 minute periods into smaller sections…. A single class period could involve a combination of: Internet browsing and reading; conducting research for independent study projects; reading and discussing a group of articles; conducting debates; viewing online videos; writing reviews of events, movies or documentaries; and completing independent work. MRAH p. 21

24. Strategy Recommendations #4 Embrace the arts Using the arts to bring literacy to life At Hawthorne Village Public School the inquiry team found that the integration of drama, dance, music, and visual arts on boys’ motivation, comprehension, and overall fluency in reading was profound and positive. MRAH p. 28

25. Strategy Recommendations#8 Keep it real Making reading and writing relevant to boys “The emphasis on ownership extended to allowing boys to choose topics of interest to discuss or write about in the classroom, such as cars, snowboards, video games, physical survival, drugs, gangs and musicians and accommodating boys’ interest in non-traditional styles, forms, and themes, such as humourous writing, rap songs, and war.” Teacher Comment St. Edward Catholic School MRAH p.47

26. Strategy Recommendations#9 Get the Net Using technology to get boys interested in literacy “With the purchase of new resources and new technologies, such as interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, data projectors, and opaque projectors, the teachers were able to try something new with their instructional practices. These resources became a catalyst for changing the rigidness of the language programs…. ‘the technological learning curve that I have been on the past three years has taken me places I never imagined possible in my teaching practices.’ ” Teacher Comment St. Paul Catholic School MRAHp. 54

27. Strategy Recommendations #11 Be in their corner The role of the teacher in boys’ literacy “I look at the boys in my class in a little different way, not as lazy or unmotivated, but just needing a different way to learn. I’m looking for ways in all my classes to go beyond the textbook and put control of the learning in the kids’ hands.” Teacher Comment St. Anne Catholic H.S. MRAHp. 64

28. Strategy Recommendations #14 Split them up Using single-sex groupings “Some proponents of this strategy argue that boys and girls receive and process information differently, hear and see differently, and develop at different rates; therefore, different teaching styles and classroom structures should be adopted to accommodate both sexes…. The ruling principle should be that a range of effective and focused pedagogies…should be used in classrooms and that schools should be organized to support learning for all students whether that means single-sex or coed groupings or a mixture of both.” MRAHp.81

29. What is your perception? “Thelong well-documented history of male underachievement has helped contribute to an entrenched, popular perception and indeed an expectation that many boys simply will not become thoughtful, accomplished readers.” Brozo, 2002

30. On the other hand… “Teachers who see potential in their male students discover ways of teaching and reaching them that are personally meaningful, culturally responsible and capitalize on the resources they bring to the classroom.” Alloway, Freebody, Gilbert, and Muspratt, 2002

31. Postcard Home 1. As you reflect on your whirlwind tour of MRAH what comment might you write home to family, friends, colleagues? Some prompts: • Did you encounter anything new? • How will MRAH help you to address boys’ literacy improvement? • What do you need to know more about or be able to do? 2. Record your comments on the Postcard Home and then “mail” your postcard in the receptacle provided. THANK YOU!

32. Break Please take 10 minutes and we will resume again shortly

33. Digging DeeperStrategy #7“Read Between the Lines” Bringing critical literacy skills into the classroom

34. What is Critical Literacy? Critical literacy means that students adopt a critical or questioning stance in regard to what they are reading, hearing or viewing…. Students need to be helped to exercise their critical thoughts and perceptions and understand how texts are constructed and how texts try to inform, persuade, entertain, and influence the reader. MRAHp. 43

36. Who is the narrator of this story? What points of view are missing from this story? Why is this important to recognize?

37. Who produced the video? What values and beliefs do the producers seem to have? What techniques are used to influence the viewer? www.conservation-ontario.on.ca/source_protection/indexswpeducate.htm

38. What are the labels on the x- and y-axes? Is the data in one graph presented in a way that is more favourable than the other? What is revealed or concealed in each of the graphs?

39. What are differences between the two population density maps? What do you think the second map cartographer wants to emphasize? What beliefs do you think this cartographer holds? http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/population-health/map-192.html http://rs.resalliance.org/2006/02/16/another-world-population-map/

40. What does the son’s body language imply? What does the producer of the clip want viewers to feel? What techniques are used to evoke these feelings?

41. Example of Best Practices Problem-posing questions at F. W. Begley, Northwood, Kingsville, Eastwood, Harrow Senior, and Lakeshore Discovery P.S. - partnership with the humane society and environmental awareness projects. Exploration of critical literacy through examination of textual features of graphic novels at Parkside Collegiate Institute. Focus on gender stereotyping in media and popular cultures texts at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School. MRAH p. 44

42. CONSOLIDATION Materials: -Package titled Critical Literacy, Grades 7-12: Supports for Boys’ Literacy -12 selections on critical literacy drawn from the CD-ROM. Instructions: • Number yourselves off around the table, 1, 2, etc. • Each person selects ONE of the pieces from the package and skim reads the resource. Time:3 min.

43. Think-Pair-Share • THINK about ONE KEY IDEA you have read. Reflect on why it is significant for you. • PAIR with a person with your matching number at another table. • In turn, SHARE your key idea with each other. Time:4 min.

44. Putting Critical Literacy Resources Into Play Materials: • Cover Sheet for the package of Critical Literacy Resources • Placemat Sheet Instructions: • In your table group, decide which resource(s) would be most practical and appropriate for which audience. • Record the title of the resource in the designated box on the placemat. For resources appropriate for all, use the ALL GROUPS section. • Discuss briefly how you might introduce ONE of the resources to its designated audience. Time: 5 min.

45. Placemat

46. LUNCH

47. MINDS ON On a blank piece of paper…

48. Why would this activity engage (some) students? Why would (some) teachers feel uncomfortable with this activity? What do we need to do to resolve the tension which might exist?

49. Literacy GAINS Stories

50. Emphases, Parameters & Principles Professional Learning Ministry Priorities Adolescent Literacy Emphases Critical Literacy Metacognition Questioning Strategies Structures Student Voice Cross-curricular literacy GAINS in Achievement GAINS in Equity GAINS in Public Confidence Reach every student Classroom Resources Networking Leadership GAINS Parameters Questioning to evoke and expose thinking Responding with appropriate levels of challenge and support Fearless speaking and listening Practising principled practices for depth, precision and power Engaging learners in critical literacy Addressing the indicators Subject-specific literacy Principles Personalization Precision Professional Learning