First thought…

•“Literacy is the new civil right.” ▫Salome Thomas-El

Philadelphia principal, author

•Sit with someone whose name you don’t know (and is not inyour CMA group)

Facts About Literacy

•“So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that some states use grade-level reading statistics as a factor in projecting future prison construction.”▫Bob Chase, former President, National

Education Association

Facts About Literacy

•“To compete in the global information economy, young people today need literacy skills far more advanced than have been required of any previous generation. The fastest growing jobs make the highest literacy and education demands.”▫Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to

Adolescent Literacy, 2005

Facts About Literacy

•“Forty percent of high school graduates lack the reading and writing skills that employers seek, and almost a third of high school graduates who enroll in college require remediation.”▫Reading To Achieve: A Governor’s Guide to

Adolescent Literacy, 2005

Secondary Literacy Connections•“Many struggling readers have failed

more often than they have succeeded in the past, so now they figure, ‘Why try?’” ▫Shannon Dingle, RGV ’03

6th-8th Grade Special EducationWake County Public School

Secondary Literacy Connections• “I was shocked that my students reached

high school without mastering the basic skills of reading and writing. My first year, the majority of my students read on a third to fifth grade level, and a class could range from pre-primer to 9th grade.” ▫ Bernard Weber

Mississippi Delta ’03 9th Grade Global Studies

DO NOW•In the provided space, reflect in writing

for a few minutes on one or more of the facts presented about literacy.

2 minutes

Why are Secondary Texts Difficult?Secondary Literacy 1Secondary Literacy 1

Helen M. AndersonLiteracy Specialist

•“Literacy is the new civil right.” ▫Salome Thomas-El

Philadelphia principal, author

Objectives

•Definition of literacy•Different components of reading•Steps toward comprehension•Analyze how different texts make

different demands on readers •Evaluate the specific demands posed by

texts in specific content areas

Agenda•DO NOW •Introduction•New Material

▫Teaching Literacy is Our Job ▫Reading Comprehension ▫What makes texts difficult?

•Examples & Practice•Close/Reflection

So what? •Responses

•The achievement gap is a literacy gap.•Every teacher must be literacy teacher.•Teaching literacy is our job.

Our definition of literacy

•“The ability to read, write, spell, listen & speak.”

•“Visually represent.”www.ncte.org

•“We must read the word in order to read the world.”▫Paulo Friere

Education revolutionary

Teaching Literacy Is Our Job.

• Artifact: Michael’s Science TestoCM Instructional Materials: page 226CM Instructional Materials: page 226

On your handout…• Think-Write/Pair/Share oWhat is keeping Michael from having

success with this material?oLiteracy-wise, what could have gone

wrong?

Think/Pair/Share• What is keeping Michael from having

success with this material?

Think/Pair/Share

• Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

Share1. Does this assessment tell us much about

what Michael may or may not know?2. Which skills does Michael need to be able to

read the questions?3. Which components go into Michael being

able to write an answer?4. What does Michael know based on this

artifact?

Components of Reading Comprehension• Each component of

reading is at play with Michael:

Decoding Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension Strategies Background Knowledge Engagement

So…to be successful?

•Key Point▫All these components need to be in place

for our students to be able to demonstrate what they know in all content areas.

LS Throwdown

•With a new partner, explain the following literacy analogy (or simile):▫“Skilled reading is like a rope.”

You have 30 seconds…

Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.

The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading(Scarborough, 2001)

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE STRUCTURES VERBAL REASONING

LITERACY KNOWLEDGE

PHON. AWARENESS

DECODING (and SPELLING) SIGHT RECOGNITION

SKILLED READING: fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension.

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

WORD RECOGNITION

increasingly

automatic

increasingly

strategic

Skilled Reading- fluent coordination of

word reading and comprehension

processes

The Breakdown•Research and CMs’ experiences indicate the

following:▫Minority of our students will struggle with

decoding words bottom strands

▫Some will struggle with fluency to tie the bottom strands together

▫Most will struggle to comprehend content area text tying the top strands together

Reading Comprehension

•We’ll start with fluency…

The Basics:What goes into reading accurately and fluently?

•Fluency▫The ability to read words, phrases and

sentences quickly, automatically and with expression.

DecodingComprehensi

on

Fluency

Called Basic Because…•These building block skills are necessary but

not sufficient conditions for comprehension.•Success with these, still struggle with

comprehension▫Vocabulary, background knowledge,

appropriate strategies

Fluency Passage

•Read a passage•Approximately 65 words•You’ll have 25 seconds.•Questions will follow.

