Differentiated Reading Instruction: Strategies for the Primary Grades Sharon Walpole Michael C. McKenna

Overall Goals: Place differentiation inside the reading program Consider targeted, temporary differentiation Commit to improvements

Strategies We’ll do some theory building work We’ll provide models of use of time in small groups We’ll direct you to additional resources

Our Web site http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/rea ding/projects/garf

Approaches to Differentiation Informal reading inventories Traditional basal instruction Groups move at same pace Groups are all but permanent Differentiation is in all areas Parallel skill “strands” used By instructional level By fluency level By assessed needs Conventional basal approach, scope and sequence, mud ducks Guided reading, not so concerned with comprehension Our take, we assume whole-class & small-group mix Small-group is determined by data Groupings should be flexible and temp.

Approaches to Differentiation Differentiation by leveled books Decoding skills not a target Fountas & Pinnell By instructional level By fluency level By assessed needs Conventional basal approach, scope and sequence, mud ducks Guided reading, not so concerned with comprehension Our take, we assume whole-class & small-group mix Small-group is determined by data Groupings should be flexible and temp.

Approaches to Differentiation Assess for differentiation Screening + diagnostic Groups are temporary Groups are flexible Target areas of greatest need Goal is “upward mobility” By instructional level By fluency level By assessed needs Conventional basal approach, scope and sequence, mud ducks Guided reading, not so concerned with comprehension Our take, we assume whole-class & small-group mix Small-group is determined by data Groupings should be flexible and temp.

Differentiation is “instruction that helps [children] accomplish challenging tasks that are just out of their reach” “instruction that targets a particular group of children’s needs directly and temporarily” “instruction that applies a developmental model” Walpole, S., & McKenna, M. C. (2007). Differentiated reading instruction: Strategies for the primary grades. New York: Guilford Press. Achievement press Temporarily! Developmental we mean predictable stages -- we know where they are headed Revisit slide

Guided Reading and Differentiated Instruction

Determining Group Membership Overall leveled placement assessment, such the DRA This process ignores the specific skill deficits in the areas of phonological awareness and word recognition Screening and diagnostic assessments in phonological awareness, phonics, sight words, and/or oral reading fluency.

Diagnostic Assessment Running records are used to analyze oral reading errors (miscues), a practice that has been called into question in light of current views of the reading process. The cognitive model of reading assessment is used to systematically determine skill needs on the basis of developmental stage theories of reading acquisition.

Stage models of reading When children are acquiring literacy – developing the skills necessary for reading comprehension – they tend to move through stages in which their focus is very different. All along, during each stage, they are developing oral language skills. Oral Language Fluency Alphabetic Principle Phonemic Awareness

Three Cuing Systems Decoding Syntactic Context Semantic Context

We want to move children to the point where they decode first and then use context to select the intended meaning of a word. We do not want to encourage them to predict the word from context and only “sample” its letters to the extent needed to confirm this prediction.

Three Cuing Systems Decoding Syntactic Context Semantic Context

Instructional Focus Fluency is always the primary focus. In guided reading, the teacher coordinates reading components (comprehension, word recognition, fluency) Fluency is the focus only for grade 1 and above only if decoding skills are strong. In differentiated instruction, the teacher isolates reading components to address deficits

Fluency Instruction Fluency techniques do not proceed from most to least supportive. Fluency techniques progress from most to least supportive: Echo reading Choral reading Partner reading Whisper reading

Text Types Predictable books are preferred for beginning readers in order to promote fluency. Such books provide little basis for decoding instruction. Decodable books are preferred for beginning readers in order to promote decoding in context. Such books provide little basis for comprehension instruction–so there is none.

Comprehension Instruction Comprehension instruction is based on texts at fluency level. This means that the easiest texts provide very little basis for asking reasonable questions or modeling strategies, but this practice is still encouraged. In the primary grades, comprehension instruction is based on small-group read-alouds for children who are at benchmark in word recognition. Comprehension instruction is linked with fluency or vocabulary but not with word recognition instruction.

Word Recognition Instruction Word recognition needs are not systematically addressed during guided reading. Rather, they are addressed on an as-needed basis. Word recognition needs are identified through the cognitive model of assessment and are addressed on this basis.

Measuring Progress Running records are used to determine readiness for the next text level. Three-week post-assessment focuses on areas targeted by instruction. The assessment question is whether a child should move to a more advanced focus, remain at current focus, or move to a more basic focus.

Measuring Progress

Our focus, then, is different from the focus of Guided Reading Consider whether this difference is justified for your school, given your current resources and your current level of student achievement

Whole-Group Instruction A Basic Template Whole-Group Instruction Lowest Group Center or Intervention Center Middle Group Highest Group 1st row push in if you have personnel then 1st row = low if not, 1st row should be middle Can’t have low with 2 stations in a row In VA, time may be different due to 90 30 30 not necessarily contiguous

The concept of three tiers of instruction The 3-tier model (University of Texas System/Texas Education Agency, 2005) is a general framework — and just a framework — for explaining how any research-based program can be executed in a school. (http://www.texasreading.org/utcrla/m aterials/3tier_letter.asp)

Tier I: Core Classroom Reading Instruction 1. A core reading program grounded in scientifically based reading research 2. Benchmark testing of all kindergarten through third-grade students to determine instructional needs at least three times per year (fall, winter, and spring) 3. Ongoing professional development to provide teachers with the necessary tools to ensure every student receives quality reading instruction

Tier II: Supplemental Instruction For some students, core classroom reading instruction is not enough. Tier II is designed to meet the needs of these students by providing them with additional small-group reading instruction daily.

