Literacy Success @ All Levels
Four Teachers Collaborating to Solve Problems of Practice
Kristie Hofelich Ennis, NBCT
- Courses Taught: 12th grade Comprehensive English, AP Literature & Comp., Dual-Credit English 101, Journalism
- School Info: Public High School in Louisville, KY labeled Persistently Low Achieving (PLA)
- Student Population: 750 students, ~80% Title I
- Focus: College & Career Readiness
- Problem of Practice: students are tested out and many are not reaching standardized testing benchmarks
Literacy research highlights the importance of self-selection and engagement:
What We Remember
It is important for students to "do" something with what they are reading.
Student voices confirm...reading is fun!
Want students to look closely at an independent reading text?
"Lift-a-Line" is a quick, easy way to let students respond.
Want to have the students share with you and the class a portion of what they've just read?
"30 Second Book Talk" is a way to have your students quickly summarize what they've read during independent reading time, and this allows them to use their speaking skills. Teachers can quickly assess what the student read; the talk may also spark the curiosity of other students who may want to read that novel.
Want to have your students collaborate and discuss their independent novels?
Use the Socratic Seminar process to allow the students to discuss their independent novels. Before the seminar, the students write open-ended, generic questions to ask their classmates. These questions act as the discussion starters, and then new ideas/questions will arise for them to share. You can do this as a whole-class or in small seminar circles.
http://youtu.be/CjHDrUWofyE
Why read? Here's why...
My students don't often see the value in reading outside of the school day. I think this chart is a nice visual that explains it in kid-friendly terms.
For the love of reading...
...give them choices and give them time.
Focus less on tests...
...read, write, speak!
Integrate technology and print media...
...students will connect the classroom to the real world.
Students Weigh-in on Reading
https://youtu.be/rc1ZFTDdZaI
Give students the opportunity to become lifelong learners through literacy instruction.
Adolescent reading and writing practices “foster communication, relationships and self-expression among peers and family members; support their economic and psychological health; and allow them to construct … identities that offer them power in their everyday lives” (Moje, et al. 2008, p. 31).
Nationally Board Certified Teachers in Action!
“Many of the texts I read as a child have been like roadmap markers, showing me a range of life options, suggesting only as a reader but also as a human being.” – Dr. Alfred Tatum, Dean of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago
Books Are Buddies Not Bullies
"We'd all be better off if schools taught reading as a tool to support learning those big ideas found in science and social studies instruction, transforming reading instruction from it's current role as the curricular "bully" in our schools into a role it is better suited to play--being a curricular "buddy."
- P. David Pearson Dean of the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley.
Free Resource: Increase Fluency K-12 with Whole Brain Super Speed 1000
http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=136:superspeed-the-game-of-champion-readers&Itemid=104
Check out the results:
Between Fluency Check 1 & 2 I was not using Super Speed. As you can see between Fluency Check 3 & 4 there is a significant increase in the WPM.