Connecting Reading and Writing 2

Connecting Reading and Writing 2

Running Head: CONNECTING READING AND WRITING

Professional Development on Connecting Reading and Writing

Shelby Morris

Towson University

Overall Plan

My professional development plan is geared to feedback I received from my colleagues, grades K-5, at Eva Turner Elementary School in Charles County, Maryland. A needs assessment was sent out to the teachers asking what professional development subjects they were interested in receiving. I took some of the feedback such as, how to motivate students to write, more information on the core curriculum, and connecting writing to the themes in Houghton Mifflin (Charles County’s Core reading program for elementary schools) in to consideration and chose the topic for my professional development. I will be presenting on making connections between the core reading program (Houghton Mifflin) and the new Core curriculum writing standards. However, the idea of teaching writing based on a theme or content can be adapted at any grade level.

In November, I plan on doing a whole group presentation to all staff on the importance of connecting the new core writing curriculum to the core reading program. Prior to the start of the professional development, I will give each teacher a quick assessment on their knowledge of the core writing curriculum and how they will fit it into their current lessons. After the assessment, I plan on doing a jigsaw activity, where the staff are in small groups and will read an article on one of three topics; writing in the content area, connecting writing to authentic children’s literature, and the purpose behind the new core curriculum standards for writing. We will discuss the connections between the articles as we share out on the information we read. Teachers will be asked to complete a one-minute reflection jotting down any ideas that they learned from the article and any questions that come to mind. I will then present a power point that explicitly instructs the staff on the research behind these ideas and what we can do in our classroom to implement the research. During this presentation, I will model how I incorporate writing in the content area based on the theme (Houghton Mifflin) we are working on in my classroom using authentic literature. I will also show how I used the new core curriculum to guide my lessons. At this point, I will provide the teachers with an organizer that I have modeled through my lesson so that they can use it to guide their thinking. The organizer will have the three types of writing that the core is pushing for and columns for each story in the theme. At the end of the presentations, teachers will create a minute reflection on ideas that they have learned throughout the presentation. They will then be given the opportunity to meet as small group grade level teams to discuss some writing activities they can incorporate into the content area themes. I will coach teachers by listening to their discussions and offering some guidance as needed.

Once the presentation is complete, teachers will be asked to return to their classrooms and try one of the writing activities they developed from now until the end of the current theme (usually last 6 weeks) and will be asked to complete a minute reflection on how the lesson went and any further ideas they have after teaching the lesson. I will get a list of when the teachers are planning on doing this and, based on time aloud, I will observe the teachers lesson. I will use an observation checklist and will collect student writing samples during this observation.

In February, I plan on attending small group grade level ILT meeting to discuss the activities completed, provide feedback from observations, coach teachers on implementation, and plan for the following theme. If teachers still need assistance, I will continue working one-on-one with them to help develop lessons for writing in the content area using the core standards as our guide. Teachers will be asked to complete minute reflections after each activity to reflect on the activity and write down ideas for future lessons.

By April, we will have a working staff meeting where the teachers can work independently with their grade level teams to discuss how they will incorporate writing into the last theme of the year. Teacher will be asked to complete a final evaluation of the professional development. This will include what they learned through the whole experience, the presentation of materials, and what they would like for further professional development.

The segment of the plan that I am going to do during this course is the whole group presentation to the staff at Eva Turner Elementary grades K-5, administration, ILT, Science teacher, and Librarian. Challenges that I may need to overcome include teacher buy in. I think I may also run in to some problems with administration and ILT because a writing curriculum has been developed for each grade level but there is no connection to the literature we are reading in the classroom for some grade levels. The last challenge may be getting special area teachers involved, such as the science teacher and the librarian, because they may feel that teaching writing using literature may not be “their job”.

Research Support of Practice

In a literacy classroom, reading, writing, and critical thinking should be connected in order to enhance learning, especially in the content area to increase student’s motivation and engage the learner.

In 2010, Maryland adopted the Common Core State Standards. The Standards set requirements for language arts and literacy in content areas. On page 4 of the Common Core State Standards document, it explains the integrated model that they focused on as they developed the standards. It discusses how closely connected the processes of literacy; reading, writing, speaking, and listening are. It gives the following example of how they are connected; “For example, writing standard 9 requires that students be able to write about what they read. Likewise, Speaking and Listening standard 4 sets the expectation that students will share findings from their research.” (Common Core State Standards, 2010) With these new standards in place, it is more important now than ever before to focus on the connections in our classroom.

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material. (Wikipedia) Most teachers understand the importance of teaching reading and writing but sometimes forget how important it is to make the connections between reading, writing, and thinking. According to Leu (1994), “Reading and writing, when combined in classroom experiences, can be used as powerful tools to increase students’ ability to analyze and think critically about information. Separately, both reading and writing develop critical thinking skills but when combined, they serve to reinforce each other and produce even greater benefits than if they are used alone.” With this being said, it is doing a disservice to our students when teaching reading and writing at separate times with little or no meaningful context.

