This document summarizes key practices and resources for student-centered literacy instruction. It discusses: 1) Essential practices for student-centered classrooms like choice, teacher interaction, quality libraries, and showing students strategies instead of just telling them. 2) Respectful language practices and questioning techniques teachers can use to prompt thinking. 3) Resources on student-centered learning including books, articles, and a student engagement inventory. 4) The importance of gradual release and modeling strategies to prevent having to reteach later.

1. Learning Unit #1
Sharing from all three Google Doc
Response Groups

2. Many of you found practices in the video “non-
negotiable”…they should be essential in classrooms!
• Choice! (This has been an essential with all literacy researchers for years and
years! Regie Routman (Transitions, 1988, Lucy Calkins (Raising Lifelong Learners,
1997), Donald Graves (The Writing & Reading Processes, 1986).
• Teacher Interaction: making the classroom welcoming & inviting
• Quality Classroom Libraries
• Student Centered Classrooms
• Showing students instead of telling students

3. Language that was used by the teachers…
• Respectful language
• Language that restates what the learner has shared
• Questions to prompt further thinking
• Thinking aloud: sharing your inner thinking with your students so they
know how a proficient reader thinks
• Language and expression that shows your genuine enthusiasm!

4. Resources discussed
• Debbie Miller books: Debbie Miller worked with Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis
so her practices are similar to the STW text. We have her books & some videos at the
GVSU library (some are online). Great for early elementary teachers! (Click on any
book to read more about it.)

5. Student Centered Learning
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-
teacher-john-mccarthy
• http://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions/student-centered-
learning
• https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/12/24/ctq_powell_strengths.ht
ml
• https://lincs.ed.gov/sites/default/files/6%20_TEAL_Student-Centered.pdf
There were some good discussions about student centered learning. You might be
surprised to find that you already use some of the components of this practice. You might
also be surprised at how easy some of the practices would be to add to create more of this
approach. The links below have some great ideas!

6. SHOWING instead of TELLING
• This course relies heavily on the gradual release model. That model is
explained in the first article in our course readings. I will be suggesting you
read that when you are preparing to work on your first strategy lesson. (The
video in the assignments folder for Portfolio of Plans strongly recommends
reading and following the practices of this model.)
• While time is always an issue in classrooms, using this model can prevent
reteaching time later because a model makes the strategy clear for students.
This is also an emphasis in STW (p. 59-61, 90-91)

7. Shared by Casey McCullen
This is a resource
many schools are
using for strategy
work. We use this
text in some of
our literacy classes
and it is an
amazing resource!
Check it out!
Casey shared the
following
resources:
What Can I Work on as a Reader?
https://www.heinemann.com/readin
gstrategiesbook/images/whatcaniwo
rkonreader_serravallo.pdf
ENGAGEMENT INVENTORY
https://www.heinemann.com/share
d/companionresources/e05300/en
gagementinventory.pdf
FACEBOOK RESOURCE PAGE
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingStrategies
Book/files/