Balanced Literacy - Summer Institute 2010

Every Child a Reader and Writer

Monday, August 2, 2010

A Cultural
Context


An educational
manifestation of
social inequality


Manifest on most indicators of achievement


Normalization of Failure


Brutal Facts


44 million adults in the
U.S. can't read well enough
to read a simple story to a
child.
Reference: National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) NCED, U.S. Department of Education


Disadvantaged students in
the ﬁrst grade have a
vocabulary that is
approximately half that of
an advantaged student
Reference: Graves, 1986 / White, Graves & Slater, 1990


21 million Americans can't
read at all, 45 million are
marginally illiterate and
one-ﬁfth of high school
graduates can't read their
diplomas.
Reference: Department of Justice, 1993


In a class of 20 students,
few if any teachers can
ﬁnd even 5 minutes of time
in a day to devote to
reading with each student
Reference: Adams, 2002


Children who have not
developed some basic literacy
skills by the time they enter
school are 3 - 4 times more
likely to drop out in later
Reference: National Adult Literacy Survey, (1002) NCES, U.S. Department of Education


"The link between academic
failure and delinquency, violence,
and crime is welded to reading
failure." Over 70% of inmates in
America's prisons cannot read
above a fourth grade level.
Reference: US Department of Justice


15% of all 4th graders read no
faster than 74 words per minute,
a pace at which it would be
difﬁcult to keep track of ideas as
they are developing within the
sentence and across the page
Reference: Pinnell, et. al. 1995


Absolute Faith


Out-of-school reading habits of
students has shown that even
15 minutes a day of independent
reading can expose students to
more than a million words of
text in a year.
Reference: Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988


Teachers are the single most
important factor in accelerating
reading growth.

Reference: Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988


Balanced Literacy
can help...


Components of
Balanced Literacy
Reading Workshop Writer’s Workshop Language/Word Study

Literature Study Guided Writing Shared Reading/Writing

Guided Reading Independent Writing Interactive Read Aloud

Interactive Writing/Edit
Independent Reading

Phonics/Word Study

Interactive Vocabulary

Handwriting

Spelling


The Two-Hour
Literacy Block


At a Glance...
Whole Class focus lessons are presented to teach explicit reading skills or strategies
Shared Reading teacher explicitly models reading strategies and skills that students need to learn
the responsibility for reading is “shared” between the teacher and students, although the
Grades 2 - 5
40 minutes per day teacher reads most of the text
Grade 1 usually occurs with the whole class
30 minutes per day

provides students with the opportunity to talk, think, and question their way through text
the teacher meets with a small group that needs to practice a speciﬁc strategy - or - has
Guided Reading a similar reading level
Block (w/ each student has a copy of his/her own text; reading is done by the student while the
teacher coaches
independent
independent reading is a time when students read text (either self-selected or teacher
reading) recommended) at their independent reading level to practice reading strategies

Whole Class provides a model of ﬂuency and builds listening comprehension
Read Aloud you read to the students acting as both author and reader

Word Study involves both the decoding (reading) and encoding (phonics and spelling) of our alphabetic
Grades 2 - 5 symbol system
20 minutes per day should include handwriting
Grade 1
30 minutes per day


EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION IN READING: Components of a Reading & Writing Workshop

Focused
Learning

Explicit Instruction Guided Instruction Independent Practice
5 - 10 minutes 30 - 40 minutes (while teacher works w/grp)

Think Aloud Flexible Guided Reading Purposeful, independent
Groups reading
Mini-lesson (changes every 6 weeks)
(strategy, skill or craft) Cooperative Learning
Shared Reading/Read Aloud experiences
Modeling
Conferring
Targeted Instruction
(needs based) Literature Circles
Student Reﬂection of
learning (5 - 10 minutes)

Teachers move ﬂuidly through these stages based on formative
assessments such as Running Records, Conferring Notes, Journal Notes,
Exit Tickets, and Student Created Work Summative Assessment


GROUPING
WHOLE CLASS
Shared Reading
Interactive Read Aloud
Mini-lessons

SMALL GROUP
Guided Reading/Writing
Literature Discussion Groups
Skill/Strategy groups

INDEPENDENT
Independent Reading/Writing
Reading/Writing conferences
Accelerated/Remedial

Mini-Lesson Structure
Connection
Connect today’s lesson with…
yesterday’s lesson
ongoing unit of study
student’s work
an experience outside of school or classroom

