Reading/Language Arts, K-5

3-YEAR ACTION PLAN 2016-2019 School Years

Dimple J. Martin, Ph.D. dmartin@bhm.k12.al.us

Why is Birmingham City Schools’ Literacy Action Plan important? A district-wide literacy action plan is an

essential blueprint for improving student achievement. An effective plan requires the skillful use of data about

student performance, literacy needs and expectations in the school, district and school capacity to support literacy

development, current teaching practices, and effectiveness of the core literacy program.

An effective district-wide literacy plan guides action on many levels and focuses on multiple activities toward

increasing students’ reading skills. Birmingham City Schools’ Literacy Action Plan focuses on five key areas:

Implementation of Journeys Reading Program with fidelity

Implementation of Decoding Power Intervention Program with fidelity

Implementation of Quality Small Group Instruction

Implementation of the Reading K-5 Flow of the Day Components

Reading Common Core Standards Focus: Key Ideas & Details

Determining the appropriate goals for this literacy plan required the gathering and analyzing of relevant data. To

address this data, Birmingham City Schools’ plan has five action steps based on literacy research and best practices

that correspond to what both school and district leaders can do to improve student literacy and learning.

1. Implement a Literacy Action Plan

District and school support of literacy action plan implementation.

2. Support teachers to improve instruction

District supports teacher professional development and also supports building leaders to hold teachers

accountable for improving student literacy.

3. Use of data

District implements a Literacy Assessment Calendar and actively supports and models a culture of data

use.

4. Build leadership capacity

District supports teacher and leadership professional development and expects all instructional leaders

to focus on improving literacy.

5. Allocate resources

District ensures that all schools have equitable access to materials, books, teacher professional

development, core program and intervention program(s) to improve student literacy.

The biggest concern about developing a District-wide Literacy Action Plan is that it will not guide action. Too many

plans have been developed and “left on the shelf.” In order to bring about improved student outcomes in Birmingham

City Schools, we must use this literacy action plan to target our efforts and to guide our work- CONSISTENCY &

INTENTIONALITY.

*Action Plan Goals for Journeys Reading Program Implementation

GOAL TIMELINE ACTION STEPS PERSON(S)

RESPONSIBLE RESOURCES EVIDENCE OF

SUCCESS

Implementation of the Journeys

Reading Program with FIDELITY

August 2017-

May 2018

*Note: Journeys

teacher and student

resources were not

distributed to schools in a

timely manner

during the 2016 - 2017 school year.

Review/Revisit Reading Block Schedule

Classroom Observations

Walkthrough Fidelity Checks

Implement Journeys Scope & Sequence

Be CONSITENT & INTENTIONAL

Principals

Classroom Teachers (K-5)

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

District Reading Personnel

Director of Schools

90-120 minutes uninterrupted Reading Block

Journeys Scope & Sequence

Journeys Teacher Resources

Journeys Student Resources

Journeys Think Central Teacher Portal

Weekly Lesson Plans

Observation Feedback

Student Work Samples

Journeys Job-embedded

Professional Development

September

2017- January 2018

*District-wide PD was

provided June 2016,

August 2016 & June 2017

Schedule “monthly” Grade Level PLC Meetings

Develop “monthly” PD Focus Calendar

Share effective Reading strategies

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principal

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

District Reading Personnel

Journeys Think Central Resource Portal (Webinars)

Reading K-5 District Webpage

Professional Development Focus Calendar

Planning Time

Substitute Teachers (release time time)

Agendas

Sign-in Sheets

Meeting Minutes

Student work samples

Student Data

Teacher Evals.

*Action Plan Goals for Decoding Power Reading Intervention Program Implementation

GOAL TIMELINE ACTION STEPS PERSON(S)

RESPONSIBLE RESOURCES EVIDENCE OF

SUCCESS

Implementation of Decoding

Power Intervention

Program with FIDELITY

August 2017-

May 2018

Review/Revise Reading Intervention Schedule (30 minutes per day)

Classroom Observations

Walkthrough Fidelity Checks

Implementation of Decoding Power Instructional Routines

Identify students in the lowest Reading quartile

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principals

Classroom Teachers (K-5)

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

District Reading Personnel

Director of Schools

Decoding Power teacher resources

Decoding Power student resources

Intervention Schedule (30 minutes per day)

Decoding Power Weekly Lesson Plans

Observation Feedback

Decoding Power Progress Monitoring Data

STAR Reading Data

Scantron Data

Journeys Weekly Assessments

Decoding

Power Job-embedded

Professional Development

September 2017- December 2017

*District-wide PD was provided February 2017 &

June 2017

*Schools provided Turn-around PD (not all schools) in February 2017

Schedule “monthly” Grade Level PLC Meetings

Develop “monthly” PD Focus Calendar

Share effective Reading strategies

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principal

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

Grade Level Lead Teachers

District Reading Personnel

Professional Development Focus Calendar

Planning Time

Substitute Teachers (release time)

Agendas

Sign-in Sheets

Meeting Minutes

Student work samples

Student Data

Teacher Evals.

