Middle School Literacy:

1. Middle School Literacy: Leading The Way Martha Lamb August 2008

2. Objectives: • To broaden the concept of literacy as a critical 21st Century skill set • To identify the characteristics of effective reading instruction • To study strategies for literacy leadership • To brainstorm a variety of options for staff development

3. Activity: Make A Date

4. Literacy in the 21st Century • Social behaviors define literacy (matching activity) • “Powering Down” for school (read-aloud & silent reading) • Reflection (Ideabook)

5. National Reading Panel Report • Alphabetics • Fluency • Comprehension • Teacher Education & Reading Instruction • Computer Technology & Reading Instruction

6. National Reading Panel Report • Alphabetics • Fluency • Comprehension • Teacher Education & Reading Instruction • Computer Technology & Reading Instruction

7. National Reading Panel Report • Alphabetics • “. . . systematic phonics instruction produces significant benefits for students in kindergarten through 6th grade and for children having difficulty learning to read.” (p. 9) • “Systematic synthetic phonics instruction had a positive and significant effect on disabled readers’ reading skills.” (p. 9) • “. . . while phonics skills are necessary in order to learn to read, they are not sufficient in their own right.” (p. 11) Implication: Phonics instruction for non-handicapped middle school students consists primarily of the study of syllabication & word parts

8. National Reading Panel Report • Alphabetics • Fluency: Guided Oral Reading & Independent Silent Reading • Comprehension • Teacher Education & Reading Instruction • Computer Technology & Reading Instruction

9. National Reading Panel Report • Fluency: Guided Oral Reading & Independent Silent Reading • “guided repeated oral reading procedures . . . had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels.” (p. 12) Implication: Guided oral reading during teacher-student reading conferences, paired reading, and “Reader’s Theater” can help increase reading comprehension by increasing fluency.

10. National Reading Panel Report • Fluency (continued) • “Literally hundreds of correlational studies find that the best readers read the most and that poor readers read the least. These correlational studies suggest that the more that children read, the better their fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. However, these findings are correlational in nature, and correlation does not imply causation.” (p. 12) • “In sum, methodologically rigorous research designed to assess the specific influences that independent silent reading practices have on reading fluency and other reading skills and the motivation to read has not yet been conducted.” (p. 13)

11. National Reading Panel Report • Alphabetics • Fluency • Comprehension: Vocabulary Instruction, Text Comprehension Instruction, and Teacher Prep and Comprehension Strategies Instruction • Teacher Education & Reading Instruction • Computer Technology & Reading Instruction

12. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Vocabulary Instruction • “. . . the larger the reader’s vocabulary, the easier it is to make sense of the text.” (p. 13) • “. . . vocabulary instruction does lead to gains in comprehension, but methods must be appropriate to the age and ability of the reader. . . .” (p. 14) • “. . . learning words before reading a text also is helpful . . . . repeated exposure, including having the student encounter words in various contexts, appear(s) to enhance vocabulary development.” (p. 14)

13. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Vocabulary Instruction (continued) • “. . . vocabulary should be taught both directly and indirectly. Repetition and multiple exposures to vocabulary items are important. . . . Dependence on a single vocabulary instruction method will not result in optimal learning.” (p. 14) Implications: • A variety of strategies should be used to teach vocabulary • Integration of vocabulary instruction across disciplines has value by providing multiple exposures (team planning) • Essential vocabulary should be taught in all content areas prior to the reading of difficult texts.

14. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Text Comprehension Instruction • “. . . readers derive meaning from text when they engage in intentional, problem solving thinking processes.” (p. 14) • “The rationale for the explicit teaching of comprehension skills is that comprehension can be improved by teaching students to use specific cognitive strategies or to reason strategically when they encounter barriers to understanding what they are reading. . . Explicit or formal instruction in the application of comprehension strategies has been shown to be highly effective in enhancing understanding. The teacher generally demonstrates such strategies for students until the students are able to carry them out independently.” (p. 15)

15. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Text Comprehension Instruction (continued) • “. . . the Panel identified 16 categories of text comprehension instruction of which 7 appear to have a solid scientific basis for concluding that these types of instruction improve comprehension in non-impaired readers. Some of these types of instruction are helpful when used alone, but many are more effective when used as part of a multiple-strategy method.” (p. 15)

16. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Text Comprehension Instruction (continued) • The types of instruction are: • Comprehension monitoring • Cooperative learning • Use of graphic and semantic organizers (including story maps) • Question answering • Question generation • Story structure • Summarization

17. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: Text Comprehension Instruction (continued) • “. . . teaching a combination of reading comprehension techniques is the most effective. When students use them appropriately, they assist in recall, question answering, question generation, and summarization of texts. When used in combination, these techniques can improve results in standardized comprehension tests. • “The literature also suggests that teaching comprehension in the context of specific academic areas – for example, social studies—can be effective. If this is true of other subject areas, then it might be efficient to teach comprehension as a skill in content areas.” (p. 15)

18. National Reading Panel Report • Comprehension: (Teacher Preparation and Comprehension Strategies Instruction) • “Teachers not only must have a firm grasp of the content presented in text, but also must have substantial knowledge of the strategies themselves, of which strategies are most effective for different students and types of content and of how best to teach and model strategy use.” (p. 16) Implication: Professional development is an essential part of any plan for improving reading comprehension.