Teaching Point
Present verbally
Demonstrate or model

Active Engagement
Children…
try out a skill or strategy with a text
act like researchers as they watch a demonstration
plan work out loud
imagine trying a skill or strategy

Link
To ongoing work

Reading Workshop
Independent Reading
Self-selected
Self-paced
Practice previously learned strategies and skills
Responding to reading

Guided Reading
Leveled books
Fiction and non-ﬁction
Ability grouped
Skill focused

Literature Study
Varying levels
Variety of genres
Interest based groups
Strategy focused


Language and Word
Study
K-2 3-5

Shared Reading Shared Reading/Writing

Shared Writing
Interactive Writing/Edit
Phonics/Word Study
Phonics/Word Study
Interactive Vocabulary
Poetry Reading
Current Events
Reader’s Theatre
Spelling

Handwriting Reader’s Theatre

Spelling Poetry


Guided Reading


Traditional Reading Groups vs. Guided Reading Groups

TRADITIONAL GUIDED READING

Groups are dynamic, flexible, and change on a regular
Groups remain stable in composition.
basis.
Students progress through a specific sequence of stories Stories are chosen at appropriate level for each group;
and skills. there is no prescribed sequence.
Introductions focus on meaning with some attention to
Introductions focus on new vocabulary.
new and interesting vocabulary.

Skills practice follows reading. Skills practice is embedded in shared reading.

Focus is on the lesson, not the student. Focus is on the student, not the lesson.

Teacher follows prepared "script" from the teacher's
Teacher and students actively interact with text.
guide.
Questions develop higher order thinking skills and
Questions are generally limited to factual recall.
strategic reading.
Teacher and students interact with text to construct
Teacher is interpreter and checker of meaning.
meaning.

Students take turn reading orally. Students read entire text silently or with a partner.

Students take turn reading orally. Focus is on understanding meaning.

Students respond to story in workbooks or on prepared Students respond to story through personal and
worksheets. authentic activities.

Readers are dependent on teacher direction and support. Students read independently and confidently.

Students are tested on skills and literal recall at the end
Assessment is ongoing and embedded in instruction.
of each story/unit.

Running Record - Reading A-Z


Sample Texts


Before Reading
The Teacher
Teacher selects groups on ability and needs
Selects appropriate texts -90-94% readability
Previews vocabulary, context, and structure of the text
Prompts students’ prior knowledge and experience of
topic
Helps students set a purpose for reading
Discusses concepts of the book and scaffolds prior
knowledge
Focuses on a particular strategy during the guided
reading process (ex. predictions, close look at story
elements: plot, characters etc., and helping students to
use illustrations to understand new concepts)
Organizes students into groups and provides them with
activities to do, while teacher is leading guided reading

Before Reading
The Student
discusses what he/she thinks may happen in the story,
make predictions
offers prior knowledge on the topic
students not participating in guided reading work
individually doing other reading activities.


During Reading
The Teacher
Observes students reading independently
Can reinforce ideas through consolidation of learning
Can help students decode words and define meaning
Helps to build new knowledge
Scaffolds comprehension for students

The Student
Reads the selected text independently
Applies reading strategies and reflects on text being
read
Makes predictions about what happens next
Reflects and utilizes reading strategies


During Reading
The Teacher
Debriefs and assesses if reading purposes were met and if predictions were true.
Connects information with the story and starts extension activities.
Gives students encouraging words.
Talks about what the students learned.
Listens to students’ comments.
Determines what they need to read next.
Listens to what the kids have to say about their feelings on the text.
Provides links that give meaning to the story.
Can conduct a mini-lesson.

The Student
Answers oral questions on what he/she felt about the book and does the follow-up
activities that the teacher assigns.
Consolidates new knowledge.
Moves closer to independence.
Shares reading strategies and responses to text.


When you design
teaching for
learning,
these are the
results!


My Favorite Resources
Guided Reading Materials
www.readinga-z.com

Beth Newingham - Scholastic Star Teacher
hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3

Mrs. Meachem Classroom Snapshots (blocked at school)
www.jmeacham.com/

Powerup Learning
www.poweruplearning.com

Literature Circles Resource Center
www.litcircles.org


Balanced Literacy - Summer Institute 2010

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (7)

Similar to Balanced Literacy - Summer Institute 2010

Similar to Balanced Literacy - Summer Institute 2010 (20)

More from Nicole Williams

More from Nicole Williams (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Balanced Literacy - Summer Institute 2010