*Action Plan Goals for Quality Small Group Reading Instruction Implementation

GOAL TIMELINE ACTION STEPS PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE

RESOURCES EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

Implementation of Small Group

Reading Instruction with

FIDELITY

August 2017-

May 2018

*Collaborative Small Group

Reading Instruction

Observations were

conducted during the 2016-2017 school year

Instructional Rounds: Small Group Reading Instruction Observations

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principals

District Reading Personnel

Director of Schools

District-wide Small Group Reading Instruction Observation Document (see appendix)

Classroom Observations

Observation Feedback

Student work samples

STAR Data

Scantron Data

AR Data

Journeys Weekly Assessments

Flexible Reading Groups

Job-embedded Professional

Development on Small Group Instruction

August 2017-

May 2018

* Job-embedded PD

on Small Group

Reading Instruction

was provided during the 2016-2017 school year

Schedule “weekly” PLC meetings

Develop “monthly” Professional Development Focus Calendar

Share effective implementation

strategies

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principals

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

Grade Level Lead Teachers

District Reading Personnel

Instructional Webinars

Reading K-5 District Webpage

Professional Development Focus Calendar

District-wide Small Group Reading Observation Document (see appendix)

District-wide Literacy Stations Document (see appendix)

Substitute Teachers (release time)

Agendas

Sign-in Sheets

Meeting Minutes

Teacher Evaluations

Student work samples

Student Data

*Action Plan Goals for Reading K-5 Flow of the Day Implementation

GOAL TIMELINE ACTION STEPS PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE

RESOURCES EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

Reading K-5 Flow of the

Day posted in all classrooms

grades 1-5

August 2017-

September 2018

*Very few

schools posted the

Reading K-5 Flow of the Day during the 2016-

2017 school year.

Classroom Walkthrough Fidelity Checks

Principals

District Reading Personnel

Director of Schools

Reading Flow of the Day Document (see appendix)

Poster Maker

Reading K-5 Flow of the Day posted in all classrooms grades 1-5

Implementation of the Reading K-5 Flow of

the Day Components

August 2017-

May 2018

*Job-embedded PD

on the Reading K-5 Flow of the

Day components

was provided during the 2016-2017 school year

Develop/Review/Revise 90-120 minutes Reading

Block Schedule

Classroom Observations

Small Group Reading Instruction Observation Document (see appendix)

Be CONSISTENT & INTENTIONAL

Principals

Reading Coaches

Curriculum Coaches

District Reading Personnel

Director of Schools

90-120 minutes Reading Block

Journeys Resources

Decoding Power Intervention Resources

Reading K-5 District Webpage

Quality Literacy Stations

Targeted explicit Reading Instruction

Differentiated Reading Instruction

Time-on-task student instruction

Student Data Results (Scantron, AR, Journeys, STAR, etc.)

District-wide Reading Instructional Delivery

by Framework

Appendix

Birmingham City Schools

INSTRUCTIONAL ROUNDS: Reading K-5 Small Group Instruction & Literacy Stations

2016 – 2019 School Years

TEACHER:_________________________________________________ GRADE: ____________ DATE: ______/______/______

TIME IN: _______ TIME OUT: ________ OBSERVER’S SIGNATURE: _______________________________________________

Legend- Evidence: E / No Evidence: NE (Please )

E NE COMPONENTS CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

Literacy Stations are clearly designated, labeled and defined.

At literacy stations, students are working on activities/tasks that directly build reading skills.

Literacy Station activities/tasks are differentiated to address all reading levels.

Literacy Stations are centered around worksheets.

Students remain on task while working in literacy stations.

At teacher-led small group station, reading instruction is explicit.

At teacher-led small group station, Journeys resources and leveled texts are used during instruction.

At teacher-led small group station, reading instruction is differentiated based on assessment outcomes. (i.e., STAR, Scantron, Journeys, Decoding Power).

At teacher-led small group station, instruction per reading group is 30 minutes.

Students are familiar with small group instruction transitional routines and procedures.

© 2016 Dr. Dimple J. Martin

Key Ideas & Details Literacy Station

2016 – 2019 School Years

When planning tasks for your weekly Key Ideas & Details Literacy Station, please address the following below:

What YOUR students must be able to DO when mastering the understanding of Key Ideas & Details.