Using content areas, such as social studies, science or literature topics, when teaching reading and writing helps students understand and reflect on the content better. You often hear how students up to a certain grade, usually around grade 3, stop learning to read and begin to read to learn. Because many students are being taught how to read and write in separate settings and without much context, they have a difficult time reading and writing for a purpose. In the article, Reading and Writing in the Academic Content Areas, a great example is given of why it is so important to read and write in the content area:

“Traditionally, the school subject of biology has not defined literacy as one of its core concerns, but successful biologists and biology students do in fact conduct much of their work through the written word. To become accomplished in this or any other academic field is as much a process of learning to read and write in certain ways as it is a process of learning facts, methods, theories, and other kinds of “content.” Hence, biologists must know how to collect samples, sterilize equipment, dissect specimens, and classify organisms. They must know photosynthesis from bioluminescence, viruses from bacteria, and Watson from Crick. And they must also know how to read and comprehend articles in biology journals, write up their lab notes in an appropriate style, and describe their findings in a format with vocabulary that other biologists will understand.”

(Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006)

With this idea in mind, you can easily see how closely connected reading and writing are and how important it is to make connections through reading and writing in the content areas.

When literacy activities are combined, students can interact with the literature and become more motivated and engaged in the content and are able to think more critically about the content. In one study it was found that , “…children’s literature created meaningful writing assignments and provided opportunities to share, which in turn fostered student motivation to write. The conclusion of this intervention resulted in students who gained confidence in their ideas and beliefs through the sharing of meaningful writing.” (Daly & Sharko, 2010). When students are given time to read and write for authentic purposes, “…. they move from ideas, to composing a message, to searching for ways to record their messages while monitoring their message production. Children need to become both author and audience by giving and receiving genuine responses that value their voices and choices. Through these interactions, they express themselves and construct identities.” (Anderson & Briggs, 2001) When students are able to share and discuss their written responses, they gain more comprehension and gain confidence in their own personal responses to learning. (Montgomery, 2001) In Montgomery’s article about journal writing in order to connect reading and writing, he also discusses that when given the opportunity to journal after reading literature, “Their writings permit them to share their personal understanding regarding a wide range of literature in various cultural contexts that inform, clarify, explain, or educate them about our remarkable human family. For many students, their written commentaries affirm the progress of their learning across the curriculum.” (Montgomery, 2001) When students are able to feel confident in their literacy skills, they are more likely to practice independently. Practice will help students become more fluent in the processes of reading, writing, and thinking critically. When students become fluent in the processes, they will become more motivated and engaged in the classroom.

References

Alliance For Excellent Education. (2006). Reading and Writing in the Academic Content Areas.

Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/ReadingWritingAcadContent.pdf

Anderson, N. L., & Briggs, C. (2011). Reciprocity between Reading and Writing: Strategic

Processing as Common Ground. Reading Teacher, 64(7), 546-549.

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Common Core Standards for English

Language Arts & Literacy in History/ Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf

Daly, L., & Sharko, S. (2010). Motivating Students to Write through the Use of Children’s

Literature. Online Submission,

http://www.eric.ed.gov.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu/PDFS/ED509396.pdf

Leu, D. r. (1994). Designing Hypermedia To Connect Reading and Writing through Children's

Literature. Retrieved from

http://www.eric.ed.gov.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu/PDFS/ED396669.pdf

Literacy. (2011). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literacy&oldid=459103948

Montgomery, W. (2001). JOURNAL WRITING: CONNECTING READING AND WRITING

IN MAINSTREAM EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 17(1),

93-98. doi:10.1080/105735601455756

Reflection: Before, During, and After Professional Development

Prior to the presentation, I sent out an e-mail to the staff to get feedback on what needs they have (needs assessment) and what they would like to receive a professional development on. I did this so I could assess their needs and determine what they would most benefit from. Before the whole group presentation, I will have a prior knowledge assessment that asks the staff to write what they know about the importance of writing in the content area, engaging students by connecting writing to authentic literature, and the new core curriculum writing standards. This will help with activating prior knowledge and will provide a space for them to jot down question they have.

During the initial presentation, I will have teacher’s complete minute reflections in order to reflect on the information being presented and how they can use it to guide future instruction. There will also be a parking lot for teachers to post questions during the presentation and I will ask teachers to post one thing they learned at the end to wrap up the presentation. After the presentation, I will have teachers complete a graphic organizer with ideas for writing activities for the different themes. I will informally assess their understanding by looking at what they are writing and listening to their discussion with their teams. While I am observing the teachers doing a lesson, I will use an observation checklist to see that they are connecting the writing to literature, check if students are engaged, look to see if the literature is connected to a content theme, and check that the lesson meets the core standards for writing. I will provide feedback on what went well and what needs improvement through a discussion with the teacher.

After the professional development is completed, and teachers are independently planning, I will ask the staff to complete an evaluation of the PD. This will include what they learned through the whole experience, the presentation of materials, and what they would like for further professional development.

Development of Materials

** See WIKI, under portfolio, for a copy of one high quality PowerPoint presentation that will be used in implementation.

-Needs assessment -organizer for writing ideas handout

-prior knowledge assessment -copy of core curriculum writing standards handout

-power point -Observation checklist

-minute reflections -Reflection sheet for group members

-Evaluation

Presentation and Reflection

I originally posted a short 3 paragraph overview onto blackboard as my overall plan. After receiving several comments from classmates, I made changes to my overall plan prior to bringing it to class.