The Importance of Developing a Common Language Education Transformation Office Summer, Darliny G. Katz

Purpose  Why do we need common language?  How do we develop a common language?

Why Do We Need Common Language?

Words Foot, solid, root, peck, square, power, product, yard, mean Motion, force, fault, degree, wave, current, resistance Key, bill, race, legend, product, plain, ruler, crop, run, cabinet Case, mood, tense, article, subject, tone, romance, dash, stress, voice

Vocabulary Carousel  Find a partner.  At each chart, each partner indicates their level of understanding for each word.  Talk about what you think this term means within the context of literacy learning.  If you indicate that you can explain the word write a synonym or brief phrase to describe or explain it. How Do We Develop A Common Language?

What are Some Terms Your Reading Leadership Team Might Need to Explore Together?  Screening assessment  Progress monitoring  Diagnostic assessment  Dynamic assessment  Static assessment  Evaluation  Phonological awareness  Phonemic awareness  Phonics  Fluency  Expressive vocabulary  Receptive vocabulary  Comprehension  Metacognition  Sources of information  Pragmatic working system  Lexical working system  Schematic working system  Semantic working system  Syntactic working system  Graphophonic working system  Writing as a process  Reading as a process  Literacy

Terms used in Literacy Meetings, Lesson Studies and Common Planning  Fluency – the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression.  Formal assessment – reliable and valid documentation of students’ strengths and needs collected systematically over time used to guide instruction and program implementation.  Graphophonic working system – in-the-head knowledge of how sounds and letters interact to construct words.  Informal assessment – documentation of students’ strengths and needs collected systematically over time; that may be interpreted differently from teacher to teacher to guide instruction.  Lexical working system – in-the-head knowledge of receptive and productive vocabulary.  Literacy – the ability to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully by reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing.  Metacognition – in-the-head ability to think about one’s thinking.  Assembling working systems – bringing together information networks that interact and function as a whole used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully.  Assessment – documentation of student’s strengths and needs collected systematically over time to document change and guide instruction.  Comprehension – critical and defensible interpretation of content in context.  Diagnostic assessments – help teachers plan instruction by providing in-depth information about students’ strengths and needs. Diagnostic measures are conducted at any time during the school year when more in-depth analysis of a student’s strengths and needs is needed to guide instruction.  Dynamic assessment – documentation of student’s strengths and needs collected systematically over time while the student is involved in a particular process.  Evaluation – critical appraisal of students’ strengths and needs based on theory and research.  Expressive Vocabulary – words that are used in speaking and writing.

Literacy Terms:  Phonological Awareness – one’s sensitivity to, or explicit awareness of, the phonological structure in language. It encompasses an awareness of individual words in sentences, syllables, and onset-rime segments as well as awareness of individual phonemes in words.  Phonemic awareness – in-the-head ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words.  Phonics – a method of instruction that teaches children the relationships between the letters of written language and the individual sounds of spoken language.  Pragmatic working system – in-the-head knowledge of an author’s intent in reading and having a sense of audience in writing.  Productive vocabulary – cognitive inventory of words used when speaking and writing.  Progress monitoring assessment – systematically collected documentation of students’ strengths and needs used to show change overtime and guide instruction.  Reading as a process – how individuals assemble working systems to construct meaning from print.  Receptive vocabulary – cognitive inventory of words used when reading, listening and viewing.  Schematic working system – in-the-head knowledge of content and context; background knowledge or prior experiences.  Screening assessment – initial appraisal of students’ strengths and needs.  Semantic working system – in-the-head knowledge of various concepts used to make sense and construct meaning.  Sources of information – elements or working systems used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully.  Static assessment – outcome measure of students’ strengths and needs based on a given criteria.  Syntactic working system – in-the-head knowledge of the grammar or structure of a language.  Working system – productive network of information used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully.  Writing as a process – how individuals assemble working systems to communicate comprehensively and meaningfully.

Common Updated Language  Focus-lessons rather than mini-lessons  Observation lessons rather than model lessons  Observation classrooms rather than model classrooms  Generative response rather than corrective feedback  Solution-seeking rather than problem-solving  Professional learning rather than professional development  Information-intensive environment rather than print-rich environment

Points to Ponder  What are the implications of this information for your Reading Leadership Team?  What information will you share during your Reading Leadership Team’s planning time today?  How will your Reading Leadership Team identify terms that need to clarify as a group?  Should a definition be provided or just a list for consideration? Why might it matter?  How could this common language be developed school-wide?

Language used in strategic activities during literacy  Decoding  Segmenting words  Blending words  Checking (monitoring)  Predicting  Anticipating  Fluency  Integrating  Flexibility  Phrasing  Word recognition  Rereading  Self-correcting  Searching

References:  Froelich, K.S. & Puig, E.A. (2010). The literacy leadership team: Sustaining and expanding success. Allyn & Bacon/ Pearson.   Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor,C.M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W.D. (2008). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to Intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide. (NCEE ). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.  Little, M.E. (2009). Response to Intervention (RtI) for teachers: Classroom instructional problem solving. Love Publishing Company.  Puig, E.A. & Froelich, K.S. (2011), 2nd ed. The literacy coach: Guiding in the right direction. Allyn & Bacon/ Pearson