Tier III: Instruction for Intensive Intervention A small percentage of students require more support in acquiring vital reading skills than Tier II instruction can provide. For these students, Tier III provides instruction that is more explicit, more intensive, and specifically designed to meet their individual needs.

Setting the stage for differentiation requires careful analysis of the curriculum.

Decide what to teach when. We are more likely to achieve improvements in vocabulary and comprehension for K and 1st grade during whole-group read alouds, both from the core selection and from children’s literature. We can introduce and practice phonemic awareness and phonics concepts during whole group, but we’re more likely to achieve mastery during small-group time.

Decide what to teach when. We are more likely to achieve improvements in fluency and comprehension in 2nd and 3rd grade if we introduce them in whole-group and practice in small- group time. We can introduce word recognition concepts during whole-group time, but we will likely achieve mastery only during small-group time.

Make more time for small groups. Literacy coaches and grade-level teams must determine exactly how to use the core program Sort core instructional components from extension and enrichment activities Moderate and control instructional pacing so that early introductions and reviews are fast

Make a very simple centers rotation Look for materials already in the core. Consider daily paired readings and readings. Consider a daily activity linked directly to your read aloud. Your children can write in response to that text every day. Consider a daily activity linked directly to your small group instruction. Your children can practice the things you’ve introduced.

Now you have set the stage for differentiated reading instruction It’s time to plan. Gather your resources Consider your children’s needs Try it out.

Gather your instructional resources Review the state standards and the scope and sequence in your instructional materials Review the state assessments, the district assessments, and any assessments that come with your core; fill in gaps with informal assessments

Consider your children’s needs Given your screening data, you will know that some portion of children are likely at benchmark, some are just below grade level, and some are well below grade level For children at benchmark, you can decide to focus small-group time on fluency and comprehension or on vocabulary and comprehension Only the below-grade-level children need additional assessments

Consider your children’s needs Using the Cognitive Model of Reading Instruction (McKenna and Stahl, 2003) choose your focus for each group: Phonemic awareness and phonics Phonics and fluency Fluency and comprehension Vocabulary and comprehension

A Stairway to Proficiency Vocabulary & Comprehension Fluency and Comprehension Word Recognition and Fluency PA and Word Recognition

These Assignments are Temporary! Challenging Instruction, not practice Explicit Every item modeled; Clear instructional talk Engaged Every pupil response strategies Systematic Repetitive instructional strategies each day; New content each day; Cumulative review each day

Phonemic awareness and phonics These children still need to work on learning letter names and sounds, and they are not yet able to segment phonemes automatically They will work on coordinated activities to manipulate phonemes, learn new letters and sounds and review letters previously taught They will work with letters and words during small-group time

Every Day for 3 Weeks Phonemic Awareness and Word Rec Group Alphabet Review 3 Minutes Initial Sound Sorting 2 New Letter Sounds; Review Old Letter Sounds 2 New HF Words; Review Old High Frequency Words Concept of Word Phonemic Awareness and Word Rec Group

Every Day for 3 Weeks Phonemic Awareness and Word Rec Group 2 Oral Segmenting and Blending 3 Minutes Short Vowel Patterns 6 Minutes 4 New HF Words; Review Old High Frequency Words Phonemic Awareness and Word Rec Group 2

Phonics and fluency These children still need to work on decoding, but they can segment and blend phonemes to read some words They will work on coordinated activities to learn new letters patterns and review patterns previously taught They will work with words and with phonic-focused texts during small- group time

Every Day for 3 Weeks Word Recognition and Fluency Group 1 Decodable text Whisper Reading 3 Minutes Sounding and Blending 4 Minutes New HF Words; Review Old High Frequency Words Word Recognition and Fluency Group 1

Every Day for 3 Weeks Word Recognition and Fluency Group 2 Teaching Letter Patterns 6 Minutes New HF Words; Review Old High Frequency Words 3 Minutes Decodable text Whisper Reading Word Recognition and Fluency Group 2

Fluency and comprehension These children have relatively few decoding problems, but they lack automaticity They will work in a guided reading format; they may review particularly challenging words (for their pronunciation or their meaning) but they will use most of their time reading and rereading challenging leveled texts and discussing text meaning

Every Day for 3 Weeks Comprehension Group Fluency and Preteach Difficult Words 2 Minutes Choral or Echo Read New Text Portion 5 Minutes Partner or Whisper Read Same Text Portion Summary or Inference Questions 3 Minutes Comprehension Group Fluency and

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You can serve this group in many other ways too.

Vocabulary and comprehension These children are at grade level in the areas of decoding and fluency They will extend what they know into new texts and new text types; they will write in response to reading

Every Day Vocabulary and Comprehension Group Preteach Vocabulary 3 Minutes Review Comprehension Strategy 1 Minute Teacher Read-Aloud or Children Whisper Read 7 Minutes Comprehension Discussion 4 Minutes Vocabulary and Comprehension Group

In this example, you will role-play K or first-grade students, and I will use a read-aloud format.

You can serve this group in many other ways too.

Think about it Are you current strategies targeted? Are they reasonable and repetitive? Are they designed to be temporary?

How to find out more … swalpole@udel.edu mmckenna@virginia.edu http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/reading/projects/garf