Literacy Project

 These do not increase student reading levels: ◦ Mandating a core reading program ◦ Not focusing on high-quality universal instruction ◦ Using tried, but not true, practices ◦ Lack of consistent practices ◦ Not providing effective pd ◦ Not looking at results ◦ Relying on commercial interventions ◦ Failing to use informal & formal assessments ◦ Not a Total School Commitment  (Noll, 2013)

It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.  W. Edwards Deming

 Reading as a leisure activity is the best predictor of comprehension, vocabulary and reading speed. Kids who do the most recreational reading become the best readers.  In 38 of 41 studies, students given SSR time did as well as or better in reading comprehension tests than students given traditional skill-based reading instruction.  Kelly Gallagher

 The most effective teachers continue to demonstrate that effective literacy instruction is a balance of explicit teaching as well as holistic reading and writing experiences. - Tankersley  Eliminate almost all worksheets and workbooks. Use the money saved to purchase books for classroom libraries; use the time saved for self- selected reading, self-selected writing, literary conversations, and read-alouds. - Allington  Read-icide: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind- numbing practices found in schools. - Gallagher

 Oral language is crucial to literacy development.  “The amount of oral language that children have is an indicator or their success or struggle in school.” Kirkland and Patterson, p. 391, Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 32, No. 6  “The development of oral language is facilitated through a carefully planned environment that promotes thoughtful, authentic opportunities to engage in conversations.” Kirkland and Patterson, p. 392, Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 32, No. 6

 Children’s literature provides great models of language for children.  Literature offers opportunities for rich discussion and conversations in the classroom.  Provide opportunities for retelling of the story ex. Flannel board, puppets, etc.  Opportunities for social interaction is an important part of oral language development.  Wordless picture books have great value in terms of stimulating oral language development.

 “Teachers can no longer afford to squeeze a read aloud book between lunchtime and bathroom break. Because reading aloud is so important to language development, we must systematically and explicitly plan for its use in the daily routine.” Kirkland and Patterson, p. 393, Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 32, No. 6  Other language building activities: Show and Tell, daily news, morning message, shared reading, guided reading,

 Foundational component of reading success  Research has found that some students who struggle with reading have difficulties with phonemic awareness (rhyming, blending, segmenting, etc.)  Many students benefit from direct instruction in phonemic awareness.

 Should be of focus in the early grades.  Phonics is just one component of a balanced reading program and not the whole program. It should not comprise more than 25% of the reading instruction.  Systematic approach to instruction is essential.  Phonics instruction needs to be tied to real reading and real writing. (avoid teaching skills in isolation)

 Guided reading, paired reading, echo reading, choral reading builds fluency.  Repeated reading builds fluency and confidence: reading for performance increases interest: ex. Reader’s Theater.

 Vocabulary impacts students’ ability to comprehend what is being read.  Essential to provide language-rich learning environments in which students can expand their vocabulary.  Vocabulary instruction is an important component of a balanced reading program.  Variety of methodologies and approaches available in literature.  Access visuals to assist in vocabulary development.

 Personal choice was found to improve both reading motivation and comprehension.  Ensure reading materials that are relevant to students’ lives.  Have a wide range of materials (books, magazines, graphic novels, real life documents, non-fiction) and genres.  Importance of large, multi-leveled classroom libraries

 Struggling readers tend to make poor choices: have them select from 4-5 teacher selected books that are of interest and manageable level.  Reading within ones’ passion zone is motivational!

 Research shows that reading at 98% or higher accuracy is essential for reading acceleration. (Some sources say 96% or higher)  Reading below 90% accuracy does not improve reading ability at all.  Access to high success books and reading materials determines progress in learning to read.  Critically important that struggling readers have interesting books at their own level.

 “Research supports a balanced approach to reading instruction that includes explicit instruction of reading skills while engaging students in a great deal of actual reading and writing as well as fostering independent and flexible reading strategies.”

 More authentic reading develops better readers!  “In large scale national studies, researchers found that students in more effective teachers’ classrooms spent a larger percentage of reading instruction time actually reading: students in less effective teachers’ classrooms spent more time using worksheets, answering low-level, literal question or completing before and after reading activities.” (Allington)

 Studies show that spending a significant amount of time in sustained reading contributes more to achievement gains and motivation than time spent on word study, alphabetical skills and phonemic awareness.  Give students plenty of time to read!

 After self-selected reading time, take 3-4 minutes for students to do a quick share about what they have read.  Idea: read the same book with other students in different grades, schools, or countries and share experiences through writing, skype, or blogging.

 Listening to an adult model fluent reading increases students’ fluency and comprehension skills.  Expands vocabulary, background knowledge, sense of story, awareness of genre, and comprehension of texts read.  Models enthusiasm and reading for pleasure  Sales pitch: raising interest and curiosity

 When students write about material they have read, there is significant positive impact in comprehension.  Let students communicate and share about a book through journaling and blogging within your class or across different classrooms.  Have students keep a reading diary where they record their reading and reflect on what they read.

 Analysis of 96 studies found that teaching metacognitive ‘learning to learn’ strategies was one of the most effective approaches.  Moving from explicit instruction in decoding strategies to comprehension strategies.

 Students have choice of text everyday.  Students spend significant time reading text at independent level. This means they read accurately (at least 95% on word recognition) and understand the text’s meaning (comprehension).  Students talk about reading and write everyday.  Students hear fluent reading.  Students spend significant amount of time dedicated to a variety of reading and writing experiences in various formats interwoven through every subject. Teacher explicitly models reading skills and provides students time to use the skill when reading. No more than 1/3 of this time should be spent on reading instruction. Remaining time should be spent authentically reading. ◦ Pre-K – K: constantly building background experiences and awareness in relation to reading skills ◦ 1 – 12: approx. 60 minutes of reading/40 minutes of writing per day (Allington, 2001)