In this study, the distribution patterns of neural crest (NC) cells (NCCs) in the developing vascular system of the chick were thoroughly studied and examined for a correlation with smooth muscle cell differentiation and vascular morphogenesis. For this purpose, we performed long-term lineage tracing using quail-chick chimera techniques and premigratory NCC infection with a replication-incompetent retrovirus containing the LacZ reporter gene in combination with immunohistochemistry.

Questions

•The study sought to seek a correlation between vascular morphogenesis and what?

•What did the quail-chick chimera technique allow the researchers to trace?

Debrief Disfluency Passage

•Were you reading with automaticity?•Were you focused on word analysis or

comprehension?•Was comprehension achieved? Why or

why not?

Fluency: Strategies That Work

•Teacher modeling/read aloud•Repeated reading

▫With partner, parents, reading buddy•Choral reading

Note!

•Not “added on”, but used as scaffolding whenever students read

Content Teachers•Math

▫Chorally reading a word problem•Science

▫Reading the directions more than once (aloud, pairs, small group)

•Foreign Language▫Practicing dialogues for performance

•Social Studies▫Paired reading of excerpts with presentations to the

class•English

▫Reader’s Theatre

LS Throwdown

•Give a one sentence summary of how fluency can affect student comprehension and how that impacts your practice as a teacher.

What about the texts

themselves?

Secondary Texts

•Content teachers have a uniquely difficult job▫Support fluency▫Teach content▫Negotiate difficult texts

What makes texts difficult?• Vocabulary usage

▫ Some text use figurative language while others use technical terms

• Background knowledge▫ Assumptions made by text

• Organization and format▫ Some texts have headings or diagrams

• Level of engagement▫ Some text loved by 12 year olds, others by 16 year

olds, some may be disliked by all

ISAT: connections & applications

•Vocabulary Usage▫Spanish I Objective

#19: SWBAT describe foods using 5 adjectives in their singular and plural forms using the phrases ¿Cómo es/son _____? and Es/son _____.

•How might vocabulary usage create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

ISAT: connections & applications

•Background Knowledge▫African American History Objective

SWBAT analyze the contributions and accomplishments of West African societies

prior to slavery.•How might background knowledge

create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

ISAT: connections & applications

•Organization & Format▫Biology Objective

SWBAT use experimental data to create a line graph.

•How might organization or format create a specific challenge in this text/objective?

Level of Engagement

•Translating “I’m bored”

Content Area Groups

•CM Book of Goodness:▫All – 227 (you can tear this out if you want)▫Social Studies – 230▫Math – 231▫English/Language Arts – 233▫Science – 234▫Foreign Language – At your station

Content Area Groups•Read through the text

▫Fill out column 2 – “Text Demands”

•What demands does this text make on our students in each category?

1 minute – transition4 minutes – reading and writing

How should I teach this?

Text DemandsHow could I teach this?

Vocabulary

Background Knowledge

Pair Practice: how would you teach it?

List ideas for teaching each of the four text demands you identified in the third column of the handout

3 minutes

Pair Practice: debrief

•What was challenging about this process?•What has this process taught you about

how to start planning literacy instruction?

What did we learn?

The Bottom Line

•Literacy has many components, each of which is essential to achievement.

•Teaching students the specific skills and knowledge they need to read to understand text is your content area is critical.

Why is Literacy important?

•Achievement Gap = Literacy Gap•Our students’ access to college and

careers hinge on their advanced literacy skills.

•Teaching literacy is our job.

Where do we go from here?

•Core Session 1: Why are Secondary Texts Difficult?

•Core Session 2: Reading Purposefully and Strategically

•Core Session 3: Building Comprehension Before, During and After Reading

•Core Session 4: Informal Writing•Core Session 5: Teaching Vocabulary•Core Session 6: Formal Writing Process

Here, too…

•Differentiated Sessions▫Literacy in a Mathematics Classroom▫How to Read Non-Fiction Texts▫Motivating Struggling Readers

•Other sessions based on need and desire

For next time (and every time after)…•Write this down!

▫Notebook and/or blank paper▫Writing implements▫CM Instructional Materials (aka The Book

of Goodness)▫ISAT▫Secondary Literacy text

Check-out

•Seclitphilly.wikispaces.org•Hand-out turned in•Exit Slips completed