How do early career teachers integrate high-level literacy strategies in high-poverty secondary schools? Gayle Thieman, Portland State University Susan Lenski, Portland State University Northwest Regional NCTE Conference Portland, OR March 1, 2014

Session Goals Present research on low expectations for literacy of students in high-poverty schools Present content area literacy strategies and Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels of literacy activities Examine case examples of high level and low level literacy strategies in high poverty schools Share examples of literacy strategies audience members use Discuss implications for increasing level of literacy instruction in high-poverty schools

NAEP Reading Scores Continue to Decline while Achievement Gap Widens Compared to the nation, average 8th grade reading scores declined in this state Poverty & lack of social supports for students in metro area where this study took place Achievement Gap in 8th grade Reading between lower/higher SES at state level FRL Eligible 253 Not Eligible 276

Need to address Low Expectations for high poverty, ethically diverse students (Banks et al 2005) Need to teach culturally responsive teaching Combat “deficit orientation” Need to both differentiate and accelerate learning Students in lower track classes--high poverty & ethnic diversity-- have fewer opportunities to develop higher order thinking and reasoning skills (Good & Brophy, 1995)

Literacy Strategies (Lee & Spratley, 2010) Activate prior knowledge Build vocabulary Use knowledge of text structures and genres to predict main ideas Pose relevant questions Compare claims across texts Evaluate evidence

Literacy in Social Studies (NCSS, 2010) Sequence events Differentiate fact vs. opinion Compare similarities and differences Analyze cause and effect Explore complex patterns Evaluate sources for credibility and validity Use variety of media to access, create, and present information Interpret and analyze diverse historical and contemporary perspectives

Higher level activities: Depth of Knowledge (Webb, 2005)

Lower DOK levels I Recall II Skill/Concepts Label map Define vocabulary Recall information Take notes Draw representation Illustrate II Skill/Concepts Identify patterns Summarize information Make predictions Organize information Compare/contrast Cause/effect Interpret historical document Chronology

Higher DOK Levels III Strategic Thinking IV Extended Thinking Analyze consequences Evaluate policy proposals Develop logical argument Draw conclusions Cite Evidence IV Extended Thinking Synthesize information from multiple sources Create new understanding through analysis, synthesis, critique, application of concepts in novel ways

Case Study Teacher candidates who taught in high-poverty secondary schools FRL (41-53%) Ethnic/linguistic diversity (21%-62%) Ted James Chuck Sheila Lily Ashley

Case Analysis and Discussion Read the case assigned to your group. Note the school/classroom context and… teacher’s perception of students’ potential teacher’s organization of instruction around curriculum framing questions teacher’s skill in scaffolding increasingly complex literacy strategies

Group Discussion Report out key findings from the cases Share personal stories of how you integrate higher-level literacy strategies in your teaching Discuss implications for increasing level of literacy instruction in high poverty schools Handouts: Sample Literacy Strategies