19. Friday Night Date:On your date, talk about your two biggest concerns about literacy instruction in your school or in our school system.

20. Essential Elements of Instruction Article: Everything Secondary Administrators Need to Know, but Are Afraid to Ask: Understanding Pragmatic Adolescent Literacy Planning by Gwynne Ellen Ash, Texas State University, Dec. 2004 • Think-aloud: Determining Importance • Practice & Pair-Share • Group Share Where/When does literacy instruction occur? (chart)

21. Guided Reading Guided reading must use texts at students’ instructional reading level. Tools: • Lexiles: www.lexile.com • More accessible/less accessible selections in our current literature text • Small group instruction using texts at various levels • Content classes: non-fiction, historical novels, primary sources, etc. • Language Arts classes: novels, consumer texts

22. Comprehension Strategies • Basic strategies include: • Activating prior knowledge • Determining importance of information • Predicting • Making connections: text to self, text to world, & text to text • Visualizing • Summarizing • Clarifying (by looking back in the passage, using context clues, etc.) • Asking questions • Are typically categorized into: • Before reading strategies • During reading strategies • After reading strategies

23. Comprehension Strategies • Must be taught to the level of automaticity* to be useful. • Declarative Knowledge: student can describe a strategy • Procedural Knowledge: student can use a strategy on demand • *Conditional Knowledge: student can select and apply a strategy Instruction in comprehension strategies utilizes the gradual release of responsibility: I do (teacher models) We do (guided or scaffolded practice) You do (independent practice) Teacher designs instruction to push for transfer of the strategies to use during independent reading

24. Peer Discussion of Texts • Paired reading • Small group discussions after the whole group has read the same texts • Literature Circles: each small group reads a different text & conducts their own discussion with structure provided by the teacher • Written discussion can take place via the use of blogs and/or wikis

25. Vocabulary/Word Study • Simulation Activity: “The Montebation of Traxalene” • Summary of research on vocabulary instruction: (SIMS) • Teachers must be selective in choosing words to teach (no more than five words in one lesson) • Words should be taught in context (not in isolated word lists) • Students should be provided multiple opportunities for exposure to vocabulary in a variety of contexts • Meaning is retained more efficiently if students are led to synthesize the meaning by doing the following: write a meaningful definition in their own words, create a symbol or picture for the word, and select a synonym and antonym

26. Vocabulary/Word Study • Strategies for teaching vocabulary that you want to see in your classrooms: • Appropriately used word walls • Word/symbol associations i.e., PICTURES • Word maps • Rich discussion of words, especially those with multiple meanings • Instruction in morphology (word parts) & etymology • What you should not see: • Students with word lists, copying definitions from a dictionary or glossary to memorize • Weekly assignments in vocabulary workbooks

27. Oral Reading No more “round-robin” reading. • It provides a poor model of oral reading • It is often slow and tedious • Students frequently pay attention only to the section they are going to read In the alternative . . . • Short read-alouds by the teacher on a regular basis • Paired-partner reading • Whisper-reading to teacher during one-on-one conference (can be held during whole group silent reading • Reader’s Theater

28. Oral Reading What about those students who can’t read our textbooks? How can they get the content if we don’t read it all aloud? • Strategies to scaffold the reading of texts that teachers can utilize • If textbooks are always read aloud, how can our students ever get practice reading them?

29. Self-Selected Reading/choice/inquiry • Silent Sustained Reading: Use & Misuse (discussion) Accountable Independent Reading: How can we keep students accountable? • Annotated reading logs • Structured discussions • Creation of a product after reading (student choice)

30. Saturday Afternoon Date:Meet your date and await further instructions . . .

31. The Achievement Gap • African-American Males • English Language Learners • Boys

32. Literacy Leadership • What is my role? • How do I get started? • What steps can be taken to ensure success?

33. Literacy Leadership • What is my role? • The principal has the most critical role in leading a school’s literacy program. Without vision and direction from the top, any initiatives likely will be carried out in a voluntary & piecemeal fashion. • How do I get started? • What steps can be taken to ensure success?

34. Literacy Leadership • What is my role? • How do I get started? • Reflect upon your beliefs about literacy • Consider your stakeholders’ commitment • Gather & analyze data • Align curriculum, instruction, & assessment • What steps can be taken to ensure success?

35. Literacy Leadership • What is my role? • How do I get started? • What steps can be taken to ensure success? • Involve your stakeholders in the process of planning • Devise a systematic program of professional development for your staff • Plan the ways in which you & your staff will evaluate their progress

36. Saturday Night Date

37. Professional Development • Analysis of past professional development • Alternatives/differentiation of professional development • Book studies • Attendance at conferences or presentations by reading experts • NW RESA staff development offerings • School-based workshops • ???

38. Objectives: • To broaden the concept of literacy as a critical 21st Century skill set • To identify the characteristics of effective reading instruction • To study strategies for literacy leadership • To brainstorm a variety of options for staff development