1 September 30, 2011 The District promising practice is to increase the amount of time every student reads each day in school. Guided Reading What it IS… What it is NOT… It is data-based flexible grouping of students. It is not long-term placement of students in groups. It is the selection of appropriate instructional level texts, which means knowing the reading level of the students and the texts. It is not an over-reliance on the Houghton Mifflin leveled readers. It is an opportunity for the teacher to provide students with unseen text (e.g., new book, chapter or section of text) each time the guided group meets. It is not basalizing the guided reading text (e.g., using the same leveled reader for several days or a week). It is an opportunity for students to practice applying the reading strategy/skill, presented in the whole group lesson, with guided support. It is not an off-the-cuff or impromptu lesson. It is an opportunity for students to practice reading increasingly difficult text. It is not round robin /popcorn reading. It is providing the appropriate level of support to read the text. (For example, at levels 24 and below, the teacher uses a variety of prompts based on the students needs.) It is not testing the students to see if they can read the text. It is an opportunity for students to have rich discussions about the text. It is not an inquisition after reading the text. Content Area Reading “Adolescents entering the adult world of the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives.” Richard Vacca Reading abundantly increases vocabulary, content knowledge, and experiences with the world. Schools have students for approximately 1,000 hours of instructional time each year. If teachers devote 25% of time for reading, students will meet the district goal of being engaged with text for 90 minutes each day. Time spent reading includes any time the students are actively engaged with their eyes on text. The students are doing the reading- not the teacher. This includes all types of reading materials including self-selected books, articles, informational texts, graphs, charts, story problems, directions, web sites, etc. Reading occurs in all content areas throughout the day. For example, math teachers teach students to read mathematical material such as tables, charts, word problems, and textbooks. How can students read abundantly in content classes? 1. Increase opportunities for wide reading, including a variety of nonfiction texts, poems, newspapers, articles, online resources. 2. Increase the amount of time spent in independent reading. 3. Article of the Week: To build background knowledge, students are given an article-of-the week on Monday. These articles can be related to the curriculum or to relevant current events. They can come from websites, magazines, newspapers, and might include editorials, news stories, speeches, stories, and essays. The students are given a short reading assignment for the articles, which are typically due at the end of the week. 4. Topic Floods. A topic flood is a packet of reading materials- articles from a variety of sources, editorials, letters to the editor- related to an issue that has numerous sides. Students are immersed in the topic. As they examine the various sides of the issue, students form their own conclusions, which can lead to classroom debates and persuasive essays. Literacy Newsletter

Literacy Newsletter 9-16-11 - Springfield Public Schools Newslette… · Literacy Newsletter 9-16-11 Author: Nadine Walters Created Date: 9/30/2011 4:32:16 PM

Download PDF Report

Upload
others
View
1
Download
0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

September 30, 2011

The District promising practice is to increase the amount of time every student reads each day in school.

Guided ReadingWhat it IS… What it is NOT…

It is data-based flexible grouping of students.

It is not long-term placement of students in groups.

It is the selection of appropriate instructional level texts, which means knowing the reading level of the students and the texts.

It is not an over-reliance on the Houghton Mifflin leveled readers.

It is an opportunity for the teacher to provide students with unseen text (e.g., new book, chapter or section of text) each time the guided group meets.

It is not basalizing the guided reading text (e.g., using the same leveled reader for several days or a week).

It is an opportunity for students to practice applying the reading strategy/skill, presented in the whole group lesson, with guided support.

It is not an off-the-cuff or impromptu lesson.

It is an opportunity for students to practice reading increasingly difficult text.

It is not round robin /popcorn reading.

It is providing the appropriate level of support to read the text. (For example, at levels 24 and below, the teacher uses a variety of prompts based on the students needs.)

It is not testing the students to see if they can read the text.

It is an opportunity for students to have rich discussions about the text.

It is not an inquisition after reading the text.

Content Area Reading“Adolescents entering the adult world of the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will

need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives.”

Richard Vacca

Reading abundantly increases vocabulary, content knowledge, and experiences with the world. Schools have students for approximately 1,000 hours of instructional time each year. If teachers devote 25% of time for reading, students will meet the district goal of being engaged with text for 90 minutes each day.

Time spent reading includes any time the students are actively engaged with their eyes on text. The students are doing the reading- not the teacher. This includes all types of reading materials including self-selected books, articles, informational texts, graphs, charts, story problems, directions, web sites, etc. Reading occurs in all content areas throughout the day. For example, math teachers teach students to read mathematical material such as tables, charts, word problems, and textbooks.

How can students read abundantly in content classes?

1. Increase opportunities for wide reading, including a variety of nonfiction texts, poems, newspapers, articles, online resources.2. Increase the amount of time spent in independent reading.3. Article of the Week: To build background knowledge, students are given an article-of-the week on Monday. These articles can be related to the curriculum or to relevant current events. They can come from websites, magazines, newspapers, and might include editorials, news stories, speeches, stories, and essays. The students are given a short reading assignment for the articles, which are typically due at the end of the week.4. Topic Floods. A topic flood is a packet of reading materials- articles from a variety of sources, editorials, letters to the editor- related to an issue that has numerous sides. Students are immersed in the topic. As they examine the various sides of the issue, students form their own conclusions, which can lead to classroom debates and persuasive essays.

Literacy Newsletter