1. BEST PRACTICES FOR CONTENT LITERACY South Girard School April 6 and 19th, 2011

2. Participants will:  identify the characteristics of skillful readers.  make connections between the developing brain and adolescent learning.  identify the components of a strategic lesson to build content literacy.  use the components of purposeful planning to analyze lesson plans.

3. Predict Question (generate and answer) Make Connections Infer Draw Conclusions Summarize Visualize Analyze Synthesize Recognize Text Structure Use Graphic Organizers for Thought Processes Monitor Comprehension and Use Fix-Up Strategies

4. Daily Outcome: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify the characteristics of skillful readers. Before: Think Aloud Purposes: Make predictions, Build Background Knowledge During: Margin Notes Purpose: Engage with Text After: Graphic Organizer Purposes: Reflect on the Content of the Lesson, Respond to Text through Discussion

5. Outcomes: Participants will discover characteristics of the adolescent brain. Participants will make connections between the developing brain and adolescent learning. Before: Anticipation Guide Purposes: activate prior knowledge; establish a purpose for reading; make predictions During: Backwards Notetaking Purposes: engage with the text; integrate new information with prior knowledge; self-monitor comprehension After: Anticipation Guide Purposes: reflect and correct predictions; integrate new information with prior knowledge

6.  Read each statement.  Mark in the left-hand column whether you agree or disagree with the statement.  When directed, locate your table partner and discuss your predictions.  Prepare to share whole group.

7. How does it work?  Teacher provides students with the graphic organizer.  Students read chunked text taking notes on the left side of the graphic organizer. They compare with a partner.  The teacher then gives his/her notes. Students write any corrections or additional information on the right side.

8.  Notes are based on key points, concepts, or ideas as the text is read.  Use single words and/or phrases to keep notes brief and to the point. This may include:  brief notes about the important points in the text;  sketches of images constructed as the text is read;  connections to the text;  questions about the text; and  first reactions to the text.

9. Reread the statements from the beginning of the lesson. Mark new responses in the right-hand “After” column. Justify any corrections made after reading. Write justifications under the appropriate statements.

10. Outcome: Participants will define strategic teaching and identify research-based reasons for implementing strategic teaching. Before: Quick Write Purposes: set a purpose for reading, activate prior knowledge During: Talk to the Text & Three-Minute Pause Purposes: engage with the text, self-monitor comprehension, make connections to the text, integrate new information with prior knowledge After: 3-2-1 Purposes: reflect on the content of the lesson, respond to text through writing, summarize, make connections

11. Increase Student Achievement Collaborative Leadership Assessment Professional Development Accelerated Intervention Strategic Teaching

12. Silently read each section. Talk to the text as you read, jot your thoughts in the margin. Three-Minute Pause After each chunk of text, discuss a question, connection, or interesting point with a partner before moving to the next chunk.

13. 1. We develop and refine our content knowledge. 2. We assess our own teaching and our students’ learning. 3. We differentiate our instruction. 4. WE ENGAGE OUR STUDENTS!

14. As educators, we are ineffective when our students are actively engaged in a meaningless task or passively involved in a meaningful one.

15. THERE ARE FIVE COMPONENTS OF STRATEGIC TEACHING.

16. ONE or More Daily Outcomes with Daily Assessment

17. Two Instructional Practices in Every Lesson 1. Chunking 2. Student discussion

18. Before During After

19. Independent Practice Guided Practice Tell and Explain “Model” Teacher Partners Groups Students Teams Self

20. TalkWrite Investigate Read Listen

21. Strategic teaching is the process of incorporating purposeful planning, connected strategies, and explicit instruction to maximize the understanding and retention of content material.

22. 1. Three ways strategic teaching connects to adolescent brain research. 2. Two important ideas regarding strategic teaching. 3. One summary/definition of strategic teaching in your own words.

23. Daily outcome: Participants will use the components of purposeful planning to analyze two classroom lesson plans. Before: Conversation Stems Purposes: activate prior knowledge; set a purpose for reading During: Graphic Organizer Purposes: organize information; engage with text After: “We Think” Statement Purposes: reflect on content through writing and discussion

24. Before: Conversation Stem 1 When a teacher tells the students, “I want you to learn…” what is he/she really saying?

25. Before: Conversation Stem 2 What is the difference between learning and memorizing?

26.  It is a process of incorporating active engagement and academic literacy into all lessons planned.  It requires explicit instruction.  The main focus is student learning.

27.  Decide what it is the students will be able to do TODAY as a result of this lesson.  The outcome(s) of the lesson should move the students closer to mastery of content standards.  Decide on assessment(s) that will be used to determine if outcome has been met.

