Reading Volume /
- Audit process in terms of what is currently in place
- Importance of time spent reading
- Rubric—How much time do you spend reading? The higher the time spent reading, the higher the score on ACT.
- 20 minutes of independent reading 4 days a week
- Teachers using Content Area Read Alouds across content areas-close to goal of 80% implementation from teachers.
- Noticeable in this building that most students were carrying a book/novel-range of titles
- MS teachers implemented silent reading time. Students carrying books there.
Vocabulary /
- Link to reading volume, Content Area Read Alouds, and access to print.
- L to J model has helped content area teachers to imbed the words more in their work.
- In Professional Development teachers do L to J over the words students are studying.
- Frayer Model-studied in PD. Teachers and students are still using.
- Numbered Heads-Second Chance Reading.
- Marzano Academic Vocabulary. Use of graphic organizer and 3 step process. Use of non-linguistic representation.
Fluency /
- Rate, accuracy, expression
- Lack of fluency is related to lack of vocabulary
- Practice increases fluency
- Not all students need fluency instruction
- Bell work-Small group reading instruction, paragraph and page-Practice it during bell ringer time, independent read and then partner read. Everyone is then expected to read their section aloud.
- Pod casting to improve fluency
Reading Comprehension /
- Fluency impacts reading comprehension
- Important to address in all content
- Vicious cycle in content area-students don’t understand the content, aren’t prepared, so teachers then go to a film, lecture, etc. instead of actually teaching comprehension within their content area.
- Comprehension is just one task---also have to teach content, etc.
- CRISS strategy instruction
- Concept Maps
- Round Table
- Math teachers struggle at 6th grade and up to find books to tie to math content.
- Amount of content that teachers feel they need students to learn gets in the way---coverage problem….
Discussion /
- True discussion rarely takes place at the high school…Q & A typically is what is occurring. Discussion sometimes is used to “get the teacher off task”.
- Discussion that is “thoughtful and sustained over a period of time”.
- Needs to be tied to process
- Second Chance Reading—Use of partners to support focused discussions. Getting teachers used to noise levels of discussion can take time.
- Importance of considering the use of technology to support discussion and all aspects of literacy.
- Tied to content not process
- Discussion boards---could be used
Learning to Write and Writing to Learn /
- Expanding use of questioning strategies
- Important to teach writing to learn and writing to learn in connected text within the content area
- Still a process that we don’t have a handle on---the learning to write, writing to learn reciprocity.