K-6 Update
10.18.19
News and Notes
- October 23-25 - Fall Break
- October 30 - Parent-teacher conferences
- November 4 - 6 p.m. - Concord School Board meeting
- November 20 - 3:00 - Goalbook Pathways webinar (for K-4 teachers who would like a refresher on using Goalbook)
Reading Instruction in Grades 2 - 6
The table shown above shows the lowest, average, and highest Lexile reading levels of students who scored "At Proficiency" on ILEARN. This analysis evaluated students’ Lexile levels and correlated their Lexile with being measured as "At Proficiency" on ILEARN. This means that a student in 6th grade realistically needs to read at a Lexile of 1060 to have a chance of passing ILEARN. A 3rd-grade student needs to read at a Lexile of at least 735.
Study after study shows that a student's ability to read a complex text is significantly more important than their knowledge of discrete comprehension skills such as fact and opinion or making inferences. See ACT study.
It is clear that a student’s ability to read complex text is crucial. We know that the only way for students to improve their ability to read complex texts is to do exactly that -- read complex texts. See Dyad Reading Study and Shanahan.
Lastly, both articles referenced in the previous section reinforce one of the best-researched concepts in reading instruction - fluency practice works!
Our 90-minute reading block needs to focus every minute on high-leverage activities. Those need to include (for 2nd grade and up) explicit fluency practice, modeling of close reading of complex text, student reading of the complex text, student discussion regarding complex text, and student writing connected, and in response to, complex text.
A typical 90-minute block would look something like this:
Is my text complex?
Are my questions standards-aligned?
Are my questions DOK 2-3?
Guided Reading/ Independent Reading/ Rotations (30 - 45 minutes)
We need to stop with the worksheets. These are a waste of time. Standards-based skill practice is a vehicle through which we utilizing complex texts and not an end in itself.
Fundations and the road ahead
Last week I shared some details following up from Melissa Scheiwe's professional development for Fundations. This week, a team of people met to create a roadmap to better integrate Fundations as a meaningful part of our early literacy framework.
Here is the plan:
- Form a committee of teachers and administrators who are passionate about early literacy to look at creating clear guidance for our K-2 teachers regarding Fundations implementation.
- Ask that team of people to identify Fundation’s “big rocks” — the parts of the program that are the most crucial — and explain why those pieces are so important.
- Share these “big rocks” with teachers so we’re all on the same page about what is important and why it’s important.
- Provide systematic professional development to ensure our expectations are clear and that you have the training and resources needed to effectively implement the plan.
We recognize that additional focus needs to be given to the rest of the 90-minute reading block. Last spring and summer, your colleagues who serve on curriculum teams in kindergarten and first grade worked together to create a K-1 reading block framework. I am waiting to roll out that framework until we have our Fundations roadmap more firmly put together.
As this work progresses, we will work hard to keep you informed and seek your feedback. I expect this to be a multi-year endeavor.