28. Consider the purposes of before strategies:  activate prior knowledge  build background knowledge  generate questions  make predictions  discuss vocabulary  establish a purpose for reading

29. Is it a new concept? Plan a strategy that will build some background knowledge. Is it a review or continuation? Plan an activity that will activate prior knowledge. Is there new or unfamiliar vocabulary? Plan a strategy that will involve discussion of unfamiliar words. Are there particular parts of the content that need to be emphasized? Plan a strategy that draws attention to important concepts.

30. Think about the strategy and purpose(s) of this part of the lesson. Are they connected and related to the daily outcome(s)?

31. Consider the purposes of during strategies:  engage with the text  verify and formulate predictions  summarize text  self-monitor comprehension  construct graphic organizers  use mental imagery  integrate new information with prior knowledge

32. Is the text challenging to comprehend? Choose a strategy that will require students to stop periodically as they read and self-monitor comprehension. Is the text structure unfamiliar or challenging? Consider using a graphic organizer to help students organize information from the text. Is there a large amount of text to be read? Consider chunking the text and choosing a strategy that will allow small groups of students to read portions of the text and share important information with the entire class.

33. Think about the strategy and purpose(s) of this part of the lesson. Are they connected and related to the daily outcome(s)?

34. Consider the purposes of after strategies:  reflect on the content of the lesson  evaluate predictions  examine questions that guided reading  respond to text through discussion  respond to text through writing  retell or summarize

35.  Does the content of the lesson build upon previous learning? Consider a strategy that makes connections and evaluates new information.  Does the content lend itself to visual representations? Consider graphic organizers as a format for organizing information and concepts.  Does the content contain challenging vocabulary? Consider a strategy that will lead to student ownership of important vocabulary.  Is the content open to interpretation? Consider a strategy that will promote discussion and critical thinking.

36. Think about the strategy and purpose(s) of this part of the lesson. Are they connected and related to the daily outcome(s)?

37. Ultimately, how will we know the lesson outcomes have been met? Consider:  work products  separate assessments  exit slips  observational data

38. Complete the following statement: “After comparing and contrasting the two scenarios, we think…”

39. Outcomes: Students will read, comprehend, and summarize the short story “Thank You, M’am.” Before: Interview Response Purposes: establish a purpose for reading During: Modified Reciprocal Teaching Purposes: engage with the text, practice note taking; summarize text; and self-monitor comprehension After: Magnet Summary Purposes: reflect on the content of the lesson, summarize ; and respond to text through writing

40. 8 th Grade Course of Study Standard 1: Apply strategies, including making inferences to determine theme, confirming or refuting predictions, and using specific context clues, to comprehend eighth-grade recreational reading materials.

41. 7 th Grade Course of Study Standard 3 Distinguish among the major genres, including poetry, short stories, novels, plays, biographies, and autobiographies, and subgenres such as folktales, myths, parables, fables, and science fiction, based on their characteristics. 9 th Grade Course of Study Standard 1 Identify genre, tone, and plot in short stories, drama, and poetry and identify organizational structure in essays and other nonfiction text to comprehend ninth-grade recreational reading materials.

42. Question: Material possessions are very important to us. Think of a time when you wanted an item so badly that you would do almost anything for that item. What did you want and what did you do (or think about doing) to get it? Directions: 1. Interview three people - ask the question, record the response, then move to another person. 2. Summarize findings on the front of the note card below the responses you got.

43.  Predictor - guesses about what the author will tell the group next or what the next events in the story will be.  Questioner - poses questions about the selection:  unclear parts, puzzling information, confusing words or expressions  Connector – connects text to personal experiences, to other concepts already learned, etc.  Summarizer - highlights the key ideas up to this point in the reading.

44. “Thank You, M’am” Predictor-  I believe she will call the police.  The boy seems small since trying to snatch the purse caused him to lose his balance. I bet he was stealing the purse because he was hungry. Questioner –  How old is this boy?  Why was the women walking alone so late at night?  Did the boy know that the woman had a lot of money in her purse?  Will she call the police?

45. Connector –  My grandmother’s “pocketbook” seemed to have everything in it. I bet she could have had everything in it except a hammer and nails.  Last Christmas a relative’s purse was snatched at the mall. She still will not go shopping alone.  His teeth did not really “rattle.” This reminds me of our vocab. word exaggeration. Summarizer – A big woman is walking home alone when a boy runs up and tries to steal her purse. He loses his balance and falls. The woman kicks him in his behind, grabs him by his shirt, and shakes him.

46.  Pick five words that you were drawn to in the story.  Write a summary of the story using those words.  Underline each word as you use it.

47.  Researchers at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have identified nine instructional strategies that are most likely to improve student achievement across all content areas and across all grade levels. These strategies are explained in the book Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock.Classroom Instruction That Works

48. 1. Identifying similarities and differences 2. Summarizing and note taking 3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition 4. Homework and practice 5. Nonlinguistic representations 6. Cooperative learning 7. Setting objectives and providing feedback 8. Generating and testing hypotheses 9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers