English Language Arts 2013-14
Owen J. Roberts School District Grades K-6
Goal of the ELA Program The goal of the OJR ELA program is: • Create Independent Readers • Skillful Writers • Articulate Speakers • Active listeners • Critical Thinkers • Discriminating Viewers & Consumers of media
Goal of the ELA Program This goal is achieved within a balanced literacy framework which: • Engages students in authentic literacy experiences • Prepares them to be active and contributing citizens in local, global, and digital communities.
Goal of the ELA Program In grades K-2, literacy instruction is centered on the goal of helping students learn to read and write, and to develop a lifelong love of reading.
Goal of the ELA Program In grades 3-6, literacy instruction is centered on the goals of helping students learn to read and read to learn, learn to write and write to learn, and develop a lifelong love of reading as well as lifelong skills in clear and effective written expression.
Guiding Principles
• Oral language development, word identification, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction using print and non-print text, fluency, and authentic writing • Ongoing assessment • Literate environment (language rich and student centered) • Integrated with all content areas • All teachers use a common language for literacy. • Teachers have high expectations for achievement for all students ~Elementary Literacy Councils, 2008 and 2009
Components of the Core ELA Program Readers Workshop Read Aloud/Shared Reading Guided Reading Independent Reading
Writers Workshop Modeled Writing Guided Writing, research, or investigations Independent Writing Word Study Spelling Vocabulary Grammar
Readers Workshop Readers Workshop – The teacher as mentor and student as apprentice reader • Read aloud and modeling of strategic thinking, problem-solving, and critical/close reading for text analysis • Small group reading (guided reading and/or literature circles) to support skills introduced in the read aloud • The teacher assesses individual student progress through running records and/or comprehension checks during independent reading and/or guided reading • Students demonstrate understanding of text and author’s purpose with text-based evidence in the readers notebook
Writers Workshop
Writers Workshop – The teacher and text as mentor and student as apprentice author • Read aloud of mentor text that models writing within specific genres and/or that exemplifies specific writing craft (e.g., starting with an effective lead or using sophisticated vocabulary) • Small group writing to support skills introduced in min-lessons and based on student writing assessments • The teacher assesses student individual progress through the writer’s notebook and benchmark writing pieces • Students spend the majority of the time writing and demonstrating understanding of writers craft by engaging in the writing process of brainstorming, drafting, collaborating, revising, editing, and publishing (traditional and digital)
Word Study • Students work on individualized spelling • Students learn grade level spelling patterns • Students add 7-10 above grade level vocabulary words from reading each week (for meaning, not spelling) • Students learn grade level grammar
Typical Daily Schedule Introductory & Assessment Days (Day 1 & Day 5) • •
• •
Workshop Days (Day 2, 3, & 4)
• Read Aloud ~ 15 minutes Read Aloud ~ 15 minutes • Reading Workshop (Guided, Reading Workshop Independent, Word Study, & (Guided and Independent Independent Writing Reading) ~40 minutes Reading) ~60 minutes Word Study ~ 20 minutes • Writers Workshop ~45 minutes Writers Workshop ~45 minutes
Reading Assessments Fountas & Pinnell – determines student progress to textbased benchmarks Running Records – determines student strength and needs for oral reading: word-solving, decoding, vocabulary, self-monitoring, comprehension, and fluency (accuracy, rate, and expression) Comprehension Checks – determines student ability to critically read and understand the text, as well as their ability to analyze, evaluate, and critique ideas and concepts presented in independent and grade level texts Sight Words – ability to atomically read sight vocabulary at grade level (do they have the “gas in the tank” to successfully read at a given level) Teacher Observation/Formative Assessment
Writing Assessment Writing Rubric – assesses the students ability to write competently in the five writing domains (Content, Style, Focus, Organization, & Conventions) Writing Notebook/Conferences– asses the students use of taught skills in specific writing pieces of in the writers notebook. Students are asked to revisit previous work to find where they used taught skills or where they can add/revise to make the writing more clear to the reader.
Note: Each domain is 20% of total proficiency (i.e., craft of writing is 80% and conventions is 20%)
Word Study Assessments Developmental Spelling Assessment (DSA) – identifies students knowledge of spelling patterns Weekly Spelling Tests – assesses students response to instruction Reading Conferences – assesses students ability to use grade level words and individual spelling lists to word-solve Writing Pieces – assesses student ability to apply learned spelling patterns, grade level words/grammar, and new vocabulary to effectively communicate in writing (traditional and digital)
Response to Intervention & Instruction
• All students are readers, it is just knowing what type of reader we need to support (emergent, beginning, early, transition, or fluent)
• Recognizing that research acknowledges the importance of background knowledge and language experiences on reading ability, all students will be given multiple and appropriate opportunities to demonstrate growth and proficiency in reading
• Student data is continuously collected and analyzed to support student success; students not meeting appropriate progress will be given interventions matched to their specific area of need
Intervention Plan
Curriculum Resources Reading Read Aloud: • Interactive Read Aloud (L. Hoyt) • Mentor Texts from Being A Writer Program/Calkins – Can be used for reading and writing (Developmental Studies Center) Readers Workshop: • The Next Steps in Guided Reading (J. Richardson) • Teaching for Comprehension & Fluency (Fountas & Pinnell) • 100 Book Challenge – Independent Reading (American Reading Co.) • Daily 5 & CAFÉ (Boushey & Moser)
Curriculum Resources Writing Writers Workshop: • Being A Writer (Developmental Studies Center) • Units of Study (Calkins) – Moving to implementation 14-15, but follow curriculum sequence • Teaching the Qualities of Writing (Fletcher & Portalupi) – optional, but follow curriculum • Naming the World – (Atwell) Grade 6 Writing Strategies: • 4 Square Writing (J. & E. Gould) • Digital Writers Workshop – (Hicks) Grade 6 • Kid Writing (Feldgus & Cardonick)
Curriculum Resources – Handwriting/Keyboarding • Handwriting Without Tears K-2 • Loops & Groups • Edutyping •
Keyboarding taught in the Library Classroom, but needs to be reinforced in the classroom weekly
Curriculum Resources – Word Study Word Study Spelling: • Word Journeys (Ganske) • Word Sorts & More K-3 (Ganske) • Mindful of Words 4-8 (Ganske) Word Study Grammar: • Mechanically Inclined & Everyday Editing (Anderson) • Getting Grammar (Topping & Hoffman) Word Study Vocabulary: • Bringing Words to Life (Beck, et. al) • Interactive Read Aloud, Guided Reading Text, Mentor Writing Texts
Research on Engagement by John Guthrie (2004)
Association of reading achievement and time reading for grade 4 students
Hours/day reading
(Guthrie, 2004)
4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0
2
3
4
5
6
7
Grade level reading achievement
8
Playing Catch Up
(Guthrie, 2004)
• 4th grader reading on grade level has read at least 700 hours since second grade • 4th grader reading at 3rd grade level has read about 430 hours since second grade (270 hours behind) • To catch up, he or she must read 2.6 hours/day for the next 2 years, or about a 200% increase of engaged reading time per day
Playing Catch Up
(Guthrie, 2004)
• 4th grader reading at the second grade level must read at least 3 hours per day for two years (a 600% increase) • This will require, for many students, dramatic shifts in how we structure the school day (200-600% more engaged reading time)
Much time must be spent reading for meaning and writing for genuine purposes Reading volume, both in and out of school, is associated with high reading achievement (Allington, 2001; NAEP, 1998)
Achievement percentile
Words per year
90th
Minutes of reading per day 40.4
50th
12.9
601,000
10th
1.6
51,000
2,357,000
Much time must be spent reading for meaning and writing for genuine purposes • Every 8 days, a child in the top 10% will read as much as a child in the bottom 10% reads all year! • Every two months, a child in the top 10% will read as much as a child in the bottom 10% has read his/her entire life!
What we can do… • Students read for 75% of the GR lesson • Authentic and text-based discussions
• Readers notebook where students record meaning making • Emphasize critical thinking, evaluation, synthesis of ideas with text-based evidence
• Write like an author, read like you are critiquing the author • Engage students in a reading and writing community, where inquiry, collaborating, communicating (traditional & digital), creating, and innovating are the norm • Authentic reading and writing practice that mirrors the real world
What we can do‌