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Our Journey….Content Area Literacy at J. R. Gerritts Middle School
About J. R. Gerritts
• Grade 7 & 8 Middle School317 Students in Grade 7 + 347 Students in Grade 8 = 664 Total
• DemographicsStudents with Disabilities – Approx 10%Economically Disadvantaged – Approx 15%English Language Learner – Approx 2%
• Daily Schedule60 Minute CORE classes & 45 Minute Academy Classes
Assembling the Team
• Science & Social Studies TeachersScience = 7 Staff & Social Studies = 5 Staff
• Literacy Resource Teacher – ContentJenny Thompson / 1 Day a Week – Consultant
• Administrative SupportBuilding and District level administration
Our Journey…
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
Preparing to Begin the JourneyWe have found a successful approach requires:
• Committing to content area literacy as a priority• Recognizing the importance of providing
coaching support, resources and time• Identifying where staff is at and setting an
appropriate, achievable goal
PHASE 1“I’m not a Language Arts Teacher”
Focus on…1. Setting a purpose prior to reading2. Understanding reading/thinking strategies3. Integrating pre, during and post reading
strategies
Thinking Strategies• Monitoring for Meaning• Using and Creating Schema• Questioning• Determining Importance• Visualizing• Inferring• Synthesizing
PHASE 1“I’m not a Language Arts Teacher”
Focus on…1. Setting a purpose prior to reading2. Understanding reading/thinking strategies3. Integrating pre, during and post reading
strategies
STAFF/ADMINISTRATIVE ROAD BLOCK
SOLUTION
PHASE 1“I’m not a Language Arts Teacher!”
ROAD BLOCK SOLUTIONI’m not qualified to teach reading and writing.
Provide support to help instructors select the appropriate tools and integrate them.
There already isn’t enough time to cover my content.
Staff provided with the freedom to focus on depth of content. Emphasis on quality rather than coverage.
I don’t have access to any resources.
District commitment to resources through improved textbooks, trade books, periodicals, and online databases/internet. Materials are provided at first.
Isn’t this someone else's job? Remind staff that they are not teaching Language Arts (i.e. grammar, plot, character, etc. ). It is the responsibility of content area teachers to teach students to read and write like scientists/social scientists.
PHASE 2“Is this making a difference?”
Focus on…1. Sustaining previous content literacy work2. Collecting data to determine overall impact3. Identifying an area of focus – determining
importance
PHASE 2“Is this making a difference?”
ROAD BLOCK SOLUTIONIs this working? Develop a common assessment to measure
student growth.
Staying committed.
How do I make content area literacy part of my regular practice?
• Staff continued to use planning time to integrate reading comprehension strategies.• Regular conversations with literacy resource teacher and administration. • A clear expectation for setting a purpose and providing pre, during and post reading experiences whenever students are reading.
When are we done learning about content area literacy?
•Many social studies/science staff set professional growth goals to learn more about content area literacy.•Analyze student learning data to determine next step(s).
PHASE 3“Bringing Clarity to our Curriculum”
Focus on…1. Unpacking thinking/reading strategies2. Teaching for student mastery3. Connecting to the Common Core4. Improving our assessment
PHASE 3“Bringing Clarity to our Curriculum”
ROAD BLOCK SOLUTIONHow do we know when a student is proficient?
• Dig deeper to discover what determining importance meant to our team. • Developed a list of five focus areas that were critical to ensuring students could determine importance.
This is too advanced for my students. Shouldn’t this be taught in high school?
• Established a clear focus for the sub skill(s) we wanted students to be able to master.• Used the gradual, release of responsibility (with an emphasis on modeling) to ensure skills were taught.
There are new curriculum standards for literacy in social studies and science?
• Compared our understanding of determining importance with the ten Common Core reading standards.• Selected a standard to serve as our team’s focus -
• Use text structures to aid in determining what information may be of value
• Determine what may and may not be valid information
• Sift important ideas from interesting/less relevant details
• Use strategies to hold important thinking
• Construct main ideas from gathered information
Determining Importance
PHASE 3“Bringing Clarity to our Curriculum”
ROAD BLOCK SOLUTIONHow do we know when a student is proficient?
• Dig deeper to discover what determining importance meant to our team. • Developed a list of five focus areas that were critical to ensuring students could determine importance.
This is too advanced for my students. Shouldn’t this be taught in high school?
• Established a clear focus for the sub skill(s) we wanted students to be able to master.• Used the gradual, release of responsibility (with an emphasis on modeling) to ensure skills were taught.
There are new curriculum standards for literacy in social studies and science?
• Compared our understanding of determining importance with the ten Common Core reading standards.• Selected a standard to serve as our team’s focus -
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Reflection Tool for Teacher Modeling
ROAD BLOCK SOLUTIONHow do we know when a student is proficient?
• Dig deeper to discover what determining importance meant to our team. • Developed a list of five focus areas that were critical to ensuring students could determine importance.
This is too advanced for my students. Shouldn’t this be taught in high school?
• Established a clear focus for the sub skill(s) we wanted students to be able to master.• Used the gradual, release of responsibility (with an emphasis on modeling) to ensure skills were taught.
There are new curriculum standards for literacy in social studies and science?
• Compared our understanding of determining importance with the ten Common Core reading standards.• Selected a standard (connected to the work we’ve done) to serve as our team’s focus
PHASE 3“Bringing Clarity to our Curriculum”
JRG Element of Determining Importance
Common Core Reading Standard
Use text structures to aid in determining what information may be of value
Standard 5 & Standard 7
Determine what may and may not be valid information
Standard 6 & Standard 8
Sift important ideas from interesting/less relevant details
Standard 2
Use strategies to hold important thinking
Standard 1
Construct main ideas from gathered information
Standard 2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze
their development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.
Important Elements
Paraphrased Summary is written in your own words.
Concise Summary is as brief as possible while including the most important/details related to the topic.
Topic Clear statement of the main idea.
Body Conveys the most important supporting details
Only information from the text is used
Follows a sequential order
Makes effective use of transitions
Conclusion Conclusion restates the main idea and brings the summary to a close
Common Core – Standard 2
Looking Ahead: PHASE 4
Focus on…1. Measuring individual student growth and planning
for differentiation2. Using student learning data to reflect on and then
refine instruction3. Examining the critical elements of guided
instruction4. Expanding the content area literacy focus to health,
computer education and tech. education
• Content is important• Collaboration is key• Support is essential• Time is crucial–Time to learn and time to implement
• Celebrate the successes• Remain student focused
Things to Remember
Questions?
Dave LamersAssistant [email protected]
Jenny ThompsonLiteracy Resource [email protected]
Scott OttSocial Studies Teacher – Grade [email protected]
Shannon PetersonScience Teacher – Grade [email protected]