Read Closely and Making Inferences

Locating and interpreting details

Find and understand details helpful to understanding the overall text

Paraphrasing

Provide a succinct and accurate transition of a given statement (one or more sentences or lines) into

different, simpler language

Understand particularly important, dense, or rich language

Drawing Conclusions

Use information and ideas in the text to establish logical connections and draw reasonable

generalization, such as making supportable inferences, determining likely implications, and making

logical predications

Understanding Sequences and Relationships

Understanding sequence in a text, such as the order of events in a narrative

Understand casual connections between actions or events

Understand comparisons and contrasts between and among information, ideas, events, people, and other

elements

Central Ideas, Themes, and Summarizes

Determining themes and central ideas of whole texts and parts of text

Determine the most important ideas/themes of literary texts and distinguishing main from subordinate

ideas

Determine the most important idea(s) of one or more paragraphs, scenes, or other defined parts of a

literary text and distinguishing subordinate ideas

Summarizing

Provide a succinct encapsulation of an idea, concept, or process, a defined part of a text (e.g., one or

more paragraphs), or the whole text

Dr. Dimple J. Martin, Reading K-5 (11.18.16)

“Reading K-5 Flow of the Day”

Your School’s Name

MONDAY – THURSDAY

FRIDAY

WHEN? WHAT? HOW?

8:00am – 10:30am Journeys

Assessments

Weekly and Unit Assessments

(After assessments: Independent Reading and/or Literacy Stations)

WHEN? WHAT? HOW?

8:00am – 8:20am Mode of Writing Journal Writing (Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive)

8:20am – 8:30am Read Aloud Journeys Textbook, Big Book, Story Book, or Chapter Book

8:30am – 9:00am Whole Group

Instruction

Reading Strategies/Skills Instruction

9:00am – 9:30am Small Group

Instruction

(Rotation 1)

Teacher Led Small Group Instruction and Literacy Stations

9:30am – 10:00am Small Group

Instruction

(Rotation 2)

Teacher Led Small Group Instruction and Literacy Stations

10:00am – 10:30am Small Group

Instruction

(Rotation 3)

Teacher Led Small Group Instruction and Literacy Stations

Reading/Language Arts K-5

District-wide Literacy Stations 2016 – 2019 School Years

“What does that look like?”

GRADES 1 – 5

Independent Reading & Accelerated Reader Stations

Key Ideas & Details targeted skills task (see appendix) (examples of Key Ideas & Details tasks

are located on the District’s Reading K-5 webpage: Sharing Zone)

Accelerated Reader Student Assessment Chart (posted) (75% passing Success Index per test)

Leveled Classroom Library Books

Computer, Laptop, Chromebook and/or Tablet

This station is differentiated

Journeys Reader’s Notebook

Journeys Weekly Targeted Skill(s)

Assigned Pages

Independent Practice

Writing Station

Journeys Common Core Writing Handbook

Writing Prompts (Descriptive, Narrative, Expository & Persuasive)

Writing Rubric for each type of writing

Graphic Organizers

Student Writing Notebook (per student)

Sample Writing Prompts (formatted the same as most national assessments) are located on the

District’s Reading K-5 webpage: Testing Zone

Comprehension Station

Journeys Weekly Targeted Skill(s) Tasks

Nonfiction & Fiction Leveled Books (use more books than reading passages)

This station is differentiated according to a students’ readability level

Vocabulary/Word Study Station

Journeys Vocabulary Task Cards

Graphic Organizers

Student Vocabulary Notebook (per student)

Key Ideas & Details Station (KID)

Targeted Skills & Strategies Tasks (see appendix)

Nonfiction & Fiction Leveled Books (use more books than reading passages)

This station is differentiated according to a students’ readability level

Key Ideas & Details example tasks are located on the District’s Reading K-5 webpage:

Sharing Zone

Teacher-Led Small Group Instruction Station

Kidney Table

Maximum 5 students

Explicit Instruction

Differentiated Instruction (Journey’s Core, Write-In Reader, Leveled Texts, Decoding Power)

Flexible

Student data results (Teacher Data Binder- STAR, Scantron, Journeys & Decoding Power)

Journeys Teacher’s Edition & student resources

Decoding Power Intervention resources

30 minutes per rotation

Helpful Tips for Effective Literacy Stations

Maximize students’ independent participation while they practice different literacy skills.

Place materials within the student’s reach to increase independent success.

Structure the tasks to be challenging, but also ensure students can be successful.

Clearly state directions and define physical space to support independence.

Have tasks that students can complete independently and with proficiency.

Make it clear if a final product is to be collected, or if students keep the products with them.

Monitor the completion of tasks at each station. This is important for student accountability.

Teach students how to rotate through literacy stations without disruption.

-djm 2016