+ Entrance Slip 1 What are the main issues, questions or concerns you have about students learning to read (curriculum, instruction and assessment) in your classroom/ school?

+ Reading in the Middle Years Effective Reading Instruction and Assessment Instruction and Assessment Dawn Holden

+  One of reading’s biggest myths is that we “learn to read” in the primary grades, and then suddenly “read to learn” in the intermediate grades. Reading is not so simple a process. We develop strategies to improve reading proficiency well into adulthood Stephanie Harvey 3

+ Shape of the Session Entrance slip Where are they now? Assessment for learning Where do they need to go? Curriculum How will they get there? Instruction Closing comments/questions 4

+ Where are they now? 5 Assessment for learning Effective assessment for learning enables the teacher to see what students are able to do and the areas in which they need further support and guidance. The assessment therefore guides instruction.

+ What to assess? Interest Book Handling and Print Tracking Engagement with text Word Recognition and Solving Fluency Comprehension 6

+ Assessment tools DART (Grades 3-9) Fall and Spring assessment of non-fiction reading includes written and oral components follow up instructional strategies booklet also available District support- in-service for school teams in the fall and spring 7 Whole class BC performance standards based assessment tools

+ Reading and Responding Includes assessment tools for reading stories, poetry and non-fiction and instructional strategies to use before, during and after reading low, medium and high reading selections for each type of assessment and grade level student sample responses ongoing classroom assessment 8 Grades 4-7

+ Fountas and Pinnell each level includes 1 fiction & 1 non- fiction book one on one assessment tool –including: running record and within and beyond text questions optional written component recommended for use for organizing guided reading groups or to pinpoint areas of concern for your struggling readers 9 Benchmark assessment system using reading levels L-Z (grade 3-8)

+ Where do they need to go? BeforeDuringAfter 10 What do good readers do?

+ Six Areas of Skill Development For The Transitional Reader 1. Learning to Select Appropriate books 2. Maintaining interest over an entire book 3. Understanding Many Genres 4. Decoding and Fluency Skills 5. Using text features 6. Sustaining Comprehension 11

+. Learning to Select Appropriate Books Transitional Readers: tend to chose books on the basis of an inviting cover or topic that interests them spend too long selecting books and waste time reading books that turn out to be not appropriate given their skills or interests might see this reader wandering aimlessly in front of the bookcases, or frequently returning books 12

+ Maintaining Interest (stamina) Students in the middle years need to develop persistence in their reading – only then can they maintain interest in a text long enough to complete it and understand what they have read Text level might not be too hard but the nature of the 1 st few chapters makes the book difficult to read Students need to learn that sometimes parts that seem unimportant or slow moving can be critical to the story 13

+ Understanding Many Genres Enjoy feeling comfortable in their reading and are reluctant to explore new genres Need strategies for making sense of text Transitional readers: 14

+ Decoding and Fluency Skills Need to develop more sophistication as they read text with more complex vocabulary May need to become more fluent in their reading Ready to look more closely at the structure of words and patterns of language Transitional Readers: 15

+ Fluency Can identify words accurately and with ease, allowing them to focus on comprehension Are more able to make connections among ideas in a text, between text and their prior knowledge Students who are fluent readers: 16

+ Using Text Features encounter text with new structures and features and often lack the strategies they need to make sense of these more challenging text struggle with the variety of ways info is presented and how to find relevant information Transitional Readers: 17

+ Sustaining Comprehension struggle with monitoring their own comprehension because their monitoring strategies are not as sophisticated as the books they are reading, they often keep reading with little thinking about what they are reading these students might get to the end of chapter and can’t recollect what they have just read Transitional Readers 18

+ Comprehension Accessing prior knowledge Asking questions Using mental images Making predictions Making connections Making Inferences 19 The process of making meaning with and from text by:

+ Factors that affect comprehension Attitude: motivation Time Strategy instruction across all subjects Understanding and using strategies Fluency Vocabulary Opportunities for talk and written response 20

+ How will they get there? “ The complexity of the reading process makes every reader unique and our instruction must acknowledge that complexity” 21

+ Exploring Strategies Across the Curriculum In A Reading State of Mind video clips Whole class think aloud Small group science text Graphic Organizers Big ideas Make your own notes Content Area Feature Sheet 22

+ Setting up a literate environment Materials and resources Clipboards work as portable desks Post its Organized library (interest, genre) Whole school focus 23

+ Creating a Culture of Thinking Real world reading Strategic reading Differentiate instruction and text 24

+ Explicit Instruction and Gradual Release of Responsibility Modeling Guided practice Collaborative practice Independent practice 25

+ Social Interaction (co-constructing meaning) Anchor charts – reminder of strategies learned Turn and talk Making Thinking Visible Make thinking public by sharing Different response options 26

+ Resources The Comprehension Toolkit –Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis Reading Strategies for the Content Areas – ASCD resource Media Center – literature circle kits, National Geographic theme kits, The 10 series, Timelines RC Garnett demonstration school – sign up to observe reading lessons 27

+ Exit Slip 3 things I learned 2 ideas that connected 1 question I still have 28